Chapter 43 43 Mistake
Shen Lin confirmed again and again that it was really ninety cent and not nine hundred cents.
Jiang Wanli said seriously, “This disease is not a serious one. It doesn’t cost so much money. I have finished examining her. You should leave quickly. There are other patients waiting behind.”
Doctor Jiang’s attitude was really cold. If he hadn’t really only charged ninety cents, based on his attitude, people would think he was shirking responsibility after having diagnosed the wrong patient.
Shen Lin thanked Doctor Jiang, and together with Su Wan, he helped Mrs Shen and Shen Yaya out of the clinic. The patients waiting in line behind them felt as if they saw the light of day when they saw someone coming out.
After returning to the inn, Shen Lin spent twenty cents to use the inn’s kitchen and boiled medicine for Mrs Shen according to Doctor Jiang’s method. During this time, Su Wan also made pearl milk tea and small cakes in the kitchen, which would be taken to the two restaurants for the managers to taste and to sell them the recipe.
Su Wan’s milk tea and cake were ready, and Shen Lin also prepared medicine for Mrs Shen. After giving Mrs Shen the medicine, Shen Lin asked Shen Yaya to accompany Mrs Shen, and he and Su Wan went to two restaurants to sell the recipe. Shen Yaya was very sensible. Although she only saw the prosperity of Qingzhou Prefecture in the carriage after arriving in Qingzhou Prefecture, and was full of curiosity in her heart, she knew that Su Wan and Shen Lin went out to do business, so she stayed and accompanied Mrs Shen obediently.
Su Wan and Shen Lin first went to Dongfeng Pavilion, which is the largest restaurant in Qingzhou Prefecture, followed by Xiankelai.
Su Wan and Shen Lin went to Dongfeng Pavilion. Shen Lin asked to see the Manager of Dongfeng Pavilion, but the waiter looked Shen Lin up and down and said arrogantly: “Who are you? You want to see our Manager? Go away, our Manager is busy.”
Shen Lin understood in an instant that the guests coming and going in Dongfeng Pavilion were all dignitaries. He and Su Wan were dressed simply, different from the guests coming and going here, and they didn’t look like wealthy people at all, so the waiter didn’t take them seriously.
Shen Lin did not get angry at all, but still said to the waiter in a calm manner that he had two food recipes that would definitely be best-sellers and could help the business of Dongfeng Pavilion.
The waiter waved his hand and said, “Go away, what good recipe do you have? The recipe we use in Dongfeng Pavilion comes from the palace, and the chef we use is hired from the capital. Why do we need you?”
The waiter’s attitude was already bad at the beginning, but Su Wan could understand Shen Lin’s purpose of still speaking nicely to the waiter. Even if he didn’t sell the recipe to Dongfeng Pavilion, he had to ask for a price from Dongfeng Pavilion. Shen Lin in the book told the original owner that when he first started doing business, he received a lot of contempt and disdain, but he persisted until he became the richest businessman in Qingzhou Prefecture, and no one dared to underestimate him anymore.
Only those who can endure humiliation and bear heavy burdens can accomplish great things.
Su Wan came out and had a few nice words with the waiter. When the waiter saw that Su Wan was really pretty, the arrogance on his face faded a little, and he agreed and went to call the steward.
The Manager of Dongfeng Pavilion came out, and the waiter said that this was Manager Wang.
Manager Wang was a middle-aged man with a shrewd look on his face and was very thin. Su Wan took out the milk tea she had made and put the pearl dumplings in it.
The milk tea was poured into a cup. Su Wan also made a straw out of corn stalks and gave it to Manager Wang.
Su Wan cleaned the straw thoroughly. Just as she was about to explain to Manager Wang how to use the straw, the manager waved his hand and picked up the cup.
After taking a sip from the cup, Manager Wang put it down and said, “Tell me how much you want to sell it for.”
Manager Wang was very nonchalant.
Shen Lin: “How much can Manager Wang give?”
