Chapter 79: Concerns and Further Cooperation

For a moment, the strict shopkeeper was still dazed. Only two jars? How would that be enough to sell?!

The next moment, his attention was diverted. Leaning forward to take a look, he exclaimed along with the two shop girls, “Huh?”

One of the shop girls was particularly sensitive to food, being in the business of making desserts. Despite the dark contents of the jar, the key point was — she had never seen it before!

The strict shopkeeper had a keen nose. Even from a distance, he faintly detected a hint of sweetness.

Sang Luo felt like rubbing her forehead.

She had miscalculated. One of the jars of jujube sugar was packed particularly full, so the lid couldn’t be placed upside down, which is why she had put the jujube sugar on top and the sour jujube cakes underneath.

It was supposed to be a simple rearrangement, but who would have thought that her sour jujube cakes would sell out at Yongfeng Pavilion, causing such excitement for the strict shopkeeper and the two shop girls?

Their movements were swift, leaving her no time to react.

“Mrs. Sang, is this also something you sell?” The strict shopkeeper approached, and the aroma grew even stronger.

Could Sang Luo say otherwise?

If she denied it now, she would still have to sell her products on the streets of the county later. It wasn’t something she could hide. If the strict shopkeeper found out, how would their future conversations and interactions go?

She could only nod.

The strict shopkeeper’s eyes sparkled, and he asked Sang Luo with a smile, “Can I taste a little?”

What else could Sang Luo do but smile and nod? “Of course.”

The shop girl had quickly fetched a small bowl and spoon. Everything in the food business had to be done meticulously. The spoon was dry and clean, without a drop of water.

The strict shopkeeper only scooped a little, and as he tasted it, he looked at Sang Luo and exclaimed, “Is this sugar?”

The surprise and excitement in his words made Sang Luo want to sigh.

She had never intended to sell her products to Yongfeng Pavilion in the first place.

To put it bluntly, sugar was too precious. In this era, even white sugar didn’t exist. There was only maltose, honey, and sugarcane juice.

Yes, sugarcane juice.

During the Great Qian Dynasty, there was sugarcane, but no one made it into sugar. It was considered a relatively high-end fruit.

Now that she could make sugar, and a type that no one else had seen before.

There was only one jujube tree so far, and she could only produce a limited amount of sugar. Selling small quantities of it to ordinary people on the streets wouldn’t be a problem, Sang Luo thought.

But for an established business like Yongfeng Pavilion, they wouldn’t miss out on the value of it — the method of making sugar.

Sang Luo wanted to earn some money, but she didn’t want to cause trouble for herself.

Although she had observed for a while and could tell that the owner behind Yongfeng Pavilion wasn’t the kind of person who would disregard the law for a recipe, she still wanted to avoid trouble if she could.

It was also her own carelessness.

With just one question from the strict shopkeeper and a brief observation of Sang Luo’s reaction when the sugar was accidentally brought to the counter by the two shop girls, he understood everything.

Putting down the bowl, he looked at Sang Luo and smiled, “Mrs. Sang, shall we talk in the backyard?”

At this point, Sang Luo certainly wouldn’t refuse. With a signal from the strict shopkeeper, the two shop girls helped seal the two jars of syrup and carried them into the backyard reception hall.

As for the crystal candied fruits, Sang Luo said, “There are a total of three hundred and sixty-eight pieces. You can count and package them yourselves.”

The two shop girls were left to handle it on their own.

The shop girls were disciplined too. One went out to package the crystal candied fruits, while the other served tea to Sang Luo and the strict shopkeeper before stepping back.

The strict shopkeeper waited for Sang Luo’s response, then smiled and asked, “Mrs. Sang, are you worried that we’re interested in your sugar-making recipe?”

A real sharp one.

Sang Luo sighed, “To be honest, I can’t supply much of this. It’s too difficult to make, and I can’t produce much. So, I plan to sell it on the streets a few times and be done with it.”

She didn’t deny what the strict shopkeeper had said earlier.

