CHAPTER 612: CHAPTER 612: NEGOTIATION

Gu Dashan felt quite relieved and said, "You and Xiao Yu always have good ideas. You siblings go ahead and handle it, your father has no objections, I agree with everything."

Gu Jin’an laughed upon hearing this. Although his father wasn’t particularly capable, he was exceedingly good in one aspect: he trusted them, letting them freely handle what they thought was right without causing any trouble for them.

Thinking of Zheng Ying and Young Master Shangguan, Gu Dashan asked, "Good Brother An, are Young Master Zheng and Young Master Shangguan difficult to get along with? Do they look down on us rural folks?"

In fact, what he wanted to ask was whether Good Brother An had been bullied by them. But fearing to ask directly and hurt his eldest son’s feelings—after all, Jin’an was nearly sixteen now.

Gu Jin’an laughed and replied, "Father, rest assured, I get along quite well with Brother Zheng and Brother Shangguan. They do not discriminate in friendship based on social status. As long as interests align and scholarship is strong, they’ll sincerely befriend you."

Gu Dashan felt relieved and surprisedly said, "For such nobles not to discriminate based on social status in friendship is indeed rare."

Gu Jin’an shook his head and said, "They don’t discriminate in friendship, but when it comes to marriage, they still value social status highly."

In the midst of their conversation, the sound of hurried footsteps arose as Gu Jinli and Brother Cheng returned to the private room, both carrying a dish of food.

Brother Cheng was carrying a plate of crystal red jujube cake, and because he was walking quickly, his small frame wobbled unsteadily.

Gu Dashan hurriedly went to take it from him, intending to help him with the plate, but he refused, saying, "Brother Cheng wants to carry it himself. Father, come and eat the cake, it’s red, not like the osmanthus cake."

He then complained, "Second Sister said that since we just had breakfast less than two hours ago, we can only have one type of cake. We can’t eat too much or else we won’t have an appetite for lunch, and won’t be able to eat dinner either."

Gu Dashan laughed and said, "Your Second Sister is right. Eating too much can lead to indigestion and your stomach will feel uncomfortable."

Brother Cheng, recalling the discomfort in his stomach from overeating the night before, nodded and said, "Mhm, Brother Cheng understands. So I only took one plate of cake, and Second Sister took a plate of fried sweet potato balls."

The sweet potato balls were also a recipe taught to the tavern’s cook by Second Sister, and they too were delicious.

Gu Dashan laughed again and followed Brother Cheng back to the table. He lifted him up so that he could place the plate on the table, then sat him down properly in a chair.

Gu Jin’an said, "Don’t eat too much, just a piece of crystal red jujube cake and a few sweet potato balls would do. After eating, you need to do your homework."

Brother Cheng, who was initially smiling, was taken aback by this and weakly said to Gu Jin’an, "Big Brother, I didn’t go to school today."

Gu Jin’an replied, "Even if you didn’t go to school, you still need to do your homework and can’t fall behind."

He took out the Three Character Classic from Brother Cheng’s little bookbag, selected two pages from it, and said, "Just write these two pages, write them twice, and that’s enough."

This homework was much less than what Master Xia had assigned. Brother Cheng, pleased with the lighter workload, began his homework after eating a piece of crystal red jujube cake.

Meanwhile, Gu Jinli took out the architectural plans she had brought with her and started drawing again.

The plans were for their family’s new house, set to be built next year. It would be large, with two sections. However, this two-section house would be much bigger than those in town. Each section would have three courtyards—the main courtyard and two side courtyards for guests, making six courtyards in total, allowing plenty of space to run freely.

Seeing that they were all busy, Gu Dashan got up and went downstairs to meet Nanny Tao and the others.

Nanny Tao and Xiao Ji were busy with workshop tasks and arrived later than them. Now that the weather was cold and Nanny Tao was getting on in years, it was better for him to go meet them.

Gu Dashan didn’t have to go far before he encountered Nanny Tao and Xiao Ji at the intersection in Shang Family Village. He instructed them to get on the mule cart and drove towards Yanfu Building.

They had only been at Yanfu Building a short while when two carriages stopped at the entrance—those of the Zheng and Shangguan families.

