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

Chapter 65, could it be such a coincidence? It really does seem like such a coincidence.
When the braised meat was almost sold out, a wealthy woman came in. She had bought their konjac tofu and konjac noodles before. Today, when she saw the braised meat and smelled its aroma, her eyes lit up. She readily bought all three or so pounds left.

Today, I sold a little over 30 catties of braised meat for more than 1,100 coins.

When they finished selling konjac tofu and konjac noodles and were packing up to go home, Xu Zhichun told them on the way that the Lotus Restaurant would be ordering a large quantity of ice jelly in a few days.

Everyone was very excited.

It's impossible to feel tired; everyone is just overjoyed at having made a windfall.

"One hundred and eighty catties? Seventy coins a catty! Isn't that a huge profit?"

"Yes, yes, that's great! We just need to get up early those two days, we'll definitely make it in time."

"Why does Manager Tang suddenly want so much ice jelly?"

"Who cares? Let's just focus on making money! We won't lose money anyway."

"Haha, you're right."

Xu Zhichun had calculated the figures; it was equivalent to earning twelve taels and six hundred cash a day. Even after deducting the cost of purchasing the agate seeds, the profit was still quite considerable.

When everyone heard that they could earn this much, with Aunt Zhu'er and Zeng Xiaoyan each receiving more than two taels, totaling more than five taels in two days, they were overjoyed and clamored to have another get-together.

However, as they talked and laughed, Zeng Xiaoyan suddenly felt something was amiss. She quickly asked Xu Zhichun about the date again and said, "This is unfortunate. That day happens to be my father's birthday. Fortunately, we don't have to go too early. We can make the ice jelly before we set off and still make time."

Aunt Zhu'er also smiled in surprise, "That's quite a coincidence. In that case, let's try to get up early those two days to do it. In short, it's better to be early than late."

"Ok!"

Xu Zhichun had no objections, but a thought flashed through her mind, a suspicion that was neither entirely good nor entirely bad: Could it be that the ice jelly that Manager Tang wanted was meant to be sold to the Zeng family?
Otherwise, who could sell so much ice jelly in a single day?

The timing was just right.

Xu Zhichun couldn't help but glance at Zeng Xiaoyan, deciding not to voice her guess.

Wouldn't telling Xiaoyan put her in a difficult position? Should she go back and tell her father, or not?
Let's just make the money first, without really thinking about anything else.

Anyway, Manager Tang didn't tell her anything, so she knew nothing.

If the Zeng family treats Zeng Xiaoyan well, Xu Zhichun will definitely discuss with Manager Tang to cancel the matter. So what if the ice jelly is considered Zeng Xiaoyan's birthday gift to her father?
However, the Zeng family is not worth it.

So of course she didn't need to show them any favors.

It's fine to disregard personal feelings and only focus on business.

Xu Zhichun's guess was indeed correct.

Ice jelly became a sensation.

Because Xu Zhichun and his group only sold at the stall for two days, and then stopped, only a very small number of people actually bought from them. Over time, everyone seemed to have forgotten about it.

Zeng Xiaoyan had a very low profile when she was in the Zeng family. Madam Zeng disliked her two illegitimate daughters appearing in public, and would even cause trouble if they were just strolling around the mansion. Therefore, the maid in charge of purchasing food in the kitchen really didn't remember her. Now that she was dressed as a country woman, the Zeng family's purchasing maid recognized her even less. So, although she had bought konjac tofu and konjac noodles many times, she still didn't know that she was her third young lady.

Even fewer people knew that they made the ice jelly. People now only know that the ice jelly at Lotus Restaurant and Bishui Tea House is very famous; you can choose to add various toppings and then pour brown sugar syrup over it—it's incredibly delicious.

For Master Zeng's 50th birthday, in addition to a lavish spread of dishes, the desserts, candied fruits, and other treats should also be of high quality.

Despite the fact that Lotus Restaurant was a competitor, the ice jelly was so delicious and rare that it was only available at Lotus Restaurant and Biyue Tea House, so Madam Zeng still asked the butler to make a reservation.

This is a 50th birthday celebration. The Zeng family has plenty of money. As long as the birthday banquet is grand and everyone praises it, what is this little bit of money?
Shopkeeper Tang not only won this round, but won it very well, so of course he agreed with a smile.

That's why Xu Zhichun asked for 180 catties a day, keeping 30 catties for himself and taking 150 catties for the Zeng family.

He offered a price of 120 coins per catty, and the Zeng family agreed.

Manager Fang, the younger brother of Madam Zeng who manages the Zeng family's Sifang Restaurant, is truly frustrated.

We all run restaurants, so it's one thing to compete for customers, another to argue, another to compete on dishes, and another to poach customers from each other's restaurants. But the other one actually made money off us!
This amount of money is nothing, but the incident itself is extremely insulting.

But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't steal the other party's secret recipe, and he was so angry he almost died.

That's right, Manager Tang is a shrewd person, so Manager Fang had no idea that their ice jelly was delivered by Xu Zhichun and his team every morning; he thought it was made by the Lotus Restaurant itself.

From the very beginning, he was led astray by Manager Tang.

When Xu Zhichun and the others divided the profits at noon, they also shared the 1,120 coins they had earned from selling braised meat.

After deducting the cost of about 280 coins, Zeng Xiaoyan and Aunt Zhu'er each received more than 160 coins, and Xu Zhichun received 500 coins.

In fact, most of the salt, soy sauce, spices, etc., were taken from Xu Zhichun's harbor warehouse. Even if a lot was underreported when calculating costs, a reasonable amount had to be included, otherwise it would be hard to explain.

After all, the braised meat tastes so good, it must have used a lot of ingredients. Where do those ingredients come from? They're bought, of course.

So, by that calculation, she received more than five hundred coins.

The deposit for the ice jelly will not be distributed yet. We will share it together after Manager Tang pays the full amount.

I didn't buy any meat to make braised pork today; I plan to make it every other day from now on. After all, it's not cheap, and I might not be able to sell it all even if I make it every day.

I came back specifically to cook lunch today, and everyone got busy after a short rest.

Killing chickens, washing vegetables, cooking—Liang Chunfen was also there, helping to chop firewood. Seeing that the water in the water vat had gone down by half, she picked up a bucket and went to fetch water with a simple smile.

Zeng Xiaoyan and her husband took most of the braised pork ribs and pork hocks home, keeping the rest for lunch. They also handed over the money they had earned that day.

Xu Zhichun kept some pig's head meat for his own family to eat, and also gave them a piece to take back for their families to try.

The Liang family was also preparing lunch, and seeing the braised meat and smelling its rich aroma, they couldn't take their eyes off it.

Life is much better now, and we eat meat often. You'd think we wouldn't crave meat anymore, but this meat in front of me just smells so good.

Aunt Liang's first reaction was heartache, "Did you two buy this meat in the city? It smells so good, it must have been very expensive!"

(End of this chapter)