My sister became the empress, but I'm still growing vegetables and raising chickens

Seeing an acquaintance, the second sister was not shy. She came over and said, "Boss Yang, how come you have time to come here? Is there anything you need to do with your business?"

"Thanks to you, how could there be any problems with business? I just heard that a big merchant from Lingnan City came to discuss cooperation with you, so I came here to ask out of curiosity."

The second sister glanced at Boss Feng behind Boss Yang and knew what was going on. As she led them inside, she said, "We haven't reached an agreement yet. None of these companies are suitable."

When Boss Feng heard this, he was surprised that even the boss of Shixianglou was rejected?

But Si Muyan would never cooperate with Boss Qian.

The younger sister was very confused about this: "Sister, the conditions offered by Boss Qian are very attractive. Our workshop will not have to worry about lack of business. We can only supply one company in the future and save a lot of trouble. Aren't you planning to start another business? You will definitely be free then."

"Brother Zhu and Lai Qian had just negotiated a deal with thirteen restaurants, but before the goods were officially delivered, they wanted to break the contract. Doesn't this mean that our Si Family Food Shop is a fickle company, and even if a contract has been signed, we can still break it immediately?"

My younger sister said, "But... when we agreed on the contract, we wrote about compensation for breach of contract. We just need to pay according to the agreement. Furthermore, when we signed the contract, we said it would last for two months, a period for both parties to consider. We can always review their performance and if they feel their base sauce or dipping sauce we supply is not good, we can terminate the contract at the end of the month."

Si Muyan said sternly, "Of course we can resolve any discrepancies. But now that there are no discrepancies and you're breaking the contract, even if we pay compensation, it only proves that our Si family doesn't honor their promises. Businesspeople value their promises above all else. Who would want to do business with someone who's insincere next time? And if we need to recruit new investors for our other shops in the future, who will trust us?"

The younger sister seemed to be thinking about something, and nodded seriously: "Sister, you are right. I was only thinking about the current predicament and the small profits in front of me, so I felt that breaking the contract was not a big deal."

"I'm glad you understand. But I'm not agreeing today, not only because of the breach of contract, but also for the future of the food shop." Si Muyan said, "We provide not only technology, but also reputation. The people spread our word, and our reputation is well-known. They trust us, and naturally they also trust the merchants we cooperate with, such as Jixiang Restaurant. And if we cooperate with Shixianglou in the future, it will not only be a matter of supplying base sauces and dipping sauces, but also to tie our own reputation to Shixianglou."

The younger sister didn't quite understand: "Big sister, are you worried that Shixianglou will have a bad reputation and drag us down?"

"The owners who dare to come and discuss cooperation with us today must have a good reputation, but most of them are experienced business people who are well versed in the principles of profit exchange. If I agree to Boss Qian today, it would be equivalent to handing the reputation of our restaurant to Shixianglou."

"What does this mean?"

Si Muyan said, "Since last year's cooking competition, our Si Family Food Shop has become quite famous. When it comes to hot pot, even people in Lingnan City have probably heard of it. But people's memories are fleeting. Now everyone knows that the base sauce and dipping sauce provided by Si Family Food Shop are definitely the right one. But what about the future? In the future, we will cooperate with Shi Xiang Lou. When people everywhere mention hot pot, they will no longer be referring to Si Family Food Shop, but Shi Xiang Lou. What about in half a year, a year, or two years? Boss Qian no longer signs a contract with us and finds someone else to make his secret base sauce and dipping sauce. Then, where will there be a place for our Si Family Food Shop?"

The younger sister hurriedly said, "But our base sauce and dipping sauce are simply not something others can imitate..."

"There are so many imitating ours on the market, but they just can't cook as well as we do. Those hot pot restaurants haven't achieved scale yet, so naturally, we can't be intimidated. Once Shixianglou grows to scale thanks to our Sijia Food Shop, the power of speech will no longer be in our hands."

My younger sister's eyes widened, and only then did she realize, "Is this what Fourth Master Xu once said about how the Jin family was encroaching on the market and wiping out other restaurants?"

Si Muyan would certainly not let things develop to that point. She was interested in business, but she had no interest in making wedding dresses for others.

When she met Boss Feng, she wasn't particularly surprised. She directly explained the situation of the Si Family Food Shop: "The number of restaurants that can be supplied to a county depends on its size, with a maximum of three. Lingnan City is divided into east, south, west, north, and center, so a total of five restaurants can be supplied. Furthermore, these five restaurants cannot have the same surname."

Boss Feng was a perceptive person. Seeing Si Muyan speak directly, he immediately understood her concerns and thoughts. He nodded and agreed without hesitation: "Then, I hope the Feng family can occupy one store in Lingnan City. In addition, my Feng family has branches in Xinji County and Nanping County in the north of the city. If possible, I would like to occupy one in each of them. As for other basic hygiene and store size, everything will be done according to what Boss Si says."

Si Muyan smiled and said, "It seems that Boss Feng is as open-minded as Boss Yang. Let's make it a deal then. I'll arrange for our people to go to the vicinity of Lingnan City to confirm the location and the store situation of your restaurant, and then we can discuss the details of the cooperation."

After such a happy decision, Boss Feng felt so refreshed when he returned to the inn.

Other restaurants inquired about it and shook their heads when they heard that Boss Feng had gone through so much trouble but only gained shares from three shops.

"You only benefited from three shops? I roughly calculated that even this Si family restaurant only makes about a hundred taels of profit a month. You're going to share that with them, which means you're working yourself to death. The three shops combined only make a little over a hundred taels of profit a month."

They are a big restaurant, so of course they look down on the profit of one or two hundred taels a month.

Boss Feng waved his hand nonchalantly. "They have their own rules. How can we break them? I think the boss of that company has a good business sense. Given time, his business will definitely grow bigger and stronger. I'm sure we can have even bigger business cooperation with him."

The others burst into laughter.

"Old Feng, I know you started out as an apprentice and you're quite capable. How come after finally making it to the top, you're lowering your status and starting a small business?"

"You call her business acumen? The person in charge of the Si family is actually a woman, and a little girl of fifteen or sixteen? This is ridiculous."

"I think our trip was in vain. Only Old Feng took that girl's words seriously. How ridiculous, how ridiculous."

Boss Feng didn't bother with them and spent two more days in Fenghuang County before setting off to return to Lingnan City.

After hearing what Boss Feng said, Boss Qian rolled his eyes, but he did not ridicule with others, nor did he follow them. Instead, he went to Fumanlou at night.