A Share of the Profits

"Dad, don't keep eating just that one dish. Look, you've nearly finished it," Xu Xue chided. She couldn't resist coming over and pushing Xu Yongyi aside so he could try something else, then stood in front of the cucumbers and began tasting them herself.

Seeing how the three of them couldn't stop eating, Xu Xi knew it was a success.

The seasonings were still incomplete. There weren't many kinds of chili, the aroma wasn't strong enough, the soy sauce wasn't as savory as modern soy sauce, the sugar wasn't white sugar, and the vinegar wasn't fragrant vinegar. There was no MSG, chicken bouillon, or other such seasonings either. The flavor she had created couldn't compare to her classmate's, but compared to the snacks she had eaten today, it was so much better.

Ancient cooking methods were still far too limited. After one or two thousand years of tireless research by the food lovers of the great foodie nation, just about anything they made was far better than what people had in ancient times. Modern cold-dish stalls could do a booming business even when their food didn't taste as good as her classmate's. Surely she could make some money selling cold dishes in ancient times?

Most importantly, this kind of business didn't require much capital, and it wasn't as much trouble as selling other foods. For labor-intensive dishes like shredded kelp, they could simply have the village aunties help prepare them. The Xu Family would only need to assemble the seasonings and mix everything together.

"This chili oil can be used to make all sorts of cold dishes, like potato slices, cabbage, pigskin, chicken feet, chicken wings, shredded pig stomach, and pig ears. When the time comes, we can set up a stall and prepare a little of each kind. We'll price the vegetable dishes at ten copper coins a jin and the meat dishes at fifty. We won't have to limit customers to buying just one kind, either. They can use chopsticks to pick whatever they want into a bowl and have it all weighed together. It'll be easy for us to sell, and the customers can try more flavors."

Xu Yongyi's eyes lit up at once.

He was a small-time merchant, and with just a little prompting from Xu Xi, he knew this business had great potential. They wouldn't have to sell in just one place, either. They could set up cold-dish stalls all over the county town, east, west, south, and north, and sell to restaurants as well. There were even greater opportunities in the capital. As long as they ran the business well, they might even make a fortune.

"Miss Xi, you came up with this business, and you made the chili oil yourself. Uncle has to give you a share of the profits."

Xu Yongyi thought it was best to set the rules early when money was involved. It didn't matter much when the business had just started and hadn't made much, but once it grew, it could hurt their relationship. No matter what, he couldn't take advantage of Xu Xi like that.

If Xu Yongyi hadn't brought up sharing the profits, Xu Xi wouldn't have mentioned it either. She would simply have considered it repayment on the original owner's behalf for the Xu Family's kindness in raising her for over a decade, and she would surely have kept her distance from them in the future. But now that Xu Yongyi had brought it up, she naturally wouldn't turn it down.

If a person wanted to stand on their own, they first had to become financially independent. Only by earning her own money and being able to live well after leaving the marquis's household could she hold her head high and escape its control.

She could earn money by designing jewelry, but she had never tried it and couldn't guarantee that a silver shop would buy her designs. Besides, she had come up with the cold dishes, so it was only right for her to take a share. Why shouldn't she?

"Thank you, Uncle," she said with a smile.

Xu Yongyi pondered for a moment. "How about I give you forty percent?"

Strictly as a business matter, Xu Yongyi thought thirty percent would be more appropriate, since Xu Xi wouldn't be doing any more work for the business in the future. But he was willing to give her more to thank her for providing the Xu Family with a way to make money.

"There's no need. Twenty percent will be enough for me," Xu Xi said.

Seeing that Xu Yongyi wanted to refuse, she waved a hand. "Uncle, don't argue with me. Only if you're doing well will I have somewhere to fall back on. If I can't go on living in the marquis's household someday, I'll have to come back and seek refuge with you. Just don't turn me away when that happens."

"What are you saying? This will always be your home," Madam Xie said.

Xu Xi gave her a radiant smile. "All right."

Since Xu Xi had said that, Xu Yongyi stopped insisting. He silently made up his mind that when Xu Xi married, they would do everything they could to provide her with a dowry. There was plenty of time ahead, after all.

Before long, Xu Chongwen returned from school in the county town, and the family gathered for dinner. After tasting the cold dishes, Xu Chongwen praised them highly too, convinced they would make money.

"Would it be easy for others to copy this? If it is, I doubt we'll make much money," Xu Chongwen said worriedly.

"It looks as though it's simply chili simmered in oil, but there are actually seven or eight spices in it," Xu Xi said. "It's not easy to copy. Even if they try, what they make won't taste as good as ours."

"Exactly what Miss Xi said." The reason Xu Yongyi was so confident in the business, enough to share the profits with Xu Xi, was that he knew the chili oil was complicated to make and wouldn't be easy to imitate.

"Uncle, look for some more spices. If you can find them and add them in, it'll taste even better," Xu Xi said. "I'll write them down for you in a little while, and you can take the list and look for them."

Besides the spices, Xu Xi also decided to make a simple version of MSG. She remembered that many transmigration novels mentioned grinding dried shrimp and shiitake mushrooms into powder for seasoning. It was worth a try.

She didn't need to do it herself, either. She only had to tell Madam Xie and let her experiment. Madam Xie was a good cook, and as long as she was given the idea, she would surely do a good job.