Chapter 76 The Exorbitantly Priced Menu
Song Wanjun left, briefly said goodbye to Master Ding, and then hurriedly departed.
Seeing that Sheng An's expression was calm and he didn't seem upset by Song Wanjun, Master Ding felt relieved. He thanked Sheng An for his hospitality and left with Ding Tianci.
Sheng An didn't take Song Wanjun's words to heart. He told Shu Qi, Bao Lan, and the others to go have lunch, while he took the food he had prepared in advance and returned to the small building.
Upon learning that Mr. Ding and the others had left, Grandma Sheng picked up a shrimp and said while eating, "I wonder if you enjoyed the food. Our Sheng Garden has never formally entertained any guests before."
Sheng An smiled and said, "No rush, someone will come."
After saying that, he brought up the matter of selling roast chicken: "Everyone likes to eat it. If we roast it and sell it, people should be able to buy it. Su Ji's roast duck can sell for three hundred coins a piece, but our roast chicken can be sold for two taels of silver."
The three elders looked at each other, too preoccupied to eat.
Two taels of silver will suffice?
Listen to this, is this even human language?
Grandpa Sheng said tactfully, "An'an, our roast chicken is delicious, and I'm sure people will like it if we sell it separately. But isn't two taels of silver a bit too expensive?"
A pig weighing 200 jin (approximately 100 kg) can barely fetch a little over two liang (approximately 100 grams) of silver.
One roasted chicken is almost as good as a whole live pig.
Whoever buys this is a sucker.
"It's not expensive. If it's sold too cheaply, more people will buy it, and I won't have that much time to bake it."
Sheng An spoke with righteous indignation, refusing to admit that he had the potential to be a heartless capitalist: "Sheng Yuan's menu is already prepared, and the cheapest dish will not be less than two hundred coins."
Snap!
It was the sound of chopsticks falling.
Grandma Sheng's eyes widened, wondering if she had misheard: "Two...two hundred coins?"
She pointed to the bok choy on the table: "You're going to sell this for two hundred coins too?"
Sheng An blinked, picked up a piece of vegetable with his chopsticks and ate it. It was crisp and refreshing: "Such delicious seasonal vegetables deserve two hundred coins to show their value."
Grandma Sheng clutched her chest tightly, as if she couldn't breathe.
At this moment, she couldn't help but curse her granddaughter as "heartless".
They dare to sell a plate of chicken feathers for a sky-high price of two hundred coins. Aren't they afraid that people will overturn the pot and stove?
Grandpa Sheng was also stunned and speechless, unable to understand why his granddaughter, who was clearly not stupid, would think that rich people were so stupid.
Only Xu Chenglin remained calm and patiently explained to the elderly couple:
"Shengyuan makes money from the rich. If the price is too low, it won't show that Shengyuan is special. Besides, An'an spent more than three hundred taels of silver on the renovation of Shengyuan before."
Maintaining such a large courtyard is expensive, and the tea for guests isn't explicitly charged, but it has to be included in the meal cost; they can't drink it for free.
Most importantly, An'an's cooking skills are worth the price. She only cooked for Young Master Ding for two months before earning back this mansion and two thousand taels of silver.
After Xu Chenglin said that, the two elders of the Sheng family suddenly felt that two hundred coins was not so expensive.
Before the two elders could fully accept the high prices, Xu Chenglin asked with great interest, "The cheapest dish is two hundred coins, and the most expensive dish is how much?"
Sheng An held up one finger: "Ten taels."
Three gasps filled the room, and three pairs of pupils dilated simultaneously.
"A dish worth ten taels of silver must be made with rare and exquisite ingredients. Beef, venison, or even bear paws and tiger meat would be worth at least fifty taels of silver, let alone ten."
Sheng An sighed, his face full of helplessness: "It's a pity that these ingredients are too rare, I definitely can't get them with my own abilities. But I can process them for the customers and charge a certain service fee."
Her hard-earned money was still quite high.
If someone invites her to their home to cook for a banquet, she is happy to do the work as long as the price is right.
Grandpa Sheng asked cautiously, "How much do you plan to charge?"
Sheng An raised a finger again: "A main dish costs ten taels, a banquet of five tables or less costs one hundred taels, more than five tables but less than ten tables costs two hundred taels, and so on."
The three elders looked at each other, completely numb.
Forget it, the whole yard is peaceful. Let her do whatever she wants. What if she gets lucky and runs into a few suckers?
After some self-reflection, the three elders finally accepted the fact that their granddaughter (daughter-in-law) was a heartless businesswoman.
That night, Sheng An lay in bed, one leg draped over Xu Jinnian, one hand kneading his abs, and started talking about pricing:
"Grandpa, Grandma, and Dad all think it's expensive. Do you think it's expensive too?"
Xu Jinnian tensed up, his voice hoarse as if something was stuck in his throat: "Not expensive."
"Hehe, you understand me best."
Sheng An rolled over and lay on top of the man, hugging his neck and kissing him on the lips:
"This price is astronomical for ordinary people, but it's nothing to rich people. Besides, I'm the only head chef at Shengyuan. I can only serve two or three tables of guests at most each day. I can't handle even one more table."
Sheng An never doubted her cooking skills, which were also her greatest source of confidence.
As for whether Shengyuan's pricing would scare away customers, Shengan was not worried at all.
Putting everything else aside, the Ding family would definitely be frequent visitors to Shengyuan.
Even if they only did business with this grandfather and grandson, Shengyuan could barely survive.
