Chapter 44 Returning Home in Glory
Wang, the Manager of Dongfeng Pavilion, frowned and said, “What? They went to Xiankelai.”
The waiter replied hurriedly: “Manager, they have been in there for a while.”
Steward Wang glared at the waiter fiercely: “They have been in there for so long, why did you just come back to tell me?”
The waiter felt a little aggrieved: “Manager Wang, they always stay for a while every time they enter a small restaurant. Now they went into Xiankelai, and I thought they would stay for a while and then come out.”
”I said to wait for a while, but they still haven’t come out. I thought, I should wait a little longer, lest they come out as soon as I come back and report the wrong information.”
Manager Wang then realized that he should send two more people to inquire about the matter, as he alone was really overwhelmed.
Manager Wang called a few thugs and hurried to Xiankelai not far away.
Dongfeng Pavilion and Xiankeli are the two largest and most luxurious hotels in Qingzhou Prefecture. Dongfeng Pavilion is older and more famous, while Xiankeli has only recently opened and is not as famous as Dongfeng Pavilion.
However, in recent years, Xiankelai has been catching up and is about to reach the same level as Dongfeng Pavilion, but it always gets stuck at the finishing touch. On the days when Xiankelai’s business is better than Dongfeng Pavilion’s, something is bound to happen at Xiankelai. Either a customer finds a cockroach in his food, or Dongfeng Pavilion launches the same dishes as Xiankelai but with a more novel style.
There is no need to guess who is behind all of this, there are some despicable means that Dongfeng Pavilion can use on Xiankelai, but Xiankelai cannot use them on Dongfeng Pavilion.
After all, Xiankelai is not as ruthless as Dongfeng Pavilion.
Throughout this year, Dongfeng Pavilion has surpassed Xiankelai in popularity. Dongfeng Pavilion has repeatedly launched new dishes, leaving Xiankelai far behind.
This is also the reason why Su Wan and Shen Lin went to Dongfeng Pavilion first.
At this time, Manager Li from Xiankelai offered one hundred taels of silver to buy Su Wan’s milk tea recipe.
Manager Li gave a fair price.
Shen Lin said to Manager Li: “Manager Li, please offer a little more.”
Manager Li’s answer was very sincere: “Young man, your recipe is a good one. Based on my many years of experience in running restaurants and selling food, your tea will be very popular.”
”But I guess that if Xiankelai launches this tea, it will definitely become famous within three months. Many diners will come for this milk tea, and this milk tea can also be sold for some money. At the same time, the number of customers at Xiankelai will increase, and I will make some extra money.”
”However, there are many talented people in Qingzhou Prefecture. After three months, other restaurants will learn to make this drink. It may not even take three months. Therefore, I, Xiankelai, can only earn money for more than two months by selling this drink.”
”And the fact that this could become popular is just my speculation. There are still some risks. There is also a possibility that this milk tea is just mediocre and not many can be sold, then I will have to lose money.”
Su Wan and Shen Lin both understood that Manager Li, was not lying. This is how business is done. It requires the right time, place and people. The possibility of losing money cannot be ruled out.
The Manager of Xiankelai said, “Take it. I will give you another ten taels. However, since you have sold this recipe to Xiankelai, you must strictly keep it and cannot sell it to another person. What do you think?”
Su Wan nodded and said, “Of course it should be like this. After the deal is done, we just need to go to the government to get the paperwork done. I will give you a written receipt and will not give the prescription to anyone else.”
Manager Li, said, “Young lady, you are straightforward. Then please write the prescription. The 110 taels of silver are yours.”
As Manager Li spoke, he pulled out a silver note for one hundred taels from his sleeve and told the waiter to bring another ten taels of silver.
Su Wan could see that the Manager of Xiankelai was not a black-hearted person, but a fair and just person. Su Wan and Shen Lin were planning to sell the milk tea recipe for 100 taels, and Boss Li was willing to pay 110 taels, which was in line with their expectations.
Moreover, before the kitchen staff could even get the recipe to make the milk tea to verify whether Su Wan’s recipe was correct, the manager directly gave them the money. He is quite a straightforward person.
Neither Su Wan nor Shen Lin took the banknotes or silver, but asked the waiter to bring paper and pen. Su Wan wanted to write out the prescription on the spot.
Su Wan didn’t dare to carry the prescription with her. If she met a bad guy, she wouldn’t be able to protect the prescription. The safest thing was to keep it in her mind.
Su Wan had just written a few words when she saw Manager Wang from Dongfeng Pavilion rushing in with a few servants.
