"After the weather gets colder, I'll charge two hundred copper coins every time I change the broth, but the price of the seasonings will remain the same!" Jiang Ling said in one breath.

The private room at the Imperial Kitchen Restaurant fell silent. The two managers looked at each other, remaining silent for a long time. Their eyebrows were slightly raised, and they were seriously considering Jiang Ling's words.

About a minute later, the manager of Huacuilou spoke up: "What if, and I mean what if, sales aren't ideal, but there are still seasonings left?"

"Don't worry, as long as the seasonings haven't spoiled, I'll refund the unused silver!" Jiangling Street.

"Alright! Then I'll pre-order seven days' worth of base ingredients and seasonings! I'll go get the money right away, sister-in-law, please wait a moment!" After saying this, the manager of Yuchulou disappeared into the doorway of the private room.

Not to be outdone, the manager of Hua Cui Lou greeted Jiang Ling and then jogged away, disappearing from her sight.

After Jiang Ling accepted the silver from the two shopkeepers, she said to them, "My son will be delivering the goods. He will explain the proportions of the soup base and seasonings to you then!"

The two shopkeepers nodded and watched Jiang Ling leave with great joy.

When Jiang Yaojie returned home, he had just come back from school. Jiang Ling gave him a few simple instructions, and Jiang Yaojie rolled his eyes and asked, "Mom, we don't have this in Changning Town yet. Can I do some promotion?"

Jiang Ling smiled and nodded, then casually asked, "Yaojie, do you have any dreams?"

"Ideal? What the hell is an ideal?" Jiang Yaojie asked, puzzled.

"Hmm... it's roughly what you want to do in the future!" Jiang Ling said after thinking for a moment with a frown.

"Ah, this? In the future? My ideal is to let my mother eat well and drink well and wear fine silks and satins!" Jiang Yaojie pointed to his chin and answered after a long while.

"Um... well... I guess that counts too! Are there any others besides this?" Jiang Ling continued to ask.

"Hmm... Mother, I also want to learn from you and start a small business, does that count?" Jiang Yaojie continued after thinking for a while.

Jiang Ling nodded in satisfaction and said to Jiang Yaojie, "So, to do small business, you need to be good at arithmetic! You have to work hard with your uncle to learn to read and write! Otherwise, if you can't read, you won't even know if someone cheats you!"

Just as Jiang Ling and Jiang Yaojie were chatting about everyday things, Zhao Erleng's wife slipped in through the door.

"Hello, Auntie!" Jiang Yaojie greeted politely before discreetly returning to his room.

"Have you found someone to take care of Erleng's sister-in-law?" Jiang Ling asked.

"Alright, alright! They're all in my yard!" Zhao Erleng's wife said, pointing to their yard.

"Alright, let's go then!"

Jiang Ling nodded and walked out of the house with Zhao Erleng's wife toward their own plot of land.

“Sister-in-law, just tell us what you need us to do! We definitely won’t shortchange you in the slightest!” Lightning’s father was the first to speak.

Jiang Ling smiled and bowed to the group of men working, saying, "I need about a thousand adobe bricks now, and I hope you can help me!"

"No problem, no problem!" The men immediately grabbed their tools and started stirring the mud and sand.

Whether it was because the ancient mud and sand were of poor quality or because there were fewer additives than in modern times, the mud and sand looked very thin even after being stirred for a long time. Taking advantage of the fact that no one around was paying attention, Jiang Ling bought a quick adhesive from the mall and quickly poured it into the mud and sand.

The adhesive worked as expected; in just a few minutes, the mud and sand became very thick, and the men began to work hard to help Jiang Ling make adobe bricks.

Two hours later, they had produced nearly a hundred mud bricks. Jiang Ling and Zhao Erleng's wife were responsible for finding a place to pile up the dried mud bricks.

After finishing all this, Jiang Ling paid the wages as promised, and everyone thanked her and left.

Jiang Ling rushed home and started preparing the spices again. Although the task was not difficult, the smell of the chili peppers, Sichuan peppercorns and other spices was very pungent.

Especially in ancient times when there were no range hoods, this was torture for Jiang Ling. At this moment, Jiang Ling felt as if her throat was on fire.

But she didn't dare tell anyone else this, since the secret to delicious mala tang lies in the broth.

After preparing the base sauce, Jiang Ling started preparing the seasonings. Once the base sauce had cooled, Jiang Ling tied it up with gauze and placed it in a cool place, instructing Jiang Yaojie on where to deliver it the next day.

Just as she finished with these tasks, Jiang Ling heard the sound of horses' hooves approaching from afar. She guessed it was probably Afu from Li Shan's family.

As expected, when the door was opened, Afu was standing outside with a smile.

"What message did your master send?" Jiang Ling asked jokingly.

“Aunt Jiang is clever. Our master wants to know the price so he can reserve it for a while!” Afu replied with a smile.

"This..." Jiang Ling was a little troubled. Actually, eating hot pot every day is not particularly healthy, especially since eating too much of this kind of spicy food will definitely cause mouth ulcers.

If you don't want to eat or drink anything, you'll get tired of even the best food if you eat it every day. Thinking of this, Jiang Ling shook her head and said to Afu, "Afu, I don't think this is appropriate!"

"Something's not right?" Afu stood there, stunned. He looked at Jiang Ling with a puzzled expression, as if trying to find the answer from her.

“Yes, Ah Fu’s food and drink are completely different. I’m sure your master wouldn’t eat such delicacies every day, right? This is just something your master has never eaten before, so it feels novel. If he ate it every day, I guarantee he would get tired of it in less than three days!” Jiang Ling explained.

"Hmm... what Auntie said seems to make some sense! Do you have a better idea, Auntie?" Afu asked somewhat awkwardly.

“Go back and tell your master that I can provide the base sauce and seasonings. It’s not difficult to make. Just put the base sauce in a pot, add water, and bring it to a boil. As for the seasonings, just add them to the cooked vegetables and stir well! If you want to eat it, just let me know in advance. The base sauce and seasonings will cost a total of one hundred copper coins!” Jiang Ling replied.

"Really...really? This thing is really that simple to make? Auntie, you can't be lying to me!" Afu was clearly not quite convinced by Jiang Ling's words and asked with a frown.

"Of course, it's that simple. If you don't believe me, just watch me make it next time! Or you can ask your master's sister; she probably watched me make it the whole time!" Jiang Ling said with a smile.

"This...okay...alright, I'll go and get back to you!" Afu looked Jiang Ling over again, and after confirming that she wasn't joking, he rode his horse off towards Changning Town.

After greeting Afu, Jiang Ling got busy with other things, and it was already late at night by the time she finished everything.

Jiang Ling yawned widely, lay down on the bed, and quickly fell asleep.

The next morning, Jiang Ling and Jiang Yaojie arrived in Pingxi County again in Uncle Lu's carriage.

As soon as Uncle Lu's oxcart stopped at the spot where he had set up his stall yesterday, two burly men swarmed around him. Jiang Ling was secretly startled by their fierce appearance.

"Gentlemen, we don't seem to know each other!" Jiang Ling said, trying to appear calm.