The waiter smiled and said, "Yes, sir, what can I do for our shopkeeper?"
An Dashan said, "We have come up with a new food and would like to ask the shopkeeper to take a look and see if we can cooperate."
The waiter did not dare to neglect him and said, "Please wait a moment. I will go to the back hall to invite the shopkeeper over."
An Dashan nodded and said, "Thank you, waiter." The waiter smiled and turned to go to the back hall.
In the back hall, the shopkeeper and chef Fang were discussing the menu. The Yingkelai Restaurant across the street had introduced a few new dishes, which had attracted a lot of customers. The two of them were thinking about how to win back the customers. But they kept going back and forth with the same few signature dishes, and couldn't think of any other good dishes.
The waiter came in and said to the shopkeeper and Chef Fang, "Shopkeeper, Chef Fang, two people came outside and said they have come up with a new food. They want the shopkeeper to help them take a look and see if our restaurant can cooperate with them."
The shopkeeper and Chef Fang's eyes lit up, and they said in unison, "Go and invite the person in."
The waiter saw the two people's reactions and did not dare to delay, and quickly invited An Dashan and An Ning in. After the few people greeted each other, the chef Fang couldn't wait to say: "I heard from the waiter that you two have figured out a new food, I wonder if you can bring it?"
An Dashan nodded, took out some bacon and sausage from the backpack, and said, "These two are the new foods we have come up with."
The chef saw the two unremarkable things and asked in confusion, "How do you eat this?"
An Ning said, "I wonder if I can borrow your kitchen for a bit. Even if we praise the dishes to the heavens, it will be useless if you don't taste them. Why don't I cook a few dishes for you to try?"
The chef nodded quickly and said, "Okay, okay, little girl, come with me!" Then he stood up and took An Ning to the kitchen.
The shopkeeper said to An Dashan, "I'm sorry to bother you, but this is how Chef Fang is. He gets excited when he hears there's a new dish."
An Dashan also smiled and said, "I understand."
An Ning followed Master Fang to the kitchen and found that Juxianlou was indeed the largest restaurant in the county. The food inside was very complete, even including many vegetables that were not common in winter.
An Ning cleaned the sausages skillfully and put them in the steamer to steam. Then she cleaned the bacon and boiled it in water, took it out after it was cooked, cut it into thin slices, and fried bacon with garlic sprouts and celery.
At this time, the sausages were already steamed. An Ning took them out, cut them into thin slices, and then put them on a plate. An Ning put the three dishes on the table and said to the chef and the shopkeeper, "Time is limited. Let's make these three dishes today. You can try them first."
Chef Fang couldn't help wanting to try it when An Ning was cooking, but he was afraid of being embarrassed, so he kept holding back. Now that An Ning opened his mouth, he couldn't wait to pick up a piece of bacon and eat it. As soon as the bacon entered his mouth, he felt the unique meaty aroma instantly fill his entire mouth. It was fat but not greasy, with a mellow taste and endless aftertaste. After Chef Fang swallowed the bacon, he picked up a piece of sausage and took a bite. He felt the fresh and fragrant juice burst out. Because An Ning didn't let An Dashan chop the meat too finely, it tasted very grainy.
The shopkeeper wanted to be reserved at first, but when he saw Chef Fang eating so happily, he couldn't help but pick up a piece of bacon and started eating. But he didn't want to stop eating and said to the waiter, "Go and serve me a bowl of rice."
Chef Fang also said vaguely: "Give me a bowl of rice as well." The two of them finished the three dishes, taking a bite of rice and a bite of meat.
After the two of them had eaten and drunk their fill, they remembered An Dashan and his daughter. The shopkeeper smiled embarrassedly and said, "Excuse me, but these bacon and sausages are really good. Let's talk about cooperation now! How do you plan to cooperate?"
An Dashan said, "It takes three catties of meat to make one catty of bacon, plus a lot of seasonings, so I plan to sell one catty of bacon for 180 coins. The sausage is more expensive than bacon, so I plan to sell it for 230 coins. I wonder if the shopkeeper can accept it?"
The shopkeeper calculated that a pound of bacon could be used to make at least five dishes, and each dish sold for 200 coins, which meant that a pound could be sold for one tael of silver. With some side dishes and other things, he could make more than half the profit. Besides, the bacon was fresh, so people would accept it if he sold it at a higher price. So he nodded and said, "I can accept this price, but we need a lot, so I wonder how much stock you have?"
An Dashan said: "We have brought everything we can eat, about 100 kilograms of bacon and 50 kilograms of sausages. The next batch will be ready in about five days. Next time we can bring about 200 kilograms of bacon and 100 kilograms of sausages."
The shopkeeper said, "This quantity is too small. You should know that our Juxianlou's headquarters is in Beijing, and Beichuan County is just one of our branches. If this bacon can be approved by the headquarters, it will be sold nationwide. Your goods may not even be able to supply our branch."
An Ning didn't expect that this Juxianlou was actually a chain, and it looked quite large. She thought for a moment and said, "So how does the shopkeeper want to cooperate?"
The shopkeeper said with a smile: "Of course we will buy your recipe."
An Ning asked again: "How much money does the shopkeeper want to pay for my prescription?"
The shopkeeper thought for a moment and said, "I'll offer you five hundred taels of silver for your recipe. Is that okay with you?"
An Ning smiled and shook her head, saying, "Boss, we sincerely want to cooperate with your restaurant. If you can't show sincerity, then we will have to find another company to cooperate with."
The shopkeeper knew that he had underestimated An Ning, so he smiled and said, "Miss, you are too polite. How much do you want to bid?"
An Ning thought that his main focus should be on improving crops, and making bacon was just a way to kill time in the winter, so he said, "I will sell this recipe to the shopkeeper for two thousand taels. I promise I will never sell this recipe to anyone else."
The shopkeeper didn't expect An Ning to ask for such a large sum. He thought for a while before saying, "This amount is too large. I can't make the decision. I have to ask the boss for permission."
An Ning nodded and said, "Don't worry. Anyway, the bacon and sausages we brought this time will be enough for the shopkeeper to sell for a while."
The shopkeeper said, "I will give you an answer when you two deliver the goods in five days."
An Ning nodded and said, "Okay, then the shopkeeper, please weigh the bacon and sausages this time!"
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