Chapter 80 Discussion
Looking at the crowd in front of him, Chai Xingyu did not speak directly. He said, "Tomorrow at noon, I will reserve a private room at the restaurant. Everyone, please come to the restaurant then, and we will talk to Madam Lin face to face."
After Chai Xingyu finished speaking, Chai Songchuan frowned slightly, but ultimately said nothing. The reason they gathered for dinner tonight was because Chai Jiao had returned, not because of the soy sauce factory. Since Chai Xingyu said tomorrow, then they would wait until tomorrow.
After dinner, everyone moved to the front hall to drink tea and chat. Chai Xingyu didn't accompany them; he went straight back to his own courtyard. He needed to go early the next morning to have a private talk with Lin Chuntao.
I initially thought Chai Jiao might support him, but now it seems unlikely. The cooperation model requires Lin Chuntao and him to persuade others.
After the other members of the Chai family left, Chai Jiao didn't see Chai Xingyu come over, so she went to find him herself.
"What's wrong with you? Why are you all alone in the courtyard?"
Chai Xingyu said, "We don't see eye to eye, so why don't you rest for a while by yourself?" As he spoke, he invited Chai Jiao to sit inside, and then turned back to ask Sanbao to make some tea.
After the siblings sat down, Chai Jiao said, "I heard from Mother that you recognized that Lin Niangzi as your older sister?"
Chai Xingyu sensed Chai Jiao's displeasure and said bluntly, "Didn't Mother tell you? She wants to arrange a marriage for me with Lin Niangzi's second sister."
Chai Jiao's eyes widened, and without thinking, she retorted, "How could that be?"
Chai Xingyu frowned slightly and said, "My second sister has never spent time with them. Apart from being in the countryside where her family was poor, they weren't bad people. It's just that I'm not good enough for them."
Chai Jiao: "...What are you saying?"
Chai Xingyu said, "You are my second sister, so of course I think that with our family background and a sister like you, we could marry any kind of girl we wanted."
"But I'm the one who's going to live the life together. I'm afraid I'll scare the bride to death on our wedding night."
"However, the reason they wanted to find me a wife was because I had no interest in the soy sauce factory. They thought that if I married a capable wife and had a child, I could just hand the factory over to them. Why bother? I can just take over."
After all, he was her younger brother. After hearing his words, Chai Jiao fell silent. She could hear the dejection in Chai Xingyu's words. He was no longer the carefree boy he used to be.
"Is this how it is now? What about in the future? Will you never get married?" Chai Jiao asked.
Chai Xingyu said, "Who knows? What if I'm lucky enough, and Heaven takes pity on me, and I meet someone who doesn't care about my appearance and loves me deeply?"
Chai Jiao gently patted his arm and said softly, "Don't be so discouraged. This scar will fade over time. I'll make sure to apply ointment for you when we get back. It will get better."
Chai Xingyu smiled; he didn't hold out much hope.
Seeing that he didn't respond, Chai Jiao took the initiative to talk about the matter in the letter.
"Didn't you say you had an idea and wanted me to discuss it with you and our parents? Tell me about it."
Thinking of Chai Jiao's words during the day, Chai Xingyu felt very disappointed. But it was only then that he realized that his family had relied on his brother-in-law's influence over the years. If his second sister and parents did not share the same views, his family would not have been able to rely on that influence. He had been too naive.
Even if he failed, he still had to try. Since Chai Jiao had asked, he had to answer. He held back for a moment and asked Chai Jiao first, "What did Second Sister mean by what she said at the table just now?"
Upon hearing this, Chai Jiao slightly curled her lips and looked at him with some confusion.
"Isn't that what you wanted, little brother?"
Chai Xingyu paused, then asked, "What does Second Sister think?"
Chai Jiao said, "I definitely support your idea."
Chai Xingyu said, "My idea is to get other people's sauces into our shop. We will reach an agreement with the sauce suppliers, but we still need to discuss the specifics."
Chai Jiao lowered her eyelids, lost in thought, and after a while asked, "Others make sauces, and we go to buy the goods? That would put us in a very passive position. Besides, once the sauce is sold from our shop, it becomes our Chai family's sauce. If any problems arise, our family will bear the responsibility."
Chai Xingyu said, "No, each family's sauce has its own label. Our family is only responsible for selecting and selling it."
Chai Jiao frowned upon hearing this. "Isn't this just our family helping others sell their things? How can it be so cheap?"
Chai Xingyu took a deep breath and said, "It's not entirely about us helping others sell their products. Our sauce factory will continue to make and sell sauces, but we'll add some other sauces. They'll make them and deliver them over, and we'll split the profits. We can make money, and they can make money too."
Chai Jiao looked at Chai Xingyu carefully. Based on her understanding of him, she felt that this method was not his idea. Then who was it? The answer was obvious.
“We’re helping them earn money, why should we help them?” Chai Jiao retorted, her tone tinged with displeasure. After a moment’s pause, she added, “Your reason won’t convince me, and it certainly won’t convince my family either.”
