Chapter 11

Zhu Family and Zou Family chimed in as well, all inwardly overjoyed. Their family was poor — when had they ever seen so much silver? Now that they had, life was bound to get much better.

Old Master Song nodded repeatedly, saying, “I thought selling it for a few taels of silver would be good enough. Even a few big coins would’ve been fine. This is truly unexpected. Seems like you all really can hear little Sweet Bao’s thoughts.”

By now, Old Master Song completely believed that the family could hear Little sweet treasure Xiao Tianbao’s inner voice. After all, his wife had been with him for years, and he knew her personality well.

His wife would never suddenly decide to go into business for no reason, much less cook such delicious food that could actually sell with a recipe.

The daughters-in-law all chimed in one after another, telling Old Master Song that they truly could hear little Sweet Treasure Xiao Tianbao’s thoughts — she wasn’t an ordinary child.

Now, the entire Song family believed it. Old Master Song and his sons were eagerly waiting for the postpartum period to end, so they could personally witness Little Sweet Treasure Xiao Tianbao’s “gift.”

The eldest son, Song Fusheng, asked, “Mother, how exactly did you sell them? Tell us all about it!”

Granny Zhou looked very proud as she glanced around and said, “Alright, let me tell you.”

Granny Zhou and her two sons had gone to town, full of confidence. But when they saw the luxurious decor of the big restaurants there, they started to feel hesitant.

Still, the food was made and they were already there. They couldn’t just turn around — they had to at least try to sell it.

So, Granny Zhou carried the food box and went around promoting the food. At first, the restaurants all rejected her without even looking at the dishes in her hands.

But the more she was rejected, the bolder she became. She went straight to the biggest restaurant in town, Kelaixiang, to give it a shot.

As expected of the biggest restaurant, they were always open to trying new dishes. The manager, surnamed Wang, didn’t think much of Granny Zhou at first.

But wanting to stay ahead of the competition, he figured it wouldn’t hurt to look. He brought Granny Zhou into the kitchen. When she laid out the dishes, Manager Wang was dumbfounded.

The fried knife fish was somewhat common, but they hadn’t used egg batter like Little Sweet Treasure Xiao Tianbao’s version — hers was much more fragrant and crispy.

“When Manager Wang saw the dishes, he smiled right away. These were unlike anything they’d seen. He quickly had the kitchen heat them up. I even told him, ‘They taste a bit off reheated — freshly made grilled fish is the best!’”

Granny Zhou animatedly shared the day’s events while everyone listened intently, nodding the whole time.

The third daughter-in-law, Zou, quickly asked, “Mother, did the manager want to buy the recipes right after tasting them?”

Zhou-shi nodded and continued.

Restaurants at this time had decent dishes, but bold, spicy, flavorful ones like these were rare. The eel rice and mackerel dumplings were entirely unheard of.

They never thought mackerel could be used in dumplings. Who knew fish could be used like that?

Once they tasted it — it was simply delicious. The grilled fish especially, spicy and appetizing — it made you want a whole bowl of rice on the side.

Manager Wang immediately thought: if the price was fair, he had to buy the recipes, especially for the grilled fish, which would clearly become a signature dish.

He offered ten taels of silver per recipe, exclusive rights — they couldn’t sell it to anyone else or let other restaurants offer the same dish.

For comparison, a restaurant worker might earn only a few coins a month. A peasant family would be lucky to earn 40 taels in a year.

Manager Wang sincerely wanted the recipes, so he offered the highest price he could afford. Any more and even he would’ve had to reconsider.

“At that moment, your third and fourth brothers were stunned. When had they ever seen so much silver? They never even dared to dream they could make so much from a single business attempt,” Granny Zhou said loudly.

The third son, Song Fugui, and fourth son, Song Futian, scratched their heads in embarrassment — they really had been stunned at the time.

The eldest daughter-in-law, Zhu, quickly added, “Good thing Mother was there. In that kind of situation, only Mother could handle it.”

Granny Zhou was thrilled by the praise and nodded happily.

“I thought the price was fair, but those spices couldn’t be found in their kitchen. I told them they were secret blends, unavailable elsewhere, and brought those out too.”

“I’d bought each spice for just one copper coin. I didn’t dare ask too high a price, so I asked him to offer what he thought was fair.”

“Surprisingly, he said he’d give me eighteen taels of silver for them — as a deposit. And that I couldn’t sell the spices to anyone else. He wanted to develop new dishes with them. I was over the moon! Next time that peddler comes by, I’m buying all his goods.”

The so-called “southern peddler” was actually a clone from Little Sweet Treasure Xiao Tianbao’s space. Those secret spices would never be sold elsewhere, so there was no risk of them being leaked or copied.

The second daughter-in-law, Zhang, did the math and said, “Mother, wait — that’s 58 taels of silver! What about the extra two taels?”

Zhou replied, “Oh, those were for the six baskets of fish — all big, fat, beautiful ones. Two qian (0.2 taels) per basket. From now on, as long as our fish are like this, we’ll deliver them to Manager Wang.”

Thanks to Little Sweet Treasure Xiao Tianbao’s koi-like blessings, the fish the Song family caught were all large and plump — perfect for restaurants.

The eldest son, Song Fusheng, said, “Two qian per basket? That’s a lot! When fishmongers come by, the best fish only fetch one qian. Bad ones get just 80 wen. Take it or leave it.”

Fishmongers bought fish by the basket, not by weight. Even full baskets only got one qian for good fish — bad ones got less, and if you didn’t sell, they’d just rot.

Fisherfolk had no personal sales channels. Market days weren’t daily. Dried or frozen fish had no real market either. So, whatever price was offered — they had to sell.

But now, the Song family’s fish went straight to restaurants at a fair price. They could also occasionally sell their spices. Life was bound to get better.

Old Master Song beamed and nodded, “Little Sweet Treasure Xiao Tianbao is truly our family’s lucky star. Since her birth, we’ve been catching full baskets of plump fish every day — six baskets daily. That’s a tael of silver per day!”

A whole tael! On ordinary days, they’d only catch a basket or two, and the prices were much lower. How long would it take to earn a full tael that way?