TSWPF – Chapter 45 It’s a Deal

The shopkeeper didn’t expect that these two kids were so sharp—they outright refused to sell the recipe and only agreed to a profit-sharing arrangement.

Seeing that the shopkeeper remained silent, Li Qingling smiled and spoke, “Uncle Shopkeeper, I suppose you’ve tasted our family’s egg pancakes before. You must know how good they are. Otherwise, you wouldn’t want to buy our recipe, right?”

The shopkeeper’s silence was simply because he thought profit-sharing might put him at a slight disadvantage.

But Li Qingling wasn’t naive. Selling the recipe meant a one-time buyout. With their egg pancake business doing so well, she didn’t want to make just a single payout.

Even without collaborating with Fumanlou, she and Liu Zhimou could still earn a good amount by selling at the stalls every day.

The shopkeeper rubbed his chin and looked at Li Qingling calmly. “Young lady, even if people eat this a lot now, they might get tired of it. Maybe your egg pancakes are doing well now, but who knows what the future holds?” If a few imitators emerged, business would get tougher.

Li Qingling’s smile didn’t waver. She kept looking at him warmly. “These egg pancakes may look simple, but making them isn’t that easy.” Her pancakes had her special spirit water added, so even if others tried to imitate them, they wouldn’t replicate the taste. “The ingredients inside the egg could also be richer. We just don’t have many ingredients at home, so our pancakes seem a bit plain. If Fumanlou sincerely wants to collaborate, I can teach the chefs to use some additional ingredients.”

On this point, she was completely generous. After all, if they really collaborated with Fumanlou, the more profits Fumanlou made, the more she would earn. It would essentially be her making money without much effort, only providing the technique.

The shopkeeper propped his chin up, still looking hesitant. His eyes unconsciously flicked to the wall across from him, and his ears caught a sound—the tapping of a table.

He immediately lowered his chin, a small smile appearing at the corner of his mouth, and asked Li Qingling how she wanted to split the profits.

Of course, a bigger share was better, but Li Qingling considered their situation and didn’t dare to ask for too much.

She paused for a moment, glanced at Liu Zhimou, who nodded, giving her the go-ahead.

“Then how about a 60/40 split? Fumanlou sixty, us forty.”

“No.” The moment Li Qingling spoke, the shopkeeper shook his head. He refused the 60/40 split. “Eighty/twenty.” From his perspective, Li Qingling was only providing a little technique; she wasn’t helping in any other way. Eighty/twenty was already generous.

Eighty/twenty? Such a ridiculous demand—how could she possibly agree?

Li Qingling gritted her teeth and compromised slightly, saying with a pained expression, “Seventy/thirty. That’s my bottom line. Anything less, and we won’t be able to work together.” If they offered less, she’d rather work hard selling at the stalls with Liu Zhimou.

Upon hearing another table tap, the shopkeeper immediately nodded. “Alright, seventy/thirty it is!” This time he quickly had someone bring ink and paper to draft an agreement for Li Qingling to sign.

Li Qingling took the agreement and handed it to Liu Zhimou for review.

Seeing the shopkeeper’s surprised expression, Li Qingling smiled lightly. She admitted she didn’t know many characters.

Some traditional characters she genuinely didn’t recognize—truthfully.

Liu Zhimou carefully read through it two or three times. Satisfied, he nodded to Li Qingling.

Li Qingling pressed her fingerprint on the agreement, then had Liu Zhimou do the same.

They returned it to the shopkeeper to press his fingerprint as well. The agreement was made in two copies, one for each party.

Li Qingling took her copy and kept it close to her.

“Uncle Shopkeeper, we also raise some chickens at home. Their eggs are especially delicious. Would you like to collaborate with us and source eggs from our home?” With the Fumanlou collaboration, she and Liu Zhimou wouldn’t need to sell at the stalls anymore and could have time to raise chickens.

She planned to set up a small chicken farm to supply eggs to Fumanlou—another significant source of income.

Just thinking of their potential daily earnings made Li Qingling’s heart race with excitement.

“Oh? Really that good?” The shopkeeper raised an eyebrow. Aren’t all eggs the same? How could some taste better than others?

