Chapter 70 The Crazy Spread of Wealth from the Condiment Stall!
"Hang them higher." Lin Yao tilted her head back and directed Afu to hang the sign that read "Selling Seasonings" higher up.
Ah Fu hung the signboard next to the shop sign and asked, "Shopkeeper, is this place alright?"
Lin Yao nodded in satisfaction: "Here it is! It's eye-catching enough this way!"
As the twelfth lunar month approached, Lin Yao's spice workshop finally produced its first batch of products. In addition to her already renowned five-spice powder, she also made salt-baked chicken powder. The salt-baked chicken had been on the market for over a month, receiving rave reviews, and its popularity was even showing signs of surpassing that of grilled fish. For several days in a row, she had been promoting that the shop's secret recipe would soon be available for sale, and many people, having heard the news, came early to wait.
Bai Yi followed behind Bai Zhuhai and saw a slender figure in the distance directing the staff to hang up the signboard. The figure looked very familiar: "Brother, what do you plan to eat today?"
"Why are you always thinking about food?" Bai Zhuhai gestured with his chin. "I brought you here to meet someone today. See her? It's that young lady. She's an extremely capable person; she runs this restaurant exceptionally well all by herself."
Recently, the family has been discussing Bai Yi's marriage, and he's gotten tired of hearing about it. He impatiently interrupted his elder brother, "Brother, I don't want to get married right now. The current situation is turbulent, and it's not a good time to get married and have children. Why do you..." Before he could finish speaking, he saw Lin Yao turn around.
Lin Yao also saw Bai Zhuhai and greeted him warmly: "Manager Bai, you've come at just the right time! This five-spice powder is about to go on sale!"
"Eh? Miss Lin!" Bai Yi was somewhat surprised to see Lin Yao. In just a few months, the small food stall had become a restaurant. No wonder his brother spoke so highly of her.
The young man in front of her looked familiar. After a moment of thought, Lin Yao finally remembered that he was the one who had come all the way from Lin'an City to this town to eat hot and sour noodles: "Young Master Bai! It's been quite a while since we last met."
Bai Yi was too embarrassed to mention that he had been cheated out of a hundred taels of silver and had wanted to go out and do chivalrous deeds with others, but was instead detained at home by his father. He only vaguely said, "The martial arts school has been quite busy lately, so I'm helping to manage things."
Bai Zhuhai was surprised to find that his younger brother and Lin Yao already knew each other. He thought to himself, "Could this be a match made in heaven for the Bai family? This silly boy is truly blessed." Seeing that the two had finished their conversation, he interjected, "Manager Lin, why don't you take a look at our five-spice powder first?"
"Alright! This way, please!" Lin Yao led the two to a newly placed stall near the entrance. She had it made by craftsmen based on a design of a modern food stall cart. It was filled with seasonings, packaged in large, medium, and small portions. Each jar of seasoning was printed with a large "Lin" character, along with the Lin family's logo: a cartoon version of Lin Yao, which she designed herself. In her previous life, she had participated in an anime club in college and learned some techniques for drawing chibi characters. After not drawing for many years, she was dissatisfied with her first few drafts, and it wasn't until the seventh draft that she finally found her footing.
Lin Yao picked up a jar of seasoning and showed it off: "This large jar is forty taels a jar. Although it is more expensive, each jar contains two catties and can be used for a long time. It is suitable for large restaurants or large families; the medium size is twenty-five taels a jar, and the small size is five taels a jar."
"Then take three large jars." Bai Zhuhai noticed a seasoning labeled "Salt-baked Chicken Powder" on the stall and asked, "Manager Lin, what is this salt-baked chicken powder? Is it made with salt or chicken?"
"This is the seasoning for making salt-baked chicken," Lin Yao explained. "Just wash the chicken, rub the seasoning on it, stuff the chicken cavity with scallions and ginger, and steam it until cooked. It tastes delicious." As she spoke, she asked Ah Zhu to instruct the kitchen to prepare a serving of salt-baked chicken. "This salt-baked chicken is on me, it's a treat for Manager Bai. It's selling very well at the restaurant, and many people have been coming to eat it for several days in a row. Manager Bai and Young Master Bai might as well try it first."
"Manager Lin, you're too kind. I, Bai, will gladly accept your offer." Bai Zhuhai's gaze towards Lin Yao held even greater admiration. If this young lady could become his brother's wife, that would be wonderful. He glanced at his simple-minded younger brother beside him, whose eyes were only on food, and couldn't help but sigh inwardly…
Bai Yi felt his brother's gaze and touched his face: "Is my face dirty?"
Xu Zhiheng also brought Jin Yu to join in the fun today. A few days ago, Lin Yao gave him a jar of salt-baked chicken powder. He took it home and had his chef try to make it a few times, but no matter what he did, it couldn't compare to the taste of Lin Yao's restaurant. So every few days, he would go to the restaurant and order a salt-baked chicken. He was originally a person who liked strong flavors, and he used to think that those bland-colored foods must be tasteless. But after tasting salt-baked chicken, he truly understood what the true flavor of food was. The fresh, fragrant and mellow taste made him crave it if he didn't eat it for a few days.
As soon as he entered the restaurant, he saw Bai Zhuhai and Bai Yi sitting at the table near the entrance. "Brother Bai! Bai Yi!"
Bai Yi was enjoying his meal with great relish. The salt-baked chicken had a very unique flavor; he had never tasted chicken like this before. Suddenly, he heard someone call his name. He looked up and saw Xu Zhiheng standing in front of him. He quickly put down the chicken leg in his hand, stood up, and bowed, saying, "Brother Xu, it's been a long time."
