The night.
Baiwei Xuan was brightly lit. The two cooks, who had already learned the "recipes" from Lin Zhao, were diligently working their woks. Two pots of fragrant crayfish were about to be served. Meanwhile, the owner Jia Zhong, his wife Qing Er Sao, and Lin Zhao, whom they called "Third Shopkeeper," were gathered together, counting the day's earnings.
Finally, Jia Zhong made a grand gesture, unable to hide his joy. "After deducting costs, the net profit today is 5348 copper coins. According to the agreement for a 20% profit share, Lin Zhao, your earnings for today alone are a full 1000 copper coins!"
Lin Zhao smiled slightly. "Not bad, not bad. With this, Little Jiu'er's tuition fees will be covered."
Qing Er Sao, while counting the coins, laughed, "Lin Zhao, I misjudged you back then. I truly didn't expect you to have such a skill. The river crab, which no one in this town, or even the entire Great Shang Dynasty, dared to eat, you've turned into a famous dish. Our small shop's business has boomed because of it."
Jia Zhong, beaming with delight, added, "If this profit continues, we can buy the small building next to the grocery store in half a month. We'll expand the shop and become bigger and stronger."
Lin Zhao pondered for a moment. "Actually, just one dish might not be enough to sustain a decent restaurant."
Jia Zhong blinked. "What, do you have other tricks up your sleeve?"
"Mhm."
Lin Zhao nodded. "Over the next few days, I'll try making a few more dishes. If you taste them and find them good, we'll add them to the menu. With three to five well-received dishes, it will be hard for our business not to prosper."
"Good, good, good!"
Jia Zhong repeatedly nodded. "Regarding the dishes, it's all up to you. You've got plenty of ideas!"
"The arrangement remains the same, I take a 20% profit share."
"Deal!"
The next day, Lin Zhao, accompanied by Xiao Shitong and Little Jiu'er (who was on holiday), went fishing. They caught a grass carp weighing at least two jin that morning. They immediately cleaned it and headed to Baiwei Xuan. Lin Zhao called Jia Zhong, Qing Er Sao, and the two cooks over. In front of everyone, he chopped garlic, cilantro, pickled vegetables, sliced the fish, thickened it with flour, prepared the base, then added the fish slices, and finally stir-fried Sichuan peppercorns and dried chilies, sprinkling them over the fish. Thus, another legendary dish was born.
"Try it?" Lin Zhao smiled.
Everyone picked up their chopsticks from the holders. After Jia Zhong tasted a bite, his eyes lit up. It was sour and spicy, and the fish was tender and refreshing. He couldn't help but praise, "Wonderful!"
"It pairs well with wine."
Lin Zhao chuckled. "Try a bite of aged wine with a piece of fish."
"Mmm!"
Jia Zhong immediately took a sip of Xinghuacun. The alcohol content of ancient wines wasn't very high. Lin Zhao had tested it; Xinghuacun's alcohol content was around 20%. This degree of alcohol, paired with fish and pickled vegetables, was an absolute match. As expected, after sipping the wine and then eating the fish and pickled vegetables, Jia Zhong's eyes squinted in delight. "Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful..."
The two cooks were astonished after tasting the dish. They thought the spicy crayfish was already an exquisite delicacy, but they never imagined this new dish was even better. No one would have thought that a mere grass carp could be transformed into such a delicious meal.
"Lin Zhao!"
Qing Er Sao smiled. "What's the name of this dish?"
"Sour Fish!"
Lin Zhao patted his chest. "A legendary dish, the best in the world!"
Jia Zhong was profoundly shocked. "Kid... how do you know this dish? I've traveled the martial world for decades and haven't missed any secrets in the culinary world, but I've never heard of such a supreme delicacy as Sour Fish."
Lin Zhao scratched his head. "Actually, I'm not quite sure. This dish just popped into my head, as if I were a chef in my previous life and made this dish every day, so I knew all the recipes and methods. In short, can this dish be added to Baiwei Xuan's main menu?"
"Yes, it can!"
Jia Zhong nodded. "A peerless delicacy, it deserves to be number one!"
"Absolutely."
Lin Zhao pondered. "There are still a few more dishes. Let's wait a bit and add them to the menu one by one."
"Alright!"
Jia Zhong squinted. Lin Zhao's gaze was no longer that of a beggar. In his eyes, this young man was an culinary strategist and a god of wealth!
In the afternoon, Lin Zhao took Xiao Shitong to Baiyu Creek to gather snails. He made a fragrant stir-fried snail with chives. Using ingredients from the shop, he also made Mapo Tofu and a large plate of chicken. With these additions, the shop's signature dishes had become much richer. In the evening, the self-proclaimed gourmet, Old Sword Immortal Han, visited again. After tasting the large plate of chicken and the Sour Fish, he praised them profusely. He even performed his signature move, "One Sword Flying Immortal," much to the admiration of the soldiers and cultivators present.
Suddenly, Baiwei Xuan, a restaurant ranked at the bottom in the small town, became the talk of the town.
That night.
