Chapter 5: I’m Willing to Sell You These Four Recipes

She hadn’t walked far from the village entrance when an ox cart came into view.

The driver of the ox cart was Zhao Lao’er from Qingtang Village.

Shen Xuezhu told him she didn’t have money on her but would have it when she returned from the town. She promised to pay him for the round-trip fare then.

Zhao Lao’er, seeing that Shen Xuezhu was not someone who would break her word, agreed to her request.

Qingtang Village was a bit far from the town, and Shen Xuezhu spent a full 15 minutes on the ox cart before she finally arrived.

After getting off the cart, she thanked Zhao Lao’er and walked away.

Guyang Town was large, with roads stretching in all directions. Shen Xuezhu wasn’t sure which way to go to find the restaurants.

From the memories of the original owner, she knew that the original owner had rarely come to the town, especially after Lu Xiaoshan went missing. She hadn’t been to town once since then, so she wasn’t familiar with it.

After asking a passerby for directions, she learned about two major restaurants in the town.

Just as she was about to head to the first one, someone called her name.

She recognized the person as Aunt Yang from Liushu Village, who had been close to the original owner’s mother during her lifetime.

Aunt Yang, seeing Shen Xuezhu after a long time, was pleasantly surprised. She casually asked, “Xuezhu, what brings you to town?”

Shen Xuezhu didn’t hesitate or make up a story. She said, “I have a recipe I want to sell to the restaurant.”

Aunt Yang, curious, asked, “Xuezhu, where did you get the recipe from?”

“Maybe I have some talent for cooking,” Shen Xuezhu answered. “I came up with it myself.” She felt quite clever for making up this reason.

Aunt Yang didn’t think too much about it. As long as Shen Xuezhu was making money on her own, she didn’t need to ask further questions.

She said, “I work as a helper in the kitchen at Xuan Yun Restaurant. If you want to sell your recipe to them, I can introduce you to the owner.”

Aunt Yang added, “The owner is a good person and takes good care of all of us. You can trust me on this.”

Xuan Yun Restaurant had only been open for half a year, and business had been lukewarm. Aunt Yang was worried that in two or three months, the restaurant might close down.

If it closed, she would have to find another job, which wasn’t easy and often involved difficulties.

If, at this time, Xuan Yun Restaurant could offer a dish that other restaurants didn’t have, it might help boost business.

Shen Xuezhu thought for a moment. She wasn’t particular about which restaurant bought her recipe, but her only requirement was that the restaurant owner ran an honest business.

She nodded and said, “Alright, I’ll go with you to Xuan Yun Restaurant now.”

Aunt Yang smiled broadly. “So, you’ve agreed to sell the recipe to our restaurant?”

Shen Xuezhu paused and then added, “I’d like to talk with your owner first, if that’s alright?”

“Of course, of course! I’ll take you right now!” Aunt Yang was happy to guide her there.

…

At Xuan Yun Restaurant, Aunt Yang led Shen Xuezhu to the owner.

“Owner, this young lady is the daughter of one of my old friends. She has a recipe she wants to sell to the restaurant and would like to talk to you about it.”

Shen Xuezhu smiled gently, “Owner, may we have a chat?”

The owner, seeing the young woman before him with a pretty face, nodded and agreed, “Sure, let’s talk in the back courtyard.”

He led Shen Xuezhu to the back courtyard.

The Xuan Yun Restaurant gave Shen Xuezhu the impression of being simple and unpretentious, with a clean environment.

The owner gave her a feeling of being dependable and reliable.

She thought to herself, if the owner liked her recipe, she would sell it to this restaurant.

The owner asked, “Miss, what kind of recipe do you have?”

Shen Xuezhu introduced each dish, “Owner, I have four recipes: fried chicken wings, fried chicken legs, fried chicken fillets, and fried chicken popcorn.”

“Fried chicken wings and fried chicken popcorn are great for pairing with alcohol, and as for the names of the dishes, I’m not very good at naming them. You can come up with names for them at your restaurant.”

The owner had never heard of these dishes. He looked at her in disbelief. “Miss, could you make these dishes for us to taste? If they taste good, we’ll consider buying your recipes.”

Shen Xuezhui had been waiting for the shopkeeper’s words, “Yes, no problem, use your kitchen.”

The shopkeeper led Shen Xuezhui to the kitchen.

When she got to the kitchen, Shen Xuezhui thought the kitchen looked pretty good; it was clean and hygienic. It was the kind of restaurant she wanted to sell her recipes to.

There weren’t many customers in the restaurant at the moment, and the chefs and helpers weren’t busy.

Shen Xuezhui told the shopkeeper that she needed them to help her cut vegetables and light the fire; they agreed to follow the shopkeeper’s instructions.

For these four dishes, Shen Xuezhui only made small portions; in less than fifteen minutes, the four dishes were ready.

The aroma of the dishes had already filled the entire kitchen, and the appearance of the dishes was also good. Shen Xuezhui asked the shopkeeper to taste them.

The shopkeeper tasted each dish two or three times; the crispy taste opened his taste buds, making him want to eat more.

However, he couldn’t eat too much; he had to leave some for the chefs to try.

After the chefs tasted the dishes, they all praised them.

Truly, there are always greater things to be found.

The shopkeeper thought that since the chefs were all satisfied with the four dishes, and he was satisfied too, he sent someone to fetch the young master.

He told Shen Xuezhui, “Young lady, these four dishes of yours are indeed excellent. I have sent someone to fetch our young master; please wait in the private room.”

Hearing the shopkeeper say this, it seemed they wanted to buy her recipes. Shen Xuezhui smiled and agreed, “Okay.”

…

After Shen Xuezhui had drunk almost a pot of tea in the private room, the door opened.

A tall, slender man walked in.

Shen Xuezhui politely smiled at him, as a greeting.

The man had a handsome face, and with his every move, he carried a calm, collected presence.

This was probably the most handsome ancient man Shen Xuezhui had seen since she transmigrated.

She thought that if he were in modern times, he would definitely be a domineering CEO with a high value.

No, he should be a tall, rich, and handsome man.

Also, he’s the young master, which shows that he comes from a very good family.

“Young lady, the shopkeeper has already told me everything. How about this, I’ll give you forty taels and buy these four recipes of yours, what do you think?” the man said in a deep voice.

Forty taels wasn’t a lot, but the four dishes she made had been recognized by the chefs and the shopkeeper.

If she sold them to the biggest and best restaurants in town, the price others would offer would probably be much higher.

However, Shen Xuezhui had other plans. She said, “I have a condition, I wonder if the young master can agree?”

The man smiled, “What condition?”

“I know how to make cured meat, will your restaurant accept the cured meat I make?” Shen Xuezhui had just thought of it; she wanted to make and sell cured meat. She didn’t want to go to the streets and hawk it; selling it to a restaurant would be much less hassle.

However, if she only sold it to one restaurant, she would earn less money.

Selling it to one restaurant would make it unique, and also be a signature dish, which could attract many customers to Xuan Yun Tower.

If she sold it to several restaurants, the young master probably wouldn’t be happy, and she didn’t want to do that.

As long as he was willing to accept her cured meat, they could have a long-term partnership.

The man stared at Shen Xuezhui for a while before saying, “We will accept it, provided that the cured meat you make is tastier than what’s available outside.”

The requirements were really high. Shen Xuezhui calmly said, “Of course, I will bring some cured meat over in a few days for you to taste, and then you can make your decision.”

“In that case, I’m willing to sell these four recipes to you.”

The man’s tightly pursed lips parted slightly, “Alright, go to the shopkeeper and sign the contract and take the money.”