Su Sanlang nodded. “Yes.”

That was what he meant.

He also knew that the Su family and the Chen family were renting a shop in town. Madam Zhao had seen them two days ago and told him when she returned.

They did not care much about this, because with the cooperation with Fu Man Lai, the business of Fu Man Lai Restaurant had been booming recently. There were other restaurants that wanted to buy recipes, but Su Sanlang refused.

Although they couldn’t buy recipes, they could buy sauerkraut and pickles. It was all a business deal. They didn’t have to worry about selling their pickles and sauerkraut at all.

The Su family and the Chen family could open a shop if they wanted to. What did it have to do with them? It was their own business to be willing to use three copper coins to buy two catties of vegetables.

Seeing that Su Sanlang had given his confirmation, Old Master Wang said, “Alright, I’ll go and say it. Whether the other families are willing or not, my family and a few relatives still chose to do business with you.”

He did not know if the Su family and the Chen family would succeed. He only knew that he looked at Su Sanlang with a lot of courage now. The Su family and the Chen family had opened their shop opposite Su Sanlang’s shop, but he was not in a panic. He must have some confidence.

It was fine if he earned less. He had to have a long-term vision.

What if the Su family and the Chen family made a loss? If he wanted to sell the vegetables to Su Sanlang again, Su Sanlang might not want them anymore.

Thinking of this, Old Master Wang was even more determined. He couldn’t learn from those traitors.

The families who were still waiting for Old Master Wang’s message finally got it. They were a little disappointed, but they still said, “More is still money. Since Su Sanlang refuses to pay more, we’d better not sell it to him.”

There were nods of recognition.

Old Master Wang didn’t say much and only said that it depended on each family’s own willingness.

Hence, many people sold the vegetables and cabbages to the Su and Chen families. They made the pickles at the Chen family’s house, while Su Dalang and Su Erlang were in charge of selling them.

The two families had also bought nearly two thousand catties of sauerkraut and pickles. They had also spent six taels of silver renting the shop.

They hastily began to make sauerkraut and pickles.

December 28, two days before the New Year.

The Sheng Hao Wei of the Su and Chen families had opened for business.

Su Dalang and Su Erlang and Chen Long waited happily for people to come and buy it, but the scene they expected did not appear at all.

Then, they looked at Su San’s family.

Their business was booming.

Su Xiaolu didn’t have to give acupuncture to Sun Baoshan and Sun Baoqian today. Knowing that her family’s business had its first competitor, she naturally had to help her family.

She had a cute and sweet voice. Many old customers went to buy from them without saying anything.

There were also a few restaurants that came to buy a lot of goods. It was Sheng Hao Wei’s opening day, but no one went forward for a long time.

It was because they weren’t prepared to let anyone taste it. Some people went forward to take a look and realized there were no samples. Then, they gave up and went to the shop on the opposite side. They could try samples there.

Su Dalang, Su Erlang, and the others were so jealous that their eyes turned red.

“No. We have to come up with something, or we can’t keep this business going.”

Su Dalang gritted his teeth and said. A few days ago, Chen Long and Chen Qiang had found him and said that they also had the skills to make sauerkraut and pickles. The two families had decided to jointly open a shop and earned money together.

They had come to the street to take a look. They had seen Su Sanlang and Chen Hu open this sauerkraut business. They sold hundreds of catties of sauerkraut every day. If they did the math, it would be hundreds of taels a month!

If Su Sanlang and the others could do it, so could they.

Hence, the two families formed a partnership. However, now that they had invested so much money and the shop had opened, the result was completely different from what they had thought. It immediately made them very angry.

“Why don’t we get the children to shout tomorrow? I can’t open my mouth to talk to them. It’s very awkward.”

Chen Long said awkwardly. Then, they still had to prepare those samples and get people to try them for free.

Chen Qiang also frowned and said, “From the looks of it, it won’t be long before they sell out. At that time, customers will come to us.”

Su Erlang craned his neck to look. He agreed with Chen Qiang. He nodded and said, “Yes, when they’re done selling, those people should come to us. I don’t understand. It’s just sauerkraut and pickles. What’s so good about them? The rich people in this town don’t like meat, so they like to eat these?”

It was just sauerkraut pickles. He tried them, too. Nothing special. They were salty and not tasty at all. If they were left for a while longer, they would be even sourer and not tasty.

They could actually sell it for eight copper coins! His eyes almost popped out.

“Maybe they’re tired of eating fish and meat. They just like to eat something light like this.”

Chen Qiang and Chen Long looked a little evasive.

He thought that the taste should be about the same. Madam Qian’s cooking might be a little better, but a little more wouldn’t affect anything.

Su Sanlang and Chen Hu both made a lot of money, so could they.

Soon, the sauerkraut and pickles in Su Sanlang’s shop were sold out. The family packed up and prepared to go home. As soon as the shop door closed, they didn’t even look at Su Dalang and the others across the street. The family walked away chatting and laughing.

At this moment, there were really customers who wanted to buy them but didn’t manage to. Seeing that Su Dalang was also selling them, a woman couldn’t help but walk over and ask, “How much do this sauerkraut and pickles cost per catty? Does it taste the same as Shi You Wei’s? Is this called Sheng Hao Wei? Is it even better than Shi You Wei?”

The barrage of questions made the men’s minds go blank.

However, they quickly reacted. Su Erlang smiled and said, “Customer, you have good taste. We are much better than Shi You Wei. Moreover, we sell them at a cheaper price. Seven copper coins per catty. Do you want some?”

Everyone was happy to have guests. Su Erlang dissed Su Sanlang’s shop without thinking.

He wanted this to make his own pickles special.

The woman was also interested. “Then can I try it here? I’m late today. They’re all sold out. It just so happens that you have some at your shop. If it tastes better than over there, I’ll buy it from your shop in the future.”

This was their first customer. They hadn’t been prepared to let them try it, but since there was so little business, they might as well cut some for them to try.

Su Erlang nodded and said, “Wait a moment, I’ll cut it for you now.”

Su Erlang wiped his face and casually grabbed some to cut.

The woman frowned. She wanted to say that Su Erlang was not clean at all. She looked closely and realized that Su Erlang’s fingernails were all black. She instantly lost her appetite.

“Here, try it,” Su Erlang handed over some.

The woman frowned and eventually took it to taste. Not long after she put it in her mouth, she spat it out and said in disgust, “This doesn’t taste good at all. I don’t want it anymore.”