An Jing said, "Don’t worry, it won’t kill anyone. If it did kill someone, I wouldn’t be able to escape the blame either. How dare I let you add it to the dishes and sell it?"
Upon hearing this, Wang Youbao felt relieved and praised, "You really are geniuses!"
An Jing only found it amusing, "What geniuses? It’s just random ideas that come up when I’ve got nothing else to do."
Wang Youbao looked over the recipe again and pondered, "Although you’ve written the methods in great detail, the cooks might not be able to make it right away. I think, when the time comes, you should cook it once yourself, to show the cooks how it’s done."
This was something An Jing had also thought of, and upon hearing Wang Youbao suggest it, she agreed, "That’s possible."
Wang Youbao continued, "Since we’re going into partnership, we should sign a contract. You provide the recipes and seasoning recipes, and I take care of everything else. Then, we split the profits fifty-fifty."
The contract didn’t restrict them at all, and since they had already given him their recipes and seasoning recipes, they wouldn’t have anything to do with it afterward. They just needed to collect the money each time, so An Jing naturally had no hesitation and agreed, "Mhm."
After thinking it over, An Jing still asked, "Youbao, have you ever thought about expanding the restaurant to the county? Sixteen Town is too small; there’s limited growth for the restaurant, and it can’t make much money." And she needed a lot of money.
Wang Youbao immediately smiled, "That’s exactly what I’ve been thinking. The Hundred Dishes Restaurant will continue to operate as usual, and our partnership restaurant will be opened in the county. You should also help think of a name. What would be suitable?"
An Jing smiled back, "I’m terrible at naming. Better to let my husband decide." Turning her head to look at Xiao Changyi, she asked, "Husband, what do you think would be a good name?"
Xiao Changyi spoke without hesitation, "Thousand Flavors."
"Excellent!" Wang Youbao immediately praised, very satisfied with the name.
An Jing also thought it was a very good name.
Then, they signed the contract.
Then, An Jing and Xiao Changyi were ready to leave when Wang Youbao called out to them.
"Aren’t you giving me this?" Wang Youbao looked at the small porcelain jar in Xiao Changyi’s hand, which contained the seasonings they had brought.
An Jing responded, "Didn’t I give you the recipes? You can buy the ingredients and grind them yourself to make it. However, if you want it, you can have it. But we spent nearly two hundred taels of silver on this, plus the labor of my husband and me. If you want it, give me two hundred taels, and I’ll include the porcelain jar."
Wang Youbao couldn’t help but laugh, "You really don’t let yourself lose out on anything." After a pause, he added, "Alright, two hundred taels it is."
Having said that, Wang Youbao looked towards the housekeeper.
The housekeeper immediately took out two hundred taels and passed them to Xiao Changyi.
Xiao Changyi received the two hundred taels and passed them to An Jing. The housekeeper saw this and was slightly taken aback, but said nothing.
The business of running the restaurant was all left to Wang Youbao, while An Jing and Xiao Changyi continued to cultivate their land.
Three days quickly passed, and it was the twenty-ninth of November. The weather was extremely cold, with the north wind howling and people shivering from the chill. An Jing and Xiao Changyi decided not to continue working the land for the time being, as they now had ten acres of mountain land secured, with the ditches dug and eight of those acres already irrigated, turned into fields.
Now, An Jing and Xiao Changyi planned to properly get through the winter and leave everything else for the coming year.
That day, An Jing and Xiao Changyi were in the kitchen, warming up around the stove.
The stove was filled with burning wood, creating a large fire. Inside the fire were sweet potatoes, and atop the flames was a pot of boiling water, making the whole kitchen warm and toasty.