The cruel little princess

Shen Youyou gently pushed the mahogany box back toward Aunt Mei, a smile on her face as she said, "Aunt Mei, I'm not here to repay a favor, but to discuss something important. I'm planning to open a herbal medicine shop soon. I've heard that the waiter here often orders herbal medicine for customers. I wonder if this could be an opportunity to collaborate with your shop?" She deliberately didn't mention her true identity, so as not to give the impression of bullying. After all, the quality of herbal medicine can be easily judged by the taste. As long as she can establish a good reputation among this customer base, she'll have no trouble attracting new customers in the future.

Aunt Mei pushed the box towards Shen Youyou again, a hint of feigned anger on her face: "Cooperation is cooperation, and thanks are thanks. If the young lady insists on not accepting this small gift from me, then I have no intention of discussing further cooperation matters!"

Seeing this, Shen Youyou smiled helplessly and said, "Since Aunt Mei insists so much, I'd better obey your order!" She winked at An Er behind her, indicating that he should take the mahogany box.

Seeing this, Aunt Mei laughed heartily: "Hahahaha! Miss is indeed a person of temperament. I like such straightforward people the most! I wonder what kind of medicinal food is the medicinal food shop that Miss mentioned just now? How does Miss want to cooperate?" Aunt Mei's smile was so charming, it can be seen that she must have been a famous beauty when she was young.

Next, Shen Youyou gave a detailed introduction to the medicinal meals that her herbal meal shop would be launching, suitable for men, women, young and old, and could even tailor special meals to the customer's physique. However, the price was relatively high. Chun Man Lou also sent over a few recipes for medicinal meals, making it convenient for customers to order them. Shen Youyou only charged 90% of the cost for Chun Man Lou's medicinal meals, and kept 10% of the price for Chun Man Lou. If the meal cost five taels of silver, only four taels and five cents of silver would be charged, and the remaining five cents of silver would be Chun Man Lou's commission. If the meal cost ten taels of silver, the commission would be one tael. It depends on whether Chun Man Lou is convenient for settlement by order or monthly.

After Shen Youyou finished speaking, Aunt Mei considered the matter from a business perspective. Originally, medicated diets were ordered from whichever clinic a patient preferred. However, if they partnered with this young lady, it would become a bundled sale, and Chun Man Lou would have to promote her medicated diet. The customers in the building hated having their weaknesses used as a selling point, so this wouldn't work in the building. However, since this young lady had asked, it wouldn't be appropriate to refuse to help.

Aunt Mei thought for a moment and came up with another solution. "How about this? I don't need to take any commission. The girls in the building also drink some medicinal food to nourish their bodies every now and then. You know, men like to toss around, but the girls can't keep up with the physical strength! We previously ordered the medicinal food for the girls from the Jishiditang medicine shop, and in the future we will order from you, young lady. Can you give us a more favorable price at cost? If the girls find it good, they will naturally say a few good words for your medicinal food shop. Once you spread this pillow talk, young lady will have no worries about lack of business!"

After hearing this, Shen Youyou thought about it and realized it made sense. If you hadn't tried it, you wouldn't know the results, and people wouldn't be able to help you promote it. "So, what kind of medicinal food do the girls in your building use? Would it be convenient for me to see the recipe?" Shen Youyou didn't know what kind of medicinal food they ordered, so it was difficult to make a decision.

"Bring the medicinal food from Jishitang to the young master for a look." Aunt Mei walked to the door and ordered the person outside. "Yes!" someone outside the door replied in a low voice.

Soon, someone brought the medicinal food. Shen Youyou took a look and saw that it was just ordinary herbs for replenishing qi, nourishing blood and removing dampness. She felt confident, "Auntie Mei, this medicinal food for replenishing qi, nourishing blood and removing dampness is easy to deal with. I can also provide more medicinal foods for the building to nourish the blood and nourish the heart, soothe the liver and regulate qi, clear the spleen and moisten the lungs, and nourish yin and strengthen the body. Drink it once every three days, five times as a course of treatment, and then switch to another one. I guarantee that the girls in the building will be nourished and radiant!"

"Okay, okay! Thank you very much, Miss! It's just that the taste of this medicinal food...can it be made better, with a less strong medicinal smell? You see, the girls in the building are quite picky when taking it." Aunt Mei made a small request.

"Don't worry about this. My medicinal food doesn't have even a trace of medicinal taste!" Shen Youyou patted his chest and guaranteed.

