Chapter 319: The Whisper Bowl Festival Meeting
The morning sun shone brightly over the capital.
, but inside her chamber, Lian An was already planning something else.
The upcoming Spring Festival Market.
Every year, merchants from nearby towns gathered in the capital.
Food stalls.
Games.
Handmade crafts.
Performances.
Thousands of visitors would arrive.
For the Whisper Bowl Restaurant, it was the perfect opportunity.
Lian An changed into simple commoner clothing.
A light blue dress.
A plain cloak.
Nothing that would reveal her identity as the Empress.
After all, she preferred discussing business as the owner of Whisper Bowl rather than as royalty.
After saying goodbye to her family, she quietly left the Duke residence.
---
The moment she entered Whisper Bowl, the atmosphere brightened.
Staff members immediately recognized her.
"Boss!"
"Lady An is here!"
"Welcome back!"
Smiles spread across the restaurant.
Many employees had not seen her for weeks.
Lian An smiled warmly.
"Everyone seems energetic."
One waitress laughed.
"We heard you almost died. We were terrified."
Another employee nodded.
"Manager nearly worked herself sick worrying."
Lian An rubbed her forehead.
"It wasn’t that serious."
Everyone immediately disagreed.
"It was serious!"
The entire restaurant burst into laughter.
---
Soon her friend arrived.
She crossed her arms.
"You disappeared."
Lian An smiled.
"I was busy."
"Busy almost dying?"
"..."
"That’s what I thought."
The friend sighed dramatically.
"You owe me compensation."
Lian An laughed.
"What compensation?"
"A month of free food."
"You already eat for free."
"...Good point."
---
The two women entered a private room upstairs.
Soon the twins and several senior managers joined them.
Tea was served.
Scrolls were opened.
The meeting began.
---
Her friend pointed at a map.
"The festival market will be held here."
The map showed the capital square.
Hundreds of stalls would participate.
Competition would be fierce.
Lian An studied it carefully.
"We need something different."
Everyone nodded.
The twins immediately agreed.
"If we only sell ordinary food, we won’t stand out."
"Exactly."
---
Lian An picked up a brush.
"First question."
"What dishes attract crowds?"
The room fell silent.
Everyone began thinking.
Finally one manager spoke.
"Street food."
Another nodded.
"Easy to carry."
The friend added,
"Affordable."
Lian An smiled.
"Good."
She wrote three words.
Fast. Affordable. Memorable.
---
The discussion became lively.
One twin suggested grilled meat skewers.
The other suggested dumplings.
A manager recommended noodle bowls.
Another wanted fried rice.
Soon everyone was arguing.
---
"We should sell roasted duck!"
"No."
"It’s expensive."
"What about noodles?"
"Too slow."
"Dumplings?"
"Too common."
The debate continued.
---
Finally Lian An raised her hand.
Everyone became quiet.
She began writing.
Festival Menu
1. Crispy Chicken Skewers
2. Spicy Potato Twisters
3. Mini Dumplings
4. Sweet Rice Cakes
5. Honey Glazed Pancakes
6. Cold Fruit Tea
7. Plum Blossom Tea
8. Fried Lotus Chips
The room became silent.
Then—
Everyone’s eyes lit up.
---
Her friend pointed at the list.
"The potato thing."
"What is that?"
Lian An smiled.
"Spiral-cut potatoes."
"Crispy outside."
"Soft inside."
"Covered in seasoning."
The entire room looked confused.
But interested.
---
One twin stood up.
"Can we make it?"
"We’ll learn."
The other twin nodded.
"It sounds addictive."
---
Lian An continued.
"We also need signature dishes."
"Something people can only get from us."
The friend nodded seriously.
"That’s important."
---
They spent the next hour brainstorming.
Ideas filled several scrolls.
New sauces.
Special seasonings.
Unique drinks.
Festival-exclusive desserts.
---
Soon the discussion shifted toward prices.
This part caused even more arguments.
---
The friend wanted higher prices.
The twins wanted cheaper prices.
Managers wanted balance.
---
Finally Lian An wrote:
Profit comes from volume.
Not luxury.
Not expensive dishes.
The festival would attract thousands of customers.
Affordable food meant bigger crowds.
Bigger crowds meant bigger profit.
---
Everyone eventually agreed.
The final prices were set.
Reasonable enough for commoners.
Profitable enough for the restaurant.
---
Then came staffing.
The friend pointed at another list.
"We need at least fifty workers."
The twins nodded.
"And twenty runners."
"Plus cleaning staff."
---
Lian An added another note.
"Everyone must smile."
The room laughed.
One manager groaned.
"That’s harder than cooking."
---
The friend pointed at him.
"Then practice."
---
The meeting continued until noon.
The table became covered with papers.
Calculations.
Menus.
Schedules.
Shopping lists.
---
Finally the friend leaned back in her chair.
Exhausted.
"We just planned an entire festival operation."
Lian An smiled.
"And we’re not finished."
The entire room groaned.
---
Then she unfolded another blank scroll.
Everyone stared.
"No."
"Please no."
"We need rest."
---
Lian An laughed.
"Fine."
"We’ll continue tomorrow."
The room erupted in celebration.
---
As everyone left, her friend remained behind.
The noise slowly faded.
