Chapter 49: Bring Goods
Yan Jiulang held the 《 Thirty-Six Stratagems 》 and looked at the inscription on it, not looking up for a long time.
Until Jinsui asked him, “Is Lord Yan doubting the authenticity of the book? You can pay the silver after you’ve read it.”
Only then did Yan Jiu look up and smile lightly, “No, Yan believes the Prince.”
“But Yan has a question, if others come to ask for the book, is it also a thousand taels each for the Prince, with an inscription?”
Jinsui said happily, “Does Lord Yan want to help this Prince solicit business? Don’t worry, as long as it’s introduced by you, this Prince will write an inscription.”
She stepped forward slightly, came closer, and whispered, “This Prince will give you a commission, a hundred taels of silver profit for each book.”
Yan Jiu’s eyes twitched. Since becoming the head of the Yan family, he had dealt with all sorts of people: intelligent, foolish, cunning, and self-proclaimed intelligent…
And it was truly the first time he had encountered someone like King Li, who was so straightforward that one couldn’t bear to use trickery against him.
He looked at the words ‘Intimate Friend’ on the title page, and then at the personal seal of ‘Li, the Boundless King’ below.
He thought about how the young masters in the city were recently discussing how to get King Li’s personal seal? To see this uniquely named personal seal with their own eyes.
He couldn’t help but smile.
His smile made Jinsui even more reluctant to look away. What a beauty… no, a man’s smile that could topple cities and kingdoms!
A wisp of spring breeze blew across the thousand-year-old unmelting snow-capped divine mountain, melting the ice and snow. It must feel like this, right?
“Has Lord Yan made up his mind? Shall we cooperate?”
Yan Jiu looked up and slowly shook his head, “Yan will give the Prince ten thousand taels, and the Prince will not sign inscriptions for others in the future, how about that?”
Jinsui was stunned for a moment, frowned, and said, “You want to buy out the 《 Thirty-Six Stratagems 》? Ten thousand taels is not enough!”
Yan Jiu quickly said, “No, it’s not to buy out this book. The Prince can sell it to others for a thousand taels and teach it to the border soldiers as teaching material.”
“What Yan wants to buy out is only the inscription on the title page.”
Jinsui looked down at the title page and then realized, smiling:
“Then there’s no problem! This poem was written by this Prince specifically for Lord Yan, and will never be written for anyone else.”
Nine thousand taels of silver to buy out an inscribed poem! This is what it means to be willful with money.
Little did she know that her words left Yan Jiulang unable to calm down for a long time. This King Li was truly too straightforward to bear.
How did she survive in Chang’an? That’s right, it was precisely because she was too straightforward that she was exiled to the borderlands…
Jinsui took the personal seal again, rolled up the book in Yan Jiu’s hand, rolled the side page to match the size of the seal, and stamped ‘Li, the Boundless King’ again.
She smiled and said, “Alright, this is now unique in the world. In the future, when others buy it, this Prince will only stamp the side seal.”
Yan Jiulang was very satisfied and immediately had a servant present the ten thousand tael silver note.
Seeing that he carried so much silver with him, Jinsui’s heart skipped a beat, and she felt like she had quoted too low a price.
It felt like when you bargain, you cut the price in half, but the boss agrees immediately.
She was both happy to have ten thousand taels of silver, which could be used to purchase winter supplies for the soldiers, and regretful that she hadn’t asked for a higher price.
Just as she was about to see Yan Jiulang off, she heard Wei Assistant Secretary happily invite them, “Your Highness, Lord Yan, the banquet is ready, please be seated!”
Jinsui glanced out the window and only then realized it was dusk. If they left now, they wouldn’t reach Yanzhou City until midnight.
Having just completed a business deal worth ten thousand taels with someone, not even inviting them to stay for a meal was indeed not in line with the way of business.
Moreover, thinking of having Yan Jiulang stay for dinner, Jinsui instantly had another idea, and immediately smiled and raised her hand:
“Lord Yan, please. Today, this Prince will personally cook a few dishes for Lord Yan.”
The banquet prepared by Wei Assistant Secretary was already the highest standard for the border soldiers.
But Jinsui knew that for a young master like Yan Jiulang, none of the dishes would be palatable.
Look at the stewed mutton, each piece of meat was bigger than a fist. It wasn’t braised, it was stewed, and the roasted meat was burnt black.
In this era without iron woks for stir-frying, people’s requirements for dishes were really just that they were cooked.
Anyone who could use spices and add a few to remove the fishy smell could be considered a master chef.
