In the end, Su Tang had been worn down by this spoiled little devil and just helplessly told her she could take the dish away.
As a matter of fact, it wasn't like Su Tang didn't want to sell more. She was a businesswoman after all, so how could she have any complaints about making more money? However, the small dishes she used to bake the cupcakes in cost two copper coins each.
If she had directly sold the dish and the product together, then the price of each cupcake would have to rise by two copper coins. Even though it was "only" two copper coins, asking fifteen copper coins for a single small cupcake was already very expensive in the eyes of many people, so she had estimated that even more people would accuse her of running a shady business if the price was another two copper coins higher on top of that.
She was also taking into consideration the fact that she had looked ahead and seen that once her space leveled up to level 30 a supermarket would open. She knew that if this mysterious supermarket feature also included ready-made paper cups for cupcakes then it would be able to save her a lot of headache, but for now she could only wait until it was open to see.
She had even thought up this deposit-return plan while she was planning the cafe but, in the end, she had given up on it. Mostly she had given it up because she felt that it was pretty likely that the dishes wouldn't be returned after they were taken away or, even if they were returned, she would have no way of know when they would be returned, which would make it difficult to plan around.
After all, if the dishes were out and hadn't come back, she would end up buying more to replace them, and then if the dishes came back after that, she would have extra dishes after taking them back. All in all, it seemed very troublesome given the circumstances.
So in the end Su Tang decided to simply set a rule that they couldn't leave the shop in order to save herself a lot of headaches. However, since Lu Wan'er was pressing her like this, Su Tang couldn't just say no, and she reluctantly brought out the plan that she had discarded before.
When Lu Wan'er heard Su Tang finally agree, she immediately reached out and grabbed her arm like they were close friends and smiled happily. "Thank you, good little sister, I knew you were the best. Also, can I have another pot of milk tea so my grandmother can have some together with the cupcakes? I'll give you a deposit for the teapot as well."
Su Tang finally couldn't bear hearing this 'good little sister' anymore and said dryly: "The deposit for the teapot is five copper coins and, young miss, please don't call me 'good little sister'."
If she had known that this person was secretly a spoiled little devil, Su Tang wouldn't have tried to get closer to her in the first place. She didn't have a lot of patience for these kinds of touchy-feely people who liked to act overly close with people they had just met. Even when it came to her good friends Su Tang was the type to keep a little distance.
So Lu Wan'er's overly enthusiastic and familiar personality was pretty much dead opposite of the type that Su Tang liked, and Su Tang really didn't like handling this type of person at all.
Su Tang had only spoken up because she, an adult, felt it was too creepy to be called 'good little sister' over and over by a small girl, but unexpectedly Lu Wan'er nodded her head and said: "En, you're right, I don't know your name yet. My name is Lu Wan'er, but you can just call me Wan'er. We will be friends in the future, okay? And whenever you cook something new and delicious, you can find me first to let me taste it."
There it was. After saying so much, it turned out this spoiled little devil was still just a foodie who had been waiting for the right opportunity to say this line!
Su Tang felt speechless and, on the side, the orange cat had finished his milk tea and laughed heartlessly when he saw his master being pestered, 'Hehe, she's so 'passionate' master!'
It was obvious at a glance that Su Tang really couldn't stand this sort of 'passionate' person but the orange cat had said that deliberately to annoy her. SuTang looked over at the gloating feline and shot back, 'Well, it seems you have no need for dessert tomorrow.'
The orange cat's whiskers drooped and he instantly shut up. Seeing that, Su Tang sneered in her heart. This cat, did he really think that she, a human, couldn't clean him up?
That matter settled, she returned her attention to Lu Wan'er. She sighed. Now that she had already taken the initiative to attract this little devil, what else could Su Tang do? She could only acknowledge her and respond, "My name is Su Tang."
"Then I'll call you TangTang. Your cooking is really delicious TangTang. I'll go back and ask my best friends Zhuo'er and them to come over and eat as well, okay? What do you think? If you make something delicious in the future, you can give it to me first, right?"
Lu Wan'er pulled on Su Tang's sleeve and looked up at her, her big round eyes blinking expectantly.
Su Tang wanted to ask: That best friend of yours, does she know that she's been sold by you?
Last time she met the foodie called Luo Xingchen and now, unexpectedly, she seemed to have provoked another foodie again. What could she do? She was also feeling very desperate, ah.
"Mhm…" Facing the little girl's big blinking eyes, Su Tang could only helplessly nod and, like that, their friendship was sealed.
"Thank you, TangTang. By the way, are there any other delicious things that you can cook? Are there any other sweets? When do you think you will have a new recipe? I'll have to go back to the county seat before the end of the year, so it will be inconvenient for me to come over after that. So at least while I'm still here in town, could you cook a bit more?"
Lu Wan'er didn't relinquish her grip on Su Tang's sleeves as she continued to chatter away, and Su Tang began to feel a headache coming on. Obviously, she had opened a cafe that would only entertain female guests in an effort to keep things calm and quiet, so why was this happening?
Su Tang felt a little skeptical about life, but she managed to muster up a response. "Well, why don't you sit down for now? I'll go and prepare the things you ordered and you can take them back for your family to taste."
After asking Lu Wan'er to sit down so she could prepare her order Su Tang quickly disappeared behind the counter like she was running away. Lu Wan'er called out to Su Tang's disappearing back: "Wait, how much will it cost altogether? Qing Ju, hurry and give her the payment."
