Chapter 127 Cooperation: Four Hundred Jars of Sesame Paste

"Dad, isn't Baiwei City stealing our customers with its sesame sauce? If our sauce can't compete with theirs, then we'll compete on price!"

Wang Chengyu became more and more excited as he spoke, slamming his hand on the table and saying, "Starting tomorrow, the price of mutton in our store will be reduced by two qian per jin, and the mutton hot pot set meal will be reduced by five qian! I don't believe that customers will turn down the cheaper options and go to eat the expensive stuff at Baiwei City!"

"Foolish!" Master Wang was so angry that he glared and raised his hand to slap Wang Chengyu hard on the back of the head.

Wang Chengyu, who had been quite smug, was knocked back and staggered, clutching the back of his head for a moment before blankly calling out, "Father?"

"How many people can you attract just by lowering prices?" Old Master Wang's tone was full of disappointment. "The mutton at Baiwei City is already more expensive than elsewhere. If people are willing to eat there, why would they care about a few pennies from you? They're paying for the unique sauce, not for the cheap price!"

Wang Chengyu rubbed the back of his head, still trying to argue, but was glared at by Master Wang and shut up.

"A real man shouldn't lack magnanimity and foresight!" Master Wang sighed. "Fighting a price war is the stupidest thing to do. Not to mention the thin profit margins, when you want to raise prices, customers will run away faster than rabbits."

Wang Chengyu pursed his lips, "If this won't work, and that won't work, then what can we do?"

Master Wang stroked his beard. "Shopkeeper Lin is quite capable, managing to make crab roe oil and sesame paste so popular. Instead of going against her, we should cooperate with her."

"You're talking utter nonsense!" Wang Chengyu exclaimed as if he'd heard the biggest joke in the world. "She stole our business with this sauce, how could she possibly be willing to sell it to us? Wouldn't that be like raising a tiger to cause trouble?"

He rubbed the back of his head, his face full of disdain. "I think you're just getting old and senile, always coming up with impractical ideas!"

"You!" Master Wang was so angry at his stupid son that his chest felt tight.

He looked at his good-for-nothing youngest son and was filled with disappointment.

If his eldest son hadn't fallen from a horse and injured his leg two years ago, leaving him disabled and unable to manage the business, he would never have handed over Zuixianlou to his impulsive and reckless youngest son.

Master Wang closed his eyes, suppressing his anger, waved his hand, and said wearily, "Forget it, there's no point in arguing with you. Do whatever you want."

He turned and walked out, thinking to himself that he would inquire about famous doctors in the capital the next day, hoping that they might be able to save his eldest son's leg.

Ultimately, the family business cannot rely on this small one.

Seeing his father's disappointed expression, Wang Chengyu felt a strange sense of unease. He stared at the failed sesame paste on the table and fell into deep thought, a rare occurrence for him.

Like Zuixianlou, many other shops and restaurants were struggling with poor mutton sales. While Wang Chengyu was still hesitating, people from Baiwei City had already come to his door seeking cooperation.

Li Ji Mutton Shop and Fu Lai Ju are both long-established mutton shops in Lin'an Prefecture. Ever since Baiwei City's sesame sauce became popular, the number of customers in the shops has been decreasing day by day, making the two shopkeepers so anxious that they couldn't sleep all night.

That morning, just as Baiwei City had taken down its doors to welcome guests, Manager Li rushed over with a generous gift he had prepared. As soon as he reached the door, he bumped into Manager Zhang, who was carrying a food box.

The two locked eyes, their alarm clocks blaring, both sensing that the other's intentions were hostile.

"Manager Zhang?" Manager Li reacted first, a polite smile spreading across his face. "Coming here so early, are you here for breakfast at Baiwei City? I heard their egg burgers are perfect for breakfast."

Shopkeeper Zhang's eyes flickered for a moment, then he chuckled dryly, "That's right, my little grandson at home has been clamoring for this, and as his grandfather, I have to fulfill his wish. But Shopkeeper Li, carrying such a large gift box, are you perhaps going to visit someone?"

The two probed each other, and Manager Li immediately realized that Manager Zhang probably had the same idea as him and had come to buy sesame paste!

His heart skipped a beat. If Manager Lin was only willing to cooperate with one company, then he would have no chance.

Thinking of this, Manager Li disregarded formalities and cupped his hands in a respectful gesture to Manager Zhang, saying, "Manager Zhang, I have urgent business to attend to, so I'll take my leave first!"

Before he finished speaking, Manager Li grabbed the gift box and ran into the shop as fast as he used to be.

Seeing this, Manager Zhang immediately understood and stamped his feet in frustration: "You old devil Li, you actually beat me to it!"

Manager Zhang stuffed the food box into the servant's arms and chased after him, but he was chubby and became out of breath after only a few steps. Watching Manager Li's figure getting further and further away, he was so anxious that he wished he could grow a pair of wings.

If Manager Li were to secure the cooperation first, his Fulaiju restaurant would probably have to close down right after opening. Thinking of this, Manager Zhang quickened his pace.

Manager Li ran wildly up to the second floor, and as soon as he turned the corner of the stairs, he rushed towards the counter, startling Lin Yao, who was working on the abacus.

"Manager Lin!" Manager Li, leaning against the counter, was panting heavily, his face flushed red. "I...I am Li Mancang from Li's Mutton Shop! I've come today to...to discuss sesame paste business with you!"

