Chapter 44: Win-Win

Chapter 44: A Win-Win Situation

Emerging from the Emerald Pavilion, it was already late at night, and the streets were deserted and cold.

On the way back, Wu Xiaoliu looked at Li Qi with admiration, grinning foolishly. “Brother Li, you really have talent. In the blink of an eye, you’ve brought in fifteen hundred strings of cash. Compared to you, my uncle is nowhere near as capable.”

Li Qi gave him a sharp look. “Don’t keep flattering me like that. I’ll tell you, your uncle is probably cursing me to death right now. When we get back to the tavern, he’ll definitely give me a good scolding.”

Wu Xiaoliu was puzzled. “Brother Li, why would he blame you? You made so much money, and besides, he wouldn’t dare to scold you now.”

That was true enough; after all, Li Qi was now half-owner of the Drunken Immortal Tavern.

Li Qi smiled slightly and suddenly asked, “Six, what do you think of how Brother Li handled this matter?”

“I don’t really know,” Wu Xiaoliu shook his head, then chuckled. “But I do know you don’t make losing deals. There must be a reason behind your actions.”

Hey! I didn’t expect this kid to understand me so well!

That compliment felt satisfying.

Li Qi smiled faintly. “I’ll tell you, this deal benefits both us and the Emerald Pavilion.”

Wu Xiaoliu frowned in confusion. “Both sides win? Brother Li, I don’t get it.”

“Let me ask you this—do you know what our Drunken Immortal Tavern lacks most right now?”

Wu Xiaoliu thought for a moment. “Silver!”

Li Qi nodded. “Exactly. What we lack most is capital. Without capital, we can only set up a small stall by the street; it’s impossible to achieve much. But once we have enough capital, we can make a big name for ourselves here in Tokyo. So this fifteen hundred strings is very important to us. But to that wealthy Cai Yuanwai, this sum is just a drop in the bucket. Although I haven’t dealt with him much, he’s no ordinary man. If this stinky tofu can’t bring him several times, even dozens of times the profit, he wouldn’t buy it. So this business is a win-win for both our sides. As for what happens next, well, we’ll just have to wait and see.”

After hearing this, Wu Xiaoliu pondered for a while and then nodded. “Brother Li, I understand now. You mean that in business, you have to put your own interests first. Whether it’s friends or enemies, if someone benefits you, you should do business with them.”

Li Qi was slightly taken aback but praised him. “Not bad, not bad. I didn’t expect you to be so sharp. You have a knack for business.”

“Heh, I’m just guessing!”

Along the way, Li Qi shared more business insights with Wu Xiaoliu, who caught on quickly and soon grasped some key points.

When they returned to the Drunken Immortal Tavern, Li Qi noticed Wu Furong’s room was still lit. He sighed, told Wu Xiaoliu to put the goods back in the kitchen and get some rest, then headed toward Wu Furong’s room.

Li Qi knew that if he didn’t explain things clearly tonight, the old man wouldn’t sleep a wink.

Knock, knock, knock!

“Uncle Wu, are you asleep?” Li Qi knocked gently and called out.

As soon as he spoke, the door creaked open from inside.

Wu Furong hurriedly invited Li Qi in. Before Li Qi could sit down, he anxiously asked, “Young Master Li, what exactly is going on here?”

Li Qi didn’t hide anything and told him about selling the secret recipe for stinky tofu to the Emerald Pavilion.

Though Wu Furong had suspected this when Cai Lao San sent the money, hearing it from Li Qi’s own mouth still stunned him. Suddenly, he slapped his thigh and exclaimed, “Young Master Li, you’re—you're crazy!”

Li Qi smiled slightly. “Uncle Wu, what do you mean?”

Wu Furong sighed. “Young Master Li, you know very well that the Drunken Immortal Tavern’s entire turnaround depends on this stinky tofu. This recipe is the lifeblood of a restaurant. How can you sell it so lightly?”

Shaking his head, Wu Furong continued, “I knew you did it to raise that fifteen hundred strings, but you were too impatient. Actually, I had a plan—there’s some savings here. We could have pooled the money, put on a show in front of the madam, and settled it. But now, once the other side can also make this stinky tofu, how will we compete with them?”

Seeing Wu Furong’s regret, Li Qi couldn’t help but laugh heartily. “Uncle Wu, do you know why I chose to make this stinky tofu in the first place?”

Wu Furong blinked, shaking his head.

