Chapter 120: Caught On The Spot
News was limited in a remote and desolate place like Lotus Flower Village. Therefore, be it military intelligence at the border or anecdotes in the Capital, none of them could reach here in a short time.
Yu Wan was still rubbing her palms together as she thought about how to take the Tianxiang Restaurant down a notch. She had no idea that the Tianxiang Restaurant, which she had demolished for an entire night in her dream, was already destroyed to the point where they couldn’t even find a place to set their feet.
“Ah Wan, I’ve collected the chives. It’s not much. It might not be enough.” Yu Feng, who had gone to the various villages to collect soybeans, had also collected a basket of chives. He carried the chives and two large sacks of soybeans down from the ox cart and stopped Yu Wan, who was helping the hunter rebuild the greenhouse in the backyard.
In order to make the tofu ferment faster, they needed to provide a higher room temperature, so Yu Wan proposed to convert half of the woodshed into a greenhouse.
Her uncle had no objections to anything she said. He immediately cleaned up the woodshed with the villagers.
When Yu Feng left, the woodshed had yet to be built, so he was quite surprised to see the construction. “What’s wrong? Can’t the woodshed be used anymore?”
Yu Wan smiled. “No, Big Brother, I want to build a greenhouse so the tofu can ferment faster.”
“Ah.” Yu Feng nodded knowingly and talked about the chives from before. “It’s still early. I’ll go to town and see if there’s anything for sale.”
Yu Wan handed the wooden board in her hand to the hunter. “There’s no need, Big Brother. When I went up the mountain that day, I found a large patch of wild shepherd’s purse near the bamboo forest. The fermented fluid from the wild shepherd’s purse is even greener and smells even worse. I’ll go pick it later.”
Yu Feng only thought about it casually, but it was as if he could already smell the stench that could make people go to heaven and earth. He even held his breath!
Since Yu Feng had returned, there was no need for Yu Wan to be here. Yu Wan packed her things and prepared to go up the mountain to pick chives.
Not long after they walked out of the old residence, Yu Feng caught up. “Ah Wan!”
“Huh?” Yu Wan turned around. “What’s wrong, Big Brother?”
Yu Feng looked around and pulled her arm towards a place with fewer people at the entrance of the village. “This is the last order. After we finish 200 pounds of soybeans, the business we accepted in the Wei Manor will be gone.”
In other words, they really needed to find another way out.
Yu Wan thought for a while and said, “There will be a way when the time comes. Big Brother, don’t worry. Just let the villagers continue.”
Yu Feng said worriedly, “If we can’t sell it… we’ll lose all our capital.”
Yu Wan suddenly exclaimed, “The Lantern Festival is over. The pharmacy in the Capital has opened. It’s time to bring Uncle to the Capital to treat his legs.”
What does this have to do with anything? Aren’t we discussing business? Why is my father involved?
Yu Wan smiled. “It can be sold. Big Brother, continue collecting soybeans. Don’t stop production.”
“You said the same thing when we went to the Tianxiang Restaurant earlier, but in the end…” Yu Feng was a very cautious person and never did anything that he was not confident of. In his opinion, it was good that Yu Wan was willing to help the villagers, but she also had to act within her capabilities. Since they clearly couldn’t sell it, they shouldn’t waste manpower and ingredients anymore. The silver in their hands was enough for the villagers to eat for a year or so, but if they lost money, they might not be able to last for a month.
Yu Wan was different from Yu Feng. She was born with the courage to go all out. She would do everything first before talking about it. Before she climbed over the wall, she would throw her hat over first. In short, she did not leave herself a way out.
Yu Wan glanced at him and said with a smile, “The Tianxiang Restaurant was an accident. Even if the Tianxiang Restaurant isn’t willing to buy it, there are still other restaurants. There are so many restaurants in the Capital, so there must be one that we can sell to. Besides, I don’t think the matter about the Tianxiang Restaurant is a bad thing.”
Yu Feng looked at her strangely.
Yu Wan smiled and said, “The signature dish of Tianxiang Restaurant is made by Uncle. As long as we clear Uncle’s name, we won’t have to worry about our things not being sold. At that time, I’m afraid Big Brother and the villagers won’t be able to handle it.”
Yu Feng sighed. “It’s easy for you to say, but how can we clear my father’s name? You heard what that uncle said. The Xu family is related to the royal family. How can we defeat them?”
The little girl was still too young. How could a country bumpkin like them provoke someone who was related to the palace? Although he felt indignant for his father, he felt that it was already lucky that he could leave the Tianxiang Restaurant alive.
“Don’t mention this again. We can’t fight in this lifetime…”
“Little Brother Yu! Miss Yu!”
Yu Feng’s words were drowned by Shopkeeper Cui’s hearty laughter. A carriage slowly drove into the village and Shopkeeper Cui impatiently alighted.
“Shopkeeper Cui.” The siblings greeted him.
Yu Wan asked, “What brings Shopkeeper Cui here?”
Shopkeeper Cui said with a flushed face, “Of course it’s the fragrance of the Tianxiang Restaurant! You don’t know that something big has happened in the Tianxiang Restaurant, right! Hahaha!”
Shopkeeper Cui, who had always been cautious, smiled like a fool in front of the two juniors.
The two of them looked at him in confusion.
He placed his hands on his hips and held onto the old well at the village entrance, laughing so hard that he couldn’t straighten his back.
The siblings’ eyebrows twitched. Don’t drip your saliva in. We still have to eat from this well!
“Let him plagiarize! Let him suppress his peers! Retribution is here! Someone smashed their restaurant today! Smash it inch by inch until not a single stool is left! Their owner was also beaten up! His arms and legs are crippled! You won’t be able to guess who did it!”
Shopkeeper Cui was laughing so hard that he did not notice a carriage slowly driving over.
Shopkeeper Cui placed his hands on his hips and roared with laughter. “Hahaha! It’s that lunatic Yan Jiuchao!”
Yan Jiuchao, the “lunatic”, was standing behind him. His face darkened.