Just now Qing Ju had been muttering that Su Tang was running a shady business, but as soon as she turned around she found that her family's young miss had been completely enchanted after taking a single bite and was eagerly asking for more, which felt like a slap to the face. But the worst part was watching her young miss shamelessly trying to cling to Su Tang and wheedle more sweets from her.
In the end, she decided not to comment. She just took out the purse again and said, "Young Miss, come sit down first. Can't you see that Miss Su dislikes it?"
In fact, even though she had been following her since they were both small children, this was the first time Qing Ju had dared to talk to her young miss this way.
"TangTang still hasn't said anything and doesn't seem to have any issues, so why are you speaking up for her, huh?!" After being lightly chided by her servant girl, Lu Wan'er immediately blustered back.
When Su Tang heard this, she secretly wanted to say that she actually disliked being treated like this. But she knew that she had invited this treatment on herself, so she could only quietly accept it.
She quickly brewed another pot of milk tea, then took three cupcakes and ten pieces of toffee and packed them into a paper bag. After that, she also took out a fourth cupcake and set it down on the table in front of Lu Wan'er while saying: "It's been nice meeting you. Here, take this as a greeting gift from me."
Although she was a spoiled little devil and seemed a bit annoying, she was still quite a cute little girl. Since Su Tang had agreed to be her friend, and since she was Su Tang's first guest, and since she had already bought so many things from the cafe, Su Tang felt it was appropriate to treat her a little bit.
"TangTang, that's so sweet of you!" When Lu Wan'er saw Su Tang seemed to have gotten a bit more friendly, she smiled hugely with obvious happiness.
Su Tang nodded, "Well, it's my name after all." (tl note: reminder that the 'Tang' in Su Tang's name can mean candy/sweet. Also, the translation of this back and forth isn't perfect but it brings the meaning across I think.)
Lu Wan'er hadn't expected Su Tang to suddenly tell a joke, so she was surprised for a moment. But she quickly recovered and said with a smile: "TangTang, you're so nice."
Su Tang smiled back and said: "En, you're absolutely right."
Hearing Su Tang joking around and acting thick-skinned, Lu Wan'er felt even happier.
In fact, even though at a glance it seemed that Lu Wan'er just liked to act coquettish and spoiled, she was actually quite astute. For example, Su Tang mentioned she could bring her friends, and shortly after that Lu Wan'er had said that she could invite her friend Zhuo'er over.
Thus, since she knew to negotiate like this, it showed that although she acted a bit sweet and naive on the outside, she was a little girl who had her own thoughts and plans. Probably she had even been able to see through Su Tang's attempts to hide her feelings and knew that she had been feeling a bit impatient just now.
But after deliberately pestering Su Tang to accept her as a friend their relationship seemed to have improved, which made Lu Wan'er feel happy. After all, Su Tang had taken the initiative to treat her to another cupcake and told some thick-skinned jokes, which seemed like a simple gesture but, in fact, could be said to be Su Tang taking the initiative to show that she had truly accepted her.
Su Tang didn't know that this pampered little girl was so sensitive and thinking so many things, but it wouldn't matter if she did. Either way, she knew that she had taken the initiative to approach the other girl first, so she had decided to seriously accept her as a friend. In any case, she found the little girl cute, and being friends was fine. What was done was done anyway.
At most, this girl seemed likely to ask her for more delicious food in the future, which wasn't a big deal or anything. With those thoughts settled in her heart, Su Tang began to chat and laugh with Lu Wan'er in earnest.
However, once she ate the third cupcake and drank the whole pot of milk tea, the little girl was really full, so she finally reluctantly let Qing Ju pick up the things she had ordered to take away and left the Dessert Cafe.
After sending Lu Wan'er off, Su Tang felt that there probably wouldn't be too many more guests for the inner part of the cafe considering it was the first day, so she quickly cleaned up the place where Lu Wan'er had been sitting and then sat down herself to have a rest.
"Young miss, the toffee outside is almost sold out. Should we bring out some more?" But who could have expected that, as soon as she sat down, Baohe would come in and say something like this?
"They're almost sold out? Didn't you put 50 candies out? There were 50, but now they're almost sold out?" Su Tang froze in shock for a moment after hearing Baohe's report.
Su Tang had actually made careful considerations at the beginning when she had priced her toffee and had eventually settled on five copper coins per piece. After all, milk was a precious thing in this era, so it was impossible for her toffee that was made from milk to be sold cheaply. Even if her milk was actually produced by the space, she still couldn't sell it cheaply.
And what kind of concept was five copper coins for one candy? Well, even though it might not be accurate to make such a direct comparison, but when Su Tang had taken Su Nuo out to a general store they had found that one copper coin could buy two yee candies that were about the same size as her toffee. It was with that information in mind that Su Tang had set the price of her toffee.
Thus, considering the price of other candies in the area, Su Tang hadn't thought there would be too many buyers. However, even with her low expectations for sales, she had ended up making 100 candies in advance. After all, the weather was still cold so these kinds of candies could be stored for a time. So long as they were kept cool it would be fine to sell them a few days after they were made.
So it could be said that Su Tang had never expected that these candies would sell very well and had prepared accordingly. But now, only a short while after the cafe opened, Baohe had come in to tell her that the candies were almost sold out? This twist was completely beyond Su Tang's expectations.
Baohe nodded. "This maidservant saw that many people came forward to buy one or two, and there a now less than 20 left. Perhaps the amount we have should be barely enough for today, but it's hard to say. Also, that Young Master Zhu saw the young miss who came in earlier leaving with a cupcake, so he wanted me to ask…"
Baohe had come in and temporarily left manning the counter to Pengmo, not only to ask about the toffee, but also because that Young Master Zhu had seen the servant girl following Lu Wan'er had been carrying a cupcake when she left, so he wanted Baohe to go in and find out what was going on. Were those cupcakes only sold to female customers?