When they went to the riverbank today, they saw the soldiers catch a lot of river fish.
Kidney fish, as long as chopsticks, pan-fried until golden brown on both sides, then braised with a little ginger and scallion water, red-braised kidney fish was the most appetizing.
Five or six jin of black carp, sliced to make pickled fish, using local Yandi pickled vegetables, with a little spiciness, pushing the heat to the dogwood.
Seven or eight jin of large grass carp were made into fish balls by the cook. This way of eating was not popular in the north; it was said that only people in the south would chop fish meat into a paste and then form it into balls.
Northerners eat fish with a whole large fish served on the table, emphasizing “abundance every year,” even if it’s cooked poorly, there must be fish on the table.
The fish balls were cooked with tomatoes. The fish balls were springy and fresh, and the soup was sweet and delicious.
Whether Yan Jiu liked spicy or sweet and sour, there was always something to suit his taste.
Yan Jiulang thought that King Li’s offer to cook personally was just a polite remark. When he saw Jinsui actually go into the kitchen to cook, even he, who was usually calm, was startled.
A prince, who even knew how to cook, what kind of life did he live in Chang’an?
There was only one reason a man would personally cook: no one else cooked for him, so to avoid starving, he had to do it himself…
If Jinsui knew what Yan Jiu was imagining, she would definitely transfer the title of “King of Imagination” from Han Xing to him.
Three dishes were served. Jinsui also specially went to Cheng Yu’s place to get a jar of fine wine. The two assistant secretaries and Han Xing accompanied them, and the meal officially began.
She smiled and explained, “The food cooked by the border soldiers can only be considered barely edible. Their skills are truly insufficient to entertain distinguished guests, so this Prince had to cook personally.”
Yan Jiu quickly stood up and cupped his hands, “Thank you for your trouble, Your Highness. Yan is humbled.”
Jinsui smiled and said, “Why be so formal? We just completed a business deal worth ten thousand taels. It’s only right to treat you to a meal. If you’re truly humbled, then eat more.”
Hearing ‘ten thousand taels of silver’, the most excited was Wei Assistant Secretary, who suppressed his urge to ask on the spot.
But seeing his eager eyes, Jinsui couldn’t stand it and directly said, “Lord Yan is here to buy a book, that one, the 《 Thirty-Six Stratagems 》.”
She thought of something after speaking and smiled at Han Xing:
“Tomorrow, you tell the soldiers that the military strategy books they read are worth ten thousand taels! This Prince will not charge a single cent, they must read them diligently.”
Only Cheng Yu was calm, nodding, “That miraculous book is worth ten thousand gold!”
He also glanced at Yan Jiu, implying that it was a bargain for you to spend ten thousand taels of silver.
Jinsui quickly picked up her chopsticks to eat. At the formal dinner table, if King Li didn’t start eating, no one else could.
As soon as her chopsticks moved, Cheng Yu followed suit, picking up a kidney fish.
Wei Assistant Secretary glared at him, then quickly smiled and offered a fish to Yan Jiu.
Jinsui watched Yan Jiulang take a bite with a smile and quickly asked, “How does it taste?”
Yan Jiu was stunned. For some reason, he felt that King Li at this moment was very much like his sister, who often made dim sum to please him, and then took the opportunity to ask for things.
The only difference was that his sister’s cooking skills were really not good, while King Li’s cooking skills were unexpectedly good.
He answered truthfully, “It’s very delicious! Your Highness’s cooking skills are extraordinary.”
Jinsui smiled and served him some fish ball soup, “Try this one too.”
Yan Jiu ate a fish ball, drank some soup, and his eyes lit up, “I never thought fish could be made like this, it’s very delicious!”
Jinsui bragged, “It’s a palace method, tasty, right?”
She then had him try the pickled fish. He ate a piece of fish and quickly lowered his head to drink the fish ball soup.
After a while, he commented, “The fish slices are smooth, but this spicy flavor is a bit unusual.”
Understood, he likes sweet and sour, and dislikes spicy.
Jinsui smiled and asked, “In short, these three dishes are all delicious, right?”
Yan Jiu didn’t know why the Prince was so insistent on his review, but thinking that a prince was personally cooking for him, what more could he ask for?
He nodded and said, “That’s right, it’s very delicious.”
Jinsui quickly fetched paper and brush and wrote a few large characters:
Yan Jiulang ate and said it was good.
Double monthly tickets at the end of the month, please, my dears with monthly tickets, throw your tickets to Jinsui~~
