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Meeting Butler Zhang and Selling Prescriptions

It was not yet time for dinner and there were no customers in the restaurant. Manager Zhang asked the waiters to carry the chestnuts to the back, and then asked Su Zhi and Shen Zian to sit down. Even if he wanted Su Zhi to teach him how to cook earlier, he couldn't just invite them to the kitchen in the back.

Su Zhi didn't sit down either. She had a lot of things to do this morning and time was running out. She didn't want to waste any more time here. Just as she was about to say she was going to the kitchen, she was interrupted.

"Manager Zhang, I'd like to book a table for you guys."

A middle-aged man came in. He was handsome, had a beard, and wore a blue cotton gown. He looked like he had some status. Su Zhi recognized him. The last time Li Shi went to sell persimmons, he saw him. He also asked Li Shi to send him fresh food. Li Shi said that this man was Zhang, the housekeeper who sold the recipe. His surname seemed to be Zhang. The family was named Qian, and he was a housekeeper. As for whether he was a big housekeeper or a small housekeeper, Su Zhi was not sure.

When Shopkeeper Zhang saw this person coming, he bowed to Shen Zian and Su Zhi and asked them to wait for a moment, then he walked towards Butler Zhang and greeted him with a smile.

"Butler Zhang, your chef is also a good cook. Why did you think of ordering a banquet here? Do you have important guests? They must have a good banquet."

"That's right. Everyone knows that you have new dishes here. My master said that he wants to invite guests to eat. Cook both of your new dishes. Also, if you have appetizers, make a few more. The ones coming to dinner this time are my aunt and cousin. My cousin's appetite has been poor these days. Nothing tastes good to her. My master only has this one niece. So, I feel sorry for her and want to take them out to relax. You must prepare this table well."

Butler Zhang said. He added: "My aunt and cousin are from official families, they have eaten all kinds of delicious food. This time I will praise your restaurant in front of them. You must let the chef show his skills."

When Manager Zhang heard this, he immediately gave the recipe and said, "Okay! You don't know the food in our restaurant. Even the restaurants in the county may not be comparable. My cousin has a poor appetite, so I'll ask the chef to think of something appetizing."

"Okay, we have known each other for many years, and my grandfather is also very good friends with your grandfather. If I can make Miss cousin eat well this time, I will surely gain advantages in front of both grandfathers."

Butler Zhang said with a smile. He looked at Shen Zian and Su Zhi standing beside him. He felt that the two looked familiar. Just now he saw the waiter of the restaurant carrying something down from the ox cart outside. He thought it must be the things of this couple.

"Manager Zhang, I just saw you guys carrying something inside. Could it be some new food?"

Shopkeeper Zhang didn't want to talk about Su Zhi with others. He didn't want people to know that the new dish was taught by Su Zhi, lest others would learn to cook from Su Zhi after knowing it.

Shopkeeper Zhang didn't want to say that it was chestnuts. If he did, if Su Zhi taught dishes made with chestnuts in the future, Butler Zhang would know about it, and he couldn't lie. He just wanted to change the subject, but Butler Zhang started talking to Su Zhi again.

"This young man, this young lady. You look familiar to me. Have you seen you somewhere before?"

Shen Zian bowed and said, "Butler Zhang, we have indeed seen it. My eldest brother Li Shi once went to your house to sell persimmons."

Butler Zhang suddenly understood and nodded, saying, "Yes. You went with him. The persimmons there are different from ordinary persimmons. They are crisp and very popular. My aunt and cousin have lived in the capital and they said they have never eaten persimmons like that. But I heard from Li Shi that they are out of stock at home. Otherwise, I really need to go to him to buy some more."

Su Zhi thought that such crispy and sweet persimmons were indeed popular. She should either give the recipe to Brother Shitou so that he could use it to make money, or teach it to people in the village. If her family became richer, she would not have to make others jealous.

"My dear, I don't know what's in your basket, but it smells sweet."

The butler Zhang suddenly said to Su Zhi. Seeing that everyone was looking at him, he smiled and said, "My nose has always been very sensitive. Even if you cover the basket, I can still smell it. I just thought that you have heard that my cousin has a poor appetite. I smell this smell very fragrant. I think my cousin may also like it. So I asked presumptuously."

Su Zhi placed the basket on the table and opened the lid to reveal the remaining red sour fruit cake inside. She said, "This is the sweet and sour cake I made myself. I brought it to the market today to sell. Now there are only a few pieces left. This is indeed appetizing and tastes good. If your cousin has a poor appetite, she will probably like it."

As soon as Butler Zhang saw the bright red and clean sour fruit cakes, he immediately thought that if he gave them to his cousin, she would definitely like them. Thinking that if he could please his cousin, his master would also be happy, he immediately wanted to buy these sweet and sour cakes.

