books44 Chapter 148 Mother, come and see, what is this?
Chapter 148 Mother, come and see, what is this?
Lin Chang'er recognized the voice, but couldn't quite place it.
He hurriedly got up to greet them and saw Wu Chong from Yunlai Restaurant standing at the courtyard gate with a young woman and a servant carrying a gift box behind them.
"It's Mr. Wu! I'm so sorry for not welcoming you properly. Please come in."
Wu Chong helped the young woman across the threshold, and once they entered the main room, he introduced her, "This is my wife, Zhu Qing."
"Greetings, Madam," Lin Chang'er greeted.
Zhu Qingwen bowed gently to her, "Hello, Second Master Lin."
Knowing that guests had arrived, Gu's mother had already prepared tea and brought it over.
Lin Chang'er introduced herself generously, "This is my mother."
Mother Gu smiled at the two of them, "We are just ordinary farmers, please forgive us for any shortcomings."
Zhu Qing hurriedly waved her hand, "We apologize for the intrusion, Auntie."
Mother Gu was not good at socializing, so after exchanging a few more words with her, she found an excuse to go and do some work.
Lin Chang'er sat and chatted with the couple for a while, and Zhu Chong finally revealed his purpose.
He cupped his hands in greeting to Lin Chang'er, "I've come today to ask Second Master Lin, do you currently have any sales channels for your brown sugar?"
Upon hearing this, Lin Chang'er immediately understood that he intended to get a share of the profits.
Because of his connection with Old Zhu, he didn't keep them in suspense and told them the truth: "This candy business is a partnership between me, Sihai Restaurant, Young Master Bai, and Young Master Wu."
Upon hearing this, Zhu Chong felt a chill run down his spine; his uncle had indeed been right.
Although he had never heard of Young Master Wu and Young Master Bai, the Sihai Restaurant had recently become very famous, and the sashimi banquet was said to be booked until next month.
His uncle and his family also skipped their own restaurant to go to the small town for something new, and when they returned, they raved about it.
He even made a pact with several old friends that whenever Sihai Restaurant launched a new dish, they would come and try it. They spread the word so enthusiastically that it was as if Sihai Restaurant was their own restaurant.
However, since everyone else is here, I'm naturally unwilling to give up without giving it a try.
He asked, "I wonder where the products have been sold to now?"
Lin Chang'er said, "To be honest, this is just a prototype, and it hasn't been officially launched yet."
Zhu Chong was delighted upon hearing this. "Master Lin is a straightforward man, so I won't beat around the bush. To be frank, I am very confident in your brown sugar and know a few sugar merchants. I wonder if Master Lin would be willing to let me have a share of the profits?"
Lin Chang'er paused for a moment, holding her teacup, and said, "Since Boss Zhu said so, I'll be honest with you too. Right now, the production of brown sugar is still unstable. Young Master Bai is out looking for raw materials. As for the cooperation you mentioned..."
“I have an idea. We are interested in the northern market, but if Mr. Zhu is interested, we will probably have to expand to the south. In this way, we can each control one side and avoid conflict.”
This refers to the local agents of later generations.
Zhu Chong was stunned for a moment, not reacting immediately.
Lin Chang'er explained further: "For example, if Boss Zhu knows sugar merchants in Yuhai County, then the sugar you take from me will be sold there. If new channels are found in the surrounding counties, then it will be expanded further outwards."
"Of course, I will not cooperate with anyone else in the area you operate in."
Zhu Chong's eyes lit up. This was a great idea. In a region, only he could distribute the goods, so there would be no risk of bidding wars.
Looking at the light in his eyes, Lin Chang'er continued, "Of course, Mr. Zhu should know the quality of the sugar, so the price will be a bit higher than the market price. If Mr. Zhu really wants to do it, he should be aware of that."
Zhu Chong nodded hurriedly, "Of course, you get what you pay for! I wonder how much stock Mr. Lin has on hand? I'd like to take a batch to negotiate the price first."
Lin Chang'er pursed her lips and said, "I don't have much stock on hand right now, but I do have some for negotiating prices. It should be supplied by me. Would five catties be enough for now?"
Zhu Chong hurriedly replied, "That's enough, that's enough."
Lin Chang'er then went to the backyard and asked Sister-in-law Gu to pack five packets of brown sugar, each weighing one pound. She also gave Zhu Chong a bottom price; how much he could earn depended on his skill.
Zhu Zhong had no objection. As they were talking, Gu's mother brought over some snacks, which were three-delicacy dumplings.
The dumplings were all plump, with plenty of celery and pork filling. The soup was a three-delicacy soup with clams, shrimp, and mussels.
Mr. and Mrs. Zhu each ate a large bowl and praised Gu's mother's cooking skills.
Mother Gu dared not take credit for herself, saying, "It was all Chang'er who taught me."
Zhu Chong understood immediately. No wonder his uncle and the others always wanted to come here; he was even considering poaching them.
Then he remembered what his uncle and the others had said about poaching people from the Sihai Restaurant, so he asked about it again.
Lin Chang'er replied truthfully, "I have spoken to Uncle Pei about this matter, but he has not yet responded. Perhaps he is still considering it. Young Master Zhu, please wait a little longer."
After hearing her say that, Zhu Zhong felt embarrassed to ask any further questions. He sat with his wife for a while longer before getting up to take his leave.
As usual, Lin Chang'er saw them off and returned the gifts to the carriage.
Zhu Chong refused to accept it, saying, "Master Lin, I accepted your gifts without hesitation. If you don't accept my token of appreciation, I'll have my men return it to you."
Having said that, Lin Chang'er could no longer refuse and had no choice but to accept the gifts.
Fortunately, the gifts from Boss Zhu were quite practical: two bolts of cotton cloth, some cakes and pastries (he had probably heard about them from Old Zhu and the others), and five sets of medium-quality writing implements (the Four Treasures of the Study). It was quite thoughtful of him.
After making the notes, Lin Chang'er put the things away in her room.
After this social gathering, looking at the sky, it seemed the coastal defense team would soon be finishing their morning exercises.
Lin Chang'er didn't rush to fry the beans anymore. Instead, she took some pastries and tea to the backyard to visit her sisters-in-law and aunts.
There were many small fish and shrimp last night, so Lin Chang'er asked Gu's mother and others to clean and dry them to make small fish and spicy shrimp.
When she got there, she saw that the entire backyard was covered with bamboo mats, and the mats were covered with small fish and shrimp.
After finishing their work, the aunts and sisters-in-law sat by the well chatting. When they saw Lin Chang'er, they quickly stood up to greet her.
"Thank you for your hard work, sisters-in-law and aunts. Come and have some tea. If you still have energy, go to the front yard to learn to read. If you feel tired, you can go back and rest for a while."
The women naturally agreed, their eyes shining as they looked at the cakes.
Lin Chang'er knew that when they saw something good, they would always think of their husbands and children back home.
She found an excuse to go back to the front yard, and then she didn't care how they divided the cakes. Of course, this only applied to cakes that she gave out voluntarily; if she secretly took them, that was definitely not allowed.
My feet had barely touched the ground in the front yard when I heard a noise outside.
"Mother, Mother, come and see, what is this?"
A nimble little mud monkey entered with the sound...