Chapter 56: Begging Her

"Are there any sold in the town?" a cook asked.
"No," the master baker said.
"What about the prefecture city?" Shopkeeper Sun asked.
The master baker shook his head. "Not in the prefecture city either. Those salted eggs are exclusively for the high officials and nobles in the capital; ordinary small states and counties don't carry them."
"That can't be right," Shopkeeper Sun muttered, puzzled. "If these things are only sold in the capital, could that lass possibly be sourcing her goods from the capital?"

--

Today they set up their stall late, and the regular customers grew impatient.
"Have you gotten full of yourself? Jin's Pastry Shop has already sold two batches!"
Shen Chuan said glumly.
Shao Diandian asked, "Oh? Why did you come over today?"
"Just passing by," Shen Chuan said.
"I see." Shao Diandian wrapped up five egg yolk pastries and handed them to the older woman in front of her. "Your pastries, one hundred wen."
Egg yolk pastries had high production costs and were ten wen more expensive than wife cakes and chestnut cakes.
"Here, the list." Shen Chuan casually handed her the list he had been carrying all the way.
Shao Diandian looked surprised. "Did you make a trip specifically to deliver this list to me? Actually, there was no need; once we finished our business here, we would have gone to the academy to pick it up ourselves."
Shen Chuan said defensively, "I told you I was just passing by and brought it along!"
Shao Diandian asked, "You seem a bit hot-headed today. Did you and the academy director have another falling out?"
Having his thoughts hit right on the mark, Shen Chuan sighed. "He insists on making me go to the prefecture city to study after spring. I don't want to go!"
Since this was a family matter for the Shen family, Shao Diandian found it inconvenient to comment.
"Here you go." Shao Diandian packed a complete assortment of pastries and handed it to him. "A gift for you, no charge."
"What's this?" Shen Chuan asked.
"To comfort you," Shao Diandian said earnestly.
Shen Chuan: "..."
Shen Chuan gave a light cough. "A grown man like me needs comforting from a little lass? Here!"
He tossed a small piece of shattered silver to Shao Diandian. "Keep the change, master is in a good mood today!"
He was going to squander his old man's fortune!
Squander it thoroughly!
Having finished squandering the fortune, the young master Shen strutted away swaggeringly.
Shao Diandian handed the silver to Shao Erdan for safekeeping. "Did you understand that?"
Shao Erdan blankly shook his head.
Didn't understand, didn't get it at all—why did his sister refuse his money, yet Young Master Shen ended up giving her even more?
Shao Diandian patted his shoulder. "Learn slowly."

The foot traffic on the street was noticeably much lower than in previous days, and coupled with their late arrival, many customers had waited for a long time without seeing them, assuming they wouldn't be setting up their stall today.
"Sister, things are selling a bit slowly today," Shao Erdan said.
"It's fine, ups and downs are normal in business." Shao Diandian had an excellent mindset—perhaps due to being pleasantly plump, she wasn't anxious in the least.
As for the silver in her hands, excluding what she earned from pastries and braised dishes, she had made forty-five taels from selling the recipe, and thirty taels as a consultation fee from Young Master Xiang. She wouldn't have to worry about going hungry in the short term.
However, a business always had to grow gradually; if she wanted to expand her production scale, she would need to invest more capital.
Besides, the family's house was also old.
This house had been built when Madame Chen and Old Man Shao first married. Over a decade had passed, and the walls were cracked, the roof was worn out, letting in both wind and rain.
She intended to put the construction of a new house on her agenda after spring.
Calculated this way, the silver she had earned wouldn't even stay warm in her hands before having to be spent again.

