Chapter Fifty-Seven: Hu Duan

  A few days later, Lin Han returned to Chang'an with a sense of satisfaction but also a hint of regret, and the little girl was taken back by him as well.

  What Lin Han didn't expect was that this trip to Jian'an would bring him a big surprise. He had originally thought that he would have to go through great difficulties to get a share of the hot sauce business, but Sun Mingqian and Wang Erlang agreed without hesitation, not only giving him exclusive sales rights, but also inviting them to participate in the cultivation of chili peppers. This contrast between before and after was like heaven and earth; even an idiot would know that it was a huge difference. The only problem was that their conditions were not easy to meet, because he had to rush back to Chang'an to pull in at least one reliable and powerful nobleman to participate, so that the Lin family could get a share of the hot sauce business.

  Wang Kuang's promise to Lin Huan was that if they could only pull in one noble family, the Lin family would get a 10% share. This 10% wasn't free, however - the Lin family had to send reliable people to participate in the planting, and this 10% also came with a price tag of 5,000 guan. The reason was simple: once the Lin family got involved in the planting, they could also start their own plantation in Chang'an. Considering this, Lin Huan thought that 5,000 guan was still worth it. Unfortunately, the Rich Guest Inn didn't allow them to participate in the production of chili sauce, which meant that even if the Lin family planted chilies on their own land in Chang'an, they could only sell fresh or dried chilies - not the sauce. It might seem simple to make chili sauce, but getting the ratio of garlic and chilies right, figuring out how much salt to add... it wasn't easy at all. Moreover, this chili sauce required adding wine and going through a process of light fermentation after being stir-fried. If you hadn't seen it before, you probably wouldn't be able to figure it out. That's why there's the saying "different trades are like different mountains".

  Of course, if the Lin family can pull in two powerful families, they can still get 1.5 shares at a price of 5,000 yuan per share and obtain the exclusive sales rights to at least two types of chili sauce. Wang Kuang also gave the Lin family several reference candidates, such as Program Zhi Jie (at this time, Cheng Yaojin had not yet been enfeoffed as a duke, and Qin Shubao was also posthumously enfeoffed as a duke), such as Right Wuwei General Qin Shubao.

  Wang Kuang specifically mentioned these two people, not without reason. In Wang Kuang's view, Cheng Yaojin had been a mixed-up devil king, but he was able to follow Li Er all the way in conquering the world, and always gained Li Er's trust. This shows that Cheng Yaojin is not a rough person as described in history, but rather has some brains, can judge the situation, and the two young sons of the Cheng family, Cheng Huaimo and Cheng Chumou, have appeared many times in certain historical frequency books, with many descriptions saying that these two are also rough but clever money-makers. Since so many great gods have said so, it's probably not wrong.

  As for Qin Qiong and Qin Shubao, Wang Kuang remembered seeing a sentence in later generations that said: "Qin Qiong was ill after saying to someone, 'I have been in the military since I was young, experienced more than 200 battles, repeatedly injured, and shed blood not less than 100 stone. How could I not be ill?' Just this sentence made Wang Kuang suspect that Qin Qiong's illness was half fake, or a small illness exaggerated as a big one. From this, it can be seen that Qin Qiong is also a deep-thinking and far-sighted person who relies on pretending to be ill to avoid the power struggles in the imperial court. Such people mostly have no enemies and should make good allies.

  Of course, Wang Jian's view of King Li Ke of Shu is also different from many people. In Wang Jian's opinion, Li Ke can be considered a tragic figure, only because his birth mother Yang was the daughter of Emperor Yang of Sui, so he became a sacrifice in the struggle for the throne. If Li Ke's birth mother were not Yang but rather the sister of Duke Longsun Wuji, it is likely that Emperor Taizong would not have become emperor. However, thinking about how Li Ke had been resented by Duke Longsun Wuji and later was framed by Empress Wang and lost his life, Wang Jian did not dare to bring up Li Ke with the Lin family, as he did not want to offend Duke Longsun Wuji.