Just now, after hearing that Su Wan and Shen Lin had been in Xianke Lai for a while, Manager Wang from Dongfeng Pavilion hurriedly rushed to Xianke Lai with a few thugs.
Dongfeng Pavilion has been doing business for so many years, and the restaurant has hired a few thugs to be used in case someone causes trouble.
These thugs were very fierce, and the waiters at the door of Xianke Lai were unable to stop them at all. Manager Wang led these people straight to the private rooms of Xianke Lai, and soon found Su Wan and Boss Li of Xianke Lai in one of them.
Su Wan stopped writing.
Wang, the Manager of Dongfeng Pavilion, was a small man with a bandit-like look on his face.
At this moment, he said to Li, the Manager of Xiankelai, with a fake smile and a sarcastic tone, “Hey, Manager Li, are you trying to snatch the prescription from our Dongfeng Pavilion?”
Manager Li from Xiankelai said calmly: “I am doing legitimate business with this gentleman, how can I compete with Dongfeng Pavilion for the prescription? Could it be that Dongfeng Pavilion has already bought the prescription?”
Manager Wang nodded and said, “Of course, my Dongfeng Pavilion just concluded this deal with these two people.”
Su Wan was finally enlightened. This man was simply a rogue and scoundrel who confused right and wrong and lied with his eyes open.
Shen Lin stood up and said, “Manager Wang, we didn’t make a deal the day before yesterday. You offered us 20 taels of silver, but we didn’t want to sell it. Even if the deal didn’t go through, it doesn’t stop us from looking for another customer.”
Manager Wang snorted coldly: “In the territory of Qingzhou Prefecture, anything related to the meaning of the restaurant must follow the rules of our Dongfeng Pavilion. Your recipe has entered the door of Dongfeng Pavilion, so it is my Dongfeng Pavilion’s recipe, and others are not allowed to touch it.”
Su Wan said, “Manager Wang, when we went to Dongfeng Pavilion the day before yesterday, we didn’t bring the prescription. Not only did I not bring the prescription when I went to Dongfeng Pavilion, I also didn’t bring the prescription when I came to Xiankelai. How come this prescription became the Dongfeng Pavilion’s prescription?”
Although Manager Wang was cunning and crafty, he also understood that although he could intimidate the Manager of Xiankelai, he could not completely offend Su Wan. After all, the recipe was in Su Wan’s mind.
Manager Wang glanced at the table of the boss of Xiankelai and saw a silver note of 100 taels and about 10 taels of silver on it. He then looked at Su Wan and smiled, “Miss Su, I was just joking with you the other day. Why did you take it seriously? In this case, Xiankelai paid 110 taels of silver, then I will pay 115 taels.”
When Manager Wang saw the clothes of Su Wan and Shen Lin that day, he knew that these two were not rich people, and he didn’t need to spend much more money to sway them.
Originally, he wanted to buy the recipe at a low price, then report a high price to his boss and make a profit from it. But now, it seems that the price cannot be lowered. If the price exceeds one hundred and fifty taels to buy the recipe, he will not be able to make the decision and will have to ask his boss first.
If my boss really knew about this, it would be difficult for me to make any profit.
Now he offered 115 taels and quoted 150 taels to the boss, so he could get 35 taels.
Su Wan said, “Manager Wang, we have already reached a deal with Xiankelai and we cannot break the contract.”
Manager Wang was a little panicked. He could see that this recipe could be of great use. If Xiankelai really bought the recipe, it would be very likely that they would surpass Dongfeng Pavilion in the next few months. If that happened, the boss would have to find a more capable manager.
The boss is a person who only looks at the results.
Manager Wang raised the price again: “Dongfeng Pavilion offers one hundred and twenty taels.”
Shen Lin said: ” Loyalty is involved in business. We cannot break the agreement.”
Manager Wang made up his mind: “One hundred and fifty taels.”
Su Wan said: “Manager Wang, we have already reached a deal with Xiankelai. Even if Manager Wang offers tens of thousands of taels, we cannot break the contract.”
At this time, Manager Li of Xiankelai, said, “Mr. Shen, Ms. Su, you two are honest and trustworthy. You did not change your mind despite the huge inducement. I really admire you. Since you two are so righteous, I have decided that if we sell this milk tea again within one year after Xiankelai earns back the 110 taels of capital with this recipe, I will give you one tenth of the profit.”
