Chapter 18 Chapter 18 Purpose and Portrait.
Lin Sen and his wife were stunned: "?"
Lin Zhi was prepared: "Madam Feng, you misunderstood. We are not here on anyone's behalf. We are just passing by and happened to hear that your steamed buns are very popular, so we came to try them."
Madam Feng frowned, glancing at the stunned Lin Sen and Song Jiaoniang. Surprisingly, she felt that what she said didn't ring a bell. She took a deep breath and said frankly, "The young lady is incredibly talented... Just as you said, I did add green pepper oil to the meat, and the sauce was prepared just as you said."
Lin Sen and his wife widened their eyes: "!!!"
The two of them subconsciously held their breath, their thoughts surging and chaotic like waves in their minds.
Before the couple could come to their senses, they saw Madam Feng and her daughter saying, "My shop relies entirely on this recipe. Please keep it a secret."
After a pause, she added, "Of course, I won't let you suffer any loss, young lady."
Lin Zhi smiled when she heard that, sat up straight and started to discuss with her.
Under the shocked gaze of Lin Sen and his wife, the two quickly agreed on an astonishing price.
That wasn't all. Lin Zhi went on to ask, "Has Madam Feng ever thought of improving the recipe?"
Madam Feng was startled when she heard this, and subconsciously lowered her body: "You, no, you, you can improve the recipe?"
"Why not give it a try?" Lin Zhi smiled. The talent of this body of hers was even greater than in her previous life. She could taste the various ingredients and spices used in it.
The original person had no experience in cooking, so the most he could say was that he had a sharp tongue and could taste whether fish, shrimp and other foods were fresh, but it was not of much use.
But it was different for her. The experience from her previous life was enough for her to analyze the marinating method of the meat filling and even the problems with the proportions, and then use her experience to find the direction of improvement.
As Mrs. Feng listened, her eyes lit up and she could hardly hide her excitement. She immediately sent someone to invite the broker to witness and sign the contract. She also wrote down an improved prescription according to Linzhi's oral instructions and prepared to go back and try it out.
Seeing this, Lin Zhi smiled and said, "Why don't you try it today and give me the money tomorrow..."
Upon hearing this, Madam Feng was horrified: "No, no, no, how can that be possible?"
When Lin Zhi and Song Jiaoniang came to their senses, they had already walked out of Feng's Rouman Bun Shop, and there were four more Jiaozi notes in their bags.
A fifty-kan note.
A total of... two hundred kan! ?
It wasn't until she returned to the inn that Song Jiaoniang snapped back to her senses. Shocked, she opened her bag, and only when the four notes reappeared before her eyes did she finally realize she wasn't dreaming: "Hey!???"
"Mom, please don't scare me!"
"Who is scaring us? It's obviously you who is scaring us!" Song Jiaoniang raised her voice. Fortunately, Lin Sen raised his finger and shushed her several times, and pointed outside the door, before he taught her to lower her voice.
Fortunately, the family came back early, so the noise did not alarm others.
Song Jiaoniang opened the door a crack and peeked in. Seeing no one was paying attention, she closed the door again. She took a deep breath and lowered her voice, "This money...this money is too much, isn't it!?"
Madam Feng actually gave two hundred strings of cash!
Song Jiaoniang felt her head buzzing just thinking about this number - their family had been living in the mansion for decades, and with the inheritance from their ancestors, they had only just saved up two hundred strings of cash.
Adding the 130 strings of cash that the old lady gave him as a reward before he left the house, his family assets barely exceeded 300 strings of cash.
But the daughter only said a few words, but she actually scared Madam Feng into spending two hundred strings of cash to keep her quiet!
"Making money... Is it so easy to make money?" Song Jiaonian murmured, feeling that her view of money was already shaky.
Lin Zhi shook her head and said with a smile, "It's not that easy, it's just a coincidence."
Song Jiaoniang finally realized that she had actually asked the question. She smiled awkwardly at first, then asked, "Coincidence? What do you mean?"
"Mother, when we mentioned the research on the formula in front of the shop earlier, Madam Feng didn't seem surprised."
Lin Zhi's eyes were bright as she spoke to Lin Sen and Song Jiaoniang, "I'm afraid someone around here has been eyeing her recipe for a long time, but there's nothing they can do about it."
