Adorable Food Goddess

When she got back from the mansion, Ye Jiayao immediately went to find Shopkeeper Li.

The ice cream mooncake has been added to the feast’s menu so she knew that people would be going to the restaurant after the banquet to get ahold of it. She wanted a share in the mooncakes’ future profits. Of course, she knew that as the head chef, it was her responsibility to bring out new dishes for the restaurant, but this was different. She had already relinquished the profits she should’ve gotten for the chilled drinks, she couldn’t give up the mooncake, too.

However, when Ye Jiayao told Shopkeeper Li about it, his response wasn’t as enthusiastic as before. He told her that he’d have to think about it first and that dampened Ye Jiayao’s excitement. She wondered if he wanted to keep all the profits that the mooncake would make to himself. If that was the case, she’d definitely keep all the other good things she was planning to herself.

The icebox didn’t seem to be enough so Ye Jiayao asked Cui Dongpeng to order a hundred more carry-on iceboxes. This could be a trend that she could profit from.

Xia Chunyu handed in his letter to the Emperor today. The Emperor gave him a proprietary scolding before he tasked him with a new assignment. The third day of August was the tenth death anniversary of the Seventh Prince. The Empress Dowager had decided to have a memorial at the Puji Temple and Xia Chunyu would have to guard her and Liu Li there.

Xia Chunyu didn’t want this job, but he didn’t dare decline.

When he returned to the mansion, his brother Chunli came to find him.

“Second Brother, I have something to discuss with you.”

Xia Chunyu nodded and gestured for him to sit.

Chunli said, “Second Brother, your sister-in-law wants to open an embroidery shop. I’m tight with cash and I’m too shy to ask Mother, can you lend me some money?”

Xia Chunyu frowned. “Doesn’t the Qiao family already have an embroidery shop in Jin Ling?”

“Yes, and the business is great there that’s why your sister-in-law wants to open one herself. Mother-in-law thinks that it’s a great idea.”

Xia Chunyu thought that that was a bit odd as the two stores would just compete with each other.

“The Qiao family initially wanted to open a branch for your sister-in-law, but she thought that it would be better to open one herself,” Chunli continued.

Xia Chunyu barely has enough money left to buy some stock to sell overseas. However, it was his brother, he couldn’t just deny him. “How much capital do you need?”

“All in all, including the renovations, the rent, appliances and tools, stock purchases… I’m still short of eight thousand ounces of silver. If it’s okay with you, I’d like to borrow ten thousand ounces just to be sure. I know that you have some business outside, you should have this kind of cash, right?” Chunli said.

Ten thousand? 

 If Chunyu lets him borrow that amount, he’d only have a couple of ounces left. No way! And that kind of money could simply be forked out from his sister-in-law’s dowry, why does his brother need to borrow from him?

Honestly, Xia Chunyu didn’t want to lend Chunli the money. He, too, was tight on cash. He just bought a piece of land last year and he has just acquired a restaurant!  But this is my brother…

“Let me ask my staff if I could spare ten thousand ounces.” Xia Chunyu could not bear to reject his brother who was in need.

“Thank you, Second Brother,” Chunli exclaimed happily.

During dinner, Xia Chunyu noticed that his sister-in-law was extra solicitous and he felt bad.

After dinner, Xia Chunfeng pulled him away and asked, “Did our brother borrowed some money from you?”

Xia Chunyu raised a brow. “How did you know?”

“He asked me for some, too. I have thirty thousand ounces but I didn’t lend it to him.”

“He’s our brother, we should help him.”

“I would if it’s an emergency. However, he’s only lacking money now because he spent twenty thousand to buy a set of yellow stone. And what did they do our sister-in-law’s dowry? Mother didn’t ask them to hand anything to her and they even kept their red packets! With that kind of money, why do they still need to borrow cash from others?

“She actually has been nagging Mother for the family to contribute to the shop that she’s going to open. Mother agreed as long as the family would have a cut in the profits, but she refused! Why weren’t they asking Mistress Wei to contribute to her own daughter-in-law’s shop? She has some money, too!” Xia Chunfeng broke it down, finding the whole situation irking. They were taking advantage of the family’s generosity and he was having none of it.

Xia Chunyu tried, “He’s our brother, I don’t want to cause trouble.”

“Look, if you lend him the money, you won’t get it back again,” Xia Chunfeng told him confidently.

Xia Chunyu was helpless. He had already said yes! It doesn’t matter if he could not get the money back because he’d already agreed!

