Old Master Zhao looked at Li Menglan with an ingratiating smile and said, “Little girl, look, this old man has already arranged everything. Now, can you let this old man have a look at the basket?”
Uh… alright! Li Menglan really hadn’t expected that there would be such a glutton in this world; truly a rare specimen!
However, since the old man was offering the astronomical price of two hundred wen per jin for her family’s dried persimmons, she had to show some goodwill no matter what. Li Menglan somewhat reluctantly handed over the basket in her hands to Old Master Zhao.
“Grandfather, here you go!”
Zhao Qingyun watched Li Menglan’s pained little expression and couldn’t help but comfort her, “Lan’er, don’t worry. Perhaps Grandfather really just wants to take a look.” The moment these words left his mouth, Zhao Qingyun himself felt a bit guilty.
“Look, Brother Zhao.” Li Menglan pouted, indicating for Zhao Qingyun to take a look.
With a *boom*, Zhao Qingyun instantly flushed red. His own family’s old man was currently eating with great gusto and without any courtesy. He had just said… that his grandfather was merely curious. This… this time he had truly lost face completely.
“Grandfather!” Zhao Qingyun called out with an embarrassed expression. “How could you take Lan’er’s things and eat them without asking?”
Old Master Zhao had been eating happily when his hands paused upon hearing Zhao Qingyun’s words. The pork head meat clamped between his chopsticks nearly fell to the ground.
“Qingyun, what are you shouting about? You nearly scared this old man to death.” Old Master Zhao shot his grandson an irritated look.
“Grandfather, what you’re holding is Lan’er’s,” Zhao Qingyun reminded his grandfather kindly.
Old Master Zhao’s old face turned red, his expression becoming awkward. “That… little girl!” Old Master Zhao looked at the cold tossed dishes in the basket that he had already eaten more than half of, mumbling and not knowing what to say.
He couldn’t exactly say: “Hey, little girl; this old man ate your things, so I’ll give you silver.” If the other party was willing to accept it, that would be fine, but what if she refused… where would he put this old face of his!
Silence… profound silence!
It was still Li Menglan who broke this stillness herself: “Brother Zhao, it’s fine, forget it. It’s just some braised dishes. I was originally planning to take them to the town’s restaurant to see if the shopkeeper wanted to buy them. Since Grandfather likes to eat them, then let him eat them. At most, I’ll just make more in the future.”
Li Menglan sighed silently. The food had already been eaten; what else could she do?
Li Menglan’s words caused Zhao Qingyun’s expression to shift. “Lan’er, you were originally planning to take these to the restaurant to sell?”
“That’s right!” Li Menglan nodded. “My family is planning to build a house and needs a lot of money. So I was thinking of seeing if anyone liked these braised dishes? To see if the restaurant’s shopkeeper would want to buy the recipe for making braised dishes?”
Her family didn’t have money to begin with. Li Menglan didn’t feel there was anything embarrassing about saying it out loud and frankly told Zhao Qingyun the reason.
“Grandfather!” Zhao Qingyun turned his gaze toward Old Master Zhao, who was still eating heartily. “Did you hear what Lan’er said?” Zhao Qingyun truly couldn’t understand why his grandfather was so fond of eating.
“What words?” Old Master Zhao raised his head and asked in bewildered confusion.
“Lan’er said she wants to sell the recipe for making braised dishes.” Zhao Qingyun spoke word by word, afraid that his grandfather wouldn’t understand.
“Braised dish recipe? What braised dish recipe?” Unfortunately, Zhao Qingyun’s painstaking efforts were still in vain. Old Master Zhao remained completely baffled.
“Grandfather, what you’re eating right now are braised dishes.” This time Zhao Qingyun’s face had a tendency to turn black. “Lan’er wants to sell the recipe for making braised dishes. Do you understand now?”
“Little girl, this old man wants your secret recipe.” Old Master Zhao opened his mouth and said without thinking.
“Grandfather, you want to buy the braised dish recipe from Lan’er?” The one asking was not Li Menglan, but the Zhao family’s young master, Zhao Qingyun.
“What? Does this old man not even have the authority to decide such a small matter?” Old Master Zhao’s old face couldn’t quite hold up under his grandson’s questioning.
“Furthermore, isn’t the restaurant in town owned by our family? When the time comes, just have little four take the recipe to the restaurant. Wouldn’t that settle it?” Old Master Zhao ate to his heart’s content and wasn’t angry with his grandson. Instead, he looked at Li Menglan with a smiling face.
“Little girl, what do you think of this old man’s proposal?”
The more Old Master Zhao looked at Li Menglan, the more he felt she suited his taste. “Will it work? Little girl, say something.”
Sigh… why was it that not a single child in his own family was as clever and skillful as this girl? Old Master Zhao shook his head slightly, his face full of regret. It left Li Menglan, who was standing to the side, utterly confused and unable to keep up with the old man’s pace.
“Old Master, you… you really want to buy the braised dish recipe?” Li Menglan glanced at Zhao Qingyun and asked cautiously.
“What steaming or boiling? Does this old man look like a swindler?” Old Master Zhao glared like a child: “I told you to call me Grandfather, remember! It’s Grandfather, not Old Master.”
Old Master Zhao rarely acted so childish, repeating his instructions over and over.
“Alright! Then Grandfather, you can just call me Girl Lan. My family all calls me that.” Li Menglan nodded agreeably.
“Good, Girl Lan. As for the recipe matter, you can discuss it with Qingyun. This old man won’t get involved. But remember this: if you have anything delicious in the future, just send it over. This old man will take care of it all.”
Having eaten his fill and being completely satisfied, Old Master Zhao irresponsibly pushed the matter onto Zhao Qingyun. He waved his hand and walked off leisurely.
Soon, Li Menglan sold the recipe for making braised dishes for three hundred taels of silver. Moreover, Li Menglan made a verbal agreement with the other party: after the chili peppers were harvested next year, she would supply them to the Zhao family first, satisfying the needs of their restaurant in Qingshui Town.
Of course!
The Sichuan pepper powder in the braised dishes would also be provided by Li Menglan. As for why it was Sichuan pepper powder? Here, Li Menglan had been a bit clever. She had her father, Li Dazhu, grind the Sichuan peppercorns to be sold into powder. This way, even if others wanted to prepare their own seasonings, without the Sichuan pepper powder, the taste would naturally be much inferior.
Today was a greatly auspicious day worth celebrating for Li Menglan.
Hehe… she had money now, and it was an enormous sum she couldn’t have dreamed of. Li Menglan hadn’t yet told her father—Li Dazhu—how much the recipe sold for. She felt it would be better to tell him after returning home.
Even so, Li Dazhu, Li Zhiming, and Li Zhihao—the father and three sons—were all very happy. Dried persimmons… a full one hundred thirty jin of dried persimmons; they had obtained twenty-six taels of silver. This delighted the Li family father and sons; now they didn’t have to worry about the house at home.