Traveling through the mountains and farming

After a while, Shen Zeyu came to the private room with a cup of warm water.

Lin Wan took the cup of warm water, put it on the table, and then opened the small ceramic jar.

A sweet aroma suddenly spread out, and Shopkeeper Shen couldn't help but take a deep breath, becoming more and more curious.

Lin Wan carefully scooped out a spoonful of sweet jam-like paste that was as crystal clear as amber from the ceramic jar, then put it into the cup of warm water, and then gently stirred it with a spoon.

As she stirred it, the paste gradually dispersed in the warm water. The originally colorless water gradually turned into a slightly yellowish color and emitted bursts of tempting aroma.

After stirring evenly, Lin Wan smiled and said to Shopkeeper Shen: "Shopkeeper Shen, please try it."

Shopkeeper Shen thought the new drink looked and smelled good, so he picked up the cup steadily and took a sip. The sweet taste instantly spread in his mouth, along with a unique fruity aroma. Then he closed his eyes and savored it carefully. Just like the ice jelly before, he still couldn't tell what it was made of.

At this moment, he felt even more that Lin Wan was not an ordinary peasant woman. Her temperament, conversation and skills all showed her extraordinaryness. The things she brought out were not available on the market, and had never been seen even in Kyoto.

After a while, he opened his eyes and asked calmly, "Mrs. Lin, what kind of jam is this? It tastes really good and unique."

Lin Wan smiled and responded: "This is a sweet jam I made secretly with special fruits."

Shopkeeper Shen also smiled and said, "I think it tastes good and should be popular. We are considering ordering it for our teahouse."

Lin Wan continued, "I also have a matching dessert, sweet pastry, and I want you to try it too."

As she spoke, she opened the small bamboo basket that she had just taken out of the backpack on the table, and then opened the cloth that wrapped it. At this time, delicate and beautiful pink pastries were revealed inside, and then she pushed it in front of Manager Shen.

Shopkeeper Shen picked up a piece, took a look at it, and put it in his mouth. It was crispy and sweet. He could tell that the filling inside was from the small ceramic jar, and the crispy crust on the outside was pink and beautiful. It was another novel snack not available on the market.

Just as Mrs. Lin said, the effect would be better if this snack was sold together with the drink.

At the same time, he was sighing in his heart: This Ms. Lin’s craftsmanship is really extraordinary, and there are always new surprises.

So, he immediately decided to cooperate, but still asked curiously, "Is this dessert made of sweet jam? And is this pink pastry the same color as the pink icing powder delivered today?"

Seeing Lin Wan smiling and nodding in response to his guess, he said that their teahouse would order both the sweet sauce and the sweet pastry.

Then, he frowned and thought:

"But the new snack has a crispy outer layer and seems difficult to transport and preserve. I wonder how to solve this problem?"

"I'll sell you this jam by the pound, and I can give you the recipe of this sweet pastry for free." Lin Wan said with a smile on her face and a very calm tone, as if what she was sending was just an insignificant item.

When Shopkeeper Shen heard Lin Wan say that she would give the recipe away for free, he was a little surprised and asked with a smile:

"Are you sure? You should know how precious this recipe is. Are you going to give it to me like this?"

In his opinion, this dessert recipe is very precious. Although there are crispy desserts on the market, the pastry of the sweet crispy dessert made by Mrs. Lin is more crispy. After learning her method, all the crispy desserts in their teahouse can be upgraded.

Maybe it may become a competitor of dessert shops in the future.

If he really took it for free, it would mean they were getting a huge bargain, but this Mrs. Lin gave it to him without blinking an eye.

Lin Wan smiled slightly, "Yeah, sure, just think of it as me wanting to make a good relationship with Shopkeeper Shen, and the sweet jams for making snacks in your teahouse in the future will be provided by me. If your business is good, my jams will also sell well."

Through these two contacts, Lin Wan had a feeling that this Shopkeeper Shen was no ordinary person. He was so young yet able to manage such a large teahouse. She also noticed that the waiter next to him seemed to have an unusual relationship with him.