As she was pondering this, Shopkeeper Sun walked over from Jin's Pastry Shop with his hands clasped behind his back, strolling leisurely.
"Well now, Lass Shao, setting up your stall again, I see."
He came up to the two of them, glanced at the pastries on Shao Diandian's tray, and smiled. "Business doesn't look too good today."
Shao Erdan held no affection for Shopkeeper Sun, who had practically forced them into selling their recipe. "What are you here for again? I'm warning you, there are no more recipes to sell you! We won't ever sell them to you again!"
"I'm not here to buy a recipe; I'm here to get a refund!"
"What refund? You've already taken the recipe, you can't possibly be trying to swindle us!"
Shao Erdan was far too familiar with the routine of swindling people.
Shopkeeper Sun fished out a piece of paper from his wide sleeve, flicked it in front of Shao Diandian, and said, "You sold me a fake recipe! Even if we take this to the magistrate's office, you're in the wrong!"
Shao Diandian replied, "I spoke the words, and you wrote them down yourself. Unless you made a mistake while writing, there is absolutely nothing wrong with the recipe."
Shopkeeper Sun said, "But the pastries I made following your recipe taste completely different from the ones you sell!"
Shao Diandian looked perplexed. "Is that so?"
Shopkeeper Sun waved at someone behind him, and a clerk trotted over carrying a tray of egg yolk pastries.
"Taste it yourself!" Shopkeeper Sun said.
Shao Diandian broke an egg yolk pastry open. "No need to taste it, it really does look different from the ones I make."
Shopkeeper Sun said coldly, "You admit it!"
Shao Diandian then said, "But I also made mine strictly following the recipe. The problem isn't with the recipe; you bought the wrong ingredients, so you can't blame me!"
Shopkeeper Sun secretly gnashed his teeth. This lass really wasn't easy to intimidate...
Ordinary people would have already panicked and lost their wits under such questioning, yet this lass was chillingly calm.
Was she really just a teenage village girl?

Shao Diandian said with a serious expression, "Shopkeeper Sun, we are all running honest businesses. If you were genuinely seeking humble guidance, I could do you a favor and tell you. But if you're trying to swindle and blackmail me, I advise you to give up that thought! I sold you the recipe not because I was afraid of you. Setting up my stall right outside your shop door certainly steals a bit of your business, but since we run into each other all the time, as long as it doesn't go too far, I consider it building a good connection. But try bullying our brother and sister again and see what happens!"
In business negotiations, the first rule is to have a thick skin, and the second is to project a powerful aura.
Whether you actually possess strength doesn't matter; making the other party believe you do is enough.
This was an experience Shopkeeper Sun had spent decades cultivating, yet little did he know he would be effortlessly manipulated by a young lass.
Truth be told, Shopkeeper Sun actually looked at Shao Diandian with a sliver of newfound respect right now.
Of course, accompanied by a hint of gritting teeth.
Shopkeeper Sun put on a forced, unamused smile and said, "Fine. As long as you're willing to tell me where you bought your ingredients, I'll believe you."
Shao Diandian raised an eyebrow. "Is that the attitude of someone asking for a favor?"
Shao Erdan: Why does that sound like something my future brother-in-law would say?
Shopkeeper Sun: "..."
Shopkeeper Sun gave an exaggerated laugh and said, "May I ask, Lass Shao, where did you buy your salted egg yolks?"
Don't tell him it was the capital. If this lass had a supply source in the capital, would she even need to worry about him cutting off the town's flour supply?
Shao Diandian said airily, "Oh, that? I made them myself."
Shopkeeper Sun was thoroughly stunned. "M-M-Made them y-yourself?"
Shao Diandian spread her hands. "That's right. Don't you know how to make them? It's not that difficult, really."
Shopkeeper Sun nearly vomited a mouthful of old blood.
What do you mean it's not that difficult? If the cooks in the town heard you say that, they'd all come running over to beat you to death!

Shao Diandian said with a generous expression, "Considering our past cooperation, if you want the recipe for salted eggs, I can sell it to you cheap."
Their Jin's Pastry Shop sold pastries, not raw ingredients. Who the heck wanted a recipe for salted eggs!
By that logic, did they also have to grind their own flour, press their own sesame oil, plant their own star anise, and dry their own Sichuan peppercorns?
Next thing you know, they'd have to buy the recipes for white sugar and official salt, and complete the whole set.
Right, and by that time they wouldn't be far from ruin.
In short, Jin's Pastry Shop was never going to produce its own ingredients.
Reluctantly, Shopkeeper Sun said, "I don't want the recipe, but if you have any extra salted eggs on hand, you can sell them to me."
Shao Diandian sighed. "Alas, although the method for making salted eggs isn't difficult, it's very troublesome. I only made enough for myself, and I barely have enough for my own use. Where would I find extra to sell to you?"
Shopkeeper Sun gritted his teeth. "We can negotiate the price!"