Chapter 11 My Wife Holds a Grudge; Li Yang Has a Way with Money - Technical Details...

Manager Zhou was clearly trying to embarrass her, but Li Yang wasn't annoyed. "Uncle Zhou, this bowl of wontons would sell for twenty coins at my place, but at your Yanlou restaurant, it would cost at least fifty coins, right?"

Upon hearing this, the sound of abacus being used inside the counter finally stopped.

Looks like there's a chance.

She stopped talking. Knowing the profit from a bowl of wontons at twenty coins, she could easily calculate how much profit she could make from a bowl of wontons at fifty coins. The reason she said that earlier was simply to use the issue of profit to pressure Manager Zhou; only if he was willing to listen could the two of them continue their conversation.

If I keep talking and expose every single profit someone else makes from their business, this deal is over. Nobody wants to hear someone else's calculations.

At the counter, Manager Zhou's eyes darted around, and he sighed, "Alas, you see, Uncle Zhou's business isn't doing well either. We can't even fill all the banquet tables, and we're losing money every day. I was just thinking of making some snacks to make ends meet. Your wontons are very good, but if you want to join us, you're just taking advantage of our misfortune!"

Hearing him say this, Li Yang felt reassured.

Firstly, her wontons are truly unique, because she added mountain delicacies from the back mountain to the filling, making them exceptionally delicious.

Furthermore, although wontons may seem unremarkable, they can be sold separately as a snack or served as a dish at a banquet, providing an additional source of income for banquet restaurants.

Moreover, the banquet hall has ready-made chefs, and the meat and noodles that are not used up anyway are thrown away, so the cost is really as low as it can be.

Otherwise, how could a shrewd and calculating person like Manager Zhou have decided to buy her prescription just because of a few words from Zhou Chengli?

Having made up his mind, Li Yang pretended to be hesitant, saying, "Uncle Zhou, it's not that I insist on joining, but if I don't join, you won't be able to sell these wontons."

The other person simply kept their hands on their stomach, making a fancy gesture with their two thumbs, without saying a word.

Li Yang continued, "You see, the reason why my wontons are unique is because of the recipe. But if you buy this recipe and try to make the same wontons with bamboo shoots and mushrooms sold in the market, you will definitely not be able to make them taste the same, right?"

Upon hearing this, Manager Zhou raised an eyebrow and asked, "Then how did you make it?"

Li Yang: "I have my own connections when it comes to the fresh ingredients in these wonton fillings."

"You think you can make it with your fresh produce?" Manager Zhou's eyes flashed, and he leaned forward on the counter.

Li Yang: "Of course!"

Shopkeeper Zhou: "Where did you get this fresh produce?"

Li Yang: "From... um? Uncle Zhou! How can I tell you this!"

The man's Buddha-like face stiffened, and he leaned back against the high stool. Beside him, Zhou Chengli and Fang Yuan exchanged glances, both showing a hint of concern for her.

Li Yang chuckled, "Uncle Zhou, you haven't even asked me how I plan to join, so how can you be so sure this business is doomed?"

"...Tell me..." The voice was muffled, coming from the slapping of Manager Zhou's lips, devoid of any human warmth.

Li Yang spoke crisply and clearly, "I will provide the recipe and deliver the ingredients every ten days. The proportion of the ingredients you receive in the recipe will be based on the amount of ingredients you receive. I will take one tael from each bowl of wontons, which is five coins."

"Uncle Zhou, I'd like to only sell wontons at the banquet hall. What do you think?"

She deliberately didn't make things clear, letting the other party misunderstand that she was greedy and wanted to use a wonton recipe to get involved in the entire banquet hall business. Such a delusional idea would naturally anger Manager Zhou.

Then, by enticing the other party with the promise of "profit," while Manager Zhou was struggling and hesitant, he presented such a reasonable condition, stating that he was only joining the wonton business, just to make the other party feel relieved, as if he had made a profit.

