CHAPTER 640: ISSUE 340: SOMETHING’S OFF

Old Mrs. Meng looked at Pan Ping’an as if he wasn’t planning to leave anytime soon, and finally decided to serve some tea. She let him sit in the front yard, then went on her own way, taking the little walnut with her to play in the main room.

The location of the Meng Family’s new residence was just right, with the gentle sunshine of spring enveloping most of the courtyard in bright sunlight, giving a warm feeling to anyone basking in it. The mud where flowers and grass were planted emitted a light, dry fragrance, making each breath taken extremely comforting and snug.

Hua Xiaomai pushed the tea bowl toward Pan Ping’an, and seeing his face unable to hide the smugness that seemed ready to spill over, she couldn’t help but smile secretly with her head bowed.

This Uncle Ping’an, having hustled for many years in the Provincial City, had not really made a name for himself, but had certainly witnessed a fair share of the world. Ever since Zhenwei Garden opened, business had always been good. Transactions involving dozens or hundreds of taels were not likely worthy of such a display of eagerness, going out of his way to flaunt. So...

"Uncle Ping’an, why don’t you stop beating around the bush and just tell me directly?" she smiled at Pan Ping’an, lips pursed, "Spill it, let me share in the joy!"

"Heh."

Having posed enough, Pan Ping’an leaned in closer, held up his fingers a tad theatrically as he counted in front of her, and said in a mysteriously low voice, "A whole seven hundred taels!"

What?

Hua Xiaomai was taken aback, and then the smile on her cheeks immediately faded a bit.

Seven hundred taels? This... seemed somewhat off!

It was true that she seldom visited Zhenwei Garden, but there were a few days each month when she did go to keep an eye on Lei An and his wife making sauce. Every time there was new sauce out of the vat, Master Lei would always bring some for her to taste. Therefore, while she might not have a crystal-clear grasp on Sauce Garden’s situation, she surely had an idea in her heart.

Business at Zhenwei Garden was indeed flourishing, but condiments were everyday necessities for common folk that couldn’t be missing from daily life. Even if they were priced high, could they really fetch an exorbitant price? Currently, in the Sauce Garden, the most expensive sauce was eighty wen per pot, and that was because it used quite a few pricey dried seafoods. Other sauces were generally around thirty to forty wen—transactions involving seven hundred taels would equate to delivering over ten thousand pots of goods at once. Were those two merchants planning to use the sauces for a lavish bath?

Zhenwei Garden did have a few substantial deals in the Provincial City, up to four or five hundred taels, but those were yearly orders from restaurants. How could they be compared?

This logic was clear even to her, and Pan Ping’an, who had been rolling with the punches in business for a while, ought to easily detect the oddity. Could it be that he was so delirious with joy over a potentially big deal that he forgot to consider this?

Hua Xiaomai voiced her doubts one by one, and Pan Ping’an immediately began waving his hands and shaking his head, adopting an extremely confident demeanor.

"Didn’t I tell you? They plan to buy these sauces and sell them to the locals and restaurants back home. A sauce garden like ours, willing to devote care and use genuine ingredients, is rare no matter where you go. Our sauce is famously delicious and genuine, and once it’s transported to their hometown, it’s bound to be extremely popular!"

As he spoke, he picked up his tea bowl and took a sip, stating confidently, "They just want to earn a margin, right? People from big places dressed so extravagantly, at first glance, seem to have ample resources, not lacking in money! If he wants to buy, we just have to produce the sauces, and how he plans to transport them back, and what he intends to do with them after that, what does it have to do with us?"

Hua Xiaomai nodded slightly, but remained silent for a moment.

...Well, Pan Ping’an’s words seemed reasonable enough, but why did she still feel uneasy?

"Uncle Ping’an, have you already settled this deal with those two merchants? Why didn’t you consult with me beforehand? And... have they paid a deposit?"

She furrowed her brow in thought, her voice growing serious.

As soon as these words were out, Pan Ping’an’s expression turned sour, his formerly triumphant smile now collapsing.

"Wasn’t I thinking that you had just given birth not long ago and were in the midst of chaos?"

He glanced at Hua Xiaomai’s face somewhat resentfully: "Xiaomai girl, it was you who threw your entire heart into Daoxiang Garden, fearing that you couldn’t manage everything, and called me back from the Provincial City to help you manage Zhenwei Garden. We agreed clearly that I could make decisions regarding business matters. Now, seeing that we’ve secured a big deal, which is certainly a great thing, you seem so distrustful. Do you really think I might embezzle the money? Hmph, I, a man surnamed Pan, do love money, but I have not yet reached such a shameless extent!"