Fine, Sixty Percent is Sixty Percent

Zeng Anmin's brows lifted slightly as he gently stroked his chin.

Clearly, Nan's identity was almost fully exposed before him.

Princess Wencheng of Jiang Kingdom?

He hadn't expected Nan to be a woman!

Interesting.

"Young Master Zeng?"

Shen Jun called out softly, his voice barely a whisper, pulling Zeng Anmin back from his daze.

"Mm." Zeng Anmin snapped back to attention, looking seriously at Shen Jun. He lightly smoothed his robes, picked up his chopsticks, casually took a bite, and spoke to Shen Jun while eating:

"This cooperation is actually a personal venture between me and Jin Taiping."

"I understand."

Shen Jun nodded earnestly, then spoke with a respectful tone:

"I'm willing to offer thirty percent of Jin Taiping's profits to cooperate with Young Master Zeng."

?

Zeng Anmin's chopsticks paused mid-reach as he looked at Shen Jun.

Shen Jun's gaze was frank and open.

"You've misunderstood."

Zeng Anmin could tell Shen Jun had the wrong idea.

His expression turned serious as he said:

"I'm not here for Jin Taiping. This cooperation is purely drawn by your character, Younger Brother."

"Brother Shen endured three months of torture in prison and broke the case. Afterwards, you were willing to accept punishment on behalf of your uncle. When faced with Xu Yunfeng's slander, you dared to stand up and argue."

"Such resilience, deep familial devotion, and defiance of tyranny have earned my admiration. I, your foolish elder brother, truly wish to befriend you, which is why I set my sights on you."

In the art of winning hearts, even Zeng Shilin, a veteran of officialdom, might not match Zeng Anmin.

With each of those three sentences, Shen Jun's face reddened a shade more.

For a moment, he stared blankly at Zeng Anmin, a thousand words stuck in his throat with no way to express them.

As a merchant's son, he naturally felt inferior before Zeng Anmin.

So he'd never even considered being friends with Zeng Anmin; he only thought that being a follower at Young Master Zeng's beck and call was a gift from heaven.

How could he have expected that Young Master Zeng would...

"Brother Zeng..."

Shen Jun felt as if something were lodged in his throat, making it hard to speak.

"My courtesy name is Quanfu. From now on, you may call me Brother Quanfu."

Zeng Anmin chuckled, picked up a bite of food from his bowl, took a sip of tea, then pulled a porcelain bottle from his bosom.

"Brother Quanfu."

Shen Jun was a man of few words, but his fists clenched tight, and the fear in his gaze toward Zeng Anmin faded, replaced by a glimmer of genuine emotion.

Well, young people were easily swayed by sweet talk.

A light smile crossed Zeng Anmin's face as he took a porcelain bottle from his bosom and set it on the table.

"This is the medium through which I, your elder brother, wish to cooperate with you."

"Oh?" Shen Jun's gaze fell on the porcelain bottle, confusion flickering across his brow.

"What is this?"

"An excellent question." The corner of Zeng Anmin's mouth lifted slightly.

He carefully picked up the porcelain bottle, pulled out the stopper, and pointed at a steaming pot of soup on the table, saying to Shen Jun:

"Take a sip first."

Shen Jun didn't understand why, but he obeyed, ladling a bowl and taking a sip.

"How does it taste?"

"Wangxian Tower's soup has always been like this." Shen Jun looked over, bewildered.

Zeng Anmin gave a mysterious smile.

Then he tilted the bottle's mouth over the soup pot and gave it a light shake, letting a few granules fall into the hot broth.

The granules dissolved instantly upon hitting the liquid. Zeng Anmin even picked up his chopsticks to stir it around.

"Now that I've added this seasoning, try it again."

Shen Jun had no idea what those granules were that had just been poured in.

But given those words from Young Master Zeng, even if it were poison, he'd accept it.

He carefully picked up the spoon and swapped to a new bowl.

