Chapter 111

The potatoes that they sowed in spring could not be compared in size to those sowed in winter naturally. Gao Quan and Shao Yu hadn’t eaten potatoes since they came to their home. In the evening, Xu Ran made dinner by himself. He killed a chicken and stewed it with the potatoes. This time, Liu Tong didn’t say anything.

The potatoes were piled into the cellar of Xu Ran’s house. On average, they moved five carts every day. After digging for three days, they had quite a few potatoes.

After digging the potatoes, Xu Ran took a pack basket to the town. Of course, he could send the letter on the way.

He was going to give the potatoes to Mr. Chen. It had been a few days, and the strawberry jam might go bad if he didn’t go.

Xu Ran didn’t received the money for the strawberry jam, for he agreed with Mr. Chen that he would collect money after he gave him the potatoes. He couldn’t sell at a high price if potatoes were abundant on the market. However, Xu Ran thought if necessary to quote a high price since no one was selling potatoes at the moment. After all, he needed money as his house would probably finish the house construction by end of the month.

Xu Ran  went to courier station and sent the letter before going to Mr. Chen’s restaurant.

Xu Ran had already written the recipes for potato chips as well as other dishes made with potatoes, and he showed the steps of making Frech fries to Mr. Chen when he arrived at the restaurant.

Xu Ran demonstrated how to make potato chips to convince Mr. Chen that the recipe indeed worked.

The chefs here were all men, so no one said that cooking was beneath a gentleman.

As he intended to sell the recipe to Mr. Chen, Xu Ran deliberately asked the several people assigned by Mr. Chen  to watch beside him. It would be easier for them to make this dish if they watched him cook before they made it themselves following the recipe.

He washed the mud off the potatoes and peeled them. After he cut them into chips, he soaked them in water to get rid of the starch. Next he boiled the potato chips in the pot for a while and took them out.  After that, he heated some oil in the other pot and fried the chips until they turned golden yellow.

“You can add other flavors according to the tastes of the customers. It could be sour, sweet and salty. This is very simple.” Xu Ran explained as he fried the potato chips in the pot.

The potato chips smelt good. Soon one plate was ready.

After it cooled down a little , Xu Ran asked the staff in the kitchen to have a taste.

New things were attractive to everyone, but everyone had a different taste. Some liked the potato chips while some didn’t.

However, Xu Ran could not guarantee that all the staff would like this dish, but it was not intended for them anyway.

Xu Ran took another plate to Mr. Chen and asked him to have a taste.

Mr. Chen looked at the potato chips same as the last time, feeling confident. After he tasted the dish, he got more confident, asking Xu Ran to sell all the potatoes to him.

Xu Ran intended to sell him the potatoes, but he decided how to sell them.

Xu Ran took out the recipes he had prepared. “Mr. Chen, potato is really a good thing, but I don’t grow a lot. I have to save some for my own family, so I can only provide you with twenty-five to fifty kilograms every month. In addition, I have a few recipes here, which are made with potatoes. Are you interested?”

Mr. Chen rubbed his hands. “I’m interested, of course I’m interested. But Xu Ran, twenty-five to fifty kilograms are far from enough.”

Xu Ran stuck out his index finger and shook it. “No, no,no, Mr. Chen. you can sell it as your signature dish and serve one or two dishes every day. I’m sure customers will find it more desirable when they can’t have it to their content. The price will go up and this amount will be definitely sufficient.”

Mr. Chen calculated in his heart and felt that what Xu Ran said made sense, but…

Xu Ran noticed Mr. Chen’s hesitation, asking, “Mr. Chen, I wonder if there are any other problems on your side.”

Mr. Chen spread out his hands, “Oh, there’s not any. I just don’t know how these dishes taste.”

It turned out that he was worried about this. Xu Ran stood up and said, “You don’t have to worry about this. I’ll make you the simplest dish, which is sour and spicy shredded potatoes. You will know after you taste it yourself.”

After he spoke, Xu Ran turned and went to the kitchen. He asked the cook to shred the potatos. After he prepared the seasoning and scrabmed the potatoes in the pot.

It didn’t take long to make this dish. Xu Ran took it away after he cooked it. This time, he didn’t let the chefs have a taste. After all, the ownership of the recipe had not been decided yet.

Mr. Chen was waiting for the sour and spicy shredded potatoes made by Xu Ran. He detected a delicious smell with the flavor of spicy chilli from afar.

Mr. Chen couldn’t wait to have a taste, but Xu Ran stopped him. “Mr. Chen, you are not enough of a friend. We’ve worked together for a few days, but you don’t trust me.”

Mr. Chen was embarrassed by Xu Ran’s words. However, on second thought, he didn’t care about this as a restaurant owner. He started to joke with Xu Ran, asking to taste the dish.

Xu Ran just made a casual comment and he didn’t intend to take it seriously. He handed the dish to Mr. Chen, and then told him the names of the dishes on his recipes.

They sounded tempting!

Mr. Chen paused and asked Xu Ran to stop. He said, “Xu Ran, just tell me how much these recipes cost. As long as the price is reasonable, I will take them all.”

Xu Ran spread out his hands. “Mr. Chen, have I ever offered you any unreasonable prices?”

Mr. Chen thought for a while and agreed. The prices that Xu Ran had offered him before were reasonable, and he could afford it. He said, “Okay, I’ll take them all. Quote me a price. And your potatoes, tell me how much you ask for.”

