Ye Caiping then took Ye Daquan to buy ten large stone mills.
Then they went to ceramic workshops and dyeing workshops and ordered the pottery jars and labels they needed.
The earthenware jars were ordered to weigh five jin each, and a total of 1,000 jars were ordered, along with 1,000 labels.
Besides these packaging materials, we also need to stir-fry the ingredients.
Ye Caiping also ordered 10 large iron pots and spatulas, as well as some basins and buckets for holding ingredients.
The next morning, Ye Caiping dragged Ye Daquan along to discuss business again.
The six restaurants she had been supplying were very supportive, each ordering 20 jin (10 catties) to test the waters first.
In the town and county seat, she proactively contacted several restaurants and ordered a total of 100 jin (50 catties).
They then went to the prefectural city to negotiate, and finally only negotiated with three families, with each family ordering 5 catties as a trial.
Seeing that his younger sister had only managed to order a little over 200 jin after working for most of the day, Ye Daquan couldn't help but worry:
"Why is this prefectural city so stingy? It's not even as good as the county town or our small town."
Ye Caiping laughed and said, "Because our spicy soup is only famous in the county town and small towns!"
“Sigh, we ordered 2,000 catties of spices, and only 200 catties have been shipped out.”
"That's how business is. It's impossible to be booming and making a fortune right from the start. There always has to be a process, giving others a chance to test the waters. After all, nobody wants to lose money."
Ye Daquan was still quite worried.
Although he had confidence in his younger sister, they were currently selling pre-packaged seasonings, and whether or not they could make it taste good was not something they could control.
Ye Caiping said, "Don't worry, others want to make money even more than you do."
After returning from the city to Dashu Town, the oxcart stopped in front of Baiweilou Restaurant.
"Little sister, why did we come here?" Ye Daquan frowned.
They have a conflict with Baiweilou.
The restaurant, Baiweilou, initially wanted to buy the young lady's secret recipe, but she refused, thus creating a feud.
"It's just a minor conflict. As long as it doesn't come to a life-or-death situation, there's always room for negotiation in business."
Ye Caiping remembers that Baiweilou is a chain, not only in Dashu Town, but also in the county seat and the prefectural city.
Judging from Manager Lin's tone last time, Baiweilou has branches all over the Great Zhou Dynasty, which means it's a huge enterprise!
Ye Caiping and Ye Daquan entered the restaurant.
"Welcome! Would you two like to sit in the main hall or in a private room?" The waiter greeted them warmly as soon as he saw them.
Ye Caiping walked in and couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
It's lunchtime now, but business at Baiweilou is so-so; only half the hall is occupied.
"Shopkeeper," Ye Caiping said, going straight to the counter.
"Sir..." Manager Lin looked up, then choked, his face darkening slightly: "Isn't this Madam Ye? What are you doing here?"
Manager Lin was furious.
It's all that Lady Ye's fault!
He wanted to buy the secret recipe for spicy soup, but he failed! She also wanted to supply his family, but he didn't want to give her any business.
Unexpectedly, she turned around and supplied it to other companies.
There was a small shop called Shunkelou that was revived by its spicy soup.
Now, not only is the spicy soup selling well, but other dishes are also highly praised by customers, taking away a lot of their business.
Before the Lunar New Year, when it came time to settle accounts, he was singled out by the head manager because of the business downturn.
"Can we come over for dinner?" Ye Caiping asked.
Manager Lin's expression was subtle, revealing displeasure, yet he had no choice but to force a smile: "Of course, guests are always welcome."
"Are you kidding? I'm not eating." The two families have a conflict, but they're not afraid of the other side poisoning them; they're afraid of the other side spitting into their food.
Manager Lin's face darkened: "Are you making fun of me?"
"I've come to talk business with you."
"What, you want to sell me the secret formula?"
"What are you thinking about!" Ye Caiping said, taking out a seasoning packet. "My family's spicy soup workshop is opening in February, and we'll be selling this seasoning packet. Do you want some?"
Manager Lin frowned: "Then will you still supply goods to Shunkelou and others?"
"See if they want it or not. If they do, continue to provide it; if not, stop providing it."
Manager Lin thought that the ingredients supplied by Ye Caiping herself must be more authentic than those cooked using the seasoning packets. Even if Baiweilou used the seasoning packets, they still couldn't beat the taste of Shunkelou.
Ye Caiping said, "What I'm thinking is, even if your branch doesn't sell it, what about the ones in the prefectural city? What about the ones in other prefectures? Other prefectures don't have Hu spicy soup."
Manager Lin's eyes lit up. If he could push this package of ingredients to the main store and other prefectures first, he could also make a small contribution!
As Lin the shopkeeper thought about it, Ye Caiping's smile became more genuine:
"Okay, I'll send the seasoning packet over. What do you want to eat? It's on me."
"No need, my family has left me some food, I'll head back now."
Ye Caiping smiled and left with Ye Daquan.
...
Ye Erquan and Madam Wei were discussing moving to their new home in the room.
"After building the house, we still had 3 taels and 6 qian left. We collected 4 taels in wages twice, so we had a total of 7 taels and 6 qian. Also, before you and your sister-in-law started working, my brother and I were already working. Back then, we earned 25 wen a day, and we saved up 700 or 800 wen. That adds up to more than 8 taels. That's enough to host a banquet."
Ye Erquan said as he counted the money, in a very good mood.
Mrs. Wei frowned: "Are you planning to throw everything in at once?"
Ye Erquan said, "Moving is a big deal! It might only happen once in a lifetime, so how can we not do it well? Besides, don't we still get paid?"
“But… now we seem to be making money every day, but once my sister’s workshop is up and running, those restaurants won’t want any more goods, so where will we find work?”
"What nonsense are you talking about? Doesn't the workshop need people? As long as we're hardworking, won't the young lady hire us first? Even if we really don't get paid in the future, we still have hands and feet. We can make a living by farming and working hard. Isn't that how everyone lives? Does not getting paid mean we have to die?"
Mrs. Wei felt a pang of fear at his words: "I'm terrified of hardship. Life is better now, but I'm always afraid of going back to the way it was before..."
"Sigh, even if we went back to the old days, at least we built a big house, right?"
“That’s right. But…” Madam Wei pursed her lips and took three taels of silver from the bed: “Take these five taels and four mace. I must save these three taels. This is for Peng’er to use when he gets married in the future.”
"What's the rush...? Waiting a few more years won't be too late." Ye Erquan frowned.
"No rush, he's 16!"
Ye Erquan was quite annoyed when he saw that she was determined to save up 3 taels, but he didn't want to argue with her over a few taels.
"Okay, you can save it. But I have to decide what dishes to serve at this banquet."
Mrs. Wei choked for a moment; she was still thinking of saving even more on the dishes…
Seeing that Ye Erquan was already somewhat annoyed, he dared not be stubborn any longer and nodded.
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