Xiaoxiao had been quite busy these past few days, visiting the furniture store daily, hoping to create more furniture designs to make some money for emergencies.
Because she forgot one important thing, that was to create different products from apples and pears as a cover, to prevent people from discovering them.
Xiaoxiao felt so tired in her heart. She had sold the recipe to Jin Datui, it wasn’t hers anymore. Let others imitate it if they wanted, that was Jin Datui’s problem now.
But she couldn’t just ignore it, her family was still relying on Jin Datui’s earnings! She couldn’t afford to let go of such important support that they had finally secured!
Before she could figure out how to cover up the ingredients, she found that pickled spicy cabbage was already being sold on the streets!
This knockoff had come so quickly!
"Shopkeeper, what do you call this item?"
Xiaoxiao stepped forward to inquire, first to probe the other party.
"Miss! This is called spicy pickled cabbage! It’s Yuelai Restaurant’s signature appetizer!"
"Is this made by Yuelai Restaurant?"
"Yes, yes! Rest assured, miss. Only our Yuelai Restaurant has this spicy pickled cabbage, nowhere else can you find it!"
"How much do you sell it for?"
"Twenty wen per jin!"
The price difference was too big, something was fishy. The spicy pickled cabbage made by Xiaoxiao cost three hundred wen for just twenty-five jin, that’s twelve wen per jin. Moreover, Yuelai Restaurant sold it by the small dish for fifty wen each! Selling it by the jin was too cheap, it definitely wasn’t Yuelai Restaurant’s spicy pickled cabbage, Jin Datui wasn’t that foolish.
Xiaoxiao hurriedly bought the spicy pickled cabbage and rushed to Yuelai Restaurant in the county town!
"Uncle Wang, is the Young Master in?"
"The Young Master is at the Academy, what’s the matter?"
"Quickly find him, I have an urgent matter!"
Shopkeeper Wang, seeing Xiaoxiao , immediately sent someone to fetch him!
Soon after, Chu Lian arrived. Hearing that it was Xiaoxiao who sought him, he was surprised and came immediately without stopping.
These past few days, he had been thinking about Xiaoxiao, Yang Ming, and their relationship with him, considering every possible strategy to resolve this deadlock.
If Xiaoxiao knew, she would definitely mock, "Young man, you are overthinking it!"
"Miss, what matter do you have for me?"
Upon arriving in the private room, Chu Lian asked immediately.
Xiaoxiao placed the spicy pickled cabbage she had bought on the table and urged Chu Lian to taste it.
She had already tasted it herself just before, and the flavor was much different; it seemed they had not discovered the secret use of apples and pears! But somehow, this felt precarious; it was only a matter of time!
"This was just bought outside, marketed under your Yuelai Restaurant’s name, for twenty wen per jin, very cheap!"
"We haven’t even started selling, and already there’s someone on the market selling it, which is highly disadvantageous for us!"
Chu Lian also realized the seriousness of the situation. He didn’t plan to just sell it in the restaurant, but also intended to package it in small jars for sale in the market. He hadn’t expected that someone else would seize the initiative so quickly and sell it at such low prices in their name!
Fortunately, the taste was different, so the situation was not beyond repair, and there was still a chance to remedy it.
"Send someone to investigate, see if the person selling the spicy pickled cabbage is just an ordinary farmer trying to make a living, or if someone aims to take on Yuelai Restaurant, deliberately setting a trap to tarnish Yuelai Restaurant’s reputation!"
"If it’s just an ordinary farmer, it’s easy to handle. But if you have a rival, you need to be careful! Identify the competitors and target the remedy accordingly!"
Before Chu Lian could even reply, Xiaoxiao had already begun to help him analyze and come up with strategies!