Even if all else fails, she can make selling roast chicken her main job; in any case, she will never starve to death.
"You have the final say on everything in Shengyuan. I can't help you with anything, nor will I interfere with any of your decisions."
Xu Jinnian brushed aside a few stray strands of hair that were hanging by Sheng An's ear, cupped her face, and deepened the kiss: "As long as you're happy, I'll support whatever you do."
Sheng An was immersed in the tender kiss, her head gradually becoming dizzy, as if it were covered in paste:
"You've helped us. You have the title of Xiucai (a scholar who passed the imperial examinations), your teacher is from the Jiang family of Jinling, and you have several fellow disciples with extraordinary backgrounds. These are the foundations of Shengyuan. Anyone who wants to cause trouble will have to think twice."
In this feudal society where laws and regulations are inadequate and restrict ordinary people, having strength alone is not enough to do anything; one also needs corresponding influence.
Leveraging existing resources is also a form of strength.
"So, I'm quite useful, aren't I?"
Xu Jin gently stroked the woman's face, watching the misty tears in her eyes and the unintentional allure she exuded. His gaze darkened, and his body tensed even more.
"Of course! Without you, I would only dare to run a small restaurant to make a living."
Sheng An didn't notice the danger in the man's eyes. She lay on his chest and listened quietly to his heartbeat: "Even running a small restaurant is scary. I'm afraid the police will overcharge me, I'm afraid the thugs will cause trouble, and I'm afraid someone will be jealous."
She had previously seen constables collecting money from other stalls while she was setting up a stall at the market, and also saw slackers eating without paying.
She didn't encounter these things and initially thought she was lucky. But after her grandmother injured her leg and the murderer was caught in just two or three days, she realized the reason.
A smile appeared on Xu Jinnian's lips, but the desire in his eyes gradually faded: "An'an, once your husband is listed among the successful candidates, and even achieves the highest honors, you will no longer need to be afraid."
Ultimately, he lacked the strength to grow into a towering tree, sheltering An'an from the wind and rain, sparing her from hardship and fear.
Don't put too much pressure on yourself, you're already amazing.
Sheng An didn't hold back in flattering him, his eyes gleaming as he looked at Xu Jinnian: "You're the most capable person I've ever met among my peers!"
Xu Jinnian adored those bright eyes that were all his own, and couldn't help but give them a gentle kiss. His voice was deep and seductive: "There's something even more amazing, An'an, do you want some?"
Sheng An: "..."
I suspect you are driving, and I have evidence.
She slapped the man's chest impatiently, then rolled off him: "Go to sleep, we have to get up early tomorrow."
Tomorrow is the day Fang Qingzhou's family is hosting a banquet, so she has to get up early to make twenty roast chickens and send them over.
"There's still plenty of time, no rush."
Xu Jinnian didn't let Sheng An go, easily pinning her down and kissing her from her forehead down to her neck, his breathing heavy: "An'an, I..."
"Hold on! You absolutely must hold on!"
Sheng An trembled with fear, afraid that the man would lose control of himself: "I'll go back to the courtyard when I have time and have the doctor from Rongchuntang take a look at me."
While she wanted to get a physical checkup, her main concern was whether there were any relatively scientific contraceptive methods.
The two shared a bed every day, and being in the prime of their lives, they were bound to have an affair sooner or later.
She herself was fine, but she was worried that the person's body would develop problems from holding it in, and she wouldn't be able to use it later.
"There's no time like the present, let's do it tomorrow, I'll go with you."
Xu Jinnian quickly replied, grasping Sheng An's hand with his large hand, his palm damp with sweat, his voice becoming somewhat pitiful: "After dinner at the Fang family's house tomorrow, we'll go back to the small courtyard."
Sheng An felt her palms burning hot, and her voice became stuttering: "Okay, okay, let the doctor take a look at you too."
Don't hold it in and cause yourself problems.
Xu Jin smiled and kissed her on the lips: "Okay."
Autumn is deepening, and the chill is growing stronger.
Before dawn, the kitchen was bustling with activity as the four children worked to kill chickens, boil water, pluck feathers, and light the fire in the oven.
When Sheng An rushed over, all the preparations were already complete, and she was just waiting for the next step.
It took more than two hours for all twenty roast chickens to come out of the oven and be wrapped in parchment paper.
Not long after, it was taken away by people sent by the Fang family.
Even though it was tightly wrapped in oil paper, a strong fragrance still wafted out, attracting the attention of countless passersby along the way.
The two servants who came to collect the chicken were so tormented by the smell of roasted chicken that they almost couldn't control themselves and tore open one of the oil paper packages.
Sheng An was completely unaware of this and returned to the small building to wash and dress.
This was her first time attending an important occasion with Xu Jinnian, so she naturally wanted to present herself in a presentable manner.
The Ding family had previously sent a lot of fine fabrics, and Sheng An had made several new outfits for herself. Right now, she was wearing a lotus root-colored dress.
After being well-nourished and cared for for several months, her skin became much fairer and smoother, and this color suited her very well.
But as Sheng An looked at herself in the mirror, she always felt that something was missing.
At this moment, Xu Jinnian walked over, opened a drawer on one side of the dressing table, and took out a small white porcelain box.
"What's this?"
Sheng An took it curiously, and only after opening the lid did she realize it was lip rouge. She looked at the smiling man in surprise and asked, "You would buy this?"
I always knew this man was thoughtful, but I never expected him to buy her lip balm.
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