Traveling through the mountains and farming

"Hello, this is the crystal ice jelly drink I developed myself. I would like to ask your shopkeeper to taste it. Could you please introduce me to it?" Lin Wan's face was filled with a sincere smile. She picked up a bowl of ice jelly on the table and handed it to the waiter.

"I'm sorry, sir, we are not allowed to drink anything given by customers during working hours." The waiter refused with difficulty.

"I just looked at the drinks in your teahouse, and there are only two kinds: mung bean soup and red bean soup. The weather is so hot now, and my crystal ice powder is just right. It's cool and refreshing, and it can clear away heat and relieve summer heat."

Seeing that the waiter's expression was a little relaxed, Lin Wan continued to lobby:

"You can take these two bowls of crystal ice jelly to the kitchen and taste them yourself first. If you think they are delicious, then consider whether to recommend them to the shopkeeper."

At this moment, the waiter was weighing the matter in his mind. In fact, when the ice jelly was scooped out just now, he was attracted by it. It looked crystal clear, soft and smooth, which he had never seen on the market before.

If it is really delicious and refreshing, he can guarantee that it will be popular in the teahouse.

Moreover, he had heard his uncle mention that the store had few types of drinks, especially in the hot weather, drinks were more popular than cakes, dumplings, etc. If he reported this new drink, he might even get praise from his uncle.

After thinking about it, he took Lin Wan's two bowls of ice jelly and did not go to the kitchen. Instead, he went directly to the front desk to find the shopkeeper.

"Uncle, please try this drink." The waiter smiled and placed the two bowls of ice jelly on the counter.

When Shopkeeper Shen saw him, he started nagging: "It's working time now, stop joking around and just work hard, don't..." Before he could finish his words, his attention was distracted by the ice jelly on the counter.

He asked hurriedly, "What is this? Where did you get it?"

"Crystal ice jelly, a new drink." The waiter showed a look of seeking credit.

After the waiter's explanation, the shopkeeper first observed and then tasted the crystal ice jelly carefully. It was indeed a good summer drink. After eating a bowl, he couldn't tell what it was made of. He called the kitchen to observe and taste it, but still couldn't tell.

Upon learning that it was a young farm lady who came to sell her products, he asked the waiter to take him to meet her.

~

Lin Wan was leisurely drinking mung bean soup in the lobby while listening to the storytelling on the stage. She was not worried at all about whether the shopkeeper would come later.

She was full of confidence in her ice jelly. In addition, she observed that there were very few types of drinks in the teahouse. As long as the ice jelly could be successfully delivered to the shopkeeper, she just had to wait patiently.

At this time, a middle-aged man's low voice came from the front:

"The King of Chu and General Gu were defeated again in the battle on the front line a few days ago, and are now retreating to Jingzhou. How long do you think we can remain safe here?"

Lin Wan looked up immediately upon hearing the voice and saw three men in their thirties sitting at the table in front of them, drinking tea and chatting.

At this time, the man sitting on the left picked up the teacup and took a sip. After putting it down, he continued, "It's still far from us. If our small county in the south can be attacked here, the outcome is basically a foregone conclusion."

The man opposite him glanced around, stretched out his right index finger and put it on his lips: "Shh~", and then said in a low voice with a nervous expression: "You two should speak quietly, otherwise if someone hears you and reports you for discussing political affairs, you will be killed."

After that, the conversation between the three people became even quieter, and she could no longer hear it.

She came to the teahouse intentionally to sell ice jelly. She knew very well that teahouses were important places for gathering information in ancient times. There were many people moving around here, so the information was broader and more complex.

She wanted to see if she could hear any news about the war situation in the teahouse, so she began to pay attention to the conversations of the people around her since she entered the teahouse. Only then did she notice the low conversation of the three people in front of her. If she didn't pay close attention, it would be difficult to hear the conversation between the three people.

While waiting for the shopkeeper, Lin Wan had already obtained a lot of information from the conversations of people around her.

During the five years of turmoil caused by the princes, the new emperor, with the help of the general who guarded the country, successfully pacified the princes and recovered their fiefdoms.

At present, only the King of Chu is left. The fiefdom recovered by the new emperor has begun to restore social order. The court encourages the people to resume production and has issued a series of policies that benefit the people, such as dividing land among households and reducing taxes for three years.

At this time, Lin Wan saw the waiter walking towards her with a young man in his twenties.

The man was wearing a green robe, with tall eyebrows, bright eyes, a straight nose and thin lips. Although he looked quite young, his temperament was deep and restrained.

Before Lin Wan saw them coming, the shopkeeper saw Lin Wan at a glance.

From a distance, a young girl dressed in simple clothes and women's attire was sitting alone at a table, drinking the drink in front of her calmly and calmly. She gave people a feeling of inner calmness and confidence, and looked very special.

It’s not that the table for one person is special, but the temperament of this young lady is special.

When I got closer and took a closer look, I found that she was pretty, with a pretty face and a slightly dark skin.

