Chapter 183: Chapter 183: Kindred Spirits at First Meeting
Qu Fulan didn’t go to check the progress of the renovations today, as she visited every few days to inspect personally and had staff supervising constantly, so she wasn’t too worried.
Now she was at home researching new dishes. Since she was about to open a shop, she had to make the dishes herself a few times, ensuring she could recreate the flavors from her memory before feeling reassured.
She was confident in her cooking skills but was concerned that she might overlook a few steps due to not practicing for a while, though she believed that doing it a few times would bring back her touch.
She was just waiting for the day of the opening, relying on the aroma alone to attract customers, without having to spend too much effort on marketing. After all, her food shop wasn’t positioned as high-end, nor low-end, but a kind of shop where the general public would casually enter.
The coffee shop, however, was a different story. Qu Fulan planned to price the coffee at one hundred and fifty wens per cup, and if marketed well, they could sell over three hundred cups a day, making the business quite prosperous.
Counting the pork chops and other snacks in the shop, the revenue should be considerable.
Qu Fulan’s vision was not limited to the Capital City. In modern times, those wealthy merchants didn’t limit themselves to one area—most wished to create a nationwide chain.
Qu Fulan had such thoughts as well. Otherwise, the market in the Capital City would eventually reach saturation. She wanted to make money, and other nobles wanted to make money too—it wasn’t realistic to think she could monopolize everything. There was no such thing as a free lunch.
But expanding to other places relied on personal ability.
As fate would have it, just when Qu Fulan had this idea, a clerk from the milk tea shop came to say that merchants from outside the Capital City wanted to discuss cooperation with her.
The Capital City was a place full of business opportunities, and it was normal for merchants from other areas to come seeking business chances.
"What’s the background of the other party, how old are they, and what business is their family in?"
For convenience, Qu Fulan changed into men’s clothing and headed out, asking the clerk for details along the way.
"It’s a young gentleman, about the same age as miss, saying their family is in various businesses, primarily in tea leaves."
Qu Fulan understood.
The meeting was set in a restaurant, and when Qu Fulan arrived, the other party was already in the private room.
Upon seeing the person, Qu Fulan felt her female disguise was unnecessary because the other party was also a female.
Evidently, they were also disguised as a man, but without the skill of disguise, the unique feminine beauty subtly emerged from within, which couldn’t be masked by tying up the hair and wearing men’s clothes.
In short, they might fool others, but not her.
As for Qu Fulan’s disguise, it was spot on. She had used makeup to alter her facial lines, looking like a handsome young gentleman.
The other party, seeing someone enter, was momentarily startled and instinctively asked, "Little sir, haven’t reached the age of tying up your hair, have you?"
Qu Fulan replied, "Haven’t you, young lady, not yet reached the age of the hairpin ceremony?"
The other party’s face reddened quickly when her identity was revealed, "How did you figure it out?"
Asking this showed that her disguise had always been quite successful before, at least never exposed.
Qu Fulan didn’t answer but asked back, "I heard you wanted to discuss business with me. What business do you want to discuss? Are you someone who has a say in your family, or are you just here to test the waters?"
When the topic became serious, the other party was no longer shy and sat up straight, "All the family business is handled by me, so naturally, I have the final say. Can you speak on behalf of your side, little sir?"
Qu Fulan: "Naturally."
The other party was slightly surprised but quickly composed herself and began to introduce herself.
Since she had been identified as a woman, she didn’t hide it and said her name was Ren Hua, a daughter of the Ren Family in Anzhou City.
Then she stated her purpose for being there.
"I’ve been staying in the Capital City for over a month and saw that the ’Burning Immortal Grass Milk Tea Shop’ was thriving, and I’ve not seen it elsewhere, so I wanted to inquire to buy the secret recipe and open an identical one in Anzhou City."
Qu Fulan immediately understood the other party wasn’t skilled in cooking, otherwise, having tasted the milk tea, she would have figured out the basic recipe, a secret recipe? The raw materials were just a few items.
Qu Fulan didn’t play coy and simply said, "There is no secret recipe for milk tea, just those few raw materials. If the young lady wants to open a milk tea shop, I can teach you the process, but you’ll need to pay a tuition fee."
Not everyone has the skill to deduce a recipe from just tasting. Many modern milk tea shops go for lessons, paying tuition fees as a standard procedure.
Ren Hua’s eyes lit up upon hearing this, seemingly surprised by the straightforwardness, "How much is the tuition fee?"
Qu Fulan made a quick calculation and said, "One hundred taels."
For ordinary people, it was definitely expensive and unaffordable, but for a merchant, they could manage.
Moreover, once the business was up and running, they’d recoup the amount in less than a month.
Ren Hua, indeed, agreed straightforwardly and then asked, "Does this include the other snacks in the shop?"
She had tasted the snacks in the milk tea shop, and they were delicious.
Qu Fulan shook her head, "It’s limited to milk tea, other snacks are specific to the ’Burning Immortal Grass Milk Tea Shop’ and aren’t included."
Ren Hua showed a disappointed look, "Then how much would it cost for you to teach the other snack recipes?"
"It’s not about the money because I plan to promote ’Burning Immortal Grass Milk Tea’ in other places too, so that every place with a decent living standard can have a milk tea shop with this name, essentially a brand. Therefore, apart from the ’Burning Immortal Grass Milk Tea’ brand, no other shop will have dishes identical to mine. Even if they do, the taste will differ. If you’re truly interested, you can join the franchise," Qu Fulan said.
"What’s a franchise?" Ren Hua asked.
Both were merchants, and even if Qu Fulan didn’t clarify what a franchise was now, the other party would eventually figure it out, and it would be unpleasant if they felt deceived later.
"Franchising has its benefits and drawbacks..." Qu Fulan explained it all to her.
Indeed, Ren Hua listened and then fell silent.
She wasn’t silent for long before saying, "Though it sounds a bit unbelievable, I can accept it."
It’s just about earning a little less money.
Qu Fulan raised an eyebrow, not expecting the other party to be so straightforward.
"Then happy cooperation, I’ll prepare the contract, and we can sign the agreement here again later."
The other party agreed but added, "Besides wanting to collaborate on the milk tea shop, I also want to buy the copyright for ’Journey to the West.’ I have a bookshop in Anzhou and want to promote ’Journey to the West’."
Of course, Qu Fulan would not refuse this. She originally intended to promote it, and having someone readily available saved her the effort, which was naturally the best.
The two had a delightful conversation, almost feeling a sense of regret for not meeting sooner.
Qu Fulan planned to reveal her true gender after signing the contract, as it wouldn’t be genuine or interesting to not be honest having already collaborated.
After leaving the restaurant, she encountered Mr. Pei from the Pei Family. Qu Fulan intended to greet him but decided against it considering her disguise, as greeting him might lead to unnecessary trouble, so she pretended not to recognize him.
Then she heard Ren Hua let out an "Aiyo" behind her.
Turning back, she saw Ren Hua covering her chest with an uneasy expression while Mr. Pei apologized profusely.
It seemed Mr. Pei was walking too fast and accidentally bumped into someone.
Qu Fulan paid no mind and left in her carriage.
Ren Hua naturally said it was nothing and then hurriedly left with her head down.
Pei Yuan, however, felt something was off and turned to look, noticing that although dressed in men’s clothing, there was a subtle feminine grace about her.
The man squinted his eyes slightly.