"This also means that if the news of our recipe spreads, or if we openly offer to sell it, buyers will come to us immediately."
She paused, her tone firm, "Besides, these two hundred strings of cash are neither expensive nor inexpensive..."
"Two hundred strings of cash isn't expensive?" Song Jiaoniang was shocked.
"Guess how much money Madam Feng's steamed bun shop makes in a day, or a month?" Lin Zhi smiled. "I think this is at most her profit for six to ten months."
"That's not expensive?"
"This price is certainly not expensive." Lin Sen had already understood the situation when he heard this. He looked at his daughter with admiration and said, "This steamed bun shop has been open for more than ten years. As long as the recipe is there, it will continue to make money."
"Trading ten months' profit for future stability is naturally a very cost-effective deal for Madam Feng."
After hearing this, Song Jiaoniang still couldn't understand: "But people outside don't know whether the prescription we have is real or fake. Will anyone really come to buy it?"
"I'm not afraid of ten thousand, I'm just afraid of one." Lin Zhi chuckled. "Madam Feng is straightforward here - outsiders don't know whether the recipe is genuine, so they will definitely want to inspect the product before they are willing to pay."
"Haggling and inspecting the goods can easily drag on for ten days or even half a month. Besides, half of the money goes to the buyer, and the other half is my reward for improving the recipe for her."
Song Jiaoniang was stunned for a moment, and subconsciously lowered her voice: "Sister Zhi, you don't know how to cook, are those things you said true or false?"
"Of course it's true." Lin Zhi's smile was still on her face, but a hint of deep meaning flashed in her eyes - in fact, this look of shock on her parents' face was exactly what she wanted, or perhaps her biggest purpose in making this deal was to show her parents her talent and ability.
Ever since I left the prefectural government, my parents have been talking about opening a clothing and silk shop. If I suddenly change my mind and want to open a food shop, I will definitely be met with strong opposition.
And the result of this operation was exactly what she wanted. Mrs. Feng was indeed an old hand. Faced with the risk of the secret recipe being leaked, she did not hesitate to ask a broker to sign the contract and happily spent money to keep her mouth shut.
At the same time, the two hundred strings of cash also became her bargaining chip, a dignified declaration for her to use to tell her parents that besides needlework, she had other ways to make a living.
Lin Sen clapped his hands: "My daughter is really clear-headed."
Song Jiaoniang stood there in a daze. She had been an embroiderer in the Xi family all her life. After she became ill with an eye disease, she devoted herself to teaching her apprentices. In her spare time, she would chat with the servants in the mansion about household matters to pass the time. She had never heard of such calculations of interests.
Listening to her daughter's words, she felt both surprised and bewildered. After a long pause, she stammered, "Sister Zhi...you're amazing."
Linzhi opened her mouth but ultimately said nothing. If she wanted her mother to accept her transformation, this step had to happen.
Lin Sen looked at his wife and gestured to his daughter, "By the way, the caravan has been so kind to our family. Sister Zhi, please take the snacks we bought today to Madam Xie, and ask her to share some with everyone else."
"Okay." Lin Zhi breathed a sigh of relief, responded, then picked up her things and walked out.
After leaving the room, she straightened her expression and went to Madam Xie's door and knocked, but no one answered.
Lin Zhi was about to knock on the door again when she caught a glimpse of several people coming up the stairs. The leader was none other than Madam Xie.
"Thank you, sister."
Compared to the previous few days, Madam Xie was dressed particularly brightly today. Seeing Lin Zhi standing alone at the doorway, carrying something, she quickly lifted up her skirt and trotted over: "Sister Zhi, why are you here? Where are your father and mother?"
"Send something to my sister."
"Oh, so good." Madam Xie didn't get an answer, and just thought that Lin Sen and his wife had gone out without their daughter. She remembered what Master Tao and Master Shen had said that morning, and she felt worried. She hurriedly let Lin Zhi into the house, brought tea and snacks, and reminded her, "There are so many people here, don't run around, and eat your fruit here obediently."
Lin Zhi nodded and pushed the fruit in her hand to Madam Xie: "Dad said, give it to Sister Xie, share it."
Madam Xie understood the meaning of Lin Zhi's words, responded with a smile, and raised her hand to touch her head: "Our sister Zhi is very smart."
