Chapter 230: Doing Business on the Side

Gu Fei quickly said, "You jest, Young Master Zhu. For my humble inn’s opening, how could I dare trouble a distinguished guest like you?"

She thought for a moment, then added, "Rest assured, Young Master Zhu. I guarantee that my inn will not use the thirty recipes I previously sold you."

Upon hearing this, Young Master Zhu chuckled. "Miss Gu, that’s not it at all. I truly didn’t come here for that today."

"We signed a contract. It’s not as if I don’t trust you, Miss Gu."

Lian’er and Xing’er had already served tea. Young Master Zhu held a cup in his hand. "I heard that Manager Liu from the Drunken Immortal Tower also approached your family, wanting to buy peppers?"

Gu Fei nodded. "That’s right. My father already agreed."

Young Master Zhu lowered his eyes and fell silent.

’He had now gotten a taste of the profits from these peppers, and he regretted not signing a contract with Gu Fei earlier to buy up all the peppers her land produced. Now, the Drunken Immortal Tower had thrown a wrench in the works, and Gu Fei had opened her own inn. Even though it wasn’t primarily a restaurant, she would surely sell spicy dishes in the future. Just yesterday, Manager Wang had eaten a dish of spicy clams there and said it was delicious. Moreover, there were other restaurants in Ping’an City. Once the fresh peppers became available, they would likely all scramble to get their hands on them.’

Seeing that Young Master Zhu had fallen silent and not knowing what was going on, Young Master Zhou noticed the awkward lull in conversation. He pointed to the round-faced, big-eyed young man beside them and said with a smile, "I don’t believe you’ve met, Miss Gu. This is Young Master Zhu’s cousin, known as Second Young Master Zhu."

Gu Fei gave the young man a curtsy. "Greetings, Second Young Master."

Second Young Master Zhu, waving a fan, chuckled softly. "Miss Gu."

He gave Gu Fei a single glance before looking away, clearly uninterested.

Young Master Zhu seemed to have finished his deliberations. He tapped on the table. "Miss Gu, I have a proposal I’d like to discuss with you."

Gu Fei sat down nearby. "Please, go on, Young Master Zhu."

"My proposal is this: my First-class Pavilion, the Drunken Immortal Tower, and your Youjian Inn will purchase all the peppers your family grows. That’s the harvest from twenty mu of land. Even if our three establishments can’t use it all, we can dry the rest and sell it out of town. In short, within Ping’an City, only our three businesses will be allowed to sell peppers."

"This way, even if the pepper seeds get out and others start growing them, their first harvest won’t be until next year. That gives us another year to make a profit."

Gu Fei thought for a moment. ’This means I won’t have to market my family’s peppers, which is a good thing. After all, only two businesses want them right now, and there’s no way they could buy the harvest from several dozen mu of land.’

"Young Master Zhu, I forgot to mention, it’s not just twenty mu of peppers. My aunt’s family and my uncle’s family planted them as well, which adds up to another ten mu."

"Also, I’m planning to have my family sell a few kinds of street snacks that will also use these peppers. They won’t be sold in the inn, just on the street. I wonder if you would find that acceptable, Young Master Zhu."

Young Master Zhu considered this for a long moment. "That’s fine. Street food is, after all, just street food. People still come to a restaurant for a proper meal. Any impact on our business should be minimal."

The clientele for street food was different from that of high-end restaurants, so Young Master Zhu wasn’t worried.

"Alright then. In a couple of days, I’ll go speak with the owner of the Drunken Immortal Tower, and then we can sign the contract."

Gu Fei nodded. "Alright. I’m at the inn every day, so just come by whenever you’re ready."

Young Master Zhu rose to take his leave. As he was leaving, he added, "Little Fei, let me give you one more piece of advice. That Er Laizi is a complete scoundrel who doesn’t play by any rules. He’s capable of anything. You need to be extremely careful here at the inn, especially with the food. This is no joking matter."