Chapter Forty-Four
[V] The imperial court has won a victory...
It wasn't really an extra trip for her; having taken the money, she was supposed to cook for the old man.
The old man is already eating, so he probably won't need her to cook anymore.
So, in fact, she benefited from the meal, saving herself the trouble of cooking.
However, since they didn't say that lunch wasn't necessary, Li Yan naturally had to ask, "Now that you've eaten this pot of food, you don't need to make grilled fish later, right? Would you like me to make you some stir-fried bamboo shoots? And a soup too?"
This hot pot, with its high oil and spice content, is undeniably greasy. Even though he's getting on in years, he needs to be careful, no matter how much he craves it. Eating some lighter dishes and soup along with it can help cut through the greasiness in his stomach.
Mr. Gao had originally intended not to trouble Li Yan, but then he thought about how delicious her stir-fries were, and how good her clear soup was... So, his mouth started to act on its own, and he subconsciously said, "Okay then."
Seeing that the hot pot business was booming, Li Yan was in a great mood and was even more willing to serve him.
However, considering that the old man wasn't eating alone and there were several students sitting around him, it wouldn't be right to cook only for him. So, the portions naturally had to be larger. In addition to the stir-fried bamboo shoots, Li Yan also made a stir-fried egg with green peppers.
The soup was made with mushrooms, and it was delicious and perfect for cooling down after the spiciness.
Old Master Gao held Li Yan, this young junior, in high regard and took good care of her. When Li Yan brought over the dishes, Old Master Gao said, "Don't underestimate her because of her young age; she cooks exceptionally well. I've lived to this age and eaten the food of many great families, but if I had to say which dish suits my taste best, it would be this girl's. It's quite a coincidence, really. It just so happened that she went to the magistrate's house to cook that day, and it just so happened that I went to the magistrate's office for a banquet that same day. I was thinking that once I returned to Jiangning Prefecture, it would be really hard not to have any food that suits my taste. But now, at least I don't have to endure each day like this anymore; there's hope for the future."
Then she spoke of Li Yan's background: "But this child is pitiful. Her mother died when she was young, and after she got married, her husband died on the battlefield... She was a woman all alone, showing her face in public and struggling to support her family. However, what I admire is her indomitable spirit. With that spirit, she can succeed at anything."
"It's the same with everything; you must have a spirit of perseverance. Even if you unfortunately fail the imperial examination next autumn, you must not be discouraged. You should persevere and continue to study diligently."
Mr. Gao's words not only praised Li Yan, expressing his admiration and high regard for her, but also encouraged the students present, hoping they could emulate the young lady beside him, Li, in seeing things through to the end.
Seeing that there was nothing more for her to do, Li Yan gracefully withdrew.
Then, one of the students behind him asked, "Teacher, I heard that during the autumn, the army in the capital defeated the northern enemy one after another. In this battle between the two countries, our side is bound to win a great victory. Is this true?"
When it comes to current affairs and national matters, everyone is full of enthusiasm.
Another immediately chimed in, "Yes, teacher, you have many eyes and ears and a wide network of connections, so you must have more information than we do. You tell me, this battle that has been going on for several years should be won by now, right?"
Perhaps because the Xue family had lost two sons on the battlefield, Li Yan paused slightly upon hearing this.
As I walked slower, I naturally listened to more.
The imperial court is about to win the battle.
In other words, the five-year-long tug-of-war is finally coming to an end.
Although Li Yan had only recently transmigrated, she learned from Aunt Xue that the continuous warfare in recent years had not only forced men from all over the country to the battlefield, but also resulted in high taxes. The lives of ordinary people were incredibly difficult.
They live in the prosperous Jiangnan region, so they're doing relatively well. In those poor and remote areas, many people can't afford to pay their grain taxes and are so hungry they have to eat tree bark.
If the war can be ended as soon as possible, it will undoubtedly be beneficial to the country and its people.
.
Sifang Inn is thriving, with business booming at lunch and dinner times.
These days, Ye Gaozheng was calculating the accounts on his abacus and discovered that his daily income was now four or five times what it used to be, which made his eyes light up.
He personally visited the Xue family, found Li Yan, and discussed the matter of cooperation.
Li Yan had expected him to come, so she wasn't surprised at all.
Li Yan had already planned it out in her mind: she would only provide the hot pot base, and she would not care about anything else.
