Cheng Loanloan thought someone would hear about her secret recipe and come to buy it, but she didn't expect it to happen so quickly.
She had only been selling ice jelly for a few days, and hadn't made much money. If she sold the recipe, it would cut off her path to wealth, and she had other plans.
She politely smiled and said, "This is an ancestral secret recipe. My ancestors instructed that it be passed down from generation to generation. Please forgive me, but I cannot sell it."
The shopkeeper lowered his voice and said, "I can offer this price."
He held up five fingers.
Cheng Loanloan thought, perhaps he meant five taels of silver.
Based on her current sales, she could earn more than half a tael of silver a day. In ten days, that would be five taels. With the hot weather, it might last for over a month, and she might even earn twenty taels from the ice jelly.
She refused without hesitation: "I'm very sorry, I cannot sell the recipe."
The shopkeeper's expression darkened: "If this elder sister regrets it in a few days and wants to sell, the price won't be this high anymore."
Cheng Loanloan chuckled: "If that day truly comes, the shopkeeper can certainly drive the price down."
Seeing that she was unyielding, the shopkeeper flicked his sleeves and walked away.
Zhao Ergou frowned: "Mother, I have a feeling this shopkeeper will try to cause trouble."
Zhao Sanniu waved his fists: "If he dares to bother us, I'll beat him to death."
Cheng Loanloan narrowed her eyes.
They had come from the nearby Ping'an Town to do business, and indeed, they had no power to contend with a local tavern shopkeeper.
If this shopkeeper found a few people to stir up trouble, for example, slandering the ice jelly as unclean, saying that eating it would cause poisoning and death, even if she could clarify the rumors, she couldn't be sure she could stop them completely. Afterwards, expanding the ice jelly business would be somewhat difficult.
Currently, the daily sales were three barrels of ice jelly. After accounting for spoilage, there were about three hundred bowls left, requiring two catties of *shihua* seeds. Four catties of *caolongdeng* grass yielded one catty of *shihua* seeds. In other words, the amount of *caolongdeng* grass used was less than ten catties.
However, the amount of *caolongdeng* grass the children in the village brought in each day was already more than twenty catties.
She had to expand the market and increase sales, otherwise, once summer passed, she wouldn't be able to sell it anymore.
Cheng Loanloan's gaze rested on the four large, elegantly written characters "Nanfu Academy," which clearly conveyed seriousness and solemnity.
She stepped forward and walked towards the main gate of Nanfu Academy.
The four children also hastily packed their things and followed.
Nanfu Academy prohibited outsiders from entering. At the gate, an old man over fifty years old stood guard. Cheng Loanloan scooped out the remaining unformed crushed ice jelly from the wooden barrel, arranged it into a bowl, and offered it to him, smiling sweetly: "Elder, please have a taste."
The gatekeeper looked at her warily: "What do you want to do?"
"Elder, I want you to help me make a connection. I want to speak a few words with the steward of the Nanfu Academy's dining hall." Cheng Loanloan lowered her voice: "As long as the elder can help me call out the dining hall steward, I will give you two *wen* coins for your trouble."
The old gatekeeper took the bowl of ice jelly and drank more than half of it in one go, comfortably narrowing his eyes.
No wonder the academy students all praised it. It turned out this ice jelly truly quenched thirst. After a sip, his whole body felt refreshed. No wonder a bowl cost three *wen* coins.
The old gatekeeper finished the ice jelly, then stood up to call someone.
It was already noon. The academy students were eating, making it the busiest time for the cafeteria. Cheng Loanloan and the four boys waited for about the time it takes to drink a small cup of tea before a man nearing thirty was led in by the gatekeeper.
The cafeteria manager's surname was Chen, and his given name was Chen He. He had a round, plump figure, and his face was shiny, immediately betraying his profession in the kitchen.
The moment he saw Cheng Loanloan, his expression darkened. "I was wondering why no one had come to the cafeteria for the past two noons. Turns out you're behind it all."