My Home's Ancient Well Connects to the Martial Arts World

Chapter 13: Chapter 13: Water-Boiled Fish Business

”Hello, you must be Mr. Ye Xing, right?” The man in the suit’s expression brightened as he strode over.

”Yes, Mr. Zhou! Your Water-Boiled Fish!” Ye Xing smiled, handing the dish to the man in the suit.

Mr. Zhou eagerly took the container and opened the lid.

Instantly, a cloud of hot steam billowed out, carrying with it an irresistible, fishy aroma.

”Wow, it smells incredible! No wonder Fatty Huang couldn’t stop singing its praises. I honestly thought he was exaggerating.” Mr. Zhou gazed at the snow-white broth in the container, his mouth watering. He audibly gulped, swallowing hard before resisting the immense temptation and placing the lid back on.

”My son is going to love this. It smells so good! Mr. Ye, you’re a truly extraordinary chef.” With a look of admiration, Mr. Zhou opened his briefcase, took out a thick stack of hundred-yuan bills—it looked to be about ten thousand yuan—and handed it to Ye Xing.

”That’s too much. It’s only one thousand yuan,” Ye Xing said with a smile.

’After all, the Water-Boiled Fish is diluted. The Demon Beast Meat content is less than a thousandth of what was in the Shredded Pork with Bamboo Shoots, so I only planned to sell it for a thousand yuan a serving. I can’t go any lower, though; this dish is still one-of-a-kind.’

”Huh? I remember Fatty Huang telling me it was ten thousand yuan per plate,” Mr. Zhou said, puzzled.

”That was for the Shredded Pork with Bamboo Shoots, which cost ten thousand yuan. I’m not selling that anymore. I’m only selling the Water-Boiled Fish now, and it’s one thousand yuan per serving,” Ye Xing said.

”A thousand yuan? That’s so cheap! Can I buy another serving for myself?”

”My apologies, I only made one serving today.” A thought crossed Ye Xing’s mind. ”If you’d like to buy more, you can come back to Auntie Pang’s Snack Shop tomorrow. We’ll be selling this Water-Boiled Fish here from now on.”

”Haha, that’s fantastic! I’ll definitely be back tomorrow. For now, I’ll take this portion to my son! Well then, Mr. Ye, I’ll be on my way.” Mr. Zhou bid farewell to Ye Xing, then left Auntie Pang’s Snack Shop with the fish, driving off toward Luoxian County.

”Axing, that gentleman was waiting for you for quite a while. Was he here to buy your Shredded Pork with Bamboo Shoots?”

Just then, his aunt, Ye Xiuying, finished serving a customer and came out smiling.

”Yes, but it wasn’t for the pork. It was for Water-Boiled Fish,” Ye Xing replied.

”You kid, your cooking is getting better and better! That Shredded Pork with Bamboo Shoots you made last time was so good I almost swallowed my own tongue,” his aunt, Ye Xiuying, said. ”If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I’d never have believed you could cook so well.”

”Haha, Auntie, do you really think my cooking skills are that amazing?” Ye Xing said with a wink.

”Huh? Why? You mean you didn’t cook it?” Ye Xiuying asked, confused.

”I did cook it, but my skills are just average. The only reason it’s so delicious is because of the ingredients,” Ye Xing said seriously. ”Take the Grass Carp I’m raising, for example. Anyone could cook them, and they’d still taste just as fresh and delicious.”

”Really? Aren’t all grass carp more or less the same?”

”Mine are different. I feed them precious herbs, which makes them taste much better than ordinary ones.” A thought occurred to Ye Xing. ”Actually, the main reason I came today was to ask you something, Auntie. I was wondering if I could bring my Grass Carp here for you to cook and sell.”

”Of course, no problem! If you don’t mind my cooking, just bring them over, and I’ll cook them for you,” his aunt, Ye Xiuying, said. ”By the way, how much would we sell a plate for?”

”Your cooking is way better than mine, Auntie, how could I possibly mind?” Ye Xing laughed. ”As for the price, let’s set it at one thousand yuan for now.”

”Only a thousand yuan? That’s too cheap!” Ye Xiuying’s eyes lit up. ”Why don’t we sell it for ten thousand, like you did with the Shredded Pork with Bamboo Shoots?”

’Auntie’s such a money-grubber,’ Ye Xing thought, momentarily speechless. He quickly explained, ”Auntie, ten thousand is too expensive. Only a handful of wealthy people could afford that. If we set the price that high, we won’t have many customers. But at a thousand yuan, even regular people could bite the bullet and afford a meal or two. And the rich could eat it all the time without feeling the pinch. We’re aiming for a steady stream of business. With a larger customer base, we’ll sell more and ultimately earn more.”

”Hmm, that does make a lot of sense. You’re a college student, you definitely know more about this stuff than I do. A thousand it is, then.”

Next, Ye Xing and his aunt discussed the specific details and how to split the profits. Ye Xing’s initial proposal was a 50-50 split, but his aunt refused. In her words, she’d be a laughingstock for taking advantage of her own nephew. She insisted on helping for free, or at most, taking a fifty-yuan fee for her labor. It took a great deal of persuasion from Ye Xing to convince her to accept a 70-30 split: for every thousand yuan earned, Ye Xing would take seven hundred, and she would take three hundred. If they could sell five Grass Carp a day, that would amount to around one hundred thousand yuan a month—a very substantial income. Of course, partnering with Auntie Pang’s Snack Shop was just the first step for Ye Xing. He was happy that he could make money while also helping out his family.

’The Demon Beast Meat paste in the fridge is almost gone. I need to restock!’

After leaving Auntie Pang’s Snack Shop, Ye Xing headed straight for a convenience store. He bought several boxes of lighters, some mirrors, and a few other items, preparing to return to the Martial Arts Continent to earn more Gold Coins. After all, he needed a steady supply of Demon Beast Meat to keep raising his delicious Grass Carp.

Back at the old family house, Ye Xing first changed into the traditional clothing of the Martial Arts Continent. Wearing modern clothes there would attract strange looks and make things awkward, so he had already prepared several sets of outfits. Once he was changed, he used the Teleportation Array in the old well to travel to the Martial Arts Continent.

...