The moment Shang Hongbo finished speaking, two plain tea cups were served, filled to the brim with steaming hot tea.
The tea leaves used were the cheapest miscellaneous tea, having been brewed several times with boiling water. The tea soup was extremely weak, almost indistinguishable from plain water, with only a few scattered tea fragments floating up and down in the cups.
Shang Hongbo tidied his robe and sat down opposite Qi Lixiao and Li Zhichen.
As he stroked his jade finger ring, he spoke slowly and deliberately.
"I'm Shang Hongbo, the owner of this Guixiang Tower. I heard from the waiter that you two have a business to discuss with me. I'm truly honored. However, my restaurant is extremely busy today. I can only spare the time it takes to finish this cup of tea. Why don't you get straight to the point?"
Qi Lixiao lifted his eyelids slightly. His words were equally brief but to the point:
"We've caught several fresh live crucian carp recently. We'd like you to take a look."
Shang Hongbo raised his eyebrows in understanding after hearing Qi Lixiao's words. So they were here to sell fish.
There had been quite a few peddlers coming to Guixiang Tower to sell river fish in the past few days. Without even looking, he knew they must be small palm - sized river fish. He really didn't need to waste his time on these two.
So Shang Hongbo shook his head regretfully. He spoke very quickly without hesitation:
"It's really unfortunate. You're a bit late. Guixiang Tower just purchased a batch of fresh crucian carp yesterday. We already have enough ingredients."
After saying that, Shang Hongbo paused for a moment. He smiled and took out his money bag from his waist. He took out a few strings of coins and put them on the table, looking meaningfully at Qi Lixiao's legs.
"As the saying goes, 'Even if the deal falls through, kindness remains.' It's not easy for you two to come all the way here. Take this money as a gratuity. Leave early while it's still light."
Li Zhichen raised an eyebrow. She thought this Shang Hongbo seemed amiable but was actually extremely perfunctory. He didn't even want to take a look at the goods before trying to get rid of them!
She exchanged a glance with Qi Lixiao and immediately pushed the money back.
Shang Hongbo was startled by their actions and felt quite puzzled.
Was there anyone in this day and age who would refuse a gratuity?
Did they think the money was too little?
Qi Lixiao lifted his eyelids slightly and glanced at Shang Hongbo. He said slowly:
"I've heard for a long time that Guixiang Tower has made a name for itself with three famous dishes. Among them, the chef's specialty is crucian carp stuffed with minced meat. This town has the advantage of being near the river mouth, and autumn and winter are the best seasons to eat crucian carp. Normally, at this time of year, people would line up early to order this dish. But when I observed just now, I noticed that none of the diners around had this dish on their tables. If I'm not mistaken, Guixiang Tower hasn't purchased enough river fish recently, especially crucian carp, and the quantity is far from meeting the demand."
Shang Hongbo was briefly surprised. He really didn't expect a cripple to know so much about Guixiang Tower and have such keen observation skills. He couldn't help but look at Qi Lixiao carefully.
This man had jet - black hair and deep, dark eyes, both in extreme hues, yet he seemed as ethereal as snow.
The silver light of the snow behind him cast a faint glow on him. Qi Lixiao didn't talk much and most of the time remained calm. There was an indescribable nobility and dignity in his words and demeanor, as if he was born with a cold and aloof aura like a Bodhisattva.
Shang Hongbo silently sighed. He thought this man was truly amazing, but it was a pity that he was a cripple.
Qi Lixiao was right. Crucian carp stuffed with minced meat was indeed the chef's specialty, and it had extremely high requirements for ingredients.
The meat had to be plum - blossom pork with a good mix of fat and lean, and the fish had to be plump, fresh crucian carp with roe. Crucian carp was full of thorns. When preparing this dish, one had to use a sharp knife to scrape the fish fillets first and then remove all the thorns with pliers, which was extremely time - consuming.
In previous years, Guixiang Tower was always full of customers thanks to this dish, and business was booming.