She exchanges a recipe for a favor, which might be of great use in the future.

Shopkeeper Shen looked at Lin Wan thoughtfully and said slowly:

"Mrs. Lin, you are so generous and magnanimous, so I won't refuse. I will definitely take care of you in the future. But I don't know when this sweet sauce will be available? How much can you provide?"

He was not the kind of person who would easily take advantage of others, but there was always a sense of familiarity with the young lady in front of him, and he inexplicably did not want to refuse her kindness, so he accepted her prescription and decided to find an opportunity to repay this favor in the future.

Lin Wan thought for a moment, "At present, I have 28 pottery jars of sweet jam at home, and I cannot guarantee the specific quantity for subsequent supply, because this jam is made from mountain fruits, which is seasonal and cannot be supplied all year round. But in the future, I will develop other jams or dessert fillings as supplements."

Shopkeeper Shen nodded and said, "Very good. If you have new products in the future, please feel free to send them to us. We also want these 28 pottery jars of sweet sauce. I'll send someone to your house to pick them up later."

Lin Wan smiled and replied, "No problem."

Then, Lin Wan wrote the recipe for the sweet pastry to Shopkeeper Shen.

Finally, they agreed on a price of 250 wen per pound of jam, and 28 pottery jars weighed a total of 35 taels.

At this time, Shopkeeper Shen suddenly said, "There are still thirteen days of crystal jelly that have not been settled, one of which is pink jelly, a total of sixteen taels, please wait, I will ask Shen Zeyu to withdraw it for you."

He turned around and told the waiter Shen Zeyu, who was staring at the sweet pastry on the table in a daze, to get the silver.

But she was interrupted by Lin Wan, who suggested taking sixteen taels of silver first and depositing the rest, and she would come back to get it after she finished shopping at the market.

She still has more than ten taels of silver on her body, and she is afraid it is not safe to carry so much silver and money with her.

Shopkeeper Shen was a little surprised, then replied with a smile: "Okay, then let's do as Madam Lin says." Lin Wan smiled and nodded in thanks.

Afterwards, she said goodbye to Shopkeeper Shen, and left the teahouse with the two siblings and headed for the market.

Shopkeeper Shen watched her leaving from behind, and became more and more curious about this woman.

Shen Zeyu came back to his senses when he was called, and sat down at the table. With one hand, he quickly picked up the unfinished cup of sweet sauce and drank it greedily, and with the other hand he eagerly picked up the sweet crisp next to him and ate it in big mouthfuls, nodding and praising from time to time.

"Uncle, do you think this young lady is really just a village woman? A village woman who can make drinks and snacks that are not even available in the capital, and can also read and write? And she exudes an extraordinary temperament."

Shopkeeper Shen frowned slightly and said seriously:

"Don't eat like a starving ghost. The time you promised to go home was extended from seven days to half a month. Now half a month has passed. You can't delay any longer. Go home quickly. You don't know how complicated the current situation is."

"What's the situation? We're still far away from the battlefield!" Shen Zeyu shouted nonchalantly.

Shopkeeper Shen wanted to say something, but he stopped talking in the end. He then said slowly, "Nothing can be absolute. I will feel relieved if you go home early."

Shen Zeyu curled his lips and muttered reluctantly: "Uncle, I really don't want to go back like this. It's so comfortable here. And I want to try other snacks made by Madam Lin."

Shopkeeper Shen glared at him and said sternly, "Nonsense! How can you be so willful? You must go back immediately. There is no room for negotiation."

Seeing his uncle's firm attitude, Shen Zeyu just lowered his head and secretly ate the sweet pastry without saying anything else.

After a while, Shopkeeper Shen softened his tone, patted Shen Zeyu on the shoulder, and said, "Zeyu, uncle is doing this for your own good. Given the current situation, this place is not 100% safe. You should be obedient and return to Beijing as soon as possible."

Shen Zeyu raised his head, looked at his uncle, nodded, and said, "Uncle, I understand. I will pack up and prepare to go back in the next few days." After that, he picked up the snacks on the table, turned around and ran out.