Chapter 56: Bringing the Wife to Town

With the night passing in quiet, Li Yi woke up bright and early the next morning.

He had already made up his mind yesterday that he needed to make more cold skin noodles today. In addition to setting up his stall at the entrance of the sugar refinery, he also wanted to leave a portion for the state-run restaurant to test the waters.

Therefore, starting from five o'clock in the morning until half past eight, he managed to make over four hundred sheets of cold skin noodles.

Fortunately, his third sister was there to help; otherwise, working all by himself, he would have been busy until at least ten o'clock.

After loading all the freshly made cold skin noodles and sliced side dishes onto the cart, Li Yi and his third sister set off.

They first drove the red mule cart toward the educated youth point. By the time they arrived, Tang Xue had already packed her things.

Li Yi and Brigade Leader Zhang didn't even need to ask for leave on her behalf; Tang Xue had already handled everything herself.

Following that, the trio headed toward the county town together!

This was the first time Li Yi was taking Tang Xue out. Although it was just a trip to the county town, he was still overjoyed.

In contrast, Tang Xue was a bit shy.

Whenever they crossed paths with other commune members along the road, she kept her head lowered, terrified that others might notice her.

However, there were only three people on the cart; how could anyone miss her?

Once they were out of the village, Tang Xue finally recovered from her ostrich-like state and began to chat softly with Li Na.

"Sister Na, didn't you go to the county town with him to sell cold skin noodles before? How was it?" Tang Xue asked quietly.

"I thought it was great. You haven't seen the scene—hundreds of people surrounding you, constantly shoving money into your hands. It was wonderful!" Li Na replied honestly.

"Are there really that many people who like the cold skin noodles he makes?" Tang Xue asked, somewhat surprised.

"Of course! The ones Xiao Yi makes are chewy, generous in portion, and made with solid ingredients. Quite a few people really love them!" Li Na said with a proud expression.

"If the public security officers really don't interfere, then this business can actually keep going!" Tang Xue remarked.

"Definitely. If we can really keep this business going, you'll be living the good life from now on!"

Tang Xue's face instantly blushed, and she replied, "Sister Na, and Uncle and Auntie will share in the good life too!"

"Mm..."

Although the two of them spoke in very low voices and Li Yi normally wouldn't have been able to hear them clearly, ever since his rebirth, he felt as though some of his sensory functions had been enhanced.

Therefore, he heard every single word they just said loud and clear!

Feeling that Tang Xue had begun to accept and try to integrate into his family, Li Yi couldn't have been happier!

Just like that, listening to the whispered conversations between Tang Xue and his third sister, Li Yi drove the mule cart all the way to the county town.

Upon entering the town, Li Yi headed straight to the state-run restaurant to deliver the mushrooms as usual!

After unloading the mushrooms, he asked his third sister to have the restaurant staff weigh them, while Li Yi himself took Tang Xue to Liu Jingshan's office.

"Knock, knock, knock!"

"Come in!"

Pushing the door open, Li Yi saw Liu Jingshan sitting at his desk clicking away on an abacus, seemingly calculating accounts.

Seeing Li Yi arrive with a beautiful woman, Liu Jingshan quickly stood up and said, "Ah, Brother Li Yi is here. And who might this be?"

Li Yi smiled and said, "This is my fiancée, Tang Xue!"

Seeing Tang Xue's face flush red once more, Li Yi quickly added, "We haven't officially married yet, though. The wedding is set for half a month from now!"

Liu Jingshan was momentarily stunned, then said warmly, "Hahaha, so it's my younger sister-in-law! Please, have a seat!"

After the two sat down on the small sofa opposite Liu Jingshan's desk, Li Yi immediately got down to business: "Brother Liu, I came over this time because I have a matter I'd like to discuss with you. Do you have a moment?"

"Yes, yes, yes. What is it that Brother Li Yi wants to talk about?" Liu Jingshan asked promptly.

"I have a business venture that I'd like to cooperate with Brother Liu on... no, rather, with the state-run restaurant. I wonder if that's possible?" Li Yi said straightforwardly.

"Oh? What kind of business?"

"Cold skin noodles!"

"Cold skin noodles?"

"Yes. This is a famous delicacy from Shaanxi Province. Aside from delivering mushrooms here during this period, I've been setting up a stall selling cold skin noodles at the entrance of the sugar refinery in the suburbs. The business is extremely good; a few hundred servings can be sold out in just an hour or two..."

Before he could finish, Liu Jingshan interrupted in astonishment, "So the young man setting up a stall at the sugar refinery entrance is actually you, Brother Li Yi!"

"Oh? Brother Liu has heard about this too?"

"Mm. A few days ago, some of the leaders from the sugar refinery came here to eat and specifically mentioned it, praising your cold skin noodles to high heaven!"

Liu Jingshan continued, "I was even wondering these past few days to find some time and check out what kind of divine delicacy could leave those pot-bellied fellows from the sugar refinery constantly yearning for it! I never expected it to be you, Brother Li Yi!"

Li Yi smiled and said, "I really had no idea about that. But since Brother Liu has heard of it, I'll speak frankly: I want to cooperate with your state-run restaurant to sell these cold skin noodles!"

"And how does Brother Li Yi propose we cooperate?"

"I would deliver a batch of cold skin noodles to your state-run restaurant every day, priced at wholesale. As for how much your restaurant sells them for, I won't interfere," Li Yi said.

"Brother Li Yi, how much do you sell a portion of these cold skin noodles for outside, and what is your wholesale price to us?"

Since it was business, Liu Jingshan had to take it seriously. After all, the current state-run restaurant had monthly sales quotas to meet, and their pressure wasn't small either.

"My stall price is 20 cents a portion, plus two taels of grain coupons. As for the wholesale price, I can give them to you for 15 cents, and I won't require any grain coupons!"

Hearing Li Yi's words, Liu Jingshan was genuinely tempted.

Calculated realistically, this price was equivalent to a 40% discount.

Even if they sold them externally at 20 cents a portion, there was still a fair bit of profit to be made!

Moreover, the external selling price of a state-run restaurant certainly couldn't be the same as Li Yi's street stall price. Doubling it to sell for 40 or 50 cents wouldn't be unreasonable at all!

Thinking of this, Liu Jingshan immediately said, "I think that's doable. Why don't you leave a portion behind today, Brother Li Yi, and we'll test the waters!"

Liu Jingshan then added, "If people really love eating this delicacy, then we can establish a long-term partnership afterward. If it really doesn't sell, we can talk again then!"

"Alright, then I'll leave a hundred servings for you first!"

"Deal!"

Once the terms were settled, Li Yi immediately carried the hundred portions of cold skin noodles—which had already been portioned out—from the mule cart into the back kitchen of the state-run restaurant.

After that, he brought in various side dishes and seasonings as well.

Knowing that the master chefs at the state-run restaurant probably hadn't seen this kind of food before, Li Yi immediately gave an on-site demonstration, teaching them hand-in-hand how to mix the cold skin noodles.

These master chefs were professional cooks and quickly grasped the concept. This food was quite similar to the cold jelly noodles served at their restaurant, and they mastered it after just a few tries.

After tasting the cold skin noodles mixed by the master chefs on the spot and finding them virtually identical to the ones he made himself, Li Yi finally felt at ease as he led the two women away from the state-run restaurant.