To show his sincerity, he deliberately filled it to the brim, then, under Zeng Anmin's stunned gaze, tipped his head back and downed the entire bowl of soup in one go.

"Hold on..."

Zeng Anmin was speechless. Are you drinking soup or medicine? What's with that expression?

Mm?!!

As soon as Shen Jun finished drinking, he was about to speak when he suddenly noticed the rich, savory fragrance lingering in his mouth.

His eyes flew wide open.

"This..."

He whipped his head toward the pot of soup, then, as if struck by a thought, abruptly turned to look at the porcelain bottle in Zeng Anmin's hand.

"This this this... what kind of seasoning is this?? It's so incredibly delicious?!!"

Shen Jun was momentarily incoherent.

As a scion of a wealthy family, Shen Jun had never lacked for fine food since childhood.

But he swore—this was the first time he had encountered such an exquisite seasoning. Just adding a little could directly...

Seeing his expression, Zeng Anmin knew this round was in the bag.

The impact of Chicken Essence on people from a feudal era would be nothing short of epoch-making!!

Though, back when he read novels in his past life, this kind of Chicken Essence plot had been done to death by those hack writers.

But there was no denying it—once you actually transmigrated, Chicken Essence in a feudal age was pure profit!

It was also the safest way for a transmigrator to build a fortune.

If your status was low, you could open a restaurant.

If your status was high, you could sell the seasoning directly.

A faint smile tugged at Zeng Anmin's lips as he recorked the porcelain bottle and slid it toward Shen Jun, his face beaming.

"This seasoning is called Flavor Supreme. You can add it to any dish. Its greatest effect is to make food taste several times more delicious."

"Any dish?!"

That was the key point.

Shen Jun instantly caught the business opportunity in those words.

Food is the foundation of the people—that saying was no joke in a feudal era.

You could say anything related to grain was outrageously profitable.

"That's right. You can try it yourself."

Zeng Anmin let out a quiet sigh of relief, smiling as he pushed the porcelain bottle in front of Shen Jun.

Talking to a smart person saved so much effort.

Shen Jun stared at the porcelain bottle, a dazed look on his face, clearly still processing the information.

He carefully uncorked the bottle and sprinkled a bit of Chicken Essence onto the freshly served braised fish.

In just a moment, the already delicious fish condensed an even richer aroma.

Just the smell alone made Shen Jun instinctively swallow a mouthful of saliva.

"First, we build a restaurant chain—open branches in all forty-three prefectures across the eleven circuits of the Great Sage Dynasty. Once the name is thoroughly established, then we sell this seasoning to ordinary households."

"I'll contribute the recipe as my stake and take a thirty percent share."

Zeng Anmin's expression was calm as he painted a bright blueprint for Shen Jun while simultaneously staking his claim for profit.

After all, building restaurants and hiring staff all cost money. If he wanted to be a hands-off boss, he had to give up some of the profits.

"Thirty percent?!!" Shen Jun looked up at Zeng Anmin in disbelief, his voice trembling slightly.

"How can that be?!!"

Zeng Anmin frowned.

Thirty percent wasn't much, was it?

Had he misjudged this guy?

On the surface, the kid seemed decent, but was he actually a wolf in sheep's clothing?

"Though Jin Taiping is no great merchant or tycoon, I grew up surrounded by business. I know that trade thrives on secrets. For a secret recipe like this, thirty percent is far too little!"

Shen Jun stood up, bowed to Zeng Anmin, and said with a serious face:

"At the very least, sixty percent. If Brother Quanfu won't agree, then I have no face to speak of cooperation."

?

Zeng Anmin's brow relaxed.

Good lad... Who else could pave a road as wide as yours?!

"Fine!" Zeng Anmin laughed heartily. "Sixty percent it is. Your Elder Brother agrees!"

And just like that, the first step of Zeng Anmin's grand fortune-building plan was happily settled.

The owner of this Wangxian Tower never imagined that the source of his future deserted doorstep would be negotiated right inside his own restaurant...