They've all separated, so what does it matter to me if they get poorer and poorer?

Chapter 40 The Creativity of the Ancients
Tang, who was already wearing a filter, exchanged a glance with his chef after they tasted the aspic with dipping sauce, and both of them were very satisfied.

Chef Fang kept giving him meaningful glances: Yes, yes, boss, yes!

This prompted Manager Tang to secretly roll his eyes at him: He's really not steady enough.

Taking in the reactions and expressions of the two, Xu Zhichun felt a surge of joy: It's all settled.

Manager Tang coughed and nodded with a smile: "Not bad, it's fresh, chewy and smooth but not greasy. It's a great dish to have with drinks, or as a cold appetizer or a late-night snack. Our restaurant will take this recipe. Miss Xu, please name your price."

Recipes are different from other things. Before the price is agreed upon, any buyer with a modicum of sense will not ask questions about ingredients or methods. After all, some recipes lose their value once you ask about them. If the price is not agreed upon in the end, wouldn't the seller lose a lot of money?
The seller should know the value best; only discuss other things after an offer has been made and an agreement has been reached.

Xu Zhichun asked for eighty taels.

She had originally wanted one hundred taels, but after thinking about it, she gave up twenty taels. There was still a long road ahead; who knew when she might need to ask Manager Tang for a favor?

Manager Tang and Chef Fang knew at a glance that the preparation of this aspic must be more complicated than that of cold fish skin salad. They originally thought that Xu Zhichun would ask for at least a hundred taels or more, but they didn't expect it to cost only eighty taels.

In the end, we benefited from it.

How could Manager Tang possibly take such a good deal? He didn't want Xu Zhichun to feel increasingly cheated and resentful afterward, to the point that he would refuse to cooperate with their Lotus Restaurant in the future.

That's absolutely unacceptable!
Manager Tang verbally agreed to Xu Zhichun's request, but in his heart he was determined to ask for more money. However, he decided to listen to how it was done first.

When Xu Zhichun mentioned that the raw material was pigskin, Manager Tang and Chef Fang were speechless.

"I knew it tasted a bit like pork, and it really does."

"Who can argue with that? It's not easy to make pigskin like this."

The white pigskin turned into a transparent gel and was cut into neat, uniform thin slices, which really tests one's imagination.

Xu Zhichun smiled and explained the method, and Chef Fang suddenly understood.

"Indeed, those who are capable don't know how, and those who know how can't do it!"

He couldn't sit still any longer, so he decisively excused himself and went back to the kitchen to try making it.

Xu Zhichun said, "Manager Tang, this aspic takes a long time to make, so I won't wait here. If there are any problems, we can discuss them when I come back tomorrow."

"Alright, alright, of course, Miss Xu, please go ahead with your work." Manager Tang smiled and had no objections whatsoever: "How about we sign the contract as before?"

"That's natural."

Trust is important, but evidence is the guarantee of trust.

"One hundred taels?"

Xu Zhichun stared blankly at what was written on the contract.

Manager Tang smiled slightly: "I'm an old man, how could I let Miss Xu suffer a loss? This hundred taels is rightfully yours, Miss Xu, just take it. Just remember our Lotus Restaurant in the future."

"Thank you very much, Manager Tang. However, what if your employer finds out about this extra money?"

After all, Chef Fang was there and heard when she said eighty taels.

Although they seem to have a good relationship, who knows? What if Chef Yi accidentally lets something slip to their employer?

Shopkeeper Tang laughed heartily, "Miss Xu, don't worry. Our boss is a kind and honest man. If I didn't do this, he would blame me. I guarantee I can do it." He and their boss, Qin, had been good brothers for decades; how could he not know his character?
It's a pity for the master of the house. His eldest son, whom he had carefully nurtured, was outstanding in every way, praised and envied by everyone for ensuring the Qin family's continued prosperity, yet he died young. Now, the young master is only nine years old. He's handsome, has a good temper, and always smiles at everyone, but he just doesn't seem to grasp things; he can't learn anything well. According to the doctor, his sister-in-law had a difficult childbirth, which slightly damaged the young master's brain. He appears normal, but he just can't seem to learn anything. The elder brother has given so much money and rice over the years to accumulate good karma for the young master; he would never take advantage of someone else.

Sigh, forget it, I don't want to think about it anymore. Thinking about it only makes me feel bad for my brother. And what's even worse is that my brother's married sister has been eyeing the Qin family's vast business empire for a long time, trying to get her two sons to take over the family business.

There's nothing they can do but earn more money for their older brother and train more people to protect the young master's family business.

Hearing what Manager Tang said, Xu Zhichun naturally wouldn't turn away the money that was offered to him.

Twenty taels was a large sum of money for her.

"In that case, thank you very much, Manager Tang!"

"Haha, Miss Xu, you're too kind!"

"By the way, Manager Tang, it would be best to come up with a different name for this aspic when you sell it."

Shopkeeper Tang nodded: "That's true."

Later, the Lotus Restaurant named the aspic "Crystal Meat," as the transparent aspic contained a small amount of meat, which was quite fitting.

In this way, when people hear such a name, their focus naturally falls on the "meat," and outsiders who want to learn how to make it are further misled.

Xu Zhichun was very impressed when he found out. As expected of a seasoned shopkeeper who had dedicated his life to the industry, he was indeed capable.

With the silver notes and payment for the delivery in his pocket, Xu Zhichun returned to the market with light steps.

Zeng Xiaoyan and Aunt Zhu'er looked at her with questioning eyes: How is it?

Xu Zhichun winked at them and smiled, "I'll treat you to meat sauce noodles for lunch, two big spoonfuls of meat sauce."

"Wow, I knew it!"

"I told you it would definitely work out."

The three of them looked at each other and smiled.

Liang Mingliang was completely baffled, but that didn't stop him from grinning and chuckling along.

He overheard them talking about having meat sauce noodles for lunch, and they must have been laughing about it.

In the blink of an eye, the three-day land reclamation work was successfully completed.

In fact, it didn't take three days; it was finished by noon on the third day.

Xu Zhichun bought steamed buns for everyone at noon for three consecutive days. Everyone was grateful and full of energy, and they finished preparing them in two and a half days.

Previously, when Xu Zhichun mentioned wanting to plant something, I was so eager to prepare the ridges for her, but Xu Zhichun said it wasn't necessary, so I gave up.

When they were leaving today, Xu Zhichun took out steamed sweet potatoes and gave several to each of them.

"This is called sweet potato. I bought it from two merchants a while ago. They said it's a really good stuff. You can slice or shred it and stir-fry it, or braise, boil, steam it, or even make porridge. It's high-yielding, and the planting method is the same as our taro, but the yield is much higher. It's also very easy to grow, not picky about the soil. It's a really, really good thing. I steamed some today, so please try them. If anyone wants to grow some, come buy them from me. We're all neighbors, I wouldn't cheat you, and I certainly wouldn't charge a high price. Please try them first and see if you like them."

(End of this chapter)