Chapter 37: Formula
“Weigh it. Ten catties of pig intestines, ten catties of meat, seven catties of pig head meat, and ten catties of braised pig trotters.”
Ever since the evidence was confirmed, Luo Dazhuang had calmed down a lot. He weighed the braised meat one by one, which was slightly more than what Su Xiaoxiao had said.
Su Ergou patted his chest and said, “We will never be short of money!”
“How much are you planning to sell it for?” Luo Dazhuang asked.
“Thirty copper coins for the meat and forty copper coins per catty for the rest.”
Luo Dazhuang was shocked. “No way? You’re selling pork at such a high price?”
Su Xiaoxiao said, “What’s rare is precious. My formula and taste are worth this price!”
“Alright, don’t blame me if you can’t sell it.”
It would be strange if anyone bought such expensive pig offal.
At Jin Ji, Manager Sun came in early for work. At this moment, he was testing the freshly cooked snacks with a few chefs in the cubicle.
“How is it?” Manager Sun asked.
The cooks looked at each other and shook their heads.
It didn’t taste right.
“Too sweet,” said a cook named Li.
He was a senior chef in Jin Ji and had been working for more than ten years. Logically speaking, his culinary skills were not bad.
“Why is it sweet again?” Manager Sun frowned. “The pot was bland just now, and this pot is sweet. What… is wrong?”
Chef Li said, “I can taste what ingredients she used, but I can’t make it taste like a Wife Cake.”
Chef Wang said, “The heat control and the ratio of ingredients are also very important. Sometimes, the difference is too great. Haven’t people been fighting to imitate our snacks, but they can’t make them taste like ours either?”
Everyone else nodded.
Manager Sun said angrily, “The problem now is that someone made it! It’s even better than Jin Ji! Didn’t you hear what the customers said?”
“She probably didn’t imitate our snacks…”
A new chef said weakly.
“How could she not have!” Manager Sun glared at him.
The new chef fell silent.
“She must have improved our formula,” said another chef with the surname Liu.
Manager Sun said coldly, “If she can improve, can’t you do the same? To think few men can’t beat a small village girl. If word gets out, what will happen to our Jin Ji?”
Jin Ji was an established brand after all. The influence of the wife cake was not too great. After all, the little fat village girl only sold a few a day.
But it wasn’t like it didn’t affect them at all. He had heard guests discussing more than once that their pancake wasn’t as delicious as the Wife Cakes.
This was a great humiliation!
“Why don’t… we chase her away?” Chef Liu suggested.
“Do you think I don’t want to chase you away?” Manager Sun rolled his eyes.
“She saved our customer. If we chase her away, what will the customers think? Besides, she’s not at the main entrance of Jin Ji. She’s not blocking the way or affecting the customers. Why should we chase her away?”
Manager Sun was a little cunning, but he was also business-minded. He knew the importance of the store’s image and did not wish to do anything to ruin Jin Ji’s reputation.
“Continue to think about the formula. I’ll come up with ideas.”
—
There was a long queue at the entrance of Jin Ji as usual, but soon, an unbelievable scene happened.
The moment Su Xiaoxiao’s Wife Cakes were placed on display, many customers in the queue moved in front of her.
Hence, she also formed a small queue.
It was naturally incomparable to Jin Ji, but to a vendor who dared to sell snacks at the entrance of Jin Ji, it was already a rare sight.
“Miss! Are there any with chestnuts today? I didn’t eat them yesterday!”
A young man stuck his head out and asked.
“Yes,” Su Xiaoxiao said with a smile.
Little Wu went back to her mother’s house and stuffed the copper coins that Su Xiaoxiao had given her into her mother’s hands. Her mother knew that her life with her in-laws was not easy and refused to accept them. However, she could not persuade Little Wu, so she asked her to bring the chestnuts back.
“I want chestnuts too!” said a little boy.
“Yes, I’ll buy for you!” a middle-aged woman said dotingly. Then, she thought of something and asked Su Xiaoxiao, “Will you be sold out when we arrive?”
Su Xiaoxiao said happily, “I made forty chestnuts today.”
Twenty with red beans, twenty with green beans, and twenty with dried vegetables.
It was still a hundred.
As they wished, the grandmother and granddaughter bought chestnut stuffing.
The chestnut-filled pancake was a test of culinary skills. Although chestnut had its own sweetness, it had to be enhanced with sugar. If too much was added, it would easily overshadow its taste, making it taste not much different from other sweet fillings.
Su Xiaoxiao had grasped it perfectly, perfectly retaining the fragrance and sweetness of the chestnut. It was pink and glutinous, with a hint of crispy oil; it was sweet but not greasy.
