229 Honey Trap
During this period, it was constantly stirred clockwise to prevent it from sticking to the pot. Then, salt, chicken essence, and raw soy sauce were added for freshness. Ripe sesame seeds were sprinkled and stir-fried. After the mushroom chili sauce thickened, it was taken out of the pot.
In the end, she began to make mushroom beef chili sauce. First, Yu Bing poured the raw peanuts into the pot and stir-fried them until they were brown. After they cooled, she rubbed the skin out. The remaining peanuts were smashed and placed aside for further use.
After pouring in the special oil, she stir-fried the beef until it turned white. Then, she poured in white wine to remove the fishy smell and increase the aroma as she stir-fried it slowly over a small fire until the water in the beef evaporated. Next, she added chopped chili and soybean sauce. After the aroma of the sauce emitted, she added white sugar and stir-fried it again.
Then, she poured in the diced mushrooms and continued to stir-fry the mushrooms at low heat in order to evaporate the water. This was to extend the storage time. Ten minutes later, she poured in the spice powder, salt, and crushed peanuts. Five minutes later, she added chicken bouillon and cooked sesame seeds, then she stir-fried them evenly.
These three flavors had similar names, but there were differences in their cooking methods, so the taste was completely different.
Out of the few types of spicy sauces, the garlic double-pepper sauce was the simplest to make. The garlic was fragrant, and the red pepper in the double-pepper added spiciness. The green pepper gave it a fresh taste. When the final product was presented in a glass jar, it was green and red in color.
Canned spicy fish was more troublesome to make. Just marinating the fish pieces took two hours. After that, she had to dry it and pour in a special oil to fry the fish until it turned golden.
The fish pieces and the chili sauce were made separately. After the chili sauce was ready, she poured in the fish pieces and stir-fried them evenly.
The next day, Xiao Sheng brought Yu Bing to the county city.
When they arrived at the county city, it was just past eight o’clock. In order to show her hospitality, Yu Bing treated Zeng Li to breakfast at the state-owned restaurant.
Zeng Li wanted to order a bowl of noodles, but Yu Bing ordered buns and soy milk first, so he didn’t say anything. After all, it was someone else’s treat.
Yu Bing deliberately ordered buns. Then, she took out the sample and recommended to Zeng Li, “Mr. Zeng, buns taste superb with chili sauce. This way, you can also get a better feel of our products.”
Zeng Li agreed with her. This was because many soldiers in the army ate steamed buns or white rice dipped in chili sauce. He could also learn their habits. This way, the products he chose might suit their taste better.
After eating a plate of buns with a few varieties of chili sauces, Zeng Li was already sweating from the spiciness, but he continued to dip the buns in the sauces.
This was the first time Zeng Li found out that buns, which he didn’t like, could be so delicious.
After finishing the five new products, Zeng Li was still savoring the aftertaste. Every product had its own characteristics, giving him difficulty choosing. “They all taste good and have their own unique characteristics, but I can’t choose them all.”
Before coming, Yu Bing and Xiao Sheng had already set the price, so Xiao Sheng suggested, “Mr. Zeng, why don’t you consider the purchase budget first?”
“Each bottle is 500 grams. The price of garlic and pepper sauce is 1 yuan, mushroom chili sauce is 1.2 yuan, beef chili sauce is 1.8 yuan, and mushroom beef chili sauce is 1.5 yuan. The supply for canned spicy fish is not available yet, but the price is 1.2 yuan. You’re welcome to order when the goods are available.”
The budget of the army was relatively limited. The first two varieties were for the army, while the beef chili sauce was supposed to be sold on the black market.
Other than the capital, the two most prosperous port cities in the country were S City and G City. There were more rich people in S City than in the rest of the country. They only lacked good products.
After Zeng Li heard the price, she quickly calculated the market price. After a while, she said, “I’ll order 1,000 bottles of garlic, peppers, mushroom beef, and beef chili sauce each.”
Yu Bing pursed her lips as she looked at Zeng Li with sparkling eyes. Yu Bing was certain that she would be able to pay off all her debts by the end of this year!
When Zeng Li saw Yu Bing’s gaze, he decided that it was time to use a honey trap.
He raised his eyebrows and winked. “Miss Yu, please give me a discount of 0.1 yuan per bottle. I’m probably the biggest customer of your factory now.”
When Xiao Sheng saw Zeng Li’s actions, his gaze turned extremely cold. When Zeng Li felt a sudden chill behind him, he turned around and looked around, but he didn’t find anything amiss.
Yu Bing didn’t find it strange when she heard that the customer wanted to bargain. After all, this was a necessary part of business negotiation, but what did he mean by raising his eyebrows and winking at her?