Over the past few days, Su Sanlang had repeatedly looked for several places, but he had been rejected. Now, Fu Man Lai Restaurant had come knocking on his door to ask for cooperation, but Su Sanlang was not around.

Madam Zhao was really worried that they would miss this opportunity. She didn’t have much experience and didn’t know what to say, so she was a little helpless when entertaining Shopkeeper Niu.

Shopkeeper Niu smiled faintly and said, “He’s not here. How about this? When he comes back, tell him to look for me at the restaurant when he’s free today, alright?”

Su Sanlang wasn’t home. He certainly wasn’t going to wait here forever.

When Madam Zhao heard Shopkeeper Niu’s words, she nodded quickly and said, “Alright, I’ll tell him later.”

Shopkeeper Niu nodded. “Alright, that’s it.”

With that, he turned around and left.

Watching Shopkeeper Niu leave, Madam Zhao heaved a sigh of relief.

The business of pickled vegetables was very good every day. They were usually sold out around noon.

Most of the credit went to Su Xiaoling, Chen Daniu and Chen Erniu.

When Su Sanlang returned, Madam Zhao handed him water and food. She said, “Sanlang, the shopkeeper of Fu Man Lai Restaurant came today. He said that he considered the cooperation you mentioned last time and wanted you to discuss the details.”

At this, Su Sanlang’s eyes lit up. “This is great. I’m on it.”

He was always getting the cold shoulder these days, most of them reluctant to accept the pickles and sauerkraut he brought with him, and some of them willing to cooperate, but they only wanted to buy it for three copper coins.

Of course, Su Saburo was reluctant. He had no profit at all, and it was a loss.

The Fu Man Lai Restaurant was willing to talk about cooperation. No matter what the other party planned, he had to go over and talk.

Madam Zhao nodded. “Okay, go ahead. When Chong and Hua come later, I’ll bring them home. Take your time. If it gets dark, find an inn to stay in for the night.”

Su Sanlang nodded. “Okay. You’ve worked hard.”

He didn’t know how long they would talk, so it was impossible for Madam Zhao to wait here.

It was good that Madam Zhao brought the children back first.

After packing up, Su Sanlang went to Fu Man Lai.

As for Madam Zhao, when Su Chong and Su Hua came back from school, they went home together.

Su Sanlang arrived at Fu Man Lai Restaurant. He walked in. There were not many customers in the restaurant at this time. There were some customers eating sparsely.

When the waiter saw Su Sanlang, he greeted, “Sir, what would you like to eat?”

Su Sanlang smiled kindly and said, “I’m the boss of Shi You Wei. Previously, your Shopkeeper Niu went to look for me. I wasn’t around at that time. My wife relayed the message.”

The waiter looked at Su Sanlang and smiled. “Oh, it’s you. The shopkeeper has instructed that if you come, please wait in the private room on the second floor. Come with me.”

Shopkeeper Niu had already instructed him, so Su Sanlang was brought to a private room on the second floor.

After inviting Su Sanlang to take a seat, the waiter left. Soon, tea was served. He said, “Sir, our shopkeeper hasn’t returned yet, but it won’t be long. Please wait a moment.”

Su Sanlang nodded. “Okay, I’ll wait.”

The waiter smiled. “Alright, then I’ll go down. If there’s anything, just call me.”

Su Sanlang nodded, and the waiter went out.

Su Sanlang did not wait long before Shopkeeper Niu returned from outside. It was very lively downstairs. Su Sanlang went out to take a look. Shopkeeper Niu had brought a servant to buy some fish. There were two buckets of fish.

The waiter went forward and told Shopkeeper Niu that Su Sanlang was already there.

Shopkeeper Niu instructed the servant to carry the ingredients to the kitchen while he went upstairs. His eyes met with Su Sanlang’s at the stairs. Shopkeeper Niu smiled and said, “I remember your name is Su Sanlang, right?”

Su Sanlang nodded. “Yes.”

Shopkeeper Niu smiled and said, “Let’s talk in the private room.”

When they returned to the private room, Shopkeeper Niu looked at Su Sanlang and said, “Brother Su, the few dishes you left behind that day have received a good response from the customers. I remember that you said that there were some unique recipes last time, right? I think we can talk about cooperation and see how it ends.”

Su Sanlang also said, “Shopkeeper Niu, I can provide recipes for sauerkraut and pickles dishes. Each recipe can be used by the Fu Man Lai Restaurant for ten taels of silver a year. If your restaurant opens a restaurant elsewhere and wants to continue using the recipe, you will need to buy the recipe for temporary use again.”

This was a method that he had thought about many times in the past few days. Madam Qian’s skills could not be leaked, so only Madam Qian could make pickled vegetables and pickles.

Su Xiaolu was right, but the human heart was complicated. Even if they signed the contract, it would be too troublesome if they really got into a lawsuit.

Manager Niu pondered.

Su Sanlang added, “Shopkeeper Niu, regarding those recipes, I’ll bring someone over tomorrow to try them with you.”

Shopkeeper Niu smiled and looked at Su Sanlang. “Brother Su, this is the first time I’ve seen someone cooperate like this. I have to consider it carefully. How about this? Bring the chef over tomorrow to cook. After the dishes are cooked, we’ll have a taste.”

Shopkeeper Niu did not immediately refuse. He had thought that Su Sanlang had come to discuss a sale of sauerkraut and pickles, but Su Sanlang’s final goal was the recipe.

There were a lot of recipes for sauerkraut, but no one could make it taste like what Su Sanlang sold, so this would have to wait and see.

Su Sanlang agreed. He said, “Okay, I’ll come over first thing in the morning.”

He wanted to work with Fu Man Lai, but he also wanted long-term development.

He would encourage Madam Qian to create more recipes. As long as they cooperated, this path of wealth would continue.

Su Sanlang stood up, and Shopkeeper Niu stood up to see him off.

After seeing Su Sanlang out, Shopkeeper Niu turned around and entered the restaurant. He went to the kitchen and asked the chef solemnly, “Is there really no way to replicate the taste of his pickled vegetables and pickles?”

The chef shook his head and said, “Shopkeeper, we really have no choice. We’ve made some these two days, but the taste is just incomparable. I wonder what they added.”

After getting a definite answer, Shopkeeper Niu pondered for a moment before saying, “He’ll bring a chef over tomorrow. Keep an eye on how the dishes are cooked.”

If he could learn it, he would save as much as he could.

Chef nodded.

—-

When Su Sanlang returned home, it was almost dark. As soon as he arrived home, Madam Zhao brought over some ginger soup and said, “Sanlang, quickly drink a bowl of ginger soup to warm up your body. We’ll eat after resting for a while.”

Su Sanlang nodded. The ginger soup was lukewarm and he drank it in one gulp.

After drinking, he said, “Darling, I’ll go to Hu’s house. There’s a big chance for Fu Man Lai. Tomorrow, I’ll let Sister-in-law go with me to make a few dishes and try to cooperate with the restaurant in the next few days. When the cooperation is done, we’ll be relieved.”