Li Qingling, afraid he wouldn’t believe her, nodded earnestly. “They’re really delicious. Come by another day, and I’ll bring some for you to try. Once you taste our eggs, you won’t want any others.” She shyly lowered her head. “Right now, we don’t have many hens, so the eggs are limited. But I plan to buy some chicks soon. By then…” Her words trailed off as she looked at him expectantly.

The shopkeeper laughed heartily. He promised that if Li Qingling’s eggs were truly that good, he would prioritize sourcing from her.

Hearing this, Li Qingling’s eyes lit up, and she thanked the shopkeeper with a smile.

“Don’t get too excited yet. If your eggs aren’t as good as you say, I can take back my words.”

Li Qingling puffed out her chest confidently. “Don’t worry. With my spirit water, our eggs will definitely make people addicted.”

The shopkeeper smiled again and then changed the topic, letting Li Qingling teach the chefs how to make the egg pancakes.

Li Qingling happily stood up and followed the shopkeeper downstairs to the kitchen.

Liu Zhimou lingered behind, his eyes discreetly glancing at the opposite wall. Just now, he had heard a table tap from over there. That sound was what prompted the shopkeeper to agree to sign the deal.

Could that wall be hollow?

Though suspicious, he didn’t dare to confirm. After all, it was someone else’s territory.

In the kitchen, the shopkeeper pointed out two chefs for Li Qingling to teach.

The two chefs had tasted the egg pancakes and tried making them, but they couldn’t replicate Li Qingling’s special flavor. Having her teach them in person made them very excited.

Learning this skill would add another technique to their repertoire.

Li Qingling took out the molds she brought and demonstrated the entire process in detail. After finishing, she asked the chefs if they understood, and if not, to ask questions.

The two chefs shook their heads. The steps were simple, and seeing the process once, they understood.

“Now, make one for me to try.” Li Qingling cleared space for them. “Although making egg pancakes looks simple, getting them delicious depends entirely on controlling the heat properly.” If the heat wasn’t right, even with spirit water, the pancakes wouldn’t taste perfect.

The chefs nodded and focused carefully on making the pancakes.

Li Qingling stood silently nearby, observing.

Once both chefs finished and presented their pancakes, she pointed out their mistakes and guided them to correct them.

Initially, the chefs had slightly underestimated Li Qingling, but after her precise instruction, their doubt turned into admiration.

Despite her young age, her guidance made things suddenly clear to them.

The chefs sincerely thanked Li Qingling and made another batch, allowing her to taste and continue correcting.

This went on for over half an hour, until Li Qingling finally nodded with approval under their eager gazes.

Seeing her nod, the chefs finally exhaled in relief, bowed to her, and thanked her for the guidance.

Li Qingling smiled, telling them to keep practicing before leaving the kitchen.

Liu Zhimou approached her and asked if she was tired.

“Tired? Not really, just overstuffed.” She had eaten too many pancakes at once.

“Don’t worry, walking slowly will help digest them,” he said with a smile.

She nodded and rubbed her stomach, then went to the shopkeeper with a smile. “Uncle Shopkeeper, the two chefs have mastered the technique. If there’s anything unclear, they’ll come to me.” She gave him an address.

The shopkeeper smiled in agreement.

“Well then, we’ll be going now!”

“Alright, take care.”

After Li Qingling and Liu Zhimou left Fumanlou, the shopkeeper went upstairs.

He knocked on the door of the next private room. Hearing a “come in,” he entered and respectfully handed a young man seated at the main seat the signed agreement.

“Master, this is the agreement just signed.”

The young man took it, glanced at it, and handed it back to the shopkeeper to keep.

“Master, I don’t understand. Why agree to cooperate with those two kids?”

From his perspective, a one-time buyout would have been best.

The young man glanced at the shopkeeper calmly. “I think that little girl will give me more surprises.” From the moment he saw Li Qingling, he had a strong intuition.

And he always trusted his intuition.

“…?” The shopkeeper was puzzled by his master’s thoughts and dropped the topic, moving on to another. “Recently, Fengweilou has been targeting our Fumanlou. Should we…?”

The young man waved his hand casually. “Let them use their sneaky tricks. No need to bother with them.” He paused, then added, “Investigate those two kids thoroughly. The more details, the better.” He found the boy somewhat familiar.

The shopkeeper nodded, reported some other matters, and respectfully left.