Born Under a Lucky Star
Yuan Jie looked at his third brother's dejected appearance, opened his mouth, and forced himself to say, "Third Brother, life still has to go on."
Su Sanyun just kept drinking and shaking his head, refusing to say anything else.
On the other side, Mrs. Chen spoke to Su Li with regret, and Su Li couldn't help but sigh as she listened.
Originally, when Su Lanxiang was found by her family, if she had been in her right mind, she could have left the Cheng family and started anew. Su Lanxiang wasn't missing an arm or a leg, and she was quite pretty. Although her experience of being abducted was a mark against her, she was, after all, the sister-in-law of Prince Qin. With such a status, if word got out, there would be plenty of men eager to marry her, like fish crossing a river. Even if she picked with her eyes closed, it would be better than Cheng Jin.
But Su Lanxiang just couldn't figure it out and insisted on staying with Cheng Jin. Her mother, Mrs. Sun, for some reason, didn't persuade Su Lanxiang to change her mind and even supported her living with Cheng Jin. She really ruined her daughter's prospects.
The topic of Su Lanxiang was too much of a downer. After a few words, everyone switched to happier subjects, like their own business.
"Zhang Mu, how's the spice business going?" Mrs. Chen asked eagerly, very curious about the spices.
Zhang Mu laughed heartily, "The spice business is booming every day! We've expanded to shops in other regions, and because we laid a solid foundation early on, everything is going smoothly now. Besides the high sales in the capital, our spices are also selling well in Bashu and Jiangnan. Especially in Bashu, the sales are excellent."
"Sales are good in Bashu?" Su Li touched her chin. Bashu, geographically, was similar to Sichuan in Su Li's previous life, with the same climate.
In her previous life, the people of Sichuan loved spicy food, which was famous throughout the country. Not only was spicy food delicious, but due to the local climate, eating it helped dispel excess dampness and made people healthier.
So it's no surprise to Su Li that spices sell well in Bashu in this life.
"The people of Bashu love spicy flavors, so we could develop some new products." Su Li thought of the famous Sichuan hotpot from her previous life, which took the nation by storm. No matter how much it made people cry from the heat, they still wanted a taste.
Especially the two spice plantations Su Li bought, located in the mountains between Bashu and the capital. In the future, transporting spices to either place would be convenient.
Authentic Sichuan cuisine is currently only sold at Eight Flavors Treasure Restaurant, and Su Li doesn't want to share the recipes yet. Plus, training Sichuan chefs takes time and effort, so opening a Sichuan restaurant in Bashu in the short term isn't realistic.
But Sichuan hotpot is different—the key is in the broth base and the oil bowls. These can be standardized and mass-produced. By selling ready-made broth bases and franchising, local Bashu merchants will naturally join in if it's profitable.
At that point, franchise fees and spice sales would make a fortune.
Unfortunately, the plantations aren't built yet, so for now they still rely on imported spices. That means there's not enough spices for large-scale hotpot production.
But just because it can't be done now doesn't mean it can't be done in the future.
Once Su Li has her baby and the plantations are up and running, with plenty of spices, she can promote Sichuan hotpot in Bashu—and that'll be another lucrative business!
Thinking about spicy hotpot and the money rolling in, Su Li couldn't help but touch her belly and chuckle.
Oh, little one in my belly, when you're born, your dad will make you an official's child, and your mom will make you a rich kid. You really know how to pick your parents—born right at the finish line most people can only dream of reaching.
Only now did Su Li understand: it's not about a child losing at the starting line; the parents are the starting line.