"Well, that's all for now. The price is non-negotiable and fixed. However, since you saved me and my daughter once, your purchase price this year will be three strings of cash per bag. Next year, the price will return to the original price, and you must keep this a secret."

Yan Xia didn't want to owe anyone a favor.

Although she didn't need help that night.

"Alright! Let's sign it today."

Meng Yu was not pretentious.

I agreed immediately.

He understood Yan Xia's meaning. If he didn't agree, Manager Yan might think he was trying to use her favor to get ahead later.

He never intended to take advantage of the kindness he showed when he saved the person.

The two had just finished signing the contract when Deng Qiuzhi came in.

"You guys are really fast! Alright, I'll go call the waiter to bring the dishes."

After dinner, they agreed to visit Meng Yu's shop the next day. In the afternoon, Deng Qiuzhi took Yan Xia to a teahouse.

"Brother Zhu, this is Boss Yan of Yan's Pastry Shop, Manager Yan. This is Manager Zhu. This teahouse is owned by Manager Zhu."

"Hello."

Yan Xia smiled and nodded slightly.

"Hello, hello! So you're the famous Manager Yan! You're amazing! You look about the same age as my daughter, yet you've managed to run such a large shop. I've heard that all the pastries at Yan's Pastry Shop are your original creations. Oh my, seeing is believing! I'm ashamed to live like this. I'm truly impressed..."

Zhu Changji quickly patted the horse, which made Yan Xia's lips curl up a little more.

“I’m not much younger than you. Alright, let’s sit down and talk.”

"Oh my, you look so young! It was my oversight. Please have a seat. Someone, bring tea!"

The three of them sat down in a private room, which was different from the one in the restaurant.

There is no door; it faces the teahouse lobby directly, where there is a storytelling stage.

At that moment, an old man was telling a story while holding a fan.

While chatting, Yan Xia listened attentively to the story, which was nothing more than a tale of a scholar meeting a beautiful woman, who was actually a thousand-year-old rabbit demon. The woman fell in love with the scholar, but the villain repeatedly tried to separate them. The scholar was eventually killed by the villain, and in the end, the woman spat out her demon core to save the scholar, sacrificing her thousand years of cultivation to transform into a white rabbit...

The plot is so clichéd, it's all just the wishful thinking of those bookish types.

Yan Xia lost interest.

Her attention was focused on the teacup in her hand. The tea inside was yellowish and clear. When she brought it close to her nose, she could smell a refreshing fragrance that made her feel good. It was not bitter at all and had a smooth and mellow taste.

It's clearly top-quality Tieguanyin tea.

This tea is a semi-fermented tea, a type of oolong tea. It is neutral in nature and suitable for women.

It seems that Manager Zhu is quite meticulous.

Yan Xia had been sitting for half an hour when she yawned.

I'm a little tired.

Seeing that Yan Xia looked tired, Zhu Changji quickly stopped flattering her and got to the point.

"Manager Yan, I'd like to cooperate with you to open a branch in Jiangnan County. Don't worry, Manager Deng, I won't open it nearby. I have two shops in the north of the city, which I just bought and are next to each other. I plan to open a teahouse on the left and sell pastries on the right. However, the teahouse is all renovated, but I have no idea where to start with the pastries. Don't laugh at me, but I was planning to cooperate with Shanxi Cake before, but they take too much commission. They'll only give me a name for 300 taels of rice, and I'll have to spend a lot of money to hire the master chef from their shop. That's not all, I also have to give them half of their revenue every year."

Zhu Changji was somewhat excited.

"Then what money am I supposed to make? Just using their brand name is like working for them for free. But I've used my connections to hire a few pastry chefs, and their pastries are all mediocre. As you know, people in Jiangnan County love sweets and tea. If our pastries can't compete with theirs, the teahouse has no choice but to buy them from pastry shops at high prices. Otherwise, if the teahouse doesn't keep pastries on hand, it can't compete with others at all. Look at my pastries, I always use Shanxi cakes, which cost as much as two strings of cash per bag, and the quantity is not much. I can only make a little money by selling tea."

Yan Xia didn't want to eat it, but when he mentioned it, she picked the smallest peach blossom pastry from the plate.

I put it in my mouth and took a bite.

The pastries are crispy inside and out, but a bit too sweet. However, they are alright when paired with bitter tea. They are decent, though not as good as the pastries from her shop, but much better than most pastry shops.

The price is less than half of what she sells at her shop.

It's quite cost-effective.

Peach blossom pastries are not actually made from peach blossoms.

It is simply shaped like a peach blossom, with the petals dyed red using natural pigments and black sesame seeds sprinkled on the stamen.

It is highly entertaining.

No wonder Manager Zhu was thinking of cooperating with Shanxi Cake.

"Our shop's cooperation method is franchising. As the name suggests, you use our shop's signboard and sell our shop's pastries. We don't sell the signboard; we only open branch stores. If our cooperation is successful, you will be the third branch store. Each store must be at least one kilometer apart; otherwise, it will affect the business of both stores."

Yan put down the peach blossom pastry and took a sip of Tieguanyin tea to clear her throat.

He said to Zhu Changji.

"The purchase price is uniformly set at four strings of cash per bag, as you probably already know. The selling price can only be half an ounce; price increases are not allowed. There's no franchise fee; you just need to prepare your own shop. Delivery will be provided daily, as much as you need. For now, we'll only sell three types: flower cakes, peach crisps, and biscuits..."

He repeated the same words to Zhu Changji.

After introducing the shop and explaining the requirements and regulations,

Yan Xia stopped talking and waited for Zhu Changji's response.

"Manager Yan, this price..."

Zhu Changji had already agreed in his heart, but as a businessman, he habitually wanted to negotiate the price again.

"No, a uniform price."

She rejected him with just five words.

Yan Xia simply stood up and walked a few steps; her buttocks were numb from sitting for too long.

Zhu Changji thought Yan Xia was angry.

He quickly apologized and immediately pulled her to sign the contract.

That's a classic case of trying too hard and making things worse.

It was an hour later when we left the teahouse.

Yan Xia bought some meat and vegetables and took them to Deng Qiuzhi's shop.

I made five dishes and a soup.

When Yuanshan arrived, we ate together at the shop.

"Yuanshan, you're not allowed to stay in the dormitory tonight. Come with your aunt to an inn. The rooms are already booked. Qian Yi used to stay there, but your aunt booked them for three days. Also, your aunt is going to check out the house tomorrow. I'm planning to buy a property in Jiangnan County and hire two servants to take care of it. When you deliver goods, you can stay there. They can also feed the horses at night, so you won't be stingy and only think about saving money for me..."

After finishing their rambling conversation, the two arrived at the entrance of the inn and went back to their respective rooms.

Wang Yuanshan had a good night's sleep for the first time.

The bedding didn't smell bad, the pillows were soft, and there was no loud snoring, which almost made him oversleep in the morning.

Yan Xia woke up in the morning. She had been planning her future in her mind last night and had some trouble sleeping.