“Grandma, it’s delicious!” the little boy said.
The other guests also praised the chestnut-filled Wife Cake.
A hundred were quickly sold out.
Su Ergou muttered, “Sister, I…”
He had yet to eat and broadcast!
Su Xiaoxiao laughed uncontrollably. “I brought it for you.”
She had other missions today and could not rush back to cook at noon. She brought food for herself and Ergou and left some for Daddy Su and the others.
Su Ergou began to dig in his sister’s basket.
Why did he feel… a little happy?
In the past, it had always been Su Ergou who gave in to his sister and made people forget that he was also a child who needed someone to dote on him.
Su Ergou successfully found a bowl of Wife Cakes.
“Sister, you eat too.”
“I’m on a diet. You eat it.”
“Oh.”
Su Ergou stuffed the biscuit into his mouth.
After packing up, Su Xiaoxiao planned to leave.
At this moment, Manager Sun walked over leisurely.
He put his hands behind his back and looked like he was taking a stroll. “Are you done selling?”
Su Xiaoxiao was sure that he was talking to her. She hummed indifferently. “We’ve sold out.”
Manager Sun said with a fake smile, “You guys… are always selling things near Jin Ji. Aren’t you snatching business?”
Su Xiaoxiao said, “If two country bumpkins like us can snatch Jin Ji’s business, then your business is too easy to snatch.”
Wasn’t this a slap in the face?
Manager Sun coughed a few times. “You’re a young lady. It’s not easy for you to make a living with your younger brother. In the future, when the weather gets colder, will you even set up a stall in the snow? How about this? Why don’t you sell the biscuits to Jin Ji?”
“Oh?” Su Xiaoxiao looked at him in surprise.
Manager Sun raised his chin and said, “You sell them for ten copper coins each, but I think your pancakes are only worth two to three copper coins. If you sell them for five copper coins, you can get 200 a day!”
Su Xiaoxiao pulled Su Ergou and left without looking back.
Manager Sun was incredulous. Had he been ignored by a girl?! He stomped his foot in anger.
“Six coins! Six coins is enough, right?”
“Seven… Seven coins! No more!”
“Hey-you can’t sell it for ten cents, can you?”
The siblings walked away.
Manager Sun made up his mind!
“Why don’t you name a price! You can sell the formula!”
Chapter 37: Formula
“Weigh it. Ten catties of pig intestines, ten catties of meat, seven catties of pig head meat, and ten catties of braised pig trotters.”
Ever since the evidence was confirmed, Luo Dazhuang had calmed down a lot. He weighed the braised meat one by one, which was slightly more than what Su Xiaoxiao had said.
Su Ergou patted his chest and said, “We will never be short of money!”
“How much are you planning to sell it for?” Luo Dazhuang asked.
“Thirty copper coins for the meat and forty copper coins per catty for the rest.”
Luo Dazhuang was shocked. “No way? You’re selling pork at such a high price?”
Su Xiaoxiao said, “What’s rare is precious. My formula and taste are worth this price!”
“Alright, don’t blame me if you can’t sell it.”
It would be strange if anyone bought such expensive pig offal.
At Jin Ji, Manager Sun came in early for work. At this moment, he was testing the freshly cooked snacks with a few chefs in the cubicle.
“How is it?” Manager Sun asked.
The cooks looked at each other and shook their heads.
It didn’t taste right.
“Too sweet,” said a cook named Li.
He was a senior chef in Jin Ji and had been working for more than ten years. Logically speaking, his culinary skills were not bad.
“Why is it sweet again?” Manager Sun frowned. “The pot was bland just now, and this pot is sweet. What… is wrong?”
Chef Li said, “I can taste what ingredients she used, but I can’t make it taste like a Wife Cake.”
Chef Wang said, “The heat control and the ratio of ingredients are also very important. Sometimes, the difference is too great. Haven’t people been fighting to imitate our snacks, but they can’t make them taste like ours either?”
Everyone else nodded.
Manager Sun said angrily, “The problem now is that someone made it! It’s even better than Jin Ji! Didn’t you hear what the customers said?”
“She probably didn’t imitate our snacks…”
A new chef said weakly.
“How could she not have!” Manager Sun glared at him.
The new chef fell silent.
“She must have improved our formula,” said another chef with the surname Liu.
Manager Sun said coldly, “If she can improve, can’t you do the same? To think few men can’t beat a small village girl. If word gets out, what will happen to our Jin Ji?”
Jin Ji was an established brand after all. The influence of the wife cake was not too great. After all, the little fat village girl only sold a few a day.