Looking at Linzhi's smiling face, she felt even more pity for her, so she simply sat down and chatted with her, taking the opportunity to talk about interesting things along the way and even the scenery of Bianjing.
"The commercial streets and night markets of Bianjing City are ablaze with lights at night, as bright as day. It's much more prosperous and lively than here. Not only are there fruits from all over the country, but there are also vendors selling tripe, lungs, chicken offal, and steamed buns. There are also acrobatic performances and singing actors. It's bustling every day."
Lin Zhi didn't like to hear this, so she waved her hands and said excitedly, "Thank you, sister. Let's fight."
"Haha, you're asking about my martial arts?" Seeing Lin Zhi's interest, Madam Xie said a few words to Lin Zhi, "My father is a military officer. He has been teaching us brothers and sisters since we were young."
"I'm telling you in secret, my eldest and second brothers aren't as good as me. They haven't been able to beat me for years."
"Thank you, sister, that's awesome!"
"Really?" Madam Xie held her cheek and smiled, "My mother later stopped my father from teaching me because she was afraid I wouldn't be able to get married. But..."
Madam Xie smiled lightly: "In the end, I still came to work with Tao Lang. I tell you, working in the government is much easier than being a good daughter at home..."
From Mrs. Xie's words, Linzhi confirmed her own guess. Tao Lang and his group were indeed officials. However, no one knew what kind of officials they were, nor did she know why they were traveling around in hiding.
Linzhi stopped there and did not ask any further questions. She did not want to involve herself and her parents in the storm.
Madam Xie did the same. After she said a few words, she changed the subject and asked about Lin Zhi's experiences today: "Did anything happen when you went out, Sister Zhi?"
"Hmm... there are delicious things." Lin Zhi counted on her fingers and muttered slowly: "There are beautiful things, and there is also a bad mother-in-law."
Mrs. Xie nodded along at first, but frowned when she heard the term "bad mother-in-law." She stuffed a peeled orange into Lin Zhi's hand and asked, "Bad mother-in-law?"
"Yes, that's what Mom said." Lin Zhi nodded, stuffed the orange slices into her mouth, and described it with gestures: "Mom said that the bad mother-in-law would turn into a big bad wolf, take me away, and never let me see Mom and Dad again!"
Madam Xie's face changed slightly, and she suddenly thought of their going out today. Could it be such a coincidence?
She suppressed her surprise and hurriedly asked further questions.
Linzhi spoke haltingly, his mind drifting elsewhere from time to time, and he acted out the appearance of a idiot perfectly.
Madam Xie patiently asked for details while taking out a pen and paper to sketch: "Round face, slightly protruding cheekbones, long eyes, light eyebrows, flat nose, thin lips, and a black mole on the earlobe..."
At the same time, she also recorded the rest of the information: "Less than five feet tall, with a blue cloth on his head, wearing an indigo linen skirt, and a white apron tied around his waist..."
Madam Xie put down the last stroke and held up the paper to show Lin Zhi: "Sister Zhi, take a look. Does that evil woman look like this?"
Lin Zhi took a look and almost couldn't control her expression. The portrait drawn by Madam Xie could not be said to be exactly the same as that of the old woman, it could only be said that there was no difference at all!
What exquisite painting skills!
In later times, Madam Xie would definitely become a criminal sketch artist.
“Exactly the same!”
"Really?" Despite Lin Zhi's affirmation, Madam Xie was still unsure. She rolled up the portrait and set it aside, intending to let Lin Sen and Song Jiaoniang take a look at it later. If they could confirm the description, they would have a direction to search for it later.
After doing this, she looked at Linzhi again and sighed in her heart. Everyone said that Sister Zhi was stupid. To be honest, Sister Zhi was slow in reaction, but her memory and description ability were not bad. She was easier to communicate with than some prisoners when questioned.
Madam Xie picked up another piece of milk cake and stuffed it into the eager hands of Lin Zhi, and couldn't help but mutter about the unreliability of the Xi family: "If she is still sober, I wonder how smart she would be..."
Linzhi felt the capacity of his stomach, then looked at the milk cake in his palm, and chose to hold it and continue to nibble on it, while thinking randomly - if only he were a hamster, he could stuff the snacks in his cheeks and eat them slowly later.
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