Only the two women remained.
---
Her friend looked at her carefully.
"You seem happier."
Lian An paused.
Then smiled softly.
"Maybe."
Her friend nodded knowingly.
"Family?"
Lian An nodded.
"Family."
---
Outside the window, the restaurant buzzed with life.
Employees laughed.
Customers chatted.
Plates clinked.
The familiar sounds filled the air.
---
Lian An looked around quietly.
The Whisper Bowl had grown far beyond what she imagined.
It wasn’t just a restaurant anymore.
It was a family.
A home.
A dream built with countless people.
And soon—
At the festival market—
It would shine even brighter.
Three days before the grand festival, the capital woke to an unusual sound.
Dong! Dong! Dong!
Large drums echoed through the streets.
People peeked from windows.
Shopkeepers stepped out of their stores.
Children ran toward the main road.
Even farmers working outside the city walls paused and looked up.
"What happened?"
"Is there an emergency?"
"Did bandits attack?"
People began gathering.
Soon they saw city guards riding through the streets.
Behind them walked town criers carrying banners decorated with red silk.
One guard raised a scroll and shouted loudly.
"Hear ye! Hear ye!"
"The Spring Festival Market will officially begin in three days!"
Excited murmurs spread instantly.
The Spring Festival was already the biggest event of the year.
But the announcement wasn’t finished.
The guard continued,
"Food stalls from every province will gather in the capital!"
"Games, performances, prizes, and merchants will participate!"
Children immediately cheered.
Old men smiled.
Young women exchanged excited looks.
The guard raised his voice again.
"And this year—"
"The famous Whisper Bowl Restaurant will open a special festival food street!"
The crowd erupted.
"What?!"
"Whisper Bowl?"
"The restaurant everyone talks about?"
"I heard their food is amazing!"
"My cousin traveled three towns just to eat there!"
The excitement doubled.
Then came the final announcement.
The guard unrolled another scroll.
"Festival special prices!"
"Mini dumplings — 3 copper coins!"
"Honey pancakes — 2 copper coins!"
"Festival fruit tea — 1 copper coin!"
"Special festival dishes available for all commoners!"
For a moment—
Nobody spoke.
Then chaos erupted.
"Only one copper coin?!"
"That’s cheaper than market tea!"
"Three copper coins for dumplings?"
"Impossible!"
People stared in disbelief.
Usually festival food was expensive because of the crowds.
Yet Whisper Bowl was offering prices almost everyone could afford.
A vegetable seller laughed loudly.
"My whole family can eat there!"
A farmer grinned.
"We’re definitely going!"
A grandmother clutched her grandson’s hand.
"You wanted dumplings, didn’t you?"
The little boy nodded excitedly.
"Yes!"
"Then we’ll save money and go together."
The boy jumped happily.
Meanwhile, news spread beyond the capital.
---
In nearby villages, horse messengers carried announcements.
At one village square, a guard stood on a platform.
"The Spring Festival Market begins in three days!"
Villagers immediately gathered.
A young woman whispered,
"Maybe we should visit the capital."
Her husband nodded.
"We haven’t gone in years."
Then they heard about the food prices.
Both froze.
"That’s cheaper than the town market."
Soon everyone began discussing travel plans.
---
In another town, merchants smiled after hearing the announcement.
More visitors meant more customers.
More customers meant more profit.
An elderly merchant stroked his beard.
"The Duke family’s banquet."
"The upcoming wedding."
"And now this festival."
"The capital will be crowded."
His son grinned.
"We should prepare extra stock."
---
At Whisper Bowl itself—
The staff were struggling to keep up.
Customers flooded inside.
Many came specifically because they had heard the announcement.
The friend manager stared at the packed restaurant.
"...We’re doomed."
One of the twins nodded.
"Completely doomed."
The other twin laughed.
"The good kind of doomed."
Every table was full.
The waiting line extended outside.
People kept asking questions.
"What festival dishes are you selling?"
"When does the market open?"
"Will there be enough food?"
The staff barely had time to breathe.
---
Upstairs in a private room, Lian An listened to the reports.
Her friend dropped a stack of papers onto the table.
"We’ve become famous again."
Lian An smiled.
"That’s good."
"No."
Her friend pointed outside.
"That’s terrifying."
Lian An looked through the window.
The crowd stretched far beyond the restaurant entrance.
Even she was slightly surprised.
"...Maybe we need more workers."
"Maybe?" her friend replied.
"We need twice as many."
Both women laughed.
---
Elsewhere in the capital—
The news even reached the palace.
Maids talked about it.
Servants discussed it.
Guards planned to visit on their day off.
Everyone seemed excited.
The festival hadn’t even started yet.
Yet anticipation filled the entire kingdom.
---
As evening arrived, lanterns illuminated the streets.
Groups of people continued discussing the upcoming event.
Children counted the days.
Families planned their visits.
Merchants prepared their goods.
And throughout the capital—
One topic appeared again and again.
Whisper Bowl.
The restaurant everyone wanted to visit.
The food everyone wanted to taste.
And the festival everyone now eagerly awaited.
Far away, sitting in the restaurant office, Lian An looked at the bustling street below.
A small smile appeared on her face.
The festival had not even begun.
Yet already—
It was a success.
