Chapter 49 Diluting Profits

Aunt Guihua was startled. "No, no, absolutely not. Ye-ya, you cannot ruin your own way of making a living just to spite the main household. What's that saying called again..."

Wen Yu'er chimed in, "To damage the enemy by a thousand while harming oneself by eight hundred!"

"Right, exactly! Don't let your anger cost you money. In the future, let them make what they make, and you make what you make. Just think of whatever they took as leftovers fed to a stray dog."

Wen Ye said, "Auntie, I've made up my mind. If you won't learn it, I'll teach someone else."

"Hey!" Aunt Guihua quickly called out, casting her a glare. "Since you put it that way... fine, I'll learn it!"

Wen Ye smiled. "Good. But what I'm going to teach isn't our exact version. I'll teach you one that tastes very similar to the main household's—just slightly inferior to our own. But it's still delicious."

"Moreover... this business might not last long, maybe just ten days to half a month. Knowing that, are you still willing to learn?"

Aunt Guihua nodded hastily. "Of course."

Wen Ye continued, "Besides you, Auntie, I also want to teach Old Grandpa Fu's family, the village head's family, and Zhao Tiezhu's family."

She interacted with Old Grandpa Fu every day, so they were already well-acquainted, and his character was beyond reproach.

Zhao Tiezhu was Wen Yuan's playmate, and their families had a good relationship.

Although the village head's family wasn't particularly close to theirs, the village head was fair-minded and had never favored the main household just because they had two scholars. Now that she was sharing the secret, naturally she couldn't leave out the village head; building goodwill is never a mistake!

Aunt Guihua understood now. Ye-ya wanted to bring a few more households into the fold precisely to dilute the main household's profits.

Aunt Guihua thought for a moment and said, "Don't you go telling them yourself. Let me find them; I'll play the villain! I'll just say it leaked out by accident. We can't have your father thinking you did this purely out of malice to ruin the main household."

Wen Ye smiled. "Alright."

With that, Wen Ye produced a piece of paper. "The soul of cold dressing lies in the soy sauce and the seasonings. Everything is written right here. Auntie, just follow the instructions. As for the exact taste, well, everyone has their own preference—if you like heavier flavors, add a bit more seasoning; if you prefer it lighter, use less."

Aunt Guihua was illiterate, but Wen Yu'er had a cousin who went to school and could manage to read a fair amount. She glanced over it and gasped, "Oh! You can actually use medicinal herbs to cook dishes? Won't the medicinal smell be overpowering?"

Wen Ye explained, "If you combine them properly, it isn't overpowering at all. Also, add a drop of sesame oil when tossing the vegetables, and the aroma will instantly burst forth. As for the vegetables themselves, they must be fresh and crisp."

The mother and daughter nodded eagerly. Having supplied Wen Ye with vegetables for so many days, they naturally understood this well.

Aunt Guihua said, "I'll go find the village head and the other two families later today. By the way, do you still need those bamboo shoots?"

"Of course. Same as before, thirty catties a day."

After discussing a bit longer, Wen Ye and her sister headed home.

Turning around, Aunt Guihua immediately visited the families of the village head, Old Grandpa Fu, and Zhao Tiezhu. She quietly whispered to them about the cold-dressed vegetable business.

All three families were pleasantly surprised.

Although Ye-ya had mentioned it might only last ten days or half a month, peasant families had few ways to make quick money. Earning an extra hundred or several dozen copper coins was still wonderful, like earning wages for casual labor.

...

The next day, around 3:30 in the morning, Madam Lin came and knocked on the door.

Wen Lan rubbed her eyes and opened the door. Madam Lin announced, "Put aside your embroidery for now, Lan-ya. You're coming to the stall with us today."

Having one more person meant having an extra pair of hands. They couldn't afford to keep customers waiting so long that they walked away to eat at the opposite stall.

Wen Lan quickly agreed, then urged Wen Ye, "Ye-ya, Ye-ya, get up."

Wen Ye pouted. Sleepy, sleepy, sleepy—bed aversions and a fierce desire to hit someone. What to do?

In the previous days, the cold-dressed dishes sold so effortlessly that she never had to rush the early mornings. Now, because of the rival stall across the way, rising early had become mandatory.

Yawning, Wen Ye shuffled sluggishly out of her bedroom to find only Wen Yuan already chopping vegetables in the kitchen.

Although he was the youngest in the family, this boy was the most industrious. He always wanted to be first at everything—a natural-born workhorse.

Old Third Wen was also awake. Guilt kept him from sleeping in; even before dawn broke, he had already started splitting firewood.

