Chapter 102 - Two in One -
Qin Suyun said, "Our restaurant's dishes tend to be on the lighter side. I wonder if your sauce is spicy, Madam?"
Guo Jixiang got straight to the point, and Qin Suyun was also a straightforward person. Hearing her ask so directly, Guo Jixiang said, "We have several kinds of sauces, both spicy and mild. Manager Qin can try them and see which one she needs."
Qin Suyun agreed.
Guo Jixiang and Chai Jiao exchanged a glance and then looked at Lin Chuntao in unison. Qin Suyun smiled and said, "If I need sauce with Chuntao's flavor, I will ask her for it too."
Lin Chuntao smiled upon hearing this.
Chai Jiao thought to herself that it was normal for several businesses to take goods from each other, but the shopkeepers who were taking goods from each other must be unhappy to know that their customers were getting goods from each other, especially since it was the same product.
Furthermore, considering the relationship between Qin Suyun and Lin Chuntao, Lin Chuntao would be unhappy if Qin Suyun had the idea of going to the Chai family to get the sauce, right?
But Lin Chuntao reacted in such a calm manner.
For a moment, they all wondered if Lin Chuntao was too scheming, which was why she remained expressionless and made it impossible for others to discern her emotions.
They had breakfast together. Qin Suyun was a bit busy, and Lin Chuntao also had to go find Chai Xingyu, so she didn't stay long. She told Qin Suyun that she would come to see her another day and then left.
Qin Suyun smiled and said, "Remember to let me know in advance when you're moving."
Lin Chuntao nodded.
"Okay."
After exiting the restaurant, the Chai family's carriage was parked outside. Guo Jixiang called to Lin Chuntao, "Madam Lin, come along. We'll take you to Ayu's shop."
Lin Chuntao waved her hand, "Madam and Second Miss, please go first. I can go by myself."
Chai Jiao frowned slightly, "Since Madam Lin is doing business with A-Yu, we're family now, why be so formal?"
Lin Chuntao: Who's family with you?
The carriage footrests were already in place, and Chai Jiao had already stepped onto them, with Guo Jixiang supporting her. Upon hearing this, Lin Chuntao shrugged slightly and then smiled, "Since Miss Er is so kind as to invite me, then I won't stand on ceremony."
Chai Jiao was stunned for a moment. Guo Jixiang couldn't help but chuckle and turned to Chai Jiao, saying, "Get in the car."
Chai Jiao went up and got into the carriage. Guo Jixiang asked Lin Chuntao to get in, but Lin Chuntao said, "Madam, please go first."
Guo Jixiang didn't insist and got into the carriage first, followed closely by Lin Chuntao.
The carriage was quite spacious. Guo Jixiang and Chai Jiao sat on one side, while Lin Chuntao sat opposite them.
As soon as she sat down, Guo Jixiang asked Lin Chuntao, "Madam Lin, when will your sauce start selling? Has the date been set?"
"A time hasn't been set yet, but it should be soon."
Lin Chuntao smiled and asked, "Does Young Master Chai have asked Madam to help him choose an auspicious day for the shop's opening?"
Guo Jixiang said, "I have seen that there are two or three good days in the latter half of this month, but Ayu hasn't decided which one yet."
Lin Chuntao nodded slightly and did not speak again.
The carriage stopped in front of Chai Xingyu's shop.
Just as Chai Xingyu was about to leave, he saw his own carriage. He narrowed his eyes. Who had come to see him?
He tilted his head and watched for a while, and saw Lin Chuntao get off her carriage. His heart skipped a beat, and he quickly walked over.
Hearing footsteps, Guo Jixiang lifted the curtain, and Chai Xingyu saw that it was Guo Jixiang and Chai Jiao inside.
"Mother, Second Sister, what brings you here?"
Guo Jixiang looked at him and said, "We ran into Madam Lin when we went to breakfast, and we ate breakfast together. She wanted to come find you, so we brought her here."
Lin Chuntao got off the carriage and turned to Guo Jixiang, saying, "Thank you, Madam."
Guo Jixiang nodded slightly, looked at Chai Xingyu, and then at Lin Chuntao, "Then you two chat, we'll head back first."
After saying that, the coachman drove the carriage away.
