Rotten vegetables

As a plagiarist, Yu Daqiang not only felt no remorse, but also felt that he was teaching Liu Xiangmei a lesson, so that she would face reality sooner and close down her business to avoid further losses.

After lunchtime, the couple tallied up their earnings for the day. After deducting costs, their net profit from selling buffets for the first time that day was around one hundred yuan.

Ma Zhen asked excitedly, "You didn't miscalculate, did you?"

Yu Daqiang knew that business was good at noon, and he could estimate how many dishes he cooked and how many portions he could sell. But he was still a little surprised when he calculated the exact amount. He didn't expect that a buffet would not only be easier to run than stir-fries, but also more profitable.

In order to quickly grab business, his boxed lunches were 50 cents cheaper than Liu Xiangmei's boxed lunches. Wouldn't Liu Xiangmei earn much more money than him in a day?

If he completely ousts Liu Xiangmei and takes over the business for himself, then...

Thinking of this, Yu Daqiang's breathing became a little rapid, and he became even more determined to fight Liu Xiangmei.

"How could I possibly make a mistake on this? That's exactly how much it is."

Ma Zhen chuckled. She never expected that a small buffet could earn so much more than stir-fries. "Great, great, great, I'm going to make a fortune!"

Then she started to worry: "Won't Liu Xiangmei come looking for trouble? I saw her lurking around our door this morning, I don't know what she was up to!"

Liu Xiangmei: You're the one who's sneaking around, your whole family is sneaking around, I'm just passing by openly, okay? You're so dirty-minded, everything you see is dirty.

Yu Daqiang chuckled, "She wouldn't dare. I'd give her a hundred lives and see if she dares to come."

This was also confirmed by a neighbor's words.

In the afternoon, the owner of the steamed buns next door, having nothing to do, went to Yu's Sichuan restaurant to chat. He relayed what Liu Xiangmei had said at noon to Yu Daqiang, and commented, "Women just don't have the guts. When it comes to going out and making a name for themselves, we men have to take care of them."

These words warmed Yu Daqiang's heart, but he still said, "I'm not bullying her. In business, you can't put all your eggs in one basket. I'm just thinking of changing things up to see if I can get more business. If she's capable, no matter how I change things, it won't affect her. If she's not capable, she'll ruin herself, and she can't blame anyone else."

No one would believe that. The steamed bun shop owner never expected Yu Daqiang to be so shameless, stealing other people's business and talking so confidently. He had truly broadened his horizons.

Liu Xiangmei was looking at the accounts compiled by Old Man Li. Compared to yesterday, the profit had clearly decreased.

She had been doing well selling boxed lunches until now, but this was the first time she had encountered a setback. She was completely unprepared, so now she felt like a huge rock was pressing on her heart, making her feel both suffocated and uncomfortable.

Sigh, no wonder people say that doing business is risky and not easy. She understands now. It's just like that. Everything was fine yesterday. Who would have thought that such a mess would happen today? There was no warning at all, and she could only deal with it passively.

But how should we deal with it?

Sitting to the side, Chen Xiu, who was also in a low mood, came up with an idea: lower the price!

She thought it was all the same rice and vegetables. At noon today, someone heard the loudspeaker outside the Yu family's house advertising that they were selling rice and vegetables for three yuan, and when they heard that their house was selling rice for three yuan and fifty cents, they went directly to the Yu family's house instead.

Then their family will also sell it for three yuan tomorrow, let's see who can outdo whom.

Liu Xiangmei carefully analyzed the pros and cons, but still shook her head. "No, we can't lower the price. If we do, what if the Yu family lowers it again? The Yu family is obviously targeting us. They've been doing business here for several years, and their wealth is definitely greater than ours. If we compete on price, we won't last long before we go bankrupt. Then the Yu family will dominate, which will only please those two shameless people."

Old Li also supported Liu Xiangmei's statement, saying that business is not done this way. Although he didn't understand it very well either, he believed that simply lowering prices was definitely not advisable.

"What should we do? Will our business be even worse tomorrow?" Chen Xiu asked anxiously.

Liu Xiangmei didn't know either; it was her first time doing business, and for now, she could only wait and see how things unfolded.

Hao Zai Lai Restaurant is still closed tonight, but Yu Jia Sichuan Restaurant is still open.

Before the sun had even set in the afternoon, Yu Daqiang urged Ma Zhen to hurry to the market to restock, as there were many customers at lunchtime and the store was almost empty.

Thinking that they would be the only family having a buffet dinner that evening, and that business would definitely be even busier than at noon, Ma Zhen hummed a song as she headed towards the market.

The vegetables were fresh and crisp in the morning, but after most of the day's high temperatures, many of them had wilted.

As soon as Ma Zhen entered the market, she heard people shouting, "Bok choy on sale!" "Eggplants at clearance price!"

Ma Zhen asked at several restaurants, and the prices were all about the same. Just as she was about to choose one at random, a man next to her said, "Boss, take a look at my vegetables. Don't be fooled by the fact that they're a bit more expensive. I've peeled off the wilted parts, and what's left is tender and fresh."

As she spoke, she pointed out a pile of peeled vegetable leaves on the ground to Ma Zhen.

Ma Zhen initially wanted to refuse, but then a thought struck her, and she asked, "You don't want the vegetable leaves on the ground?"

"Huh?" The man buying vegetables was stunned, but he quickly recovered and said, "Yes, I want it. I can feed it to the pigs when I take it home. I'll give you a discount if you want it."

Ma Zhen pouted. They had clearly discarded the money, yet they still asked her for money. What a swindler!

