“Recently, some customers have also been complaining that there’s nothing fresh to eat this season. Eating nothing but rich meat dishes all the time gets tiring.”
As soon as Liu Qingyan stepped into the kitchen, her eyes swept across the full array of seasonings, and she felt a wave of envy.
Thinking of her own kitchen—where she couldn’t even find a single scallion—she couldn’t help but let out a soft sigh.
She took a piece of high-quality pork with a good balance of fat and lean meat from the cutting board, sliced it skillfully into evenly sized strips, and added some carrot strips for color.
She poured the pork into the hot pan and stir-fried quickly. Once the meat separated and changed color, she added scallions, a little Sichuan pepper powder, and soy sauce in sequence. Instantly, a rich aroma filled the air.
Next, she added the tender green bean sprouts and carrot strips into the pan, stir-frying rapidly as the ingredients danced lively under the spatula.
Finally, she added the appropriate amount of salt for seasoning. Although there was no MSG or chicken bouillon in this kitchen, she was very confident in her cooking skills.
Soon, a plate of perfectly fragrant and colorful stir-fried bean sprouts with shredded pork was finished.
Carefully, Liu Qingyan carried the dish into the private room.
The manager had already been waiting impatiently and quickly picked up his chopsticks. He took a bite, chewed slowly, and his face showed a look of surprise.
The bean sprouts were crisp and refreshing, and the pork was tender and flavorful. The combination was perfectly balanced and genuinely delicious.
Suppressing his excitement, the manager tried to speak calmly: “May I ask your surname, young lady?”
“My surname is Liu, my name is Qingyan. May I ask your surname, sir?” she replied politely.
“My surname is Zheng. Just call me Uncle Zheng. I’ll call you Qingyan then,” the manager said with a smile.
“Alright, Uncle Zheng. What do you think of the dish?” she asked expectantly.
“It’s good. Very refreshing,” he nodded.
Then he changed the topic. “Qingyan, Uncle Zheng won’t beat around the bush. How are you selling these bean sprouts?”
“Uncle Zheng, to be honest with you, these sprouts take about seven or eight days to grow. They require careful daily tending, so they’re quite troublesome. Five wen per jin,” she said seriously.
The manager frowned slightly. After thinking for a moment, he said, “Qingyan, vegetables have never been this expensive. In summer, eggplants, beans, cabbage, radish—they’re only one or two wen per jin.”
“Uncle Zheng, that’s summer. Those vegetables aren’t available all year round,” she replied calmly. “But bean sprouts are different—they can be supplied year-round.”
“And not only that, I can also teach your chefs the cooking method for free. These sprouts can be stir-fried or eaten cold, both are delicious. You’d be getting two dishes for free. This deal is definitely profitable for you.”
“Heh, you little girl may be young, but you’re quite good at business,” the manager laughed.
“Alright, we’ll go with your price. How often can you deliver? And how much do you have this time?”
“This time I only have about ten jin. I don’t have enough tools yet. I can deliver every seven days. How much would you like?” she asked a little embarrassedly.
“Let’s start with ten jin. I still need to see how well it sells. If it goes well, we’ll increase the order next time,” the manager said thoughtfully.
“Alright, Uncle Zheng. I have a suggestion—would you like to hear it?” A hint of cunning flashed in her eyes.
“Stop beating around the bush. Just say it,” he urged with a smile.
“Uncle Zheng, the name ‘bean sprouts’ is too plain. If we give it a nicer name, it will be more attractive and maybe even allow a higher price.”
“That’s a great idea. What should we call it?” He fell into thought. “These are so white…”
Liu Qingyan narrowed her eyes slightly, examining the pale sprouts. “White… as white as jade. How about calling them ‘White Jade Sprouts’?”
“Good! That name is excellent—much better than ‘bean sprouts.’ Let’s use that.”
Then she looked at him again. “Uncle Zheng, should we make a contract?”
“If you don’t feel at ease, we can write one,” he said inwardly, thinking this girl was quite shrewd.
Soon, the contract was written in duplicate. It clearly stated that the restaurant would only accept White Jade Sprouts from Liu Qingyan’s family and would not take deliveries from anyone else.
It also restricted Liu Qingyan from supplying any other restaurants within Pingyang County; Hongyun Restaurant had multiple branches and would source all supplies from Nangang Town in the future.
Liu Qingyan held the contract in both hands and read it carefully.
Manager Zheng originally thought she was just pretending to be literate, but to his surprise, she picked up a brush and signed without hesitation.
After seeing her signature, he was shocked and blurted out, “Girl, you can not only read but also write beautifully! Not simple at all. May I ask who your father is? Why are you, such a young girl, handling business alone?”
“Uncle Zheng, to be honest, my parents have both passed away. I learned to read and write from my mother.
I still have a younger brother and sister. The three of us depend on each other.
I had no choice but to take responsibility for the family.
We live in Nangang Village of Qingshui Town. If you need anything, you can come find me. Just ask around in the village—everyone knows there’s only our family of three siblings living together.”
The manager sighed. “Such pitiful children. If you ever need help, come find Uncle Zheng. I have some influence in Qingshui Town.”
After the deal was settled, the bean sprouts were weighed—9.5 jin.
Manager Zheng was generous and paid for a full 10 jin, totaling 50 wen.
After saying goodbye, Liu Qingyan tightly gripped the money, her heart filled with joy.
This was her first pot of gold in this ancient world. Although the amount wasn’t large, the profit was impressive.
She only used about one jin of mung beans to grow 9.5 jin of sprouts.
One jin of mung beans cost only 8 wen, but she sold it for 50 wen. It mostly cost time and water—the profit margin was extremely high.
If she earned 50 wen every seven days, that would be over 210 wen a month.
Thinking about it, she couldn’t help but chuckle.
Passersby saw her walking and giggling to herself and quickly moved away, muttering, “That child must have something wrong with her head. Let’s stay away.”
Her hearing was sharp, and after catching their comments, the foolish grin on her face instantly vanished.