After hearing Gan Li's words, Qian Defu felt restless and uneasy, as if his heart was being scratched by a cat.
Although he wasn't one to easily trust others, Ganli's story was so convincing that he couldn't help but believe it.
Upon arriving at Wanshun Restaurant, Master Zhao had been waiting for quite some time. As soon as he saw Qian Defu, Master Zhao greeted him warmly, his face beaming with smiles.
"Mr. Qian, you've finally arrived! The food and drinks are all ready. Let's go inside and chat!"
After saying that, he made a gesture of invitation.
Qian Defu followed him inside, exchanging a few pleasantries with him with a forced smile, while secretly pondering Gan Li's words.
After several rounds of drinks, Master Zhao brought up business matters, and Qian Defu casually asked:
"Master Zhao, where did you get so much ice in this sweltering heat? Don't blame me for asking so many questions, but since I'm going to do business with you, I need to make sure everything is in order. Otherwise, I'll end up paying for it but not getting the goods."
Master Zhao was also a businessman, so he naturally understood his concerns and confided in him:
"Don't worry! I have as much ice as you need—I have the secret recipe for making ice!"
"A secret recipe?" Qian Defu's eyes darted around as he asked, "Is it a unique, proprietary recipe?"
Master Zhao was taken aback, then burst into laughter: "Of course! I spent a fortune to get my hands on this. Don't worry, Mr. Qian, this prescription is absolutely reliable!"
Qian Defu nodded calmly, but became even more vigilant.
Doesn't this match up with what Ganli said?
He cleared his throat and said, "Mr. Zhao, let's be frank. Although the ice business is profitable, it's also quite risky. If the ice doesn't sell, I'll lose money."
Upon hearing this, Master Zhao's expression changed slightly, but he quickly regained his smile.
"Mr. Qian, you're joking. How could we not sell them in the middle of summer? Just sell them with confidence, you won't lose money!"
"That's true, but you never know what might happen," Qian Defu said, feigning concern. "If something goes wrong, my losses will be huge."
Mr. Zhao was getting impatient, but in order to close the deal, he patiently asked, "So, what does Mr. Qian mean...?"
"How about this, let's add a clause to the agreement that if any unforeseen circumstances arise that are detrimental to my interests, I can get a refund at any time, how about that?" Qian Defu stated his conditions.
Upon hearing this, Mr. Zhao immediately became displeased: "Mr. Qian, you're asking too much of me. What kind of business is it to offer refunds?"
“Mr. Zhao, I’m doing this so that both of us can feel at ease, don’t you think?” Qian Defu said unhurriedly, “If you’re not willing, then this business deal is…”
"No, no, no, Mr. Qian, let's talk this out!" Seeing Qian Defu about to leave, Master Zhao quickly stopped him, secretly gritting his teeth!
However, Qian Defu's business is very large, and the county is just a small foothold. In fact, his business is spread all over the world. If we let him go, the loss will be quite great.
After thinking for a moment, he finally gritted his teeth and agreed to Qian Defu's request.
After all, this is the height of summer, the time when ice is used. What could possibly go wrong? Unless it suddenly snows heavily, but that's highly unlikely.
"Alright, let's add this clause to the agreement, as Mr. Qian wishes!" Mr. Zhao said with a forced smile.
Qian Defu then relented and finalized the deal with him.
The two signed an agreement, but Qian Defu, reminded by Gan Li, was careful when paying the deposit.
He paid a deposit equal to half of the original amount, then said to Master Zhao with a smile:
"Master Zhao, I'll give you the remaining silver after all the ice is sold. We're in this for the long haul, so it won't run away—what do you think?"
Although Master Zhao was unhappy, Qian Defu's words made sense. If the business went well, there would be a large sum of money coming in later. So he didn't say anything more and did everything according to Qian Defu's instructions.
Although there were many things that made Mr. Zhao uncomfortable during the negotiation process, the deal was eventually struck!
Master Zhao was overjoyed. After seeing Qian Defu off, he couldn't wait to order his men to start making large quantities of ice, hoping to make a fortune.
As his capable subordinate, Butler Zhao naturally followed up on the entire matter.
Qian Defu needed a lot of ice, and to make so much ice in a short period of time, he needed a lot of manpower. He was busy recruiting workers and arranging supplies, and the Zhao family's money was being spent like water.
Every time Master Zhao saw the account books handed to him by the steward, his heart ached.
However, the thought that once the ice was delivered, the money would flow back into his pocket like water made him feel a little better.
Unbeknownst to him, at that very moment, Gan Li was sitting in her own restaurant, leisurely working on her abacus.
She roughly calculated Master Zhao's losses this time and grinned from ear to ear.
"Little sister, you're really amazing! You managed to change Qian Defu's mind with just a few words, and even made Master Zhao suffer in silence. That's so satisfying!"
As one of only two people in the know about this matter, Gan Mingyi leaned on the counter, suppressing his excitement as he whispered, his unshaven face full of admiration.
Gan Li smiled and put down her abacus: "Greed knows no bounds. Who told him to always covet other people's secret recipes? This time, we have to teach him a lesson!"
Gan Mingyi recalled that if it weren't for Master Zhao instructing Chen Danian to cheat him out of the secret recipe, his family would not have been almost sold off. He immediately felt that his younger sister's method was incredibly satisfying!
That's right, we need to teach that guy surnamed Zhao a lesson so he won't always be eyeing other people's things!
However, all of this was predicated on the imperial court beginning to promote methods of ice making...
When will the imperial court finally begin promoting this? Gan Mingyi eagerly awaited the answer.
Ganli, however, calmly fiddled with the abacus beads—she had already calculated it, and it would be within the next few days at the latest.
As for when we'll get a definite answer? Just keep an eye on the Zhao family.
Qian Defu's business spanned the entire country, and he was very well-informed. If the imperial court began to promote ice making, he would come to terminate the contract with the Zhao family as soon as he received the news.
At this very moment, everyone in the Zhao household was busy day and night making ice, completely unaware that a storm was about to break out.
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