Hearing the question Baohe relayed from Young Master Zhu, Su Tang could only sigh and tell her how she had decided to handle the situation with Lu Wan'er and explain the deposit system. After that, Su Tang gave Baohe another 20 pieces of toffee to take out and sell.
While Baohe was doing that, Su Tang poked her head out to take a look and quickly figured out why the expensive toffee was selling so well. It was actually because the toffee was the cheapest item on the menu.
Of course, compared to the ordinary candies people were familiar with, Su Tang's candies were very expensive. However, within Su Tang's cafe, everything else was priced at 15 or 20 copper coins, so the candies seemed much cheaper by comparison.
On top of that, the toffee that Su Tang was selling was different from modern toffee which was made by machines and could be said to just taste okay. After all, Su Tang's candies were all made by hand and all of the ingredients came directly from her space.
The ingredients inside the space all had a sort of supernaturally excellent taste, as if it were the best that ingredient could possibly taste, and Su Tang's milk products were no exception.
Therefore, Su Tang's toffee melted on the tongue and tasted nothing but sweet, with none of the fishy aftertaste that came from drinking milk directly. Anyone who ate one would agree that they were very delicious.
Plus, Su Tang's cafe was relatively close to the academy, so the customers could afford it. After all, while you couldn't say that all of the students there were rich, they could all at least afford to pay the two taels of silver per year that the academy collected for tuition, so they weren't poor either.
Su Tang's toffee was very tasty so, even if the students couldn't afford to eat it every day, they could at least afford it occasionally to satisfy their sweet tooth. And, naturally, many people also just bought one because it was something new and fresh to try.
There were about a hundred students in the academy since the nearby villages all sent their children here to learn, so even if only half of them decided to try the candies, there would be a huge quantity of orders.
What's more, there were also some wealthy families who sent their children to the academy, such as Zhu Ran and his friend's families, and they could afford to buy ten or more candies at a time, so it was inevitable that the candies would sell out quickly.
However, Su Tang estimated that a lot of these sales could be attributed to the excitement surrounding the opening of a new store, and that many of the people buying today probably wouldn't be interested anymore once the experience wasn't fresh. In her estimation, sales would probably fall off soon.
Having understood what was going on, Su Tang didn't bother to say anything more and returned to the inner part of the cafe.
Zhu Ran learned from Baohe that he could buy the cupcakes so long as he paid a deposit for the dish they came in and, without saying another word, he immediately ordered two cupcakes and two pots of milk tea and then went to the shop next door to order some regular food to eat.
After seeing how Zhu Ran did it, several students got together and collectively bought a pot of milk tea with the thought that so long as they all drank a little less they would at least be able to get a taste of this new dish, and then they could even go next door to find some food to eat with it!
Meanwhile, the shop next door just sold regular steamed buns, so they were very happy that Su Tang had opened up shop right next to them and attracted all of these extra customers for them this time.
As for Su Tang, because there were no other female guests who had come to the inner part of the cafe, she was very idle. In the end, she remembered that Song Yi was still alone at home, so she went to the back courtyard and cooked some dishes and rice for him and then found Pengmo and asked him to send them over.
"These dishes are for my master. Please tell him that I can't come and study with him this afternoon because there's no one else who can man the counter. I've already asked Mrs. Li to help me find someone for the job, so as soon as she finds someone for me I'll come back and resume my studies."
While asking Pengmo to send over the dishes, Su Tang also briefly explained her circumstances. Pengmo replied: "Don't worry, His Lordship is aware of your situation. However, please do try to come back as soon a possible young miss."
By now Song Yi was already used to reading with Su Tang every day, so if she suddenly stopped showing up one day he would definitely be in a bad mood. Thinking of this, Pengmo gently implored Su Tang to come back as quickly as possible.
Of course, Su Tang understood this and had no intention to drag her feet on the matter. After all, she had already promised Song Yi, so she wouldn't try to avoid. She was a person who didn't easily make promises, but if she made a promise then she would definitely do everything in her power to see it through.
From the start, she had planned to buy two people from Mrs. Li, not one, but unfortunately when she had gone to take a look there had only been one person she could use. On top of that, the Luo family would soon be back for another batch of soap so she couldn't afford to stop the soap production, which meant that there just weren't enough people to go around to make the soap and fully staff the Dessert Cafe. After all, it wasn't like she could have Baohe run the whole cafe alone.
Thus, Su Tang had no choice but to step up and do the work herself. However, when she had left Mrs. Li's place that day she had asked the old woman to help her find someone who could be used. And how could Mrs. Li say no to more money? Thus, thanks to Su Tang's matter, Mrs. Li been actively running around to the several nearby villages trying to find someone suitable these days.
"En, I understand." Su Tang responded succinctly.
Pengmo was just a servant but he had been having a lot of contact with Su Tang these days, so he had gotten to know her character. He knew that while she had a stubborn temperament she was also definitely one to keep her promises. Because of that, he decided not to say anything more.
Besides, he was only a servant, so it wasn't really appropriate for him to nag his master's disciple.
After sending Pengmo off, Su Tang headed back inside the cafe and sat down. A moment later, she sensed the door behind her open and then the little guy's lively voice rang out, "Sister, I've come to bring you a meal."
She turned to look back and found Su Nuo had walked in. Zhang Cuilan was trailing behind him and carrying a food box. After she entered the room, she saluted Su Tang. "This servant greets the miss."
