TTTQF Chapter 87

Business Comes Knocking

"Boss, you're back!"

In the afternoon, Jiang Miao returns to the Jiang family shop. Tang Lin hurries over, holding a piece of paper in his hand.

“Did something happen in the shop?” Jiang Miao asks, a bit puzzled. Under normal circumstances, no one would dare to come to his shop to cause trouble, right? After all, everyone knows that the Duke's household stands behind this shop.

Tang Lin shakes his head. “Not at all. We’ve got business. A customer wants to buy zongzi!”

“Then just sell them, what's the big deal?” Jiang Miao says casually. But as he takes the paper, his eyes widen instantly. “Two thousand of them?”

"That's right! We spent all day yesterday wrapping them and only managed a few hundred. And now this customer wants two thousand all at once. How are we supposed to make that happen? Besides, he's not the only one. Other customers want to buy more too, adding up to almost a thousand more.”

“They’re not joking, are they?” Jiang Miao thinks. Zongzi don’t keep for long; if they trick him into making too many and they don't sell, that would be disastrous.

Tang Lin hesitates: "I don’t think so. Those regular customers ordering dozens have already paid upfront. The only uncertainty is about that one customer.”

Jiang Miao feels reassured. The attitude of the regulars indicates there is still a market for meat zongzi. As for that particular customer, after finding out about the shop's backing, they wouldn’t dare to mess with him. “What about that customer? Did he just leave this note?"

"That customer also left a message, saying that his surname is Tan, and he’s staying in Room 1 at the Mingyang Inn.”

Jiang Miao nods and orders: “Go to Manager Wang’s store and have him send over a thousand pounds of glutinous rice. Also, tell Li Ping to go to the butcher shop and order over four hundred pounds of meat. Let them know I’ll settle the bill tomorrow. In the meantime, I’ll go find this customer named Tan first."

Tang Lin nods quickly, relays the message to Li Ping, and the two hurry out. Jiang Miao then finds Aunt Wen and Jiang Yu and asks them to clean and dry the remaining bamboo leaves in preparation for wrapping more zongzi.

After doing all this, Jiang Miao settles Pei Mu in the room to practice calligraphy, then heads out alone.

Mingyang Inn is at the end of the street just ahead. Jiang Miao has been to that area before to assess the foot traffic, so he walks straight there after leaving. The Mingyang Inn is considered one of the better inns in the area. The guest rooms are divided into three categories: heaven, earth, and people. Unlike smaller inns that typically offer common dormitory-style rooms, this inn has none of those.

Because the guests here generally have some wealth, the inn takes safety quite seriously. If someone comes looking for a guest, they usually have to get the guest’s permission before allowing anyone in.

“Excuse me, I’m looking for a guest with the surname Tan in Room 1. Could you pass a message to him for me? Just tell him that I’m—”

Before Jiang Miao can finish, the inn's errand boy interrupts him excitedly, “You’re the young madam from the Jiang family shop, right? I’ve seen you before. I often run errands for guests and go to your shop to buy breakfast!”

Jiang Miao looks a bit embarrassed and takes a moment before managing a smile. “Since you recognize me, could I trouble you to inform the guest named Tan for me? Thank you."

“It’s my duty, you don’t need to be so polite. Please wait here for a moment; I’ll be right back.” The errand boy hurries inside and soon returns, running back out.

“Young madam, the guest surnamed Tan invites you to come in for a chat. Please, follow me,” he says.

Jiang Miao can’t hold back any longer and, feeling a bit awkward, whispers, “Could you just call me Manager Jiang? I’m more used to people addressing me that way.”

The errand boy nods while leading the way. “Alright, young madam!”

Jiang Miao thinks to himself:: I give up!

Knock, knock!

The door has barely been knocked on when it opens. A man in his forties stands there. He is of medium build with a thin beard on his chin. He looks quite ordinary, but the occasional sharp glint in his eyes shows that this person is not simple.

“You must be Manager Tan. I’m Jiang Miao, the manager of the Jiang family shop,” Jiang Miao introduces himself.

“I’ve heard much about you. Please come in and have a seat, Manager Jiang.” After they are seated, Manager Tan continues, “Brother, please make some good tea and bring up a few plates of tasty snacks.”

After the errand boy leaves, Manager Tan asks, “Manager Jiang, did you come about the two thousand zongzi?”

“Yes, I was not in the store this morning. When I come back and hear about this, I hurry over. May I ask where you plan to send these two thousand zongzi, Manager Tan?” Jiang Miao asks.

Manager Tan replies, “Don’t worry, Manager Jiang, I won’t be selling these zongzi in Liangjing City.”

Jiang Miao smiles, “I’m not worried about that. I just want to mention that zongzi don’t keep for very long. If you’re planning to transport them a great distance, I wouldn’t recommend buying so many.”

Hearing this, Manager Tan, a bit moved, says, “I misjudged you. I didn’t realize you were asking out of concern for me. I’m from Linzhou, which is just over a hundred li from Liangjing. By carriage, it only takes a day to get there.”

“Only a day? Then that’s not an issue, but it’s still best to sell them as soon as possible,” Jiang Miao says, not wanting to see a whole cartload of zongzi go to waste.

“Don’t worry. Your zongzi are delicious. The people of Linzhou are very particular about their food. I’m sure these zongzi will sell quickly there,” Manager Tan says with satisfaction. He has eaten five large zongzi that morning alone. If he’s not really afraid that they would be difficult to digest, he would definitely eat more.

