When Guan Xiyue brought food to Ling Jingren once again, she found the room empty.
She could not help but sigh. These ancient martial artists really have incredible constitutions. Such a serious wound, yet his recovery was astonishingly fast.
What she did not know was that Ling Jingren had actually been found by his guards. In the middle of the night, while everyone slept soundly, they had carried him over the wall and spirited him away.
As for Guan Xiyue, she kept thinking about ways to make money, but no good ideas came to mind.
Then Head Chef Old Wang came looking for her. Master Zhou was craving that mouthwatering braised pork again.
Guan Xiyue had no intention of keeping the recipe secret. She merely asked whether he still had any star anise.
Only then did she learn that the spice had come from the Cangwu Kingdom, brought accidentally by traveling merchants. As far as Old Wang knew, it had caused little interest in Great Ning. It was only after tasting Guan Xiyue’s braised pork that he realized how valuable the ingredient truly was.
Unfortunately, Guan Xiyue could do nothing about it. As the saying went, even the cleverest housewife cannot cook without rice. Still, she offered some advice. Even without star anise, adding a little rock sugar while stewing meat would improve the flavor considerably.
Old Wang thanked her repeatedly and decided he would treat Concubine Guan even better in the future.
At the same time, Old Wang’s words reminded Guan Xiyue of something. If this seasoning had not yet entered the market, then there was definitely money to be made from it.
Excitedly, she connected to the little spirit.
“I want to know how much star anise my four qian of silver can buy.”
The spirit quickly replied, “Half a jin.”
So expensive.
Guan Xiyue clicked her tongue inwardly. Still, following the philosophy of high risk, high reward, she bought half a jin and stored it in her dimensional space.
Taking Xiaoyun with her once more, Guan Xiyue slipped out through the back gate. This time they headed to the most luxurious restaurant in the area—Dongkang Restaurant.
Xiaoyun had no idea what her mistress intended to do and felt somewhat uneasy. After all, they had no money.
Noticing this, Guan Xiyue realized Xiaoyun would only get in the way. She handed the girl twenty copper coins and told her to wander around on her own.
Delighted, Xiaoyun’s loyalty deepened.
“Concubine, what are you doing here? If something happens, I’m just a servant girl. I won’t be able to help.”
Guan Xiyue waved dismissively.
“It’s fine. I have a relative working in the kitchen here. I’m just asking around about something. Come find me in an hour.”
Since Concubine Guan had said so, Xiaoyun happily ran off.
The waiter looked Guan Xiyue up and down before greeting her politely.
“Welcome, honored guest. How many in your party?”
Guan Xiyue immediately felt a bit of goodwill toward him. With her current appearance, she was already satisfied as long as people did not openly despise her.
Being both fat and unattractive really makes confidence difficult, she sighed inwardly.
However, the moment she mysteriously mentioned that she wanted to sell a recipe, the waiter’s attitude changed.
“Our restaurant is the finest in all of Quqing County. The food and atmosphere are second to none. Why would we need to buy recipes from someone else?”
Guan Xiyue knew he was not wrong. Recipes were not easy to sell. Every restaurant had its own signature dishes.
Seeing the manager glance over, she bypassed the waiter and addressed him directly.
“Manager, look across the street. Fulin Restaurant isn’t inferior to yours, is it? Your establishments have been rivals for years. But I have a dish that can help you surpass them.”
The manager was not easily fooled.
“You look quite young, little lady, but your confidence is remarkable. Our head chef was specially hired from the prefectural capital. Even he wouldn’t make such claims.”
Guan Xiyue smiled confidently.
“Why not lend me your kitchen? Actions speak louder than words. Let me make the dish and you can judge for yourself. Whether you buy the recipe afterward is entirely up to you. Either way, you lose nothing.”
The manager found the suggestion reasonable. It was afternoon, and the kitchen was relatively idle, so he agreed to let her try.
At Guan Xiyue’s request, everyone cleared out except for two kitchen helpers. Watching alone would not be enough to learn the recipe anyway—the most important ingredient was the star anise.
In less than half an hour, she skillfully prepared a pot of braised pork.
The rich aroma filled the kitchen.
Everyone gathered around the bowl of glistening, irresistible meat.
How had she made it?
No one had ever seen anything like it.
The manager and head chef each took a bite.
The moment the meat entered their mouths, they found it tender, smooth, rich, yet not greasy in the slightest.
Before they realized it, each had eaten several pieces.
The two exchanged a glance and nodded silently.
Guan Xiyue was soon invited to a private room to negotiate with the manager.
She knew she had succeeded.
Now it was only a matter of price.
As expected, the manager offered ten taels of silver for the recipe.
Without hesitation, Guan Xiyue turned and walked toward the door.
The manager hurriedly called her back.
“You little lady! Why are you leaving after only a few words? Business requires negotiation!”
Guan Xiyue smiled.
“Manager, let’s speak frankly. Can this braised pork become your restaurant’s signature dish?”
The manager remained silent.
“If you don’t think so, then I’m sure Fulin Restaurant across the street would be interested in hearing about it.”
Only then did the manager realize he had underestimated her.
She looked simple and harmless, but she was shrewd indeed.
He raised his offer.
“Twenty taels. Not a coin more. You should know that an ordinary family might only earn two taels in an entire year. Braised pork may be delicious, but how many bowls would we have to sell to earn twenty taels back?”
Guan Xiyue thought about it and found his reasoning fair. Twenty taels was already a substantial sum.
Then she produced the half-jin of star anise.
“Manager, do you recognize this?”
The manager shook his head.
He knew that the secret behind the braised pork’s flavor lay in this ingredient.
Guan Xiyue said apologetically,
“This is called star anise, also known as Chinese anise. I bought it by chance from a traveling merchant. It’s quite rare. I heard it comes from the Cangwu Kingdom and hasn’t become popular in Great Ning yet. This is all I have. As long as you can find a way to acquire more, why worry about making money?”
Hearing there was only half a jin left, the manager fell into deep thought.
What if the supply ran out?
Yet the opportunity was right in front of him.
If he missed it, braised pork might appear at Fulin Restaurant tomorrow.
And if star anise was truly that rare, it represented an even greater chance for profit.
Opportunities like this did not come twice.
He decided to buy it first.
Thus, the manager paid another two taels of silver for the half-jin of star anise.
Guan Xiyue’s eyes curved into happy crescents.
An investment of merely four qian of silver had turned into more than five times its value in the blink of an eye.
What a windfall!
The manager was also a man of integrity.
He drafted a contract stating that the recipe was sold exclusively to Dongkang Restaurant and could not be resold for commercial use.
After some thought, Guan Xiyue agreed only on the condition that she would not sell it again within Quqing County. She also specified that personal use would not be restricted by the agreement.
When the manager saw her handwriting, he was genuinely impressed.
This young woman not only possessed a valuable culinary secret but also wrote exceptionally elegant characters.
Perhaps she was a noble young lady who had fallen on hard times.
Just as the transaction was completed, a figure dressed in lake-blue entered the room.
He wore a lake-blue brocade robe with a plain leather belt decorated with tribal patterns. Tall and slender, with handsome features and refined brows, he cut an elegant figure.
The manager immediately cupped his hands respectfully.
“Young Master, what brings you here? How may I assist you?”
The young man replied directly,
“I’ve arranged a gathering with several classmates tonight. Please prepare a banquet for us.”
As he spoke, he turned his head and noticed Guan Xiyue standing nearby in her pomegranate-red dress.
The gentle expression on his face instantly shattered.
“You disciple of Zhu Bajie! What are you doing here?”