Lin Chuntao followed Chai Xingyu into the shop. The shop had already been renovated, and the counters and cash registers were all set up. Lin Chuntao also went to see the warehouse.
"Have you found any new sauce these past few days?" Lin Chuntao asked Chai Xingyu. Chai Xingyu frowned slightly, and Lin Chuntao's eyes darted around. "Haven't found any?"
"I found some, but the taste wasn't amazing enough."
Lin Chuntao smiled upon hearing this. As for sauces, each flavor has its own specific use, and whether it tastes good or not depends on what it's eaten with. Lin Chuntao smiled and asked, "Do you have any in the shop?"
Chai Xingyu said, "Yes." After saying that, he asked Sanbao to fetch some in a dish, including pure soybean paste, scallion sauce, chopped chili, etc. These are common in Yizhou, so Lin Chuntao was not surprised at all. What surprised her was the sweet bean sauce and tomato sauce.
Chai Xingyu explained, "Both of these are sweet. The shopkeeper who delivered them praised them to the skies, saying they were unparalleled. I thought they were indeed unavailable, so I kept them. But now I'm a bit worried. What are people going to mix these two together? I'm sure no one will buy them."
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "I will buy it."
Upon hearing this, Chai Xingyu looked up at her in surprise, "Sister, do you know what you can make to eat with this?"
"Yes, I know." After Lin Chuntao finished speaking, Chai Xingyu breathed a long sigh of relief. He was just about to ask Lin Chuntao for help when he heard her ask, "Ayu, are we going to have an event on opening day?"
Chai Xingyu nodded, and Lin Chuntao said, "Since we're selling sauce, let's hold a tasting event on the day of the event. I don't think unlimited tasting is reliable, so let's use a lottery format. We'll use drums and gongs to attract people in, give out number tags, and have someone draw the numbers. Those who win can come in and try the sauce."
As Chai Xingyu listened to Lin Chuntao's words, his eyes gradually became more fervent.
Lin Chuntao said, "The shopkeepers of all kinds of sauces should know how to eat their own sauces, right? Have each of them come up with one or two ways to eat them, and then bring them up for everyone to try, to promote the sauces."
Chai Xingyu had thought about how to eat it, but he felt that the two sweet ones, as the shopkeeper described, weren't that delicious. Thinking about it, he said it aloud. Lin Chuntao smiled and asked, "The tomato one is simpler, but for the sweet bean sauce one, does anyone in Yizhou sell roast duck?"
Chai Xingyu shook his head slightly, and Lin Chuntao hissed coldly, "Then are you free these few days? If you are, find someone to roast a duck, then slice the duck meat into thin slices, dip it in this sweet sauce, and then slice some cucumber and scallion shreds. Make some thin wrappers, wrap the meat, cucumber, and scallion shreds in the wrappers and eat them. It will really cut through the greasiness of the duck meat."
Chai Xingyu doesn't like to eat duck meat; he finds both braised duck and duck soup unpalatable.
Listening to Lin Chuntao's method of eating, he was actually a little guilty. This stuff was already fishy, wouldn't it be even more disgusting if it was dipped in sweet sauce?
But he did as Lin Chuntao said.
"Any other ways to eat it besides this?" Chai Xingyu asked. Lin Chuntao thought of Qin Suyun. She smiled and a thought flashed through her mind. She looked up at Chai Xingyu and said, "Yes, there are, but I'm not good at that. However, I have a friend who might be able to make it. I'll ask her about it."
Chai Xingyu nodded, and Lin Chuntao said, "The sauce will be ready in four or five days. Have you set a date for the opening yet?"
"We've chosen several dates, September 22nd, 26th, and 28th are all auspicious. If we choose September 22nd, will it be too late?"
Lin Chuntao said, "I can get the sauce over here for twenty yuan. The main thing is, have you arranged the staff to sell the sauce here? Price tags, sales tools, and all sorts of other things."
Chai Xingyu replied, "The staff currently consists of a few of my servants, and we've hired an accountant. Price tags and small jars are all ready."
Lin Chuntao nodded slightly and said, "If we hold an event, there will be a lot of people, and I'm afraid there might be some minor trouble. Let's inform the government officials and invite them to come as well."
Chai Xingyu agreed, and the two discussed the details. After confirming there were no issues, Lin Chuntao left.
