Chapter 31

Translated by Coke Edited by Coke

Teahouse’s little master

In no time, they were back to being harmonious after a tiny conflict. Right after, they proceeded to walk to the town together. Yang Dalang, naturally, carried all the baskets. Miao He found out later on that a certain someone had already sold a wild boar in the town, which was the one they spotted the last time they went up the mountain. On top of that, the money earned from it was way more than what he earned, for an adult pig could go up to over two taels!

High risk was indeed accompanied by high returns — exactly like financial leverage. Miao He sighed inwardly. Yet in a blink of an eye, his mouth turned upward under twinkling eyes as he counted their net worth. They had already saved 20 taels before, plus two, and if they made five taels worth of cake for this ending month, they would have twenty-seven silver taels!

“The house need not be big. We must build the essentials first, like the kitchen room, main hall, and bathroom! The rest could be expanded in the future. Granted that we subtract twenty taels for a house, we could still keep some emergency money on hand.”

Yang Dalang could not follow why the little ger had to make such a trivial room, specifically a toilet luxuriously. Yet, gazing upon those eyes shining like a full moon, what thought could he say?

After that, the two smoothly sent the mung bean cakes to Shopkeeper Jin. Fortunately, all the cakes stayed in place obediently, and the ornate impressions still looked impressively refined. Not damaged at all.

However, Miao He was still somewhat worried. He had walked too long under the sun today and could not help expressing his concerns, “It’s summer, after all. It’s better to consume the cakes quickly if you can. And, it would be best if they can be cooled.”

Shopkeeper Jin chuckled, “Brother He, let go of your worries. You know, the batch you sent the day before yesterday was sold out that night! Customers also came yesterday clamoring for it. I can already tell the cakes you sent today won’t last until tomorrow! We’ll also store it in the cellar to cool down. So don’t worry!”

Hearing this, Miao He suddenly said, “Don’t the teahouse use ice?”

Shopkeeper Jin found it strange but still replied, “It’s a rare item exclusively used by wealthy families in the country. Such a piece is not spared for our humble teahouse. Moreover, the ice from the cellar is ribbed every year. It must be shipped over, so it’s not cost-effective.”

Miao He wanted to slap himself on the head!

If there were tofu pudding, how come making ice with saltpeter did not occur to him?!

Shopkeeper Jin mentioned only the existence of ice cellars, but not ice making in the summer. Perhaps it was safe to say that saltpeter ice-making had yet to be discovered.

Shopkeeper Jin carried on. “Even without ice, the mung bean cakes delivered by Brother He is very timely. A few days ago, Dahe Restaurant introduced a new menu called Dried Beancurd, made of soybeans. Although our teahouse cares less about the competition when they have new products, so do we! Hehe, the time is just right!”

‘Dried beancurd? After tofu is dried beancurd? …Then, will there be dried soybeans?

The suspicions in his heart resurfaced once more — this time bigger. Miao He’s shock could not help but show on his face.

Shopkeeper Jin noticed it and believed the person was troubled, so he laughed and comforted, “Hey, although the tofu workshop in your village is devoted to Dahe Restaurant, our patrons differed from theirs. Moreover, there is no competition whatsoever for customers. Brother He, don’t dwell on it too much. Leave it be! Even if there is, is it not but a fair competition? I’m certain our price is better than Dahe Restaurant’s!”

However, none of that reached Miao He, whose thoughts had already buzzed in his head. How they left the teahouse afterward was also beyond him.

When he and Yang Dalang were nearly at the entrance of the town, Miao He stopped the other from walking and asked.

“I noticed you using gunpowder when hunting, which is like a fire bag. You, have you ever heard of saltpeter?!”

____

The idea of ice made Miao He’s heart skip a beat.

Now that summer had saturated to its peak, every day was painfully hot, and the only way to let off steam was to bathe in the stream. If those cold fruit juices and sweet frozen products could be manufactured but tucked away from the public, Miao He would feel dejected.