Xu Ran offered him the price of the recipes and the potatoes. Mr. Chen clenched his teeth and slammed the table. “Deal. I’ll take your offer. Give me all the recipes, and I’ll get the money.”

After he spoke, Mr. Chen went to get the money. Xu Ran folded the pieces of recipes one by one and put them together.

After Mr. Chen brought the money, he exchanged money for the recipes with Xu Ran, saying it had been a pleasure to work with Xu Ran.

Xu Ran was elated. At least, with the money, he would stay out of debt when the house was built.

He would not be busy these days, so he could go to the mountain when he had time. He could pick mushrooms and sell them, which would make a little profit.

And he would have more time to accompany Liu Tong at home and teach the two children to read.

Xu Ran had been too busy lately to have time for reflection. Now he got up early and went to sleep late every day with good spirits. However, when he thought there was nothing to be done and he had nothing to worry about, he felt very tired.

After Xu Ran got home, he hugged Liu Tong and went to sleep.

Liu Tong wiped the sweat on his forehead, knowing that Xu Ran was tired, and he let him hugged him. After he got pregnant, his body was a little cold, which made Ran more comfortable when hugging him.

Xu Ran slept very little these days, and he went around, so he lost quite some weight. However, he looked sturdier, completely different from the time when he had just recovered.

Xu Ran came back at noon time and went to sleep without even having lunch. He didn’t know when Liu Tong got up. When he woke up, he didn’t see him around. He felt a little hot and was about to take a shower.

Just then, Liu Tong came in with a big bowl. “Ran, you’re awake. You’ve slept for a whole afternoon. Are you hungry?. Drink some water and get up. Shao Yu has made some porridge, which is cooling down. It’s good that you wake up now as the porridge should be ready.”

Xu Ran  felt a little thirsty. He took the bowl of water in Liu Tong’s hand and started to drink.

After he finished drinking, he got out of bed and asked Liu Tong, “Tongtong, I don’t know what you got up.”

Liu Tong smiled. “I haven’t got up for long. You’ve been tired these days. I didn’t wake you up ’cause you were sleeping soundly.”

Xu Ran edged forward again and leaned on Liu Tong. “Tongtong, I have been too busy lately to spend time with you. I’m sorry for that. But don’t worry, my work is almost done now, so I can spend more time with you.”

Liu Tong softly punched him. “What are you talking about? I know you’re busy. Besides, I’m grown-up and I know how to take care of myself, so I don’t need your company.”

“That’s different. I have to stay with you. Otherwise, the baby will not be close with me after it’s born. By the way, does it make you suffer? I sleep like a log at night, so I don’t know if it’s behaving well.”

Liu Tong shook her head. “The baby is quite good, even better than Tangtang and Guoguo. It doesn’t make a fuss at all.”

It was the first time that Xu Ran heard Liu Tong talked about Tangtang and Guoguo in his pregnancy. He instantly became interested and grabbed Liu Tong, saying, “Tongtong, tell me about them when you were having them, and tell me about their childhood.”

Liu Tong patted him. “What’s there to say when I was pregnant? Isn’t it the same as other pregnant women? Tangtang and Guoguo have been very good and clinging to you since they were born, although you haven’t known them yet. Come on, it’s been a long time. Why are we talking about this? Go wash your face, and we’re ready to eat.”

Seeing that Liu Tong was unwilling to tell him, Xu Ran didn’t press him. He listened to him and went out to wash his face.

When Xu Ran came back, everyone sat at the table waiting for him. Xu Ran had planned to take a shower before dinner, but he didn’t want to hold them up when he saw that they were waiting for him.

They used to sit together for dinner, but they didn’t chat with each other. After they were through, they left the table for work. Therefore he didn’t have a good communication with them, especially Gao Quan and Shao Yu. Xu Ran felt that he was heartless, for he just brought them to the fields for work every day after he bought them, and he didn’t care about them.

At dinner, Xu Ran asked Gao Quan and Shaoyu, “Have you got used to it? I was too busy to pay attention to you. Thank you for your hard work, without which I wouldn’t have known what to do.”

Usually, when Shao Yu was around, Gao Quan would not do the talking, so Shao Yu naturally replied, “Master, we’re pretty good here. We don’t lack anything. Lord and the young masters treat us well. We should work hard for you. You bought us with money and proivde us with bed and food. It would be a sin if we don’t do anything.

Xu Ran nodded. “It’s good that you don’t lack anything. Now you are at our home, and we are family. Don’t hesitate to tell me what you need. I know that other families pay the people they’ve bought monthly. I’ll pay you each one tael of silver each month. What do you think?”

They should be paid indeed, but the salary that Xu Ran offered them was high. No one in the town could earn a tael of silver in a month, let alone Xu Village. They were even the first house         hold which bought people.

Shao Yu hurriedly waved his hand. “Master, It is too much. We can’t take it.”

Xu Ran pounded the table and made the decision. “You might not need the money now, but maybe one day you’ll need them. It’s decided.You don’t have to be polite.”

Since Xu Ran said so, Shao Yu had to accept it. Gao Quan didn’t even glance at Xu Ran during the talk, but sat quietly in his seat, helping himself and Shao Yu to the dishes.

After that, Xu Ran asked Tangtang and  Guoguo about their homework. Although the brothers  were very smart, they were only kids. When Xu Ran assigned them homework, they started to bargain with Xu Ran, which amused the whole table.