Chapter 35 Stealing Recipe?
Hearing what the shopkeeper said, everyone was shocked. Wasn’t such delicious chicken the famous top-one dish?
Are you kidding?
The shopkeeper continued, “The real Beggar’s Chicken has strict requirements for the duration and degree of heating. Only when the miss of the Su Family, that is, the owner of the restaurant, spends a large amount of time cooking it by her own can the real dish be made. Unfortunately, the miss of the Su Family is still young. How much can she make? So the miss figured out the way to reduce the process and increase the output. As a result, everyone can taste the Beggar’s Chicken which was less flavorful.”
“It turns out that the miss of the Su Family sets her mind on it.” Mr. Zhou was moved to tears, “Such a gourmet! She can be my bosom friend. I will visit her someday.”
“Thus…”
The shopkeeper pointed at the sign placed aside, “The price of the real Beggar’s Chicken at 50 taels isn’t high at all. Our restaurant accepts advance bookings every month, only three dishes available a month. The Beggar’s Chicken served today is not limited and sold at a low price of 10 taels.”
The price was suddenly reduced to one-fifth of the original one. Everyone felt it’s very cheap. The middle-cla.s.s guests who couldn’t afford it couldn’t help but order another dish to satisfy their appet.i.te.
The cooks in the kitchen constantly made the Beggar’s Chicken throughout the day. However, it could only last for three rounds. It had been late night after the three rounds. The guests left after the restaurant was closed.
“Master, have a look! The profit of the restaurant in the first day came out.”
In the Main Courtyard of the Su House, the old butler came in the study hurriedly holding a booklet. Su Huanli immediately took it over and couldn’t wait to look at it carefully.
“There are sheer 800 taels recorded in the first day! With the item of ingredients excluded, the net profit reaches more than 500 taels, which is much more profitable than the silk shop.”
Su Huanli was so excited that his hands were shaking. This was the profit of the restaurant in one day. Forty percent of the profit means more than 200 taels, amounting to 6,000 taels of silver in a month!
“Master, your business strategy is excellent. First, mark a high price of 50 taels to keep guests guessing, then make them be addicted to it by offering a free dish, and finally reduce the price. As a result, no one can bear it. Even moderately rich families threw silver at it.”
Su Huanli felt ashamed hearing what the butler said. In fact, he heard of the plan from Erya. Previously he thought the plan was unreliable. What could be done when guests were scared away at a price of 50 taels?
However, he knew that even if Erya kept cooking for the whole day, he wouldn’t be able to satisfy everyone’s appet.i.te. Since he couldn’t think of other ways in a short time, he had to carry out the plan.
Unexpectedly, the plan turned out to be so good. They not only improved the price of the Beggar’s Chicken but also advertised the dishes made by his daughter as treasures which guests scrambled to reserve.
Erya was so talented in business. If she run the Baiwei Building, the profit may be even higher.
“In the past, the signature dish of Baiwei Building was only worth one tael of silver, the current signature dish was ten times higher. Those guests felt it’s cheap. That’s…”
Su Huanli shook his head and laughed, sweeping previous worries and fears He sat tight in the square chair again. What’s left for him was to keep the chicken farm operating well and to sit at home and collect money. How comfortable it was!
***
There were few people in the Dasu Town in late night. Fang Yuan moved fast in the dim alley. He stopped at the door of an old courtyard in no time.
“Brother?”
Fang Ling, who heard a sound, pushed against the courtyard door and asked quietly, Fang Yuan’s alert disappeared. He held back his tiredness and said in a low voice, “It’s me, Ling, open the door.”
The courtyard door creaked and opened immediately, revealing Fang Ling’s very happy little cheeks.
“Brother, you were finally back. I was so worried! Did the guys in the restaurant embarra.s.s you? My sisters told me that the people in the Dahan Country are very cunning and vicious.”
Fang Yuan took a small parcel and came in. Fang Ling kept chattering as she closed the door, but she dared not look directly at her brother.
With an oil lamp lighted in the house, Fang Yuan’s face was softened in the soft light. He gently wiped away the tear stains which didn’t disappear in the corner of his sister’s eyes, feeling distressed.
The girl must secretly cry during the day.
“I was blinded by the wind. I didn’t cry.” Fang Ling explained hurriedly, but there were signs of wetness in her eyes.
Fang Yuan quickly changed the topic, “The shopkeeper is very good. He not only raised my pay but also gave me a special reward. Fang Ling, open it.”
The new topic attracted Fang Ling’s attention as expected. She carefully opened the parcel and cheered instantly seeing a half of the Beggar’s Chicken without skin.
“Wow, it’s the Beggar’s Chicken! Brother, you are so great. I heard that it’s sold at a price of 50 taels! I am heating it. Let’s eat together later.”
Fang Yuan nodded and watched his sister holding the Beggar’s Chicken and going into the kitchen. His smile disappeared and he clenched his fists so violently that they almost bled.
“Fang, this half of chicken fell into the swill bucket. You did a good job today. It was your reward. Continue the good work. See?”
Even if he was not a high-ranking…He was a decent and dignified person, not a beggar dealing with the garbage!
