Lin Yuan’s half-joking words immediately alleviated everyone’s concerns. Shopkeeper Jeng burst into laughter and indeed, he picked up the wine cup on the table and drank down three cups of white wine, "Then I might as well drink these three cups first. Tsk tsk, Old Liu, this wine of yours is not up to par. It tastes like plain water, no kick at all!"
Shopkeeper Liu curled his lip and patted his shoulder twice, "This happens to be the strongest liquor from the Meng Family Wine House, I had it specially prepared knowing you were coming. And you still think it lacks flavor? Hmph, next time you come, bring your own liquor!"
"If I must bring my own, I must. Just so you all can taste the fine wine An Winehouse of Tingan Town has brewed!" Shopkeeper Jeng showed off with a proud face. If it weren’t for Shopkeeper Wang pinching the tender flesh at his waist, Shopkeeper Jeng would have kept on praising their fine wine.
"Ahem." Shopkeeper Jeng knew he had gone off-topic, so he coughed awkwardly and apologized to Lin Yuan.
He cautiously glanced at Xia Zheng, then swallowed, and asked Lin Yuan even more cautiously, "Boss, well, we all know the Fuman Building has a new thing called tofu, which is very popular, and it’s not available anywhere else. So, boss, is it possible to distribute some of this tofu to our branches? Many customers have heard of tofu and have asked about it numerous times. We wanted to ask Shopkeeper Liu, but he said that’s not something he can decide, so we’ve come to ask you today."
Had he not brought up the matter of tofu, Lin Yuan would have forgotten about it. She glanced at Xia Zheng and saw that he too looked clueless, and she knew he hadn’t been informed beforehand.
Indeed, when Lin Yuan initially signed the agreement with Xia Zheng, she mentioned selling tofu to the Fuman Building but did not specify whether to the main or branch stores. Therefore, Xia Zheng was completely free to distribute the tofu to each branch store.
However, tofu is such a delicate product, and the towns are far apart. If it were transported, the tofu would likely turn into mush. Thus, the Shopkeepers of the branches could only eagerly watch, powerless to do anything.
Lin Yuan thought for a while. Originally, her plan had been to start selling tofu herself after cooperating with Xia Zheng for six months, but she had not expected to inadvertently become the boss of Fuman Building within just a few months. If she opened her own store to sell tofu, wouldn’t she be sabotaging her own business?
That wouldn’t do, the numbers just didn’t add up.
Having realized this, Lin Yuan decided it was better not to go into the tofu business alone, but to continue cooperation with the Fuman Building. Not only would it bring business, but it could also become a signature dish that might even outcompete the Drunken Immortal Residence!
Xia Zheng was initially worried that she would blame him for this issue, knowing her very well and recalling their agreement to cooperate for only six months. He didn’t want a misunderstanding over a small profit from tofu to affect their relationship.
Just as he was about to reproach Shopkeeper Jeng, he heard Lin Yuan slowly say, "I’ve oversimplified the matter with the tofu. All of you Shopkeepers should know that I was just the Shopkeeper of a tofu workshop and had only a cooperating relationship with Fuman Building. But now that I am the Shopkeeper of the Fuman Building, I can’t continue to be as selfish as before."
Lin Yuan turned her head to smile gratefully at Xia Zheng, who was protective of her. She understood his intentions. Even for Xia Zheng’s sake, she couldn’t be so selfish.
"So, I’ve decided to share the tofu production technique with all the branches, and then establish a special storeroom in the kitchens of every store for making