Seeing Su Qingluan's stubborn attitude towards his prescription, Xie Deshun felt somewhat unhappy. "Madam Su, since you want to cooperate with our Xie Mansion, do you know what our Xie Mansion is like? It's inappropriate to be so fussy, isn't it?"
Su Qingluan remained unmoved: "Master Xie, you must be joking. I'm just a rude and ignorant village girl, and you are a respectable person who heads a wealthy family. There's no need to bother with a little girl like me."
She naturally knew that the old lady of the Xie family was honored with an imperial decree, while her eldest son was a high-ranking official of the third rank and had real power, so he had both wealth and status.
Because of this, Su Qingluan felt that it was possible to make Xie Mansion the "only designated sales channel." Otherwise, if the cooperation partner was just a small fish or shrimp, it would be difficult to guarantee that the counterfeit products would be all over the streets in a few days.
Manager Xie still had that fake smile on his face. He snorted coldly, as if he'd been treated unfairly. "We've reduced the rent and paid a deposit upfront, but we're worried that Madam Su, as our partner, will suffer. But what about Madam Su? I've already promised to sign a confidentiality agreement, but Madam Su still wants to keep the original recipe secret."
As he spoke, Xie Deshun knocked the half-empty tea bowl in his hand onto the tea table in front of him and snorted coldly: "It seems that Madam Su doesn't regard us as her own family at all. It's so chilling!"
Seeing this, Aunt Zhang beside her hurriedly spoke out to persuade her, "Ah, Madam Su is just young and inexperienced, unlike us who are all experienced. Don't be so harsh." She turned and looked at Su Qingluan again, "Madam Su, don't worry. We have dealt with each other several times. Do you still not trust me, an old woman? We won't cheat you."
Su Qingluan thought to herself: As a partner, you certainly won't "intentionally" cheat me, but if your own interests are damaged because of my own negligence, wouldn't you be happy to see it happen?
But she naturally wouldn't say such things.
Su Qingluan lowered her head and thought for a moment, as if her heart was shaken. After a moment, she raised her head and said:
"What Steward Xie and Aunt Zhang say makes sense, and I'm not opposed to others helping me develop new jam recipes—after all, there's strength in numbers. So, for any new product development involving members of the Xie Mansion, confidentiality and authority will be managed by the Xie Mansion. When the recipe can be made public will also be decided by the Xie Mansion's stewards. How do you do that?"
Upon hearing Su Qingluan's words, Zhang Ma and Manager Xie's eyes lit up, but they obviously didn't want Su Qingluan to notice the change in their expressions. One of them coughed softly a few times with a handkerchief covering her mouth, while the other picked up the half cup of tea in front of her and lowered her head as if to take a sip.
Su Qingluan seemed oblivious to the change in their expressions, but she knew roughly what they were planning. Since all the recipes that the Xie family "participated in" were considered "jointly developed," then what level of participation was considered? Su Qingluan didn't say.
So there is a loophole that can be exploited.
In this case, even if Su Qingluan developed the prescription herself, the other party might be able to "participate" in one way or another and then take the prescription for themselves.
"Oh, that's the right way to think!" Steward Xie immediately put on that cheerful Maitreya Buddha expression again, "Madam Su, don't worry, I will never let a little girl like you suffer any loss. The entire Xie Mansion stands behind me. The Xie Mansion has a title, which was conferred personally by the current emperor. This is definitely a great compliment to the Xie Mansion."
Su Qingluan let out a well-timed exclamation of surprise, fully expressing her envy and admiration for the Xie family's title. Then, with her head bowed, she said shyly, "So you're actually working as a steward in such a prestigious place. I'm truly uninformed. My humble, shoddy little creations are a laughingstock in front of such great figures as you."
"Hey~ Don't be so self-deprecating." Manager Xie waved his hand and put on a comforting expression. In fact, the corners of his mouth were slightly upturned and his shoulders were straight. It was obvious that he was very pleased with Su Qingluan's "self-deprecation". Judging from his posture, he was the kind of person who usually liked to hear nice words of New Year's greetings.
Su Qingluan continued with an expression that said, "A humble family like me can't possibly be worthy of the luxurious amenities of a wealthy family like the Xie Mansion." She continued in a humble and gentle voice, "In that case, I think it would be better to distinguish between the recipes that you participated in and those that I independently developed."
Xie Deshun and Zhang Ma's smiles froze. Xie Deshun calmed down a bit, but Zhang Ma couldn't help asking, "Madam Su, what do you mean?"
"That is, the recipe I independently developed will remain confidential. No one else will know the specific formula except me. However, as long as you participate in the development, we can all share the recipe. The only prerequisite is that the two different recipes will be distinguished by different packaging labels—for example, using different trademark colors or adding some decorations."
Seeing that the two of them were silent for a while, Su Qingluan continued, "Also, to prevent me from always taking the advance payment you gave me without developing new recipes, I propose that I be required to independently develop at least one new series of jam every year. This way, I can ensure that I have at least put in some effort. What do you think?"
Su Qingluan's proposal was actually to ensure that after the Xie family used various means to force their "participation", she would still have certain independent rights to develop and produce formulas - you want to participate, I will let you participate, but I will retain some rights to independent research and development. It won't be like I won't give you anything at all, right?
Su Qingluan originally thought that she was very confident in her jam recipe. Through long-term comparison, the majority of customers would rely on their own palates to choose the relatively tastier product. Although it would take a long time, she believed she could afford to wait.
Unexpectedly, after a long silence, Manager Xie and Aunt Zhang began to make eye contact.
After a while, the two asked Su Qingluan to sit for a while, and they ran aside to whisper.
Su Qingluan was not afraid of them playing any shady tricks. The main reason was that she had absolute ability to develop fruit jam formulas, and hers were far superior to the ordinary fruit jams on the market, so there was no need to worry.
A moment later, Su Qingluan watched two people come in one after the other, and then Xie Deshun dropped a heavy bomb: "Madam Su, to be honest, although the Xie Mansion has a wide variety of shops, none of them are related to food. We have definitely not experienced as much as you, an expert, so we won't show off in front of Guan Gong."
Su Qingluan was shocked when she heard this: It's like you have prepared yourself for a long and tough battle, but the other side not only raises the white flag and withdraws the troops, but also sends you military supplies. What is going on?
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