Lu He Fu’s son, Lu Peng, was quite clever. Receiving instructions from Gu Jin’an that two noble young masters would visit the tavern in the morning, as soon as he saw the carriages at the door, he immediately told Lu Gen Sheng’s grandson, "Guangzi, hurry and tell Brother An, the guests he’s waiting for have arrived."

"Eh." Lu Guang hurried upstairs to inform Gu Jin’an.

Lu Peng went out to greet Zheng Ying and Shangguan Zhuo, saluted and said, "Are you Young Master Zheng and Young Master Shangguan? Good Brother An is awaiting your arrival, please follow me."

Zheng Ying and Shangguan Zhuo, along with their servants, disembarked from the carriage and glanced at Lu Peng upon hearing him: "Lead the way."

"Eh." Lu Peng complied, and led Zheng Ying and Shangguan Zhuo into the Yanfu Building.

Having just ascended the wooden staircase, Gu Jin’an and Gu Dashan stepped forward to welcome them: "Brother Zheng, Brother Shangguan, you’ve traveled a long way, please head up to the private room."

Zheng Ying and Shangguan Zhuo were pleased to see Gu Jin’an, exchanged greetings, and then bowed to Gu Dashan, saying, "Greetings to Uncle Gu of the Gu Family."

Gu Dashan was quite nervous, but hurriedly responded with a smile, "No need for such formalities, come in, please come in."

Zheng Ying and Shangguan Zhuo, seeing Gu Dashan’s simple and honest manner, smiled and followed him to the private room upstairs.

This was another private room, located in the middle of the second floor, while Gu Jinli and Brother Cheng were in the private room next door.

She had a discussion with Gu Jin’an: if Gu Jin’an could successfully negotiate a deal, they would sign an agreement, otherwise, she would step in.

In the private room, refreshments and tea had already been served, along with a pot of hot soy milk.

"Is this the crystal cake made by your restaurant? And this white beverage, is it the soy milk?" Zheng Ying was very interested and immediately inquired upon seeing them.

Gu Jin’an nodded, "Brother Zheng, please try it. If it’s not to your taste, there’s tea as well."

Zheng Ying took his seat elegantly, picked up the soy milk, tasted a sip, and praised, "The flavor is rich and sweet, very smooth and delicious."

Hearing this, Shangguan Zhuo also took a bowl of soy milk and tasted it: "Indeed not bad."

However, being accustomed to drinking plain tea, he did not fancy such sweet beverages.

After some small talk with them, Gu Jin’an said, "Let’s talk about the soy sauce matter first."

Shangguan Zhuo nodded, "Alright."

Following behind, the two housekeepers from the Shangguan and Zheng Families revealed a smile upon hearing this; they had come precisely to discuss the soy sauce business and did not wish to waste too much time on other matters.

Gu Jin’an directly took out a contract and handed it to Shangguan Zhuo: "Brother Shangguan, please take a look."

Shangguan Zhuo received it, frowned slightly, and handed the contract to Zheng Ying.

After examining it, Zheng Ying found nothing objectionable. Due to his grandfather’s forbearance, the descendants of the Zheng Family had a sense of moderation and felt there was no need to squabble over interests. He nodded and said, "I think it’s acceptable, not excessive at all."

The contract stipulated that the Gu Family would manage the production of soy sauce in their workshop, while the Zheng and Shangguan Families would be responsible for using their connections to sell the soy sauce. The profits would be divided with the Gu Family receiving forty percent, and the other two families thirty percent each.

Yet, the housekeeper of the Shangguan Family disagreed, speaking out, "Since it is a joint venture by the three families, profits should be split evenly. As for the soy sauce workshop, our Shangguan Family has many manors. We can choose a few to build the soy sauce workshop; it would keep the recipe secretive and save on the cost of hiring labor."

This housekeeper was the son of the Shangguan Family’s steward, and it seemed inevitable that he would succeed his father and become the steward of the Shangguan Family.

He was very aware of the benefits of the soy sauce and valued it greatly, hoping to seize the opportunity to take control of the recipe and make a significant contribution to the Shangguan Family.