"Sister, you don't need to rush to give me an answer. Please have some dessert first," Chu Chen said with a smile. "It's perfectly fine to discuss for a few days after you go back before making a decision."
Chu Chen's intention was clear: this matter was not something you could decide alone. Go back and find someone who could make the decision.
As he spoke, Chu Chen signaled to a servant who had been waiting nearby to bring the food box, wrapped in cotton cloth, to the table.
"This is a new drink I've recently developed. You ladies can try it."
When the food box was opened, a rich milky fragrance immediately wafted out.
Looking at the brown liquid in the cups, the women hesitated.
"What... is this?" Chen Shengnan asked curiously.
"I call it... milk tea," Chu Chen said with a smile. "It's made by boiling milk and tea leaves, with honey and sugar added. It's sweet and tastes very good."
"Considering it's summer, I've also specifically asked them to add some ice. It has a unique flavor when you drink it."
"Ice?"
"Honey?"
"With so many things mixed together, will it really taste good?" Chen Shengnan doubted.
The milk they were accustomed to drinking in modern times was actually highly processed. Even when cold, it was still fresh and delicious.
However, completely fresh milk, if not heated, actually had a strange taste.
Therefore, the people of Yunyue Kingdom were also accustomed to drinking hot milk.
Milk with ice and tea leaves was undoubtedly a bizarre concoction in their eyes.
"Whether it tastes good or not, you'll know once you try it," Chu Chen said with a confident smile.
The milk tea Chu Chen brought out was not made by boiling pure milk and tea leaves; water was added.
This not only reduced costs but also improved the flavor of the milk tea.
Princess Xinyue, who trusted Chu Chen more, was the first to try it. She took a small sip of the milk tea.
Then, her expression became very contorted.
"It's really hard to drink."
Chu Chen's heart sank.
That couldn't be right. He had tasted it himself before bringing it out. This milk tea wasn't much different from what he remembered from his previous life.
How could it be so hard to drink?
Chu Chen picked up the teacup with disbelief and took a sip.
His confusion deepened.
"It's right, it tastes like this. It shouldn't be hard to drink?"
But the next moment, Chu Chen realized.
Princess Xinyue, while saying it was hard to drink, was gulping it down in large mouthfuls, as if she intended to finish all the milk tea on the table.
Chen Shengnan was a little slower to react, but Shao Lili was quick. She picked up a bowl of milk tea and took a big gulp.
"It really doesn't taste that great," Shao Lili's eyes lit up. "But since I've already started drinking it, I can't waste it. Leave the rest to me!"
"No, this is all mine!" Princess Xinyue quickly said.
Seeing them scramble, Chen Shengnan, no matter how slow she was, finally understood what was going on.
"You two, really..." Chen Shengnan said, both amused and exasperated.
Chu Chen hadn't prepared much milk tea. With them fighting over it, there was none left for Chen Shengnan.
But clearly, she wasn't going to be outdone.
Seeing that the milk tea was about to be finished by the two of them, Chen Shengnan slammed the table. Disregarding Princess Xinyue's mouth, she snatched the bowl from Princess Xinyue's hand.
Under Princess Xinyue's resentful gaze, Chen Shengnan drank the remaining milk tea in one go.
"Hoo..." Chen Shengnan sighed deeply. "On such a hot day, drinking a bowl of ice-cold milk tea like this really makes you feel refreshed all over!"
"Even now, you added ice. This milk tea must not be cheap."
As a businesswoman, Shao Lili's first thought was about the cost.
"Tea leaves, milk, honey, and sugar..." Shao Lili smiled. "Thinking about it this way, we common folk really can't afford it!"
"It's not that you can't afford it," Chu Chen said with a slight smile. "I plan to sell this drink in my shop as well. How about twenty-five copper coins per cup?"
"Twenty-five copper coins?" Chen Shengnan's eyes widened.
With so many ingredients, and most importantly, ice, it was only twenty-five copper coins? Could that even cover the cost?
Chu Chen smiled without answering.
In reality, the main cost of this milk tea was only the sugar and fuel. Milk, honey, and tea leaves were only needed in small amounts.
Even the most expensive ingredient, sugar, cost only two hundred copper coins per jin.
One jin of sugar could be used to make over a hundred cups of milk tea!
The cost per cup was less than two copper coins.
The actual cost of this cup of milk tea was only ten copper coins. The remaining fifteen copper coins were pure profit!
The soap business was of great importance, and its specific costs could not be revealed. However, there was no such issue with milk tea.
When Chu Chen revealed the cost, Shao Lili couldn't help but be shocked by Chu Chen's shrewdness.
"Then, according to you, isn't most of this milk tea just plain water?" Shao Lili said in disbelief. "You dare to sell it at such a high price?"
"A profit of a full hundred percent!"
"You can't say it like that," Chu Chen said dismissively. "Don't you think this milk tea is reasonably priced?"
"Besides the twenty-five copper coin ones, there are also milk teas worth ten, fifty, one hundred, and even five hundred copper coins."
"Then this profit..." Shao Lili swallowed with difficulty.
"At least a hundred percent," Chu Chen said with a smile.
"Little brother, you're so generous. Are you planning to share this milk tea business with me?" Shao Lili asked with alluring eyes.
"Sister is right," Chu Chen said with a slight smile. "My current funds are limited, and I need to invest everything in the soap business."
"So, I can only entrust this business to you."
"Then how do we settle this business?" Shao Lili asked impatiently.
"I'll provide the technology and take a ten percent stake. I won't hold back anything I need to teach you. How about that?"
"Only ten percent?" Shao Lili smiled. "Then you've brought me a great gift!"
"It's ten percent of the entire Yunyue Kingdom," Chu Chen reminded her.
Shao Lili hesitated.
The milk tea business was extremely profitable, and it would surely be easy to open shops all over the country.
At the beginning, ten percent profit might not seem like much, but if it spread across the country, having to give Chu Chen ten percent of the profits from hundreds of milk tea shops made Shao Lili find it difficult to accept.
"You don't do anything, and you want ten percent of the profits. This doesn't seem quite right..." Shao Lili hesitated.
"I absolutely cannot accept this price," Chu Chen said without hiding his feelings. "To put it bluntly, I don't fully trust you either."
"With other conditions, I'm afraid I'll be at a disadvantage."