"Yan’er, do you think Mother is going to find us a stepfather, but... isn’t our father still alive?" Xiao Yuxi blurted out.

Xiao Fenghao flicked her forehead angrily. This girl! How could she say such things easily?!

The pain on her forehead jolted Xiao Yuxi to reality. She realized her words were also outrageous. Biting her lips, she lowered her eyes while apologizing.

"Mother might want to talk about business with Mr. Yang." Xiao Yuyan was a lot calmer compared to her elder siblings. She had noticed a familiar servant among Merchant Yang’s group.

For the past few days, this person had always bought soy milk from them. She didn’t expect him to be Merchant Yang’s people either.

"Really?" Xiao Yuxi’s eyes lit up, and she subconsciously heaved a sigh of relief, patting her chest. The gloom in her eyes faded.

She glanced at Xiao Fenghao and noticed that his expression didn’t seem right. Thinking that he might still be angry, she apologized again.

"Second Brother, I am sorry, I have a stupid mouth. I promise that I will watch my mouth in the future. Don’t be angry."

Xiao Fenghao’s lips pressed into a thin line. His tone was a little off. "Repeat what you just said before. Father is still alive?"

***

Merchant Yang invited Zhou Anran to a private room. In order to make her feel at ease, his female servants also joined them inside.

"Mrs. Xiao, I have been thinking about cooperating with you for the past few days." He began.

Zhou Anran lifted her brows. Even when facing a seasoned merchant like Merchant Yang, she didn’t feel nervous at all. It reminded Xiao Qingya of these powerful businesswomen in the modern world! 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Seeing that she motioned for him to continue, Merchant Yang finally didn’t beat around the bush anymore. "Mrs. Xiao, I would like to acquire the recipe for your soy milk."

"You stayed a few days more just to acquire our recipe, Mr. Yang?" Zhou Anran asked.

Merchant Yang fell silent for a moment. "No, I have some business with Mr. Han. I thought that I could leave soon, but some matters delayed my departure."

She didn’t give up. "I see. You and Mr. Han seem close."

He was taken aback and shook his head. A frown decorated his face. Why did he let this woman lead the conversation around?

"I can offer you five silver taels for the recipe, Mr. Xiao," Merchant Yang steered the conversation back to the main issue.

From the words of Han Tingxun’s men, he had found out that he and this Mrs. Xiao’s family weren’t close at all. Han Tingxun encountered their youngest daughter and saved her.

"What do you think, Mrs. Xiao?" Merchant Yang pressed.

He was a wealthy merchant with several restaurants in another province. If he could buy the recipe for this drink that was similar to milk with a decent taste, it would add more variety to their list of drinks. Moreover, soybeans were cheaper than milk.

Zhou Anran smiled at Merchant Yang, making the latter confident that he could obtain the recipe from her.

Five silver taels was a lot of money for a commoner family like them. It should be able to sustain them for several months compared to making a few copper coins every day, right?

"Mr. Yang, I can not accept your offer. This recipe is one of our family’s livelihood," Zhou Anran refused.

Earlier, she was silent because she was listening to her baby daughter’s discussion with the System.

[Only five silver taels? This old fox! He has so many restaurants and only offers us this much. If he sells soy milk to the public, even common people will be interested.] The System complained.

It had heard the discussion between Merchant Yang’s servants earlier about his plan.

Xiao Qingya commented on her analysis.

[Even diluted soy milk is still quite tasty if they want to sell it to commoners. They can also make premium drinks for rich customers.]

[Doesn’t being a rich man sound good?] The System began to tempt her.

The little one nodded seriously. She took a sip of the tea from the table, and her eyes lit up. Before her mother withdrew the cup away, she took another sip and sighed in contentment.

Look, even the quality of tea is better than the ones she had ever tasted in her life. This cup might be the tea from Merchant Yang’s collection.

It might not even be his best tea yet.

[Then, follow my teaching. I will make sure to guide you to the path of richness!]

Xiao Qingya felt that the System’s tone was quite similar to some kind of shady pyramid scheme. She clicked her tongue.

As soon as Zhou Anran stood up, she followed her like a little tail.

"Wait, don’t leave yet. Why are you in such a hurry?" Merchant Yang immediately stopped Zhou Anran from leaving.

She stopped, looking at Merchant Yang with a questioning look on her face.

"We can discuss the price if you are not satisfied with it." Merchant Yang persuaded her.

His servants had tried to make this soy milk drink, and so far it was disastrous. It was either not the right taste or poisonous!

How could he tell Zhou Anran honestly that he hadn’t left that day because he suffered from terrible diarrhea? It would be so embarrassing.

The two of them continued to discuss the right price they could tolerate, and Zhou Anran didn’t want to lose on the deal either.

Merchant Yang thought it would have been easy to deceive Zhou Anran, but he realized he was wrong!

"Seven taels of silver and you can still be the main owner of the recipe, or thirty taels of silver and the recipe will completely belong to me," Merchant Yang stated the result of their discussion, letting Zhou Anran decide.

[Host, why is your mother so good at this? You might inherit her business skills too. How about we maximize this skill?]

[Special for you, Host. I will give you a discount of 20% and you can learn the business course from me, the ultimate expert. Only 80 points! A Limited time offer!]

The System howled in her mind, starting its shady business.

Xiao Qingya ignored it. She focused on her mother, curious what kind of decision she would make. Thirty taels would be enough to last them at least three years...