Guo Bing saw the dark expression on his boss’s face and immediately went up to please him. Then, he smiled and said, “What was I saying? How can a fairy-like person like miss Lin be cunning and devious? Clearly, she is capable and clever to win over the young master. Don’t you think so, boss?” But internally, he was grumbling. ‘Boss, do you really have to do that? I only said two derogatory words, and you already smacked my head. In fact, I didn’t even say anything bad. I was only saying that Miss Lin is smart.’ Of course, Guo Bing didn’t have the guts to say these things out loud.
After little twelve had eaten and drunk enough, he rubbed his stomach and began to talk about the negotiation between Lin Yuelan and Liu Qi.
…
Liu Qi wanted to buy all the fish recipes, but Lin Yuelan refused him. Liu Qi was quite angry, but he still asked calmly, “then, miss Lin, what do you want?”
Lin Yuelan said, “I want a share of the profits!”
Liu Qi’s face darkened. In his mind, Lin Yuelan was being greedy. Even people who were selling their hundreds-year-old craft, they wouldn’t ask for a share of the profit. Was she treating him like a fool?
After all, what Lin Yuelan was suggesting was crazy. Basically, she wanted to give Liu Qi the recipes but then have Yuelai Inn do all the work, and she’d reap all the profits.
Liu Qi was not angry. Instead, he laughed and said, “Miss Lin, you’re not joking with me, are you?” Then, he said sharply, “Are you treating me like a fool? Do you think I don’t understand the economy of the business world? Or is your ambition so big that you think you can ask for a share of Yuelai Inn’s profits with just a few recipes?”
Lin Yuelan shook her head. “It’s neither. Young master Liu, you have misunderstood me.” Then, her clear voice resounded in the small private room, “I merely want the profit share of my recipes and not the profit share of the entire Yuelai Inn.”
‘Phew… That was scary.’ Zhou Wencai and little twelve exchanged looks and heaved a sigh of relief at the same time.
Earlier, the atmosphere was tense. They all thought that Liu Qi and Lin Yuelan were going to quarrel. After all, Lin Yuelan’s words were quite misleading.
Zhou Wencai picked up the folding fan and fanned himself a few times before closing it with a snap. He held it in his left hand and said with great interest, “Miss Lin, this is the first time I’ve heard of such a novel trading method. But I don’t get it. You said you only want the profit shares from the sales made from your recipes, but how can you be sure that the dishes made from your recipes will sell?
“Furthermore, what if the other restaurants copied your recipes and no longer came to Yuelai Inn? Wouldn’t Yuelai Inn suffer a huge loss?
“However, you don’t need to worry about this because you are basically investing without putting in any capital.
“If your dishes sell well, you’ll get a share of the profit. If they don’t, you will miss the profit share. In conclusion,you don’t have to consider the risk at all.
“So, no matter how you look at it, Brother Liu is the one at a disadvantage. Think about how this feels for him?
“In my opinion, Miss Lin, why don’t you just sell your exclusive recipes to Brother Liu? You’ll get a lot of money upfront. In the future, whether Yuelai Inn makes a profit or a loss, it has nothing to do with miss Lin. Isn’t that better?”
After all, the key ingredient to the carp soup was clear. Some smart customers would figure it out after eating the soup a few times. Therefore, how many people would still come back to Yuelai Inn in the future?
If Yuelai Inn bought out the recipes, the inn would produce the dishes before the others figured out the key ingredients to cooking fish. Then, the inn would make a quick profit.
Both sides benefitted from this trade. So why would they go for the method of sales profit sharing? That was rather unusual.
Before Lin Yuelan offered this plan, she had considered these questions. Lin Yuelan looked at Zhou Wencai and said with a smile, “Young master Zhou, I’ve considered that problem as well. However, ponder this. Why am I giving you the recipe for this carp soup for free? It’s because the secret ingredient is easy to crack, and the recipe is easy for others to imitate.”
