Chapter 122 The Ma Family Causes Trouble
Du Shaoqing stayed in Qingxi County for seven or eight days before returning to the capital.
Before leaving, Chu Yichen repeatedly said, "Cousin, I'll leave the matter of helping you find a shop in the capital to you. Please keep it in mind."
Chu Yichen had long wanted to enter the capital. His restaurant business spread across all the counties in Lingzhou City, and he also had some other businesses in other states, but they were always limited to the south.
He had always wanted to expand his business into the North, and the capital, as the imperial capital of the Dayuan Dynasty, naturally became his first choice. But under the emperor's feet, it was impossible to do business without some backing.
See, Shaoqing's cousin's father, that is, his uncle, was recently promoted to the position of Dali Temple Secretary, so he dared to really develop in the capital.
Du Shaoqing said seriously, "Lin'an, don't worry. I will help you keep an eye on the store when I return to Beijing. I will let you know when there is any progress."
Mrs. Chu also took Du Shaoqing's hand and said earnestly, "Shaoqing, Lan'er will be 15 years old next year. Your mother wrote to say that she has found a good marriage for her. Auntie naturally trusts your mother's vision. Auntie is just afraid that those matchmakers are unreliable and will tell lies to scare your mother. Therefore, you have to send someone to find out what the man's character is like. After all, the capital is far away from our Qingxi County. If it is a good family, I will feel more at ease when Lan'er marries there."
Chu Lan'er lowered her head and stood beside her mother with a shy look on her face. She felt a little embarrassed when talking about her marriage.
"Aunt, don't worry. This is related to Sister Lan'er's lifelong happiness. Shaoqing will definitely send someone to find out the truth. Shaoqing will write to you then."
"Well, the journey back to Beijing is long, so you must be careful on the road."
"Ok."
Ever since Qianhuan gave the recipe for chopped pepper fish head to Zuixianju and sold them the unique crystal tofu, Zuixianju's business has been becoming more and more prosperous, while Jixiang Restaurant's business has been getting worse day by day.
The Ma family was considered wealthy businessmen in Qingxi County before, but they opened so many restaurants in Lingzhou City at once, and business was so bleak that they were starting to struggle. If things continued like this, they would probably have to close down.
The Ma family began to think of various ways to save the business of Jixiang Restaurant. Boss Ma first sent people to inquire about the person who offered the recipe of "Hongyun Dangtou" to Zuixianju and the person who sold them the crystal tofu.
After inquiring, the Ma family found out that the person who provided the recipe to Zuixianju and the crystal tofu were the same person. This person was the small vendor who used to sell sugar-roasted chestnuts in front of their Jixiang Restaurant.
Boss Ma hurriedly asked the shopkeeper, "Have you found out where this vendor lives?"
"Master, I only found out that this person's surname is Liang, but I couldn't find out where he lives."
Upon hearing this, Master Ma immediately threw the teacup in front of the shopkeeper. The shopkeeper dodged out of instinct. Boss Ma angrily scolded, "You still dare to hide? You are a bunch of useless things. You can't even do such a small thing. What's the point of keeping you?"
"Master, calm down, Master, calm down. That kid surnamed Liang would go to Zuixianju to deliver crystal tofu every now and then. Next time, I will definitely follow him. After I stop him, I will buy the recipe and the crystal tofu at a high price. That guy surnamed Liang was just a small vendor before, so I'm sure he will agree to it."
"Okay, I'll leave this matter to you. If you do it well, you'll be rewarded handsomely. If you don't, go to the front yard manager and get a beating."
"Yes, sir, I know."
That morning, after Qianhuan and Wenjie delivered the crystal tofu to Zuixianju, they held hands and walked towards Mr. Fan's house together.
As they walked, Qianhuan suddenly felt something was wrong. She squeezed Wenjie's hand. Wenjie turned his head and looked at her. Qianhuan mouthed to him, "Someone is following us."
Wenjie immediately understood what she meant. The two of them walked to a fork in the road. Qianhuan immediately took Wenjie and quickly turned into an alley and hid behind a wall.
When the shopkeeper of Jixiang Restaurant came in, he suddenly realized that no one was there. He touched the back of his head and said to himself in confusion, "I clearly saw them coming this way, how come they disappeared in the blink of an eye?"
