Ruyi rested for quite a long time this time, mainly to wait for the disturbance at the bottom of the lake to calm down, and then used the same method to go into the water to catch crabs again.
By the time I was almost completely exhausted, I had successfully filled two whole baskets with crabs.
Ruyi lay sprawled on the deck, reflecting on the day's events. It had been quite thrilling. Since arriving in this world, she had done many things the original Cheng Ruyi would never have done. She wondered if it was due to the original owner's influence or if people changed under different circumstances...
The small fishing boat, with its bountiful catch, returned smoothly to the West Market Wharf at the end of the day. Ruyi gave the boatman the ten or so catties of fish she had caught, while she and Cheng Yan pushed the cart home.
The two baskets contained nearly 120 crabs in total. This enormous workload required the help of the whole family; otherwise, she alone might not have been able to finish peeling them even by dawn.
So the Cheng family stayed up until midnight that day before finally finishing making ten catties of crab roe sauce. They put it into two simple five-catty earthenware jars. The lard in the crab roe sauce had a natural sealing function, and with the cool weather, it would be fine to leave it for three to five days.
With the previous experience, everything went quite smoothly on the third day. The three baskets that Ruyi brought were filled to the brim, and they harvested nearly two hundred crabs that day, keeping the Cheng family busy until midnight.
After two days of hard work by the whole family, Ruyi harvested a total of 25 catties of crab roe sauce. Looking at everyone's dark circles and her own battered hands, she suddenly felt that she would be letting her family down if she didn't sell the five bottles of crab roe sauce for 1,800 taels of silver.
That day, Ruyi carried five jars of crab roe sauce to the entrance of Zhiwei Restaurant. As soon as the waiter saw her, he warmly invited her in, "I wonder if Madam Cheng has come to discuss business with the manager or to have a meal today?"
"We're here to see Manager Huang. Please inform him."
"Madam Cheng, you're too kind. This way, please."
Cheng Ruyi followed the waiter through the lobby of the restaurant to a private room in the back courtyard. She had just sat down when Manager Huang appeared.
"Haha, what a stroke of luck today! Madam Cheng has graced us with her presence. I am truly sorry for not welcoming you sooner!" Manager Huang looked beaming with pride, suggesting that Zhiwei Restaurant had been doing very well lately.
"I haven't congratulated Manager Huang yet. When I passed by the lobby just now, I saw that the first floor was packed. It seems that Manager Huang is a good manager. I believe he will be promoted soon!"
Who doesn't like to hear nice words? Although Manager Huang repeatedly denied it modestly, the corners of his mouth never turned down, so it seems that good things are coming soon.
Cheng Ruyi felt that the time was perfect. By adding fuel to the fire now, the business of Zhiwei Restaurant could reach new heights, making Manager Huang's promotion even more secure. Naturally, he was more than willing.
"Manager Huang, I had a bowl of meat sauce noodles at your shop a while ago, and I've been craving it ever since. But a bowl costs over a hundred coins, and I'm just too short on cash to afford it. Sigh..."
Shopkeeper Huang: ........If I hadn't done business with you a few times, I would have almost believed your lies!
"Hehehe, Madam Cheng, you flatter us. The Cheng family is making a fortune these days. It's rare for a mere bowl of noodles to catch your eye. Please come and eat anytime. It's on me, and I absolutely won't accept a single penny!"
Seeing that the pleasantries had been exchanged enough, Ruyi said it was time to get down to business. "Manager Huang, you're too kind. But I was inspired after returning home that day. I've been tinkering around with this for a while now, putting in a lot of effort and energy. The ingredients may not be as expensive as the meat sauce from the capital, but they are fresh, novel, and unique. I hope Manager Huang will take a look."
After saying that, he took a pottery jar from the basket, opened it, and gently placed it on the table.
At first, Manager Huang thought Cheng Ruyi was joking, but he didn't expect that she had actually made new food. For a moment, he was not sure what she was up to.
However, since Cheng Ruyi dared to compare his own cooking with the meat sauce from the capital, he must have been very confident in his skills, which really piqued his curiosity.
Manager Huang looked down and carefully examined the earthenware jar. Although it was just an ordinary earthenware jar, it was clean and simple. Looking at the contents of the jar, he saw a patch of golden oil dotted with red objects, which looked very attractive. It was indeed a food he had never seen before.
"May I ask, Madam Cheng, what is this?"
"This is... butter sauce. As for what it's made of, that's a trade secret, and I'm sorry I can't tell you." Cheng Ruyi almost blurted out "crab roe sauce" but thankfully she stopped herself in time.
Shopkeeper Huang nodded after listening, "Understood, understood. Don't worry, Madam Cheng, we definitely won't investigate further. But how do you plan to eat this butter sauce?"
"It's very simple. You can mix it with rice or noodles, or even use it as a filling. It's no different from eating regular meat sauce."
So Manager Huang turned around and asked someone to bring over a bowl of white rice. Cheng Ruyi took the spoon and scooped three spoonfuls of crab roe sauce onto it. The yellow, oily sauce slowly flowed down the white rice. Putting everything else aside, it was visually absolutely perfect.
Manager Huang leaned closer and took a sniff. It was a fragrance that was both rich and refreshing, like the scent of milk or egg yolk, hard to describe.
He originally only wanted to try a small bite, but he found that he couldn't stop eating it. Even though he had eaten a lot of delicious food, he was instantly conquered by the butter sauce. Moreover, after finishing the sauce, he still couldn't taste what it was made of. He couldn't help but admire Cheng Ruyi.
"Madam Cheng's skills are indeed superb. This butter sauce is no less than the meat sauce from the capital!" It's not just that it's no less than that. In terms of freshness, creativity, appearance, and taste, it can be said to outperform it, if not completely crush it.
The thought of selling this butter sauce in the capital was enough to make Manager Huang lose his composure, but he still managed to control his tone and speak as calmly as possible: "Ahem, I wonder how Madam Cheng plans to sell this sauce?"
Unfortunately, these subtle movements and micro-expressions did not escape Ruyi's notice. "Manager Huang is a man of great experience; I am relieved to have your approval."
"I'll sell this jar for five taels of silver. It contains a full five catties of butter sauce, which works out to only one tael per catty. It's a great deal!"
After hearing this, Manager Huang finally breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness, although the price might sound outrageous at first glance, he knew that the sauce was definitely worth it and understood that Cheng Ruyi was not asking for an exorbitant price.
"Madam Cheng, your butter sauce is indeed delicious, and we are truly sincere in wanting to make this deal with you. How about this, let's each compromise..."
Before Manager Huang could finish speaking, Ruyi interrupted him, "Don't return it, Manager Huang. It's really impossible to return it this time. To be honest, the raw materials for this butter sauce are very rare, and the production process is also very complicated. Since ancient times, things have been valued for their rarity. I believe you understand its value better than I do!"
Knowing that Cheng Ruyi was difficult to negotiate with, Manager Huang had only asked out of basic professional courtesy. It would be best if they could reach an agreement, but it wouldn't be a loss if they couldn't.
The last five jars of crab roe sauce sold for a total of twenty-five taels of silver, which was a huge sum of money for an ordinary family. However, when Ruyi thought about the hard work she and her family had put in over the past few days, she still felt that she had sold them too cheaply!
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