The shopkeeper smiled and said, “The recipe for making sugar is truly tempting. Mrs. Sang, have you ever thought that even selling it on the streets might attract attention?”

Why not? Why not take the money that’s right in front of you?

Sang Luo, being straightforward, smiled and said, “Life forces me to.”

Their exchange, at first glance, might seem unrelated, but they both understood each other’s intentions perfectly.

Sang Luo didn’t want to sell the recipe, but she did need some money.

The shopkeeper smiled and said, “Mrs. Sang, are you not familiar with the situation in the county?”

Sang Luo raised an eyebrow. “Are you referring to the situation with your employer?”

The shopkeeper nodded. “Yes, although our Yongfeng Pavilion is an old brand, our employer is just an ordinary wealthy family. We’re far from being able to control everything in the county or reach the level you might imagine.”

She hinted at what Sang Luo was worried about.

Sang Luo’s eyebrows twitched, and the shopkeeper continued, “Moreover, Mrs. Sang, although we haven’t met, we’ve technically had dealings. Let me tell you, our employer is relatively honest. So, Mrs. Sang, if your sugar, as you said, can’t be produced in large quantities, I think it would be better for you to sell it all to us.”

Sang Luo narrowed her eyes. “What do you mean by that?”

“Because, Mrs. Sang, your previous concerns were not unfounded. The recipe for making sugar does indeed attract others’ covetousness. Our employer might not, but others might. I dare say our employer’s honesty isn’t the only reason I’m saying this. It’s just my opinion, and you may find it hard to believe me.”

“And?”

“It’s because even if Yongfeng Pavilion were to sell this sugar directly, we wouldn’t be able to protect the recipe. We can’t protect it at all. However, if we cooperate, we can.”

Sang Luo’s eyes lit up slightly. “Are you saying to use it in desserts?”

The shopkeeper burst into laughter and praised her, “Mrs. Sang, you’re clever!”

“Using it in desserts, others won’t be able to figure out how our desserts are made. They won’t suspect that it’s because of different sugar sources. For our shop, it means we can offer some unique desserts that others can’t imitate easily. For you, Mrs. Sang, selling your products to us would be safe and worry-free. It’s good for both you and our Yongfeng Pavilion.”

After she finished, she smiled at Sang Luo. “Mrs. Sang, don’t you think it’s safer than selling on the streets?”

Come to think of it, it really was.

Sang Luo absentmindedly tapped her finger on the armrest of the chair. After a while, she said, “I can’t guarantee continuous supply, and the quantity I can produce is limited. Is that still okay?”

The shopkeeper shook her head. “Although it’s a bit of a pity, it’s okay. Not all desserts in our shop are sold year-round.”

They would always be limited by the seasonal availability of ingredients, which was understandable.

Sang Luo smiled. “Alright, from now on, I’ll deliver this brown sugar directly to you.”

The shopkeeper also smiled. “And the price?”

Sang Luo smiled and said, “I bought a measuring cup before coming here. Since this sugar consumes a lot of materials, I initially priced it similarly to honey, at one dollar and forty cents. But since it’s a large-scale collaboration, I won’t stick to that price. I’ll charge you, strict shopkeeper, thirty cents for one hundred. How about it?”

The shopkeeper knew the proportion between the price of small-scale and large-scale purchases very well. Sang Luo’s price was quite sincere, so she nodded. “Okay. How long can this brown sugar be stored?”

Sang Luo gave a rough estimate of the time and storage precautions, and the strict shopkeeper listened before calling someone to fetch clean jars and measuring cups from the shop.

With a smile, she said to Sang Luo, “We’ll use the measuring cup from our shop, it’s the same as yours, but ours is commonly used and well maintained, so there’s no need to wash it again.”

Sang Luo had no objection.

With a bit more than one jar, not quite two jars of hawthorn sugar, Sang Luo received 2,190 cents, plus 368 cents for the crystal fruit, totaling 2,558 cents.