"Why didn't you say so earlier? I thought you were talking about joining a business," Manager Zhou said with a smile. "Actually, there's no need for such trouble. We can just settle the interest for you every month based on the sales amount of wontons in the ledger."

"Uncle Zhou," Li Yang said with a mischievous smile, "what if you use this filling to make dumplings, shumai, or pies?"

She hit the nail on the head, and Manager Zhou chuckled twice.

For him, a tenth of the profit wasn't much. Selling wontons at the banquet hall didn't require much capital; it was just a matter of letting the kitchen staff rest a little less.

The sky, which was as dark as rice water, suddenly turned into fiery clouds, with layers of blue-purple clouds edged with a golden light.

Manager Zhou muttered, "She's already married into the Chen family and is the young mistress. She should be enjoying a peaceful life. Why would she need to join any other groups?"

With that, Li Yang and Fang Yuan exchanged a smile. "Hey, Uncle Zhou, I'm just earning a meager living. Your banquet hall is so successful; money seems to have legs and flows right in. I have to go out and find money myself."

Her sweet words improved Manager Zhou's expression considerably, and Zhou Chengli felt reassured. He quickly wrote down the contract and handed it over.

After the fiery clouds faded, the sky darkened, and one needed a lamp to see the words on the paper clearly.

Chen Junbo sat in the main room of Lanxin Pavilion. He saw a stack of papers under the tea tray, pulled out a page, and saw rows of delicate and upright small characters.

The wonton shop on Changjie Street meticulously records every expense and income, from the first month of the fourteenth year of Daqing to the present, listing them month by month, making it no less impressive than the Chen family's accounting office.

He raised an eyebrow, shook the pages, and held them up to the lamplight to examine the accounts closely, his gaze following the layers of ink as they unfolded.

It was just a shop set up on the street, without even a storefront. Chen Junbai didn't know why he was so curious about the shop's accounts, and before he knew it, he was completely absorbed.

You broke even in less than six months?

She earned fifty taels of rent in just a few months; the profit from her shop was truly astonishing.

How did this girl manage to squeeze out so much profit from the business of selling onions, ginger, and garlic?

As Chen Junbai read through the accounts page by page, a slight twitch appeared in his eyes.

After more than a year, after deducting the initial investment, the remaining amount was fifty-three taels of silver.

They're quite capable.

Looking at the remaining amount on the last page, the two turtles lay down beside it...

Chen Junbo chuckled softly; he was still a child at heart.

The accounts are clearly organized, so it seems that she really earned those fifty taels herself.

He glanced at the two turtles again, a smile playing on his lips. He could remember such small amounts as ten or twenty coins so clearly; it was no wonder he held grudges.

He pressed down the page, his long, slender fingers tapping it, making a 'knock knock' sound. A few wrinkles on his cuffs were from when he asked her to pull them out before he left that afternoon.

Actually, Mother was simply unhappy with the marriage and was deliberately causing trouble. Since he had already put the matter aside, there was really no need for that girl to take it so seriously.

Fifty taels of silver might be enough for an ordinary family to live on for two years, but in the Chen family, it was nothing. Even the old nanny Sun, who served Mother, probably received that much in a month's allowance.

Mo Lian brought in the toiletries, and Chen Junbai asked, "Where is the young mistress?"

Mo Lian bowed and said, "Reporting to the young master, the young mistress left the manor at Shenshi (3-5 PM) and has not returned yet."

It was already late outside, nearing the end of the 7 PM hour, and the lanterns in the courtyard had long been hung up.

She herself left the Ruyi Boat at the end of the Wei hour (1-3 PM), and she followed closely behind.

I haven't heard of her leaving the house in the past few months.

His fingertips unconsciously traced the wrinkles on his sleeve, then paused, as if he could vaguely recall the way the girl's eyelashes trembled when she tugged at his sleeve to stop him that afternoon...

Still haven't returned?

Chen Junbo's brow twitched, and he suddenly stood up, strode out of the room, and walked briskly down the corridor.