Chapter 53 - Chapter 53: Do You Want to Sell the Recipe?
Chapter 53: Do You Want to Sell the Recipe?
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“Tsk tsk, you were still persuading me just now, but now it’s your turn to have a bunch of reasons.’
Madam Chen’s face turned red. “I can’t talk to you anymore. I need to go buy groceries.”
Qiao Mai smiled. Madam Chen could bear getting teased. Just as Qiao Mai was about to do some work with the needles, the mayor slowly walked to her stall. There were two guards behind her. It was quite a grand scene.
“Oh, the mayor is here to patrol?”
“Girl, I have something to talk to you about. Can I talk to you in private?” “What’s the matter, Mayor? Let’s talk here. No one is looking after my stall.”
The mayor lowered his voice and said, “I’ve tasted the gift you gave me. It’s very delicious. Did you make this yourself?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Are you selling the recipe?”
“Of course, I’m selling it. Why? You want to buy my recipe?”
“What’s the price?”
Qiao Mai chuckled. “What’s your price? Let me hear it. If it’s suitable, I’ll sell it.”
“Ordinary dessert recipes cost 100 taels each. I’ll give you 500 taels for your recipe. You’re not allowed to sell them and can only make it for yourself.” “Is it 500 taels for one kind of filling or 500 taels for five kinds of filling?”
The mayor stretched out his fingers and said in a low voice, “500 taels for one type, 2500 taels for five types.”
Qiao Mai immediately responded with a smile, “Mayor, you’re really a good person. This price is fair. Deal!”
“You agreed so quickly. I’m starting to suspect you.”
“Mayor, you’re the one who doesn’t bully people, and the price you’re offering is reasonable. I don’t plan to open a workshop or a shop, and since you like this, isn’t this the best of both worlds?”
The mayor sized her up deeply. She was not good-looking, but she had a tiger smile. She was cunning on the inside. She was a very smart woman. “Okay, when you finish writing the recipe, I’ll bring the silver.”
“Are we doing it here?”
“It’s a deal! I didn’t expect you to hide your strength. The contract and promissory note from Shopkeeper Lu are fake, right?”
“It’s true that I borrowed money, and it’s also true that I want to pay back the money.”
“This should be enough to pay it off, right?”
“Hehe, I still need the mayor to look after me in the future. Otherwise, those people are too shameless. I can’t handle them as a woman.” “Hmph, if it was not for Shopkeeper Lu, I won’t help you.” “If I have any new recipes in the future, I’ll let you know first.”
“That’s more like it.”
Seeing the mayor leave with his hands behind his back in satisfaction, Qiao Mai curled her lips. This money came too quickly.
She did not care what the mayor’s family did, as long as they were mutually beneficial.
When she returned home, her two sons opened the courtyard door and helped her unload the car.
“What did the teacher teach you today?”
“He even explained the Three Character Classic to us. Then, he wrote a few of the simplest words and gave us homework. We have to write each word twenty times.”
“Are you done?”
“I finished it in the afternoon. Mother, we made pumpkin porridge and fried a plate of chives and eggs.” “Why isn’t there any fried meat?”
“Hehe, I want to eat eggs.”
She washed her hands and face and sat in the courtyard to eat with the two children. She did not even need to move, and the two children had already done everything.
“Did the teacher have lunch at our home?”
“We stopped him when he wanted to leave, saying that it was Mother’s orders. That’s why he stayed behind. We steamed half a pot of rice and stir-fried a large plate of bacon.”
“Mm. In the future, when your teacher has lunch at home, don’t just stir-fry one meat dish.”
“Yes, Mother.”
After Yuan Jiaqi had taught the child on the first day, he realized that the Fengyun brothers were really promising. Chen Hao was just a little lacking, but if he was willing to work hard and not be afraid of hardship, this child was not bad either.
Of course, his Chuan ‘er was even better.
He encouraged himself to teach these children well. If he could not fulfill his wishes, he would let the children fulfill them for him.