But instead of going straight home, she went back to find Qin Suyun.
Qin Suyun and the others had just finished their work and were about to prepare lunch when Lin Chuntao returned. As soon as they met, Lin Chuntao asked bluntly, "Are you busy? There's something I want to tell you."
Qin Suyun smiled and said, "Let's come inside and talk."
Lin Chuntao entered the house and saw two people sitting behind the door: an older woman and a slender, tall scholar.
Seeing Lin Chuntao's gaze, Qin Suyun introduced them: "This is my husband, and this is my mother-in-law."
Lin Chuntao nodded slightly and said to the woman, "Greetings, Madam." She only nodded slightly to the scholar.
The two men looked at Lin Chuntao with rather indifferent eyes, especially the woman, whose coldness seemed less like a personal attack and more like a sense of dejection. Qin Suyun said to them, "Mother, husband, this is my good friend Lin Chuntao, whom I met in Yizhou."
The two nodded slightly after hearing her words.
Then she led Lin Chuntao upstairs and into the house. Qin Suyun pulled open the bamboo curtain from the inside. The curtain was like a modern Venetian blind, but made of bamboo strips. She used it to prevent eavesdropping and peeping.
Lin Chuntao looked at her movements and smiled, "It was inconvenient just now. Last time we only met briefly and didn't have time to talk about anything else."
Qin Suyun sighed and said to Lin Chuntao, "I've wanted to talk to you for a while, but you've been very busy lately."
Lin Chuntao sighed as well: "It's really out of necessity to make a living. I'm busy making money every day and saving money to build a house."
Qin Suyun gave a helpless laugh. "So you came here?"
Lin Chuntao nodded and asked in return, "When did you arrive?"
Qin Suyun: "This year, in the first month of the lunar calendar."
Lin Chuntao: "I am May."
The two pulled out chairs and sat down, constantly glancing outside. Qin Suyun asked Lin Chuntao, "Have you finished reading this novel?"
Lin Chuntao looked completely bewildered. "What?"
Qin Suyun's eyes widened, and she lowered her voice to say to Lin Chuntao, "You don't know that we've transmigrated into a novel, do you?"
"Huh?" Now it was Lin Chuntao's turn to be shocked. She shook her head. "I don't know, what kind of book is this?"
Qin Suyun said, "It's a romance, infrastructure, and farming novel. The female lead is the daughter of a chieftain's family, and the male lead is the heir of a marquis's family. The two go from being at odds due to language barriers and differing views to falling in love and making outstanding contributions to the peaceful and prosperous lives of the people who migrated from the south and the local people."
After Qin Suyun finished speaking, Lin Chuntao said, "My name shouldn't appear in the book, right? If I were an important character, you would have told me last time."
Qin Suyun smiled and nodded upon hearing this.
Lin Chuntao asked her, "And what about the character you're wearing?"
Qin Suyun sighed, "My character is a bit of a cannon fodder. She and the male lead have a verbal betrothal arranged by their parents, but she develops feelings for the male lead's younger brother over time, forcing the male lead to leave home and marry the male lead's younger brother."
Lin Chuntao was stunned for a moment when she heard this. "Won't his life be in danger?"
Qin Suyun said, "Probably not. This character's suicidal act happens later, when the male lead and the chieftain's daughter are falling in love and causing all sorts of trouble. I definitely won't do that. If needed, I can guard their room and lock them up. That way, there shouldn't be any problems."
Lin Chuntao nodded and breathed a sigh of relief.
"That would be better; my life is more important."
Lin Chuntao thought she had traveled to a fictional, unfamiliar dynasty, but she never expected it to be in a book. If she hadn't met Qin Suyun, she might never have known.
Qin Suyun transmigrated while reading after get off work. She hadn't even been reading; she just tripped and fell, and that's how she ended up in this world…
Since she'd already transmigrated, she might as well leave it at that for now. Luckily, she and Qin Suyun were from the same hometown, and Qin Suyun was about the same age as her before she transmigrated, although Qin Suyun was from the north and Lin Chuntao was from the south.
Remembering her purpose, Lin Chuntao hurriedly asked, "Do you know how to cook quite a few dishes?"
Qin Suyun nodded and said modestly, "It's alright."