If you want to show it publicly, you must have a strong backer for security. Wasn’t the master behind the teahouse the appropriate candidate? Moreover, should the person behind the tofu pudding be a time traveler, they might recognize it and reveal themselves sooner or later. Wouldn’t it be better to bluntly snatch it from him, not that it was snatching technically, but rather grabbing the budding opportunity first and making more money than that person? Not to mention, the man seemed to be taking cover at Miao Jue’s house.

‘However, what if this unexpectedly attracts attention instead and sooner or later exposes Xirang? Is the teahouse worth every trust?

‘Plus, it appears I’m betting a lot of chips on the teahouse. Is this good?’

The thoughts in his heart tossed and turned so much that Miao He could not help sharing everything with Yang Dalang. As the saying goes, two heads are always better than one. When Yang Dalang heard everything, his pupils dilated, almost occupying his irises, harboring complicated emotions.

Already guessing what it was, Miao He scrambled to reason, “Hey, I am not a fairy! I just happened to know it!”

Instead of pressing questions, Yang Dalang pinned the person down in an embrace, going in for a kiss.

And with that, all ideas of ice melted.

Miao He burned all over, and through which proved time and time again that his body was tangible, warm — the ger of Yang Dalang who remained by his side.

____

A few days passed, Miao He and Yang Dalang headed to the teahouse to deliver the mung bean cakes.

Shopkeeper Jin entered the wing room where the two waited, yet soon rushed out a few seconds after, scampering. In passing, he rapped to the waiter to serve the two people inside, encouraging them to order something while waiting for him to return!

The waiter responded accordingly, thinking that Shopkeeper Jin must have forgotten something and hurrying to get it ready. What he failed to consider, however, was that Shopkeeper Jin would order someone to prepare a carriage and spur the horses at full speed, hurrying toward the county seat!

It took two whole sichen to go back and forth to town. Besides the shopkeeper, another person came out of the carriage — the one who visited only a handful of times a year, Master Qu Lao!!

Nerves immediately tensed up in the entire teahouse. Breaths hitched in their throats. It was still fresh in everyone’s minds Old Qu’s powerful admonishment. As if it wasn’t enough for the kitchen staff to be the only ones receiving it, the hostless and janitors were also swept through. Everything was nitpicked! Everyone boasted about the teahouse as a cut above the rest. But it was almost like a roadside noodles shop, from how he mouthed it! Now that the master was back, what happened again?!

Everyone watched in horror as they escorted the Master into Yang Dalang’s room. Afterward, no one was ordered to serve tea. The people outside the door anxiously stuck their heads out, doubting incessantly if there was no need to serve tea. Would they receive scolding for neglect? Also, there was no problem with the food sent earlier, right?!

An hour later, the door opened!

Old Qu, who always had a stern expression, shocked everyone with his smiling face. His hand gently patted the shoulders of a tall man he laughed with. A beautiful and well-behaved brother soon followed him. Weren’t they Yang Dalang and Miao He who entered first in the room? Old Qu even sent the people to the gate. Shopkeeper Jin also tailed, rubbing his palms, while his smile almost threatened to tear apart his face laterally.

‘Damn it’, everyone thought.

But what they did not know, strictly speaking, a new boss would soon cause tremors in their minds.

Yes. In the end, Yang Dalang used the method of ice making in exchange for not silver taels, but teahouse shares.

It was not that he had voracious greed for the teahouse’s revenue. Yang Dalang’s starting share was less than three percent. Not even half of it. He insisted on the standard amount of buying shares, but it was simply a trick for them into thinking he’d find another instead.

Ever since Miao He told him how to make ice, Yang Dalang had many thoughts in his mind. He knew what difference it would make if he could produce ice anytime, regardless of the season. Not just the teahouse but the river and land transportation, too, would adjust and adopt changes.