Manager Wang smiled disdainfully: “This kind of ordinary stuff is not up to standard. Even if we buy it, we won’t be able to cook it. But since you two brought it to me and let me taste it, I will give you two taels of silver as a reward for your hard work.”
Su Wan and Shen Lin were a little stunned. It was obviously delicious, but in the mouth of this manager, it was worthless. Su Wan knew how popular pearl milk tea was in later generations. The value of this recipe was definitely more than just two taels. The taste of this milk tea was also extraordinary. This manager Wang either didn’t know the value of the product or he deliberately lowered the price.
Shen Lin said, “Manager Wang, please try it again. This flavor will definitely sell well. It’s worth at least eighty taels of silver.”
”Hahahahahaha,” Steward Wang laughed, “You think too highly of your recipe. I gave you two taels because I think you are poor. You still want eighty taels? Dream on.”
Shen Lin stood up and poured the milk tea from the table into the empty pot in the food box he brought.
He had prepared this empty pot before he came, so that if the deal failed, he would not leave the milk tea there for them to study.
Shen Lin was packing up his things, and Su Wan also stood up. It seemed that Dongfeng Pavilion was not a good customer.
Manager Wang saw Shen Lin packing up his things and said, “Five taels, no more.”
Shen Lin understood completely that it was not that Manager Wang didn’t like the item, but he just seemed so nonchalant because he wanted to lower the price and buy the recipe at a very low price.
Shen Lin closed the lunch box and turned around while saying, “One hundred taels, not a penny less. If Manager Wang doesn’t like it, we can just go find another store.”
Manager Wang also stood up and said, “One hundred taels, what are you dreaming about? Twenty taels, you guys write the prescription.”
Shen Lin picked up the lunch box and walked out, and Su Wan hurriedly followed Shen Lin.
But Manager Wang hurriedly chased after him and said, “Fifty taels, fifty taels, deal.”
Shen Lin understood it better. The reason why he had endured the waiter’s anger before was to find out how much the restaurant was willing to pay for the recipe. Based on the reaction of Manager Wang, Shen Lin understood that the recipe was at least one hundred taels, and Manager Wang was pretending to look down on it on purpose.
Shen Lin knew that Manager Wang was a man of many tricks and was not a man who knew the value of goods and was generous. However, Shen Lin still stopped and said calmly, “Manager Wang’s price is too low. If we are destined to do this, let’s do this deal again.”
After saying this, Shen Lin bowed and said goodbye.
Shen Lin deliberately didn’t let Su Wan take out the cake. The cake tasted as good as the milk tea, and he thought both would sell well, so they just needed to be priced the same.
Manager Wang said sarcastically from behind: “This is just an ordinary recipe. You still want to sell it for 100 or 180 taels? Dream on. You will have to come back here when the time comes, that time I will only give you 10 taels. If you leave now, don’t regret it later.”
”After you make this thing, whether anyone will buy it is still uncertain. You want so much, it will take me a long time to get my money back.”
Shen Lin sneered in his heart. Even at this point, Manager Wang was still trying to deceive him. It seemed that this deal was completely unsuccessful.
Shen Lin took Su Wan and went out without looking back.
However, Shen Lin did not take Su Wan to Xiankelai, another best hotel in Qingzhou Prefecture, but went to some small restaurants.
Shen Lin quietly explained to Su Wan that carrying the prescription was like a waiter carrying gold in a busy city, which was not safe. It was inevitable that the manager of Dongfeng Pavilion would send someone to follow them, so they had to hide their tracks for now.
In the evening, in Dongfeng Pavilion, the waiter that Manager Wang sent to accompany Shen Lin and Su Wan reported back to Manager Wang that the two men had gone to many small restaurants, but only stayed in for a short while before coming out. They must have failed to complete the deal of selling the recipe, otherwise the other party would have definitely taken the recipe and made the food before letting them go.
Manager Wang stroked his beard with satisfaction. This was correct. He just needed to wait for these two people to come and do business with him.
On the second day, Shen Lin still took Su Wan in and out of the small restaurant in Qingzhou Prefecture. They only stayed in for a short while each time and then came out.
