Chapter 56: The Secret Formula

"Steward Wang, what kind of main businesses do you run?"

Steward Wang said proudly, "Oh, quite a lot! Mostly fabric shops, garment workshops, wine cellars, and delicacy stores, plus two weaving mills, a brewing plant, and a food processing facility under our name."

That was impressive. They operated quite a number of ventures and even had their own production lines.

"It seems the Jiang family is quite a prominent name in Jiangcheng."

Steward Wang sighed. "Every family has its own difficult sutras to chant. Our Jiang family was indeed one of the top merchant houses in Jiangcheng, but things started going downhill after the old master passed away. It only began to improve slightly after the eldest miss took charge of the family business."

Lin Feng initially wanted to ask whether the Jiang family lacked men, since they had to let a young woman lead their business. But reflecting that this was the Jiang family's private affair, he saw no reason to pry.

"Little brother, if you are willing to sell us the production recipe for your spiced peanuts, we will sell them in our Jiang family's delicacy shops from now on."

He looked at Lin Feng with hopeful eyes.

Lin Feng thought to himself that he certainly didn't expect to rely on spiced peanuts for the rest of his life. Knock-offs and high-end imitations had already appeared in Luping Town, so they would surely crop up even faster in a vibrant and prosperous place like Jiangcheng.

"If you can meet two conditions, I agree to sell the secret recipe to you."

Steward Wang was overjoyed. "Please go ahead, little brother."

"First, I can sell the recipe to you, but I will also continue selling the product myself. If any question arises later as to which one is authentic, your Jiang family must clarify that we share the same secret recipe and that both are authentic."

"No problem at all. When we draw up the sales contract, we can simply include this clause as you requested."

Lin Feng nodded. "Second, regarding the price of my recipe..."

Steward Wang quickly interjected, "Name your price, little brother."

"Two hundred silver taels."

"Two hundred taels?!" Steward Wang frowned slightly. "Isn't that a bit too much?"

Lin Feng smiled. "Is your Jiang family really that reluctant to spend two hundred taels on a secret recipe?"

"It's not about being reluctant. You don't know our young miss's temperament, little brother. Whatever she does, she insists on value for money. Even for a single copper coin, she makes sure it's spent where it matters most, and she never wastes a single cash. Therefore, I will need to discuss this matter with our young miss before making a decision. In short, I cannot make the call on my own."

"Very well. Once you've discussed it, come find me at Wangjiang Tower on West Lake North Street."

"Wangjiang Tower?"

"I am the proprietor there."

"So the little brother has come to Jiangcheng to run a big business after all!" Steward Wang was genuinely astonished in his heart. He could hardly believe that someone who had been selling noodles by a small village river less than a month ago had now come to the shores of the West Lake in Jiangcheng to open a restaurant.

"Just a small business, I'm just trying it out for now."

"I will definitely drop by to show my support another day. I've been wanting to taste the zhajiang noodles you make ever since that day we parted ways and I didn't take the same route back, returning directly to Jiangcheng from elsewhere."

Lin Feng nodded. "Come to the restaurant and it's on me... By the way, Steward Wang, does the Jiang family happen to have a young master with the surname Fan living here?"

"Are you referring to Young Master Fan Tong?"

"That's the one."

"Indeed, he lives in the Jiang residence and has been here for five or six years. How do you know him? As for this Young Master Fan... well, the less said, the better."

Seeing the rather disdainful look on his face, it was clear that people within the Jiang family held a very low opinion of this good-for-nothing.

"I am currently waiting for him right here. I would trouble Steward Wang to step inside the estate and call him out."

"Very good, I'll go right now."

Steward Wang immediately instructed the carriage to enter via the rear courtyard of the Jiang residence, while he walked into the main gates alone.

Before long, Fan Tong finally emerged from the Jiang estate.

"Hero Lin!" Fan Tong said with a shifty, sneaky grin. "I never expected you to know Steward Wang!"

"Of course I know him. You should appreciate that I spared your dignity and didn't tell him about the silver you owe me."

"I am endlessly grateful!" he said, pulling out a money pouch. "Inside is twenty taels of silver. This young master always keeps his word."

"Come, let's go to my restaurant so I can write you a receipt. Since you've returned twenty taels, you need proof, don't you?"

"Hero Lin is truly a man of principle," Fan Tong said with a sly chuckle.

As they conversed, the two headed toward the West Lake.

Along the way, Lin Feng asked, "Why did you take so long in there?"

"I ran into my cousin, who asked about my recent progress in studies, so that delayed me a bit."

"You wander around aimlessly all day—have you ever even studied?"

"Don't underestimate me. This young master is one of the top talents at Yiyun Academy."

Yiyun Academy? Wasn't that the academy Liu Ruofu had wanted to recommend him to? Just how garbage was this academy if even Fan Tong could be considered a talent there?

Still, Lin Feng figured he was probably just bragging. If this fellow was a talent, pigs would fly.

"Since you're a talented scholar, Young Master Fan must be a man of great literary flair and elegance?"

"Naturally. If Hero Lin doesn't believe me, you can accompany me to a poetry gathering another day and witness my peerless brilliance with your own eyes!"

Seeing how confident he looked, Lin Feng almost started to believe him.

"Alright, I'll take the opportunity to witness your grace."

While talking, the two had already arrived at the restaurant.

Liuxi and Xiaodie had already returned.

"Big brother, you caught this guy?!" Liuxi rolled up his sleeves, eager to give him a thrashing. "Looking so chubby, yet he runs remarkably fast!"

"I've already given the silver to Hero Chen!" Fan Tong cowered in fear behind Lin Feng.

"He only gave twenty taels first; the rest will be paid back gradually."

"That's more like it."

Xiaodie said, "Big brother, Liuxi and I looked around. Right by our West City Gate, there is a vegetable market where groceries are the cheapest."

"Good. Tomorrow we can buy our ingredients there first before coming to the restaurant."

"So Hero Lin really is the proprietor of this restaurant? You've just taken over and haven't even started cooking yet?" Fan Tong looked around left and right. "If it were me, I definitely wouldn't have let you buy this restaurant."

"What? Is there something wrong with this restaurant?"

"Do you know why Zhang Yifu wanted to sell it?"

Xiaodie said, "He wanted to return to his hometown to live."

"That's just on the surface. If business was good, would he leave?"

"Another reason is that his chef quit."

"He didn't just quit; he was poached by the Drunken Immortal Pavilion on North Street to be their second chef."

"Drunken Immortal Pavilion?"

"It's not far from your Wangjiang Tower. Haven't you noticed how many people go there to drink and dine? Not just the Drunken Immortal Pavilion—every single restaurant on North Street does better than this one. That's why Zhang Yifu couldn't keep going, and that's the real reason he sold the place."

Lin Feng remarked, "You certainly know a lot."

"Of course!" Fan Tong opened his folding fan and fanned his chubby face with an expression of supreme self-satisfaction.

"Then do you know the specialties of all those restaurants? For instance, their signature dishes or other unique offerings?"

"Naturally I do."

"Good. Once you finish writing the receipt, write down the specialties of every single restaurant on West Lake North Street for me."

"No problem."

Remembering that his writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone were still left at the adjacent bookstore, Lin Feng went over to retrieve them and told Fan Tong to write everything down meticulously.