“So,” Guo Bing said in surprise, “When you went to town, miss Lin bought a shop and managed to get 30 percent of the net profit of the Yuelai Inn?”
Miss Lin was really a genius. She kept giving them surprises.
Little twelve took the pastry he bought from town and put it in his mouth, saying, “yes. All Miss Lin did was make fish soup and sell them the other recipes. Then, she took 30 percent of the net profits from the sales of these recipes. She’s really amazing.” When he thought back to what had happened, he was still excited.
Everyone, including Jiang Zhennan, was surprised.
“Fish soup?” Guo Bing exclaimed, “little twelve, are you sure? Did miss Lin really make a profitable deal just because she made fish soup?”
The deal was profitable. Lin Yuelan provided the recipes. If the dishes sold well, she would get a 30% share of the net profit. If they didn’t sell well, she wouldn’t have to compensate for any losses. Why would the boss of the restaurant make such a disadvantageous deal with Lin Yuelan?
Little twelve ate a few pieces of cake and swallowed a few mouthfuls of water. He continued, “That’s because you weren’t there to taste the fish soup Miss Lin made. It was so delicious. There’s no fishy smell at all. The soup is rich and fragrant, and the meat is extremely tender.”
The others started salivating. They had gone up the mountain to hunt, and their lunch was some roasted meat. The boss had picked some mushrooms too, but no matter what they did, they couldn’t make the food taste as delicious as Miss Lin’s food.
Before they went down the mountains, they picked up some mushrooms, hoping that Miss Lin would cook those for them. However, before dinner, Little Twelve started to show off.
Everyone knew that fish was very hard to cook because of the heavy fishy smell. Normally, very few would choose to cook fish unless they were very poor and couldn’t afford meat and vegetables. Of course, the soldiers had eaten plenty of fish too. When they were on the battlefield, they were not given many choices. However, this unpalatable food was made into a delicious dish and helped Lin Yuelan negotiate a profitable deal. It was unbelievable.
“I should have been the one to accompany Miss Lin to town!” Guo Bing wailed with regret. That way, he would be able to witness Lin Yuelan’s smart business wit and taste the delicious food.
Even Jiang Zhennan was jealous of little Twelve. He had volunteered to accompany her to town, but she picked Little Twelve instead. This caused him to miss seeing Lin Yuelan’s cute and clever moments.
Jiang Zhennan was shocked by the thoughts in his heart. He couldn’t explain their origin. He ultimately settled on the reason, friends. Lin Yuelan was his only friend. They were slightly different in physical age, but their mental age appeared to be similar.
After Guo Bing wailed regretfully, he told little twelve with some resentment, “Alright, little twelve, I’ve heard enough of your gloating. Later, we’ll go to the river and catch two fish. We’ll ask miss Lin to cook for us. What do you think, boss?” Guo Bing asked the silent Jiang Zhennan, but before Jiang Zhennan could answer, he continued to say, “I wonder how did Miss Lin negotiate with the young master of Yuelai Inn that he’d agree to such a deal with miss Lin? Miss Lin must be extremely cunning and devious to make the young master agree to this.”
“Ouch!” Guo Bing yelped because someone smacked his head. Guo Bing touched his head, and his eyes were accusatory as he said, “boss, why did you knock my head?”
Jiang Zhennan’s sharp eyes stared at him, and then he said, “Who are you calling cunning and devious? Hmm?”
Guo Bing then understood the boss was unsatisfied with his choice of words.