Transmigration: From Farmer To Empress
Chapter 104 Earn Money Part 1

Chapter 104: Chapter 104 Earn Money Part 1

After some deliberation, Cai Wei decided to proceed with her plan. She approached the neighboring dim sum shop’s boss, intending to buy his shop. To her surprise, the boss outright refused, asserting that his shop brought in almost two hundred taels of silver each year, which was the primary source of income for his entire family, hence he wouldn’t sell it.

However, when Cai Wei placed a bill of three thousand taels on the table, the boss instantly changed his tone. He agreed to accommodate her request, on the grounds of helping her expand her operations.

Therefore, without much persuasion, the shop — having the same layout as hers including the backyard — was bought at a high price of three thousand taels. Upon receiving the house deed, Cai Wei sighed in relief. She could finally remove the evildoer from her room!

After settling the housing acquisition, Cai Wei returned to her own restaurant and found Jiujin and Uncle Zhou already at work. Apparently, there were already customers for meat skewers early in the morning. She smiled cheerfully, entered the restaurant, and the shopkeeper immediately greeted her from behind the counter. In a low voice, he said, "Boss, a distinguished guest awaits in the Tianzi Room. The guest has instructed to speak with you once you are back, mentioning a business deal to discuss."

Cai Wei smiled and replied, "I am aware, I am going up right now!"

Cai Wei had a rough idea who the distinguished guest was. The meat skewers caused such a great stir within the An family the previous day. The third and fourth masters of the An family were businessmen, and most of those who came to congratulate were business people as well. How could they not see the business opportunity in these meat skewers? How could they miss out on such a great opportunity to make a fortune?

Indeed, as she entered the Tianzi room, she saw An Qiyun standing up to greet her. He chuckled as he introduced to the dozen or so people around the table, "This little lady here is Miss Mu, the main boss of the Bafu restaurant. She is also the creator of the roasted meat skewers. Whatever you wish to say, please feel free to discuss it with her!"

No sooner than the words were spoken than a round-faced, somewhat overweight middle-aged man stood and bowed, "Miss Mu, we are all in the restaurant business. We’ve noticed the unparalleled taste of your unique roasted skewers, so we’ve come specifically to ask for your BBQ secret recipe. We hope you won’t refuse."

Everything was happening exactly as Cai Wei had anticipated. She replied with a charming smile, "The roasted skewers are something I created after much effort. I originally planned to make my Bafu Restaurant the only one of its kind in the Great Jin Nation. But since Master An has personally introduced you all, I couldn’t really refuse to share, could I? So..."

Everyone in the room was a sharp-minded businessman. Before Cai Wei finished speaking, someone got up, handed her a silver bill of one thousand taels, and said, "We certainly have no intention of taking advantage of you without compensating, Miss Mu. This one thousand taels is a token of our sincerity. We hope you won’t find it too modest!"

Cai Wei glanced at the number on the silver bill and laughed politely, "You are too kind, gentlemen. As I mentioned earlier, with Master An’s influence in place, I naturally can’t keep this recipe to myself. You can send a trustworthy person from your side to learn the barbecue technique at my Bafu Winery. I can readily share the secret recipe for the barbecue spices with you. However, whether you can source these spices or not is entirely your concern!"

Saying this, she ordered the shop assistant to bring pen and paper, and with a flourish, she wrote down the recipe for the barbecue skewer’s sauce.

The recipe made its way to the table and everyone first appreciated Cai Wei’s calligraphy. However, they were soon fascinated by the secret recipe.

The paper listed common ingredients like salt, sesame, beef fat, and Sichuan pepper. But the last ingredient "cumin" was relatively unfamiliar. Even after exchanging glances, no one knew what "cumin" was.

Cai Wei calmly said, "I can provide the secret recipe considering Master An’s influence, but if you want the spices listed in the recipe, you might need to spend some silver."

The round-faced, somewhat overweight middle-aged man pointed to the word "cumin" and asked, "Could you tell us, Miss, where we can buy this cumin, and how much it might cost?"

Cai Wei smiled and replied, "Cumin is available at the Bafu Winery. However, rare things are more valuable, so the price of cumin is relatively high, at three taels of silver per jin. You might want to look for it elsewhere first. If found, good. Otherwise, you could purchase it from my Bafu Winery. However, as our stock isn’t high, you need to place your order in advance!"

"Three taels of silver per jin?"

All the businessmen gasped, showing disbelief on their faces.

Since the founding of the Great Jin Nation, no spice was ever heard of reaching the cost of three taels of silver per jin. It was just too outrageous! Some businessmen hesitated, apparently undecided whether to go with this cumin plan or not.

Just then, a young man in a silk regalia softly opened his mouth.

"May I know how much cumin Miss Mu can supply as of now?"

The question came from the guest of the An family’s Fourth Master, Huo Yuan. He was the son of Huo Yuan, the richest man in the Capitol. Huo Yuan was currently handling the Huo family’s business in Bianzhou Prefecture and had a deep relationship with An Qilu.

Upon hearing the query, Cai Wei quickly summoned Bai Mei with her mind, "How much cumin do we have? When can we harvest the newly grown cumin, and how much could we possibly get?"

Bai Mei replied, "We’ll be able to harvest in about two or three days. Getting about seven or eight hundred jin shouldn’t be an issue."

"Currently, I can gather about five hundred jin of cumin. How much does the young master require?"

With Bai Mei’s reply, Cai Wei felt assured.

"Fine, I’ll take all of it!"

After Huo Yuan calmly stated his intention, he gestured towards his servant, who promptly brought forward a silver bill of one thousand and five hundred taels, and respectfully handed it to Cai Wei.

Upon seeing the bill, Cai Wei instantly felt elated. Any frustration caused by the evildoer earlier that morning was completely dispelled!

She carefully kept the silver bill, grinned and said, "Master indeed has great courage. One look and I can tell you’re a person of great accomplishments. Alright, we have a deal. Five hundred jin of cumin, please come to Bafu Winery to pick it up in three days."

Huo Yuan laughed out loud, "Miss Mu, you flatter me. Speaking of courage, you achieved so much at such a young age, managing the Bafu Winery. It is indeed admirable!"

Seeing Huo Yuan monopolizing all the cumin, the other businessmen realized that he intended to monopolize the barbecue market. They started to regret not acting as decisively, but it was too late for regrets now. Who could blame anyone else but their lack of decisive courage?