Chapter 43

After hammering out some details, Li Qi got up and took his leave.

After Li Qi left, Cai Laosan immediately walked up to Cai Minded and whispered, "Sir, isn't this price a bit too high?"

"Cai Laosan, we are businessmen; we need to think long-term," Cai Minded said with a hint of a cold smile. "The reason Zui Xianju can still stay afloat is solely because of this stinky tofu. If we can also make stinky tofu at Feicui Xuan, do we still need to fear them? As long as we lower the price, Zui Xianju will have to close down sooner or later. With sixteen thousand strings of cash, I'll see how Wu Laotou can survive."

Cai Laosan, upon hearing this, suddenly understood and hurriedly nodded, saying, "Sir, you are right. With this recipe, Zui Xianju is already in your pocket."

"Only, this young man Li Qi is indeed a talent. If he could work for me, it would be even better," Cai Minded said with a slight regret.

During the negotiation, Cai Minded always thought he was in control. However, after everything was settled, he felt that everything seemed too smooth. From the beginning, every word Li Qi said aligned with his thoughts. Whatever Cai Minded wanted to know, Li Qi would tell him without reservation, and every point was well-reasoned, leaving no room for doubt. It was as if Li Qi had planned everything from the start.

But when he thought about Li Qi's age, Cai Minded felt he was overthinking. How could someone so young have such deep scheming? It must be because he is inexperienced, which is why he opened up to me so easily.

Cai Laosan knew that Cai Minded always liked to recruit talented people, so he quickly agreed, "Sir, you don't need to worry about this. Once Zui Xianju falls into our hands, Li Qi will have nowhere to go and will have to come to you for help."

"Exactly! You are right. As long as we buy Zui Xianju, this young man will definitely come to us," Cai Minded said, smiling happily.

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When Li Qi returned to Zui Xianju, Wu Furong and the others had already closed up. Wu Furong was hiding behind the counter, working on his old abacus.

Seeing this, Li Qi felt particularly moved. He knew that Wu Furong was doing this to make him stay, so he called out, "Uncle Wu, I'm back!"

Wu Furong looked up and, upon seeing Li Qi, hurriedly asked Chen Xiaozhu to pour Li Qi a cup of tea.

After they sat down and chatted for a bit, Li Qi noticed that Wu Furong looked troubled and asked, "Uncle Wu, is there something on your mind?"

Wu Furong was slightly taken aback and hesitated for a moment before saying, "Young Master Li, the deadline of the 15th is approaching, but the money we've earned these days is still short of a thousand strings. Moreover, the number of customers buying stinky tofu has been decreasing over the past two days. I'm afraid—"

Although Wu Furong didn't finish his sentence, Li Qi knew what he meant and chuckled, "Uncle Wu, you don't need to worry about this. I've already taken care of the money. Someone will bring it tonight."

Wu Furong's face turned pale as he grabbed Li Qi's sleeve and said, "Young Master Li, is this true? Don't deceive me!"

Li Qi nodded and smiled, "How could I deceive you?"

Seeing Li Qi's confident demeanor, Wu Furong believed him to a large extent and his face lit up. He asked, "But who will bring the money?"

"I can't tell you yet. After tonight, I'll tell you everything, Uncle," Li Qi said with a mysterious smile. "By the way, where is Xiao Liuzi?"

Wu Furong, seeing that Li Qi didn't want to say more, didn't press further and replied, "Oh, Xiao Liuzi and Dazhu are cleaning the kitchen. He has become much more diligent since you arrived."

Li Qi felt very gratified and humbly said, "That's all thanks to your good guidance, Uncle. I'll go find Xiao Liuzi and give him some instructions. You continue with your work."

...

That night, when Wu Furong saw Cai Laosan and four porters carrying two large wooden boxes into the shop, he was stunned.

After Cai Laosan had the porters open the two boxes, Wu Furong, his nephew, and the brothers Dazhu and Xiaozhu all gasped, leaning forward and pressing their heels together, creating a rather comical scene.

Inside the two large wooden boxes were piles of copper coins, estimated to be at least a thousand strings.

Among the four, only Wu Furong had seen so much money before; the other three were almost bulging their eyes out.

Cai Laosan, seeing their reactions, felt secretly pleased but was also very surprised by Li Qi's calm expression, thinking, "Sir was right; this young man is indeed different."

Li Qi didn't explain much to Wu Furong and the others, just told them to keep the money safe. Then he took Wu Xiao Liuzi, along with the prepared brine and a dozen pieces of uncooked stinky tofu, and followed Cai Laosan out.

Actually, Wu Xiao Liuzi didn't know what Li Qi was up to, but he knew that following Li Qi would be the right choice. Before leaving, he gave a smug glance to the brothers Dazhu, as if to say, "See, this is the privilege of being the master's disciple."

Upon arriving at Feicui Xuan, Li Qi was secretly amazed by its luxury. The kitchen alone was several times larger than Zui Xianju's.

Cai Minded, who had been waiting in the hall, saw Li Qi's expression and felt very pleased. He didn't plan to have the chefs in the shop learn how to make the stinky tofu; instead, he would do it himself, as he was a chef by origin.

Li Qi was somewhat surprised by this but understood that Cai Minded didn't want more people to know the secret recipe.

Li Qi first handed over the recipe he had written that afternoon to Cai Minded. When Cai Minded saw the messy handwriting, he was greatly surprised. He never expected that Li Qi, who could easily match the couplets of Bai Niangzi and Song Gongzi, would write so poorly.

Li Qi nervously glanced at Cai Minded, knowing what he was thinking. His face turned red, and he thought, "I must find a way to get a fountain pen; this brush pen is really not suitable for me."

Fortunately, Cai Minded wasn't a scholar and didn't think too much about it. He focused on the content of the recipe. Seeing that the ingredients for the stinky tofu were so cheap, he was almost jumping with excitement, thinking, "Old man Wu, you're selling such cheap stuff at such a high price. You're really ruthless."

What he didn't know was that this was all Li Qi's idea.

Seeing Cai Minded's excited expression, Li Qi regretted it deeply, thinking, "Why didn't I think of this earlier? If I had told him the cost of the stinky tofu, the price of the recipe might have gone up. I've lost out! It seems I still have a lot to learn in business compared to my father-in-law."

After signing the agreement they had previously discussed, they went to the kitchen together.

They spent nearly an hour in the kitchen before coming out.

However, their expressions were completely different. Li Qi looked exhausted, barely able to lift his head, as he had explained every detail of making the stinky tofu to Cai Minded and even taught him how to fry it step by step.

He didn't fake anything!

Even if Li Qi were bolder, he wouldn't dare to play tricks here. He knew that Cai Minded was a chef from Cai Jing's household, and Cai Jing was known for his picky taste. Being a chef in his household meant that Cai Minded's skills were exceptional. Playing tricks in front of such an expert would be suicidal.

On the other hand, Cai Minded was in high spirits, truly feeling elated by the good news.

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Thank you to ** for the generous support. The author is not a chef, just a simple food lover.

{Piaotian Literature}