"That won’t do. I’m willing to make concessions on other points, but the franchise fee and the cost of purchasing materials later must be calculated as stated here. However, I cannot share the store’s profits any further. After all, Gu Nian is just providing the seasoning, and I still need to pay silver to purchase it. I will be the one running the store entirely afterward, so why should I share the profits with her?" Zheng Shaochen felt that making such a concession was already quite a compromise.
After all, there are quite a few miscellaneous clauses in it, and he could agree to them only for Nan Jin Yu’s sake.
Nan Jin Yu, of course, knew he would not agree easily. The agreement drafted by Gu Nian yesterday was fine; it protected his interests to the greatest extent without being too harsh on Zheng Shaochen, ensuring a win-win situation.
Unfortunately, what Zheng Shaochen saw now was a revised version of the original, modified by Nan Jin Yu.
"What if the thirty percent profit is what I want?" Nan Jin Yu said.
Zheng Shaochen raised his head in shock, "Cousin, you... what do you mean?"
"Exactly what you think it means," Nan Jin Yu’s lips curled slightly, always remaining composed.
"This... I can’t decide on my own. I need to go back and discuss it with my family!" Initially, he foresaw the future development of the Hundred Flavors Inn and only thought of joining as an individual, but with Nan Jin Yu’s involvement, he could no longer be selfish.
"There’s another thing you need to consider clearly, I only accept your involvement, not the Zheng family’s." Nan Jin Yu said.
"Why?" Zheng Shaochen couldn’t understand.
If his cousin wanted wealth, the Zheng family would absolutely support him strongly, but his cousin always refused.
Of course, he also understood that if his cousin accepted money from the Zheng family, it would signal their allegiance.
However, isn’t this a win-win situation?
Nan Jin Yu smiled, yet within the smile was hidden sarcasm, and said: "My mother, Princess Xueyu, was the biological sister of the Emperor, yet less than two months after her death, there was a new mistress in the Prince Nan’an Mansion. Do you think it’s because the royal dignity is worthless enough to tolerate such trampling, or is it because the Emperor feared the Prince Nan’an Mansion too much to dare to blame them?"
"Cousin..." Zheng Shaochen was puzzled, weren’t they discussing business, so how did the topic shift to something incomprehensible to him?
"Wasn’t it because uncle made a mistake while drunk that he wronged aunt, and grandmother pleaded with the Empress Dowager? The Empress Dowager had mercy on grandmother for her age and, considering the great contributions of the Prince Nan’an Mansion to Yunyao over the years, wronged aunt and allowed Mrs. Zhao into the Prince Nan’an Mansion as the successor princess?"
Zheng Shaochen had vaguely heard some rumors about such scandals in the Prince Mansion over the years.
"Ha!" Nan Jin Yu let out a contemptuous laugh.
Would the Empress Dowager wrong her own daughter for the sake of sparing a malicious old woman?
"You’re wrong. It’s not mercy; it’s balance!" Where there are true emotions in the royal family? Everything is driven by interests. For the sake of so-called power, both family and marital affection can be sacrificed.
Then, with some so-called compensation, they can delude themselves into believing they are fair to others!
"I am the Heir of King Nan’an. The Zheng family is the wealthiest merchant in Jiangnan. It’s not that I am unwilling to accept the Zheng family’s allegiance, but rather the Emperor will not allow the Zheng family to fully belong to the Prince Nan’an Mansion. Therefore, I can cooperate in this business, but only with you, not the Zheng family, do you understand? If not, go back and tell your father, he will understand!"