Yet he hadn’t received his pay, so they…had to eat it.
In a large magnificent courtyard close to the small courtyard, a group of local ruffians were playing cards, with annoying voices of women spreading from time to time.
“What about the kid?”
“Ha-ha, we stole his money and the brother and sister tramped the streets. You gave them the shabby courtyard on credit. He felt grateful for it!”
“I didn’t expect that the kid was so rich. He had more than 500 taels.”
“Ha ha ha, his money is ours anyway.”
“…”
It was deeper moonless night. One couldn’t see his/her hand in front of him/her.
When Su Li woke up the next morning, she saw hundreds of orders sent by her father. Based on a quota of three dishes per month, the orders sent on the first day alone would fall in the next year.
“It’s said that people in the Dasu Town are not rich. I don’t think so.” Su Li sighed. The Beggar’s Chicken can’t be spread to other towns in one day. All these orders come from the Dasu Town.
Su Li put the orders aside and had a normal routine. There were no signs of cooking at all.
Su Huanli was in a hurry when he received the news. He stopped his business and immediately ran in, slowing down the tone, “Erya, these orders are almost piled up into mountains. Choosing not to make money doesn’t make sense. Why don’t you work harder and fulfil all these orders?”
His daughter rebuffed him, “Daddy I can work harder. However, books say that the rarer a thing is, the more it is worth. If I cook too much, the guests may feel it isn’t cost-effective, and even that they’re suffering a loss no matter how delicious it is.”
Su Li paused and said, “Also, the meaning of a signature dish doesn’t lie in the food itself, but what the rich use to show their ident.i.ty. If it becomes available to everyone, the rich will feel that it is not rare, and there will be no other orders, Daddy, you must not be confused by the immediate interests.”
Su Huanli was instantly enlightened as if wakening from a dream. What his daughter said was completely right. The business vision should be long-term. If the business was run in his way, the favorable situation might disappear.
“I’m wrong!” Su Huanli exclaimed, “You aren’t expected to know the knack so well at such a young age. I have to look at you with new eyes.”
Su Huanli praised his daughter. But he was slightly reluctant to give up more than 5,000 taels of silver!
“Doctor Qi is a good master.” Su Li began to credit Qi Xianqing with the praise, “He not only teaches me reading and writing, but also tells me the truth of life and the philosophy of life. What Doctor Qi says often proves to be true.”
“It turns out that Doctor Qi is really an unworldly master!”
Su Huanli echoed what her daughter said, but became alert as never before. He used to think that Qi Xianqing was good because he had no conflicts of interest with him. Now Erya was an important figure in the Su Family. If Qi Xianqing taught Erya to rebel, his old days would be over.
“I have to think of a way to deal with it.”
Su Huanli left with an evil plan, and Su Li smiled a small smile and sat down to read books as if nothing was seen.
What she was reading was the fifth hurdle of Ghost Valley Meditation Direction.
“Miss, why were the plants brought by the Master less than half? Are we stolen?”
Mammy Li came in and asked nervously. Shaking her head, Su Li said, “Mammy, don’t worry. They were tested out to be poisonous, so I threw them away.”
“That’s good.”
Mammy Li breathed a sigh of relief and inadvertently caught sight of an extra black porcelain bottle on the table, but she did not ask about it. There were a lot of seasonings of the miss so the bottle was not worth too much attention.
Mammy Li became anxious suddenly thinking of something. She ran and closed the door and then whispered, “Miss, the maid you bribed before told me that the Third Miss had inquired about the layout of your study these two days.”
Su Li was shocked and smiled lightly, “Zipei… What would she like to steal?”
“You study is filled with books. Besides the books, there are only recipes left. What else does she want to steal?” Without finis.h.i.+ng her words, Mammy Li suddenly realized something and said, widening her eyes, “Maybe…”
Su Li shook her head helplessly, “If she wants to take it, let her go her own way. The Third Sister has disguised herself as me in the restaurant for two days and must suffer a lot.”
“Miss!” Mammy Li suddenly felt anxious, “Su Zipei was mean to you, and you…”
“Mammy, stop mentioning it. Tell the guards that it’s my order to let the Third Sister in and not to embarra.s.s her.”
Hearing Su Li’s instructions, Mammy Li stamped her feet, but she had to act as she said.
No matter how she cared about the Second Miss, she didn’t dare to exceed her duties. The greatest taboo of servants was the unwillingness to listen to their masters’ words. Who dared to use servants who did not listen to masters’ words?
“Miss is still too softhearted. I hope everything goes well.” After pa.s.sing on the order of the miss, , Mammy Li felt so worried, but she had no choice but expect that the Third Miss had a conscience and didn’t steal the recipe as they had guessed.
In the study, Su Li put down the writing brush and gently dried the ink.
She was writing a recipe, and there was no complete recipe for the Beggar’s Chicken in the study. Since Su Zipei wanted it, she had to be prepared in advance.
She did not make any false description for the recipe, which was even several times more detailed than what she had previously given to the kitchen helper.
“My dear Third Sister, don’t let me down.”
Chuckling, Su Li rolled up the paper, picked up the Copybook of Dahan and left the Jinyuan Court.