On the third day, Shen Lin brought Su Wan to a place selling ready-made clothes in Qingzhou Prefecture and asked Su Wan to pick out a beautiful dress. He also bought her a pair of ruby earrings.
Shen Lin paid for all the money, spending a total of one tael and five cents.
Su Wan knew that Shen Lin sold the corn for two taels. Apart from the ninety cent he spent on Mrs Shen’s medical treatment and medicine, he also spent more than two hundred cents on hiring a carriage and a pig inn, which left him with one tael and seven cents. However, Shen Lin was willing to spend one tael and five cents to buy her clothes and jewelry.
Su Wan originally insisted on not accepting it, and she told Shen Lin that she had money.
Shen Lin was still calm as always, and said, “I know you don’t need money, but I thought I would spend all my money to treat my mother in Qingzhou Prefecture, but I didn’t expect that I only spent 90 cents. I have some money left, so I will buy you some new clothes.”
In the past, Shen Lin would say that it was to repay Su Wan for het help to the Shen family, but now, the hidden meaning in Shen Lin’s words is that he wanted to buy it for Su Wan himself.
Moreover, if it was about repaying Su Wan for her help, Shen Lin had already repaid Su Wan by making and selling candied haws.
Shen Lin added: “Dress better, so Xiankelai won’t lower the price.”
Xiankelai is the second most popular restaurant after Dongfeng Pavilion. In the past few days, when he went to these restaurants, he found that the manager of Dongfeng Pavilion was cunning, and the owners of other small restaurants wanted the recipe but couldn’t give the price. Xiankelai was the customer that Shen Lin wanted to ask about.
Su Wan nodded. Shen Lin did things properly and thoroughly.
Originally, Su Wan was wearing ordinary clothes, but after changing into the new clothes bought by Shen Lin, Su Wan looked like a lady from a wealthy family. Su Wan had good taste. Although the clothes weighed only one or two taels, the texture seemed to be worth four or five taels. In addition, Su Wan was beautiful, making the clothes look even more expensive.
On the way, Shen Lin told Su Wan that when they went to the restaurant to sell the recipe, he would pretend to be Su Wan’s servant and call Su Wan “Miss”. This way, the restaurant would not look at their weakness and lower the price or have other malicious thoughts.
After discussing these, Shen Lin and Su Wan went to the second largest restaurant in Qingzhou Prefecture, Xiankelai. Shen Lin and Su Wan went to the private room on the second floor, ordered a pot of tea, and then asked the waiter to call the manager of Xiankelai over.
Generally speaking, if one can afford to open such a big restaurant, the owner usually does not show up in person, and all matters are handled by the manager.
If ordinary people want to see the Manager, the Manager will not come out. Most of the time, the Manager will only come out if the patrons order the most expensive dishes and wine in the restaurant as soon as they arrive, and they are obviously distinguished guests.
However, the waiter could tell at a glance that the two visitors were extraordinary. Although the girl was not wearing any gold or silver, her every move and gesture was naturally noble, and her clothes were both luxurious and low-key. Generally speaking, the richer one is, the more they dress like this. She was not as ostentatious as ordinary wealthy people. The waiter guessed that the girl was from an important family, so he was very attentive and quickly called the store manager over.
The waiter was obviously too attentive and it was obvious that he was trying to curry favor with them. Su Wan and Shen Lin smiled at each other. Fortunately, he went to buy a set of clothes, otherwise it would not be so easy to meet the Manager.
The manager of Xiankelai came over very quickly. He had a decent appearance. After tasting Su Wan’s pearl milk tea, he immediately decided to pay 100 taels for the recipe.
Shen Lin and Su Wan went to many restaurants and taverns. One hundred taels of silver was a fair price. It seemed that he was determined to make the deal for Xiankelai.
Inside the Dongfeng Pavilion, the waiter ran out of breath and said to Manager Wang, “Manager Wang, it’s bad. Those two people have entered Xiankelai and haven’t come out for a while.”