Lin Chuntao said, "I made a sauce. The young master of the Chai family opened a shop, and I'm selling my sauce there. The shop opens on September 22nd, and we'll be doing a tasting event where we'll use the sauce to cook dishes. I just went to see him and found that he also made a sweet bean sauce and a tomato sauce. I wonder what kind of dishes he'll make with them. Are you interested in coming?"
Qin Suyun's eyes lit up. "Should I represent our restaurant?"
Lin Chuntao nodded: "Yes, you can say it's a new dish from your restaurant. Let people know what kind of dishes the sauce can be used to make. If they like it, they can buy it and try it. If someone tastes your dish and likes the flavor, they will come to your restaurant."
"It's killing two birds with one stone!" Qin Suyun said.
Lin Chuntao: "Mm."
Qin Suyun asked, "What about your side? Do you mainly sell sauces?"
"Yes, I mainly sell sauces; I'm too busy with other things for the time being."
Qin Suyun nodded slightly, "The sauce you made is delicious and very homey. I'm sure many people will buy it."
Thinking of the recipes in the system, Lin Chuntao said to Qin Suyun, "If you want any sauce, you can tell me, and I'll see if I can make it for you."
Qin Suyun raised an eyebrow slightly, sizing her up: "You still haven't said what you did before you came here? You weren't some big shot, were you?"
Lin Chuntao hissed coldly, "Unemployed bum."
Qin Suyun said, "Great, better than being a corporate slave."
The two looked at each other and smiled.
She and Qin Suyun only gave each other a general overview, but both of them tacitly avoided mentioning what they had done before. Lin Chuntao guessed that she might have heard of Qin Suyun's reputation, and that revealing it would expose her identity.
At this point, Qin Suyun also suspected that she had heard of Lin Chuntao and that she was going to be exposed.
Let's leave it at that and keep the novelty going. From now on, Lin Chuntao will be her half-sister in this world.
The two chatted for a while, discussing what dishes to prepare. Lin Chuntao said, "You think about it first. I have to go back today. I might come to deliver the sauce on the 19th or 20th. We can meet up then."
Qin Suyun said, "Okay, you said you'd give me your home address, so I can come visit you when I have time."
“Our village is called Shuangzizhai. If you have time to come sometime, go find Chunxing and come with her.”
Once the matter was completely settled, Lin Chuntao hurriedly returned home.
At the market, Lin Chunxing was still very busy, while Lin Chuntao went for a stroll and bought two large bundles of bitter herbs.
With others at home still doing chores, Lin Chuntao didn't wait for Lin Chunxing and Pei Ying; she simply carried the two bundles of bitter herbs home.
At that moment at home, Lin Chunhe had just finished steaming the rice and was preparing to stir-fry the vegetables.
Because Lin Chuntao cooks every day, and everyone loves her cooking so much, her aunts and uncles are worried that people won't like their dishes. What would they do then?
Unexpectedly, Lin Chuntao actually came back.
The eldest aunt looked at the two bundles of bitter herbs she was carrying and laughed, "Are you making pickled vegetables? I see there are still some in the jar."
Lin Chuntao said, "Make dried pickled vegetables."
The aunts and uncles thought it sounded like the same thing as pickled cabbage, so they didn't ask any more questions.
She took Lin Chuntao's two bundles of vegetables.
When Lin Chuntao returned, she took over the task of cooking. Since her aunt and the others had nothing to do, they asked, "Do you need to wash these vegetables? I'll drain them for you first."
Lin Chuntao nodded and thanked her aunt.
After they finished lunch, Lin Chunxing and Pei Yingcai returned, bringing with them two sets of pig offal.
The food had gotten a little cold, so Lin Chuntao heated it up for them. Lin Chunxing had also bought some rice noodles in her basket; she was going to make a new flavor of soup noodles that evening.
It's basically the version with pickled vegetables, so it'll have a slightly sour taste.
Pei Ying had already washed the pig intestines and lungs several times that morning, and Lin Chuntao rinsed them twice more to make sure there was no dirt that had escaped before braising them.
The vegetables, after being drained, wilted in half a day. Once wilted, they could be chopped and kneaded. There wasn't much of it. While the large intestine was being braised, Lin Chuntao packed the pickled vegetables into jars.
