Chapter Twelve: Selling Recipes
When Lin Miaomiao woke up, she discovered that Li Yanhe and An Qi were nowhere to be found, which struck her as odd. As she stepped out into the courtyard, she also caught sight of Yang Fugui and his wife.
Lin Miaomiao was accustomed to rising at eight o’clock sharp, a habit she had maintained for years. Yet, in ancient times, this was considered quite late. Sleeping until eight was, in the local parlance, “the mark of a lazy woman who only gets up when the sun is already high.”
After getting up, Lin Miaomiao brushed her teeth and washed her face. Brushing meant rinsing her mouth with salt water, and washing her face simply involved clean water.
Once again, she was keenly aware of the hardships that life here bestowed upon her. Sighing, she glanced at the forty copper coins left in her possession, feeling her spirits deflate.
Forty copper coins—what could she do with that? It would barely cover ten days’ worth of meals, perhaps not even that long.
She glanced at Li Yanhe and said, “Let’s go to the town in a while.”
Li Yanhe nodded, and so the three of them set out for the town. Lin Miaomiao thought of the modern street market economy, but it was clear she lacked any startup capital.
Without initial funds, Lin Miaomiao could do nothing. She glanced at An Qi and asked, “Brother Hei Qi, do you have any silver on you?”
An Qi cast her a look, inwardly remarking that only servants carried money, whereas his sole duty was to protect his master.
When Lin Miaomiao saw An Qi shake his head, she looked up at the largest restaurant in town and eyed the forty copper coins Li Yanhe held.
She said to Li Yanhe, “Let’s go make some money.”
Lin Miaomiao entered the restaurant and addressed the waiter, “Excuse me, could you call the manager for me? I’d like to speak with him.”
She smiled warmly at the waiter, who, seeing Lin Miaomiao, Li Yanhe, and An Qi trailing behind, quickly went to fetch the manager.
She greeted the manager with a smile, “Sir, may I ask your name?”
The restaurant manager returned her smile, “Miss, my surname is Li.”
Lin Miaomiao nodded and said, “Manager Li, do you buy recipes here? This is a family heirloom recipe. If you buy it for your restaurant, your business will surely thrive.”
Manager Li looked troubled, so Lin Miaomiao smiled and suggested, “How about this, Manager: allow us to use your kitchen. We’ll cook the dish, and let your chefs and you taste it. If you find it delicious, you can buy the recipe. What do you think?”
Manager Li’s eyes flickered as he considered, then nodded in agreement. An hour later, Lin Miaomiao presented a deluxe version of braised chicken.
Since the restaurant had white rice, she’d asked the assistant chef to start cooking it ahead of time. When the braised chicken was served, its aroma wafted straight to the chefs’ noses.
The manager and chefs began to taste Lin Miaomiao’s braised chicken, finding it increasingly delicious with every bite. The manager asked, “Miss Lin, how much do you want for the recipe?”
Lin Miaomiao sat down and looked at Li Yanhe, who said to Manager Li, “A hundred taels is not excessive.”
Lin Miaomiao had estimated the value based on purchasing power—a single tael of silver was roughly equivalent to 150 yuan in modern terms, so a hundred taels amounted to fifteen thousand.
She nodded, proud to be a fair seller. Manager Li’s eyes darted as he tried to think of what else to say, but Lin Miaomiao continued, “Manager Li, here’s how you could do business: if you sell a pot of braised chicken for thirty coins, you could recommend side dishes, like two coins for a serving of cabbage, or two coins for potatoes…”
“Manager Li, do the math—you’ll earn more than just from the chicken. The sauce alone is delicious on any vegetable or rice.”
“In no time, you’ll recoup that hundred taels. We’ll teach your head chef, but only one chef from your restaurant.”
“And we won’t sell a written recipe. If I write it down, someone could steal it and open their own restaurant, which would be your loss. So please consider this, Manager Li.”
The manager’s eyes sparkled as he answered, “Agreed, but Miss Lin, we must sign a contract. You must promise not to sell the recipe to anyone else, except for your own use.”
