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

Chapter 216 New Year, New Plan

Everyone in the Si family stared at the new dish with curiosity in their eyes. Shopkeeper Yang picked up the chopsticks and was the first to reach out to pick up the green pepper. The moment he put it in his mouth, he felt a burning sensation in his throat, and then his whole face turned red, and pain swept over him.

Seeing him like this, the others didn't dare to move. They stared with wide eyes and asked, "What...what's going on?"

Si Muyan poured a glass of water for Shopkeeper Yang: "Slow down a bit, you're eating too fast."

Si Muyan had tried this kind of chili before, and it was only slightly spicy. It was just that the people here had never tried it before, and at most, they would experience a slight irritation, which was why they couldn't accept the chili for a while, but once they got used to it, it was different.

As expected, after Yang recovered, his eyes widened unconsciously. He picked up a piece of meat and put it in his mouth. It seemed like he was eating such delicious meat for the first time. He also picked up a small piece of green pepper, but this time he didn't eat it all in one gulp. Instead, he took small bites, feeling the burning sensation in his mouth, which made him feel as if his taste buds seemed to be perking up.

"This...this...this is too delicious. Why is it so delicious?"

But the Si family suspected that Manager Yang was just being polite.

His face flushed red, tears and snot streaming down his face, and he stuttered as he said it was delicious, as if to compliment someone. But his actions couldn't deceive anyone. While drinking water, he continued to pick up food with his chopsticks, not the delicious meat, but the green peppers, starting with small bites and then moving on to larger mouthfuls—of course, "large" is relative.

Seeing that only half of the plate of stir-fried pork with chili peppers was left, the younger brother grabbed the chopsticks of Shopkeeper Yang.

“Leave some for me!”

After saying that, there was a "gulp" sound, which was the sound of the younger brother swallowing his saliva.

Shopkeeper Yang was still not satisfied. He watched the Si family finish the remaining half plate of fried pork with peppers, and then sat down with Si Muyan to talk about business.

"Boss Si, can this dish be supplied to our Jixiang Restaurant?"

"can."

Shopkeeper Yang didn't expect Si Muyan to be so straightforward and agreed immediately. He was a little stunned for a moment and asked hesitantly: "Then...what do I need to do?"

Si Muyan took him to her vegetable garden and showed him the green peppers she had grown. "This is the green pepper. A few villagers and I planted quite a few. We can supply the base sauce and dipping sauce, but there isn't much left. If you want, I can also provide you with a daily fixed amount. Later, you can find a place to collect the seeds and plant them."

"This..." Shopkeeper Yang said hurriedly, "Don't worry, Boss Si, we've been working together for so long. Please trust my character. I won't abandon you and go it alone."

Si Muyan shook her head. "I've been running this business for over a year now, and I feel like the current situation is good enough. I don't have any plans to expand the food shop any further for now. So, there's nothing wrong with letting you make the stir-fried pork with chili peppers."

Shopkeeper Yang was bewildered. "Isn't the goal of business to grow bigger and bigger? Does Mr. Si have other ideas?"

"I'm still more interested in growing vegetables and raising poultry. If possible, it would be nice to develop Songji Village into a specialized farm. Forget about anything else."

Shopkeeper Yang didn't understand why Si Muyan had so many novel ideas but didn't develop them. Instead, he stayed in the village, growing vegetables and raising poultry. But since everyone had different ideas, he didn't pay much attention to it and went in to discuss it in detail with Si Muyan.

Si Muyan taught him how to make stir-fried pork with chili peppers, and then said, "But I have one request. I grow chili peppers here, and you can grow them there, but for now, you are not allowed to share this information with anyone else. If it does, it will affect your business, and my condiment workshop will also be affected to a certain extent, and its uniqueness will be reduced. You must agree to this before I am willing to continue our cooperation."

"I promise." Shopkeeper Yang would definitely not tell anyone about his unique dishes.

Stir-fried pork with peppers is a common dish, but it became an instant hit after it was introduced. Word of mouth spread, and people went to the Jixiang Restaurant every day to order food. Unfortunately, this stir-fried pork with peppers was similar to the previous hot pot, with a daily ration. If you went too late, you would miss out.

Many people from the restaurant wanted to learn from him, but how could Shopkeeper Yang tell anyone? He hired a trusted relative to clean the peppers and not let even a single seed be passed around.

The younger sister went to the county town twice and saw that the Jixiang Restaurant was booming. She was so envious that her eyes turned red. She came back and said to her two sisters, "I originally thought that it would burn your throat and make people uncomfortable. I didn't expect it to be so popular. If I had known earlier, we would have opened our own shop and made a lot of money in just two weeks!"

Si Muyan smiled and said, "Manager Yang's good business is related to the spicy pork, but not entirely. Jixiang Restaurant is a well-established restaurant with decades of history. We have many regular customers and many people who trust and support us. Besides, the restaurant doesn't only sell spicy pork. We have other chefs who can cook delicious dishes, which is also a plus. If we open our own restaurant, besides spicy pork, who else will we serve?"

"And Shuqin Niang!" the younger sister said without hesitation.

Shuiqinniang was indeed a skilled cook. Over the past year or so, she had made some adjustments to the hot pot and tangcai, resulting in a unique flavor that even Jixiang Restaurant couldn't match, let alone other local restaurants. Ermei often lamented that if their restaurant didn't just offer hot pot and tangcai, with Shuiqinniang's skills, they could definitely run a successful business.

Si Muyan laughed heartily. "Relying on Shuiqin Niang alone? That's exhausting, but forget it. If you have that idea, why not study Songji Village carefully? How great would it be if we could develop it into a tourist town?"

"Tourist town?" The younger sister became excited.

When the village head heard Si Muyan's idea, he was also shocked: "But, we are an hour's walk from here to the county town. Is there really anyone willing to come and play from such a distance?"

Si Muyan said, "If we put up a good reputation, people will definitely come here. Songji Village is close to the mountains and the water, and the scenery is picturesque. It's a favorite of the city's nobles. Although Fenghuang County is not very large, it has a lot of merchants and tourists. When Zhu Laoer and his men went to Lingnan on business, others who heard they were coming to Fenghuang County praised the beautiful scenery. It is said that some people even traveled so far to live here just to see the scenery. If we create a special scenic spot and provide entertainment and accommodation, I'm sure many people will be happy to come."

The village head was very tempted, but didn't know how to proceed.

Si Muyan said, "Of course, building a tourist town is not possible overnight. I will write a plan and we can discuss it together to see if it can be implemented."

"Okay, okay, Yan's idea is definitely right. If we can really make it, it will be a great thing for our Songji Village." The village head said happily, "Besides, we all made money last year. When the time comes, we can continue to use that shareholding system and invest money in this tourist town together!"