Since building the house, Lin Chuntao has been so busy that she hasn't even had time for a midday nap.
After discussing things with Lin Chuntao, Chai Xingyu immediately arranged for an opera troupe to join him. He also contacted the other sauce makers to confirm the delivery time and to help them decide what dishes their sauces were best suited for.
He didn't go home for lunch until he finished his work, but he got back late. Chai Jiao asked, "What brings Madam Lin here? Are you getting ready to open for business?"
"Yes, it's settled, the 22nd."
Guo Jixiang and Chai Songchuan exchanged a glance, then Chai Songchuan coughed and asked, "What are you planning to do on your opening day?"
"Have you hired the opera troupe?"
Chai Xingyu: "Thank you."
"I'm worried about crowds, so I'll go talk to the government officials tomorrow or the day after and invite them to come and try the food."
Chai Songchuan frowned. "What are you going to sample? You want the official to eat the sauce?"
Chai Xingyu chuckled, "Our sauce is put in the dishes, so it's for tasting, of course."
"Who cooks your dishes? Are you hiring a chef?" Guo Jixiang asked.
Chai Xingyu said, "Whoever's sauce is used in the dishes, that family should make them."
After he finished speaking, Chai Songchuan, Guo Jixiang, and Chai Jiao all fell silent. After a long while, Chai Jiao tentatively asked, "Did you come up with this idea yourself?"
Chai Xingyu smiled and said, "What Chun Tao was thinking? What did you have for lunch? I'm starving."
Hearing him say he was hungry, Guo Jixiang quickly sent someone to the kitchen.
After sitting down inside, Guo Jixiang poured him a glass of water. Whether it was because he often went out or something else, Guo Jixiang felt that the scar on his face didn't seem so scary anymore, and Chai Xingyu's expressions were much more natural.
Behind her, Chai Jiao muttered, "I have to say, Lin Chuntao is quite clever."
Chai Xingyu just smiled and didn't reply. His second sister had always looked down on a peasant girl like Lin Chuntao, and she wouldn't understand how formidable Lin Chuntao was even if he explained.
When his shop is all over Yizhou in the future, and Lin Chuntao's sauce is as famous as the Chai family's sauce shop is now, they will understand without him saying anything.
Time flies. On the nineteenth, Lin Chuntao looked at the sauce and realized it no longer needed to be dried. She told Chai Xingyu, who said, "Then let's bring the sauce over tomorrow."
Chai Xingyu bought several mule carts, which were very convenient for hauling goods on the country roads.
Early on the 20th, Chai Xingyu arrived with his men in a horse-drawn cart. Six vats of soy sauce were taken away by three mule carts. Lin Chuntao went with them to the county town. The scale at home was a bit small, but Chai Xingyu had a large steelyard scale. After weighing the soy sauce, excluding the weight of the vats, the six vats of soy sauce weighed 1,189 jin.
After Chai Xingyu put the sauce into the warehouse, recorded it in the books, and wrote and signed the slips, it was clear that since Chai Xingyu had given an advance payment of fifty taels last time, there was no need to settle the bill for the sauce yet. Everyone just recorded the amount and signed the slips, and that was it.
Chai Xingyu also brought the people working in the shop to meet Lin Chuntao. Lin Chuntao was most familiar with Sanbao, but she was seeing the others for the first time.
They were all people Chai Xingyu trusted, but Lin Chuntao was unsure whether they could actually sell things or provide good service to customers.
Lin Chuntao thought of Zhang Qingqing. Thirty taels of silver—it would be painful for Lin Chuntao to take it out now.
But Qingqing's indenture was in her employer's hands, so she couldn't come out to work.
Lin Chuntao was somewhat worried.
Upon seeing this, Chai Xingyu let them go about their business.
Although it was Chai Xingyu's shop, the poor sales also affected her. After thinking about it, she said to Chai Xingyu, "Ayu, I think the shop still needs to have two people who are very skilled at selling things and can take good care of customers."
Chai Xingyu said, "To be honest, Sister Chuntao, I'm afraid that if I hire people now, they'll try to stuff them into our shop, so I need to use people I can trust first. Do you have any good people over there?"
"There is one, but I'm not sure if they can come."
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