From then on, whenever Qiao Mai left, he and Chuan’er would come over. They had agreed on a two-hour class. He would let the children play for a while in the middle before continuing the class.
When he saw that the water tanks in the Qiao family were short of water, he filled all the tanks with water from the well in the courtyard.
On the day of the Full Moon Festival, Madam Qiao’s words felt strange, but he could not tell what was strange. After seeing the quail, he remembered the description of MadamQiao.
This woman did not care about trifles and did not care about worldly etiquette. Her actions were free and easy, and she did as she pleased. Those who were with her felt very comfortable.
Yes, it was this kind of feeling. As soon as he came into contact with Madam
Qiao, it was very easy for him to feel close to her.
His son and Chen Hao felt this too, let alone him.
Like Qiao Mai, he did not have any romantic thoughts. He just wanted to live a good life.
However, early in the morning, before Qiao Mai had even set up her stall, he heard crying coming from her right neighbor’s yard.
Qiao Mai seemed to have heard Chuan’er’s cries, so she gently pushed open the door of the right neighbor’s house and walked in.
At this moment, Yuan Jiaqi was standing in front of the door with a calm expression. In front of him was an old couple, presumably his parents.
She did not make a sound and went to pick up Haichuan, who was crying in the room.
“Don’t cry. Come to my house first. Leave this place to your father.”
Just like that, she carried Chuan’er to her house and let Fengyun play with him for a while. Then, she loaded the car and went to set up a stall.
She was a married woman, and she was divorced. It was impossible for her to get involved in his matters.
The mayor came as promised. Qiao Mai had already written the recipes in the space. The words that she did not know were all found out by her through books.
The two of them handed over the money and the recipes.
“Girl, if you have a good recipe in the future, can you come directly to me?”
“You’re such a good person. I’ll definitely look for you when I have a new recipe in the future.’
“You’re better at talking than your Sister Lu, haha!”
After August 15th, her ice cubes had been taken off the shelves, but there were still many new ones.
Oranges, dates, and grapes that were usually not seen in town also appeared at her stall.
At this time, no one would suspect these goods because it was already the season for fruits to be on the market.
As soon as the mayor left, Shopkeeper Lu came.
“What is he doing here?”
“To buy the recipe for my mooncakes.”
“You sold it?”
“I don’t even have a shop, so what’s the point of keeping it?”
“Why don’t you open a shop?”
“Why should I open a shop if I only sell these things? I won’t open one, in case others get jealous.”
“How much did he offer?”
“500 taels for one recipe and 2500 taels for five.”
“No, that’s too little. If it were me, I’ll make him pay 1,000 taels of silver for each. ”
“You’re so wicked!”
“You don’t know, but his family has many shops all over the Great Ming
Dynasty.”
“Then why is he hiding here?”
Shopkeeper Lu stopped snorting. “Who knows what’s wrong with him? Why does he insist on staying here? Hmph!”
As the two of them were whispering, a person stood in front of the stall. He looked at Qiao Mai with a long face and roared angrily.
“I heard that you let a nobody teach your son how to read?”
Shopkeeper Lu recognized him. “Teacher Lin, what’s wrong?”
“It has nothing to do with you! Don’t get involved!”
Qiao Mai did not get up either. Seeing the other party’s attitude, she was very unhappy and her face immediately darkened.
“What? If you don’t accept students, can’t I find a teacher for my son?”
“How is he worthy of the word ‘teacher’? He has only been in my school for a few years and doesn’t even have an official rank. You’re harming your child.”
“Teacher Lin, Big Brother Yuan can read and write, and he’s also proficient in arithmetic. He doesn’t have any academic achievements, but it doesn’t mean that he’s unlearned. Besides, I don’t want my son to be an official. It’s good enough that he can read and write.”
“You, you stupid woman. You’re irresponsible to the child.”
“I say, Teacher Lin, aren’t you being too nosy? It’s my business who I hire to teach my child.. What does it have to do with you?”