If Lin Wan could hear the shopkeeper's evaluation of her, she would probably jump up and curse, "You are evil, your whole family is evil."

She works under the scorching sun every day to make a living, how can she not get tanned?

The shopkeeper walked up to Lin Wan, clasped his fists and bowed, and introduced himself first: "Hello, my name is Shen, and I am the shopkeeper of the teahouse. May I ask what your name is, young lady?"

"Hello, my name is Lin Wan." Lin Wan habitually extended her right hand to shake hands, but when she saw the other party's stunned expression, she immediately retracted her hand and put it behind her back with an awkward smile.

"Mrs. Lin, may I ask you to go to the private room upstairs to discuss the cooperation on crystal jelly in detail?" The shopkeeper was a little confused by Lin Wan's actions just now, but he did not mind and went straight to the point.

After Lin Wan replied that she didn't mind, she followed Manager Shen to the private room on the second floor.

After Lin Wan was invited to sit down, tea and snacks were quickly placed in front of her. She did not speak first, but drank the tea generously and waited quietly for the other party to speak first.

"Mrs. Lin, we want to buy your crystal ice powder recipe."

Lin Wan smiled and replied:

"I hope Manager Shen will forgive me. I rely on this skill to support my family. I also want to explain to you that I already have family members selling ice jelly at the market. But don't worry, the customer base at the market is different from your store, so it won't have much impact on your store."

Shopkeeper Shen was not disappointed when he heard Lin Wan's answer.

Before he met Lin Wan, he had considered that he might not be able to buy the prescription. After all, a valuable prescription would be kept in hand and passed down from generation to generation for their livelihood unless it was sold at the end of one's rope.

Just as he was about to talk about other ways of cooperation, he heard Lin Wan's next surprising speech.

She said in a very calm tone:

"The ice jelly sold in the market is the most basic version. Your store can upgrade it, such as adding fresh milk or goat milk, which is milk/goat milk crystal ice jelly; adding fresh fruit pieces, which is certain fruit ice jelly; you can also add various nuts, etc. And I will provide you with colored crystal ice jelly later."

Without waiting for his response, she continued, "The ice jelly in your store is 10 or 20 times more expensive, but the purchase price I give you is just as cheap, 108 coins per bucket, and there are more than 60 bowls in one bucket."

He didn't expect that a crystal ice jelly could be made into so many different ways. If they cooperated, their beverage categories would be greatly enriched. He wanted to promote the cooperation immediately, so he said:

"We are willing to cooperate with you in the form of supply, but you can only supply our store, and not other teahouses, restaurants and other food-related stores."

While he was speaking, he noticed the changes in Lin Wan's expression. When Lin Wan heard that she could not supply other stores, her eyebrows slightly twitched. He did not wait for Lin Wan to speak and added:

"Since we have restricted your supply and caused you to lose some of your profits, we will give you a reasonable price. The basic version of crystal ice powder is 300 coins per bucket, and the colored version of ice powder is 400 coins per bucket."

Lin Wan felt that the price offered by Shopkeeper Shen was very fair. He was very measured in the negotiation process, and did not deliberately make things difficult to lower the price. His conversation attitude was also very comfortable, so she agreed to the conditions and price proposed by Shopkeeper Shen and agreed:

"I agree with what you said, but you can't restrict my family from setting up a stall to sell ice jelly."

Shopkeeper Shen smiled and said, "As long as the people you choose set up a stall to buy ice jelly, we will not restrict them."

He felt that with Lin Wan's intelligence, she would not let the ice jelly stall affect the cooperation with the teahouse.

Shopkeeper Shen continued to finalize the content of the cooperation and asked, "Is it convenient for you to deliver ten barrels a day? Or should I send someone to your house to pick it up?"

Lin Wan shook her head. "I'm afraid not. I can only supply you with four buckets a day. To be honest, crystal ice powder is made from pure green plants in the mountains and cannot be mass-produced."

Then, he continued, "You don't have to worry about the small quantity affecting your business. Your teahouse has a limited supply every day. Scarcity makes things valuable. It is more attractive to have a limited supply than to meet the needs of everyone."

After hearing Lin Wan's explanation and the suggestion of limited supply, Shopkeeper Shen was once again surprised by Lin Wan's novel idea. He had a little doubt in his heart whether the woman in front of him was really just a village woman. However, he did not show any strange expression on his face and agreed with a smile:

"Okay, as you said, I'll supply four barrels a day."

Finally, the two parties finalized the details of the cooperation and signed a one-year cooperation agreement. Starting from tomorrow, Lin Wan will send someone to deliver four buckets of crystal ice jelly to the south gate of the county town every day, and the teahouse will send someone to pick it up. If there is an accident, the teahouse will notify one day in advance and send someone to Lin Wan's house the next morning to pick it up.

And it can be agreed that the payment will be made in a week, half a month or monthly.

Lin Wan also avoided the risk of possible out-of-stock situations. If uncontrollable factors affect the supply, she is not responsible. If the supply cannot keep up, she needs to inform in advance.