Chapter 116: Selling Vegetables ( 3 )

Chapter 116: Selling Vegetables ( 3 ) When she heard Cook Li’s words, Yao Zhi smiled and said, "I can share the preparation methods and some recipes with you, Cook Li."


The moment he heard this, Cook Li was stunned. Recipes were very valuable in this era. A good dish could bring honor to an entire family. This was why people rarely shared their secret recipes with others and instead kept them as family heirlooms.


Even in the military barracks, each cook guarded their cooking methods and recipes tightly. They would only impart their skills and knowledge to their sons or close disciples.


After a while, Cook Li regained his composure and asked, "Yao-shi, are you sure you want to tell me your secret recipes?"


Yao Zhi found his words strange and replied, "Cook Li, they’re just some simple home-dish recipes. As a citizen of Great Yan, it’s also my responsibility to contribute to the country. If my recipes can help improve the soldiers’ lives, I will do it gladly."


The moment she finished her words, Cook Li knelt down and gave her 3 bows.


Both Yao Zhi and Fu Chen’an were startled by his grand gesture. They quickly stepped aside to avoid his bows.


Fu Chen’an quickly pulled Cook Li up and asked, "Cook Li, what are you doing?"


Cook Li bent his waist and gave them a deep bow as he said, "Squad Leader Fu, Yao-shi, please accept my bow. On behalf of the soldiers, I thank both of you."


Looking at the sun’s position, Fu Chen’an said, "Alright, enough with the small talk. Let’s get this done so my wife can go back and rest."


Cook Li glanced at Yao Zhi’s flushed cheeks and nodded. "Right, right!" After a moment of pause, he asked, "Yao-shi, how do you plan to sell your vegetables?"


Yao Zhi didn’t know the price of vegetables in this era, so she smiled and said, "Cook Li, you can pay me according to the market price."


Cook Li thought for a moment and said, "Yao-shi, the quality of your vegetables is better than those sold in the market, and some of them aren’t even available there. How about I give you a fixed price?"


"Cook Li, I have no problem with fixed prices," Yao Zhi nodded.


After thinking for a moment, Cook Li said, "For white radish and cabbage, the market price is 15 wen per jin. I will give you 75 wen per jin. As for the new varieties, how about 100 wen per jin?"


When they heard the price, both Fu Chen’an and Yao Zhi were stunned. They never expected vegetables to be more expensive than meat!


"Cook Li, I agree with the price. But don’t you need to report this matter to the General first?" Yao Zhi asked.


Waving his hand, Cook Li said, "As the head cook, I have the authority for this matter. I will personally report it to the General."


Since he had already said so, they said nothing more. With Cook Li using his authority, Yao Zhi was granted permission to enter the military barracks.


As they went to the kitchen area, the soldiers stared at Yao Zhi. Women were not allowed to enter the barracks, so it was a rare sight for them to see one.


Seeing their blatant stares toward his wife, Fu Chen’an used his body to block their gazes and glared at them. The moment the soldiers saw his protective stance, they no longer dared to linger and quickly left.


When they arrived at the kitchen area, Fu Chen’an unloaded the vegetables while Cook Li ordered his assistant to weigh them. Each bamboo basket weighed around one hundred fifty jin, totaling one thousand five hundred jin of vegetables.


After calculating the prices, Cook Li handed a large pouch to Yao Zhi and said, "Yao-shi, here is a total of 135 taels of silver."


Yao Zhi checked the pouch and counted the money for a moment. There were a total of 13 10-tael silver ingots and 1 5-tael silver ingot. After putting the pouch into her sleeves, she nodded and said, "Thank you, Cook Li. The amount is correct."


"Yao-shi, if you have more vegetables, please sell them to me. Also, if possible, can you sell some of your seeds?" Cook Li asked.


"I can give you some seeds, but I can’t guarantee that the vegetables will grow. After all, I bought these seeds from a merchant who came from overseas. I’m just trying to plant them and didn’t expect them to succeed."


Hearing this, Cook Li was taken aback and asked, "Then how did you know the estimated yield?"


"Well, the seed seller told me about it. I thought the yield wasn’t bad, so I bought the seeds and planted them."


The moment everyone heard her words, they were speechless. Who would dare to buy unknown seeds and plant them without even knowing whether they would grow or not? This woman was truly reckless.


Since Fu Chen’an still had to go on patrol, he sent his wife to the entrance and went to perform his duties. As for Yao Zhi, she drove the donkey cart and returned home.


Meanwhile, the kitchen was bustling. With the addition of new vegetables, every cook tried to find the best way to prepare them. To understand the ingredients, they tasted them raw to learn their flavor. Afterward, they tried several cooking methods to see how the taste changed.


Although they only steamed, boiled, and stir-fried them with some lard, the vegetables tasted better than the usual ones.


While they were eating, one of the cooks asked, "Cook Li, are these vegetables grown by Squad Leader Fu?"


Cook Li glared at him and replied, "Do you think I would lie to you?"


The cook laughed sheepishly and waved his hand. "I wouldn’t dare. It’s just that these vegetables are so delicious. They’re even better than those sent from the Madam’s estate."


Every year, Xue Ya’er would send some vegetables to the barracks to add variety to the dishes and improve the soldiers’ meals.