Chai Xingyu looked at Chai Jiao and explained, "Second Sister, you've already put yourself in someone else's shoes, thinking that if they leave our Chai family shop, they won't be able to sell their sauce. Is that really the case?"
"How many generations has our family been able to control everything?"
"The current situation is that we need other people's sauce. Many people come into our shop because they want to buy other people's sauce, but they leave after failing to buy it."
Chai Jiao frowned. "So, you were tricked into using our shop to sell sauce for someone else?"
Chai Xingyu suddenly froze, staring intently at Chai Jiao, and after a long silence, asked, "So, what does Second Sister hope for?"
"Everything that leaves our shop must be our own sauce. To ensure the sauce is clean and safe, we need to have someone on-site to oversee it."
Hearing this, Chai Xingyu almost laughed, but he held it in. He asked Chai Jiao, "What about the money? How does Second Sister think we should give it to you?"
"Isn't this just a sauce supplier? Why not just set a price?"
Chai Xingyu took a deep breath and nodded.
"Alright, when you meet with Madam Lin tomorrow, you can tell her what you said and see if she agrees." Chai Xingyu said this, and Chai Jiao's expression turned somewhat displeased. She could clearly feel Chai Xingyu's rejection of her, even though he wasn't like this when she first arrived home.
Was the woman surnamed Lin's spell on him really that complete? She wanted to see how she could sell her sauce if her family wouldn't give in.
The next day, the system did not announce that mushroom picking was being done, so Lin Chuntao went directly to the market with Lin Chunxing. When she arrived, Chai Xingyu and Sanbao were already waiting at the stall.
"Why are you two up so early?" Lin Chuntao called out from afar. Chai Xingyu replied, "We weren't too busy right now, so we wanted to discuss the collaboration with my sister."
Lin Chuntao looked up at the sky; it was still dark. He must have come so early because his family didn't approve.
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Okay."
"Wait a moment while I move the things out, then we can sit down and talk," Lin Chuntao said, as she and Lin Chunxing went to move the tables, chairs, and cookware. Sanbao also helped out. After the things were moved out and set up, Lin Chunxing went to the noodle shop to get the noodles, while Lin Chuntao and Chai Xingyu sat down on the small stools nearby.
Chai Xingyu also wrote down his ideas and how the two parties would split the money. It was actually similar to consignment, but the kid added a prepayment clause. When Lin Chuntao saw the prepayment clause, she looked up at him and was now certain that a white cotton ball had appeared in the honeycomb briquette.
Seeing Lin Chuntao looking at him, Chai Xingyu suddenly felt a little nervous. He breathed a sigh of relief when Lin Chuntao lowered her eyes and continued looking down.
After reading it, Lin Chuntao didn't say whether the method would work or not, but only asked him, "Have your family members seen it? Do they agree?"
Chai Xingyu pursed his lips, took a deep breath, and shook his head.
"Sister, I'll go to the restaurant to reserve a private room later. My family is coming this afternoon, and we'll discuss it together. I need to confirm our thoughts with you first."
Holding the papers, Lin Chuntao asked directly, "What kind of cooperation method do you family members prefer?"
Chai Xingyu said, "Buy the formula."
"And the price?"
"Two hundred taels." After Chai Xingyu finished speaking, he felt an indescribable discomfort, but fortunately Lin Chuntao remained calm.
“I’m not selling the recipe,” Lin Chuntao said. “Do they have any other ideas besides this?”
Chai Xingyu had not discussed this method with Chai Songchuan and Guo Jixiang, but only with Chai Jiao. However, he couldn't bring himself to say the method Chai Jiao mentioned, so he could only shake his head.
Lin Chuntao smiled and looked at the few thin sheets of paper in front of her. Chai Xingyu really wanted to make this happen, but it seemed a bit difficult at the moment. After thinking for a moment, Lin Chuntao asked, "Your family probably wouldn't accept sauces with other names being sold in your shop, right?"
Chai Xingyu paused for a moment, and Lin Chuntao continued, "I understand that, but at the same time, I can't let my things enter the shop without a name or identity. That's my bottom line."
Chai Xingyu nodded and asked Lin Chuntao if there was anything that needed to be changed in the current method.
Lin Chuntao said, "If we send the sauce to sell first, and then settle the bill after it's sold out, we need to agree on the selling price, the proportion of the sauce, and the payment period. Generally speaking, there shouldn't be any problems."
After speaking, Lin Chuntao paused for a moment, then said, "But I think there are many things in this method that your family might not be able to accept, so I prefer that I make the sauce, set a price, and when your family comes to pick up the sauce, I only charge you once. After you take the sauce, you decide how much to sell it for."
Lin Chuntao's method is convenient, but it's too uncontrollable for the Chai family; they won't do such a deal.
He took a deep breath, having lost all confidence in persuading his family.
Lin Chuntao smiled at him and said, "It's all up to you. We'll talk to them again at noon. Don't feel too much pressure. It doesn't matter how the conversation goes."
Chai Xingyu felt frustrated. He had been so confident that if Chai Jiao helped him, everything would be perfect. But Chai Jiao didn't support his idea. He was all alone and had been dragging this out for so long. He felt useless.