"Okay, okay, so what about the price?" Aunt Mei looked at Shen Youyou.

Shen Youyou asked Aunt Mei, "What price will Jishitang give you?"

"There are many girls in our building, 383 in total. We drink once every five days, and the bill is 150 taels of silver each time." Aunt Mei replied quickly.

Shen Youyou quickly calculated the cost in her mind. The medicinal food was so large in quantity, but the advantage was that the herbs were all common and not too expensive. She could calculate the proportions and use a large-capacity medicine furnace to brew it several times. "One hundred and thirty taels of silver. Aunt Mei, I can give you one hundred and thirty taels of silver at cost price!"

"Then thank you first, Miss! I will order five times first, six hundred and fifty taels of silver. When the girls in the building feel that they like it after drinking it, I will order the next batch. Is that okay?" Aunt Mei still has to consider the business of the building. Personal favors are personal favors, but the efficacy of the medicine must also be considered!

"Okay! Then I will deliver the first batch of medicinal food tomorrow. At noon when the Yang energy is at its peak, let each girl drink a bowl to replenish Qi and remove dampness." Shen Youyou briefly determined the efficacy of the first batch of medicinal food.

"Okay! Then I'll wait for the young lady to send someone to pick me up!" Aunt Mei looked outside as she spoke, "Young lady, if you have nothing else to do, please leave quickly. Someone will be coming to my building soon, and I'm afraid someone will bump into you!"

"Well, we have finished discussing the serious matters. Aunt Mei, please stretch out your hand. I will take your pulse and prescribe a medicinal diet for you. You can try it and see how it works!" Shen Youyou gestured to Aunt Mei to stretch out her hand.

"Oh, how embarrassing!" Aunt Mei said, but she still quickly stretched out her hand.

Shen Youyou placed her delicate hand on Aunt Mei's wrist, breathlessly examining her pulse. She knew that Aunt Mei had suffered several miscarriages in her youth, leaving her with underlying health problems. However, she couldn't bring herself to brag about this in front of others. After a moment, she mentally formulated a plan. "Alright, Aunt Mei, you're still very strong, but you have some minor ailments that need attention. Tomorrow, I'll prepare a special herbal remedy for you. Try it first." Shen Youyou stood up and said goodbye.

"Miss! How much is this special herbal remedy? I'll give you the money!" Aunt Mei knew the root of her illness. She had sought help from so many renowned doctors over the years, with no success. Instead, she'd spent a fortune only to be disappointed. So, she didn't hold out much hope this time. But since they offered to treat her specifically, she couldn't refuse. She had to pay.

"You don't have to give me this. Just think of it as a favor to you for such a big order from Chunmanlou!" Shen Youyou was determined not to accept the money from Aunt Mei.

"So, miss, what is the name of your herbal medicine shop? When will it open? I can ask someone to order herbal medicine!" Aunt Mei asked Shen Youyou with a smile. They had been chatting for such a long time, but she still didn't know the name of her shop!

"Let's call it Rejuvenating Medicinal Food!" Shen Youyou pondered for a moment before deciding on the name for the medicated food shop, taking it from the meaning of "withered trees returning to life." Whether it's a man regaining his virility or a woman regaining her youth, rejuvenation can be described as such. Hmm, that's a good name, let's go with it! "It's on Xuanwu Street. It used to be a restaurant. I'm currently renovating it. It'll open on the 18th of this month!" Shen Youyou replied.

"Okay! I will definitely take care of your business when the time comes! Please don't look down on my status as not presentable enough!" Aunt Mei said with a smile.

"Aunt Mei, what are you talking about? The girls in your building were forced to take this path because they had no other choice. Many of them were sold here and had no right to choose at all! Instead, it was you, Aunt Mei, who gave them a place to stay. I admire your methods and insights. If they had a skill themselves, they would not be stuck in the quagmire. We are all women, so why make things difficult for women?" Shen Youyou spoke based on the facts. In modern times, she was used to seeing people laugh at the poor but not at prostitutes. She knew that this was the sadness of this era, not a problem of one or two girls.

After talking with Aunt Mei, Shen Youyou headed back home. She would first go to the mansion to find the cooks that Uncle Zeng had previously found, and then teach them how to use medicinal herbs and how to make medicinal meals. Thinking of the many things that still needed to be prepared, Shen Youyou perked up again with energy!