Li Qi’s expression turned serious. “Firstly, the flavor of this stinky tofu is unique—strongly fragrant—enough to attract the most customers at first glance. Considering our Tavern’s reputation, we could only rely on the food itself to draw people in. Secondly, apart from me, no one in this city can make it. And most importantly, from the very start, I planned to sell the secret recipe to the Emerald Pavilion.”

“What?”

Wu Furong was shocked. “You mean you planned all along to sell the recipe to that Emerald Pavilion?”

“Exactly.”

Li Qi smiled faintly. “Do you remember why I only sold one or two hundred portions a day at the beginning?”

Wu Furong nodded. “Of course. You said it was to keep the popularity going longer.”

“Do you know why I wanted this popularity to last longer?” Li Qi asked again.

Why wouldn't he? Any businessman wants his business to prosper.

Wu Furong was stumped and shook his head. He knew the reason wouldn’t be simple.

Li Qi chuckled. “The reason I did this was to lure that old fox Cai Yuanwai.”

“Huh? Lure that old fox?”

Wu Furong looked at Li Qi in confusion.

“Think about it. With Cai Yuanwai’s character, seeing our business booming daily, wouldn’t he be tempted? He would certainly try every means to get the secret recipe. Moreover, when I negotiated with him today, I told him we had no capital and were forced to do this. When he heard we were so poor that we couldn’t even afford tofu, would he still take us seriously? This will make our future development much easier.”

Finishing his explanation, Li Qi didn’t wait for Wu Furong’s reply and suddenly asked, “Uncle, do you know why I only fried tofu for one day and then had Xiaoliu take over?”

Wu Furong was surprised. “Didn’t you say you had something important to attend to?”

“Well, it was a small matter,” Li Qi laughed awkwardly and continued, “But mainly, I wanted to let that old fox know the stinky tofu came from me. Knowing you well, he would ask around and guess it was me. Then he would definitely try to find me. I deliberately avoided him, leaving him anxious at home. When he’s desperate, I’ll negotiate with him. At that time, with a few little tricks, I can get him to reveal his bottom price. After all, all of this is to make Cai Yuanwai come to me with money, begging me to sell him the secret recipe.”

Wu Furong suddenly understood and praised, “What a clever plan! If you hadn’t told me today, I wouldn’t have realized this depth. But I still don’t quite understand one thing.”

“Oh?”

“If this stinky tofu is so profitable, why not wait a little longer? I believe in a few months, we could earn fifteen hundred strings ourselves. Why give it away cheaply to that old fox?”

Li Qi smiled. “Uncle, you’re thinking too simply. We earned such a handsome profit in such a short time because the net profit on this stinky tofu is very high. Three hundred wen could buy a pound or two of pork. Besides, this stinky tofu can’t fill one up or benefit health. The current boom is just a novelty. After customers have tried it a few times, they won’t waste money on it anymore. Of course, some will love it, but they won’t come every day at this price. If we want to earn fifteen hundred strings from this tofu, who knows how long it would take. So we can’t rely on stinky tofu as a long-term plan.”

Wu Furong nodded. “You’re right. Business these days is indeed not as good as at the start.”

Li Qi’s expression turned serious. “We must quickly raise enough capital and rise as fast as possible. Otherwise, with how fast the Emerald Pavilion is expanding, soon all of South City will be theirs. Then it will be harder than climbing to the heavens to turn things around.”

In truth, Li Qi had another concern—the upcoming Jingkang Incident—but he could not share this with Wu Furong.

“Young Master Li, I’m truly impressed. I didn’t expect you to have thought so far ahead. Rare indeed!” Wu Furong shook his head in admiration.

Hmph! I haven’t even started yet. Just wait and see; I’ll surprise you all greatly in the future!

Li Qi chuckled inwardly but wore a modest expression.

Wu Furong asked, “Since we’ve raised the capital, what’s our next step?”

Li Qi snapped his fingers. “Rest.”

“Rest?”

“Yes. If we start making a big splash as soon as we get the money, that old fox will suspect we planned this all along and will retaliate with full force. We don’t have the strength to fight him yet. Also, we should use this time to reorganize. As for what to do next, I haven’t figured it out yet.”

As he spoke, a sly smile unconsciously curled at the corner of Li Qi’s lips.

Wu Furong saw this and knew the plan was already set, but Li Qi just wasn’t ready to reveal it. He was used to this and didn’t press further, only hoping silently.

(End of chapter)