But she must have the right to inspect the accounts.
Anyone genuinely interested in doing business with you will naturally allow you to audit their accounts. Therefore, Ye Gaozheng readily agreed to this.
"Store operations, staff arrangements, and all those other miscellaneous matters will be handled by Brother Ye. I'll only provide the hot pot base; I won't concern myself with anything else. However, I can guarantee that Brother Ye will have as much hot pot base as he needs. Furthermore, based on profit sharing, I'll take four parts, and Brother Ye will take six." Profit sharing means that after deducting all costs, of the daily profits, Li Yan will take 40%, and Ye Gaozheng will take 60%.
“I know that running this business will be very hard for Brother Ye. But my hot pot base recipe is a family heirloom. Without this recipe, I wouldn’t be able to make this money. Besides, although I don’t run the shop, I have to make this base every day, which is actually quite time-consuming and mentally taxing. I’ve put in a lot of effort for it. So taking 40% is not much.”
Although they addressed each other as brother and sister, Li Yan was not at all modest when it came to matters of interest.
You should know that this area is very profitable. Even if you are only short by 10% in the future, it could still amount to several taels of silver.
Who would turn down money?
Moreover, Li Yan felt that giving him a 20% discount was already quite generous.
This hot pot is very popular and sells very well now. If he is unwilling to cooperate, other companies will be eager to cooperate with him.
Sure enough, after thinking for a while, Ye Gaozheng agreed: "What Sister Li said is very fair and just. Let's draft the contract according to what you said."
Before Li Yan could finish speaking, seeing that the profit-sharing agreement had been reached, she continued, "I guarantee that I will not sell this formula to a second party within Huating County. However, if we leave Huating County, I may sell this formula again."
"This..." Although Ye Gaozheng hadn't previously considered expanding his business beyond Huating County, since Li Yan had brought it up, he still held onto a sliver of hope that his business could one day expand to Jiangning Prefecture. Or even, perhaps to other prefectures.
Therefore, Ye Gaozheng also pleaded for himself: "Sister Li, look, could you please not resell within the jurisdiction of Jiangning Prefecture in the future? But I won't be responsible for anything outside of Jiangning Prefecture."
After a brief moment of thought, Li Yan replied, "That's fine, but... if that's the case, we'll have to split the profits at least 50/50."
Although he felt reluctant to give up a small portion of the profit, he thought that this business was originally made possible by Li Meizi. Without her, he wouldn't be making any money.
Besides, they've made concessions. This means that as long as you work hard and diligently in running the shop, you won't have to worry about making money in the future.
With that in mind, Ye Gaozheng gritted his teeth and agreed.
“Alright! Let’s do it as Sister Li says.” This was a lucrative opportunity. Now that the details of the profit sharing had been agreed upon, she was also afraid that things might change if she waited too long. So she suggested, “Since we’ve already discussed it, why don’t we draft a contract tomorrow and show it to Sister Li? If she has no objections, we can go to the county government office to get it stamped, and then the contract will be effective.”
Li Yan readily agreed, "Okay."
This adds another way to make money. If this way is done well, the monthly income could be quite substantial, perhaps even tens of taels of silver.
Perhaps, by next spring, or at the latest by early summer, I will be able to purchase a house in Huating County.
Moreover, it's not just a small courtyard like this; it has to be a two-section building with three main rooms and side rooms on the left and right.
Li Yan was really looking forward to it, and even her dreams were filled with scenes of getting rich.
The weather is getting colder and colder, and the days are flying by. Before we know it, the end of the year is approaching.
Since the beginning of December, rain and snow have been falling every few days, and sunny days are rare.
When the weather is fine, I naturally push my cart to the stall. But when it snows or is windy, I stay home.
Now, Li Yan has a regular customer base for her milk tea drinks; even on rainy or snowy days, people will still come to her house to buy them. Therefore, she still insists on making some every day.
After Mr. Gao left Huating County, Li Yan no longer needed to cook for him, which saved her a lot of time.
However, with the hot pot business booming, Li Yan couldn't rest during the time she saved; instead, she kept simmering the hot pot broth.
On the 29th, the day before Lunar New Year's Eve, Li Yan had just finished supplying roasted pork to Yuanbaolou and was about to rest when she heard someone knocking on the door.
Just as she was about to turn and go inside, she turned back. She quickly opened the door and saw a young man in a blue robe standing outside.
