The flavor of Black Bull Barbecue's sauce was indeed impressive, and they had even secured several patents for it.
However, compared to the big-name barbecue sauces on the market, it wasn't drastically different. The distinction wasn't that significant.
After all, barbecue sauce wasn't exactly a cutting-edge product.
There were easily over a thousand barbecue sauce brands in the market.
Big companies like Haitian, Lee Kum Kee, Red Sun, and Tianyuan Sauce Garden all had their own barbecue sauces for sale.
"Why did Mr. Jiang decide to buy our company's barbecue sauce?" Tian Wei asked with a smile, looking directly at Jiang Tao.
Jiang Tao grinned candidly. "Of course, it's because your company's barbecue sauce tastes better than the others."
Logically speaking, Jiang Tao, who was planning to buy Black Bull Barbecue's sauce, shouldn't be showering it with praise before sealing the deal.
How could he negotiate a lower price after all that flattery?
But Jiang Tao did the opposite, speaking his mind openly, which made him come across as utterly sincere.
Sometimes, sincerity is the ultimate weapon!
Sure enough, upon hearing Jiang Tao's praise for their barbecue sauce, Tian Wei's lips curled into a smile, clearly pleased with his assessment.
"We're all friends of Ennan, so I definitely have to give her some face."
"200,000 yuan. If Mr. Jiang can accept this price, we're willing to sell the recipe."
"But we'll need to sign a non-compete agreement. Your company cannot open a store within a 10-kilometer radius of Black Bull Barbecue."
Tian Wei's gaze met Jiang Tao's, her demeanor calm and reasonable.
Black Bull Barbecue's success didn't rely solely on their barbecue sauce.
It was a combination of timing, location, and human factors that had led to their current achievements.
Black Bull Barbecue's greatest competitive edge was always their high-quality dishes and attentive service.
While the barbecue sauce was important, it wasn't the decisive factor.
Selling the recipe to Jiang Tao would not only bring in some money but also do Du Ennan a favor.
For Tian Wei, the benefits were plentiful, and she had no reason to refuse.
"Deal!" Jiang Tao nodded briskly, agreeing to Tian Wei's offer without hesitation.
He had expected her to take a few days to consider the proposal.
He never imagined she'd give him an answer on the spot, agreeing so readily!
Jiang Tao had prepared a whole arsenal of negotiation tactics that he didn't even get to use.
200,000 yuan for a barbecue sauce recipe wasn't cheap.
But Jiang Tao was confident that the recipe, once optimized by System Bro, would be worth far more!
In the future, with the optimized barbecue sauce recipe from System Bro, he could earn thousands or even tens of thousands of times the return!
The 200,000 yuan investment was a drop in the bucket for him, with no pressure whatsoever.
As for the non-compete agreement Tian Wei mentioned, that was no issue at all.
Once he got his hands on Black Bull Barbecue's recipe and System Bro optimized it, even Tian Wei probably wouldn't recognize it as their sauce anymore.
The non-compete clause would essentially be meaningless to Jiang Tao.
Besides, from the start, Jiang Tao had no intention of opening a barbecue restaurant near Black Bull Barbecue.
After all, buying someone's recipe and then immediately competing with them nearby would be a bit underhanded.
The progress of acquiring the barbecue sauce recipe went faster than Jiang Tao could have imagined.
After reaching an agreement, Tian Wei drafted a technology transfer contract.
Both parties signed the contract, and Jiang Tao transferred 200,000 yuan to Black Bull Barbecue's account on the spot.
Tian Wei, equally straightforward, handed over the barbecue sauce recipe to Jiang Tao.
She also promised that he could visit Black Bull Barbecue's sauce production workshop anytime to observe and learn.
This would continue until he could independently and proficiently produce barbecue sauce of the same quality as Black Bull's.
Looking at the recipe, which listed fewer than ten simple ingredients, Jiang Tao couldn't help but chuckle wryly.
Spending 200,000 yuan on a recipe with less than a thousand words—each word was practically worth a thousand yuan!
Still, Jiang Tao didn't feel cheated or shortchanged.
Recipes were often like a thin sheet of window paper—once pierced, it was simple, but without someone to show you, you could ponder it forever and still not figure it out.
Jiang Tao had a high school classmate whose parents had made a fortune selling tofu, buying seven or eight properties in the county.
Making tofu seemed simple, with no apparent technical barriers, but the process was surprisingly deep.
Ten tofu makers could produce ten different flavors of tofu.
A single tofu-making technique could sell for 60,000 to 70,000 yuan, and reportedly, they sold over ten such techniques a year, earning at least 600,000 to 700,000 yuan!
