Regarding the question he just tried, he could guarantee that if it were presented in his restaurant, it would definitely cause a stir.

It was still the same private room, but the manager, Wu, had undergone a complete change in his mindset.

“My lady, how do you see this…?”

“Manager Wu, you can just call me Jian Xiu,” Jian Xiu said with a smile.

Hearing her being called “lady” over and over was a little awkward for her.

“Since you’ve said that, I will call you Jian Xiu directly,” Manager Wu smiled and said.

“Back to the point, Manager Wu, what do you think of this dish?”

“Good, good, very good,” Manager Wu replied without even thinking.

“Then, Manager Wu, would you like the recipe for this dish?”

“If I want it… but I need to make sure this really is, as you said, a low-cost recipe. Of course, it’s not that I don’t trust you, my lady, but you also know that I’m a businessman. If the recipe is too expensive, I can’t make any profit from it. You also know that this county, Chuyong, isn’t a rich or prosperous place. If it’s too costly, I may not even be able to recover the money I spent on buying your recipe.”

Hearing this, Jian Xiu smiled and said, “I’m afraid you might not believe me when I tell you.”

“Oh? Tell me!” Manager Wu asked.

“Pig offal.”

“What? Pig offal?” Manager Wu asked, his eyes wide.

After asking, he thought about the taste from earlier and suddenly understood.

Seeing this, Jian Xiu finally spoke, “I imagine Manager Wu understands now.”

“I knew it! The chewiness was familiar, but the taste…”

“That’s why I’m offering you the recipe, Manager Wu. From what I understand, a portion of pig offal costs just two or three copper coins, yet with that, you can make four or five dishes. Isn’t that low-cost?”

“Hahaha… Jian Xiu, I really underestimated you. Now, tell me, how much silver do you want for the recipe?”

Now that it was time to get down to business, Jian Xiu straightened up and replied:

“Manager Wu, you also know that pig offal is cheap. I could even set up a small stall by the road and sell it, but I don’t want to waste that time. Otherwise, such a delicious dish, I really wouldn’t want to sell it. So, Manager Wu, you should tell me, how much silver would you be willing to offer?”

“Let me think… give me a moment!”

“If Manager Wu really finds it difficult, I can also choose not to sell,” Jian Xiu said seriously.

She wasn’t joking; she had already thought about setting up a small stall and letting Zhang Zixuan watch over it, even with his wheelchair.

She would go hunting in the deep mountains and arrange her house by the end of the year.

She was confident in the pig offal recipe.

“That won’t do. Jian Xiu, since you’ve come here, I naturally can’t let you leave disappointed,” Manager Wu said, extending four fingers. “How about this price?”

Jian Xiu stared at the four fingers for a while, unsure.

Was it four liang (a Chinese unit of weight)? Or forty liang?

She couldn’t decide at first.

If it was four liang, it was a bit too cheap, and she’d have to think about whether to sell it.

But if it was forty liang, would it be too expensive?

She knew that one wen (a small coin) here was equivalent to one yuan in her supermarket.

A hundred copper coins equaled one wen, and ten wen made one liang. So forty liang would be like 40,000 yuan in her supermarket.

It was a huge sum!

“What’s the matter? You think it’s too little? I can add another ten liang, but no more,” Manager Wu said, seeing Jian Xiu hesitate.

Hearing this, Jian Xiu’s eyes lit up with excitement, but on the surface, she remained calm.

“Since Manager Wu is a familiar face, fifty liang is fine. I’m not someone who’s never satisfied.”

“Good, good, good! Jian Xiu, please wait a moment. I’ll have someone bring the silver right away.”

“No need to rush, Manager Wu. I still have some pork. Also, I’ve soaked something in your kitchen’s wooden basin. How about you chop it into strips and stir-fry it with meat? That’ll make a nice dish for tonight.”

“Oh? Really?”

“Naturally. You can check if you don’t believe me.”

Manager Wu was so shocked by Jian Xiu that he immediately went to check.

There was no other reason except that the shock Jian Xiu brought to him was simply too great.

Whatever was in the wooden basin had to be something good.

When Manager Wu went out, Jian Xiu followed.

But when he saw the yellowish things in the basin, he couldn’t immediately tell what they were.

“Manager Wu, can you tell what this is?” Jian Xiu asked proudly.

It was bamboo shoots that she had not only peeled but also dried.

If you just looked at them, they didn’t appear to be dried bamboo shoots at all.

“Hiss… this is… it’s not meat, but it looks a bit like melon. What is this?” Manager Wu asked in curiosity.

“I can’t say what it is just yet. But, Manager Wu, try cooking it tonight. If you like it, you can find me at the end of Zhangjia Village. I have plenty, and I can sell them to you, all guaranteed fresh.”

“Yo, looks like you’ve gotten addicted to doing business!” Manager Wu said with a smile.

“Well, it’s poverty that led to this, I hope Manager Wu won’t laugh at me.”

“How could I? A gentleman seeks wealth through the right means. You’re not stealing or robbing, so why should I laugh at you?”

Hearing this, Jian Xiu knew that Manager Wu was a principled businessman, and she was happy to deal with him.

Next, they weighed the pork, which was priced at the market rate. There were 43 jin (about 26 pounds), at 15 wen per jin, totaling 645 wen.

Manager Wu gave her 650 wen, saying the extra 5 wen was for the items in the wooden basin.

Jian Xiu didn’t refuse, accepting it generously.

“Ah, Jian Xiu, come here. Let’s talk further,” Manager Wu said, smiling.

He also gave her fifty liang.

After all was said and done, Jian Xiu left loaded with silver.

Of course, the fifty liang wasn’t nearly enough for her. She needed to send six and seven heads to the academy and build a house. For just these two things, she would need another fifty liang.