V1: Chapter 54: Exploiting the Nobles' Competitive Spirit

"Miss Liang Di, your idea is excellent." Bellica initially agreed with Liang Di's suggestion, but then immediately pointed out a flaw: "However, you must also understand the depth of the nobles' prejudice against commoners."

"For most nobles with a sense of superiority, food received from commoners is no different from something a dog has gnawed on."

Hmm…

Liang Di frowned.

This was indeed a difficult point to resolve.

Liang Di was already annoyed by Liang Lin's situation, and now, the idea she had finally come up with was difficult to implement, making her even more frustrated.

"You're right, Bellica, it was my oversight."

Liangdi rubbed her throbbing temples.

"The nobles can send servants to the dessert shop to pick up desserts; there's no need for commoners to deliver them. Delivering them would only upset them."

"Sigh…"

Liang Di leaned back in her chair, looking exhausted.

"Bellica, bring me the recent bills from the nail salon and the tailor shop."

Since I can't think of any new ideas, I'll just look at the recent bills.

"Bellica, you've been to the tailor shop and nail salon lately, haven't you? What did you think? How were the reactions from the ladies and young women?"

Bellica replied, "Very positive. Every lady and young woman has a smile on their face. There's even been a trend among them of comparing whose nail polish has the most expensive diamonds, and whose nail polish is the most beautiful."

Comparing whose nail polish has the most expensive diamonds...?

"Bellica, what did you think of the desserts?"

"Miss, I don't like sweets, but some of them were quite good."

"So..." Liang Di tapped the table with her hand, "Edwin and Miranda changed the taste of the desserts, right?"

"According to my investigation, that's the case."

"Then... we can start from another direction." 

Liang Di recalled the desserts, "It seems everyone was discussing whether the desserts tasted good or not; nobody was discussing which cake was prettier or more expensive."

"Aristocratic ladies and young women have a very obvious nature: they love to compare themselves to others. Otherwise, they wouldn't spend so much money on custom-made dresses, manicures, and diamond-encrusted nails."

"Since they like to compare themselves to others, why don't we create another platform for them to compare themselves to others?"

Liang Di's inspiration returned.

“Every dessert is made to order, displayed in the window, waiting for nobles to come and choose. They're all the same design, without any innovation; you could even say they all look alike. But if dresses can be custom-made, why can't desserts be custom-made?”

Liang Di excitedly slapped the table, her eyes filled with excitement as she looked at Bellica.

“We can let the noble ladies and wives describe the cakes they want. And our pastry chefs can no longer be just ordinary ones; we need to spend a lot of money to hire pastry chefs with unique aesthetics and strong styling skills.”

“The cake-making process should be fully presented to the noble who commissioned the cake. If there’s anything they’re not satisfied with, they can point it out on the spot. However, the waiting process is boring, so I’ve decided to bring the nail polish service over. Of course, the cost will be four-fifths of what you'd pay at a nail salon—a price reduction to attract customers and pass the time.”

“For male nobles, we’ll hire a band and beautiful dancers. The cost… we can just deduct it directly.”

“Furthermore, we’ll also have an artist paint portraits of the nobles during the cake-making process. Finally, once the cake is fresh out of the oven, we’ll add a beautiful painting on top and present it to the nobles.”

“What we should be doing is innovating, not changing.”

Liang Di was in high spirits and closed the bill.

“Competition, perhaps, is born at that moment. Whether it's competing over the exquisite appearance of a cake, or boasting about how beautifully they've designed their own, they're no longer eating cake; they're eating vanity. And that painting featuring a cake is one piece of evidence used for this competition.”

“Of course, before creating a frenzy, a few authoritative nobles need to lead the way, so that other lesser nobles will stop and watch.”

Liang Di smiled again, in high spirits. “Bellica, what do you think of this idea?”

“Miss, I think this idea is much better than the previous one about commoners delivering desserts.” Bellica's eyes were still full of admiration as she looked at Liang Di.

Liang Di stood up. It was almost time for Liang Lin to come home from school.

As she walked outside, she continued to speak to Bellica, "Well, we don't need to open so many dessert shops. Desserts aren't necessities, not something we need to eat every day. We'll only keep a few. As for the rest… I have my own plans. It's time to open some other shops with a bit of hype."

"Tomorrow, we'll start implementing this. I'll go find a few prestigious nobles to discuss cooperation, to invite them to have a meal at my dessert shop, to attract trend-following and vain young nobles."

Bellica didn't follow Liang Di; she knew her mistress was going to see Liang Lin.

Liang Di, beaming, was about to greet her at the gate when she saw an uninvited guest.

"Octaville? What brings you here?"

Octaville smiled politely.

"Liangdi, you're getting less and less polite. Why can't I come? Can't I come to see you?"

"Your coming here is never good news."

Liang Di's smile vanished, her face hardening.

"You're not here for me, you're here for Liang Lin, right? Hilary sent you to deliver a message to Liang Lin, isn't that right?"

Snap~

Octavian snapped her fingers, showing off.

"Smart~"

"Tsk."

Liangdi made an unpleasant sound.

Octaville remembered the task her wife had given her. She coughed lightly.

"Liang Di, there are some things we can see in the magic crystal sphere. I advise you not to go too far. It's better for both of us."

"This is none of your business." Liang Di said bluntly.

“If I don’t intervene, you’d better think about the consequences of angering Hilary,” Octaville said, her usual playful demeanor gone.

“You should know her personality is just like yours. You’re both crazy.”

Just as the two were locked in a stalemate, Liang Lin stepped down from the carriage.

Opening the door, the first thing she saw was the tense standoff between Liang Di and Octaville.

“Octaville?”

Liang Lin’s eyes lit up, and she ran over.

“What did my sister say? Did she agree to let me see her?”