On top of that, their tofu was delicious and supplied dozens of small supermarkets in the county, generating substantial daily sales.
The saying "master one skill, and you'll thrive" held true in real life.
No regrets after making a move. Since the money was spent, Jiang Tao didn't dwell on it.
To get the optimized recipe from the system, he first needed the base recipe.
This step couldn't be skipped, and the money had to be spent.
There was no point overthinking it.
By the time the deal was finalized, it was already past noon—lunchtime.
Tian Wei invited Jiang Tao and Du Ennan to dine at their restaurant downstairs for some barbecue.
The three of them booked a small private room, eating barbecue and chatting, creating a warm and pleasant atmosphere.
Jiang Tao took the opportunity to ask Tian Wei for advice on running a self-service barbecue restaurant.
Opening a barbecue restaurant seemed simple, but it was full of nuances.
Market research, location selection, pricing, quality control;
Supply chain setup, hygiene, service…
There were countless details to consider.
Black Bull Barbecue's success was the result of many factors, not something achieved overnight.
Tian Wei was open and thorough in answering Jiang Tao's questions, holding nothing back.
She wasn't worried about Jiang Tao opening a barbecue restaurant and competing with her, nor did she see him as a rival.
There were already over a dozen barbecue restaurants in the Huilongguan business district. One more wouldn't make a difference, and one less wouldn't matter either.
Tian Wei also knew that anyone who could befriend Du Ennan wasn't ordinary.
When she learned that Du Ennan was the godmother of Jiang Tao's daughter, Tian Wei's regard for him grew even higher.
The meal stretched until past 2 p.m.
After saying goodbye to Tian Wei, Jiang Tao and Du Ennan prepared to leave.
As they parted, Du Ennan laughed and said, "Jiang Tao, don't forget—you promised to invite me to your place for dinner tonight."
"No worries, I haven't forgotten. Tell Xu Li what you want to eat, and she'll prepare it," Jiang Tao replied, clearly remembering the dinner plan.
He was also thinking of tackling the [Pity the Parents of the World] task tonight.
That task couldn't be done without Du Ennan.
"You're really throwing your wife under the bus like that? I'll go to the supermarket with Lili after my shift," Du Ennan said with a playful roll of her eyes and a teasing smile.
Tian Wei, listening to their conversation, picked up on something more.
"It seems Jiang Tao and Du Ennan are even closer than I thought," she mused, smiling but staying out of their banter.
After a bit more casual chatting, Jiang Tao and Du Ennan headed toward the escalator.
As Jiang Tao went downstairs, Du Ennan and Tian Wei exchanged a few more words before returning to their respective offices to work.
…
Jiang Tao reached the underground parking lot and found his car but didn't drive off immediately.
After unlocking the door, he climbed into the back seat and closed the door.
Under the dim lights of the parking lot, various car brands gleamed faintly.
Occasional footsteps and voices echoed, but they were far from Jiang Tao's spot.
His Mercedes GLS had tinted windows, allowing him to see out while no one could see in.
Jiang Tao pulled the freshly acquired barbecue sauce recipe from his jacket pocket.
Then, he summoned the Daily Intelligence System panel to attempt the analysis and optimization.
[Host is currently unobserved. Would you like to analyze and optimize the barbecue sauce recipe?]
"Yes!" Jiang Tao thought, selecting to optimize the newly acquired recipe.
[Barbecue sauce recipe analysis and optimization in progress. Estimated time: 5 minutes. Please wait…]
Swoosh—
A beam of brilliant blue light shot from the system interface, enveloping the recipe in Jiang Tao's hand.
Beep, beep, beep—
A faint buzzing sound, like a swarm of bees, hummed in Jiang Tao's ears, signaling that System Bro was at work.
[Recipe analysis in progress. Current progress: 1%… 3%… 6%…]
Jiang Tao's eyes were glued to the progress bar, patiently waiting for it to complete.
Five minutes later…
[Black Bull Barbecue Sauce recipe analysis and optimization successful!]
[Your Black Bull Barbecue Sauce recipe has been upgraded to Delicious Barbecue Sauce. Would you like to learn it now?]
Seeing the system prompt, Jiang Tao's heart leaped with joy!
"Yes! Learn it!"
Without hesitation, he chose to learn the recipe.
The next second, a boom echoed in his mind as a massive stream of information appeared out of nowhere.
Jiang Tao closed his eyes tightly, fully opening his mind to absorb the information flow.