"Young lady, since you want to sell this sweet and sour cake, can you sell it to me? I wonder how much it costs?"

Su Zhi thought it was a good idea to go to a wine shop and sell the remaining cranberry cakes.

"I was selling this sweet and sour cake at the market just now for one cent a piece. This piece hasn't been cut yet, so I don't want more. Just give me thirty cents."

Su Zhi didn't think that she would have to ask for a huge price when selling this sour fruit cake to the doormen, although she still doubled the price.

Butler Zhang immediately took out money to pay the bill, and asked the shopkeeper to bring him a small food box. He put the red sour fruit cake in the bowl and then in the food box.

Butler Zhang happily carried the food box away without asking what was in the basket he had just carried in, which made Manager Zhang breathe a sigh of relief.

"The little lady is really good at her craftsmanship. The pastries are really beautiful and delicious."

Shopkeeper Zhang praised, thinking that he had never seen or heard of the sour and sweet cake. It seemed that this young lady's craftsmanship was hers. This was a restaurant, not a snack shop. I wondered if the master would buy the recipe if he knew about it. I would inform the master when I have the chance. He knew another skill of Su Zhi, and he became more enthusiastic about her.

Su Zhi said, "Manager Zhang, please go to the kitchen and I'll teach you how to cook. We have other things to do."

Shopkeeper Zhang immediately made the request with a smile, and then walked to the back with Su Zhi and Shen Zian. As they walked, he told Su Zhi that he hoped Su Zhi would sell all her dishes here in the future, and if other restaurants came to buy them, they should not sell them.

Su Zhi looked at Zhang the shopkeeper and said with a grin, "Selling the recipe only to you? That's not impossible, but the price will be different."

Manager Zhang immediately said, "Of course. If the young lady agrees to this request, the price of this dish will be increased to 40 taels of silver. How about that? This is doubled. 40 taels of silver is not a small amount."

Forty taels of silver is indeed a lot of money. It can buy a very nice house and some good farmland.

Su Zhi thought about it and realized that if she was not short of money in the future, she would not sell recipes often. But she loved cooking, and maybe she would be able to make some dishes in the future. And who knew if she would open a restaurant in the future? She didn't want to sell all the recipes.

"Forget it, let's just pay 20 taels of silver per dish. I can promise that I will not give the recipes I sell to you to other restaurants in this county. And if I have new dishes in the future, I will look for your restaurant first. As for other things, I can't guarantee it."

Shopkeeper Zhang wanted to persuade her again, but when Su Zhi waved her hand, he knew that Su Zhi had made up her mind, and it was useless for him to say anything more. This young lady was just a peasant woman, and she seemed to be very kind, but he felt that when she made a decision, she was so powerful, as if she was firm and steady like a mountain. This was really amazing in a woman. He felt this kind of power in his old man, but it didn't seem to be so strong.

As soon as Su Zhi arrived, the two chefs greeted her with a smile. They were very impressed by Su Zhi, a woman with superb cooking skills, and hoped to learn a few more tricks from her.

Su Zhi nodded, and then began to skillfully instruct them to start cleaning and cooking. She was the one giving instructions from the side, only extending her hand occasionally. Even in this smoky kitchen, she was still so natural.

Shen Zian stayed with Su Zhi the whole time. He did not interfere with his wife's actions. He knew that Su Zhi could handle everything well. He just needed to watch over her. Watching his wife directing others to cook, he thought of her cooking in her own kitchen, and felt sweet in his heart.

This time, Su Zhi taught how to cook a braised chestnut chicken. After making this dish, Su Zhi didn't want to sell other recipes anymore. But Zhang kept asking her to teach him another one. Su Zhi finally taught him how to cook pork head. She earned another 40 taels of silver from these two methods.

Those chestnuts were sold for more than one or two taels of silver, and it was agreed that more chestnuts would be delivered next time.

After being escorted out of the tavern by Shopkeeper Zhang, the young couple hurried back to the market. They saw that the three sisters-in-law had almost sold all their hair flowers, leaving only three cloth flowers and five silk flowers.

"Take these back first and sell them together next time. Let's go to the embroidery shop."

Su Zhi was talking. Just now when she passed by the cloth shop and the garment store, Su Zhi bought a lot of cloth. She would be able to come back to buy cloth next time. From now on, she would have to see if there were any more cloths to buy.

Mrs. Li and her friends immediately packed up their things and got on the ox cart.

As a result, just as I got on the ox cart, I saw more people coming to buy head flowers. Six of the remaining head flowers were sold, and finally only two silk head flowers were left.

The three sisters-in-law were so happy that they whispered to Su Zhi, "The basket is full of copper coins and it's heavy."

Su Zhi also smiled, thinking that with thousands of hairpins, she could at least earn a few taels of silver. Although it didn't sound like much, it was the result of just two days of work and the cost was only twenty cents, which was really a great deal.