Chapter 199

Chapter 199: A Taste That Lingers

The Young Lord nodded and said: “It’s good. I have never eaten anything this unusual.”

Red Luan’s smile grew brighter, her fox-like eyes narrowing with a clever glint as she asked: “Young Lord, with your power and status, do you have your own businesses? Like a restaurant?”

He froze and said: “No.”

Red Luan’s smile vanished at once. She took the spicy strips away and said with a straight face: “You two keep talking.”

“?”

Yu Zhi Yi chuckled. Looking at the Young Lord’s blank stare, she could not match him with the bold, overbearing boy from yesterday. Now he looked like a big wolf dog whose master had taken away its bone, the light fading from his eyes.

Seeing him so lost, not knowing what he had done wrong, Yu Zhi Yi stopped teasing and said: “If you want money, there is a simple way.”

“I will not plead for you, but I can offer you a way to make money.”

His reason returned bit by bit, and he asked, testing it out: “The spicy strips?”

The future head of the Duke’s Manor was no fool. With Yu Zhi Yi’s hint and Red Luan’s out-of-character behavior just now, he caught on at once.

Yu Zhi Yi nodded and said: “With your connections, working with a restaurant should not be hard. Red Luan can supply a set amount of spicy strips each day. The price depends on your skill.”

“As the maker, Red Luan gets seventy percent of the sale price. The remaining thirty percent can be split between you and the restaurant as you see fit. How about it?”

The Young Lord fell into serious thought.

Before today, he would not have cared. He was a grand Young Lord. Spending dozens or even hundreds of taels at a time was nothing. He had never known what it meant to be short on money. His monthly allowance was one thousand taels. And that was only the open amount. If he needed more, he could always ask his mother.

But this time the duke was truly angry. He had cut off the allowance and even warned his mother not to help him in private.

He had thought about selling his paintings. That was the skill he was most proud of. [Forget it. Better not bring it up.]

Yu Zhi Yi’s idea gave him a path. Only when you are truly broke do you learn that earning money is not shameful. Besides, he only had to say he connected friends. Other than Yu Zhi Yi and Red Luan, who would know what part he played?

Thinking this through, the Young Lord moved at once. He quickly found one of his lackeys.

This lackey’s mother came from a merchant family. When she married, she brought many shops as dowry, including a restaurant. The problem was, that restaurant was barely alive.

When the Young Lord told the lackey he wanted to connect a partnership for a friend, the lackey felt flattered. He thought it was some huge deal. He did not expect it was only to sell one snack in the restaurant. He felt both amused and disappointed.

His family’s restaurant did not do well. In the Capital City there were at least eighty to a hundred eateries, and about twenty of them were grand enough to be called a “lou,” a full restaurant. His family’s place was near the bottom. Each month they only just broke even.

The lackey did not know what role the Young Lord played. He thought the Young Lord was simply helping, so he agreed. He did not tell the Young Lord how weak the restaurant’s business was. In his mind, someone who needed the Young Lord to help sell a snack was not likely from a noble house. Maybe it was a peddler the Young Lord met by chance. Even if there was no profit, it would not stir up big waves. Also, since it was a cooperation, you had to sell the thing first before giving the other side their cut. If you could not sell it, not paying was normal.

That night, the first batch of spicy strips arrived.

There were fifty plates in total, each arranged on a dish and then stacked into several food boxes. Every box was sealed. The seams were pasted with little papers cut in odd shapes. There were ten boxes, each with five layers. Every layer was sealed on its own. If anyone tampered with a box, you could tell at a glance.

The lackey eyed the papers and muttered: “They really made this look serious, like someone would mess with the boxes.”

By the agreement, if the items did not sell, they could return any unopened boxes. That day, they would settle payment only for the plates sold. If by the end of the Hai hour that day, roughly around 11 p.m., the boxes had not been returned, the batch would count as fully sold.

One plate of spicy strips cost one tael of silver. If all sold, Red Luan would take thirty-five taels. The remaining fifteen taels would be split between the Young Lord and the restaurant.

Do not be fooled by Red Luan’s big share. She was not taking huge advantage. She provided the food and carried the risk of not selling. Luckily, Red Luan was not short of money now. She opened this line mainly to prepare for leaving Splendid Brocade Workshop. She planned to earn big and be a boss lady. She could not work under others there forever.

The lackey had little faith in the deal, but he still had to give the Young Lord face. He told the shopkeeper and the servers to push the spicy strips that day. As for how much would sell, that was not his problem. If the results were poor after a few days, he would tell the Young Lord they just could not move it. The Young Lord would not blame him.

He stayed pessimistic and held out little hope.

Then he was stunned. Before long, the shopkeeper sent word that the spicy strips were sold out. They asked if he could rush more stock over.

“?”

[What is this even?] The name sounded crude, yet it sold this well? Also, the traffic was not higher than usual, which meant regulars were buying it. Some tables ordered several plates at once.

He suddenly regretted not tasting it when it arrived. He wanted to see what kind of earthly delight it was. Now there was nothing left to try. Thankfully, it was only noon. There was still time. He hurried to find the Young Lord.

The Young Lord was also surprised by how fast it sold. But then he understood. The taste was truly special, and the aftertaste was powerful. After eating, the flavor stayed in your mouth for a long time. [No, stop thinking about it. The more I think about it, the hungrier I get.]

He said: “Wait here. I’ll go ask.”