"En." Su Tang nodded and then asked Zhang Cuilan to put the food on the table. Then she turned to look at the little guy and said, "Why are you here? Have you already finished with all the characters I asked you to practice this morning?"
As soon as he heard his sister quizzing him on his homework, Su Nuo immediately nodded. "It's all done! Sister, you can check it yourself when you go back."
Su Nuo was always very attentive to his studies. After all, he still remembered that his sister had told him that studying was the way to become a high-ranking official in the future. Thus, although it was hard, he always studied seriously and tried his best to learn the things Su Tang taught him.
While Su Nuo studied very attentively it was clear something was off. After all, Su Tang was always busy with a lot of things every day. Even if she wasn't here running the store, she would be off studying with Song Yi.
And the rest of the people in the household were all are subordinates who had large age differences compared to Su Nuo and they all always acted very respectful, so it was a lot different from the way it had been back in Sujia Village. There wasn't really anyone for Su Nuo to play with, and he often appeared a bit lonely.
Su Tang could see that because of this the little guy didn't seem as lively as he used to be. She also noticed how the little guy would stick to her as much as he could without interfering with her work every time she went back. All in all, she knew that things weren't easy for the little guy these days. She had a plan to deal with this matter soon, but it wasn't ready yet so she couldn't say anything for now.
Instead, she pinched his fleshy little cheek and said. "My Xiao Nuo is great!"
"En! I'm my sister's brother!" After the little guy was praised he held his head high and looked very proud and Su Tang couldn't help but smile along.
Zhang Cuilan watched this exchange attentively, but her eyes kept wandering worriedly to where Baohe was working outside. Knowing that the mother was worrying about her daughter, Su Tang said, "Go ahead and take the food out to Baohe. Xiao Nuo and I will stay here and eat inside."
After getting Su Tang's order, Zhang Cuilan saluted happily and then quickly went to send the food to her daughter. Su Tang saw this scene and sighed in her heart. It was true that no matter what era you were in, a child was a mother's treasure.
When Baohe saw her mother coming she exclaimed happily and greeted her with a smile. Zhang Cuilan quickly passed over the meal and the chopsticks and told her daughter to eat quickly while she went to watch the counter for her.
Inside the cafe, Su Tang began to eat but, after taking a few bites, she put down her chopsticks.
After a while, Baohe finished eating and Su Tang had Zhang Cuilan take Su Nuo back. After all, this inner part of the cafe was intended for only female guests, so it wasn't good to let Su Nuo stay there, even if he was still a child.
The little guy was very sensible for his age and knew that he couldn't disturb his sister's work, so he obediently followed Zhang Cuilan back.
Then, after the academy let out for the day, Zhu Ran and his friends came back again. Taking advantage of today's half price promotion, Zhu Ran had bought six cupcakes, two pots of milk tea, two pieces of cheesecake, and even ten pieces of toffee during the lunch break.
But, in the end, the food he bought smelled so good that he had eaten three of the cupcakes, so he had come back to buy three more.
Li Qiang and Wang Hong didn't buy as much as he did, but they also bought several cupcakes while saying that they wanted to give them a taste.
In addition to Zhu Ran's group, there were also several people who had all chipped in and bought a few pots of milk tea and then divided the pots among themselves.
Thus, it wasn't until the sun was setting that Su Tang finally told Baohe that they were closing up shop and started to get ready to go back. But just then Jiang He and Madam Qian came over.
"Wow, Tang girl, you've already opened up you new shop, congratulations!" When they saw the Su Tang was about to close up shop they both quickly rushed over.
In fact, these two had already long known that Su Tang had been thinking about opening a some sort of shop because, after all, they had seen Su Tang on the day she had been looking at buying a storefront. Back then, they had been worried that Su Tang planned to start selling her fish balls herself, which would really affect their business. Thus, when they later found out that Su Tang was selling some strange thing called 'desserts' that seemed to have nothing to do with fish balls, they breathed a sigh of relief.
The two had wanted to come over and congratulate Su Tang sooner, but they had to set up their stall in the morning and work for most of the day so they hadn't been free. Only after their stall closed did they come over to say a few words.
Su Tang clearly understood the small thoughts these two were having, but she didn't care too much about it. After all, it was very normal for people to have a few small thoughts and it wasn't realistic to expect all people to be dignified and broad-minded like saints. Regular people would have these kinds of small thoughts, which, in Su Tang's estimation, was both normal and fine so long as no one was getting hurt.
"Thank you for your kind words, Brother Jiang, sister-in-law." Su Tang thanked them and then said, "By right I should invite you both in, but unfortunately it's not very convenient to do so since my cafe only serves women…"
Su Tang's tone was somewhat sheepish as she said she couldn't invite them in. However, Jiang He and Madam Qian had already heard about the strange rules of Su Tang's new shop, so they quickly waved their hands and reassured her: "No, no, it's fine. Our shoes are dirty anyway, it isn't appropriate for us to come inside. In fact, we should have come to congratulate you a long time ago, but unfortunately, we were busy all day until now. But there have been a lot of rumors going around today, people have been saying that your desserts are very delicious, so your business will definitely be getting better and better from now on."
The two were actually very sincere with their blessings. They could afford to be since, after all, it wasn't like they were competitors.
"Thanks, I'll accept your kind words Big Brother, sister-in-law." Su Tang replied with a smile when she heard them praising her future prospects.
Of course, Jiang He and Madam Qian could clearly see that Su Tang was closing up shop so, after saying a few more pleasantries, they made an excuse to leave. Once they left, Su Tang was finally able to close up the shop and head inside to settle the accounts.
