Chapter 15: 15015 Verbal Agreement

“Xiao Si-zi, what is that in the small dish in front of you? It smells quite fragrant; I wonder how it tastes?” By then, many tea drinkers had already gathered in 'Xianke Ju' for the morning. The one speaking was a guest sitting not far from Li Menglan; judging by the way he addressed the waiter, uh... he was likely a regular of 'Xianke Ju,' right?

These sugar-fried chestnuts had originally been prepared by Li Menglan using wild honey, and a faint, sweet aroma permeated the air. As a breeze drifted by, many people instinctively sniffed the air: “Mmm... so fragrant!”

“Xiao Si-zi, has your 'Xianke Ju' made new pastries? What? Are you reluctant to bring them out to entertain guests?” One could tell just by listening that the speaker was an acquaintance who was as familiar as could be.

“Exactly! Xiao Si-zi, we are all regulars of 'Xianke Ju'; if you have something delicious, you aren't allowed to hide it from us.” Someone else joined in the heckling.

“Young Master, what do you think?” The waiter—Xiao Si-zi—turned his gaze toward Zhao Qingyun, the young proprietor of 'Xianke Ju.'

“Little girl, what do you think?” Zhao Qingyun turned his eyes toward Li Menglan. For some reason, Zhao Qingyun had a feeling in his heart that she already had a plan.

“Young Master Zhao, my name is Li Menglan.” Li Menglan stood with her small frame and spoke with a serious expression: “At home, my father and mother both call me Lan-ya-tou; Young Master Zhao, you can just call me Lan-ya-tou as well.” Since Li Menglan intended to treat 'Xianke Ju' as a long-term partner, it was naturally better to get on familiar terms with him first.

“Right, right, right!” Upon hearing his daughter say this, Li Dazhu suddenly seemed to become quite shrewd; he nodded like a pounding garlic press and said, “Young Proprietor, don't be so polite with a little girl; you can even call her by her full name, Lan-ya-tou. We country folk don't make such a fuss over such things.” Li Dazhu was rarely this clever, and his mouth moved nimbly.

“Uncle Li, let's do this!” Zhao Qingyun thought for a moment and said, “As for me? From now on, I'll call you Lan'er. Lan'er, don't keep calling me 'Young Master' or 'Young Proprietor'; just call me Big Brother Zhao!” Zhao Qingyun made the final decision.

“Uh... the one with money is the boss, so of course you have the final say.” Li Menglan felt her teeth itching with resentment. Great... combined, her two lifetimes made her nearly forty years old; now she actually had to call a little brat "Big Brother." Tell me, isn't that just insulting?

Despite her thoughts, Li Menglan’s face wore a sweet smile: “Alright, Big Brother Zhao.” Li Menglan first gave Zhao Qingyun a sweet smile, then turned to Xiao Si-zi and said, “Brother Si, could you please serve these sugar-fried chestnuts to the guests to try? Let's see what they think.”

And so, under Zhao Qingyun's satisfied and amazed gaze, the culture of free sampling in the Yunliang Kingdom officially arrived at a historic day.

“Haha, Lan'er, you really are something else; you actually had the nerve to use this method.” Zhao Qingyun gave Li Menglan an appreciative look.

“Hehe...” Li Menglan smiled faintly without saying much, merely watching the reactions of the crowd in 'Xianke Ju' with a nervous expression.

Seeing Li Menglan's nervous face, Zhao Qingyun spoke up to comfort her nonchalantly: “Lan'er, don't worry; these sugar-fried chestnuts you made are delicious. I believe everyone will like them—so rest easy.”

Zhao Qingyun didn't know how others would view these sugar-fried chestnuts, but he personally liked them very much. In fact, Zhao Qingyun had already decided in his heart that even if the tea drinkers didn't like the texture or taste, he intended to buy them all anyway.

Uh... actually, pairing sugar-fried chestnuts with a pot of tea was the most perfect combination; few people would dislike that feeling.

Sure enough, once the sugar-fried chestnuts entered their bellies, the 'Xianke Ju' was filled with all sorts of praise: “Mmm... not bad, really not bad... are these pastries or dried fruits? They are so fragrant and soft, truly delicious.”

“Xiao Si-zi, when it's time to settle the bill, pack an order for me to take home; I want my daughter to taste them when I get back.” Someone spoke even more directly.

“Right, Old Song, you reminded me.” Someone took the lead, and immediately others began to chime in: “When it's time to settle the bill, I'll also pack a portion to take home for my old lady to try something new.”

“Xiao Si-zi, I want one too!”

“Uh... don't forget me, I'll take one home when I go back.”

This world was the same everywhere; once someone started, others would follow the trend. The 'Xianke Ju' became incredibly lively with everyone talking at once.

“Lan'er, are you satisfied with what you've seen and heard?” Zhao Qingyun looked at Li Menglan, whose eyes were crinkled with smiles, and spoke gently.

“Satisfied... extremely satisfied.” Li Menglan felt as if she could already see the beautiful tomorrow of her home. Wow... this is all silver! Money isn't everything, but without money, one can do nothing. Lately, Li Menglan had truly experienced the reality of money and felt it deeply.

The dilapidated house needed money, the family's clothes needed money... in short, almost every aspect of the Li family required money. You should be able to understand why Li Menglan's young heart was so fixated on money, right?

“Come, follow Big Brother Zhao to the back hall; let's have a proper talk.” Zhao Qingyun signaled for Li Dazhu and Li Menglan to follow him to the back hall of 'Xianke Ju.'

Li Dazhu, carrying the two bags of sugar-fried chestnuts, followed closely behind Zhao Qingyun and Li Menglan. As soon as they reached the backyard, Li Menglan signaled her father to take some of the two different varieties of sugar-fried chestnuts from their respective bags and place them before Zhao Qingyun. She got straight to the point: “Big Brother Zhao, there are two types of these sugar-fried chestnuts.”

Li Menglan pointed to the larger, plump chestnuts and said, “Big Brother Zhao, this type of sugar-fried chestnut is of the best quality; I plan to sell them to you for eighty wen per jin. There are twenty jin in this bag in total.”

“There are fifteen jin in this bag over here.” Li Menglan's small hand switched directions. “However, the quality in here is slightly smaller than the kind in your hand; um... I want sixty wen per jin for this type.”

Before Zhao Qingyun could even react, Li Menglan had already explained everything clearly and logically, one point after another.

Li Menglan glanced at Zhao Qingyun, who had remained silent, and couldn't help but sigh inwardly. *Sigh... did I set my price too high?* Li Menglan felt frustrated! Tell me, your family is clearly very wealthy; why do you have to exploit a poor commoner like me?

While complaining in her heart, her expression remained unchanged, and she smiled sweetly: “Regarding the price, we can still negotiate further?” Li Menglan said with a conciliatory smile.

“No need, let's just go with the prices you said.” Zhao Qingyun finally composed himself and waved his hand to agree to Li Menglan's proposal. Not only that... Zhao Qingyun also said very generously, “Lan'er, from now on, 'Xianke Ju' will take all of your family's sugar-fried chestnuts; as long as you have stock, just send it over. As for the price? It will be the same as today: eighty wen per jin for the better quality, and sixty wen per jin for the lesser quality.”

“Thank you, Big Brother Zhao.” Facing Zhao Qingyun's generosity, Li Menglan's smile became even sweeter and more adorable.