"Alright, then name your price." Manager Wang had a premonition that this strawberry jam would be a hit, and he had already decided to buy out the recipe.

"Manager Wang is a straightforward person, and I won't beat around the bush. Buyout is one price, and non-buyout is another," Yuan Doudou said seriously. Buyout is the easiest for her, and exclusive supply is also easier to earn than selling in bulk.

Manager Wang looked at Yuan Doudou with a smile. He also had a price in mind; too high wouldn't do.

"Just name your name, I'm definitely going to buy it all." There are over thirty restaurants of all sizes in town. If every one of them owned a restaurant, what kind of business would they attract?

Yuan Doudou held up her finger: "I'll give you the recipe, and a jar of strawberry jam costs one tael of silver."

"One tael?" That's the same price as one kilogram of oyster mushrooms back then, not high.

Manager Wang immediately made the decision: "Alright, I'll buy the recipe for one tael of silver. You can give me a discount on the strawberry jam, eight hundred coins a day."

Yuan Doudou thought it was fine; no matter how she did it, she would make a profit.

“Okay, it’s a deal,” Yuan Doudou said with a smile.

Soon, the accountant brought over the agreement, which clearly stated that the strawberry jam could only be supplied to Hao Qinglai's family, and any violation would result in a fine of ten taels of silver.

"Take a look. If there are no problems, sign it." Manager Wang signed the agreement first and pushed it in front of Yuan Doudou.

Yuan Doudou watched very carefully from beginning to end, as if something was missing.

"What, is there still a problem?" Manager Wang frowned.

Yuan Doudou picked up the brush and was about to sign when she suddenly remembered that the agreement was missing a time limit. "Manager Wang, I suggest adding a clause here that the term of the agreement is one year."

A strange glint flashed in Steward Wang's eyes. She seemed ignorant and clueless, but it turned out that this was not the case.

"Oh, perhaps the accountant forgot." In fact, he had already seen through the deception, but having no deadline was advantageous to them.

"That won't do. The government won't recognize an agreement without a time limit." It would be equivalent to signing an invalid agreement.

“Alright, let’s discuss it. One year seems a bit short, how about three years?” Manager Wang wanted Yuan Doudou to compromise and buy out the contract for three years so that Qinglai could earn two more years.

"Three years is too long. Neither of us can guarantee against changes. One year would be better." She herself wasn't sure if she could stay here for three years.

Seeing that she had made up her mind, Manager Wang had no choice but to compromise.

Three copies of the agreement were signed; each party kept one copy, and one copy was sent to the government for record-keeping.

Yuan Doudou brought ten jars of strawberry jam, along with the recipe and oyster mushrooms, and the accountant gave her a total of nine taels of silver.

"Miss Dou Dou, please take this." The accountant handed a heavy bag of silver to Yuan Dou Dou, his eyes smiling. A young girl like her who knew how to do business was a rare sight in town, especially since she was so beautiful.

"Thank you."

Yuan Doudou took the money and walked to the door, where she ran into Li Cai, who was returning from shopping.

The two exchanged pleasantries at the door for a while, and then Yuan Doudou excused herself by saying she was going out to buy groceries.

On her way to the grain store, Yuan Doudou passed by a clothing store and saw a bright blue children's outfit. Intrigued, she went into the store.

The waiter was a young man. When he saw the beautiful Yuan Doudou, who was dressed simply but had an air of nobility about her, he knew at a glance that she was no ordinary person.

"Miss, what would you like to order?" the waiter greeted her warmly.

Yuan Doudou looked up and glanced around. All kinds of ready-made clothes were summer clothes for the season.

"I want to buy a summer outfit for a boy." All the clothes at home were patched up, and now that she had some money, she wanted to buy a new outfit for Angie.

Seeing that she was dressed simply, the waiter guessed that she came from a modest background and recommended an inexpensive linen dress to her.

"How about this outfit?" The waiter took down a gray linen coat from behind the counter; it was a simple, front-opening style.

Yuan Doudou looks alright, but when you touch it, it's very prickly.

"No, it's too rough. It will scratch Angie's skin."

The waiter realized that the girl in front of him only looked poor; in fact, she was a hidden millionaire.

He deftly put away the hemp clothes, turned around and took out a set of silk clothes. "Look, this set is just right for the three-year-old young master."

Yuan Doudou looked at the clothes with delight. They were clearly top-quality goods. They were smooth to the touch and embroidered with gold and silver threads. The pattern looked like a Qilin, cute yet domineering.

"This is good, how much is it?" Yuan Doudou thought to herself, it's not too expensive, so she bought it immediately.

The waiter said with a smile, "Sir, this is a new arrival in our shop. The embroidery on it was done stitch by stitch by Suzhou embroiderers, who put a lot of thought into it. The fabric is also Suzhou silk, which is the kind of fabric that young gentlemen in the capital wear."

"So, how much does it cost?" Yuan Doudou tried her best to keep smiling.

The waiter realized he had said too much and smiled awkwardly, "Only three taels of silver."

Just three ounces?

Yuan Doudou subconsciously touched the money pouch at her waist, which contained nine taels of hot silver.

She was hesitating whether to buy this outfit for Anji. The salesperson had just said that it was a popular style in Beijing, and that only wealthy families could afford it.

Anji lives in the countryside; wearing such nice clothes out would be too flashy.

Don't flaunt your wealth; even if you're rich, keep a low profile.

Moreover, her purpose in working hard to earn money was to cultivate him for a career in government, not simply to provide him with good food and clothing.

"That's too expensive, is there anything cheaper?"

The waiter, instead of getting angry, solicitously introduced other clothes at different price points and brought out a brown cotton outfit.

"Sir, take a look at this set. It's made of pure cotton, comfortable to wear in summer, and only costs one tael of silver."

Yuan Doudou picked it up and examined it closely. She said that saying it was pure cotton was a bit of an exaggeration, as it was mixed with linen. The only good thing was that it was relatively light and thin, which was indeed suitable for summer wear. Although there were no gold or silver threads on it, it was embroidered with orchid patterns, which made it look very elegant.

Comparatively speaking, this set still meets her requirements; it's simple yet not monotonous.

"Take this set if you want a discount." Yuan Doudou tried to bargain; almost everything here was negotiable.

The waiter smiled broadly, "Sir, you seem like an honest person. Since you're so eager to buy it, I'll give you a 50-coin discount and wrap it up for you."

After speaking, the waiter deftly took out some oil paper, neatly folded the clothes, wrapped them layer by layer with paper, and finally folded them into a small square. He tied hemp thread on top, making them very easy to pick up.

After all that, Yuan Doudou had to admire them. She had tried to bargain, but it seemed like she hadn't really bargained at all. The package was already wrapped up, so she had no choice but to pay obediently.

Before she left, the waiter gave her a pair of socks, welcoming her to come again next time.

Yuan Doudou had to admire him; this waiter was truly a natural salesman, able to understand customers' thoughts perfectly.

It would be difficult for her not to come.

Just as Yuan Doudou left the clothing store, she ran into an acquaintance.

Madam Li was carrying a bamboo basket to the market to buy groceries when she saw Yuan Doudou coming out of the shop. She greeted her with a smile, "Doudou, it's been a long time!"