"Today we sold 73 pieces of toffee, 32 pieces of cheesecake, 18 cupcakes, and 12 pots of milk tea altogether. Young miss, here is the money we collected today, a total of 1095 copper coins." (tl note: according to my math it should be 1350? Maybe because of the discounts?)
After Baohe finished speaking and realized how much they sold and how much they earned, her small face began beaming with joy and she gasped, "That's a lot of money."
Su Tang was also a bit surprised when she heard the final number, which was a little higher than she had expected. Doing all the math, considering that the shop was bought for nothing on a loan and the only real costs were the people she bought back, her net profit was already over 900 copper coins on the first day, if she ignored the loan anyway.
This was a high amount of profit, but Su Tang kept a level head and said: "Today's performance was excellent, but I estimate we probably won't sell as much tomorrow."
At the same time, Su Tang counted out five copper coins and handed them to Baohe: "Here, this is a reward for you."
After all, Baohe had been so busy her feet had hardly touched the ground today. First she had spent the morning handing out flyers and then she had come back to man the counter for the rest of the day. That, combined with the fact that it was the grand opening of the cafe, made Su Tang feel it was appropriate to reward her.
Baohe accepted the money and put it away with a smile on her face. "Young Miss, thank you, thank you."
Su Tang smiled along and gave a nod of acknowledgment before noticing that it was getting late and heading back with Baohe in tow.
Originally Su Tang had expected that the rush of customers would slow down after the first day but who could have guessed that many customers came back the next day after getting hooked on the taste of her desserts. The taste was so enchanting that many people made special trips out to Su Tang's Dessert Cafe just to have another taste.
On top of that, Su Tang had spread word that the 'buy one, get one half-off' promotion would go on for five more days so, contrary to her expectations, the number of customers who came on the second day was even more than the number of customers on the first.
When she realized what was going on, Su Tang could only sigh and lament that it seemed that she had underestimated the market in Qinghe Town, or perhaps she had just underestimated the power of foodies.
Of course, having more customers was a good thing, and besides, the influx of people wasn't much of a strain on Su Tang since she left running the front counter to Baohe. As for Su Tang herself, she only served the female customers who came to the inner part of the cafe of which, aside from Lu Wan'er, there were only one or two each day on the first few days.
It was a small number of customers, however, Su Tang wasn't in any hurry. She was confident that her product was good, so she knew it was only a matter of time before word of mouth spread and more people heard about her cafe and her desserts gained a good reputation.
But then, on the fifth day of business, just when it was looking like Song Yi finally wouldn't be able to stand it anymore and might do something drastic, the situation changed. When Su Tang went to open the cafe early that morning she found Mrs. Li waiting outside when she opened the doors.
"Miss Su!" When Mrs. Li saw Su Tang, she gave a wide smile. Then, when she saw Baohe standing beside Su Tang, she praised, "Wow, little Dani, it looks like you've been doing well with Miss Su. It's only been how many days, but look how much you've changed, already grown so much bigger."
Baohe and Zhang Cuilan had lived at Mrs. Li's shop before so, of course, they were all familiar with one another. However, after spending the last few days selling goods and doing business at the front counter, Baohe's character had become less timid and more straightforward so, after hearing Mrs. Li's praise, Baohe just laughed and replied: "Auntie Li, the young miss has already changed my name to Baohe and, naturally, she's been very good to me."
Of course, Mrs. Li's words hadn't been said just for politeness' sake. After all, as a woman who ran a slave shop, Mrs. Li had bought and sold all sorts of people before, and she had also seen plenty of people after they had been sold. Thus, just by looking at Baohe, she could tell that the girl was really living a good life under her new master. She was dressed in new clothes that looked thick and warm and her face seemed more fleshy now, with a ruddy and healthy complexion. So Mrs. Li could tell at a glance that Su Tang was a master who was kind to her subordinates.
Su Tang smiled as she watched the two of them chatting, and then looked behind and saw there were two women following behind Mrs. Li. She called out, "Well, come in and let's talk!"
After inviting them, Su Tang turned and headed into the inner part of the cafe. Meanwhile, Mrs. Li hurriedly agreed and then turned to look back to the two women behind her and whispered sternly: "Be mindful of your words in the coming conversation. It's rare to find such a good master in our town."
The two women hurriedly made sounds of agreement before following Mrs. Li inside. Once that all stepped in, Mrs. Li couldn't help but look around with surprise. "No wonder you've been doing better and better these days Miss Su. How did you come up with such novel ideas? Wow, is that the rumored cupcake? It looks really good."
Mrs. Li was full of praises as she looked around. However, because it was still early in the morning and Su Tang had just opened the doors, there actually wasn't much in the cafe right now. Seeing that, Su Tang sent Baohe to boil some water for the guests before sitting on her stool and saying: "Don't praise me too much, I've been doing alright lately thanks to a bit of luck, but it's nothing much. Anyway, are these two the people I've asked you to find?"
"That's right, Miss Su. Since told me your terms I've been running around the past few days trying to find some suitable candidates and these two fit the bill so I had them come over." When she saw that Su Tang didn't seem interested in exchanging pleasantries but instead got right down to business, Mrs. Li immediately matched her pace and began to introduce the two people behind her.
Su Tang also looked over at two women. She saw that one had her hair done up in the style of a married woman while the other did not, but they both looked to be about the same age. The married woman looked very neat and presentable, while the girl seemed a bit more shabby and was wearing patched clothes.
"This woman is the widow of the Wang family and she's had a hard life so far. After getting married, her husband died shortly afterward and her in-laws abandoned her, so she was all alone and could only go back to her parents. But after returning, her parents just wanted to sell her off to an old widower. However, I happened to hear about her circumstances and was reminded of Miss Su's requirements, so I took her back for you to see. She should be a capable worker."