"Since Manager Tan is sure about buying them, then our store will accept this business," Jiang Miao says.

“Great! I’ll come by your shop early tomorrow to load the zongzi onto the cart. I’ll settle the bill then. Is that alright with you, Manager Jiang? I wonder if Manager Jiang can trust me?”

Jiang Miao smiles, “Manager Tan, you look like a serious businessman. How could I not trust you? Besides, even if you don’t come tomorrow, I’m not worried about selling these zongzi.”

Manager Tan pauses for a moment, then laughs as well. “Indeed. The Jiang family shop’s business is booming. After someone recommended it to me, I’ve been having breakfast at your shop every day. It’s just that I rarely see you there.”

“I’m usually in the back kitchen. Next time you come by, I’ll make sure to host you for a meal,” Jiang Miao offers.

After they finish their conversation, Jiang Miao leaves the inn.

When he returns to the Jiang family shop, Zhou Lin and Li Ping have not yet come back, but Jiang Yu and Aunt Wen have washed a lot of bamboo leaves and laid them out on trays to dry. The entire courtyard is covered in a vibrant green.

Jiang Miao greets them and then begins preparing the sauce. Once the meat and rice arrive, they can soak them and get started right away.

Since they need to make a large batch of zongzi this time, Jiang Miao uses a big vat to mix the sauce. Worried about getting the flavor just right, he carefully adds ingredients bit by bit, frequently tasting it to ensure the taste is perfect.

After the sauce is prepared, Jiang Miao goes to the courtyard to help Jiang Yu and the others wash the bamboo leaves. They have picked several sacks of bamboo leaves from Jiangjiawan, and they have already used one large bag yesterday. Today, they have taken out all the remaining leaves to wash. Jiang Miao thinks these should be enough, but it seems like they will need someone to go back and pick more. Buying bamboo leaves could be quite expensive, after all!

As he is thinking about this, Aunt Wen suddenly says, “Boss, do we need to wrap all these zongzi today?”

Jiang Miao nods. “Yes, we have a big order. By the way, Aunt Wen, after you finish washing the leaves, you can go home and rest. Come back in the evening after the rice has finished soaking. We might have to work through the night today. But don't worry, night shift work will be paid separately.” The situation is urgent, and the glutinous rice needs soaking, so it won’t be possible to finish without working overtime. Jiang Miao feels a bit rueful; he doesn’t expect that he would one day become a black-hearted boss who exploits his employees.

Aunt Wen hesitates for a moment before asking, “With just the few of us, isn’t time going to be a bit tight?” Looking at the whole courtyard filled with bamboo leaves, it doesn’t seem possible to finish everything overnight.

“It is a bit tight, but calling in more people at the last minute, especially for a night shift, might be hard. We’ll just have to wrap as many as we can,” Jiang Miao replies, a bit helpless. This small breakfast shop, including himself, has only five and a half employees. Daniu can only be considered a half because he is also responsible for making and selling the pan-fried buns at his stall.

More people would be unnecessary on regular days, but when something urgent comes up, it feels a bit overwhelming.

“Boss, I was thinking, I have two daughters at home, ages thirteen and fourteen. They’re quite quick with their hands. How about I bring them over tonight to help out? We could wrap a bit more that way,” Aunt Wen suggests.

Jiang Miao is pleasantly surprised. “That would be great! Aunt Wen, just bring them over, and I’ll make sure to pay them for their night work.”

Aunt Wen quickly waves her hand. “They’re just helping out; there’s no need to pay them.”

Jiang Miao insists, “Working late isn't good for their health. If it were just a regular favor, I’d let it go, but this time it’s a must.”

As the two are talking, Tang Lin and Li Ping return. Behind Tang Lin is a worker pulling a flatbed cart. The worker greets Jiang Miao and then helps unload the glutinous rice. As for the meat, it hasn’t arrived yet; apparently, the butcher has to slaughter a pig on the spot before sending it over.

Jiang Miao tells the two about the overtime work, and neither seems surprised. They must have guessed it from the amount of stuff Jiang Miao asked them to buy. However, when they hear that there will be extra pay for the overtime, they immediately become excited.

Fortunately, they haven’t given up on this job just because the Jiang family shop seems like a small business. Now, their monthly wages have increased significantly and are much better than those of other restaurants and inns out there.

By nightfall, everyone gathers again. They have rested well in the afternoon, so they are all feeling quite refreshed. Jiang Miao, however, hasn’t taken a break. He is busy preparing the meat, and after he finishes, he pours half a basin of the sauce over it to let it marinate.

“The rice and meat are ready, so let’s start wrapping the zongzi,” Jiang Miao suggests. He pushes all the tables in the front hall together, leaving a large open space in the middle. Everyone sits around, fully focused on wrapping zongzi.

The candles flicker out and are relit, over and over again. The fire in the stove blazes up and then dies down, and gradually, the whole room fills with the fragrance of zongzi.

Jiang Miao yawns, gets up, and scoops out a batch, placing them on a tray to dry.

When the morning bell tolls three times, the sun has already risen above the horizon. After the last pot of zongzi is lifted out of the pot, Jiang Miao roughly counts them—ten per string, totaling over three hundred strings. On average, each person has wrapped about three to four hundred zongzi.

“Everyone has worked hard. After we sell these zongzi in the morning, we’ll close up so everyone can have a good rest,” Jiang Miao says, though he also wants to go straight to sleep himself. At this moment, he is quite envious of Xiao Shitou and Pei Mu; the two of them have gone to sleep in the house usually used for midday naps around 9 o’clock.

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