Chapter 583: 583: Recipe for Milk Candy

“Long time no see,” Qiao Xiaomai said as she pulled Tong Sanlang with her and casually sat down at the table.

Shopkeeper Zhou, upon seeing this intimate act, laughed and said, “Congratulations on your union!”

Although Qiao Xiaomai didn’t invite him to her wedding, he knew about it.

Hearing this, Qiao Xiaomai reached into her pocket and pulled out a handful of candy, “Please, Shopkeeper, have some celebration candy.”

The candy wasn’t maltose but milk candy she made from cow’s milk earlier, which tasted quite good.

Shopkeeper Zhou picked one up, peeled off the wax paper wrapping, and popped it into his mouth. Then he gave a thumbs up toward Qiao Xiaomai, “Sweet!”

“I made it myself. Shopkeeper, do you want me to teach you how to make it?” This offer came out of the blue, as she hadn’t thought of it before she walked in.

However, it would be even better if Zhu Hongyun were confined to the kitchen.

It now depended on whether Shopkeeper Zhou would play along or not.

Hearing this, Shopkeeper Zhou frowned slightly, contemplating.

Before he could finish his thoughts, Qiao Xiaomai chimed in, “Huh? Are you hesitating, Shopkeeper? Don’t worry, I won’t charge too much for the recipe, just fifty taels of silver.”

“Of course, this is not a buyout price.”

Qiao Xiaomai added an afterthought.

She had consulted Yang Ye earlier. Milk candy doesn’t exist here, and she was planning to keep cows and make dairy products in the future, so she could not let Shopkeeper Zhou buy her out.

“Shopkeeper, don’t underestimate this little milk candy. If you take it to Capital City to sell, the profits will not be negligible,” Tong Sanlang spoke up.

Once, Qiao Xiaomai even added almond and walnut kernels to the candy, making it even more delicious.

“Wow, Shopkeeper Zhou, seriously? You’re actually hesitating when I voluntarily offer to sell the recipe?” As soon as Tong Sanlang finished speaking, Qiao Xiaomai chimed in again, “Don’t tell me you’re not planning on doing business with me anymore? Did I offend you somehow?”

These words were quite serious. On hearing them, Shopkeeper Zhou hastily waved his hand, quickly making up his mind.

Zhu Hongyun came to sell just a tiny braised pork recipe. Although his Zuixian Building’s version was nowhere near as good as Qiao Xiaomai’s, it was already enough for average customers.

Therefore, he wasn’t very enthusiastic when Zhu Hongyun showed up to sell the recipe.

Of course, he knew Zhu Hongyun was Qiao Xiaomai’s sister-in-law. This act could offend Qiao Xiaomai.

However, Zhu Hongyun’s silver-tongued negotiating skills and low price of fifty taels were persuasive.

Zhu Hongyun only asked for fifty taels. To get Qiao Xiaomai’s recipe at such a low price, thinking back to the Buddha’s temptation recipe that cost two thousand taels, he agreed almost without any hesitation.

Business is business after all.

If Qiao Xiaomai confronted him, he could simply deny knowing Zhu Hongyun and shift all the blame onto her. After all, Zhu Hongyun didn’t mention the braised pork recipe was Qiao Xiaomai’s, neither did Zhu Hongyun know that he knew her.

He just didn’t expect Qiao Xiaomai would find out so quickly. Well, since she found out, he would just have to sacrifice Zhu Hongyun.

He could not afford to fall out with Qiao Xiaomai. This milk candy tasted quite good. He understood its value better than Qiao Xiaomai and Tong Sanlang did.

“No, no, no. I was just thinking about something else,” said Shopkeeper Zhou hurriedly. “You’re sure you’ll only charge fifty taels for the milk candy recipe?”

“Yes, only fifty taels. But bear in mind that I’ll still be selling these candies in the future,” said Qiao Xiaomai.

“Oh, don’t worry. Daqi is so vast and populous and there’s enough for both of us,” Shopkeeper Zhou said cheerfully. “What do I need to prepare? Shall we go to the kitchen now?”