ATP Chapter 39

All the Protagonists I’ve Scummed Came To Me For Revenge Chapter 39: Abandoned Daughter of a Rich Family (10)

December arrived in Yunzhou with a snowfall. The light snow brought winter to the entire city, and the arrival of winter made her business even more prosperous.

Having hot pot in winter is a real treat, and if you don’t like the ambiance, you can buy the broth and make it at home.

Xia Yu had already used the money she earned to buy the entire building, and also bought the restaurant next door, merging the two together, and finally getting private rooms.

In a private room, Xia Yu sat with six other people. She sipped her tea with a faint smile and asked, “What have you all decided?”

She had investigated all six of them; they were all capable in terms of both wealth and character, and she didn’t need to worry about them betraying her as collaborators.

“One-tenth is too much.”

“But only I have the recipe,” Xia Yu said with a smile. “You’ve all probably tried making the base sauce before, right?”

Indeed, if it were so easy to crack, they wouldn’t be sitting here in such a passive position. They’re using the same ingredients, but the taste is vastly different, to the point that they don’t even want to sell their inferior products.

They add too many ingredients and make too little profit. The ingredients alone cost more than an ounce of silver. It’s more expensive than Piaoxianglou, and the taste is wrong and not good. Who would eat there? Nobody’s a fool.

“No, you’re asking for one-tenth of the net profit just for providing a recipe. That’s too much. Five percent at most.”

“Manager Li is right. If you just provide a recipe and then ask for one-tenth of the profit, we won’t be able to explain it to you.”

Xia Yu laughed and said, “You guys aren’t only interested in hot pot, are you?”

Someone’s eyes lit up, and they said, “You’re willing to sell anything else too?”

“Of course,” Xia Yu said with a smile. “I don’t have that many ambitions. I just want to live a simple life in this little corner of the world.”

If they sold all the recipes and methods for making the products from Piaoxianglou, the profits would be enormous. They wouldn’t limit themselves to just this small Yunzhou.

The two sides were locked in a tug-of-war, and the price was eventually reduced to eight percent, a reduction of only two percentage points.

However, the corresponding hot pot base was not included in this transaction, but would be sold to them at cost price.

The cost price was up to Xia Yu, and the contract was quickly written down in black and white.

After signing and sealing the document, everyone present smiled. Xia Yu had already received ten thousand taels of silver without receiving anything in return, while the others were dreaming of a bright future.

As long as these things can be exported, their status will rise further, and their wealth will naturally increase. Compared to the future, what they have paid now is insignificant.

“Well then, it’s been a pleasure working with you all.”

Xia Yu smiled as she carefully put away the contract. She could finally sit in the back and not worry about anything, just waiting for the money to come to her.

She planned to use the money to buy a manor.

The six merchants who had reached an agreement all wore smiles on their faces, but just then a voice came from outside the door: “Master, the Xiao family has arrived.”

The people in the private room looked at each other, and those who had just signed the contract all looked at Xia Yu, with a bad feeling in their hearts.

Xia Yu remained calm and said, “Why don’t you send some trustworthy people to learn from the kitchen staff? If you don’t understand something, you can ask the head chef. He has already mastered the braised dishes and the like.”

Xia Yu left in a hurry, leaving the remaining people behind. One of them asked, “Why have people from the Xiao family come?”

“Could it be that she’s jealous? It’s strange, she didn’t even notify the Xiao family to get a share of the profits.”

…

“What’s going on? Who came?”

“I don’t know him either. He claimed to be the Xiao family’s steward and said that someone from the Xiao family wanted to see you, Master, and asked you to go to the Xiao family.”

The position of steward in the Xiao family is not just any ordinary position. The steward of the Xiao family is a level above ordinary members of the Xiao family. Only the head of the Xiao family can command him to come in person.

Is it Xiao Wen-jin?

Downstairs, a middle-aged man in a brown shirt with a small mustache was waiting. When Xia Yu saw him, she narrowed her eyes, turned her head and said something to Zhang An. Zhang An nodded and left.

“Manager Xia is truly young and promising.”

Butler Xiao

Stewards are usually surnamed Xiao, and people with different surnames are also given the surname Xiao, so there is nothing wrong with this title.

The middle-aged man smiled at her and said, “My master invites Manager Xia to the Xiao family for an important meeting.”

Xia Yu smiled and said, “Your master is Xiao Wenjin, the head of the Xiao family.”

The middle-aged man was taken aback, then said respectfully, “Yes, my master is indeed the head of the household.”

“Since it is an invitation from the Xiao family head, how can we refuse? Steward Xiao, please wait a moment longer. I will give you my instructions and then we will go to the Xiao family together.”

“Manager Xia, could you please hurry?”

“It’s just a few words, it won’t take much time.”

Xia Yu beckoned a few people over and whispered a few words in their ears, but the middle-aged man didn’t hear what she said because her voice was too soft.

After finishing her business, she turned around and said, “Alright, Steward Xiao, please come forward.”

After listening to Xia Yu finish speaking, Zhang An secretly left through the side door, which the middle-aged man did not notice.

Xia Yu followed this person to the Xiao family.

This guy was indeed a member of the Xiao family. He led her through the Xiao family’s gate openly and legitimately. After entering, they walked straight ahead, passing through a courtyard for viewing and arriving at a garden.

