Zhao Xiaosan felt that even the tempting bowl of mutton noodles didn't smell as good as the kimchi.
The two brothers ate mutton noodles and enjoyed their kimchi, completely unaware that several people were already standing around them.
"My friend, what dish are you eating? Its aroma is quite unique."
Zhao Xian looked up and saw several scholars around him, so he stood up and cupped his hands in greeting to them.
"This is kimchi, made using a special process with carefully selected ingredients. It is refreshing, flavorful, and truly a rare delicacy."
After Zhao Xian finished speaking, he picked up the bowl of kimchi and let them take a closer look.
The group looked at the bowl of kimchi with curiosity; the aroma of the kimchi had already made their mouths water.
"May we have a taste?" someone finally spoke up.
"Of course, please make yourselves at home."
A chopstick holder filled with chopsticks is placed on the table for customers to use while eating.
Without any hesitation, the group picked up their chopsticks and began to taste the food.
"We had no idea that such delicious noodles were served here. We are regular customers, but the owner never serves kimchi. Let's go ask the owner for some."
After they finished speaking, they bowed to Zhao Xian and went downstairs.
Zhao Xian smiled. He knew the shopkeeper would definitely come, so he could talk to him about becoming an agent for selling kimchi.
As expected, a short while later, a tall, honest-looking man was escorted upstairs by several young men.
"Manager Chen, it's this pickled vegetable. You served this gentleman a bowl, but why didn't you serve us? We're all regulars at the noodle shop. You can't be so biased." A young man spoke with obvious emotion.
The owner of this noodle shop is Chen Jingui, who is in his forties and has been running the noodle shop for more than ten years. He has branches in several surrounding towns.
He walked over to Zhao Xian and looked him over. Then he glanced at the half-bowl of kimchi left, took a deep sniff, and his furrowed brows seemed to relax.
"Young master, is this dish you're eating called kimchi? Is it provided by our restaurant?"
Zhao Xian glanced at Manager Chen, then cupped his hands in a respectful gesture.
"Yes, this is indeed kimchi. We came to eat noodles, but my brother doesn't like the pickled vegetables you provided, so we brought out our homemade kimchi. Doesn't the noodle shop allow us to bring kimchi in?"
"That's not what I meant. These gentlemen thought this kind of kimchi was provided by our shop, but we don't have any kimchi at all. They said this kind of kimchi has a unique flavor, so I came up to take a look," Chen Jingui quickly explained.
“Our kimchi has already caught the eye of some restaurants and eateries in town. Today we went to deliver samples, and we were planning to have some noodles and then go home. We didn’t expect to cause you any trouble.”
"But I didn't say that this kimchi was provided by your store; they probably misunderstood," Zhao Xian said casually.
Chen Jingui basically understood what was going on. He seemed to have spotted a business opportunity, so he quickly said:
"May I try some kimchi?"
"I'm sorry, we've already eaten half of this bowl of pickled vegetables. It's not appropriate for Manager Chen to taste it. There are still some pickled vegetables left in the jar. We'll take out a bowl for you to try."
Zhao Xian looked at Zhao Xiaoshan, who understood and took out a bowl of pickled vegetables from the jar and handed it to Chen Jingui.
Chen Jingui took the kimchi and tasted it. He took several bites and seemed very excited.
"Could you allow our store to become an agent for selling this kind of kimchi? This kind of kimchi is very suitable for our store to sell."
Zhao Xian's face immediately showed a troubled expression, and Chen Jingui's heart sank when he saw this.
"The ingredients for making kimchi are a bit scarce, and it's difficult to increase production in the short term. I wonder how much your store uses per day."
“I have several branches. Once we launch the kimchi, the demand will be huge. Would a hundred bowls a day be enough?” Manager Chen said, enunciating each word clearly.
“One hundred bowls a day shouldn’t be a problem. One hundred bowls is one hundred jin. If Manager Chen really needs it, we will deliver it every day. The price is the same as other shops, eighteen wen per jin, cash on delivery. Would Manager Chen be willing?”
"Okay, it's settled then. How much kimchi do you have left in this jar? Can you give it all to me now?" Manager Chen said, while still eating the kimchi in his bowl.
“No problem. There are still five or six bowls of pickled vegetables in the jar. Add the bowl you have, and we’ll make it six bowls. You’ll get one hundred coins.”
Manager Chen nodded and told the waiter to bring over one hundred coins.
"Manager Chen, the pickled vegetables in this jar are yours now. Could you please serve us a portion first?" a few young men standing nearby said excitedly.
"No problem, I'll take the kimchi to the kitchen first and serve it to you right away."
Zhao Xiaoshan was stunned by what had just happened. His brother was amazing; he had reached an agreement with the noodle shop owner, Mr. Chen, without making a sound, and had even raised the price of each bowl of kimchi to eighteen coins.
How happy Mother and Xiaosheng would be if they knew about this!
On the way to the town entrance, Zhao Xian asked Xiao Shan to wait for him, as he had something to do.
He went to a relatively quiet alley and bought some meat and vegetables through the system.
Zhao Xiaoshan was in a good mood, and he was even happier when he saw that his brother had bought some more meat and vegetables.
The two brothers boarded the oxcart, which swayed and rattled all the way to Narcissus Village.
Finally home, Zhao Xiaoshan began to recount how he went to town to sell pickled vegetables, especially how he attracted customers to the noodle shop with his pickled vegetables, and then the shopkeeper came to him personally. He reached an agreement with the noodle shop with almost no persuasion.
From now on, the family will provide 100 catties of pickled vegetables every day, and sell them for 18 copper coins per catty. In this way, we can earn 1,800 copper coins a day, which is equivalent to 18 taels of silver.
When Zhao Xiaoshan recounted this story, he did so with great vividness, as if he were telling a story, leaving the family members listening in stunned silence.
Seeing the family's delighted expressions, Zhao Xian took out more than two hundred coins from his pocket and handed them to Li Chun'e.
“Mother, we made over three hundred coins selling pickled vegetables in town this time. We spent some of it, and we have over two hundred coins left. Please take this money first.”
"You should manage the money at home. Making kimchi will cost a lot of money, so it's best to keep the money with you," Li Chun'e said urgently.
“Mom, we’re making over a hundred catties of pickled vegetables a day now, and we’re also buying wooden basins and bamboo baskets. You’ll need to buy those too. We still have some ingredients for making pickled vegetables, so we don’t need to buy them for now. Besides, we’ll have some money after the delivery tomorrow, so I won’t be short of cash.”
Yes, from now on, our family will have an extra tael of silver coming in every day, and life will get better and better.
Li Chun'e happily accepted the copper coins, went to her room, and put the money away.
Zhao Xian looked at the leaves of the mustard greens drying in the yard. There were many more than yesterday, enough to make more than 100 jin of pickled vegetables.
These vegetable leaves are almost completely dried and ready to be used.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