Finally, Ma Zhen collected the worst vegetables from each stall in the market and went home satisfied.

As soon as she left, someone muttered behind her back, "Why doesn't this person buy fresh food? She only buys rotten stuff."

"Take it back and feed it to the chickens and ducks."

"Oh, I know her. She's the owner of Yu Family Sichuan Restaurant near the back gate of No. 1 Middle School. Her family doesn't raise chickens or ducks at all."

Once these words were spoken, everyone understood. Those who were close to each other exchanged glances, their eyes filled with speechlessness and disdain for Ma Zhen.

Yu Daqiang saw that Ma Zhen had brought back a large bag of vegetables that were no longer fresh; some of the eggplants and green beans looked like they had been sitting there for several days.

"I asked you to buy groceries, and what kind of garbage did you buy? How are you going to cook this? Is it even edible?" He said, slamming an eggplant onto the table.

Ma Zhen was still laughing. She picked up the eggplant, broke it open, and placed it in front of Yu Daqiang, saying, "It just doesn't look pretty, but why can't you eat it? It's delicious inside."

Then she glanced at the door and lowered her voice, saying, "Daqiang, I realize we were really stupid before. We went to grab the freshest vegetables every morning, but what was the result? We can only keep this little shop."

I once heard someone say that there are two kinds of money in this world: one is hard-earned money, which is the money we earned in the past; the other is smart money, which I think is the money we earned at noon today. So if you want to earn more money, you can't be honest.

"Besides, we're not harming anyone. These vegetables are just not fresh anymore, but with the addition of oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar, they taste just as good as fresh ones. We can even save some costs, so what's wrong with that? Furthermore, many restaurants do this; do you think Liu Xiangmei uses any really good ingredients?"

Yu Daqiang fell silent. He picked up an enamel mug with tea stains on the inner wall and took a sip of tea. The cold tea was bitter and astringent.

His wife wasn't entirely wrong. He used to believe his master's words blindly, which is why his business had been lukewarm for so many years. If you want to make money, having a good conscience won't help.

"Take it to the kitchen and wash it thoroughly."

For every person who compromises, there is someone who persists.

Within two days, the rivalry between the Yu and Liu restaurants had spread throughout Dingyuan Road. Some said the Yu family lacked martial ethics and bullied a woman; others said Liu Xiangmei was greedy for money, saying that the Yu family could make money selling for three yuan, but she wanted to sell for three yuan and fifty cents.

However, the vast majority of vendors in the market sided with Liu Xiangmei, because they knew exactly what ingredients both vendors used.

Although the Yu family later bought rotten vegetables by riding a tricycle to the countryside, the local vendors were the most well-informed, and within a day, everyone knew about it.

Then look at Liu Xiangmei. Although she never buys much at the market, she always picks the best and freshest vegetables.

The contrast between the two only made the Yu family seem even more despicable, but for the time being, these rumors were only circulating among the small vendors in the vegetable market.

Diners still choose to eat at Yu's restaurant to save five cents.

Although everyone said the food tasted better the next time they came, the food at the Yu family's restaurant wasn't so bad that it was hard to swallow. As long as they could eat their fill, many people still chose to save 50 cents.

So for several days in a row, the revenue from the buffet at Hao Zai Lai Restaurant was declining. Fortunately, starting from September 2nd, the restaurant began selling barbecue in the evenings.

September 2nd was a Saturday. There was no evening self-study session at the county's No. 1 Middle School, so Wang Yao prepared the barbecue sauce at noon.

There are three types: basic savory sauce, rich and aromatic mixed sauce, and secret seasoning.

The first method involves a 1:1 ratio of soy sauce and water, then adding scallions, ginger, and spices and simmering for about half an hour. Finally, add MSG and sugar for seasoning.

The second method involves a slightly more complex process. First, sauté scallions, ginger, and garlic over low heat until fragrant. Then, add fermented bean paste to enhance the flavor. Next, add chili powder, cumin powder, and other seasonings and continue to stir-fry. Once evenly mixed, add salt, sugar, MSG, and other seasonings, along with water. After boiling, drizzle in cornstarch slurry until it becomes a thick paste.

While the sauce was being stir-fried, Xiao Chengzi was watching with his mouth watering. Sun Min tried to tease him, but he was completely in no mood to pay attention, which made Sun Min call him "Little Glutton"!

The third method is the simplest. Just mix cumin powder, chili powder, salt, sugar, MSG and other seasonings in the correct proportions, and then add crushed peanuts and peach crisps.

Liu Xiangmei had been preparing the skewers since the afternoon.

Meat dishes such as mutton, beef, chicken wings, and beef tendon, as well as vegetable dishes such as eggplant, green beans, and potato slices, are all available, and they are all cut, marinated, and skewered according to Wang Yao's requirements.

Of course, leftover rice, shredded pancakes, fried noodles, and other ingredients are also ready to be served.

After finishing the last class in the afternoon, as soon as the teacher left the classroom, Wang Yao slung her backpack over her shoulder and ran towards the classroom door. Niu Ling called her, but she didn't hear her because she was only thinking about how she hoped the barbecue business would be better tonight.

Wang Yao knew that her mother had been worried about losing the buffet business. If the barbecue sold tonight could make up for the lost profits, her mother would feel better.

When she arrived at the restaurant, the barbecue grill that had been ordered a few days earlier was already set up at the entrance, with coal laid inside. Someone had also run an electric wire to the entrance and installed several light bulbs, making the entrance brightly lit.

"Mom, I'm home!"