After Jiang Yuwei plated the food and put it on the table, she called the villagers who had helped her to come and eat. She went into the kitchen and started making chili sauce. When she was almost finished making the chili sauce, the two children came into the yard with baskets on their backs. Jiang Yuwei saw them and quickly went to take the baskets from them, and told the two children to go and eat first.
She rinsed the crayfish in water before stir-frying them. While the crayfish were stewing, Jiang Yuwei was also busy. She washed the fire charcoal mothers she had collected and then began to mash and filter the juice, making two large buckets of herbal tea.
After finishing everything, Jiang Yuwei finally went to bed.
next day
Jiang Yuwei heard noises outside the courtyard early in the morning and quickly got up to check.
It turned out that Ning Huaizhi had gotten up early to teach Ning Zhao kung fu. Jiang Yuwei was very happy to see the two figures, one big and one small, in the courtyard. She also hoped that Ning Zhao could learn more. Nowadays, even if one doesn't have talent, it's good to use kung fu to strengthen the body.
Jiang Yuwei finished packing her things and was ready to leave:
“Huaizhi, I’m going to the market today, so I might be back late. We have some spare money now, and the house is almost finished. I want to go to the academy to inquire about Ning Zhao going to school. If I’m back late, I won’t take Uncle Ning’s oxcart; it’s not far to walk back.”
Ning Huaizhi looked at Jiang Yuwei with concern and said:
"Then hurry up and go. If you can sell the goods sooner, come back with Uncle Wu's oxcart. That will put my mind at ease."
Jiang Yuwei smiled faintly at Ning Huaizhi and said:
"Okay, I got it."
Jiang Yuwei arrived in town quickly in Uncle Ning's oxcart. As soon as she and Ning Qiu set up their stall, a group of regular customers surrounded them.
"Hey, what kind of weird stuff did you make this time? Can it even taste good?"
Seeing this, Jiang Yuwei quickly demonstrated how to peel and taste shrimp in front of everyone, and several of the bolder ones were eager to try it.
Ning Qiu also helped peel the shrimp meat and offered it to regular customers for tasting.
"Oh my, what's this called? And why is it so spicy?"
Jiang Yuwei quickly took a cup of herbal tea and handed it over, smiling:
"This is spicy crayfish, five coins a bowl, and it's even more satisfying to eat it with this four-coin cup of herbal tea."
"Give me a portion to try."
Jiang Yuwei saw that the person who came was a middle-aged man dressed in silk clothes, who looked like a steward of some mansion. Jiang Yuwei did not dare to be negligent and quickly served him a bowl of crayfish and a cup of cold tea.
The man paid and started eating right there by the roadside. A woman walked by and, seeing this, smiled and said:
"Isn't this Steward Zhang from the Xu family? He's out shopping today too."
Manager Zhang, who was panting from the spiciness of the lobster, smiled and said when he saw an acquaintance:
"Old Lady Li, your master has sent you out to buy some rare goods again. Come and try my spicy crayfish, it's delicious."
Granny Li hesitated for a moment, looking at the bright red lobsters in Steward Zhang's bowl, then reached out and ate one before exclaiming in surprise:
"It's so spicy! It's delicious, so delicious! My master Sun will definitely love this. I'm going to buy some to take back for him to try."
He then turned to Jiang Yuwei and smiled:
"Give me ten bowls, and ten cups of that green stuff too."
After saying that, he handed the silver to Jiang Yuwei, and Ning Qiu quickly helped pack it.
At this moment, Manager Zhang, who was standing to the side, finished his lobster and smiled at Jiang Yuwei, saying:
"This food is so delicious! Give me ten servings too. Our young master loves spicy food."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuwei quickly smiled and packed up the food for Manager Zhang, and even gave him a cup of herbal tea to thank him for helping her attract customers.
Butler Zhang naturally accepted the money and left.
