Chapter 5: How to Achieve a Win-Win Situation
The two walked back to the main street, having to avoid not only crowds but also horse-drawn carriages and oxcarts. The jingling of bells and the hawkers' cries created a lively atmosphere.
Shen Zhiyi sensed Tang Huaya's nervousness beside her, reached out and grasped her hand, then used her basket to block them from view, so that anyone who tried to approach would be immediately discovered.
"Don't be nervous, take a deep breath," Shen Zhiyi said softly, and since they were going the same way as the oxcart in front of them, they wouldn't have to squeeze with the others.
As they passed the "Jufu Restaurant", Shen Zhiyi quickly pulled Tang Huaya, who was still following behind the oxcart, and whispered, "We've arrived."
Tang Huaya instantly tensed up, watching the people coming and going, and said uneasily, "Zhiyi, if you're hungry, can we go somewhere else to eat? This place looks like..."
Before he could finish speaking, the waiter at the restaurant entrance, wiping his sweat with a towel, said with disgust, "Poor bastards shouldn't come here, lest they offend the eyes of our distinguished guests."
"How can you talk like that, little brother?" Shen Zhiyi said angrily, about to argue with her, when Tang Huaya grabbed her arm tightly, looking like she didn't want to cause trouble.
They're just dressed in "ragged" clothes, why are they being belittled like this!
Shen Zhiyi held her breath and glared angrily in that direction.
"Let's go," Tang Huaya said in a humble voice, while the waiter on the other side was smug.
A surge of anger welled up inside her, and Shen Zhiyi said defiantly, "We're not leaving! We're eating here!"
As Shen Zhiyi pulled Tang Huaya across the threshold, the waiter, who had initially looked disgusted, caught a glimpse of something and immediately became much nicer. He draped a towel over his shoulder and greeted them warmly, "Are you here for a meal or to stay the night, sir?"
"Hey, waiter, don't be in such a hurry." Shen Zhiyi also noticed the waiter's unusual behavior. Following his gaze, she looked over openly and saw a middle-aged man wearing a cotton robe, with a kind face and an elegant aura, responding with gentle eyes.
"The dishes I want to order may not be available at your restaurant," Shen Zhiyi said confidently, tilting her head back. Her voice was particularly loud in the restaurant lobby, and people who were eating or ordering food couldn't help but glance in her direction.
The owner's gaze was also on them, and the waiter immediately straightened his back and said loudly, "Miss, you can go out and ask around, our Jufu Restaurant has this. If we don't have it, no other restaurant will!"
Shen Zhiyi smiled upon hearing this, her soft voice carrying a youthful innocence that wasn't off-putting. She playfully said, "Don't be too sure of yourself! I'd like to order now."
"Please, miss," the waiter replied haughtily.
"Stir-fried pork with chili peppers, mapo tofu, spicy fish..." Shen Zhiyi said, but seeing that the waiter kept looking at the dishes, she didn't want to make things difficult any further, so she ended the sentence at the right time, "And spicy cabbage, do you have that too?"
The middle-aged man stepped forward, and the waiter then stepped aside, secretly wiping the cold sweat from his forehead.
“I have never heard of the dishes you mentioned, young lady.” The middle-aged man smiled amiably. “I am the owner of this restaurant. If you don’t mind, you may call me Owner Lin.”
"Master Lin," Shen Zhiyi quickly corrected herself.
Lin Dongjia continued, "If I'm not mistaken, all these dishes are related to 'spicy.' I wonder if we could use dogwood?"
Compared to imported products like chili peppers, dogwood is a local product.
However, Shen Zhiyi did not find out about dogwood seeds here, which probably means they are only used on a small scale.
“No.” Shen Zhiyi refused. Seeing someone roll up their sleeves to argue, she knew that this Lin Dong family member was well-liked. She added logically, “Although the taste of dogwood is spicy, it cannot mask the bitterness.”
"That girl thinks..." Lin Dongjia tentatively asked.
Shen Zhiyi felt a little embarrassed and placed the basket containing half an ounce of chili peppers on the table, saying, "The chili peppers in this basket can make the dish I described! And the steps are simple. Just tell your chef, and he'll definitely be able to make it! If it doesn't taste good, I'm willing to pay double the bill!"
These words piqued the curiosity of those around, who then urged the silent Lin Dongjia to speak up.
"Brother Lin, I haven't heard of those dishes she mentioned before. Shall we give them a try?"
"Spicy, chili peppers, I think I heard that word about this afternoon."
"These little red berries, could they be poisonous?"
The moment the guess was uttered, the surroundings fell silent. It was Tang Huaya who anxiously said, "The chili peppers aren't poisonous. We've all eaten them!"
Upon hearing this preface, Shen Zhiyi's heart stirred, and she quickly replied, "Of course it's not poisonous, otherwise why would the county magistrate, Master Mu, and Master He have bought it!"
“We are just honest farmers, how could we dare to have any malicious intentions?” Shen Zhiyi smiled helplessly, which made everyone unwilling to say anything more malicious.
"Since these chilies are so special... why don't we borrow the young lady's chilies today and let us all take a look at the new dish?" Lin Dongjia concluded the discussion, "Fuduo, take the young lady to the back and let Chef Dong take charge of the cooking."
The waiter, Fu Duo, quickly agreed and respectfully led Shen Zhiyi and Tang Huaya to the backyard.
The restaurant is a two-story duplex ancient building with carved beams and tiled roof, standing out like a crane among chickens in this somewhat dilapidated county town.
