Chapter 89

Su Guoer: "If this continues, their restaurant won't be open for long."

Wen Qianxi: "More than that? I think they are running a restaurant at a loss now. Just wait, sooner or later something will happen to their restaurant. They can hide it for a while, but not forever."

"The master will find out sooner or later." Wen Qianxi washed his hands and started making dumplings with Su Guoer.

Pang Ya made a few pieces but they were in a mess, so she simply ran to the side to make a fire.

Su Guoer asked, "Do you know who owns Mingyue Tower? How come the owner of this restaurant has become like this, and they haven't missed a single thing?"

This was something Su Guoer found strange, and she had thought about it more than once.

Wen Qianxi curled his lips after hearing this and said, "I've inquired about it. This Mingyue Tower was originally a dowry shop for the only daughter of the Yan family. Unfortunately, Yan Yushi and his wife were away in Jiangnan last year due to flood relief. Therefore, the Yan family is now left with only this only daughter."

"It's a pity she's already married. Her in-laws saw her family was down and out and had no one to back them up, so they didn't take her seriously. They took advantage of her sadness and weakness to seize the shop for themselves."

"You didn't manage the business properly, and now... a good shop has been ruined like this!"

Su Guoer showed a bit of pity on her face. She didn't expect that there was such a thing behind this. Not only did her parents die, but she was also being bullied by her in-laws. This lady must have a very unhappy life, right?

Poor thing, what should I do next?

Even the Mingyue Tower cannot be defended.

Wen Qianxi continued, "However, the sign of Mingyue Tower belongs to Master Yan's family, but the shop itself doesn't. I heard that they paid the rent for several years at a time, and now there are still two years until the rent expires. So, if we want to rent Mingyue Tower within these two years, I'm afraid we won't be able to do so unless they are willing to sublease it."

"Sister Guo'er, can we actually talk to that Miss Yan?"

Su Guoer: "It's okay to talk, but I'm afraid of getting involved in her family affairs. I'm alone in Bianjing, and if someone targets me, I'm probably the one who'll be in trouble."

Wen Qianxi: "Is that right? It's really easy to get into trouble without someone behind you. Unless Miss Yan can personally resolve the issue between her and her mother-in-law, whoever takes over this shop will be in trouble."

Su Guoer: "What do you mean?"

Wen Qianxi curled his lips again. "The mother-in-law of this girl from the Yan family was born in a farming family and couldn't read a single word. She only rose to power because she gave birth to a good son who won the second place in the imperial examination. But since then, she has become very proud and rude. She has a good reputation in this Bianjing city. No old lady is willing to take her out to play."

"Because I was bored, I could only let my daughter-in-law clean up. I felt that Miss Yan was weak, and I guess she was angry with her. She spoke with a Poro voice, noisy and trembling. You can't find such a person anywhere in Bianjing City!"

"Even the street vendors and matchmakers know how to smile when they speak to people!"

"But she's different! My friend saw her last year when he went to his house for a banquet. His mother actually caught a snake in the pond with her own hands and said she wanted to serve it to the guests as a snack. She even skinned it on the spot. The wives and daughters of the officials who went there were so scared that they refused to go there again no matter what they said."

Su Guoer frowned. It was obvious that the behavior of this "old lady" was indeed incompatible with the people in Bianjing City.

But you can't really say what's wrong with her about this incident, right?

Wen Qianxi was heard saying, "This mother-in-law is so cunning. Miss Yan was injured during childbirth and then learned the news of her parents' death. She fainted from anger. But what did this old woman do?"

"Instead of hiring a doctor to properly treat Miss Yan, she turned around and took away all her dowry on the pretext of needing to recuperate, including the Mingyue Tower business."

"Later, they arranged for someone else to help. Look, that's the current shopkeeper Wu of Mingyue Tower. The middle-aged man with a big belly is the old woman's family member. Since he took over, he has been making a lot of money. He can't sell a single bowl of rice, and he even dares to hit the diners."

"Even though Mingyuelou's Eight Treasure Duck is a specialty in Bianjing, no one dares to eat it."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, what a pity."

Su Guoer: "That's really regrettable."

A good second-rate restaurant in Bian Jing has been ruined by them into this state. Now there are only two or three customers entering the store all day.

Most of them are Mr. Wu’s drinking buddies, or guests from other places who come here to try the Eight Treasure Duck.

Otherwise... this store would have collapsed long ago.

Su Guoer shook her head: "What a pity, such a good location, such a good restaurant"

Wen Qianxi winked and moved closer to Su Guoer: "Are you envious of that restaurant's size and good location?"

She didn't hide it: "Yes, I do think the location there is nice. As for the place, I haven't been inside, so I don't know what it's like."

Wen Qianxi: "What does it look like? I've been to the kitchen. There are ten stoves in the kitchen alone, as well as three-person-high steamers and steamers. When making eight-treasure ducks, they can make many at a time. There is also a sink that can accommodate eight women washing dishes at a time. Not to mention the pond in the backyard, which is also brought in by mountain spring water and is twice as big as the one in your courtyard. The lobby on the first floor can accommodate hundreds of people dining at the same time."

"The ordinary private rooms on the second floor, and the top-tier private rooms on the third floor, what a grand occasion!"

"It's said that those powerful people often eat there. What do you call it? What? Pomp and circumstance? Oh yes, pomp and circumstance!"

"Some wealthy families are very particular about food. They simply look down on small restaurants like ours and disdain to come. So, no matter how delicious and unique the dishes are, they are reluctant to set foot here. I feel like we're still at a disadvantage, and we're at a disadvantage with this shop. If we could open one in Mingyue Tower, it would definitely be a huge success!"

At this time, Yunniang, who had come in to knead the dough, said, "That's right. Madam's cooking skills are not bad, and she can also cook delicacies from all over the country. If this gets out, it will be a big deal. If she can make special dishes well, she will definitely become the number one brand in Bianjing!"

Wen Qianxi: "Yes, yes, no one who can cook can cook as deliciously as you. People who can cook food from other regions don't know many dishes, let alone master them. With this specialty, if Sister Guoer opens a restaurant, it will definitely be very popular."

"Hey? How about we go find a restaurant somewhere else?" Wen Qianxi thought about it and came up with this idea.

However, Su Guoer disagreed and said, "If we move to another place, the current customer base will be wasted, and the good locations in Bianjing have already been taken up by others."

It’s not that she doesn’t want to find another shop, but although Bianjing is big, there are not many good locations. If she opens this shop in the slums, she is afraid that those nobles will be even less willing to come.