Journey to the West: Starting by taking Sun Wukong as my disciple!-Chapter 442 The First Time Opening a Store to Mortals, Business is Not Bad
The crowd roared with laughter as the thick-skinned man shouted back at those who were laughing at him, "What are you laughing at? Just admit it, aren’t you all craving a bite too? I don’t believe I’m the only one."
"Alright, alright, you’re right, we all want to try, but it all depends on whether the young master is willing to make it or not."
"Young master, please give us another demonstration. You’ve done one for the other items; it wouldn’t be fair to leave this one out. Besides, this oil isn’t cheap, and if you don’t show us how to use it, we’ll all go buy cheaper oil instead."
"Just say you want a demonstration, why do you have to use that as a threat against me?" Chen Nuo teased them instead of getting angry.
"Go ahead and do it, young master. If it tastes good, I’ll buy five jin!" exclaimed a wealthy merchant.
Chen Nuo glanced at the merchant, who was broad and stout, clearly someone who enjoyed his food. He didn’t know what kind of business the man was in, but thought it would be good to have him spread the word about the oil. Thus, he nodded, "Alright, but remember what you said. If it tastes good, don’t pretend it doesn’t and back out of the deal."
"What are you saying, young master? My word is known to be good in this town. If I say I’ll buy, then I’ll certainly buy," the man patted his purse.
"Watch closely," Chen Nuo said, retrieving a bun from the cupboard.
"Ah, such fine oil, and it’s paired with this?" The crowd sounded disappointed.
"You haven’t even tasted it yet," Chen Nuo laughed, "This bun, once fried in oil, can be prepared savory and its flavor will be just as good as expensive pastries."
"Really? Then I spoke too soon. Please go ahead, young master. If it’s tasty, I’ll take a jin for myself."
Chen Nuo smiled and didn’t reply, but instead, he took a knife from below, sliced the bun into pieces, poured oil into the pan after slicing, and fried the buns in the hot oil.
The fried buns turned a crisp golden brown, with the oil making the crust gleaming and moist. A flick of the chopsticks made a crispy sound.
"Let’s get one thing straight."
Chen Nuo drained the oil off the fried bun slices and tapped them lightly with his chopsticks, and the crisp sound immediately spread through the air, causing the onlookers to swallow hard.
Who could resist? Merely a small piece of bun could be transformed into something like this.
They felt guilty for having spoken so rashly earlier; they had underestimated the young master.
Each time he demonstrated with these four types of oil, he used the simplest ingredients and the process was quick, but the fact that he could create such delectable dishes with simple ingredients made everyone present submit to his skill, giving them an inexplicable confidence that they could attempt it themselves.
Once all the bun pieces were ready, Chen Nuo turned to the crowd, "This is made with the cheapest buns. If it’s not to your liking, I won’t insist. Now, you may come and try."
Who would look down on such delectable food placed right in front of them? No one would disdain it anymore.
People lined up, taking their turn to receive a slice of the bun from Chen Nuo, then returned to their spots, holding the golden-fried pieces to take a bite.
The bun was crispy, its crust fried to a flaky perfection by the oil.
As they bit into it, the crunch reverberated from their mouths to their ears, their mouths filling with the rich aroma of fried bun and sesame oil.
Inside, the bun was as steaming hot as if it had just been steamed, its texture highlighted by the crispy crust, making the sensation in the mouth particularly prominent.
"Crispy on the outside, tender on the inside. Our usual plain bun has been transformed into something delicious. Young master, you truly outdid yourself."
"Right, I was thinking, ’What’s so special about a bun we eat all the time?’ But once I tasted it, I was truly impressed by the young master, who could turn such a simple food into such a delicacy!"
"It’s delicious! I apologize for what I said earlier. This bun is indeed, as you described, even better than the pastries sold in pastry shops, not just better, but a hundred times, a thousand times better!"
"Right, right, young master, I apologize to you!"
Chen Nuo smiled, "I don’t need your apologies, just come buy my oil and that will do."
Once he said this, some people fell silent. This melon seed oil was a bit expensive, they liked it, but they were not ready to buy several pounds of it.
However, the food made with this oil indeed tasted delicious, and a few less affluent people called out, "Young master, you said that any oil can be used to create such delicious food, right?"
Chen Nuo could see through their thoughts at a glance and nodded, "Yes, any oil will do, as long as you come buy regularly."
With these words, the crowd immediately rushed forward with money in hand, "Young master, give me five taels of soybean oil!"
"I want some too, I want ten taels!"
"I want peanut oil! Bring me six taels to start!"
Besides those buying in small quantities, there were also merchants who had come to stroll but were attracted by the delicious food. Having tasted Chen Nuo’s culinary creations, they thought they could go back and change things up a bit. Some well-off merchants bought several pounds of each type of oil.
Of course, there were even wealthier ones who wanted to buy out the whole stock. They were not only interested in the oil but also in Chen Nuo and even considered their daughters at home. They took out several silver notes from their pockets.
"Young master, I’ll buy all the oil in your store. Come with me; I’ll introduce you to my eldest daughter, who is the very picture of grace and elegance."
Everyone on site stopped and looked at Chen Nuo. If this merchant bought everything, they would have nothing to buy.
"Sorry, I do not accept buyouts." Chen Nuo looked at the man and said lightly.
"Why?" the merchant asked, "You’re here to make money, aren’t you? Why not earn it when you can?"
"I am here to make money." Chen Nuo said while filling oil for other customers, "But I’m not only here to make money. I also want to promote this oil. For hundreds of years, nobody has used oil. If I let you buy everything, wouldn’t ordinary families have no oil to eat?"
The merchant looked at Chen Nuo strangely, "You’re an odd one. If you can make money, that should be enough. Why bother with anything else?"
"I’m casting a long line to catch a big fish," Chen Nuo answered with a smile.
"With the way you’re selling it, in small amounts, I doubt you’ll sell out, much less catch a big fish," the merchant said. "You’d be better off selling it all to me at once. You’d make money and save time."
Chen Nuo smiled and continued to fill oil without responding.
The merchant waited a while but didn’t get a reply from Chen Nuo. He realized this person was shrewd but inflexible in his thinking.
Forget it, his daughter couldn’t marry such a blockhead. So, he waved his sleeve and left.
Chen Nuo finished his introductions, and the onlookers who had bought oil didn’t linger; they left immediately.
Because his reputation had spread far and wide, by midday, the streets gradually emptied as everyone went to have lunch.
The nearby merchants also closed up shop to eat, and with no more business coming in, Chen Nuo didn’t stay either. He closed up and in a flash, returned to his own courtyard.
He had sold half of the oil in just one morning, and it had all gone to ordinary folk.
But that wasn’t enough. Chen Nuo took out seeds and planted them in his garden. This time he was not in a hurry; he didn’t expect the plants to sprout overnight but they couldn’t be like ordinary plants either. After all, they needed Spiritual Power.