Mrs. Li continued with her introductions: "And this girl is Yang Dani, she's also had a hard life…"
Listening to this same opening introduction twice, Su Tang didn't bother to complain, but she couldn't help but think: Which person that sold themselves as a slave didn't have a hard life?
Meanwhile, Mrs. Li kept talking: "When she was 16, her parents betrothed her to a boy from their village but, after being engaged for only two months, the boy unexpectedly died in an accident. After that, her parents tried to set up three more engagements one after the other but none of the potential grooms were even able to live for a month after the engagement was set. In the end, she wasn't able to find a husband and people began to say that she has an adverse fate."
"However, her father was a kind man, and when he saw this situation he decided it was fine for her not to get married and that she could stay at home and help around the house instead. Like this, she ended up as a 22-year-old, old unmarried girl."
"Her life was okay for a time, but that came to an end after her father unexpectedly passed away. From there, the Yang family had a series of bad luck and her stepmother had no choice but to sell the house and their land and go back to live with her parents, however, her stepmother said that because Yang Dani has an adverse fate and didn't want to take her back to her parent's house and keep feeding her, so she sold her to me instead. I can say that she is a good worker for things around the house and is very capable. "
Back then Su Tang had given her strict requirements for what type of person she wanted to buy, so Mrs. Li had seriously looked for people who met those requirements. After looking all around the past few days, Mrs. Li felt confident that both of these two should be able to meet Su Tang's requirements.
After listening to Mrs. Li's explanation, Su Tang looked over at the girl in question and gave a thin smile: "An adverse fate, huh?" Those were some familiar words.
Mrs. Li smiled awkwardly and said, "If you're worried Miss Su, then the widow from the Wang family is also good."
This was the reason why Mrs. Li had only come to Su Tang after finding two people who met the requirements. After all, with this so-called 'adverse fate' hanging over her, not many people would be willing to buy the Yang girl for fear that they might be affected.
In fact, Mrs. Li usually wouldn't want to buy this type of person at all. However, because Yang Dani's stepmother had been anxious to head back to her parent's house before the Spring Festival, she had quoted a very low price for the girl: only five taels of silver. Thus, Mrs. Li felt that so long as she could sell the girl for seven or eight taels she would at least be making some money.
Although Mrs. Li felt a bit of sympathy for Yang Dani and the hard life she had lived so far, the truth was that most of the people she sold had hard lives. However, she was also worried that Yang Dani would probably be a bit difficult to sell as a wife or a concubine since she had an adverse fate. Most people who could afford to buy a wife wouldn't want to buy one that had such an issue.
But at the same time, although Yang Dani wasn't an overly beautiful woman, she looked good enough, so she might not actually be that hard to sell off. Either way, Mrs. Li had only brought her along this time as sort of tagalong to Mrs. Wang.
After all, she didn't want anyone to say that she didn't do her work as the owner of a slave shop diligently and thoroughly. Su Tang had given her a list of requirements so she had found a woman that met those requirements, and then to be thorough, she had found another one. That way, even if Su Tang didn't want to buy one, she could still buy the other, and Mrs. Li would at least be showing her client that she was doing her work properly, right?
Hearing Mrs. Li recommending her, Mrs. Wang looked up at Su Tang with expectation. After all, when she came in just now she had also seen Baohe, the little girl wearing neat and clean new clothes without even a single patch. From what she knew, only the girls who came from well-off families would be able to wear such clean and new-looking clothes so, of course, she wanted Su Tang to buy her so she could experience the same treatment.
Meanwhile, when Yang Dani heard Mrs. Li's words, she just pursed her lips, glanced at Su Tang, and didn't say anything further.
Su Tang looked at her and asked, "So do you think you have an adverse fate?"
Hearing that question, Yang Dani seemed to feel Su Tang had been scared off by this bad reputation and lost all of her expectations. Since her expectations were crushed, she decided to just candidly speak her thoughts: "Heh, if I really had an adverse fate, wouldn't I have killed that stepmother of mine? How could I kill my father who was always good to me?"
"What really happened is obvious. That woman deliberately chose a weak and sickly man for me each time she was picking an engagement so, naturally, they all died before we could get married."
"As for what happened to my father, it's obviously just because she's so lazy and always wanted good food. My father died in an accident because he was overworking himself every day in order to satisfy her desires, it had nothing to do with me. "
When Mrs. Li saw Yang Dani was getting upset and talking randomly, she sent the girl a series of anxious winks trying to get her to shut up. After all, this one wasn't like the Bai girl last time who would be really hard to sell no matter what. In fact, she knew of a certain master who was looking for a concubine to give birth to a boy for him, and Mrs. Li was hopeful that he might be willing to buy this Yang Dani.
However, now Yang Dani was being too rash. Even if she had given up on being bought by Su Tang, she still shouldn't be saying these sorts of things that tarnished her own reputation and lowered her value, so Mrs. Li cut in: "Why don't you shut up? Is that the sort of thing you should be saying to the young miss?"
Su Tang looked at Yang Dani's stubborn expression with interest. "Do you feel very unconvinced?"
"En, I feel unconvinced. It's clear that I'm not the one who harmed anyone, so why does everyone blame me? I clearly tried to live well and upright, but in the end, everything becomes my fault and no one is willing to listen to my explanations."
"I only want to work hard and try to live a better life now, but I know the young miss must already hate me for my adverse fate so it's useless for me to speak any further."