  It's a pity for Lin Han that, according to Lin Xuanmiao, Wang Jialang seems to dislike his younger sister and barely gave her a good face when they met. This ruined the plan he had previously discussed with his older brother. Originally, he and Lin Ming had agreed that if Wang Jialang had a good impression of his younger sister, they would try to persuade Old Master Lin to agree to the marriage. Now it seems unlikely, as Wang Jialang doesn't like his younger sister. According to their previous investigation, Sun Mingyuan rarely asked about Wang Jialang's affairs and usually made decisions on his own. Therefore, marrying into the Wang family would be even more difficult. Since Wang Erlang didn't have a good impression of his younger sister, there was no need for her to stay in Jian'an anymore. Although Xiaoying was reluctant, Lin Han had to take her back home with him. It seems that he needs to go back and discuss this with his mother, Lin Han thought.

  Nowadays, the business of Yang's mutton shop is getting better and better. Wang Kuang sent a jar of chili sauce to Yang in the first year he received chilies and promised to send several jars every year thereafter. He also taught Yang how to make red soup mutton, which is now sold together with white soup mutton. The mutton, after being taught by Wang Kuang, was stir-fried until half-cooked before being simmered in water, resulting in a broth as thick as milk. One or two households saw that Yang's mutton soup business was doing well and also set up stalls to sell it, but they couldn't simmer out such a thick broth, nor did it smell so good. Although they also divided their soups into red and white, their business was far inferior compared to Yang's.

  Yake has always been grateful for his initial kindness, if not for the daily bowl of mutton soup he gave to Wang Kuang back then, Yake would not be where he is today. Now, Yake can already be considered a small wealthy family, the thatched roof of their original hut has been renovated into a new one with blue tiles, and they have even started wearing soft hemp robes mixed with silk, which they could only admire on others before. Their two young sons have also been sent to the private school in Fulaiguan Inn to study, as he had heard from Xiaodong that if you don't know a single character, you will be at a disadvantage.

  Now, Yuetai is very satisfied with his current life. He plans to wait for another year or two, until he has saved up more money, and then return to the grasslands to bring his parents back to enjoy their old age. If his brothers are willing to follow him, he is also willing to teach them the skills of making red and white soup, so that they can open similar mutton soup restaurants in other counties, with a unified brand name. This is what Xiaodong said, isn't it? Yes, it's called a chain store, which means that customers can eat Yuetai's mutton soup wherever they go and develop a habit of eating it.

  Xiao Dongjia is indeed knowledgeable and experienced. Yaoyue is still personally cooking the mutton soup in his own kitchen, thinking to himself. The mutton soup in the store is still cooked by Yaoyue himself, in order to preserve this skill and prevent others from stealing it. If someone were to steal it, it would be a waste of Xiao Dongjia's efforts.

  "Home, home!" Yake followed the day's wild thoughts about the peaceful days to come. The woman from next door called out, and without Yake's permission, even his own wife couldn't enter the kitchen.

  "What's the big hurry? Can't you see that someone is busy?" Yake and his wife were complete opposites in terms of their personalities. As a Hui person, Yake should have been hot-headed by nature, but he was actually very laid-back. On the other hand, his wife appeared to be a steady and composed woman, but beneath her calm exterior lay a hot-tempered personality.

  Knowing that his wife was a person who could get anxious about even the smallest things, Yu Jia didn't stop what he was doing. He calmly sprinkled a small amount of warm wine over the half-cooked lamb mixture that Wang Qiang had taught him to mix with several spices (cassia bark, dried tangerine peel, star anise, cloves, ginger, garlic, cassia leaves, and peppercorns), and suddenly a fragrant aroma wafted up. He then stir-fried it briefly, allowing the wine and lamb to fully blend together, before adding a few ladles of warm water, throwing in some red dates and wolfberries, scooping in a large spoonful of chili paste, and sprinkling on salt. Only then did he cover the pot with a lid. He then squatted down by the stove, added more firewood, and waited for the pot to boil before removing it from the heat. From here on out, the next step was simply to transfer everything to a large ceramic jar and simmer it over low heat, so there was no need to hide anything anymore. Only then did he calmly go open the kitchen door.

