Off I went, Xiaoxiao got ready and stepped out the door. She had planned to bring Yang Dong along, thinking it would be good for him to listen in and learn something, but Yang Dong had said there was too much to do at home, so he wasn’t going to come!
Xiaoxiao, being quite thick-skinned, didn’t notice anything amiss and thus went on her own.
In fact, Yang Dong did want to go, but he had just been warned by his older brother, so he had no choice but to decline!
"Uncle Wang, is the Young Master here?"
"The young lady has arrived! The Young Master is in the private room, but... he’s drinking by himself!"
"..." Huh! Drinking, what’s going on here? Is he facing some trouble? Why isn’t he properly staying at the Academy during the day and instead drinking?
"Then I’ll head over now!"
When Xiaoxiao reached the private room, she knocked on the door and, finding no response, she pushed the door open and entered.
Xiaoxiao saw Chu Lian with a defeated look on his face, drinking one gulp after another.
Xiaoxiao didn’t want to get involved; being a small fry herself, it wasn’t her place to inquire into the affairs of a big boss. Although Xiaoxiao was thick-skinned, she understood that a married woman shouldn’t get too close to other men. Since she couldn’t talk about work, it was better for her to leave.
Just as Xiaoxiao was about to leave, she heard Chu Lian’s voice.
Chu Lian hadn’t recovered from yesterday’s events, which is why he was drowning his sorrows in alcohol today, but unexpectedly, he was caught red-handed by the person he liked.
"Oh, I came to talk about the pickled cabbage, but since you’re busy, I’ll head back now!" Xiaoxiao said as she turned to leave.
"Wait, I’m not busy, sit down and let’s talk!"
Xiaoxiao thought since it was like that, she might as well continue the discussion. She didn’t have the time to keep coming over, especially now that she was pregnant, she couldn’t keep running around!
"It’s : now that the demand for the pickled cabbage has grown, frankly, my place is too small and there are not enough hands to meet the supply. I was thinking, why not find a place to open a small workshop and hire a few people."
"But I don’t have the money, so I was thinking, maybe you could invest."
"Invest? How do you mean?"
"Originally, investing meant we were partners: you put in the money, I provided the recipe, and we split the profits evenly. But now I’ve sold you the recipe, so I can only work for you. That’s why I thought of a different kind of partnership."
Now Xiaoxiao regretted it deeply. She hadn’t expected pickled cabbage to sell so well. Now she had no choice but to work for others! If she were to make something else, she was determined to do it herself, or find a partner, and not carelessly sell the recipe again!
She had underestimated the spending power of people here, as well as the strength of Yuelai Restaurant. It seemed she was still too naive!
"What kind of method?"
Chu Lian wanted to hear what peculiar idea this girl had come up with next.
"All the expenses for running the workshop were to be yours; we would work in the workshop, with normal wages paid by you, but in addition to the wages, the pickled cabbage produced would be sold to my family at a rate of two copper coins per catty as a share of the profits. Of course, you could also choose to cross the river and tear down the bridge!"
Xiaoxiao felt she was too passive, but at least the production rights in the contract previously signed were hers, so she wanted to fight for her own benefits.
"Deal!" Chu Lian agreed without hesitation. Either way, he had to continue doing business, and this was also a legitimate opportunity for him to get closer to Zhong Xiaoxiao.
So the two of them drew up a new contract, and Xiaoxiao took the two hundred taels of silver that Chu Lian had given her and went home. But as soon as she arrived, a voice rang out:
"Where have you been?"