Song Qi announced that Manager Zhao was already here.

Xia Chunyu went to the study immediately.

Manager Zhao was in charge of the restaurant. Heavenly Residence was about to release the ice cream mooncake and the head chef had asked for a part of the profit so he came to ask for Xia Chunyu’s opinion.

Xia Chunyu tried the ice cream last night. He was certain that the ice cream mooncake would be popular once it was released.

It cost five silvers each and though it was expensive, he knew that the rich people in Jin Ling would still pay for it. The more expensive things were, the more popular it’d get.

“How much profit does he want?” Xia Chunyu asked.

Manager Zhao answered, “The head chef only mentioned that he wanted a percentage, not the exact amount. Shopkeeper Li hasn’t agreed to it yet.”

Xia Chunyu thought about it for a while and said, “30%/70% then!”

“He’ll take the 70%?”

Xia Chunyu sneered, “When did you become so kind?”

Manager Zhao laughed. “I understand. He’ll take the 30% and we’ll take the remaining.”

The 30% was an exception because it was Yaoyao. If it were others, he wouldn’t have given them anything. It might be selfish and ruthless, but it was the rule of this industry. If he were to break the rules, other chefs would follow.

“Tell Shopkeeper Li to order a hundred of those carry-on iceboxes,” Xia Chunyu said. That was a really handy tool. If people don’t have iceboxes and they bought an ice cream mooncake, they could sell them an icebox, too. They could gain a large profit there.

“Yes, I’ll tell Shopkeeper Li immediately. Just, um… are you sure that those ice cream mooncakes would sell, Heir-Son Lord? Just last year, it was the Jin style moon cake that was popular in the city,” Manager Zhao voiced out, dubious of this new food.

“Just do what I said.” Xia Chunyu didn’t have the time to sell to him how delicious ice cream was.

Manager Zhao nodded and turned to leave.

Xia Chunyu suddenly remembered his brother’s request. “Wait. How much money do we have left?”

Manager Zhao answered, “We still have thirty thousand ounces.”

“Go to the Da Tong exchange to change ten thousand silver notes for me.”

“Heir-Son Lord, I know that we’re taking a break on the sea trading, but we must leave at the start of October. We have yet to purchase the stock and if we were to take ten thousand ounces out, we won’t have enough,” Manager Zhao reasoned.

“There’s still two more months until October, let’s see then,” Xia Chunyu said.

After showering, Xia Chunyu wanted to go to Yaoyao, but his servant told him that Helian Xuan was in the mansion looking for him

The next day, Shopkeeper Li told Ye Jiayao about the share of profits.

“This had already been an exception. No other restaurant would give such generous profit.”

Ye Jiayao’s lips twitched. Even if she found this completely unfair, she had no choice. She was an employee and she would continue to be one for the next three years since she signed a contract. She comforted herself with the image of a future where she’ll have her own restaurant that produced profits just for her.

“I heard that you have a carry-on icebox. Take it out and show me, we’ll order a hundred more. Maybe we could use it when we sell the mooncakes,” Shopkeeper Li continued.

Ye Jiayao wanted to cry. The seventy percent of her profit had already been exploited, now the icebox, too?

The rich were greedy, horrible people.

Ye Jiayao went back to the kitchen feeling dejected. She told Cui Dongpeng, “Get the money for the iceboxes you’re going to order from Manager Qian.”

“Didn’t you say you were going to pay for it?” Cui Dongpeng was puzzled.

“I was. I wanted to earn some wine money for us brothers, but the restaurant now wants to order it,” Ye Jiayao explained.

Chui Dongpeng scowled, but he too couldn’t do anything. He was a mere employee.

“Brother Yao, there’s someone looking for you outside,” Ah Xing called.

“Who is it?” Ye Jiayao asked.

“I don’t recognize her. She looked like a servant,” Ah Xing replied.

Ye Jiayao went out to meet her. It was indeed a servant, and from her silk dress, she’s probably a housekeeper from a wealthy family.

“Are you Head Chef Li Yao?” the woman asked.

“Yes, that’s me. What do you want?”

That woman glanced around before saying softly, “My master heard that you have ice cream mooncakes and they wanted to buy some. Money is not a problem.”

She only revealed the ice cream mooncake at the Helian Mansion yesterday so this servant was probably sent by one of the ladies there.

That woman saw Ye Jiayao’s unconvinced expression and continued, “We will keep it a secret. We won’t say anything, I promise. It’s just for the family.”