Chapter 58: Chapter 058: Between Laughter and Tears
Translator: 549690339
Zhuang Qingning also couldn’t help but hold up her forehead and sigh.
Originally, she saw that the number of salted duck eggs she made this time was rather limited, and salted duck eggs couldn’t be sampled as generously as tofu. Therefore, it wasn’t suitable to give away too many. So, she decided to put the salted duck eggs in the most prominent position next to the tofu.
The idea was to attract people’s attention and inspire them to make a purchase voluntarily, thus creating an opening in the market.
Unexpectedly, Zhang Yongchang rushed out at this moment and almost started a brawl with the first customer who bought the salted duck eggs, which caused a stir.
This incident ironically attracted even more attention, inadvertently hyping up her salted duck eggs.
Looking at how several people had already asked about the price of the salted duck eggs and when they would be available for sale in a short while, Zhuang Qingning didn’t know whether to interpret this situation as good or bad.
However, since this squabble broke out at her stall, she couldn’t just ignore it. She hastily tried to mediate, “Uncle Zhang, old man, we are all neighbors. Let’s not spoil the relationship over this matter…”
“What kind of amicable relationship do 1 have with him?” Zhang Yongchang was stubborn and still refused to back down, nor did he agree to the old man’s request to return his four salted duck eggs.
However, in order not to make it too hard for Zhuang Qingning, the stall owner, he simply tossed over a salted duck egg: “Fine, fine. Since Miss Ning insists, I’ll give you this egg for free. Consider it as me treating you.”
“Do you think I can’t afford the price of two salted duck eggs?” The old man’s beard bristled at the mention of not needing his money, and his eyes bulged: “Do you really think you need to treat me? It’s just that 1 don’t want to lower myself to your level for the sake of this young lady’s pleading.”
“Just remember this, if you dare to snatch my things again in the future, I will fight you tooth and nail!”
“Okay lass, I’ll let this go for your sake and won’t argue with this Chef Zhang this time. It’s no trouble for you. Just remember to reserve some salted duck eggs for me next time, so they don’t all get snatched away by this scoundrel.”
“Rest assured, old sir. I will definitely save a few for you when the time comes.” Seeing that the old man didn’t mean to continue causing trouble, Zhuang Qingning quietly breathed a sigh of relief. She spoke a lot before finally sending away the old man.
With this matter settled, the spectators left as there was no longer any spectacle to witness.
However, the question of how delicious the salted duck eggs sold by Zhuang Qingning actually were was still lingering in their minds. Even a few regular tofu customers, like the old man, had asked Zhuang Qingning to reserve some salted duck eggs for them when available so they could have a taste.
With their incessant reminders and requests, Zhuang Qingning couldn’t help but find it both amusing and exasperating.
With some difficulty finally sending away these people, Zhuang Qingning couldn’t help wiping away the beads of sweat that had formed on her forehead from being surrounded by the crowd earlier.
“Miss Ning.” Zhang Yongchang stuffed the money bag that Zhuang Qingning returned to him into his waistband and asked, “Are there only so few salted duck eggs left? Do you have any more?”
“These are all.” Zhuang Qingning smiled: “1 only pickled about a dozen this time. I divided some for my own home, gave a few to you just now, and the rest are here.”
“I see…” A trace of disappointment crossed Zhang Yongchang’s face.
“Uncle Zhang, do you find these salted duck eggs quite tasty?” Zhuang Qingning raised her eyebrows.
“It’s not just that they are tasty; they are incredibly delicious.” Zhang Yongchang became animated when it came to this topic: “I won’t hide it from you. I used to live in the prefectural city, and also stayed in the county town. I’ve never tasted such delicious salted duck eggs.”
“Just now, as soon as I came back, that young man Lian Rong brought over some salted duck eggs, saying they were pickled by your family. He wanted me to have a taste, and I thought since they were from your place, the taste must be fine. So, 1 tried one…”
“At least I had the chance to try one. Otherwise, 1 might not even have these few left.”
As Zhang Yongchang spoke, a smile spread across his face, which seemed to be tinged with an air of flattery: “All, Miss Ning, what if you pickled some more salted duck eggs?”
“If you can pickle more salted duck eggs and maintain the same exquisite flavor, I can assure you that 1 can help you sell as many as you can produce.”
“Miss Ning, don’t doubt me. Although Fushun Tower doesn’t need that many salted duck eggs every day, 1 used to work in the kitchen in the county town. 1 know many restaurants and pickled food shops, and I could sell your salted duck eggs to them. And the price would only be high, not low.”
“Would you pickle more salted duck eggs, then?”
At least, let it be enough for Fushun Tower itself.
“Since Uncle Zhang has spoken in this manner, I will pickle more salted duck eggs.” Zhuang Qingning was pleased by Zhang Yongchang’s high praise for the salted duck eggs and chuckled, “Then from now on, I will only take care of pickling, not selling, okay?”
“You just take care of the pickling, I’ll take care of the rest!” Zhang Yongchang’s lifted chin almost reached the sky.
With such delicious salted duck eggs, he was more worried that there wouldn’t be enough to sell rather than not being able to sell them off.
“All right, then. I will follow your advice, Uncle Zhang.” Zhuang Qingning smiled, “But I should clarify a few things. The reason why my salted duck eggs are so delicious is because I used a secret recipe. One of the ingredients in it is quite rare, so even if 1 started to make more, the quantity wouldn’t be too large.”
Zhuang Qingning said this for several reasons. First, she was worried that the ‘recipe powder’ in the system wouldn’t refresh fast enough. Second, she wanted to control the quantity of the salted duck eggs to maintain a sense of scarcity, which could help establish a high-value reputation. Third, if the quantity was too large, she worried she might not be able to control the quality.
“I understand. Any good things are usually not produced in large quantities, otherwise how could they be hard to come by?” Zhang Yongchang had a good understanding of this: “You just do your best. Having fewer could be a good thing; it makes people desire them more.”
Just like how the tofu dishes in Fushun Tower were often in short supply, Zhang Yongchang didn’t intend to increase the purchase of tofu immediately. The same logic applied here.
Seeing that Zhang Yongchang had the same understanding, Zhuang Qingning smiled: “That’s how it is. Then you don’t need to worry about this, Uncle Zhang. I’ll handle it. When this batch of salted duck eggs is ready, I’ll let you know and deliver them to you.”
“Okay, then I’ll count on you to pickle more salted duck eggs.” Having settled this, Zhang Yongchang chatted amiably with Zhuang Qingning for a bit before he prepared to return to Fushun Tower to prepare for the lunch cooking.
When he reached the entrance of Fushun Tower, he turned back and quickly returned.
“By the way, I just remembered something important..”
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