The first floor serves as a lobby, and the tables and chairs are not crowded.
Compared to making money, the owner of this restaurant values the relaxed atmosphere of dining more, and one can sense his easygoing and easygoing nature.
Therefore, when the other party realized Shen Zhiyi's intentions, they did not say anything to drive her away, but instead went along with the act, which made Shen Zhiyi feel somewhat favorably towards them.
There was a large water tank in the backyard, with two beautiful koi swimming inside. When they saw someone coming, they quickly flicked their tails and dived to the bottom of the tank.
Shen Zhiyi and Tang Huaya were led to the side courtyard hall to wait. The open courtyard gate allowed them to quickly see the two figures walking towards them. Fu Duo stopped and introduced, "This is Master Dong, the master craftsman most trusted by the master."
Master Dong was robust, with neatly combed black and white hair and deep nasolabial folds on his face, but his eyes were bright and piercing.
As soon as the introduction finished, he eagerly asked, "But this young lady mentioned stir-fried pork with chili peppers, mapo tofu, spicy fish, and spicy cabbage? Are chili peppers comparable to dogwood?"
Faced with a barrage of questions, Shen Zhiyi hesitated for once, only managing to say, "I said it..."
Master Dong excitedly shouted, "Where are the chilies? Where are they?"
Tang Huaya was so frightened that she gripped the basket tightly in her hands. Seeing this, Master Dong quickly stepped forward, rubbed his hands together excitedly, picked up a chili pepper from the basket, and carefully put it in his mouth.
"Master Dong, it will be very spicy if eaten raw," Tang Huaya said quickly.
At this moment, Master Dong was already chewing, and the expressions on his face became more and more varied until they began to turn red.
Fu Duo, watching in horror, rushed forward to support the swaying Master Dong, anxiously saying, "This thing is poisonous! What are you trying to do..."
Before he could finish speaking, Shen Zhiyi handed him a cup of untouched tea and interrupted, "Master Dong, have a few sips of tea to calm down first. Chili peppers are much spicier than dogwood. Eating them raw is very irritating to the stomach and can cause a feverish appearance."
Master Dong downed the tea in one gulp, took a few deep breaths, and then laughed loudly, "Good! Good, good! You weren't lying, little girl, it's very flavorful! But there's only so much, it's hardly enough!"
“We still have fifty catties of slightly lower quality fruit at home. Of course, the price per catty will be ten coins cheaper, but the taste is the same!” Shen Zhiyi said knowingly.
"What's the price, and when will the goods be delivered?" Master Dong asked directly.
Shen Zhiyi recalled Fu Duo's previous introduction and knew that Master Dong was a person who could make decisions, so she said, "Sixty coins per catty, it will be delivered when the city gates open at Chenshi tomorrow."
"Why don't you just rob it!" Fudo exclaimed in shock.
“We sell them to the county magistrate for eighty coins, and to the wealthy man’s family for seventy coins… just like the chili peppers Master Dong is holding,” Tang Huaya retorted softly, her voice just loud enough for them to hear.
Shen Zhiyi silently gave Hua Ya a thumbs up in her heart, then looked at Master Dong with a rather helpless expression and said, "The price was set from the beginning, please forgive me."
Master Dong remained silent at the opportune moment, and Fu Duo dared not say anything more. The sudden silence made Tang Huaya feel uneasy and move closer to Shen Zhiyi, as if she had done something wrong.
"Fifty-six a pound, how about that? I doubt there's another place in the city that can buy this many chilies from you," Master Dong said slowly, a hint of certainty in his eyes.
After considering the troubles and monetization issues of the initial retail, Shen Zhiyi replied, "Okay, but we need to draw up a contract. We will sell the peppers of the 61-pound grade to your restaurant at 56-pound, and the restaurant will have to buy all the peppers of that grade. If you want the peppers of the 70-wen and 80-wen-per-pound grades that we sell to you to be priced 4-wen lower, you will also have to buy all of those peppers."
"Young lady, are you sure you can make decisions when you come out to discuss business like this?" Master Dong couldn't help but ask.
"Of course!" Shen Zhiyi replied proudly.
Tang Huaya also found a position to speak up, saying, "Zhiyi can make the decision on this matter, we will all listen to her!"
Hearing such words of complete trust, Shen Zhiyi turned to look at Tang Huaya, and the two exchanged a smile.
Master Dong's eyes suddenly softened, and he slowly said, "Since that's the case, let's draw up a contract."
"Fuduo, invite the master here," Master Dong said again.
After listening, Fu Duo silently withdrew. When he returned, he not only brought Lin Dongjia, but also a sprightly old man with a white beard.
"This is Mr. Li, who will be our witness," Lin Dongjia introduced.
"Thank you for your trouble, Mr. Li," Shen Zhiyi said respectfully. The other party's scholarly demeanor alone was enough to indicate his identity.
Mr. Li has beautiful handwriting, and worried that Shen Zhiyi and the others might not be able to read, so he read it aloud. It was all written in vernacular Chinese, which gave her a good opportunity to compare the simplified characters in her mind with the traditional characters on the paper.
Both parties pressed their fingerprints on their names, and the contract was completed.
With Chef Dong, a culinary expert, present, and Shen Zhiyi giving some pointers on the basic uses of chili peppers, those dishes were successfully prepared and served to them.
After tasting the dishes, Shen Zhiyi carefully put away the contract, smiled brightly at Master Lin, and said, "Master Lin, I have also prepared a big gift. You'd better be ready to receive it tomorrow!"
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