Manager Li looked at Manager Wang again and said, “Manager Wang, there are still laws under heaven. In Qingzhou Prefecture, Dongfeng Pavilion is not the only one with a strong backer. Since Xiankelai has been able to compete with Dongfeng Pavilion in just over a decade, there must be a big shot behind it.”
”I have always been reluctant to confront you. If Manager Wang is still so rude and difficult, I, Xiankelai, will not be afraid of trouble.”
After he finished speaking, Manager Li blew a whistle, and immediately two men in armor flew in from the window.
Manager Wang was shocked. The reason why Manager Li dared to be so arrogant was because he had someone behind him. He had also found out that Manager aka Boss Li started from scratch and opened a small restaurant. He had no power.
However, what he just said makes sense. What if there really is someone behind the other party? Then his boss will fire him.
Looking at the two people flying in from the window, they were actually wearing armor vests, which are only used in the military.
Manager Wang got scared and said, “It’s just a crappy recipe. I have so many unique recipes in Dongfeng Pavilion that any one of them can support the business. Why would I care about such a low-end thing?”
After saying this, Manager Wang waved his hand and left with his men.
Manager Wang from Dongfeng Pavilion went out, while Manager Li from Xiankelai took Shen Lin and Su Wan back to his private residence to continue discussing the unfinished business.
The boss of Xiankelai is indeed a straightforward person. When Manager Wang came over to make trouble just now, Manager Li said that he was willing to give Su Wan a year’s share of the profits. Now he immediately asked someone to write a document and would give Su Wan a share after negotiating with her.
After getting a general understanding of Manager Li, Shen Lin took out the cake made by Su Wan and continued to talk to him. Shen Lin said to Manager Li that it would be best to release the cake and milk tea three months apart.
Manager Li has been in business for many years and understands this principle. Milk tea and cake are both used to attract customers. Launching them at different times will definitely be much more effective than launching them together.
The cakes Su Wan made were similar to cupcakes, but they were served in real cups. One advantage of cupcakes is that they are durable, so even after negotiating business with Boss Li for so long and being disrupted once, the cupcakes were still delicious. Boss Li immediately decided to buy the cake recipe and offered the same price as the milk tea recipe, and would also give Su Wan one-tenth of the profit a year after making back the investment.
The cake recipe is better, but the actual operation still needs to be taught to the chef of Xiankelai several times. Manager Li asked Su Wan to stay for a few more days and live in Manager Li’s house during these days to teach the method to Manager Li’s wife.
Manager Li sent someone to follow Shen Lin and Su Wan to the inn to take Mrs Shen and Shen Yaya to his private residence.
Shen Lin thought that it was indeed safer to live in Manager Li’s private residence. Su Wan taught Manager Li’s wife how to make cupcakes these days.
Manager Li’s wife is a capable woman who gets along very well with Su Wan. She told Su Wan that if there is such a recipe in the future, she must discuss it with Xiankelai first, and Xiankelai will definitely pay a high price.
Manager Li’s wife insisted on keeping Shen Lin and Su Wan for a few more days so that they could travel around Qingzhou Prefecture.
The business talks with Manager Li went smoothly this time, and Su Wan naturally thought that they could still cooperate in the future.
While Su Wan was teaching Manager Li’s wife how to make cakes, Xiankelai quickly launched pearl milk tea made using Su Wan’s recipe. In just two days, all the rich and powerful people in Qingzhou Prefecture came to Xiankelai to taste the legendary delicious pearl milk tea.
This is also the name given by Manager. The name of milk tea is too straightforward, and people can know the formula as soon as they hear it. Although this formula will be studied sooner or later, using the name of this pearl can delay some time.
For a while, the Xianmen Restaurant was packed. On the first day, the number of customers increased by half compared to the previous day. On the second day, the number doubled and there was no room for everyone.
However, Dongfeng Pavilion, which was more popular than Xiankelai before, now only had a few tables occupied and was no longer as popular as before.
Mrs Shen has been drinking the medicine prescribed by Doctor Jiang these days, and she is visibly getting better day by day.
Su Wan and Shen Lin went to the place where horses and carriages were sold in Qingzhou Prefecture and bought a horse and a carriage.
Shen Lin’s family and Su Wan were not in the village these days, so this family became the focus of discussion among the villagers.
The gossipy villagers all said that Shen Lin had gone to Qingzhou Prefecture to treat Mrs Shen’s illness, and he must be coming back to ask for food.
After all, treating a serious illness in Qingyun County would bankrupt a person, let alone treating a serious illness in Qingzhou Prefecture.
