Chapter 510 - 511: Secret Recipe
Chapter 510: Chapter 511: Secret Recipe
"How many copper coins is their so-called pride really worth? Right now, my husband is off to take his post, but he’s just a petty official. Strictly speaking, he isn’t even a proper official. With that tiny bit of monthly silver, it’s already a miracle if he can support himself. How could he possibly support this entire household? Kai Chen is a grown man now, yet all he does is wreck the family. Shouldn’t he go out, earn some silver, and help support us?" Liu Yun complained.
Xu Yulan’s eyes darted around. "Liu Yun, it’s not that I’m unwilling to let my husband go out and earn money. But you know he’s picked up some bad habits. If we just let him leave the mansion, what if his hands start itching to gamble..."
Liu Yun was speechless. She had indeed been so maddened by poverty lately that she completely forgot about this detail. If Gu Kaichen really went out and caused trouble again, their family would end up even more precarious.
"That’s why I think our best solution is still Bai Suihe," Xu Yulan continued. "As long as she’s willing to loosen her purse strings, we wouldn’t be struggling so much. Besides, we wouldn’t be taking it for nothing. If she’s willing to help us tide over this immediate crisis, you can still make her some promises.
"Furthermore, isn’t your husband going to Lingnan to take up an official post? Didn’t you mention this in your letter to her? If she insists on being stubborn like before, we can just ask your husband to use some tactics against them. I refuse to believe that mere commoners would dare to fight against an official!"
Liu Yun slapped her palms together. "I forgot to mention that part!"
Indeed. Even though he was just a low-ranking petty official, he was going there alongside the newly appointed County Magistrate. Moreover, that man was a subordinate of the Third Prince, so he would definitely lend a hand. When the time came, they would only need to use a few minor tricks. They refused to believe that Bai Suihe and her family wouldn’t obediently hand over the silver.
"I shouldn’t even bother writing to them; I’ll write directly to my husband," Liu Yun said, her confidence instantly restored. "Having him step in will definitely be more effective than us doing it."
Xu Yulan nodded hastily. This was a good plan. As long as Gu Kaichen was kept inside the mansion and they didn’t go hungry, everything else was negotiable. She was truly terrified. If Gu Kaichen continued to meddle in gambling and actually caused a disaster, his wife and children would definitely be the first to suffer.
While the two women chatted, they had no idea that a young maid had tried to bribe her way out of the mansion but still failed to leave. In the end, she could only return dejectedly, only to endure another scolding.
***
Gu Baijiang sat quietly in his study. Even though he had spent all his time recently copying books and drawing illustrations, he had still caught wind of some rumors when he went to the bookstore to deliver his work. After all, scholars had far more comprehensive sources of information than ordinary commoners. He did not know if the news was accurate, but there was no smoke without fire.
The Third Prince had been plotted against, and currently, Imperial Physicians were constantly attending to him at the Third Prince Mansion. This was not a good sign for him. There were many ways to fall victim to a plot; he just didn’t know if it was a physical injury or an internal affliction.
Then there was Gu Antong. She only ever sent someone back to the mansion when she needed something. Now that something had happened at the Third Prince Mansion, why hadn’t she leaked a little information in advance? If it was inconvenient for her to do it herself, she could have easily sent that maid back with a message just like before. Could some other unforeseen event have occurred?
Gu Baijiang’s brows furrowed tightly at the thought of this possibility. Right now, Gu Antong was the Gu Family’s greatest hope. Unfortunately, his old acquaintances in the capital had made him experience what it meant for people to turn cold once someone lost their status. Even when he went to their doors to beg for help, their attitudes were extremely indifferent.
After thinking it over, he still felt very uneasy. No longer in the mood to copy books, he tidied up and hurriedly left the house. The butler watched him from behind without making a sound, then turned and ordered the servants to start cleaning.
***
Bai Suihe looked quietly at Gu Kaiyuan. "So, you want to give Chen Dafu a recipe."
"To be precise, I’m not giving it to him, but to Chen Qingmu and the others," Gu Kaiyuan replied. "They really have helped me a great deal lately. We’ve mostly finished sorting out the farmsteads and shops in our hands, keeping only a few suitable ones. We’ve essentially finished training these few men, which means we’ve given Chen Dafu a satisfactory answer. But considering how dedicated and hardworking they’ve been, I wanted to give them the tofu recipe."
Bai Suihe had casually written down quite a few recipes before, and the tofu recipe was the one buried at the very bottom of the pile. It was said that there were three great hardships in life: blacksmithing, punting boats, and making tofu. All of these required grueling physical labor.
"That works," Bai Suihe said, instantly understanding what Gu Kaiyuan was aiming for. He claimed it was for Chen Qingmu and the others, but his true purpose was to establish some lasting goodwill with Chen Dafu. "But don’t you want to make it yourself?" she asked. Although the profit margin was quite thin, the demand was significant, making it a viable long-term business.
"It doesn’t matter. Even if we give it to them, we can still make it ourselves," Gu Kaiyuan said nonchalantly. "When the time comes, we can just find a suitable shop, buy a few servants, and set up our own stall."
Bai Suihe smiled and shook her head. "You still want to hire people? Making tofu is a bitter chore. Besides, the profit margin is so thin. If you do it your way, we’d truly only end up losing money."
Tofu sold quite well in the modern era, but she had to remember that this was ancient times. Only families that were reasonably well-off would be willing to spend silver to buy groceries. Otherwise, people would just plant a few vegetables in whatever corners they could find and make do with what they had.
"Have you had anyone test out this tofu yet?" Bai Suihe asked. She remembered that he had taken these recipes out to test them, so it should have been made.
"I have. I also think that, just like you suggested, buying a donkey to pull the millstone speeds things up significantly," Gu Kaiyuan explained. "However, someone still has to keep a close eye on it. A lot of the finer details require constant human attention. So, I figured since this one is relatively difficult to produce, we might as well give it to them as a favor!"
Precisely because he had tested it, Gu Kaiyuan knew that it would be very difficult to amass a fortune solely through this tofu recipe, but it was certainly enough to feed a family. There were many wealthy and powerful people in the capital. As long as Chen Qingmu and the others were willing to work hard, they could still build up a family business.
With such a massive favor, even if Chen Dafu wanted to refuse, his children and grandchildren would probably not agree to let it go. Gu Kaiyuan didn’t expect Chen Dafu to commit any crimes for him either. As long as the man could pass along some crucial information at key moments, that would be more than enough.
"This is just one recipe for making plain tofu," Bai Suihe noted. "Actually, I’ve thought of many derivative products as well, but I need to try making them myself first."
"We can slowly consider the others later," Gu Kaiyuan said. "Just this one recipe is already enough. As for whether they find the work too bitter or exhausting, that has absolutely nothing to do with us."
The opportunity had been laid right in front of them. He believed Chen Qingmu and the others wouldn’t be foolish enough to turn it down.
Chen Qingmu and the others were certainly not foolish. When they heard the news, they were so excited that they practically trembled. This was a secret recipe! Was he really just casually giving it away to them?
"Mr. Gu, are you mistaken?" Chen Lanmu asked in disbelief. "Are you saying you’re giving us a secret recipe?"
Although they didn’t currently know what tofu was, anything that could be called a secret recipe was definitely not simple. Thus, every one of them was rubbing their hands together in eager anticipation...