"However, I really want to say that I don't have any so-called adverse fate. I haven't done anything wrong and, actually, I can do very well and I'm not any worse than any of those girls from other families. "
In the modern era, a 22-year-old girl would have probably still been in college and not yet really started their adult life, but in this ancient era, such a girl was already considered an old spinster who would never be able to get married that would be gossiped about by the people around her. But this Yang Dani didn't seem to be afraid of that sort of gossip and, instead, she was still stubbornly wanting to ask the world what exactly she did wrong and why she had to face these sorts of difficulties.
"She's the one. How much do you want for her?" Having heard Yang Dani speak to this point, Su Tang gave a smile and directly asked Mrs. Li for a price.
Mrs. Li was shocked, "Miss Su, you really want to buy Yang Dani?"
Mrs. Li really couldn't understand Su Tang's criteria for buying people. After all, the Bai girl from before had also acted stubborn and headstrong, but Su Tang hadn't seemed interested in buying her at all. But now that it was Yang Dani's turn and the girl and rushed out and said all sorts of things, Su Tang unexpectedly wanted to buy her?
Of course, since even Mrs. Li was startled, both Mrs. Wang and Yang Dani seemed to be in complete disbelief. Yang Dani couldn't help but raise her head and look at Su Tang with a dumbfounded expression.
After raising her head, Yang Dani finally got a good look at this 'Miss Su'. She was a small girl dressed in a plain black cotton-padded jacket with two small white flowers in her double-ring bunned hair. She clearly looked like a little girl, but there was a faint smile playing about her lips which seemed to give her an unknown depth.
Mrs. Li was still dumbfounded from the shock, so Su Tang said casually, "What's the matter, is she not for sale?"
"She's for sale! How could I not sell her?" Mrs. Li had only been stunned into silence because of her surprise. After all, with Yang Dani's reputation for having an adverse fate, she had expected Su Tang wouldn't want to buy her and had even been thinking of where to sell her after Su Tang turned her down. So now that Su Tang suddenly said she was willing to buy, her half-formed plans were ruined and she actually wasn't all that happy.
On the side, Yang Dani realized that Su Tang really wanted to buy her, so hurriedly said, "Young Miss, my stepmother sold me for five taels of silver."
She wasn't yet considered Su Tang's person but she still cleverly spouted out how much Mrs. Li had paid for her, which caused Mrs. Li to glare at her angrily for exposing this information. On the side, Su Tang watched the little interaction with interest.
In fact, she had decided to choose Yang Dani because she felt she was a lively and energetic girl. Rather than the strange obstinacy of that Bai girl who seemed to have water in her brain, Yang Dani's stubbornness was different. She had a kind of upward and hopeful outlook despite having been treated so unfairly by life.
Of course, Su Tang herself also had a reputation for having an 'adverse fate' so she had also experienced the feeling of having people gossip and talk behind her back, which somewhat affected her decision. After all, in truth, this sort of treatment was difficult to endure. Only people who were strong enough could bear these sorts of jeers, so Su Tang felt Yang Dani was something of a kindred spirit.
Yang Dani rightly felt aggrieved because she knew that there was no so-called adverse fate but her stepmother still used that as an excuse to blame everything on her and no one would listen to her explanations, leaving her feeling very suffocated.
But in the end, Su Tang wanted to buy her mostly because she had said she had wanted to work hard and live a better life, and that she was obviously no worse than girls. That was exactly the sort of outlook Su Tang hoped her workers could have. Her people shouldn't be delicate greenhouse flowers, but instead resilient weeds that could stand up despite wind and rain and strongly carve their own paths.
She liked this kind of person and was definitely willing to use such a person and give them a chance. Of course, another point in Yang Dani's favor was that even if her stepmother personally came to the door and tried to sway the girl over, she would undoubtedly stay loyal to Su Tang instead of that so-called relative of hers.
Moreover, Yang Dani's stepmother was anxiously trying to leave town and go back to her mother's house, where she probably already had a new husband lined up, so Yang Dani's family situation was actually relatively simple. But as for this Mrs. Wang, while she may or may not be a good worker, it could be seen from the fact that she had been willingly sold off by her mother's family that her temperament was weak. Thus, in the case that her family came and tried to sway her in the future, there was no telling where her loyalties would ultimately lie.
Therefore, comparing the two, it was actually obvious that Mrs. Wang was the one with the relatively higher future risk and, when that information was coupled with her Su Tang's own personal feelings, she ultimately chose Yang Dani.
Mrs. Li sent an unhappy look at Su Tang and then began to seriously think about the matter of Yang Dani. After some contemplation, she said, "I bought Yang Dani for five taels of silver, so I will sell her to you for seven taels."
When Yang Dani heard this high price, she immediately wanted to speak up, but then she caught Su Tang's meaningful look and kept her mouth closed. Meanwhile, Su Tang glanced at Mrs. Li and said. "To me, it seems this girl will be hard for you to sell. However, after all, she meets the requirements I set for you, so how about six taels?"
In fact, it was normal for Mrs. Li's slave shop to only profit one or two taels of silver when selling a person. And that number would only go up or down a bit depending on the qualifications of the person. For example, a girl like Yu Caihe was worth a bit more because of her good looks, but a girl like Yang Dani didn't have any such features that would boost her price.
And although Su Tang wasn't currently short of the one extra silver, she wasn't the type to just give money away for no reason. She felt that six taels was a very fair price for Yang Dani and that it was unlikely that anyone else would offer anything higher.
Looking at the two people Mrs. Li had brought with her today, Yang Dani was cheaper but unlikely to find a buyer because of her reputation, while Mrs. Wang would probably be able to sell for a higher price since, with her age, there would probably be plenty of buyers willing to buy her as a concubine.