But it wasn’t like it didn’t affect them at all. He had heard guests discussing more than once that their pancake wasn’t as delicious as the Wife Cakes.
This was a great humiliation!
“Why don’t… we chase her away?” Chef Liu suggested.
“Do you think I don’t want to chase you away?” Manager Sun rolled his eyes.
“She saved our customer. If we chase her away, what will the customers think? Besides, she’s not at the main entrance of Jin Ji. She’s not blocking the way or affecting the customers. Why should we chase her away?”
Manager Sun was a little cunning, but he was also business-minded. He knew the importance of the store’s image and did not wish to do anything to ruin Jin Ji’s reputation.
“Continue to think about the formula. I’ll come up with ideas.”
—
There was a long queue at the entrance of Jin Ji as usual, but soon, an unbelievable scene happened.
The moment Su Xiaoxiao’s Wife Cakes were placed on display, many customers in the queue moved in front of her.
Hence, she also formed a small queue.
It was naturally incomparable to Jin Ji, but to a vendor who dared to sell snacks at the entrance of Jin Ji, it was already a rare sight.
“Miss! Are there any with chestnuts today? I didn’t eat them yesterday!”
A young man stuck his head out and asked.
“Yes,” Su Xiaoxiao said with a smile.
Little Wu went back to her mother’s house and stuffed the copper coins that Su Xiaoxiao had given her into her mother’s hands. Her mother knew that her life with her in-laws was not easy and refused to accept them. However, she could not persuade Little Wu, so she asked her to bring the chestnuts back.
“I want chestnuts too!” said a little boy.
“Yes, I’ll buy for you!” a middle-aged woman said dotingly. Then, she thought of something and asked Su Xiaoxiao, “Will you be sold out when we arrive?”
Su Xiaoxiao said happily, “I made forty chestnuts today.”
Twenty with red beans, twenty with green beans, and twenty with dried vegetables.
It was still a hundred.
As they wished, the grandmother and granddaughter bought chestnut stuffing.
The chestnut-filled pancake was a test of culinary skills. Although chestnut had its own sweetness, it had to be enhanced with sugar. If too much was added, it would easily overshadow its taste, making it taste not much different from other sweet fillings.
Su Xiaoxiao had grasped it perfectly, perfectly retaining the fragrance and sweetness of the chestnut. It was pink and glutinous, with a hint of crispy oil; it was sweet but not greasy.
“Grandma, it’s delicious!” the little boy said.
The other guests also praised the chestnut-filled Wife Cake.
A hundred were quickly sold out.
Su Ergou muttered, “Sister, I…”
He had yet to eat and broadcast!
Su Xiaoxiao laughed uncontrollably. “I brought it for you.”
She had other missions today and could not rush back to cook at noon. She brought food for herself and Ergou and left some for Daddy Su and the others.
Su Ergou began to dig in his sister’s basket.
Why did he feel… a little happy?
In the past, it had always been Su Ergou who gave in to his sister and made people forget that he was also a child who needed someone to dote on him.
Su Ergou successfully found a bowl of Wife Cakes.
“Sister, you eat too.”
“I’m on a diet. You eat it.”
“Oh.”
Su Ergou stuffed the biscuit into his mouth.
After packing up, Su Xiaoxiao planned to leave.
At this moment, Manager Sun walked over leisurely.
He put his hands behind his back and looked like he was taking a stroll. “Are you done selling?”
Su Xiaoxiao was sure that he was talking to her. She hummed indifferently. “We’ve sold out.”
Manager Sun said with a fake smile, “You guys… are always selling things near Jin Ji. Aren’t you snatching business?”
Su Xiaoxiao said, “If two country bumpkins like us can snatch Jin Ji’s business, then your business is too easy to snatch.”
Wasn’t this a slap in the face?
Manager Sun coughed a few times. “You’re a young lady. It’s not easy for you to make a living with your younger brother. In the future, when the weather gets colder, will you even set up a stall in the snow? How about this? Why don’t you sell the biscuits to Jin Ji?”
“Oh?” Su Xiaoxiao looked at him in surprise.
Manager Sun raised his chin and said, “You sell them for ten copper coins each, but I think your pancakes are only worth two to three copper coins. If you sell them for five copper coins, you can get 200 a day!”
Su Xiaoxiao pulled Su Ergou and left without looking back.
Manager Sun was incredulous. Had he been ignored by a girl?! He stomped his foot in anger.
“Six coins! Six coins is enough, right?”
“Seven… Seven coins! No more!”
“Hey-you can’t sell it for ten cents, can you?”
The siblings walked away.
Manager Sun made up his mind!
“Why don’t you name a price! You can sell the formula!”