  Outside the door, Yaya's wife was standing with her hands tightly grasping the hem of her clothes, twisting back and forth, occasionally taking two steps forward and then stopping to look at the kitchen door with both eyes. After a while, she stretched out her hand to push open the kitchen door, but hesitated again. Just as she was struggling, the kitchen door opened, and Yaya came out with a stern face, although his eyes showed no anger. Yaya had always been good to his wife. When he first arrived in Jian'an alone, he was almost penniless, and it was as if he had accumulated blessings from his past life that allowed him to marry a Han woman. It's worth noting that the status of Hu people in Han territory was not high, and generally, no Han women were willing to marry Hu men. Therefore, Yaya cherished his wife very much, and the couple still hadn't quarreled until now.

  "Oh dear, you're finally out! We were worried to death. Come on, let's hurry up and go, or it'll be too late!" The woman grabbed A Ya's hand and rushed outside as soon as she saw him follow her out.

  "What's wrong?" Yuetao saw that his wife was in such a hurry and felt a little anxious himself, wondering if something had gone wrong with the store.

  "Little Dong's family is looking for you." The woman pulled Yaoyue's hand tightly, walking quickly with her feet and talking non-stop.

  "Is Xiaodong looking for me? I'd better hurry, don't want to keep him waiting." Yuetao's footsteps quickened as he heard it was Wang Kuang looking for him, and by the end, he had broken free from his wife and started running.

  He arrived at the store, only to see Wang Kuang sitting on a wooden stool, slowly and elegantly drinking mutton soup. Since the previous two months when Ya Yue had transformed his stall into a shop and set up several wooden tables and stools inside, Wang Kuang would often come to sit in the shop. Every time he came, he would only drink a bowl of plain mutton soup without any meat. Several times, Ya Yue had tried to add some meat for him, but Wang Kuang had refused, saying that the good stuff was all in the broth, which had been simmered over low heat for several hours, and that as long as there was broth, he was satisfied.

  Wang Kuang came to find Ya Yue and Cha Cha, it turned out that he was still thinking about whether to launch his own Hu Zhang, but he was worried that customers would not be able to accept it for a while, so he had not taken action. Unexpectedly, Ya Yue and Cha Cha had already launched their own Hu Zhang, which saved Wang Kuang a lot of trouble. So, he observed in Ya Yue and Cha Cha's store for a period of time, seeing that customers who came to the store would first choose to sit on the Hu Zhang, and only when there were no seats left would they sit on the Pu Tuan. He was relieved to see this, thinking that with such comfortable seating, who wouldn't want to sit there? At first, nobody sat there for a few days, just because everyone wasn't familiar with it, but once they had sat there once, they all liked it.

  Wang Kuang wasn't very familiar with carpentry, although in theory, carpentry and later mechanical engineering should be related. However, Wang Kuang still wanted to modify the design of the hu chuang (a type of chair), changing it from a backless version like the one in the shop to one with a backrest, without making people think he was too eccentric. Since there were already skilled craftsmen available, it would be a waste not to use them. He just needed to tell his idea to Ya Yue and have him find a carpenter to make it, then later claim that it was passed down from the Hu people, so no one would suspect anything. This caution was all due to the trouble caused by Hua Rong Dao.

  When Wang arrived at the store, he didn't see Ya Yuegen, so he asked a question. Before he could explain his intention, Ya Yuegen's family member heard that someone was looking for him and rushed out of the store in a hurry. He had no choice but to sit there and wait for Ya Yuegen to come.

  Listening to Wang Kuang's explanation, he just wanted to let Yan Yue help find a few carpenters to put stools with backs on the upper and lower floors of Fuli Inn. Yan Yue naturally agreed, it was not a big deal, no more than finding the original carpenter who helped him make stools and ordering a few more, as for adding a backrest, it was simple, just a rough outline, he understood how to communicate with the carpenters.

  Wang Kuang was quite frustrated, just for the sake of Hua Rongdao, he had to endure for so many years, and now even creating an "invention" requires relying on others. Still relying on mountains!

  Division

  Category recommendation will end tomorrow, Food King is still wandering outside the top 100 in history category, embarrassing.

  Book friends with recommendation tickets in hand, if you think Food King is also worth recommending, please vote for me. Your support is the motivation for Hui Que.

  Last night, while sleeping, I suddenly had an idea in my dream. Can I start another book and write about Wang Kuang's other path? After waking up, I was excited but didn't know if book friends would accept it. However, if I really want to write it, it must be after this book is almost finished or completed. First, let me ask for everyone's opinion.