Chapter 184

Jiang Sheng was startled.

Zheng Ruqian also gasped.

The siblings were both guessing and wondering whether it was yesterday's enthusiasm that had brought disaster, or if the fishmonger's schemes ran too deep.

A figure suddenly burst out and pounced on the dried sausages and meat, grabbing them and stuffing them into his mouth.

Jiang Sheng stared with wide eyes, "That's raw..."

But the man paid no heed, taking a bite of each before sighing contentedly.

"How is it, Brother Zhou?" the fishmonger asked as he rubbed his hands. "Is it the flavor you wanted?"

The man spat out the pieces of dried sausage he couldn't chew, and nodded, before turning around.

Only then did the siblings see clearly that the newcomer was none other than the head chef from You Ran House. Jiang Sheng had felt kindly towards him at first, for knowing to add garlic sprouts when stir-frying cured meats.

Although they didn't know what misunderstanding had occurred, the head chef coming over meant You Ran House had come.

Jiang Sheng was so happy she almost jumped up, but remembered her elder brother's ability to remain calm in the face of Mount Tai collapsing before him, and forcibly suppressed her joy.

She just waited for Zheng Ruqian to heave a long sigh, and softly ask, "Esteemed uncles, does this mean you have some opinion about our cured sausages and meats that made you rush over like this?"

The fishmonger quickly waved his hands, "No opinions at all. It's just that last night I had my wife fry some up randomly, and when Brother Zhou here came over and smelled the fragrance, after tasting a couple bites he insisted on asking where these cured meats had come from. I had no choice but to bring him over."

And thus the scene of the head chef eating raw cured sausage, just to discern the flavor, had occurred.

Clearly, this was a misunderstanding.

But before the head chef could explain and apologize, he gripped the sausages in his hand and urgently said, "May I ask, honored young friends, where did you buy these cured sausages?" Jiang Sheng and Zheng Ruqian were both taken aback.

The head chef then realized the ambiguity in his words, and hurriedly explained, "I don't mean to go around you to purchase goods. I wanted to ask if you could sell more. You Ran House wants to buy large quantities of these cured sausages and meats, as much as you have."

The fishmonger beside them staggered and nearly choked in shock at the price.

But Jiang Sheng and Zheng Ruqian didn't immediately respond. Instead, they exchanged a look, intuitively feeling they should raise the price.

As Jiang Sheng lifted her head to respond, Zheng Ruqian pressed her back down.

The youth sniffed and decided to be the bad guy himself. "Master chef, it's not that we won't sell to you. It's just with this hot weather, the cured meats are difficult to make, so we can't sell at the previous price."

"Difficult to make?" As expected of a head chef, he immediately grasped the key point. "You made these cured sausages and meats yourselves? You didn't buy them from outside?"

Zheng Ruqian kept his head lowered without responding, which was tantamount to acquiescing.

The head chef's heart stirred once more.

One hundred pounds of cured meat could only quench the immediate thirst. Long term cooperation was what You Ran House needed.

The two children's intention to raise prices wasn't hard to guess. You Ran House was rich and imposing, and didn't care about this bit. Most importantly, no matter how much they bought the cured meats for, they could be sold for dozens of times more at You Ran House.

"What price do you want to sell them for?" the head chef asked.

In his conjecture, goods that sold for 500 wen could be raised to 600 or 700 wen, 800 wen at most.

But Zheng Ruqian held up two fingers.

The head chef was stunned for a moment, before incredulously asking, "You don't mean two taels of silver per pound, do you?"

The cured meats were made from pork, and pork was only 20 wen per pound. There were labor costs for production, losses from drying, but it was impossible for it to sell for two taels of silver per pound. These were outrageous prices.

Even a rich and powerful restaurant like You Ran House could not let people take advantage of them like this.

The head chef shook his head. "No, that's too expensive."

Zheng Ruqian didn't bother with idle chatter either. He turned around and started packing up, even taking out two sausages and giving them to the fishmonger.

The fishmonger didn't dare accept them at first, and only held them gingerly in his palms after repeatedly demurring.

Zheng Ruqian finished packing up, carrying a bundle in one hand and leading his sister out unhurriedly with the other. The head chef could only watch them leave helplessly, reluctance filling his heart.

Finally, right as the siblings' figures disappeared, he called out to stop them. "Wait... two taels of silver it is. But let me buy 100 pounds first. We can discuss more later, can we?"

Zheng Ruqian readily nodded.

No matter how future cooperation went, first earning these 200 taels of silver to resolve the lowered standard of living was key.

You Ran House needed the goods urgently, and the head chef repeatedly urged haste. The siblings returned to their courtyard with the cured meats as quickly as possible.

On the way, Jiang Sheng couldn't help but ask, "Second brother, isn't two taels rather low? Will You Ran House really agree to future cooperation?"

Merchants cared about profits. Business was all about earnings. The higher the procurement cost of the cured meats, the lower You Ran House's profits would be. They would naturally disagree.

But when their cured meats became the singular option, You Ran House would have to agree whether they wanted to or not.

"There's this too - I don't necessarily have to insist on two taels," Zheng Ruqian slyly smiled. "Taking two steps forward and half a step back is still better than taking one and a half steps forward directly."

Jiang Sheng stared with wide eyes, once again feeling there was much to learn.

The siblings delivered 100 pounds of cured sausage and meat to You Ran House, and exchanged it for 200 taels in cash.

Throughout the process, the head manager sat motionless in his chair, his expressionless face clearly conveying his dissatisfaction with the high procurement prices.

Zheng Ruqian paid him no mind. He straightforwardly accepted the two silver notes, counted them, and then handed them to Jiang Sheng.

With these 200 taels, the family could eat meat again.

Jiang Sheng beamed happily as usual, putting the silver notes into her purse before concealing it in the deepest part of her sleeve pocket.

The siblings whispered and chatted, discussing whether they should buy a few large pork elbows for Auntie to stew that night.

Sitting atop his seat, the head manager was so angry his head spun. In a flash of insight, he recalled Jiang Chengyuan's words and tentatively spoke up, "These goods were transported from Anshui Prefecture, correct?"

Either that, or someone in Anshui Prefecture also made these kinds of cured meats.

Jiang Sheng was taken aback, and had yet to respond.

The head manager continued, "I've never heard of goods from Anshui Prefecture selling for two taels of silver per pound. Even if I sent people to transport goods from Anshui Prefecture, how much could they cost per pound after accounting for transportation fees?"

Zheng Ruqian's mouth twitched. He knew You Ran House wanted to grind down the price.

He felt obligated to tell the head manager the truth.