No one doesn't like to be "treated specially", even if Aunt Zhang is just an old maid, and the other party is her little master, it is no exception.
But Zhang Ma was a servant of the Xie Mansion after all, and Xie Zian was her master no matter what. So no matter how she felt inside, at least from the outside, she couldn't show too much joy.
But Su Qingluan could still see that Aunt Zhang was very pleased with the jar of jam she presented to her - the evidence was that although Aunt Zhang did not comment on the jam itself, she accepted the small porcelain jar.
It’s fine as long as she accepts it, Su Qingluan thought to herself. After all, Aunt Zhang is a person who has seen the world, and she wouldn’t be so impatient to open the package like a child who has never seen a gift before.
"Madam Su, you are so kind. I will accept your kindness." The wrinkles between Aunt Zhang's brows relaxed a little, and then she looked up at Su Qingluan. "I have the honor of trying the 'Summer Charm' in the 'Four Seasons'. It is indeed sweet and delicious, with a long aftertaste. I wonder what flavor Madam Su is in this jar?"
Su Qingluan smiled and shook her head: "Neither. I told you, I only made it specially for the purpose of paying respects to my elders."
Only then did Aunt Zhang understand what the so-called "specially made" really meant - it was not a special jam made for her, but a new flavor was specially made for her this time.
The meanings behind these two situations are completely different.
In this era, there are no "patent laws" to protect unique recipes or flavors from being "imitated." A gourmet with a keen palate, through years of experimentation, can always decipher even the most sophisticated cooking methods or secret recipes.
Even if it cannot completely replace it, as long as the taste is similar, there will always be people who buy it.
Because of this, any shop based on food, except for those old chefs with unique skills, must regularly innovate if they want to maintain their regular customer base.
What's more, the method of making jam itself is not that sophisticated. Even if it is a precious jam made from rare ingredients, the taste still matters in the end.
It is precisely because of this that if Su Qingluan can develop a fruit jam that is novel and delicious enough within just a few days, then it can be guaranteed that new flavors can be developed anytime and anywhere in the future.
Thinking of this, Aunt Zhang sighed slightly in her heart: It seems that it is becoming increasingly difficult to get such a capable person who will definitely not have trouble finding a market to hand over the recipe.
What's more, according to the current situation, I'm afraid more "formulas" have not yet been developed.
Thinking of this, Aunt Zhang spoke up, "Madam Su is a shrewd person. I, an old woman, will use my seniority to speak frankly. Your jam must be very expensive. It's unlikely to sell well in this remote village. However, it will be difficult to sell it in the capital as well."
Originally, when Aunt Zhang said this, she had already prepared herself for Su Qingluan's rebuttal. After all, in Aunt Zhang's view, the thing the capital lacked the most was wealthy nobles. Nobles had no shortage of food and clothing, and didn't have to worry about making a living, so it was very difficult to find the food, clothing, and daily necessities they wanted.
For this "favor", they have always been willing to spend a lot of money.
As someone close to the old lady of the Xie family, Aunt Zhang also knew how picky this hostess, who had been pampered since childhood, was about food.
So since Su Qingluan's fruit jam can please Old Lady Xie, there is naturally no shortage of wealthy and idle people who are interested in it.
But even so, it is not easy for a peasant girl with no foundation to go to the capital alone from this remote area to expand the fruit jam business, or even to gain a place in the various shops in the capital and gain a foothold.
Even if we take a step back, if the Xie family really wanted this little girl to suffer some "difficulties", they would definitely do it without anyone knowing, and even if the other party noticed, they would be unable to express their suffering.
Unexpectedly, Su Qingluan did not feel any dissatisfaction with Zhang Ma's words. Instead, she continued as Zhang Ma said:
"Auntie Zhang, you're worthy of being an elder. You see things more comprehensively than us youngsters. I think the same is true. We're all poor people here. How can we spare the money to buy such sweet things? Usually, we can buy a piece of malt candy with two copper coins! As for the wealthy people in the capital, I guess they don't care much for my little thing."
Aunt Zhang listened with a look of disbelief on her face: she just wanted to find an excuse to suppress the other party before discussing business, to prevent him from asking for an exorbitant price and being too proud. How come she didn't pay attention and the other party went along with her words?
This is different from what she had imagined before!
After all, Aunt Zhang was instructed by Old Madam Xie to get the jam recipe, so she couldn't just listen to Su Qingluan's long and self-deprecating speech. Otherwise, if she disparaged the jam too much, how could Aunt Zhang legitimately talk to her about purchasing the recipe - the Xie family was not a junk collector.
So she twitched her lips and said quickly, "Madam Su, don't underestimate yourself. Since you have won the favor of our old lady, it means that Madam Su's cooking skills are amazing."
Su Qingluan shook her head: "It's not self-deprecation, but the fact - not everyone can afford to eat my jam."
Aunt Zhang was a little curious: "So, if this jam were sold outside, from what the young lady said, I'm afraid it would be very expensive."
Su Qingluan nodded and extended a finger.
"One or two taels of silver?" Aunt Zhang asked, and then thought to herself: This is a remote and poor place after all, no matter whether the products are really good or not, they can't be sold at a high price.
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