"Are you here to buy Manager Lin's seasonings too?" Xu Zhiheng sat down and asked the waiter to add two more chickens, a grilled fish, and a serving of pork bone soup.
Seeing that he had ordered several more dishes, Bai Yi became even more enthusiastic: "Yes, Manager Lin's seasoning makes the dishes so fragrant!"
Bai Zhuhai wanted to say he couldn't eat that much, but then he thought about how these two were also known for their large appetites, so he silently swallowed his words.
Outside the restaurant, a large crowd had gathered to buy seasonings, many of whom were purchasing agents from other restaurants. When the Lin family restaurant first opened, many customers were drawn there, but lacking the culinary skills, they had no choice but to turn a blind eye. Now, the Lin family restaurant was selling its own secret recipes; although the prices were high, it was still better than watching the Lin family make money while they themselves remained deserted.
Liu Xu managed the condiment stall, with Wang Chunlai assisting him. Seeing their excellent teamwork, Lin Yao stopped interfering. Looking at the crowd surrounding her, layer upon layer, she seemed to see a steady stream of silver coins flowing towards her.
Suddenly, Lin Yao saw a mother and daughter standing on the outer perimeter.
Their eyes met, and Chen Huanxi realized Lin Yao was looking at her. She broke free from her mother's hand, ran over, and grabbed Lin Yao's skirt, exclaiming, "Pretty sister!"
Lin Yao picked up the little girl and bounced her around: "Axi! What brings you here?"
The little girl tilted her head and thought for a moment: "You haven't come to the workshop to see Ah-Xi for a long time, so Ah-Xi came out to find you."
Xie San Niang smiled helplessly: "Manager Lin, the workshop is under renovation today, so there's no need to work. I just brought Ah Xi out for a walk."
"I see." Lin Yao scratched the little girl's armpit. "So you were just kidding me, you little liar."
Chen Huanxi laughed so hard she almost fell over, and said intermittently, "I'm not lying, I just miss my sister."
Hearing her say that, Lin Yao finally let her go: "Your little mouth is so sweet, it's like it's been coated with honey." She put Chen Huanxi on the ground, and the little girl happily ran back to her mother's side.
"Does my wife want to buy five-spice powder?" Lin Yao asked.
Xie Sanniang shook her head: "When we went to the market today, we heard that the Lin family's restaurant, which had caused a scene at the fair and went to the government office, was going to sell their unique seasonings, so we came to join in the fun. We didn't expect it to be your restaurant."
The old woman standing nearby nodded in agreement after hearing Xie San Niang's words: "That's right. How can we not come and take a look at a secret recipe that even the government has complained about? But the price is too high. Even a small jar costs five taels. Who can afford that?"
Upon hearing this, Lin Yao remained silent for a moment, then took out a stack of cut reed paper from the restaurant and said to the crowd, "There are ten limited spots for the experience each day. You can choose any seasonings. It costs one qian and thirty wen, and each person is limited to one liang per day."
Upon hearing this, the crowd stirred. Xie Sanniang immediately pulled out a string of copper coins from her purse and slapped them in front of Liu Xu: "I want three coins of salt-baked chicken powder!" Her demeanor was completely different from her usual mild-mannered personality.
Liu Xu put the money into the basket: "Okay, I'll weigh it for you right away!"
Upon receiving the seasonings, Xie San Niang was overjoyed. She picked up A Xi and kissed her chubby cheeks, saying, "My little girl, Mother will cook you some delicious chicken."
Seeing that Xie San Niang had successfully bought the seasonings, many onlookers no longer hesitated and hurriedly took out their money, afraid of missing out on a spot. In no time, all ten trial spots were snapped up, and the seasonings on the stall were sold out.
The manager of Ziwei Restaurant arrived a little late today. By the time he got there, all the seasonings had been sold out. He quickly asked, "Manager Lin, when will the next batch of seasonings be on the shelves?"
"The next batch will be available in three days." Seeing that more shopkeepers were coming to inquire about the seasonings, Lin Yao simply introduced a pre-order system. "Please come with me to the shop to register the quantity of seasonings you need, write down your address, and pay the deposit. We will send someone to deliver the seasonings to your door. You can settle the balance after you receive the seasonings."
As a result, the shopkeepers who were originally worried about not being able to buy the seasonings left the required quantities and addresses with smiles on their faces. Although it would be a few days later, it was better than not being able to buy them at all.
Lin Yao took the order and saw that it weighed a full twenty-eight jin! She then roughly calculated today's revenue: a total of five large jars, ten medium jars, and eight small jars were sold, with a total turnover of four hundred and ninety taels. After deducting the one hundred and twenty taels for purchasing spices and labor costs, she made a net profit of three hundred and fifty-five taels today.
Since transmigrating, Lin Yao had never earned so much money in a single day. Three hundred and fifty taels a day, that's a thousand taels in three days! However, she quickly calmed down. Seasonings are durable goods, especially large jars. Even a large restaurant could use them for quite a while, let alone customers like Bai Zhuhai who buy several jars at a time. But looking at the gleaming silver in her drawer, she still felt a great sense of accomplishment.
One day, she'll be earning thousands, even tens of thousands of taels a day! If it weren't for the current uncertain situation, she really wanted to seize the opportunity, buy a shop in the prefectural city, and then purchase a three-courtyard mansion to enjoy this antique lifestyle. However, now is not a good time to buy property. If war really breaks out, having a large family and business would make it difficult to escape.
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Author's Note: Hello, I'm a diligent updater hoping to get a favorite! [Let me see][Pigeon]
It rained all day in Beijing today, and I'm stuck at school. So boring!
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