Lin Yao looked at the panting old man in front of her, then glanced at Manager Zhang, who was slowly making his way up the stairs with a pale face, and found it all quite amusing.

Fearing that the two might cause trouble in her shop, she quickly gestured to the shop assistant to help them sit down, handed them two cups of tea, and said with a smile, "Managers Li, please don't be in a hurry. Have some tea and catch your breath. Let's talk things out slowly."

The two could no longer sit still. They took the teacups, tilted their heads back, and gulped them down. Almost simultaneously, they said, "Manager Lin, I want to order sesame paste!"

As soon as they finished speaking, the two glared at each other at the same time.

Manager Li slammed his hand on the table first: "Manager Lin, my Li's Mutton Shop has been in Lin'an Prefecture for thirty years, and our customer base is very stable! I'm willing to pay 10% more than the market price for the sesame paste!"

"A higher price is nothing!" Manager Zhang retorted, "I'll offer three times the price! As long as you're willing to supply the goods, price is not a problem!"

"Are you crazy?" Manager Li was so angry he was practically spitting fire. "You're not afraid of losing money by charging three times the price? Manager Lin, I can prepay for six months' worth of goods!"

The two argued more and more fiercely, and Lin Yao had to interrupt them: "Managers, please stop for a moment."

Both Manager Li and Manager Zhang looked at her at the same time.

Lin Yao said slowly, "My Baiwei City sesame paste does not have exclusive supply contracts."

Both of them were taken aback. Manager Zhang asked cautiously, "What does Manager Lin mean?"

"That means anyone who meets the conditions can order sesame paste from me." Lin Yao poured more tea for the two shopkeepers. "The shop sells sesame paste at a price of one tael per jar, and the purchase price I'll give you is only eight hundred wen. But there's a condition: you must order at least fifty jars per month."

"Really?" the two exclaimed in unison, their faces showing identical joy.

Li Ji and Fu Lai Ju already had a huge daily sales volume of mutton. They could easily use up 100 cans a month, let alone 50 cans. Not to mention, the purchase price of 800 coins was much lower than they had expected.

"Manager Lin is such a straightforward person!" Manager Li smiled so much his eyes narrowed into slits. "This price is fair, I'll sign the contract and pay the deposit right now!"

Manager Zhang quickly nodded in agreement: "Manager Lin is much more open and honest in his business dealings than those who are secretive and secretive! I'll sign too!"

When the shop assistant asked for writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones, Manager Zhang suddenly remembered something. "Manager Lin, it's almost Laba Festival, and after that, it's almost New Year's. I have a relative who works in the Imperial Household Department in the capital. I heard that His Majesty wants to celebrate with the people this year and has specially selected twenty cooks from the common people to come to the palace to prepare the New Year's Eve dinner. Our Lin'an Prefecture has been allocated one spot, and I think someone will post a notice in a few days."

He said with a face full of regret, "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! It's a pity that none of my descendants know how to cook. But Manager Lin, you are skilled in cooking. If you could give it a try, you might be able to impress some important people. Then the reputation of Baiwei City will spread all the way to the capital!"

Lin Yao never expected to receive such news from selling sesame paste. Although the government would post the selection notice soon, Zhang's advance notice was a token of his goodwill.

Lin Yao then packed another roast goose for the two shopkeepers, and the two of them, carrying the oil paper package, walked out of Baiwei City with great satisfaction.

After being scolded by his father, Wang Chengyu pondered deeply, and it was several days later that he finally figured out the key to it.

He had his servant prepare a carriage early in the morning and hurriedly headed to Baiwei City.

He even thought that even if Manager Lin made some harsh conditions, he would agree to them as long as he didn't lose money.

Before even reaching Baiwei City, Wang Chengyu saw two carriages parked at the entrance.

He immediately spotted Manager Li of Li's Mutton Shop and Manager Zhang of Fulaiju Restaurant standing side by side, both with undisguised smiles on their faces.

What made him even more envious was that the servants from both shops were carrying jars of sesame paste onto the carriage.

Manager Li spotted him first and waved from afar, calling out, "Hey, isn't this Manager Wang from Zuixianlou? Here to see Manager Lin too?"

Wang Chengyu chuckled twice and asked, "Manager Li, Manager Zhang, what's this?"

Shopkeeper Zhang waved the paper in his hand: "We just signed a contract with Shopkeeper Lin, and from now on we can use sesame paste in our shop."

Wang Chengyu, wanting to find out the price, lowered his voice and asked, "Uncle Zhang, how much does this sesame paste cost?"

Upon hearing his form of address, Manager Zhang knew that he was using Master Wang's favor. "There's no need for that. Manager Lin is an honest man. He will maintain the same price no matter who goes. The minimum order is fifty cans per month, and the purchase price is 20% lower than the market price."

Upon hearing this, Wang Chengyu felt relieved and quickly thanked Manager Zhang before going to find Lin Yao to order sesame paste.

In just one day, Lin Yao ordered four hundred jars of sesame paste and received a deposit of one hundred and sixty taels.

Looking at the gleaming silver notes, Lin Cheng thought that Sesame Paste was truly a treasure that could hold a lot of money. He finished calculating the accounts with a smile, only to find his sister still sitting motionless by the window.

He walked over to his sister and said in a pretentious tone, "I wonder what Ah Heng is doing now?"

Lin Yao immediately retorted, "Who cares what he's doing?"

Seeing his younger sister's obvious attempt to hide something, Lin Cheng patted her head and said, "Ayao has grown up."