He Yang was sweating from the heat as he ate, wiping his forehead while saying softly, “That’s Shopkeeper Luo’s voice. Did he follow the smell here?”
“Probably,” Yu Zhizhi replied.
Then she called out toward the door, “Come in!”
As soon as Shopkeeper Luo stepped inside, the rich spicy aroma hit him head-on, making him swallow instinctively.
Yu Zhizhi noticed immediately. “Want some?”
Luo hadn’t expected her to be so perceptive. “Mm!”
“Sure,” she answered calmly.
Overjoyed, Luo quickly sat down beside He Yang, thinking to himself: This girl is really generous!
But just as he was about to praise her, he froze.
Yu Zhizhi extended her hand right in front of him. “Pay up.”
…Alright then.
Luo silently swallowed the compliment he was about to give.
“I just want to taste it.”
He Yang chimed in from the side, “Tasting also costs money.”
Luo was completely speechless. Pointing at the nearly empty plate of meat, he asked, “How much for this?”
“This is premium fatty beef—20 wen.”
Luo felt cheated. “There are barely a few slices left on that plate. How can it be worth that much?”
Yu Zhizhi ignored him and turned to He Yang instead. “Did you enjoy the fatty beef?”
He Yang shook his head. “I can never get enough!”
The two of them played along perfectly.
Luo finally gave in and handed over twenty wen.
He swore to himself he’d only eat this one portion and leave immediately without spending another coin.
But very quickly—slap to the face.
Heavens! The texture of the fatty beef, cooked in the hotpot, was unbelievably tender and flavorful. The rich aroma of beef tallow filled his mouth.
He Yang was right.
You simply couldn’t get enough!
“Sell me another plate of meatballs.”
“And another serving of duck intestines, mushrooms, lettuce slices…”
In less than half an hour, Luo had already paid over a hundred wen. If there had been more ingredients left, he probably would’ve spent several hundred more.
This hotpot was incredible.
From his years of experience, Luo could tell—the soul of this dish lay in the red, spicy broth.
Duck intestines, pig’s blood, tripe—these offal ingredients, when briefly cooked in the broth, lost all their unpleasant smell and instead released a unique, irresistible fragrance.
Even ordinary vegetables tasted extraordinary after being dipped in it.
If our restaurant introduces hotpot, it will definitely become a huge hit.
The more he thought about it, the more excited he became.
“Miss Yu—no, Miss Yun—I’d like to discuss a business deal with you.”
His voice was full of sincerity and anticipation.
Yu Zhizhi took a sip of the cheap peach blossom wine, savoring its faint floral aroma and light buzz. A subtle smile played on her lips as she looked at him.
“Oh?”
She asked lightly, “You want to buy the hotpot recipe?”
“Miss Yun is truly clever—you guessed it immediately. I won’t beat around the bush. Our restaurant is willing to pay one thousand taels to buy the recipe outright.”
He spoke confidently, as if the price were already very generous.
Seeing his expression, Yu Zhizhi sneered inwardly.
Trying to rip me off again? Not happening.
One thousand taels to buy out the recipe? What a joke.
She knew full well that Fuju Restaurant had over thirty branches across the country. If they all started selling hotpot, they could recover the cost in less than a week.
Did he think she was so desperate for money?
She did need money—but this price wasn’t even close.
“Shopkeeper Luo, are you sure you have the authority to decide this?” she asked, raising a brow.
Luo secretly rejoiced. There’s hope.
“No, the final decision rests with the owner, but I’ll speak well of you and help make this deal happen,” he replied with a smile.
“You can’t even decide, and you still want to negotiate with me?”
“Shopkeeper Luo, I’m not the old Yu Zhizhi anymore. If you think you can buy the hotpot recipe for one thousand taels—keep dreaming!”
Her tone was firm and decisive.
After saying that, she glanced at He Yang. “Let’s pack up and leave.”
“Got it, boss!”
He Yang even made a face at Luo before leaving.
In the end, Luo could only sigh as he walked out of the private room.
He had finally earned a hundred wen from her earlier—only to spend over a hundred wen eating hotpot just now. Overall, he actually lost money.
Worse, the negotiation had completely failed.
Sigh… Yu Zhizhi is too hard to deal with.
It seemed he would have to write to the owner and ask him to return to the capital soon. Otherwise, this matter would be difficult to handle.
“Hey Yang, we’ll start setting up our stall in seven days. Excited?” Yu Zhizhi asked.
He Yang forced a smile. “Boss… my family doesn’t agree with me going out to run a stall with you. But I’ll try my best to convince them within these seven days.”
“Is it because they think it’s embarrassing?”
He nodded, then shook his head. “Partly. But mostly they’re worried we’ll cause trouble again. They even said they won’t clean up our mess anymore.”
“They also think we’re just messing around and don’t believe the stall will succeed.”
His father had even threatened to cut off his allowance if he insisted.
Yu Zhizhi knew the He family well. The hardest person to deal with was He Yang’s father—but luckily, the real authority in the family was his grandfather.
After retiring from the Imperial Medical Bureau, the old man often traveled with friends, supposedly for sightseeing—but in truth, they were hunting for good food.
Yu Zhizhi suddenly had an idea.
“He Yang, let me tell you a universal truth.”
“What truth?” he asked curiously.
“There’s no problem that can’t be solved with one hotpot meal.”
He Yang laughed. “I get it! You’re planning to win them over with hotpot, right?”
Not a bad idea. If his grandfather tasted this delicious spicy hotpot, he would definitely agree. At that point, even his father wouldn’t be able to refuse.
Then he asked, “Are we going to sell hotpot at the stall?”
“Hotpot isn’t suitable for a street stall. This time, we’re selling a unique snack. Just wait and see.”
As for what it was—and where the stall would be—Yu Zhizhi decided it was better not to tell him yet.
Stinky tofu… the name alone might scare him off.
Not to mention the stall would be set up right in front of the Sixth Prince’s residence.
“Boss, I trust you. No matter what you sell, I’ll stick with you.”
Yu Zhizhi replied lightly, “I hope you mean that.”