The information included all the raw materials needed to make the barbecue sauce, along with strict quality control standards for those materials.
For example, the recipe required a tomato.
But it wasn't just any tomato from a vegetable stall.
It had to meet the specific quality standards outlined in the recipe.
A slight deviation could lead to a vastly different flavor.
There were also detailed instructions on the preparation process.
The proportions of each ingredient, the amount of water, the heat control, and more…
If not for System Bro directly imprinting the production method into Jiang Tao's mind, it would've taken him months to master the recipe on his own.
The process of absorbing the information felt long but lasted only about ten minutes.
Once Jiang Tao had fully integrated the information, he had completely mastered the production method.
The optimized recipe not only significantly improved the quality but also raised the production difficulty by several levels.
Without Jiang Tao's personal guidance, replicating the Delicious Barbecue Sauce would be nearly impossible.
"Not bad! Another highly competitive product in the bag!"
"The market potential for this Delicious Barbecue Sauce might even surpass that of Eight-Treasure Pickles."
"I'll head to the rental place to make a batch and test the results."
Jiang Tao closed the system interface with a thought.
He got out, moved to the driver's seat, started the car, and drove out of the Wanxianghui underground parking lot toward Xiaoshahe Village.
He hadn't yet returned the house he rented from Old Lü in Xiaoshahe Village.
For now, he was using it as a "laboratory."
He had previously experimented with making Eight-Treasure Pickles there.
This time, to test the barbecue sauce, Jiang Tao chose to conduct his experiments at the rental place first, aiming to impress everyone later.
If the results were good, the Delicious Barbecue Sauce could become the second product for Jiang's Food Factory.
Not only could it be used in his own barbecue restaurant, but he could also expand into selling the sauce itself.
With Eight-Treasure Pickles in one hand and Delicious Barbecue Sauce in the other, Jiang's Food Factory's future was looking incredibly bright.
Around 2:30 p.m., the Mercedes GLS pulled into an open area outside Xiaoshahe Village, parking next to a dusty 4.2-meter truck.
Getting out, Jiang Tao glanced at the familiar "old buddy" and felt a wave of nostalgia.
Last winter, he was still stressing over how to pay off the debts from building his family's house, calculating interest on loans from Alipay in that very truck.
Then, with a loud crash, his life had changed dramatically.
His earning speed was like he'd activated a cheat code.
In less than two months, he went from being 70,000 to 80,000 yuan in debt to a net worth in the tens of millions.
It all felt like a dream.
Looking at the truck's windshield, the newly replaced glass showed no signs of the damage it once had.
But Jiang Tao knew it was all real, not an illusion.
"Old buddy, you brought me this luck. I'll have someone upgrade you soon," Jiang Tao said, his gaze lingering on the truck before turning toward the village.
Though he no longer needed the 4.2-meter truck, he had no intention of selling it.
Selling it would only fetch 30,000 to 40,000 yuan at most.
He wasn't short on cash anymore, so he'd rather keep it as a memento.
One should never forget their roots!
His days as a truck driver, hauling goods, were something Jiang Tao would never forget.
Without that period of struggle, he wouldn't be standing here today in such glory.
Turning toward the village, he passed a fruit and vegetable supermarket and stepped inside.
He headed straight for the tomato display.
In his vision, only two tomatoes out of the pile had a prominent yellow "↓" arrow above them.
These were the only two that met the quality standards for making Delicious Barbecue Sauce.
Only tomatoes rigorously selected by System Bro could produce the most authentic flavor!
"Is the quality control this strict? The odds are way too low!" Jiang Tao muttered to himself, grabbing a clear plastic bag and placing the two marked tomatoes inside.
Next, he went to the purple onion section.
Among the pile of onions, not a single one met the standard!
Fortunately, he found three suitable ones in a net bag under the shelf and took them all.
He also bought five heads of garlic, a bag of white sugar, a bottle of apple cider vinegar, and a bag of yellow mustard sauce.
After getting the necessary ingredients from the fruit and vegetable supermarket, he went to the Fat Dongdong Supermarket to buy some spices.
Chili powder, sea salt, black pepper, and syrup, plus butter.
These were all essential for making Delicious Barbecue Sauce.
Though the requirements were strict and gathering them was a bit challenging, he managed to get everything.
With the shopping done, Jiang Tao carried his bags to the tenement building where he used to live.
"Little Jiang! You're like a dragon, always showing up and disappearing. It's hard to catch you!" Old Lü, who was walking his bird downstairs, greeted Jiang Tao with a hearty laugh and invited him for drinks that evening.