When Mrs. Li heard Su Tang's counteroffer, she gave Yang Dani another unhappy glare. Yang Dani just bowed her head and didn't say anything, only leaving Mrs. Li with a view of the top of her head. In the end, Mrs. Li turned back to Su Tang and said: "Well, Miss Su you can be considered a regular customer so since you've offered six taels then six taels will be the price. Just make sure that if you still need more people in the future please be sure to come back to me."
Mrs. Li had only spent a moment considering, but many thoughts flashed through her mind. Su Tang was actually giving her face by adding a whole extra tael despite knowing both that Mrs. Li had only had the girl on her hands for a few days and the price she had paid for her and, on top of that, when Mrs. Li thought of how hard it might end up being to sell Yang Dani, she finally decided to agree to Su Tang's price without any more fuss.
When Su Tang saw Mrs. Li nod her head, she smiled and directly counted out six taels of silver to pass over to the older woman. A moment later, she had Yang Dani's slave contract in her hands.
"This servant thanks the miss! This servant will definitely do good work in the future! Whether the work is bitter or tiring I pledge to do it all well!" Mrs. Li left quickly once the sale was finished, and Yang Dani immediately knelt down to pay her respects to Su Tang.
Su Tang gave her a slight nod and then said. "Dani isn't a good name. Let's call you Pu Wei in the future."
At the same time, Su Tang felt that the villagers living nearby really didn't use their brains when naming their children. She had bought four people and two of them were actually both named 'Dani'. In fact, when she had first heard the girl's name, Su Tang had really struggled not to spout out a retort.
"Thank you miss. This servant will be called Pu Wei." Pu Wei once again kneeled and kowtowed.
Su Tang quickly gestured for her to get up, so Pu Wei stood up. But then, she asked in a curious tone, "But miss, what does Pu Wei mean?"
"Pu Wei is a kind of grass that is very flexible and tenacious." Su Tang had felt this girl gave her an impression of tenacity, so she chose a correspondingly fitting name. (tl note: Her name is '蒲苇' which is pampas grass – an invasive species of grass that can outgrow and choke out other forms of vegetation)
As it happened, since Mrs. Li had brought Pu Wei over in the morning before Su Tang had opened the cafe, the girl had arrived at a good time. Taking advantage of that, Su Tang led both Pu Wei and Baohe to the kitchen to make the desserts that would be sold during the day. While they worked, Su Tang sternly told Pu Wei the rules of her family. Once again, Su Tang explained that Pu Wei should never speak about the things she might see inside the house to outsides, but other than that she would have a great deal of freedom.
Pu Wei firmly engraved Su Tang's words in her heart and promised that she would never disclose anything. Su Tang nodded with satisfaction and decided that, starting from today, she would hand over the Dessert Cafe to Pu Wei and Baohe.
Su Tang was free in the mornings, so she decided she would lead them in making the desserts at that time, and after that, the two of them would work to keep the shop running while exchanging which counter they worked from time to time so that they would be experienced with all aspects of the shop. This way, Su Tang felt that she finally wouldn't be so tied down to the shop anymore.
That afternoon, Su Tang headed to the Song residence. When Pengmo opened the door to her knock, he was surprised to see her there and said: "Young miss, why did you come? This small one was still planning to come and pick up master's lunch a bit later."
Su Tang replied, "Today I bought a new servant, so I won't have to be in the shop all the time anymore. Where's master, in the study?"
Pengmo quickly ushered her inside and closed the door behind while saying: "En, he should be. Since the young miss hasn't been coming these past few days master hasn't been eating as much anymore. It's good that you're back now, he won't have to miss you anymore."
"Pengmo, I think you're asking for a beating! Why are you spouting nonsense?" Song Yi suddenly roared. He had originally been in his study when he heard the knock at the door. Thinking that it might be Su Tang, he anxiously sent Pengmo over to open the door for her but, at the same time, he wanted to maintain his dignity as a master so he stayed in the study himself.
But who would have thought that as soon as Pengmo saw Su Tang he would unexpectedly grow leopard guts and start talking nonsense?
Hearing his master's yell, Pengmo just smiled and said: "Yes, yes, this small one was wrong, this small one should be beaten, and this small one will pour tea for you and the young miss now. Ah, there's still some of that milk tea sent over by the young miss before, so should I use that or the regular tea?"
Su Tang stepped inside and was met with Song Yi staring at her and fuming, but she just smiled and said to Pengmo, "Yesterday's milk tea isn't fresh anymore, I brought a freshly made pot with me and also some desserts that I made this morning. Here, please put them on a plate and send them over."
Su Tang held up the food box she was carrying as she spoke and then handed it over to Pengmo when she was done. Pengmo hurriedly agreed and disappeared toward the kitchen after receiving the food box.
"Unworthy disciple, it seems you still know to come back?!" Song Yi's words were fierce, but his tone was more petulant.
It was said that children grew up into old children, and Song Yi seemed to fit the bill. Su Tang almost wanted to laugh. Although her master was normally very shrewd and always scheming up new ways to tease Su Tang, after she had stopped coming over for only a few days he was already throwing a small temper.
"Master, the disciple really missed you. I haven't seen you for just a few days, but you've already lost weight! This disciple really wishes you would eat and sleep properly while we are apart, ah. But now, finally meeting master today, this disciple feels as if she's stepped out of a cold winter and into the warmth of the sun!"
Su Tang could clearly see Song Yi's temper rising, so she quickly began to speak sweet words to coax this elder!
