It's lunchtime, and the waiters and manager are all busy at work in the restaurant. Who has time to pay attention to these three beggars?

After the waiter finished speaking, he turned around and saw a portly middle-aged man. He bowed and scraped as he greeted him. "Master Zhang, it's been quite a while since you've been here. Our restaurant manager was just thinking about you. What would you like to eat today?"

Qiu Yan was turned away and then took her younger brother and sister-in-law to the dried goods shop.

The dried goods shop sells cinnamon, Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, fennel, wood ear mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, red dates, goji berries, peanuts...

After the three entered, Qiu Yan looked at the man in the shop and asked directly, "Shopkeeper, do you buy mountain products here?"

"Where did this beggar come from!" The dried goods shop owner was about to wave the person away when he heard the question, but when he took a closer look at Qiu Yan's stunning face, he wanted to stick his eyes to her.

He stepped forward and said, “I don’t accept gifts from others, but I will accept gifts from young ladies.”

The shopkeeper was fat and greasy, with a mouthful of yellow teeth and bad breath.

Qiu Yan frowned slightly, but still asked, "How do you collect it?"

The shopkeeper, with a lecherous glint in his eyes, took the bundle from Qiu Yan's back and began weighing the wood ear mushrooms and other fungi.

"The wood ear mushrooms weigh five and six jin, that'll be three coins per jin. The mushrooms weigh one jin in total, that'll be one coin. But miss, I just settled the payment with the vendor this morning, so I'm a little short on cash..."

Qiu Yan's expression changed, and she promptly put away her mountain goods.

A basket full of wood ear mushrooms was reduced to just over five pounds after drying. Even if it wouldn't fetch a high price, it shouldn't be wasted like this.

The shopkeeper paused, then took another step, only to be blocked by Qiu Xu. "Sister, let's go, we won't sell him the wood ear mushrooms!"

"Young man, step aside, let me and your sister discuss things from now on. ... Now that you've sold my mountain goods, we're acquaintances. Next time you come to sell, I'll give you a higher price. How about this, young lady, once my shop has some income before dinner, I'll settle the account with you. What do you say?"

Qiu Yan changed her attitude, her tone turning cold, "No way! Not only do I not offer credit for my mountain products, but even if I were to sell them to you, do you think the price is reasonable?"

"How is it unreasonable, girl? You're just a country bumpkin, what do you know? It's already good enough that you can sell it at all. How much more do you want to sell it for?"

The shopkeeper paused for a moment, then said, "It's not that we can't raise the price, as long as you... how about you come back tonight, and we can discuss the selling price of these mountain products properly? What do you think?"

As he spoke, he reached out to grab Qiu Yan's small hand.

Qiu Yan doesn't cause trouble, but she's not afraid of trouble either.

Now this shopkeeper is not only cheating her, but also setting his sights on her, making her feel disgusted and want to vomit.

"You're asking for trouble, aren't you!"

Qiu Yan dodged with one hand, grabbed his groping hand with her other hand, twisted it forcefully, and dislocated his wrist joint. The dried goods store owner didn't even have time to cry out in pain. Due to inertia, he fell directly onto his own shelf, hitting his head and causing it to throb painfully.

Little Ling'er shrank back in fright and, together with her brother, quickly pulled her sister out of the dried goods shop.

"It hurts so much... What an arrogant and ignorant brat!"

The shopkeeper watched Qiu Yan and the other two leave, clutching his wrist as he chased after them for a few steps. Then, remembering his shop was still open, he turned back. But when he looked again, the three were nowhere to be seen.

Despite her repeated setbacks, Qiu Yan remained calm and composed after emerging from the room.

There's a saying that goes, "The more setbacks you face, the stronger you become; you'll be tempered into steel!"

Although what just happened was unexpected, she had long anticipated the difficulties of doing business.

No pain, no gain!

As soon as Qiu Xu and Qiu Ling'er left the dried goods shop, they both hung their heads.

Although the county town is very interesting, it is also a mixed bag, and you have to be careful in everything you do when you go out.

They tried to persuade the older sister to come home, saying that they could make a living with the family's two acres of land, but she refused.

Under the worried gazes of the two men, Qiu Yan stepped into another restaurant, Xingyuelou.

Like the Double Happiness Building, the Star and Moon Building is also tall, magnificent, and resplendent.

However, compared to business, Xingyue Tower was far behind.

There were no servants at the entrance of Xingyue Tower. Although Qiu Xu and his sister were apprehensive, they still followed him inside.

Inside the restaurant, two or three tables of tea drinkers sat scattered about.

On several tables, there were leftover bowls and chopsticks from guests. In the corners, piles of garbage lay haphazardly, and no one had cleaned them up.

What... what's going on? Is this restaurant going to go out of business?

Qiu Yan looked at the waiter who was fast asleep on the counter, gently patted the counter, and politely asked, "Waiter, is your manager here?"

Upon hearing this, the waiter weakly raised his head, frowned as he glanced at the three men's clothing, and then asked in a low voice:

"Miss, what is it? Please tell me."

Although he looked rather roguish, he didn't seem to have any intention of making things difficult for Qiu Yan and the other two.

Qiu Yan frankly stated her purpose: "We brought some mountain produce with us. Do you accept it at your restaurant?"

The waiter couldn't make the decision on this. "Wait here, I'll go in and ask the manager."

Although Xingyuelou is not doing well, it still has some customers. Perhaps these mountain products will attract more customers.

Qiu Xu stood obediently behind Qiu Yan, while Qiu Ling'er walked to the middle of the hall and looked around curiously. Since there were no servants chasing people away, she felt much bolder.

Qiu Yan smiled and nodded. She waited in the lobby for a while and then saw a young man who was about the same age as her walk towards them.

Afterwards, Xiao Er lay down on the counter and continued to sleep.

The young man glanced casually at Xiao Ling'er, who was constantly looking around their restaurant, and then looked at Qiu Yan. "Are you the ones who want to sell mountain products?" He was a little unsure, but judging from the three of them, they must have come from a remote mountain village, so it was not surprising that they could sell mountain products.

The boy's name was Zhou Zifang, and this restaurant was a branch of his Zhou family in Baiyang.

Right now, he's ruined a perfectly good business. God knows how much he wants to salvage it.

Qiu Yan looked at the young man in front of her with suspicion. She had thought that he would be a middle-aged man with a goatee. She never expected him to be so young.

Furthermore, this waiter dared to sleep right in front of the manager; this restaurant is far too lax.

"Yes, it's us."

Qiu Yan unfolded her bag and began to tell Zhou Zifang about her wood ear mushrooms.

"Young shopkeeper, these are all genuine mountain products. The wood ear mushrooms are a perfect color and have a soft texture. They can be used in both vegetarian and meat dishes, and they've all been carefully dried. The mushrooms are the same. Most importantly, they taste delicious and are very nutritious... How do you see their quality?"

Qiu Xu chuckled. "Genuine mountain products? Are there any improper mountain products?"

Zhou Zifang's eyes darted around, and he caught a few words: it could be either meat or vegetarian, and it tasted delicious.