But this winter was different. After several heavy snowfalls, the fish supplied by the peddlers had all lost weight.
As a result, the crucian carp were even smaller than the plum - blossom pork, and the meat was tough, fishy, and tasted terrible.
If they really served this dish to the diners, wouldn't it ruin their reputation?
Shang Hongbo had no choice but to come up with a solution - only serve five servings of crucian carp stuffed with minced meat every day because they couldn't make any more.
Although this solution temporarily solved the urgent problem, without the signature dish to attract customers, Guixiang Tower had lost quite a few regular customers. In the long run, the disadvantages were significant.
Thinking of this, Shang Hongbo wavered a bit, but still didn't fully trust these two. After all, it was one thing to talk nicely, and another thing to be able to cooperate.
Li Zhichen noticed the hesitation on Shang Hongbo's face. She thought that opportunity seldom knocks twice, so she immediately said loudly: "As the saying goes, 'Shop around before you buy.' Don't be in a hurry to refuse, shopkeeper. Make your decision after you've seen the goods."
After saying that, without waiting for Shang Hongbo's reaction, she suddenly carried the wooden bucket in front of him.
Shang Hongbo didn't expect this delicate - looking girl to be so strong. He was dazed for a moment.
The next moment, the lid was lifted, and the fresh smell of river fish wafted out. Several wild, live fish as big as an arm were swimming actively in the bucket!
The waiter beside them was immediately stunned. His eyes widened in disbelief.
Where did they get such plump live fish at this time of the year?!
Shang Hongbo was also stunned for a while. After a long time, the astonishment on his face gradually faded, and a look of intense admiration flashed in his eyes.
These fish were all plump and full, their bodies swaying powerfully. The meat must be fresh and delicious, and it would surely attract many diners!
Shang Hongbo couldn't help but stare at the fish a few more times, but he tried his best to suppress his excitement on his face. He said calmly:
"The fish are indeed good. Well, I'll take all of them. How about three taels of silver in total?"
Shang Hongbo's words were like a bucket of cold water poured over their heads. Li Zhichen's face immediately darkened.
This Shang Hongbo was really good at driving down the price. The price he offered was even less than what she had estimated when selling at the stall!
Shang Hongbo noticed that Li Zhichen looked unhappy. He also realized that he had driven the price down too much and was worried about driving these two away.
He coughed awkwardly, paused for a moment, and then said with a smile: "Since you two are here in good faith, I'm also willing to cooperate with you in the long - term. If you can regularly supply river fish as plump as these, I'm willing to buy them at a price of seventy wen per catty. What do you think?"
Li Zhichen wondered if she was hallucinating, but she seemed to hear Qi Lixiao let out a soft snort.
Qi Lixiao lowered his eyes and looked leisurely at the tea stalks floating in the teacup. His tone remained unhurried:
"If you're truly sincere about cooperating with us, shopkeeper Shang, you might as well think it over carefully and make a new offer. If you're not willing, just forget what I said. Although Guixiang Tower is the largest restaurant in this town, we can still take a step back and cooperate with other small restaurants first, like the Yanshi Pavilion across the street. So we're not in a hurry."
Li Zhichen was stunned for a moment. She realized that Qi Lixiao was trying to drive up the price. She couldn't help but give him a thumbs - up under her sleeve.
She was truly amazed by Qi Lixiao's business talent.
Qi Lixiao had obviously used a psychological tactic commonly used in modern business negotiations in his words just now.
For example, when you go to a clothing store to buy clothes. If you fall in love with a certain piece of clothing and show that you must have it, the store owner will have no competitive pressure, and the price of the clothing will naturally be high, and it will be very difficult to bargain it down.
But if you show only mild interest in the clothing and mention several times that you want to go to other stores to take a look, the store owner will feel the pressure of competition. In order to sell the clothes, they will offer a lower price.
Sure enough, Shang Hongbo's face stiffened when he heard the name Yanshi Pavilion, and then he immediately became vigilant.