A hint of panic flashed in Ma Youcai's eyes, worried that his cleverness might backfire and cause him to miss a golden opportunity to connect with the General's Mansion.

His mind raced as he tried to figure out how to salvage the situation, only to realize that he had no other resources to offer besides bribes.

A flicker of struggle crossed his eyes, but he finally steeled himself and said:

"Doctor Yan is joking. I am just an ordinary businessman. How could I dare to hope to do business with the general?"

When Dr. Yan discovered the business opportunity, he thought of Mr. Ma first, which made Mr. Ma feel very honored. Naturally, he came here today because he genuinely wanted to discuss business with Dr. Yan.

However, after receiving Doctor Yan's message yesterday, I spent the entire night thinking about how to make this business feasible. After much thought, I realized that without the general's intervention, we simply cannot do this.

Even if we succeed, there are other restaurants in the city besides mine. If other restaurants follow suit, wouldn't we be doing all the work for others?

That's why I was thinking, could I use the relationship between Doctor Yan and the General to ask Doctor Yan to discuss with the General and make this happen?

If Dr. Yan feels this is inappropriate, we can discuss it further. Or, if Dr. Yan has other, better solutions, then I, Ma, would be more than happy to accept them.”

Yanxiao prefers to deal with people who are pragmatic, as this saves a lot of time spent on pointless chatter.

Although Ma Youcai had his own ulterior motives, he was fortunate enough to be pragmatic and knew when to advance and retreat, so they could barely cooperate.

She slightly raised her eyebrows and glanced at Ma Youcai, noticing that he was already nervously wiping the sweat from his brow, so she mercifully gave him a small response.

She reached out and took the wooden box containing the century-old, top-grade ginseng, examining it slowly for a moment before saying:

"This is a fine item, a real treasure. It might even save someone's life if necessary. Manager Ma, are you really willing to give it to me?"

Ma Youcai had already taken the things away, so naturally he had no intention of taking them back. Upon hearing this, he quickly flattered him:

"Treasures should naturally be handed over to those who know their value and make good use of them so that they can reach their full potential. As long as it can catch the eye of Doctor Yan, it will be my great honor."

Yan Xiao was satisfied with the answer, so she immediately closed the wooden box and handed it to Qian Qiu behind her, before turning to Ma Youcai and saying:

"Since it's Manager Ma's kind offer, I'll accept it without hesitation. As for your suggestion to have the General intervene, I've already discussed that with him."

"really?"

As soon as Yan Xiao finished speaking, Ma Youcai stood up excitedly.

Realizing he had overreacted, he quickly sat back down, gave an awkward laugh, and apologized:

"Dr. Yan, please don't blame me. I was just too excited."

As he spoke, he leaned slightly forward, closer to Yan Xiao, and asked with a mixture of nervousness and anticipation:

"I wonder how Doctor Yan's discussions with the General went? Is this matter feasible?"

"Of course it can be done."

Yan Xiao nodded directly, and before Ma Youcai's smile could fully bloom, she immediately added:

"However, the cooperation plan I discussed with the general is somewhat different from what you think."

Ma Youcai was left feeling uneasy after Yan Xiao's few words, so he quickly asked Yan Xiao to be direct and stop keeping him in suspense.

Yan Xiao had no intention of teasing him and said directly:

"You're right, this deal definitely needs the general's approval to go through."

But the general is different from you and me; he cares about the people and does everything with their interests in mind.

Therefore, to get the general to agree to our business, we must know our limits and cater to his preferences.

After hearing this, Ma Youcai thought about it for a moment and found it to be very reasonable, so he gestured for Yanxiao to continue.

Yan Xiao then briefly recounted the cooperation plan she had discussed with Shen Muzhi to Ma Youcai, and stated that only a win-win situation could make it happen; otherwise, it was hopeless.

Ma Youcai frowned after listening, hesitated for a moment, and then voiced his concerns:

“But according to the general’s instructions, we can only buy crayfish from refugees, and anyone can buy them. Doesn’t that mean that anyone who wants to can do this business in the future? Wouldn’t all our efforts be in vain?”

"No!"

His confident tone and laughter suggested he had a lot of confidence in his ingredients.

"Yesterday was a tight schedule, so the crayfish I made was only a semi-finished product. As long as Boss Ma agrees to General's plan, I will give you the finished product with all the ingredients and tell you the dosage and usage."

I dare say that my ingredients are absolutely unique in the world; it's almost impossible for others to imitate them, and naturally, they can't replicate our flavor. Therefore, we are still the winners.

Ma Youcai was somewhat skeptical, but seeing how certain Yan Xiao was, and considering this was a rare opportunity to connect with the General's Mansion, he felt that even if it was somewhat risky, it was still worthwhile.

Moreover, he was the passive party in this matter, and if he hesitated, there were plenty of people willing to take his place.

After weighing the pros and cons, he decided to take the gamble and gave Yan Xiao a fawning smile:

"Since it was the general's idea, and Doctor Yan is confident in his recipe, then I, Ma, will risk my life to accompany you and do this business with Doctor Yan."

He paused for a moment, then changed his tone and tentatively asked:

"I wonder what the relationship is between Doctor Yan and the General? How come he is so highly regarded by the General and even has the opportunity to open a clinic in the General's mansion?"

This question wasn't just of interest to Ma Youcai; almost everyone in Jiangbei City was curious about it.

Now, a day has passed, and many rumors have spread throughout Jiangbei City, but none of them have been confirmed yet.

Yan Xiao didn't reveal her identity at the time because she was afraid that if she made too much of a scene as the general's wife, it would displease Shen Muzhi and make him unwilling to do her any favors.

Now that this person clearly doesn't care much, she cares even less.

"Since Manager Ma is so curious, I have no reason to hide it from you. I am the general's lawfully wedded wife. So, you can rest assured when doing business with me; you won't lose out."

"Husband, wife?"

Ma Youcai's eyes were wide open like copper bells; he was clearly quite shocked.

After a long while, he seemed to realize what was happening, hurriedly stood up, bowed to Yan Xiao, and stammered:

"I was blind and did not realize that I was facing a lady. If I have been rude, please forgive me and do not hold it against me."

Yan Xiao looked at Ma Youcai's attitude and once again felt the importance of social status in a royal society.

She waved her hand, gesturing for Ma Youcai to sit down:

"Manager Ma, there's no need to be so nervous. Since we're going to cooperate, we'll be on the same side from now on. As long as you don't have any ulterior motives, you'll naturally reap the benefits."

Ma Youcai nodded repeatedly: "What you say is true, madam. I dare not."

"Alright, let's discuss the details then."

"I will follow your instructions, Madam."