However, this excuse was one she had deliberated upon. Firstly, it was to prevent her less-favored brother-in-law from striking it rich with the recipe and rising above them.
Secondly, she feared that once her brother-in-law had money, he would often flaunt it in front of her and her husband, and she also worried that her husband and his parents might change their opinions about him.
This was because she knew her brother-in-law’s wife was beautiful.
She still clearly remembered the way her husband looked at Jiang Qingqing during her brother-in-law’s wedding.
It was an expression of being stunned.
At that moment, her internal alarm bells began to ring, and she knew she couldn’t let her husband have too much contact with her brother-in-law’s family. Thus, over the years, under her intentional or unintentional influence, her husband’s interactions with his brother had gradually decreased.
Even when they returned to the countryside, he wouldn’t specifically visit his brother.
Of course, this was also partly due to her husband looking down on his own brother; otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to restrain him alone.
Therefore, when her eldest sister asked her to handle this matter, she deliberately used this excuse, with the aim of preventing her brother-in-law from getting the money.
She wanted to obtain the recipe from her brother-in-law for free. No matter how much her eldest sister paid for it, that money would fall into her own hands.
Naturally, she hadn’t told her husband or his parents about this, let alone her eldest sister.
However, it surprised her that Zhang Liunian would tell her eldest sister about this matter, because, as far as she knew, her brother-in-law wasn’t much of a talker.
Who would have thought that he not only spoke of it but also went to her eldest sister to tell her personally, causing her eldest sister to lose face? She had miscalculated.
“Forget it, let this matter pass. Go back and talk to him properly, tell him to hand over the recipe. I will offer a reasonable price and won’t treat him unfairly.” After being lectured by her second sister, Fang Yan felt a little better.
“Eldest sister, isn’t it just a broken recipe? How much can it be worth?” Hearing her eldest sister say she wanted to buy the recipe with money for the second time, Fang Ru suddenly became curious about the value of the recipe her brother-in-law had.
Fang Yan paused for a moment, looked at her second sister, and after thinking, stated her budget, “I plan to buy it out for a hundred thousand.”
“What? A hundred thousand?” In Nancheng, where the average income for factory and government employees was less than a hundred yuan, a hundred thousand yuan was an enormous sum. This truly shocked Fang Ru.
“This is still my lowest offer. Actually, the recipe isn’t worth this price.” Facing her own sister, Fang Yan didn’t hide anything and blurted out the recipe’s value.
Fang Ru was so shocked she couldn’t speak, quietly swallowing a few times before regaining her voice, “Is his recipe worth that much?”
“You can taste the braised pork I gave you to know how good this recipe is. I can say that in all my years of working in the food industry, this recipe is top-notch.”
Unfortunately, after studying it for a long time, she still couldn’t determine exactly which ingredients were used.
After saying this, Fang Yan took out the braised pork she had prepared earlier and pushed it towards her second sister.
Fang Ru took the aluminum lunchbox and, upon opening it, immediately smelled a rich aroma. As the scent hit her nostrils, it made her fingers itch with anticipation.
“Try it?” Fang Yan, seeing her second sister’s expression as she swallowed, gestured for her to taste.
Fang Ru didn’t refuse. This taste was truly the most fragrant food she had ever eaten, without exception.
“Okay.” She agreed and, as Fang Ru reached out to pick up a piece, she stopped halfway. Instead, she took out a pair of chopsticks from her shoulder bag, wiped them clean meticulously, and then picked up a piece of meat to put into her mouth.
Once the braised pork entered her mouth, she couldn’t stop.
Delicious, truly delicious.
After eating half a bowl in one go, Fang Ru finally stopped and looked at her eldest sister with a troubled expression, “Eldest sister, it’s really too delicious.”
Although she didn’t want to admit that her brother-in-law’s recipe was good, the taste was truly exceptional, making her have to believe that the braised pork recipe her brother-in-law possessed was indeed top-tier.
“When have I ever lied? This recipe is genuinely very good and can bring considerable value to my factory.
So, my dear sister, you need to help me persuade him. As long as your brother-in-law is willing to sell me the recipe, I will accept any price up to two hundred thousand.” To obtain the recipe, Fang Yan was willing to go to great lengths, even planning to invest a colossal sum to acquire it.
Fang Ru felt a surge of excitement. Two hundred thousand? If it all fell into her hands, it would be truly wonderful.
However, giving her brother-in-law nothing might easily expose her. The best approach would be to give him a tiny bit to keep him quiet.
“Eldest sister, don’t worry. I’ll go back and talk to Liunian, and have him persuade his brother to hand over the recipe.” As Fang Ru spoke, she put the lid back on the aluminum box and placed it in her shoulder bag. However, in her mind, she planned to have her in-laws get the recipe from her brother-in-law, and then give her brother-in-law a thousand or two yuan, so he wouldn’t confront her eldest sister. This way, she could pocket nearly two hundred thousand yuan all by herself.
Having made up her mind, Fang Ru went home and found Zhang Liunian, giving him the braised pork made by her brother-in-law to eat.
Zhang Liunian, like her, couldn’t stop after one bite. By the time he finished the meat, he realized he hadn’t saved any for his wife.
“Ruru, I’m sorry, I didn’t realize and ate all the meat.” Zhang Liunian said apologetically.
Fang Ru shook her head, understanding, “It’s okay. My eldest sister and I have already tasted it.”
Zhang Liunian breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this. Then, he thought that this was the braised pork made by his third brother, and with an unreadable expression, he wiped his mouth before reluctantly admitting, “It seems my third brother’s recipe is indeed good.” It made him unable to stop eating.
Fang Ru noticed her husband’s reluctance and knew that he was petty-minded and disliked people who were better than him.
That suited her perfectly; she also couldn’t stand seeing her brother-in-law rise above them.
“If it weren’t good, my eldest sister wouldn’t have thought highly of it either. Remember to call home and tell Mom and Dad to get the recipe. Then we’ll have money to get you a Honda motorcycle.
Don’t you want a motorcycle? As long as we get this recipe, we can get twenty thousand yuan. Then I’ll ask my dad to use his connections to get you a motorcycle, and it will definitely be no problem.”
Ever since Chinese New Year, Zhang Liunian had been coveting a motorcycle after seeing his brother-in-law acquire one at the Fang family’s place.
No one knows a wife better than her husband. Fang Ru, precisely because she knew his desires, used this incentive to lure him.
Zhang Liunian was stunned by her words and looked at his eager wife. He thought that last time she had said that the twenty thousand would be used to pay off debts and save some, but today she was so generously offering to use it all to buy him his beloved motorcycle.
His thoughts churned, and Zhang Liunian smiled, “I’ll call Mom tomorrow.”
Regardless of Fang Ru’s intentions, this was not a bad thing for him.
Moreover, he genuinely wanted a motorcycle. Since Fang Ru had taken the initiative to offer to help him get one, why would he refuse?
After all, he would only have to say a few words; his parents would be the ones doing the work. Why wouldn’t he be happy about it?
Meanwhile, Zhang Liunian and others, having just finished dinner, were discussing important matters.
“Little sister, Mute, do you really want to be together?”