Chapter 15 Sold for Sixty Taels
The waiter wanted to say, I don’t want anything you are selling. Our Ke Lai Xiang is one of the best restaurants in Ping’an Town. How can we be short of the things you are selling?
However, before he could say no, Baoya had already taken the small package from Zhao Zhilan's hand, opened it, and revealed the morels inside.
"Look, morels, do you want to pick them?"
When the waiter heard Baoya's crisp and soft voice, he subconsciously glanced down and saw a cluster of small mushrooms with net-like caps wrapped in soft cloth. He was stunned.
Morels are a particularly precious food. Not only are they a food, they can also be used as medicine.
This kind of mushroom usually grows most luxuriantly at the turn of spring and summer. How come we can still pick such well-grown morels now that it’s autumn?
How strange!
Seeing the waiter was stunned, Baoya grinned and said, "How is it? Do you want to buy it?"
"Collect! Collect! Of course!" The waiter nodded repeatedly, looking very excited.
Two days ago, he heard from the boss that the owner of Yaoxiantang came to their place and ordered a medicinal meal, the main ingredient of which was morel mushrooms.
However, now is not the season for morels to grow, so where can they go to pick them?
The waiter's eyes almost lit up as he stared at the soft cloth bag. It was like someone was giving him a pillow because he was sleepy - it was just in time!
"Please take a seat here. I need to inform my boss. I was rude and neglectful just now."
The waiter draped the handkerchief over his shoulder and said, "There are many customers at noon, and I am so busy that I am easily anxious. Please don't mind."
Seeing that he had a gentle attitude and was willing to accept their mushrooms, Zhao Zhilan didn't care anymore. She took Baoya, Li Rongyue and Yun Chenglu, and followed the waiter through the lobby and into a private room.
The waiter soon served them a pot of tea and some dried fruit snacks to the two children.
"Please wait a moment, our boss will be here soon." After he said that, he went out to work again.
Baoya and Yun Chenglu were both children after all, and their attention was all on the dried fruit snacks on the table.
Zhao Zhilan and Li Rongyue took a sip of tea and looked at each other, feeling a little uneasy.
The waiter's attitude changed so much. He was indifferent and wanted to drive them away just now, but now he treats them as guests of honor. How rare are these morels and how much are they worth?
The two people were just arguing when footsteps were heard at the door.
The beaded curtain at the door of the private room was lifted, and an elderly man wearing an ochre-colored robe with a bat pattern walked in.
The man had fair skin, a slightly plump figure, thick eyebrows, big eyes, a smile on his face, and a black mole on the side of his lip that was very conspicuous.
In short, one would think at first glance that he was a chef with a good temper.
This is indeed the case.
Zhu Qi, the owner of Ke Lai Xiang, is almost 60 years old this year.
He was originally the imperial chef hired by the current emperor. He entered the palace at the age of 20 and stayed in the palace for more than 30 years. Later, when he was old and his health was not as good as before, he resigned and came to Ping'an Town to open this restaurant.
"Are you the ones who want to sell morels that Xiaodouzi mentioned just now?" Zhu Qi said with a smile.
Zhao Zhilan was still holding the tea the waiter had poured for them. Seeing that he was a little nervous and at a loss for words when asking questions, she quickly put down the cup and replied, "Yes, it's us. Are you the owner of Ke Lai Xiang?"
"Yes, it's me. My name is Zhu Qi. What's your surname, auntie?" Zhu Qi entered the private room, pulled over a chair and sat down opposite Zhao Zhilan.
Seeing the old woman, who was about the same age as him, looking nervous, he said, "Auntie, don't be nervous. We are just discussing business. In business, no matter how big or small the transaction is, or whether the two parties are rich or poor, the main thing is to see whether the demand and the buyer and seller are compatible."
"Yes, yes, Boss Zhu is right." Zhao Zhilan nodded quickly and introduced Baoya and the others to Zhu Qi. "My last name is Zhao, this is my daughter-in-law, and these two children are my grandchildren."
She also didn't expect that Boss Zhu was such a nice person. He didn't put on airs and instead told them not to be nervous.
"Then Aunt Zhao, let's take a look at the goods first?" Zhu Qi smiled.
Zhao Zhilan carefully opened the soft cloth bag on the table, revealing a bunch of morels that were still well protected inside.
Zhu Qi stroked his round chin and praised, "Really good. These morels are of good quality, growing abundantly, and in such a large cluster. It's really rare."
"Then... Boss Zhu, how much can these mushrooms sell for?" Zhao Zhilan asked with some anticipation.
Zhu Qi rubbed his chin and examined it carefully for a while before saying, "I just counted them. There are fifty-two in total."
"Generally speaking, if these morels were sold to a pharmacy, they would cost one tael of silver each."
"That means, these morels of ours can be sold for fifty-two taels of silver?!" Zhao Zhilan was stunned.
"Yeah," Zhu Qi nodded, "but..."
As soon as he changed the topic, Zhao Zhilan's heart began to lift.
Zhu Qi said, "But, it seems that you, old aunt, are not from Ping'an Town. You must have traveled all the way here. I will give you sixty taels for these morels to make it a round number."
"Sixty taels..." Li Rongyue's hand holding the celadon cup trembled, and she almost spilled the hot tea on her legs.
Yun Chenglu is twelve years old this year. As a half-grown boy, he has some understanding of money.
Hearing Zhu Qi's words, her eyes widened in shock: "Grandma, how much did Boss Zhu just say?"
Zhao Zhilan hadn't recovered from her shock yet, but Zhu Qi smiled and replied, "Sixty taels. What, little brother, do you think it's too little?"
Yun Chenglu held the snack in his hand and shook his head repeatedly: "Not a little, not a little! Boss Zhu gave too much!"
Although his elder brother had told him that this morel was valuable, he had no idea about it until he got Zhu Qi's quote. He even thought it was a good thing that this strange-looking mushroom could be sold.
"It's not much, not much, it's all you deserve." Zhu Qi said, and asked the accountant at the counter outside to come and pay them, but was stopped by Zhao Zhilan.
"Boss Zhu, this is unacceptable! Just give us what you should give us. Fifty-two taels is not a small amount. We can't take more."
Zhao Zhilan wasn't a greedy person. She had always been content with her duties and not seeking petty gains. She believed that if she lived a down-to-earth life like this, even if she was a little poor now, her life would get better and better in the future.
Unexpectedly, Zhu Qi looked at Baoya who was eating snacks next to him, smiled and said, "Aunt Zhao, you don't have to refuse. I will give this extra eight taels of silver to this little girl."
As he spoke, he pointed at Baoya, who was eating snacks with her cheeks puffed out.
"For Baoya?"
Zhao Zhilan, Li Rongyue and Yun Chenglu were all stunned.
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