Seeing his eyes grow increasingly dim, Lin Chuntao raised an eyebrow slightly. "What's wrong?" she asked, pausing before smiling. "Actually, I have another idea. Do you want to hear it?"
Chai Xingyu's eyes lit up, and he asked eagerly, "What method?"
Lin Chuntao asked, "How much money do you have of your own?"
"Huh?" Chai Xingyu was stunned for a moment, a little confused. His own money, the money his grandfather gave him, the money his parents gave him, etc., should all be considered his own money. If you add the jade and gold items, it should be several thousand taels.
He underestimated the amount and said to Lin Chuntao, "It should be around one thousand taels."
Lin Chuntao looked at him and said, "You need to make sure it's usable."
Chai Xingyu nodded, and Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "If your ideas aren't accepted by the elders, then until you're fully in power, your actions and words may be hampered." Lin Chuntao paused, then asked, "Have you considered starting your own business?"
Chai Xingyu's eyes widened, his heart churning like waves. Over the years, he had simply disliked the way his elders acted and felt powerless to change it, but he had never imagined that he could do it on his own.
The smile on Lin Chuntao's lips was still there, her eyes gentle yet firm, like a guiding light that had suddenly fallen from the sky.
Lin Chuntao said, “It will be harder to do it yourself, finding a shop and people. If you are confident in managing the shop, then you should think of a name for the shop, go to the government office to register and get the dental stickers. After the shop is set up, we will sign a contract. I will be responsible for supplying the products, and you will be responsible for selling them from the shop.”
Chai Xingyu looked at Lin Chuntao and slowly smiled.
Yes, if he can do it on his own, he can still use the Chai family name. His parents won't oppose him or make things difficult for him. His parents will handle his uncles, and he won't have to try to persuade them anymore. They are all family, so let each do their own thing. Doing so will definitely cause conflicts in the future. But by then, he should be able to stand up to his uncles.
Chai Xingyu looked at Lin Chuntao, feeling quite surprised.
"If my sister provides the sauce, I can get it done today."
Lin Chuntao said, "No rush. I haven't made the sauce yet. It will take some time before it's ready. We can talk about it during the day. If we can't reach an agreement, we can use the second method."
Chai Xingyu nodded, then looked at Lin Chuntao and asked, "Sister Chuntao, do you have a third method?"
Lin Chuntao smiled and didn't hide anything from him, "Yes, but the third method has nothing to do with your family."
She spoke sincerely, and Chai Xingyu understood. He thought about Chai Jiao's words, every single one of which showed disdain and contempt for Lin Chuntao, this peasant girl. He thought to himself with a touch of self-deprecation that it was better not to judge people with prejudice.
"If we go with the second method, what should we name our shop?" Chai Xingyu asked Lin Chuntao. He mentioned "our," and Lin Chuntao smiled. "Your old shop is called Chai's Sauce Garden. The new shop won't make sauces, it will only sell sauces. You'll definitely bring in other delicious sauces to sell later." After a moment of thought, Lin Chuntao said softly, "How about calling it Chai's Sauce Comprehensive Market? What do you think?"
Chai Xingyu found it intriguing, but it seemed to have nothing to do with Lin Chuntao and the others.
"If your sauce is served, what will it be called? How will customers know which company's sauce it is?"
Lin Chuntao said, "We can put patterns on this sauce jar, and we can also put the name of the sauce on the price tag. We will also make some small jars as examples."
"The same applies to bringing other people's sauces into the shop in the future."
Chai Xingyu nodded. "I've got it."
After Lin Chunxing brought the rice noodles, they each cooked a bowl and ate it. They had also finished chatting. After finishing the noodles, Chai Xingyu took Sanbao back home, bringing three bowls with him.
After the others had gone some distance, Lin Chuntao noticed a string of copper coins hanging on the bamboo frame. She wondered if Sanbao had placed them there when they weren't looking.
As dawn broke, Pei Ying and the others finished their work and came out for breakfast together. Today, they wanted to eat noodles, which were made by Zhao Guang's wife. She said she wanted noodles cooked with the broth that Lin Chuntao and the others used. Lin Chuntao brought the noodles over and cooked a pot for them.
After they finished eating their noodles, they started working. The woman who delivered the vegetables arrived, and Lin Chuntao weighed the vegetables, paid her, and sent her away. She then weighed bones and meat from the meat stall and paid Helan.
The market started to get busier, and everyone got busy with their own tasks.
Before noon, Sanbao came to call Lin Chuntao. Seeing that there weren't many people left, Lin Chuntao told her to continue watching the stall while she went to the restaurant alone.
To be honest, the Chai family is unlikely to agree to her conditions; it's just a formality.
She followed Sanbao to the restaurant. Chai Xingyu was at the door, leading her inside. At the table sat Chai Songchuan and Guo Jixiang, as well as Chai Laosan and his wife, and Chai Jiao.
Guo Jixiang was somewhat surprised to see that Lin Chuntao was alone.
"Madam Lin, please sit here."
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