Li Yan's eyes lit up, both surprised and delighted, and she said, "Brother Xu?"
Xu Qingshu was both delighted and surprised to see Li Yan. His clear eyes scanned her up and down, a slight smile playing on his lips. Of course, he didn't hold back, praising Li Yan directly, saying, "It's been a long time since I've seen you, Sister Li, you've become even more beautiful and charming."
"Brother Xu, please come in and sit down." Snowflakes were still falling outside. Seeing that he hadn't used an umbrella and was covered in snow from his journey, Li Yan warmly pulled him inside.
Li Yan is grateful and has always regarded Xu Qingshu as her benefactor and benefactor.
Therefore, since he had finally come to visit, Li Yan naturally wanted to do her best to entertain him.
"Brother Xu, where have you come from? Haven't you eaten yet?" After inviting him in, Li Yan immediately bolted the gate to the courtyard and then quickly invited him to sit in the main room.
At this moment, Aunt Xue and the others also heard the commotion and came out into the courtyard.
Because Xu Tongsheng had helped her grandson get into Xiaochun School, Aunt Xue regarded him as her benefactor. Now that her benefactor had come to visit, Aunt Xue was even more enthusiastic than Li Yan.
"Yan Niang, let's have hot pot tonight," Aunt Xue suggested. "We have pork, a big piece of mutton we bought earlier, and some beef too... let's have hot pot."
With Lunar New Year's Eve approaching, the family naturally prepared plenty of meat and vegetables.
Originally, this meat was meant to be eaten tomorrow, New Year's Eve, but since we have distinguished guests visiting today, it's only right that we eat it today.
As for tomorrow... we can talk about it tomorrow.
If all else fails, I'll just buy a piece of pork and make dumplings for tomorrow.
As long as the whole family is together, it doesn't matter what we eat. But this benefactor doesn't come often, so since he has come, we must treat him well.
“Okay.” Li Yan readily agreed. “I haven’t had it for a few days, and I want to eat it too.”
When Xu Ge'er and Yue Jie'er heard that they were having hot pot today, they were all even happier than the other.
Aunt Xue said, "Alright, Yan Niang, please invite the gentleman into the main room to sit down. I'll go to the kitchen to prepare the dishes." After saying that, Aunt Xue called out to Xu Qingshu a few more times, then turned and went into the kitchen.
Xu Qingshu hadn't expected the Xue family to treat him so warmly, and he felt a little embarrassed.
After entering the main room, Li Yan invited Xu Qingshu to sit down.
Xu Ge'er was observant; he had already run to the kitchen and poured a bowl of hot milk tea.
Because it's been snowing these past two days, I haven't been able to set up a stall. I'm keeping the drinks at home to sell, and there are usually leftovers every day.
The rest they either drink themselves or give to their neighbors.
Thinking that it had been several months since he last drank this beverage, Xu Qingshu picked up the bowl and took a sip.
"It tastes even better than I remember," Xu Qingshu commented after finishing the drink.
Li Yan said, "The flavor has changed slightly. The ratio of milk to tea has been changed, and the taste is thicker, making it more suitable for drinking in winter."
"Yes, that's really good." Xu Qingshu nodded in approval.
Li Yan then asked him, "Brother Xu, where have you come from? You look travel-worn; you don't seem to have come from home."
Xu Qingshu then smiled and said, "I have resigned from my position as manager of Yuanbaolou in Qingshan Town and have officially returned to the city today. From now on, I will live in the city. During this period, I will stay at home to review my studies, and after the New Year, I will take the imperial examination."
"That's great news!" Li Yan was genuinely happy for him and offered her congratulations. "Brother Xu, you're sure to pass the imperial examination next year and become a scholar."
Xu Qingshu came here today specifically to express his gratitude.
When he was mired in difficulties and predicaments, it was Li Yan who pulled him out of the mire.
Without her guidance, he wouldn't have been able to completely break free from the past, adjust his mindset, and continue his journey in the imperial examinations.
"Thank you, Sister Li." After saying that, Xu Qingshu picked up the bowl and made a gesture of toasting Li Yan.
Seeing this, Li Yan immediately instructed Xu Ge'er, "Pour me a cup too. Brother Xu and I will drink a bowl of tea instead of wine."
Upon hearing the sound, Xu Ge'er immediately ran off.
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Author's Note: Update is here!
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