By the time Wen Ye finished brushing her teeth, all the main dishes and side ingredients were fully prepared.

Soon, Old Grandpa Fu arrived driving his ox cart.

The four of them boarded the cart and slowly set off.

Old Grandpa Fu smiled sheepishly. "Ye-ya, thank you for that. Shengli's family already told me about it yesterday."

Only then did Wen Ye wake up a little more. "It's just a bit of pocket money, Grandpa Fu, don't look down on it."

"Heavens no, I can't thank you enough. But... since we'll be setting up stalls too, how will you all get to town?"

The cart was only so big, and the ox's load capacity was limited. It couldn't possibly carry supplies for two separate stalls.

Wen Ye said, "Grandpa Fu don't worry. We can rent a donkey cart."

"That's good then," Old Grandpa Fu said happily.

When the group reached the entrance of the village, they unexpectedly bumped into Second Uncle Wen's family along with Wen Liyue and her sister, who were also driving a donkey cart toward town.

Madam Fang's eyes flickered slightly as she smiled and said, "Third Sister-in-law, you're out bright and early too!"

Madam Lin's face darkened.

Madam Fang remained unfazed and looked at Wen Lan. "Are there four of you today as well?"

Madam Lin felt a surge of irritation. Did that woman even have any shame left?

They soon arrived in town.

The two competing stalls were once again set up directly opposite each other.

As Madam Fang set up her stall, she offered a sheepish smile. "Everyone knows cold-dressed dishes are sold here, and those who want to eat them will just flock to this area anyway... Let's just set up right here together! Just like a whole row of draper's shops or a row of restaurants on the main street."

Madam Lin kept her face rigid and said nothing.

Wen Lan and Wen Yuan were also boiling with suppressed anger.

Wen Ye, however, remained completely calm.

Soon, both stalls were fully erected.

Wen Ye's side had brought three hundred catties, while the opposite side had brought two hundred catties.

Wen Ye kept her original pricing, but the opposite side once again undercut her by one copper coin per portion, just like yesterday.

As the town gradually grew lively, customers began arriving one after another.

"Cold-dressed dishes, three copper coins for a small bowl, five for a large bowl!"

"Cold-dressed dishes, fresh vegetarian cold-mix! Two copper coins for a small bowl, four for a large one!"

The two sides began hawking their wares as if engaged in a contest of wills.

A crowd quickly gathered around Wen Ye's stall, while Second Uncle Wen's side attracted a crowd three layers deep simply because they were one copper coin cheaper.

Second Uncle Wen and Madam Fang grinned from ear to ear, busily and enthusiastically greeting their patrons.

However, after customers sampled a small bowl from the opposite stall, they ended up walking over to Wen Ye's family to buy by the catty instead:

"Your side is simply more fragrant. So what if it's one coin more expensive? My eldest grandson specifically asked for this exact flavor!"

"Right, your flavor is the most authentic—both numbing and wonderfully fragrant on the lips."

Madam Lin immediately beamed with delight. "You certainly know your food, Auntie. Let me throw in half a bowl of cucumbers on the house."

"Wonderful, wonderful!"

Realizing what was happening, Second Uncle Wen's side saw their expressions sour.

Yesterday, their popularity had clearly been higher, and they had started out much more bustling; yet after a single hour, Wen Ye's family's business had surged ahead.

After two hours of trading, Wen Ye's family had already sold over two hundred catties, leaving only a little over half a basin remaining.

Meanwhile, Second Uncle Wen's family had only sold half of their stock, leaving all of their faces looking rather gloomy.

Madam Fang broke the silence. "Why are you all pulling such long faces? Even if we only sell half, we'll still make over three hundred copper coins—that's more than half a month of your previous wages. What more could you possibly want?"

Second Uncle Wen glared at her. "It just doesn't sit right with me!"

Every time he thought about how the other side was making over a tael of silver while they only pocketed three hundred coins, it felt as though his heart and lungs were being clawed at in agony.

Madam Fang lowered her voice. "What's there to rush? Play a long game to catch the big fish. Once we smooth things over with the Third Branch, we can eventually extract the recipe."

Only then did Second Uncle Wen feel somewhat better. Besides, earning over three hundred large cash coins a day was still rather pleasing.

Over at Wen Ye's stall—

Wen Ye pulled Wen Lan back and said, "Sister, we're heading to the county town. Mother, Yuanbao, I'll leave the rest to you both."

Madam Lin asked in alarm, "Why are you going to the county town?"

Wen Ye lowered her voice. "To sell the recipe."

"Sell what?"

"I'm going to sell the recipe for these cold-dressed dishes!"