The Xiao residence was very large, like a small palace in the city. Xia Yu had been there more than once, and although so many years had passed, she still remembered it vaguely.

The head of the family doesn’t live in this direction.

“Butler Xiao, are you sure you haven’t gone the wrong way?” Xia Yu said with a half-smile.

Upon hearing this, Butler Xiao’s heart skipped a beat, but he remained calm and said, “What does Manager Xia mean by this?”

“Hehe.” Xia Yu chuckled softly and said, “This direction doesn’t seem like you’re looking for the family head. I’ve come all the way to the Xiao family with you, so can you tell me who’s behind you now?”

Butler Xiao said, “It seems that Manager Xia has only been to the Xiao family once, so it’s normal that she doesn’t know the way.”

“Can you look to your right before you say that?”

Xia Yu’s cool voice came over, and the middle-aged man who claimed to be the butler subconsciously looked over, only to see someone who was unlikely to be there.

Xia Yu sensed that his whole body might have stiffened.

“Let me guess, is the person behind you the one who sent people to ambush Xiao Wenjin last time?”

He hissed in a panic, “Don’t talk nonsense! Don’t make a sound if you don’t want to die!”

“I’m really sorry, but she came even if I hadn’t said anything. You should think carefully about how to explain this to your family head.”

Xia Yu said with a smile, but she wasn’t happy at all, because she had sent someone to find Xiao Tianci, and Xiao Tianci probably wouldn’t be able to come so quickly.

She was also surprised to see Xiao Wenjin here.

Was it a coincidence?

“Miss Xia, we meet again.”

Xiao Wenjin walked over, glanced at the person who brought her here, and said indifferently, “Now that the person has been invited, you can go down first. I will have someone invite you later.”

“Patriarch!” The middle-aged man was startled and wanted to say something, but he couldn’t bring himself to beg for mercy when he saw Xiao Wenjin’s cold and sharp phoenix eyes.

After the man was led away by the maidservant accompanying Xiao Wenjin, Xiao Wenjin said to Xia Yu in a friendly manner, “I’m sorry to have made you laugh, Miss.”

“He said the Xiao family head needed to speak with me.”

Xiao Wenjin didn’t want to air her dirty laundry in public, so Xia Yu didn’t expose her and just pretended not to know anything and went along with what she was saying.

“If you’re not in a hurry, young lady, would you like to come with me?” Xiao Wenjin turned around and said, “I do have something to say to you.”

“Okay.”

Xiao Wenjin tried to strike up a conversation: “Is this your first time in Yunzhou, young lady? Are you settling in well?”

“It is indeed my first time in Yunzhou, but all the big cities in the world are pretty much the same. Whether you’re used to it or not, it’s all the same.”

“How old is the young lady this year? Are youmarried?”

Xia Yu raised an eyebrow and chuckled, “Asking about marriage on our second meeting isn’t appropriate, is it? Could it be that Patriarch Xiao intends to play matchmaker for me?”

“Does Miss Xia have someone she likes?” Xiao Wenjin asked. “If so, I would be so bold as to act as your matchmaker. I can confidently say that there is no match I cannot make happen in this world.”

“The Xiao family head’s tone is truly arrogant, speaking as if the God of Love were alive. If I were to say I wish to become the Empress, second only to the Emperor, would that be acceptable?”

Xiao Wenjin paused, then said as usual, “The current Empress is from the Wang family of Yangzhou. The Wang family and I are not on good terms. If you wish to enter the palace, my Xiao family will do everything in its power to help you ascend to the position of Empress.”

No one feared the imperial power.

The position of empress can be changed at will, demonstrating the immense power of aristocratic families and the emperor’s weak control over the realm.

“I was just saying it casually, please don’t take it to heart, Patriarch Xiao. I am twenty-one years old this year and have no plans to get married.”

She was indeed twenty-one years old when she died in this world, and her age was also restored to twenty-one after her body was rebuilt, so there is absolutely no problem with saying that.

“Isn’t Patriarch Xiao also unmarried?” Xia Yu said, “I haven’t met anyone I like, and I have one younger sister, that’s enough for me.”

“Miss Xia cares a lot about her younger sister.”

Xia Yu nodded and said, “Yes, as long as I am here, I will not let her go hungry or be harmed.”

“Miss Xia is such a good older sister.”

Xia Yu felt strange listening to Xiao Wenjin’s emotionless praise; it sounded more like a sarcastic remark.

“Did Patriarch Xiao summon me here just to talk about these things?”

Before they knew it, they had reached the lake. It was already winter, and a thin layer of ice had formed on the lake. The snow scene was breathtaking.

“Miss Xia reminds me of an old friend.”

Just as I thought!

She did indeed become suspicious!

Xia Yu asked, “What kind of old friend is it that makes Patriarch Xiao keep thinking about them?”

Xiao Wenjin smiled and said, “She is an interesting old friend, truly unforgettable.”

“Patriarch Xiao is more than seven years older than me. Your old friend’s age doesn’t match mine, does it?” Xia Yu glanced at her indifferently and said, “Patriarch Xiao has mistaken me for that old friend.”

“That’s true.” Xiao Wenjin smiled as she looked at the lake and said, “Please forgive me, but your features are very similar to hers. Looking at you is like seeing that old friend.”

Xia Yu raised an eyebrow and said, “You two seem to have a good relationship.”