Seeing that the stewards of two wealthy families were buying crayfish and herbal tea, everyone naturally flocked over to buy some to try as well.
Ning Qiu thought that she would have to sell all the lobsters and herbal tea she brought by the afternoon, but she didn't expect that they would be sold out in just one morning.
Jiang Yuwei smiled and said to Ning Qiu:
"Qiu Mei, I have some things to do this afternoon, so I won't take the oxcart back to the village. Tell Uncle Ning Wu not to wait for me. Please take these bamboo buckets and baskets home for me and pass on a message to my husband, Huai Zhi."
Seeing that Jiang Yuwei had something to do, Ning Qiu didn't ask any further questions. After tidying up the stall, she went to find Uncle Ning Wu.
Jiang Yuwei, wanting to deliver the chili sauce to Lianxianglou on East Street as soon as possible, didn't linger and quickly left.
When she arrived at East Street, she found that there were far fewer people queuing at Lianxiang Restaurant than last time. It must be because everyone had tried it and the customer flow had stabilized. Jiang Yuwei naturally knew that no business could stay booming forever.
These days, it's already quite an achievement to be able to revitalize Lianxianglou with just one dish. If they want to retain customers in the long term, relying solely on a popular dish like the Double Peppered Crucian Carp is definitely not enough.
Thinking this, Jiang Yuwei began to plan in her mind what new recipe she should bring back for Manager Xu next time she came. Just as Jiang Yuwei was thinking, a loud shout suddenly pulled her back to reality:
"Jiang Yuwei! You've really screwed me over!"
Jiang Yuwei looked up and saw Manager Lin of Zuixianlou storming out of his restaurant.
"Manager Lin, what makes you say that?"
Seeing Jiang Yuwei's calm demeanor, Manager Lin felt displeased and spoke directly:
"It's all because of those two breakfast recipes you sold me. There are several imitations of those fried cakes in the market, they're not unique at all. You charged me forty taels of silver for those two recipes, but those fried cakes can't be sold for much. At most, they sell for five coins each. When will I ever earn back my costs!"
Jiang Yuwei glanced sideways at Manager Lin's exasperated expression and said calmly:
"Manager Lin, you are mistaken. I didn't want to sell this recipe back then. You begged me to buy it. As for the price, we settled the transaction on the day of purchase. Now that you've run your business poorly, you're coming to me, the seller, to vent your anger. That's not fair."
Seeing that Jiang Yuwei's tone was firm and she showed no fear, Manager Lin's anger became even more uncontrollable:
"You, you, you've ruined me so much! I'm going to take you to the authorities!"
When Jiang Yuwei heard that Manager Lin was going to take her to see the officials, she couldn't help but laugh out loud:
"Hehe, Manager Lin, you really know how to joke. We made this prescription through normal business transactions that day, and we even signed a contract. Even if you go to the authorities to report me, I'm not afraid. If I really did something wrong, then let the government come and arrest me."
After saying that, Jiang Yuwei ignored the unreasonable Manager Lin and strode into Lianxianglou.
Seeing this, Manager Lin, standing behind her, angrily pointed at Jiang Yuwei's back and cursed:
"Fine, you shameless country bumpkin, I, Lin, will not let this go so easily. We'll see!"
As soon as Manager Xu came down from the second floor, he saw Manager Lin across the street glaring angrily at Jiang Yuwei. He quickly invited Jiang Yuwei to the accounting office and asked nervously:
“Madam Jiang, what did you do to offend Manager Lin across the street? I thought he looked at you like he wanted to eat you alive just now.”
Jiang Yuwei waved her hand and smiled:
"It's alright. I just sold him two prescriptions, and he came to me because he couldn't manage his business well."
When Manager Xu heard Jiang Yuwei say that she had sold two recipes to the Drunken Immortal Restaurant across the street, her expression immediately turned cold:
"Madam Jiang, is it because I didn't give you enough money? Didn't we agree that you would sell me any recipes you have in the future?"
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