The strict shopkeeper directly took two taels of silver and gave Sang Luo 158 cents in copper coins.

This was Sang Luo’s second time receiving silver ingots, small as they were, they were much more convenient than copper coins. Unfortunately, they couldn’t be kept. Without leaving the county, she would have to spend them all today.

As they parted, the strict shopkeeper repeatedly asked Sang Luo to make more crystal fruit to send over. After some thought, Sang Luo advised, “Crystal fruit is really difficult to make, and I can’t make too much of it. To be honest, the recent deliveries have been relatively frequent because my family needs silver coins. Everyone in the family is pitching in. The next one or two batches will maintain this level of supply, but there might not be as much afterwards. People can’t endure it for long. I suggest that when the time comes, your shop could limit daily sales. This way, each batch of goods can be sold for a few more days.”

Hawthorn berries are limited. Sang Luo can travel to more places, even farther into the mountains where there are more people, to find them. But hawthorn berries aren’t always available. Sang Luo needs to stock up on goods herself and coordinate with the strict shopkeeper to blur the seasonal availability of hawthorn sugar. So, when she’s not short of money in the future, she estimates she’ll only send about two hundred pieces instead of four hundred. Today’s delivery can be seen as an early precaution for the strict shopkeeper.

The strict shopkeeper: “…”

The strict shopkeeper began to doubt life. From Sang Luo’s perspective, they at Yongfeng Pavilion are the buyers. Would a buyer really suggest to the seller to buy less? She had considered the possibility of limited raw materials, but seeing Sang Luo involved in selling tofu and making sugar, and then the recent appearance of a rare dish at Dongfu Building called “Vegetarian Tripe,” the strict shopkeeper strongly suspected it was supplied by Sang Luo.

If that was really the case, it was really a lot of trouble.

If there weren’t many people in the family, it would indeed be overwhelming.

She nodded. “Alright, I understand that your family is busy. Please try to make more for us.”

They exchanged pleasantries all the way as they escorted her.

Sang Luo smiled and responded to them.

When she finally left Yongfeng Pavilion with the empty basket, she couldn’t help but laugh at the unused wine basket she had bought.

She hurried to the East Market, where she found Qin Fangniang and handed over the note she had received from Dongfu Building that morning. Since it was still early, she told Qin Fangniang that she would return home after finishing her tasks before heading to Dongfu Building.

Six taels of silver had been paid off by Sang Luo in less than half a month, which impressed both Shopkeeper Xu and the accountant.

In fact, when Shopkeeper Xu saw Sang Luo wearing new clothes, knowing that she had originally been a refugee who had settled here, he could imagine that she had probably also been buying clothes and bedding recently.

Even so, she was able to repay the money so quickly. They were truly impressed!

After verifying the loan document and destroying it, Sang Luo felt relieved. She thanked Shopkeeper Xu, and then inquired about the situation at the grain shop before saying goodbye.

Yesterday was the deadline for paying rent and taxes. As of today, the grain shop had already limited purchases to five liters per person.

Sang Luo sighed, then went to the cloth shop and bought two taels of silver worth of cotton, filling two large bags. It was quite a spectacle. She also asked the shop assistant for some cloth strips to tie around the basket.

Carrying the seemingly heavy basket filled with cotton, Sang Luo went to the salt shop.

The shopkeeper thought she was a big customer since she was carrying a full basket, but Sang Luo seemed to have some hidden difficulty. She lowered her voice, almost as if she were asking a secret question, and inquired, “Do you sell salt brine here?”

A regular salt shop wouldn’t sell salt brine.

Of course, in this world, there were far more poor people than rich ones, and there were quite a few who couldn’t afford salt and had to resort to salt brine.

The shopkeeper glanced at Sang Luo’s thin clothes and then at her basket. There was nothing suspicious about the basket, but as his gaze traveled downward, he noticed Sang Luo’s patched cloth shoes. His eyes sparkled briefly, and after a quick look around, he nodded.