The Way to Make Money

Joffrey gently pushed open Cersei's door.

The queen was lounging on a Dornish-style chaise lounge, letting her maids style her flowing blonde hair.

"Mother," Joffrey gave a simple bow, "there's something I'd like to ask for your permission to do."

Cersei raised her hand, and the maid bowed and retreated to the wall.

"speak."

"During the tournament, I'd like to be in charge of providing snacks in the audience area," Joffrey said directly.

Cersei's brow twitched. "Joffrey, what mischievous idea have you come up with this time?"

"If you need money, just tell me. We Lannisters have mountains of gold and silver, we can never spend it all."

Joffrey met her gaze: "It's not about the money."

He took a roll of parchment from his bosom and spread it out on the table in front of Cersei.

The paper contained his sketches, listing different levels of meal options. His handwriting was neat, and the estimated costs were also marked on the side.

"There are three tiers in total," Joffrey said, pointing to the contents of the document.

"The affordable version is made with flour and cheap meat filling, and comes with a large glass of ale. It's also inexpensive, costing only a few cents to eat well."

"The knight's version was made with some seasonal vegetables and spices and sold to small merchants and hired knights who had spare money."

"As for the royal style..."

"Not for sale, just for free."

Cersei scratched her pale neck, glancing sideways as she waited for what would happen next.

"After each day's game, Father would definitely throw a banquet," Joffrey explained.

"So I want to set up a venue specifically to receive knights who have performed exceptionally well."

Cersei's fingertips lightly traced the parchment: "So what's your purpose in doing this?"

There was no question in her tone; it was more like she was waiting for Joffrey to give her the answer she had in mind.

Joffrey smiled confidently.

"My father organized the competition so that everyone would remember his boldness, and Littlefinger participated actively in order to fill his own pockets."

He leaned forward slightly: "Then why can't I get a share?"

"When the people of King's Landing speak of this tournament in the future, they will remember the king's generosity."

"I can also recall a prince who thoughtfully prepared food for them."

Cersei leaned back in her chair and remained silent for a long while.

"Just tell me," she finally said. "How many people do you need?"

"Not many, a dozen or so kitchen apprentices will suffice," Joffrey said after a slight hesitation, "and we'll need to borrow a yard for some preparatory work."

"You might need to speak with the head chef so I can get some of the spices in stock at cost price."

Cersei waved her hand, indicating that Joffrey could leave.

"Alright, go ahead and have fun. If you don't have enough money, just ask the manager."

Her voice drifted over coldly: "But remember, a lion doesn't care what a sheep thinks."

Joffrey smiled and left.

"Mother, please don't worry, I will be careful."

The next day, Joffrey, who had planned this all along, had already set up his stall.

He selected an unused courtyard in the Red Fortress and converted it into his studio under the pretext of preparing supplies for the martial arts tournament.

The grain sacks and broken wine barrels that had been piled up were all cleared away, and two master chefs were directing a dozen or so kitchen apprentices to work among them.

At least on the surface, this is a kitchen that was temporarily converted for food preparation.

When Joffrey brought Sansa in, a round-faced apprentice was frantically scraping burnt meat pies out of the oven.

"Your Highness!" The apprentice nearly dropped the spatula in his nervousness.

Joffrey patted him on the shoulder, signaling him to calm down.

Then he picked up a slice of lemon cake and handed it to Sansa.

"Try it and see if there's anything that needs to be changed."

Sansa wore a simple linen dress today, and her maroon hair was braided and hung over her shoulders.

She looked at the chaotic scene with some hesitation and carefully took the cake.

He put the silver fork into his mouth, chewed it a couple of times, and then his azure eyes narrowed slightly.

"It's too sweet." Sansa wiped her mouth with a handkerchief. "The fresh fruit flavors are completely masked by the syrup. It's like...like eating honey-coated noodles."

Joffrey looked at a freckled pastry chef: "Make a note of it, less syrup."

"You can sprinkle some grated lemon zest on top to add flavor."

The kitchen helper quickly picked up a charcoal pencil and made notes on the wooden board, muttering under his breath, "This is how it's always done, Her Majesty the Queen just likes sweet things..."

They went into the inner room, where a large pot was frying golden-brown fish pieces.

Joffrey took a cooled piece, sprinkled it with pepper, broke it in half, and handed one half to Sansa.

"The sea fish in Blackwater Bay have few bones and thick flesh, giving them a different taste compared to the trout in the river."

"However, the outer skin isn't very crispy anymore."

In addition, they also tried a cake filled with almonds and walnuts, and a fruit tart stuffed with crushed nuts and cheese.

Most of them are foods that are easy to carry and won't affect their taste when they get cold.

Talk is one thing, doing is another.

If we really want to sell it, we'll definitely have to come up with some fancy tricks.

After walking around for a while, Joffrey felt a bit full, so he led Sansa to the backyard to continue the inspection.

The sizzling sound didn't sound like they were making edible food at all.

Several carpenters were cutting small, round pieces of wood, and the wood shavings piled up at their feet.

The other half had a charcoal fire lit, and several workers were using iron tongs to hold red-hot round branding irons and carefully stamping patterns onto the wooden pieces.

However, the technique was clearly not skillful enough; with the slightest force, a charred hole was burned into the thin piece of wood.

Sansa curiously leaned closer and bent down to examine the successfully printed patterns.

"Is this Lord Renly?" she asked, pointing to a simple sketch of a man holding a stag horn helmet.

Joffrey nodded.

Sansa continued reading.

The towering and majestic "Mountain," the "Red-Robed Monk" wielding a flaming sword, and the "Hound" wearing a ferocious dog helmet.

They are all simple brown line drawings with rough lines, but each knight has a distinct and easily recognizable feature.

Meeting Sansa's questioning gaze, Joffrey explained.

"Buy one dish and get a free thin pancake with wood chips."

"Collect five different cards to exchange for five silver deer."

Sansa's eyes widened. "Won't a lot of people be buying them like crazy?"

Joffrey walked over to the pile of already cut wood chips and grabbed a handful.

Of the ten cards, six are blank circles.

"Most of them are actually 'Thank you for your patronage,' only a small portion are Knight cards like that."

The idea originated from a fragment of memory about "instant noodle card collecting," and Joffrey mischievously planned to replicate it in Westeros.

This was an experiment to see if this marketing tactic was also popular in the Middle Ages when communication was limited.

However, Westeros did not have printing technology, and he did not intend to promote its development for the time being.

Let's just make do with what we have for now.

Since the issuance volume is not large, and with the empty prizes, a few thousand or tens of thousands of items will be enough to cover the food for the martial arts tournament.

Moreover, he didn't expect to make money from this; he just wanted to bring good luck to ordinary people and give them something to talk about.

All the overt preparations were merely a cover for his true purpose.

It was already evening when Joffrey waited for the person he was supposed to see in a small meeting room.

A fat man in a golden robe was led in, his frog-like face showing obvious tension.

"Lord Genos Slint." Joffrey turned around.

"Let's discuss how to collaborate on organizing a 'prize quiz'."