Shopkeeper Zhou stood frozen in shock.
He listened to Cheng Loanloan’s words and actually found them very reasonable.
At two copper coins a bowl, he could probably sell the ice dessert for five copper coins at his restaurant. In other words, he wouldn't need to spend a large sum of money to buy the recipe for ice dessert, nor would he need to hire a special chef to prepare it. Every day, he would only need to prepare brown sugar, hawthorn, and peanuts, and he could directly sell the ice dessert at his restaurant.
The Jixiang Restaurant probably served about thirty tables a day, totaling around one hundred people. If he could sell one hundred bowls of ice dessert a day, the profit could be over two hundred copper coins. In a month, that would be several taels of silver. This was a profitable business with no losses.
Regardless of how much money he temporarily made, the most crucial point was that there were many new things on the market, and Jixiang Restaurant also needed to have them to retain customers.
Cheng Loanloan knew that Shopkeeper Zhou was tempted. She continued, "But there's one thing I must make clear first. This ice dessert isn't just for your Jixiang Restaurant. As long as someone is willing to cooperate with me, I will sell it for two copper coins a bowl."
Shopkeeper Zhou was a little anxious. "Sister Zhao, just state your conditions, I..."
"My family has a large quantity of ice dessert; one Jixiang Restaurant can't consume it all," Cheng Loanloan said truthfully. "I've also already partnered with Shopkeeper Chen of the Nanfu Bookstore."
Based on the current collection of stone flower seeds, their family could make at least nine hundred bowls of ice dessert a day. The market in Hekou Town was limited; she also needed to check out Ping'an Town and Fenghuang Town nearby.
Shopkeeper Zhou sighed. Jixiang Restaurant only had so many customers a day; the space was indeed a bit small. How could he have the right to ask her to supply only his establishment? He didn't bring up the matter again and instead arranged a supply time with Cheng Loanloan.
Leaving Jixiang Restaurant, Cheng Loanloan immediately saw Shopkeeper Yang standing at the entrance of Zuixian Lou.
Shopkeeper Yang had been smug when he sought her out that morning, but now he was pacing back and forth like an ant on a hot pan.
Cheng Loanloan bent down and looked at the four children beside her. "How I spoke with Shopkeeper Zhou just now, have you all remembered it?"
Zhao Dashan had an innocent expression; he didn't remember anything, only that they had to deliver goods tomorrow.
Zhao Ergou spoke up, "Mother, can I try talking to the shopkeeper of Zuixian Lou?"
Cheng Loanloan silently praised Ergou in her heart. He truly lived up to being the smartest son of the Zhao family. She hadn't even opened her mouth, and this boy already knew her intentions.
She said with a smile, "Ergou, if you successfully negotiate this deal, Mother will give you two copper coins to spend as you wish."
Although two copper coins wasn't a large sum, Zhao Ergou had never held so much money in his hands before. He took a deep breath, picked up the bucket of ice dessert, and walked towards Zuixian Lou.
Cheng Loanloan waited outside with her three remaining sons. She observed the street, which had forty to fifty shops, large and small. If they could open a shop of their own here, their whole family wouldn't have to struggle to travel from the village to the town every day, and then rush back from the town.
She saw some shop signs swaying in the wind and reached out to pull Zhao Sidan over. "Sidan, look, is that character the character 'Zhao'?"
Zhao Ji General Store.
The character "Zhao" was written with the flourish of a dragon and a phoenix.
Zhao Sidan immediately exclaimed excitedly, "Yes, yes, yes, Tie Zhu Ge wrote it exactly like that! I wrote it wrong yesterday. Mother, how did you know?"
"Last time, Tie Zhu wrote the names of the people participating in digging the ditch, and he wrote Dashan's name just like that."
Cheng Loanloan said, "Sidan, look at these signboards, are there any other characters you recognize?"
This time, Zhao Sidan had something to do. He looked left and right, then jumped up and said, "This character is 'Da,' Dashan! Over there is a 'Shan' character. San Ge, look over there, there's a 'Niu' character, that's your name! It looks like a place that sells oxen..."
Cheng Loanloan looked at her eldest and third sons: "Sidan just said a few characters, and I remember them all. Have you two remembered them?"
Zhao Dashan: "..."
Zhao Sanniu: "..."
Sidan had only said them once; how could they possibly remember them all? At most, they only remembered the characters in their own names.