185 What a Savage!
Xie Heng nodded. “Yes, if you are interested, you’re welcome to try it out in Lengshui Village if you have time today. I’m sure my wife’s recipe will intrigue you.”
The head manager looked at Manager Lin.
Manager Lin said hurriedly, “Head manager, I have never heard of brine either, but the previous tofu recipes, which Mrs. Xie gave us, were indeed very popular among our guests. The dishes you tried yesterday were all from Mrs. Xie.”
The head manager pondered.
Those dishes were quite special indeed.
He turned to Xie Heng. “Then, how many recipes do you intend to give us?”
“Two. And if the business continues next year, we will give another two recipes.”
“You can’t give them all at once?”
Xie Heng smiled.
The head manager felt as if he had asked a stupid question.
Xie Heng was capable of becoming a scholar at such a young age, so obviously, he was not an ordinary person. How could he not consider such things?
But the head manager was not a person who willingly surrendered to losses. He thought about it and said, “Then, I will go with you to the Lengshui Village today and see what brine is and also to see if we could have a good deal.”
Niu Tongsheng watched as they talked, without interrupting.
He didn’t expect it to go so smoothly.
To get back to Lengshui Village earlier, the head manager ordered his men to drive an ox cart, while Zhao Chuchu and the two others took his carriage.
By the time they arrived at Lengshui Village, it was already afternoon.
As soon as they entered the village, the water mill came into view.
“What’s that?” the head manager asked, pointing at the water mill.
“The water mill where we make tofu skins.”
“May I have a look?”
“It might not be very convenient.”
Chuchu definitely wouldn’t allow him to see it.
The head manager was a smart man. He would probably know how tofu skins were made at first glance.
“I was a bit abrupt.” The head manager understood and didn’t mention it again.
He and Manager Lin followed toward Xie’s house.
The brine was placed on top of a stove. Xie Heng heated it before bringing it out.
The head manager’s and Manager Lin’s eyes never left the plate of brine since they entered the room.
Just when Xie Heng was heating the brine, the aroma of the brine tantalized the two to sit uneasily and look at the stove frequently.
If they had the dish in Visitor’s Aroma, they would never have to worry about the number of customers.
The head manager already made up his mind to ask for the brine recipe.
To be honest, tofu skin was a new ingredient, but the brine was even more so.
Tofu skins had brought Visitor’s Aroma back to life, but the brine was an additional ace.
After the head manager tasted the brine, he immediately understood why Xie Heng and Zhao Chuchu had confidence.
“Such a good dish. Why don’t you open a restaurant of your own? With this dish alone, you can survive in the business.” He did not understand why they didn’t make good use of such a good recipe.
This was not a recipe but a cornucopia that would generate money.
Xie Heng said calmly, “I need to study. My wife is also busy reading medical books to improve her medical skills. We don’t have the time to manage such a business. You should understand what the brine dish means.”
“So what?”
“Even if we only sell brine, the business will manage to operate well. The recipes for you are a few other dishes. If you don’t mind, have dinner with us here. It’s not late to consider it after dinner.”
The head manager did not care about anything else. He only wanted to get the brine recipe immediately.
“What is your plan for the brine?”
“I can give you the brine recipe, but I want you to pay us 500 taels of silver per year. What do you think?”
“500 taels? Mr. Xie, you’re not kidding, right?”
“You have branches everywhere. Some are doing well but some are losing money. 500 taels per year for the brine recipe is not a loss.”
“I’ll pay 200 taels tops. Business is difficult nowadays. Our annual income is not much. 500 taels would be more than half of it. Mr. Xie, this is not a one-shot deal.”
The price was slashed by around half.
Zhao Chuchu was speechless.
What a savage!
“Then, there’s no need to negotiate. Please wait here. I’ll prepare the dishes for tonight.”
After saying it, Xie Heng got up and walked out.
Seeing that he could not be intimidated, the head manager could only stop him. “Mr. Xie, please wait.”
Xie Heng paused his steps and looked back.
“300.”
The head manager raised three fingers.
Xie Heng shook his head. “I didn’t ask for a lot, and the price I asked for was very reasonable. Since you are not willing to pay this amount, let’s forget it.”
...
The head manager couldn’t say anything.
When Xie Heng said 500 taels, he had already calculated in his mind. 500 taels a year was not a loss.
As Xie Heng said, Visitor’s Aroma had branches in many places, but not every branch’s business was as good as the one here in Yuanjiang County.
Many branches were losing money. If they could have the brine, perhaps they could start making a profit.
As the head manager, making money for the restaurant owner was what he cared about.
“Fine. 500 taels per year, but the brine can only be sold exclusively by Visitor’s Aroma. What if you also give it to another restaurant?”
“Although I’m not a big hero, I at least have the integrity of doing business,” Xie Heng said. “Taking it seriously, can I also suspect that you deliberately leak the brine recipe to other restaurants and accuse me of selling it to others?”
The head manager was rendered speechless.
“Just to be safe, we’d better set up paperwork and write clearly in black and white. If something happens, it’s better than having no proof at all.”
“Okay. Then, do as you say.”
Knowing that he could not take advantage of Xie Heng, the head manager gave up.
...
Once the brine became someone else’s, it would be a wild goose chase.
Xie Heng asked Chuchu to buy chicken, duck, and fish from the villagers and made four dishes.
The head manager had been working in Visitor’s Aroma for almost 10 years. Traveling from north to south, he had tasted almost every dish.
But he had never seen the dishes on Xie Heng’s table.
Also, he ate three bowls of rice unusually and only stopped because he was too full to eat more.
After eating and drinking enough, the head manager looked at the soup, seeming like he was regretting that he could not eat anymore. Otherwise, he could eat another bowl of rice with the soup.
“I can’t believe that you have such good cooking skills. If you are not a scholar, I will hire you as our chef.” He couldn’t stop praising Xie Heng’s cooking skills.
Xie Heng smiled lightly. “Do you think this is a good deal?”
“Of course, it’s a good deal. Just do as you say. But Mr. Xie, our restaurant in the capital needs a lot of tofu skins. I wonder if you can deliver it in time?”
“To be honest, our water mill is just starting up. For the sake of the taste of tofu skins, we can’t catch up with the production speed for the time being. I’m afraid that in a short period, there will be a large gap between the quantity we produce and your need. The only thing I can guarantee is to make as much as possible.”
The head manager knew that he could not force it.
But he did not expect that this travel was so worthy.
Xie Heng also generously gave him two recipes and wrote some necessary notes. So attentive and thoughtful he was. The head manager was startled to take another look at Xie Heng.
The scholars were always conceited, but Xie Heng was a tactful person.
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