Fourth Sister

This meant that Xiaoguo would make a considerable sum of money every year. There was also the money that the noodle shop gave her every month.

Two portions of income, excluding the income from opening a dairy shop herself, was enough to last her for the rest of her life.

“You’re really confident.”

Xiaoguo controlled the muscles on her face and tried to speak calmly.

“I am indeed confident.”

Su Changsheng’s four simple words were filled with confidence.

He was confident that he could earn back several times the amount of money he was putting in, so he doesn’t care at all about this small amount of money.

The plan was feasible. The money was feasible. Xiaoguo felt that the business was very feasible.

“I have a request too.”

Su Changsheng put forward his request.

“Milk is said to spoil easily. I need you to provide methods and techniques to preserve it.”

When Xiaoguo heard this, she nodded without thinking and said confidently, “Don’t worry about that. I can sterilize the milk and keep it fresh.”

She had already planned it out. She happened to know the pasteurization method. As for storage, it was even easier.

“Sterilization?”

Su Changsheng didn’t know what sterilization was, so he asked curiously.

“Yes, there are a lot of organisms in the milk that are bad for our health, so it needs to be heated to kill the germs. I’ll do this step for you and store the milk in sealed buckets.”

“I can provide the buckets.”

Su Changsheng didn’t know much about sterilization, but when he heard that she needed sealed buckets, he happened to have a huge supply in his hands.

When he went overseas to learn the craft of wine-making, he happened to need a large number of sealed barrels, so he ordered many of them at that time.

However, a special material was needed to make airtight buckets. Therefore, after spending lots of money to search through the entire country, he managed to find some of that material.

He could guarantee that the wooden buckets made by the craftsmen were absolutely airtight.

Xiaoguo nodded in relief. It would be great if he could help. If the containers were airtight, there would be no problem with the preservation.

“The sealed milk should be transported from Yonghai County to the capital as soon as possible. It will not spoil at room temperature for half a year. However, once the seal is broken, the milk must be kept in a place with sufficiently cooled air. After which, It must be used up within three days.”

“Therefore, you still have to prepare a cellar in the shop. It’s best to fill it with ice and keep it at the same temperature as winter weather.”

“Also, when making dairy products, try to keep the surrounding temperatures low. It would be best if the preparation area was also filled with ice.”

Xiaoguo knew how to make Western desserts. By-products of milk like butter and cream were sensitive to high temperatures, especially in summer. Therefore, cold air is a must-have.

Su Changsheng nodded seriously. He had memorized everything she had said. He would prepare to implement those things when he gets back.

“Don’t worry, I can handle the cellar and the ice cubes. When it’s completed, I hope you can come over to take a look.”

“That’s what I should do. No problem!”

Xiaoguo smiled and agreed. With the money, she was willing to do anything.

“I still have fifty unused airtight buckets. I’ll send them to you when you need them. After all, they’re quite big and take up a lot of space.”

“Okay.”

The cow will start producing milk next year. They had to plan first, before taking their time to settle the rest.

“Then I’ll go back first. Although I may have been impolite earlier on, I hope to keep in touch.”

Su Changsheng opened the fan in his hand again and smiled.

“Yes, let’s keep in touch.”

Xiaoguo stood up as well and nodded with a smile.

Feeling satisfied, Su Changsheng went outside and said to the two people waiting at the door, “Jiabao, bring it in.”

“Yes!”

Jia Bao spat out the grass in his mouth and called out to the man beside him to start moving the box.

Xiaoguo looked at them curiously. “What are they moving? Don’t tell me it’s food. Are there new products again?”

However, Xiaoguo quickly dismissed that idea. Who would store food in a large wooden box? And there were several boxes at that.

Even if it was for a wedding, one wouldn’t be able to prepare so much dowry.

There were five big boxes in total, and they were all made of mahogany. Su Changsheng really had three words written all over his face—I am rich.

“These are some small things that I’ve collected during my travels around the world. They’re not worth much. I don’t have any women at home, so I have no need for these items. Madam, if you don’t mind, please accept them.”

Su Changsheng was very generous towards his chosen business partner. Coincidentally, he had received many gifts from his friends in various countries. Since he had no use for those gifts, he gave them to Xiaoguo to leave a good impression.

It would be much easier for them to work together in the future.

Xiaoguo clearly understood his intentions, but it was too late to refuse. If she rejected him now, it would seem impolite of her.

“Forget it, so be it.”

“Thank you in advance.”

“There’s no need for that. Let’s call each other by our names. You should be younger than me. I’ll call you Xiaoguo. You can call me Su Si or Changsheng.”

Xiaoguo heaved a sigh of relief. From the atmosphere just now, she had thought that he would ask her to call him Brother. Fortunately, he didn’t.

Just as Xiaoguo was about to nod, the other party suddenly threw out a bomb.

“You can also call me Fourth Brother or Brother Changsheng.”

Xiaoguo knew that he was teasing her, so she smiled helplessly and said, “Then I’ll call you Number Four.”

“…”

Before Su Changsheng could retract his teasing expression, it froze on his face.

“Number Four?”

To think that she could come up with it.

After a while, Su Changsheng smiled helplessly and said calmly, “Up to you.”

Xiaoguo finally smiled sincerely and waved her hand. “Goodbye, Number Four.”

“…”

Su Changsheng shook his head and laughed. He fanned himself and got into the carriage.

Jia Bao suppressed his laughter and followed behind. He quickly said goodbye to Xiaoguo and drove away. He was afraid that if he stayed another second, he would laugh.

When he heard her say Number Four, he thought that he had returned to the capital. That was because the Old Master always addressed the Young Master in the same way.

Xiaoguo didn’t think too much about it. As soon as he mentioned the word four, she immediately thought of the term and blurted it out. Unexpectedly, the other party wasn’t unhappy. Instead, he accepted it.

After watching the carriage leave, she closed the door and returned home.

As soon as she entered, she saw five big boxes placed neatly in the corner. She felt a little helpless.

How was she going to move them?

Xiaoguo casually opened a box and was blinded by the colorful fabrics inside.

“Wow…”

Xiaoguo, who had thought that she had seen many good things, finally realized her ignorance at this moment. After opening the remaining four boxes in a row, Xiaoguo was completely mind-blown.

“This is too much…”

There were all kinds of brocades, satins, and exotic embroidered fabrics. If she used these fabrics to make clothes, they would last her for a lifetime.

At this moment, Xiaoguo regretted touching them with her hands. She should have washed her hands first.

If she had known that this was the small gift that Su Changsheng was talking about, she would never have accepted it. It was too expensive.

In addition to the beautiful textiles of the Shao Kingdom, there were also Persian wool and silks from the Western Region. They came in all colors and prints. It was a dazzling sight.

The beautiful patterns and the high prices—Xiaoguo was feeling quite overwhelmed.

After a careful count, there were 25 bolts of fabrics. If they were converted to cash, it would be a very beautiful amount.

Tears welled up in Xiaoguo’s eyes as she put everything away. Alright, there was no need to buy clothes and fabrics for the rest of her life.

In order not to let down the gifts, Xiaoguo spent the entire night working on the recipes.

She wrote down everything within her knowledge and memory.

Not only that, she also wrote down the recipes for various milk tea beverages. She wrote down everything she could remember, without missing a word.

Fortunately, she used to enjoy desserts and milk tea, so now, she could write out the entire recipes for these items.

Xiaoguo only stopped writing when dawn broke. She looked at the stack of paper that could be bound into a book and put them away in satisfaction. She yawned and went to catch up on her sleep.

This was the good thing about living alone. She could sleep and cook whenever she wished.