Chapter 54.4

Translated by Aviana

(2/4)

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Naturally, Lin Qingwan could also discern the manager’s rejection. Nevertheless, she got a pair of chopsticks from the waiter at the side and presented it to the manager with a wholehearted smile, as she explained: “Manager, this is our own family’s craft. Despite its unprepossessing appearance, it tastes good. Not only that, it goes well with wine.”

The manager took the chopsticks. After a moment of thought, he picked up a slice and tasted it.

Have to say, although this unknown dish doesn’t have any smell, its taste was pretty good. It had the perfect balance of saltiness and sweetness, creating a rich a mellow flavor, and had a long aftertaste. The more you chew it, the tastier it became.

The manager was surnamed Li. This Man Fu house was their Li jia’s ancestral business. In the beginning, it was nothing more than a low-grade wine shop. It was in the hands of Manager Li that it turned into one of the biggest restaurants in the Luoyun town, a testament to his excellent skills and vision.

jia: family/house

Thus, as soon as he put it in his mouth, he knew that this woman hadn’t lied when she said so. This dish would indeed go well with wine. He fell into deep contemplation for a moment before he asked, “What is the name of this dish?”

Lin Qingwan was slightly taken aback. But after a quick deliberation, she replied, “Replying to the manager, this is called as Laweixian.”

腊味鲜 (là wèi xiān): là wèi means cured meat, while xiān is used as an adjective to describe something fresh or delicious.

After replying, Lin Qingwan was filled with admiration on behalf of herself for coming up with a pleasant and suitable name for Lap cheong in a matter of few seconds.

The reason why she hadn’t introduced this as Lap cheong, and created another name for it, was to stop people from guessing what it was made up of.

The ‘cheong’ in Lap cheong not only means sausage but also intestines. That’s why Qingwan didn’t want to mention that name.

Glancing at the Manager’s face, she knew this was a done deal. She was hoping she could make a bit of silver from it.

Manager Li caressed his beard, “Laweixian, a good name! But what exactly is Lawei?”

Slight awkwardness appeared on Lin Qingwan’s face. She can’t possibly say that she just wants to make silver from ‘Lawei’, can she? If she told everything, how would they still be able to get along?

But after a brief thought, she nevertheless replied: “Lawei is literally what it means, and it is called Laweixian for its deliciousness. Manager Li didn’t you also find it especially delicious when you tasted it?”

Manager Li savored the taste in his mouth and nodded. It indeed is a special delicacy. He asked, “Then I wonder how much this dish costs?”

“The cost of this Laweixian is weight-based – 60 wen per catty.”

Ever since Manager Li had arrived, Yao-shi silently remained standing with head lowered. Due to her timid and humble disposition, she didn’t dare to speak with a stranger male with her head up. But the moment she heard her second sao quote the price, astonishment filled her drooped face. However, she wasn’t knowledgeable about the current market situation; thus, she didn’t interrupt.

Contrarily, Lin Qingwan didn’t think the price she quoted was high. First, this dish was rare and was unlikely to be reproduced by anyone else. Haven’t you heard of the saying that the rare ones are expensive? She had worked herself to death to prepare this, and had to air-dry it for couple of days. Then, by rights, shouldn’t the price be certainly high? What’s more, her exclusive seasoning, ‘ Thirteen spice’, also went in it.

斤 (jīn):The jin is a traditional unit of weight in China, comparable to the English pound. The jin was then equal to 1 1/3 pounds or 604.79 grams. During the European colonial era, the jin was identified with the catty, a Malay unit widely used in various forms throughout East and Southeast Asia.

Even if the pork only costs 12 wen a jin, however, if the number of spices used, manual work, and the time for air-drying were considered, the price would be more or less reasonable. That’s why Lin Qingwan didn’t find the selling price expensive at all.

Naturally, she would also be making a lot of profit.

Manager Li frowned. Calculating it based on weight was fine. However, he didn’t know how the raw form looked. Furthermore, he also has to calculate how much profit he could make after buying it for such a price.

Lin Qingwan naturally understood Manager Lu’s apprehensions. Thus, she removed another layer of cloth, exposing the neatly stacked steamed Lap cheong.

“Manager, this is how Laweixian looks like.” She held out a link of Lap cheong carefully with a piece of cloth. “Roughly, this one link would weigh about a jin. This link could be chopped and served into a plate or two. I presume a dish that goes well with wine such as this would be definitely be sold for more than 60 wen.”

Upon examining the lap cheong link, he could also roughly estimate the amount. He couldn’t help but feel that this woman in front of him had the gift of gab and understood the situation thoroughly. Almost all the solutions for the issues he had been mulling over had been thought out by her.

“Alright, how many do you have now?”

Lin Qingwan replied with a cordial smile, “At the moment, I have about ten jin with me. Would manager wish to take all of them?”

After a moment’s consideration, manager Li felt ten jin weren’t much and only costed 600 wen. Moreover, he truly found this Laweixian to be a good choice of accompaniment with wine and could try selling in the restaurant. After all, these days, many patrons have been complaining about having very few dishes with wine. After having those regular old dishes for a long, it wouldn’t be a bad choice to try a different flavor sometimes….

“That’s fine; our Man Fu house would take them all.”

A bright smile surfaced on Lin Qingwan’s face as she asked the waiter to take the basket in her hand and weigh it. Then she added: “Manager, thank you very much. If manager finds this dish sellable, this little woman can make some more.”

Manager Li nodded, “My surname is Li. You can call me Manager Li. If this Laweixian was truly be sold well, how may I contact you?”

Lin Qingwan thought about telling the address of their house, but after thinking about the rest of the members of Yang jia, she dispelled that thought.

After contemplating a bit, she replied, “Manager Li, the little woman’s house is too remote. You might not be able to find it. We can do this, after a few days, I will have one of my relatives visit you to inquire. If you still need them, tell him about them. I will have them delivered to you quickly.” She then, again, added, “My family’s name is Lin, while my husband’s is Yang.”

Manager Li nodded in consent. Not long after, the waiter returned and signaled at him with a nod. Manager Li had the waiter fetch a bag of copper coins and give it to Lin Qingwan along with her basket.

Without even counting, Lin Qingwan stuffed them in her sleeves before taking the basket, expressed her gratitude, and left the Man fu House along with Yao-shi.

Manager Li felt the woman was young, beautiful, composed, and easy, yet she seemed to be from a peasant household from her attire. No matter how he looked at her, she didn’t seem one bit like a rural woman. But then thought of those two women deliberately dressing in that manner to avoid causing trouble flashed in his mind. However, if they truly weren’t from a peasant household, why did they, two women, step out to sell their stuff…

Momentarily, he couldn’t come up with anything. Only when the waiter called him did he shake his head with a smile while caressing his beard.

He was truly gone insane. Whether she is from a rural area or not, how would it concern him; to even go as far as to ponder over it half a day?!

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