Shopkeeper Jin’s words earlier revealed their competition with Dahe Restaurant which Yang Dalang initially thought had nothing to do with them. The catches he had hunted earlier, all the expensive ones, were sold to Yangshui Teahouse, and the cheap ones were sent to Dahe Restaurant. He never meant to divide which one was for which. It simply came naturally.

However, the workshop remained clueless about the benefits the village chief promised while exploiting soybeans for his biased motives. In the future, if others learned about their provision of vegetables to the teahouse, it would be equivalent to standing opposite the workshop. Only God knew what reasons the Village Chief would whip up to stop them.

And this matter was with signs.

When they departed from the teahouse, Miao He was absent-minded the whole time, paying no attention to his surroundings. Yang Dalang spotted Miao Liang standing at the corner of the road. He kept looking at them suspiciously and warily. Wasn’t Miao Liang’s father, Miao Li, who coveted their land before? So, how could that seemingly spying of his not make people think something?

Even when they went out today, Yang Dalang paid particular attention to whether anyone was tailing them.

But Yang Dalang never elaborated on this with Miao He. All he needed to do was to ensure the safety of the other.

So when asked about their seller’s first pricing, even if he was perceived as greedy, Yang Dalang arbitrarily asserted that the teahouse’s shares be exchanged. Shopkeeper Jin had traveled thousands of miles to fetch his boss. Within that time, Miao He, filled with worry, looked at Yang Dalang and asked softly, “Is this okay?”

Yang Dalang slowly looked at him. He knew the little ger was soft-hearted. His heart was ungreedy.

But at this time, Yang Dalang realized that the little ger stood out. If he only did what he was an expert at, hunting, and was inept at ensuring the well-being of his people, he had to change. This was what he must do.

Ultimately, the final negotiated price was better than what Yang Dalang had in mind.

Old Qu was willing to give 10% of the shares directly.

Freely manufacturing ice held much weight. In this era, saltpeter was regarded as gunpowder. Usually, ordinary people were subjected to registration and supervision at first before operating, but for Old Qu, such was not a problem. On top of that, his people rely not on the teahouse’s revenue alone; his family also oversaw many businesses in different places. With this trump card on his doorstep, Old Qu felt it was worth it.

It was essential to know that nobles scrambled to buy ice and needed an uninterrupted energy supply. Networking with that alone could expand the business by folds!

Thinking of this, even Qu Lao could not help but laugh. Moreover, after discussing with the two young men, he could judge they were not money-grubbers. To ask for shares from Treasurer Jin, they must have had other difficulties. Leaning on the good impression, Qu Lao also ate mung bean cake, which was iced!

“This cake is better than vegetables. Deliver one to the county seat in the future. Send it in the freezer!”

These words were so bold that Shopkeeper Jin felt proud hearing them!

_____

After that, Shopkeeper Jin accompanied them to the government office and proffered the signed contract to the clerk. What both parties discussed was now considered legal and determined. There was no room for any reneges on it.

“Ai, I heard Brother He mentioned previously that the two of you are building a new house soon. Is that right? If you don’t have enough money, I can pay you in advance since the delivery of the next dish is just right around the corner.”

Miao He waved his hand. “No need, we’ve got enough money. We’ll follow the protocol of the teahouse.”

Shopkeeper Jin smiled before suggesting, “Brother He, you don’t have to be polite. Since you’ll build a new house, you must build a better and sturdier one to live in for a long time. The two of you are now the small bosses of our teahouse. You will undoubtedly have lots of money in the future. Now, splurge some more money and construct a big blue brick house. This is much easier and wasteful than demolishing and rebuilding the house for an extension.”

Miao He smiled bashfully. “En, we want blue bricks .”

“Alas, that’s just right. I’m familiar with the teahouse’s craftsman. How about I pull some strings and get you acquainted with each other?” Shopkeeper Jin’s networking skills were truly no joke.

Miao He’s eyes lit up, and he exchanged a look with Yang Dalang.

They were worried about building the blue brick house, not knowing which skilled worker to find since there were none in the village.

“If the Master doesn’t dislike the small room, I shall trouble you!”

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