Lin Zhao found Jia Zhong and gave him a list of ingredients and preparation methods, his expression grave. "The recipes for the dishes are all here, especially the ingredients. You must prepare them yourself, otherwise, anyone can learn them. There's also another issue we must pay attention to."
Jia Zhong's expression was serious, like a humble apprentice before a master. "Tell me!"
"The problem with the cooks."
Lin Zhao said, "These two cooks of ours have basically learned everything except the ingredients. Can you guarantee that the restaurants on the other street, like Hua Qian Shu and Ming Yu Xuan, won't try to poach them? A restaurant, after all, relies on the advantage of its dishes and drinks. Do you know how to keep these two cooks?"
"Tie grass to incense and become sworn brothers?"
"Nonsense..."
Lin Zhao's forehead was covered in a cold sweat. He patiently taught, "First, you increase their salaries. Raise them tomorrow, by five times. Of course, this is just the first step. As a boss, you should be better at managing people's hearts. You can increase their salaries, but the condition is that they must sign an employment agreement with you. Within five years, they cannot jump ship, or they will have to pay ten times the salary you've paid them. I've observed these two cooks; they aren't people with grand ambitions. A fivefold salary increase will surely make them loyal, and they'll sign the contract smoothly. If they are poached, they'll have to pay fifty times their salary. Do you think they'll be willing to leave?"
"Brilliant!"
Jia Zhong slapped his hand. "Kid, you've got connections!"
Lin Zhao smiled slightly. "It's a small matter. Praise me later. Now, the second problem arises. We've kept the two cooks, but how can you guarantee that even if Hua Qian Shu and the other restaurants can't poach them, they won't offer large sums of money to bribe the two cooks into teaching them our signature recipes?"
Jia Zhong shivered. "Right, that's another problem."
"So."
Lin Zhao raised a finger. "The second type of agreement comes into play. After you sign the five-year employment agreement with them, raise their salaries from five times to six times. In return for this pay raise, they must sign a confidentiality agreement, requiring them never to reveal the recipes or ingredients, or they will have to pay even more compensation."
"Exquisite! Exquisite!"
Jia Zhong looked at Lin Zhao. "Kid... how do you know so much about these intricacies?"
Lin Zhao smiled. "I figured it out myself. After all, I have a 20% profit share in this shop now, so I have to pay attention. If you don't make money, I won't make money either, right?"
"Indeed, indeed..."
"Oh, right."
Lin Zhao showed a hint of shyness. "Brother Jia, I have another humble request."
"Tell me, Little Brother Lin!"
"I mean, if, if I'm not in town, could you look after Little Jiu'er and Xiao Shitong? If they don't cook for themselves, I'll have them come to Baiwei Xuan directly. Just have the cooks make them a couple of simple dishes to eat their fill."
"What's the problem with that?"
Jia Zhong patted his chest. "Baiwei Xuan welcomes at least one to two hundred people a day. Are we short of two pairs of chopsticks for these two kids? Brother Lin, you're being too formal. We're family, why be so polite? I've watched Xiao Shitong and Little Jiu'er grow up. They're neighbors. What's the harm in looking after them?"
"Alright, Brother Jia, you're righteous! Your loyalty is as vast as the heavens!"
"It should be so, it should be so..."
Deep into the night.
After Lin Zhao finished practicing martial arts with Xiao Shitong, Little Jiu'er had already fallen asleep under the covers. At this moment, the sound of hurried horse hooves echoed from outside, continuous, as if a cavalry unit was entering the town.
"What's going on, Brother Lin Zhao?" Xiao Shitong asked, his eyes wide.
"I don't know." Lin Zhao looked out the window, frowning. "Perhaps there's another war. Who knows?"
Just then, there was a knock on the door. Lin Zhao got up to open it. In the moonlight, the armor of a soldier from the Tianchi Army gleamed with a cold light. He looked at Lin Zhao and asked, "Are you Lin Zhao?"
"Yes. What's happened?!"
"Don't ask so many questions. Report to the military camp tomorrow morning. Your reserve duty has ended. You must go to the battlefield."
"Mhm, I understand."
Lin Zhao wasn't afraid of going to battle. On the contrary, as a third-realm martial artist now, he was eager to explore the outside world. However, one thing was certain: the Tianchi Army was desperately short of soldiers, otherwise, they wouldn't send such a young recruit like Lin Zhao to the battlefield.
Early the next morning, Lin Zhao packed his belongings, slung his ancient sword and the iron sword issued by the military camp over his shoulder. He bid farewell to Xiao Shitong and Little Jiu'er. While he was away, Xiao Shitong was to escort Little Jiu'er to school every day. Furthermore, if the two of them didn't want to cook, they could eat at Baiwei Xuan. He had already explained this to the owner. As for expenses, they could be drawn from the owner of Baiwei Xuan, and everything would be accounted for.
Afterward, Lin Zhao brought the two children to Baiwei Xuan and explained everything clearly to Jia Zhong. With the latter nodding repeatedly, Lin Zhao turned and headed north out of the town, never looking back, for fear of seeing Little Jiu'er's tear-filled eyes if he did.