Qianhuan recognized the man as the owner of the Jixiang Restaurant. Seeing that he was alone, Qianhuan, who had learned some martial arts, walked out from behind him with Wenjie, "I wonder what you are doing following us two brothers?"
The shopkeeper of the Jixiang Restaurant was startled by the voice behind him. He turned around and saw that the people who spoke were the two people he was following. He immediately put on a flattering look and said with a smile: "This must be Mr. Liang, right? I am following you because I want to do a business with you."
"Oh? What kind of business can I do with the owner of the Jixiang Restaurant?"
"So you know me, I won't beat around the bush. Boss Ma of our Jixiang Restaurant is a famous wealthy businessman in Qingxi County. He likes your recipe for 'Lucky Fortune' and the crystal tofu you make. Our boss said he is willing to spend 100 taels of silver to buy your recipe, and we are willing to pay twice as much as Zuixianju for the crystal tofu, but the prerequisite is that the crystal tofu can only be supplied to our Jixiang Restaurant from now on."
The owner of the Jixiang Restaurant looked determined to win. He probably felt that offering such a high price would be a great temptation for ordinary people setting up stalls, and no one would not be tempted.
Unfortunately, he was not facing an ordinary commoner. Qianhuan would not agree to his offer, let alone one hundred taels, even if he offered one thousand taels.
"I'm sorry, but I will never sell the recipe and crystal tofu to the Jixiang Restaurant. You'd better give up on this idea as soon as possible."
"Could it be that you think our price is too low? Do you know how many years a hundred taels of silver can support an ordinary person?"
"It's not about the price. No matter how much money you offer, I will not sell it to your Jixiang Restaurant. I can't forget how your Jixiang Restaurant asked its servants to smash and destroy my and my mother's chestnut stall."
After saying that, Qianhuan turned around and left with Wenjie, leaving the owner of Jixiang Restaurant standing there in a daze.
The shopkeeper recalled carefully and finally remembered that he had asked the waiter to smash a woman's stall. The shopkeeper of Zuixianju opposite even sent people to protect the woman. It turned out that the woman was the mother of the boy from the Liang family.
It's over, it's over. It turns out that he was the one who caused the trouble. He must not let Boss Ma know about this, otherwise he will skin himself alive. He better go to the manager's office and get a beating.
After Qianhuan finished her sword practice and picked up Wenjie, she went to Zuixianju. She told Manager Zhou about the Jixiang Restaurant finding her. "Manager Zhou, please pay attention recently. The Ma family didn't get what they wanted from me. I guess they might start with the chefs of Zuixianju."
"Thank you for telling me, Young Master Liang. I will definitely give the chefs a warning and make them do their duty."
After the owner of the Jixiang Restaurant received the punishment himself, he gave some advice to Boss Ma. They really set their sights on the chefs of Zuixianju.
The owner of Jixiang Restaurant secretly contacted several chefs from Zuixianju and tried to bribe them with a high price to get them to hand over the recipe for the dish "Hongyun Dangtou".
Unfortunately, the chefs of Zuixianju were all servants of the Chu family. In addition, after Qianhuan's reminder, Manager Zhou had warned them in advance, and Chu Yichen had also personally commended the people in the kitchen, so no one betrayed their master.
Seeing that bribing the chef of Zuixianju didn't work, the Ma family became really anxious.
The hot-tempered boss Ma took out his anger on the shopkeeper of the Jixiang Restaurant again. He had the shopkeeper beaten with a stick and then said viciously, "You better think of a solution quickly. If you can't, I will sell you to the quarry to do hard labor."
The shopkeeper of the Jixiang Restaurant touched his buttocks that were beaten and said aggrievedly: "Master, why don't we bribe the second young master of the Chu family? I heard that the second young master of the Chu family is a bastard. Master Chu and the eldest young master of the Chu family never let him interfere in the Chu family's business. I think this person must be indignant. If you sincerely invite him and promise him a large sum of money, the second young master of the Chu family may find a way to get the recipe for Hongyun Dangtou to us."
"Okay, I'll trust you again. Ask the second young master of the Chu family to come out for me, and tell him that I'm inviting him to Xunfang Pavilion for a drink."
"Yes, sir, I'll do it right away."