"Sorry, Lü Bro, I've got plans tonight—dinner with someone."
"Another day, I'll treat you and Aunt Ma to a meal."
"Oh, by the way, where's Aunt Ma?" Jiang Tao asked, noticing Ma Dongmei wasn't around.
Lately, Lü Qian and Ma Dongmei's relationship had been progressing rapidly, practically inseparable.
Wherever Ma Dongmei was, Old Lü was never far behind.
Sure enough, with a creak, the door to Old Lü's place opened.
Ma Dongmei stepped out with a vegetable basket in hand.
Seeing Jiang Tao at the entrance, her face lit up with a smile as she waved to greet him.
As someone with experience, Jiang Tao immediately sensed something.
Old Lü and Ma Dongmei were living together!
Seeing their affectionate demeanor, Jiang Tao, the "matchmaker" who brought them together, felt a sense of accomplishment.
"Hey, Little Jiang, by the way, Xiao Mei and I are getting married this May Day."
"You, our matchmaker, better show up! I've got a big red envelope for you," Lü Qian said with a grin, his wrinkled face beaming with joy.
"Absolutely! I'll be there! Congrats to you and Aunt Ma in advance," Jiang Tao replied, smiling and genuinely happy for the "old newlyweds."
Finding a soulmate in the latter half of life was truly heartwarming.
"Since you've got plans, we'll skip today and catch up another time."
"Xiao Mei and I are off to the market to buy groceries, so we won't keep you," Old Lü said, waving as he and Ma Dongmei walked off toward the alley, chatting and laughing.
After watching them go, Jiang Tao entered the tenement building and headed upstairs to his room.
When the food factory was still under renovation, his parents had been making Eight-Treasure Pickles here.
The room was still kept clean.
After entering, Jiang Tao grabbed a bucket and spent 2 yuan at the village's water dispenser to fill it with purified water.
Then he began processing the ingredients.
He sliced the onions, roasted the tomatoes over a flame to remove the skin, and chopped them into small pieces.
He peeled six garlic cloves, smashed them, and minced them.
Once the ingredients were prepped, he placed a clean flat-bottomed pan on a small gas stove and heated it to dry out any moisture.
Lowering the flame, he added four mahjong-tile-sized pieces of butter to melt.
When the butter reached about 88°C, Jiang Tao added the sliced onions and began stir-frying.
Soon, the unique aroma of onions filled the air.
Next, he added the minced garlic and continued stir-frying.
Once the onions and garlic released their fragrances, he added the chopped tomatoes.
Then he poured in the right amounts of apple cider vinegar, syrup, white sugar, yellow mustard sauce, chili powder, sea salt, and black pepper.
Finally, he added just enough water and let it simmer over low heat.
Every ingredient and spice had to strictly follow the proportions outlined in the [Delicious Barbecue Sauce] recipe in Jiang Tao's mind.
Even the slightest deviation would affect the flavor.
The closer the proportions were to the recipe, the higher the quality and perfection of the sauce.
The information flow was etched into Jiang Tao's mind.
Though it was his first time making Delicious Barbecue Sauce, it felt like he'd done it thousands of times.
After simmering for five minutes over medium heat, a unique aroma began to fill the room.
*Sniff, sniff, sniff*—Jiang Tao inhaled deeply, his eyes lighting up with delight at the sauce's distinctive scent.
"This sauce smells amazing!"
"No wonder it's an optimized recipe—it smells even better than Black Bull's sauce!"
Watching the sauce bubble in the pan, Jiang Tao swallowed hard, excited.
It looked like the sauce was a success!
After simmering for another ten minutes, he turned off the gas and looked at the reddish-brown sauce in the pan with a sense of accomplishment.
"Let's keep eating barbecue tonight! I'll let everyone try my sauce and see how it tastes."
It was early spring, and the temperature outside was still low, around six or seven degrees in the afternoon.
Jiang Tao opened the window a crack, letting the cool breeze cool the sauce quickly.
Using a large spoon, he transferred the sauce into an enamel basin, filling it perfectly.
He covered it, placed the basin in a clean plastic bag, tied it, and put it into a white shopping bag before heading downstairs.
After all the effort, it was already past 5 p.m.
The streets of the urban village were getting busier.
*Ring, ring, ring*—
Jiang Tao had only taken a few steps when his phone rang.
Checking it, the caller ID showed "Wife."
"Hey, honey."
"You and Du Ennan are already at the supermarket? That early?"
"Let's have barbecue tonight! I made some barbecue sauce this afternoon. Let everyone try it."
"Alright, see you later."