Chapter Seven Good News
Li Yan had no such plans; she wasn't considering working in the restaurant's kitchen.
Working in the kitchen is dirty and tiring, and there's a lot of oil and smoke. Spending too much time there is bad for your skin and overall health.
She wanted to make money, but she also had to take care of her health.
If there were better options or better ways of cooperating, this kitchen job would naturally not be Li Yan's first choice.
While maintaining full respect and politeness, Li Yan didn't beat around the bush and directly expressed her thoughts.
"I dare not lie to Manager Xu. To be honest, I have never formally studied cooking under a master, so I only know a few dishes. If you asked me to work in the kitchen of this restaurant, I'm afraid I wouldn't be up to the task. This braised pork is a dish I learned from my grandmother. If you think it's good, Manager Xu, I can make it at home and have it delivered to the restaurant for sale. As for the price of this dish... we can discuss it. I'll try my best to ensure that everyone can make money."
"This..." Manager Xu raised his hand and touched his chin, seemingly troubled.
"It's up to the owner to decide," Manager Xu said truthfully.
Li Yan knew that everyone was just trying to make a living and was busy with money. If there was no profit to be made, why should others put in their best efforts?
So she said, "Then I'll trouble you, shopkeeper, to make a trip to the owner. Of course, since you, shopkeeper Xu, have gone to great lengths to mediate, I will give you 20% of my profits for every braised pork dish sold in the shop as a token of my gratitude."
This is quite a lucrative deal. As long as the deal goes through, he can earn a stable sum of money every month without having to put in any effort.
Li Yan's offer of a share of the profits rather than a specific amount of silver was also intended to encourage Manager Xu to consider her profit situation when negotiating pricing with the employer.
The more he fought for her, the more he took from it.
As a community of shared interests, he will naturally do his best.
Of course, she also considered the follow-up work.
For those in the food industry, safety is paramount. If someone eats something that turns out well or badly, they have to take responsibility.
She can't keep an eye on things all the time, so she has to trouble someone else to do it.
If Manager Xu profits from this, he naturally won't cut off his own source of income. Therefore, he will definitely pay attention to the food safety of this dish.
With profit to be made, Manager Xu's attitude naturally changed.
His attitude was even better than before.
Manager Xu became even more polite, saying, "Don't worry, Madam Li, I will definitely convey your message to our boss accurately." He not only gave a verbal agreement but also a practical solution, "Please make another serving of roast pork and send it over tomorrow morning. It doesn't need to be much, just a few pieces will do. I will take the pork to talk to the boss then."
At this point, at least things are settled for Manager Xu.
It all depends on the attitude of the owner of Yuanbaolou.
"Thank you very much, Manager Xu," Li Yan quickly said.
"You're too kind, Madam Li."
After the matter was settled, Li Yan didn't want to disturb the restaurant's business, so she said goodbye.
He then spoke with Mrs. He, briefly explained the situation, and went home first.
It was already getting dark when they got home. Aunt Xue was worried and had been standing in front of the door looking out for a while.
Thinking that if they didn't come back, he would wait at the village entrance or go directly to the town.
"You're finally back." Seeing her, Aunt Xue smiled, but without asking about her situation, she simply said, "The food is in the pot, go and eat."
Dinner was prepared by Aunt Xue, who made porridge and saved a thick bowl for Li Yan.
Aunt Xue urged her to go sit in the main room, while she turned and went to the kitchen to get some porridge.
As Li Yan entered the courtyard, she saw two heads peeking out from the window of another room.
When her gaze swept over them, the two heads immediately shrank down like groundhogs.
Then after a while, a few eyes slowly peeked out from the narrow window, secretly looking in her direction.
Seeing this, Li Yan smiled slightly. Since they only wanted to watch secretly and didn't want to come out, Li Yan didn't deliberately point it out.
Exhausted, Li Yan finished her porridge, washed herself briefly, and went to sleep.
The next morning, Li Yan used the remaining meat to make another bowl of braised pork.
I put six pieces in a small bowl, intending to take them with me. I left the rest and told Aunt Xue not to cook porridge for lunch, but to cook some rice and eat all the meat, so there was no need to save any more. This braised pork is best eaten fresh; if it's reheated a few times, the taste will definitely be different.
Now that Li Yan is in charge of the household, Aunt Xue feels at ease and grateful, and she repeatedly agrees to Li Yan's instructions.
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Li Yan could tell that Manager Xu was sincere and took this matter very seriously. Restaurants that serve lunch and dinner are usually empty before opening time. But Li Yan arrived early, before opening hours, and thought she would have to wait. To her surprise, Manager Xu was already waiting for her in the restaurant.
Because of Manager Xu's attitude, Li Yan felt more confident.
If this deal goes smoothly, I'll have a steady daily income. No matter how much it is, at least my life will be improving.
After handing the meat to Manager Xu, Li Yan went to the market.
Since she had arrived early, Li Yan naturally needed to buy some more things.
This time, there was no need to buy rice, flour, oil, or other such things. Li Yan had a clear goal and bought a large piece of pork belly first. She prayed in her heart that she would be able to use the meat tomorrow.
I found two big pork bones while buying meat. Although they were bones and didn't have much meat, the bone fat inside was a good thing. I took them home and stewed them with loofah to make a soup that was both nourishing and refreshing in the summer.
