Chapter 149: Raising Investment

Gong Qi brought over various types of sauces.
Xia Ruowan tasted them one by one, and her interest was piqued.
"I heard from you that he is a young boss, which means this person is not very old. I wonder if I might have the opportunity to make friends with such a resourceful and clever person?"
"Miss Xia, please wait a moment." Boss Ning cupped his hands in a salute, turned, and walked out to the adjoining room.
When Boss Ning walked in, Qin Huiyin and the others were leisurely tasting the roast duck, acting as if they were completely unaware of what had just happened next door. In truth, everyone knew very well, since the walls were not soundproof at all.
"Little Boss, how is the taste today?" Boss Ning asked with a smile.
Qin Huiyin smiled. "The master chef's culinary skills are getting better and better. Boss Ning, you really should give the master chef a raise, otherwise, if he runs off, you won't be able to find another roast duck chef this good."
"I gave him a raise long ago; if I hadn't, he would have thrown a tantrum. Business has been much better lately, and we roast twice as many ducks every day compared to before. Not only did I give the master chef a raise, but I also found him two apprentices."
"Boss Ning is generous to his people, no wonder your fortune is flourishing."
"Little Boss, to be honest with you, your sauces are simply too good. Lately, quite a few people have come looking to buy the sauces separately. I've sold them one or two bottles at a time, but a wealthy patron has arrived next door who wants to discuss a much larger business deal. Would you be interested in meeting with her?"
"Boss Ning, if I agree to sell the sauces to her, your roast duck restaurant will no longer be the exclusive seller. This business would certainly benefit me, but it does you no good. Why are you acting as a matchmaker for me?"
"She runs a restaurant, so even if she buys these sauces, they will only be used for seasoning dishes and won't impact my business. Looking across the entire county town, only my roast duck is the best; even if other roast duck restaurants get the sauce, it's useless." Boss Ning said with absolute confidence. "Besides, I believe the Little Boss wouldn't want to lose a regular customer like me either."
"I certainly do want to meet this wealthy young lady. Please introduce us, Boss Ning!"
Boss Ning led Qin Huiyin to the next room.
The others wanted to follow, but Qin Huiyin stopped them.
The other party was right next door, and moreover, she was a young lady; going to see her alone was enough.
She told the others to continue eating and drinking without waiting for her.
When the door opened and she saw the face of Miss Xia, Qin Huiyin showed a look of surprise. This young lady was none other than the pale-yellow-dressed maiden she had glanced at in passing by the roadside earlier.
"You are the Little Boss Boss Ning mentioned?" Xia Ruowan clearly recognized her as well and smiled. "Little sister, please sit."
Qin Huiyin sat down opposite Xia Ruowan and asked, "Are you the young lady of the Xia Manor, Miss Xia?"
"That's right," Xia Ruowan admitted generously. "I must apologize for making a spectacle of myself in the alley today, giving you something to laugh at."
Qin Huiyin was surprised.
Xia Ruowan smiled faintly. "I was there at the time too, just a step ahead of you, little sister."
Qin Huiyin smiled. "The restaurant run by Miss Xia's family is extremely high-end, and only wealthy people can afford to eat there. Actually, I would like to discuss a different kind of partnership with Miss Xia. Would you be interested in hearing about it?"
"Let's hear it, little sister." Xia Ruowan poured some tea and placed it in front of Qin Huiyin.
"The restaurant run by Miss Xia's family is too upscale, catering exclusively to the rich. I want to open an eatery that ordinary people can afford, but I lack sufficient capital. If Miss Xia could invest one thousand taels, it would count as your stake in the business, and twenty percent of all future profits would be distributed to you."
"An eatery affordable for ordinary folk probably doesn't make much money, right? Even with twenty percent of the profits, who knows when I'd ever recover this principal?"
"Two months."
"Ha..." Xia Ruowan covered her mouth and laughed. "Little sister, I like you very much, but you certainly love to joke."
Xia Ruowan was different from Madam Xia. Madam Xia held the reins of household management, had spent years in a position of authority, and exuded an involuntary air of dignity. Although Xia Ruowan had helped her mother manage shops since she was young, her appearance was softer and more delicate, yet this gentleness was not weakness; instead, it possessed inner strength and a sharp, shrewd gaze.
Qin Huiyin had listened through the wall next door for quite a while. At first, she also thought this was a windfall delivered right to her doorstep—if she accepted this massive order, silver would surely roll in. However, upon learning that Xia Ruowan was the eldest daughter of the largest restaurant in town, other thoughts took root in her mind.
If she kept setting up street stalls day in and day out, when would she ever make a fortune and rise in wealth? No matter how well a small stall did, its customer capacity was limited, offering very little room for growth.
Since this Miss Xia was not short on silver, why not treat her like a wealthy sugar daddy and see if she could secure an investment? If she could land this funding, she could establish her own storefront in the city.
"Miss Xia hasn't tasted my family's food yet, have you?" Qin Huiyin said. "Once you've tasted it, you probably won't think I'm joking."
"I've just returned, so I am indeed not very familiar with the changes of the past two years. Perhaps after I get to know them better, I really will be willing to discuss this business with you, little sister, but not right now," Xia Ruowan smiled.
"Very well, then let's talk about the business Miss Xia is interested in!" Qin Huiyin said. "If you are interested in our family's sauces, I will sell them to you at the exact price I sell to Boss Ning."
Xia Ruowan was a straightforward person. Since she was interested in the seasoning sauces, she readily signed the contract and paid the deposit. Upon learning that their family did not own a carriage for delivery, she even promised to send people to collect the goods in person.
This saved Qin Huiyin a lot of trouble. Naturally, the next couple of days were going to be even busier. But that was no big deal; she would just hire a few extra helpers.
Qin Huiyin returned to the private room next door. Li Taohua complained, "This Miss Xia really has no vision; she actually turned down my girl's proposal."
"Mother, it's only normal that she didn't agree," Qin Huiyin said with a smile. "If she had agreed right away, I would have had to wonder whether she was even a qualified business partner."
"What made you think of partnering with her?" Li Taohua picked up a piece of roast duck for Qin Huiyin, brushed it with sauce, added the garnishes, and wrapped it in a thin pancake.
"Perhaps after witnessing her mother's methods and learning her family background, I felt a connection with her at first sight, so I wanted to pull her in to expand the business together. She has the money, and I have the craftsmanship—that's the ultimate combination."
She could certainly save up money to rent a storefront on her own, but city shop rents were exorbitant, and when combined with renovations and promotional costs, all of that required throwing away massive amounts of silver. Her financial resources were currently too weak; saving up the necessary startup capital for such a venture would take at least two or three years. If she brought in an investor, she could achieve financial freedom ahead of time. Thinking about it this way, bringing in an investor she found agreeable for mutual profit was currently the best path forward.
"Yinyin, how many did she sign for?" Tang Lühua asked.
"Five hundred jars, to be delivered in three batches, all completed within ten days," Qin Huiyin said. "However, after tasting all the seasoning sauces, she only wanted the fermented black bean sauce and the crab roe sauce, wanting two hundred and fifty jars of each."
"The crab roe sauce sells for sixty wen per jar, so two hundred and fifty jars would be..." Li Taohua began counting on her fingers, "fifteen taels of silver."
Everyone was astonished, filled with irrepressible joy.