Lin Miaomiao smiled and nodded, “That’s only right. Manager Li, let’s set the contract: I’ll only cook it for myself, or for my own meals, but won’t sell to others.”
“However, the contract is valid for only five years. After five years, I can sell the recipe to others or open my own restaurant.”
Manager Li nodded, and Li Yanhe watched as Lin Miaomiao and the manager signed the document. When Lin Miaomiao received the ancient version of the contract, she couldn’t quite understand what was written.
So she handed it to Li Yanhe, “Can you take a look? Are there any tricks in the wording that might trap me?”
Manager Li overheard and couldn’t make sense of her words, perhaps thinking she spoke some regional dialect.
Li Yanhe replied, “Alright, I’ll take a look.”
Lin Miaomiao assumed he understood her meaning and reflexively asked, “Did you understand?”
Li Yanhe answered, his tone cool and serious, “No.”
Lin Miaomiao, taken aback, blurted out, “What kind of slick move is that?”
Li Yanhe’s face darkened, and even An Qi inwardly remarked that Miss Lin actually called her master’s actions “slick.”
Though he didn’t grasp the exact meaning, it didn’t sound like a compliment.
When Li Yanhe handed the contract back to Lin Miaomiao, she signed her name with a flourish. She had always envied celebrities for their stylish signatures when she was in college.
After much practice, her signature was now strikingly ornate and beautiful.
Li Yanhe glanced at her extravagant handwriting and kept silent. When Lin Miaomiao no longer cooked herself but directed the restaurant chef to make the braised chicken, it became a much more professional affair.
As Lin Miaomiao and Li Yanhe left the restaurant, they suddenly became wealthy; one hundred taels was a fortune compared to the forty copper coins.
Just as they exited, Li Yanhe pulled Lin Miaomiao into a small alley where no one was around.
Lin Miaomiao thought, for a moment, that they were about to enact a scene from a Korean drama—the male and female leads sharing an intimate kiss.
But instead, Li Yanhe set her down and said sternly, “As a young lady, you shouldn’t speak so improperly.”
Lin Miaomiao looked at him, “I don’t think I said anything improper.”
Li Yanhe fixed her with a look, “What did you mean by saying I was slick?”
Lin Miaomiao froze, then slapped her forehead, “I just blurted it out, and I didn’t mean it as an insult.”
Seeing the clouds lift from Li Yanhe’s expression, Lin Miaomiao realized that in ancient times, people’s speech was far more reserved.
She understood then why Li Yanhe had pulled her aside to speak privately: if she kept this up, she would surely invite trouble someday.
Seeing Li Yanhe’s stern demeanor, Lin Miaomiao smiled, “I won’t talk like that anymore, alright?”
Listening to her soft, childlike voice, Li Yanhe’s heart melted, though he was not one to soften easily.
But seeing her smile so sweetly at him, he lost all his temper and resolved to find a proper governess from the palace to teach her manners once they reached Da An Kou.
Lin Miaomiao tugged at Li Yanhe, eager to leave. Just then, several men entered the alley. The leader stammered, “Hand—hand—hand over your money.”
Lin Miaomiao sized up the leering man and replied, “We have no money—what are you trying to rob?”
The man’s eyes darted as he retorted, “If you have no money, the man will go sell labor, and the woman—straight to the brothel.”
These two leering men stared at her, and Lin Miaomiao’s mind raced for a solution.
Li Yanhe said to An Qi, “Take care of them. Send them to the county office.”
The two men clearly underestimated An Qi, grinning as they said, “We’re not afraid of you—we’ve got two men.”
Lin Miaomiao felt as if she were watching a kung fu movie; in a flash, An Qi knocked both men to the ground with ease.
She was dumbstruck. Clapping, she gave An Qi a thumbs-up, “Impressive!”
Lin Miaomiao jumped up, imitating Bruce Lee’s classic move, “Ah-ta!”
She wiped her nose and addressed the two defeated men, “How dare you try to rob Sister Lin? You’ll be in jail before you know it. Remember, Sister Lin has her own bodyguards.”