I also bought a dozen or so chicks and a duck.
She took the chicks home to raise, and asked the vendor to slaughter the ducks for her.
While waiting, Li Yan noticed a pile of duck feathers on the ground at the stall. Suddenly, she had an idea and asked the vendor how he dealt with the duck feathers.
Duck feathers are short and soft, unlike chicken feathers which are stiff and beautiful. You can even take them home and make a feather duster or something.
Besides, the duck feathers have a foul smell, so nobody would want them.
Every day, this vendor has to put in quite a bit of effort to process these duck feathers.
"I'll take it with me and throw it away after the stall closes." While still butchering the duck, she asked curiously, "Why are you asking this?"
Seeing that she didn't want it, Li Yan said, "If it's useless to you, you might as well give it to me and I'll deal with it."
The vendor was overjoyed and immediately agreed, packing everything up and delivering it to Li Yan along with the duck she had bought.
The vendor asked in confusion, "Young lady, what do you need these duck feathers for?"
Li Yan didn't say anything, but took out two coins and handed them over: "I won't take yours for nothing. I'll take them every day from now on and pay you two coins each time."
The duck feathers were disposed of so easily, saving the vendor time and money, which naturally made him very happy.
Seeing that Li Yan wouldn't explain why, she wisely decided not to ask. What did she want it for? She couldn't possibly sell it for money, could she? If it were truly profitable, he would have discovered the business opportunity long ago after working in this line of work for so long.
Li Yan didn't buy much today; after buying just these items, she carried the bags back home. She hurried along, but the sun grew increasingly intense and scorching.
When Aunt Xue arrived at the village entrance, she saw a figure approaching from afar and quickly went to greet it.
She took everything from Li Yan's hands and saw that her already dark face was even darker and redder from the sun. Aunt Xue felt a pang of sadness.
"From now on, let your mother do these chores." Aunt Xue didn't try to flatter her or say any flowery words. She just said seriously and earnestly, "You're still young. In the future... sooner or later you'll still have to find a good family to marry into." She wasn't pretty to begin with, and getting tanned made her even uglier. How could she possibly get married again?
Li Yan didn't want to remarry; she felt things were fine as they were. Although life was a bit tough, her mother-in-law was a good person, and her husband had died young.
Remarry? Would you marry a handsome man, or a rich one?
Li Yan doesn't trust men; she only trusts herself.
Instead of responding to that, Li Yan just smiled and said, "Look, Mother, I bought chicks and a duck."
Aunt Xue had already seen the chicks and ducks, and when she heard this, she looked down to take a closer look and saw the duck feathers... Aunt Xue asked curiously, "Why did you bring the duck feathers back too?" In Aunt Xue's opinion, these things were useless.
Li Yan wanted to save all the duck feathers, air them out as much as possible, and process them as soon as possible so that she could make a down comforter when winter or even autumn arrived.
It's hot now and I don't feel it, but when winter comes, I'm afraid I won't be able to sleep without a warm blanket.
Li Yan didn't know if wealthy families in this era used down comforters, but judging from the attitudes of these farmers towards down, they probably didn't use it and didn't even know what it was.
Li Yan didn't explain further, but kept everyone in suspense: "Mother will find out when the time comes."
Since her daughter-in-law was capable and had her own opinions, Aunt Xue didn't ask any more questions.
After returning home, Li Yan carefully poured out all the duck feathers, spread them out in a thin layer, and placed them in the sunniest spot in the corner to dry.
First, they need to be dried in the sun, then carefully sorted through to remove the hard and impurities, leaving only the finest and softest parts.
Of course, this little bit of down isn't enough to make one or even two down comforters. That's why Li Yan said she would take all the duck feathers from the duck vendors from now on.
Lunch was prepared by Aunt Xue, who, following her advice, cooked white rice. She also picked cucumbers from the vegetable garden and made a cucumber salad. Combined with the braised pork that Li Yan had prepared that morning, the four of them devoured every last bite of the food.
After lunch, Li Yan would apply a face mask and take a nap, as usual.
Li Yan didn't sleep in until she naturally woke up today. She seemed to have just fallen asleep when she heard noises in the courtyard outside, and that's when she woke up.
After waking up, I listened carefully to the conversation outside and realized that it was Manager Xu from Yuanbaolou who had come looking for me.
Li Yan hurriedly put on her shoes without folding them, her heart pounding in her throat.
This is her first time discussing cooperation since arriving in this era. If things go smoothly, it will be a good start.
After putting on her shoes, Li Yan wanted to check her appearance in the mirror to see if she had been impolite. She searched the room but couldn't find a mirror, then suddenly realized that the original owner's room didn't have one.
Li Yan gave up, casually smoothed her hair, and quickly went out to greet them.
Manager Xu had already been invited to sit in the main room by Aunt Xue, and he only sat down when Li Yan came out. Upon seeing her, he stood up again.
"Madam Li, good news! Our master has agreed to your request after tasting the meat you made. I'm here today on behalf of our master to discuss the specific details of the collaboration on this dish."
Li Yan tried her best to control her excitement. She warmly invited Manager Xu to sit down again before sitting down herself and saying, "Please speak frankly, Manager Xu, if you have any instructions, Master."
A note from the author:
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More red envelopes are dropping!
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