Hu Xiuxiu was chopping pig feed at home.

Hu Xiaosi quietly walked over and lowered his voice: "Sister, Brother Yong said he's waiting for you at the place where he's collecting firewood on the mountain."

Hu Xiuxiu paused in her hand, holding the wood-chopping knife, and said in a low voice, "Go tell him not to see me again."

She struggled, even risking falling into the water. She thought that physical intimacy would make things work, but her mother's interference ruined everything.

If she were to actively spread the word about falling into the water, her mother might decide to sell her off.

She's going to meet a carpenter in town the day after tomorrow; she has to break up with Ye Yong completely.

Hu Xiaosi looked dejected and could only run out.

But a little while later, he ran back: "Brother Yong said... if you don't come, he'll come looking for you."

"He's gone mad!" she exclaimed, quickly covering her mouth as she spoke. Her mother was in the room making clothes.

After thinking for a moment, Hu Xiuxiu chopped the wood-chopping knife on the wooden stake: "Xiao Si, you chop the pig feed, I'll go collect firewood."

Only by talking things out face-to-face can a clean break be truly made.

"No, I'll go with you. I'll go find my older brother to cut pig feed."

After Hu Xiaosi finished speaking, he rushed into the house, leaving his brother to chop pig feed, and then followed Hu Xiuxiu up the mountain together.

Hu Xiuxiu went to the place where they usually gathered firewood together.

Ye Yong is chopping wood.

Hu Xiuxiu walked over and was speaking when Ye Yong blurted out the whole story.

"What did you say? You'll be able to raise enough money for the bride price within two months?" Hu Xiuxiu was stunned.

"Yes. This is what my aunt promised us, as compensation."

Through everything that has happened during this time, whether it was digging cassava or selling spicy soup, my aunt has become more and more reliable.

Ye Yong also began to see Ye Caiping in a new light and became increasingly convinced of her abilities.

After her initial joy, Hu Xiuxiu became somewhat worried: "My mother won't believe that. Unless those twenty taels are placed in front of her right now."

"Besides, I'm going to town to meet a carpenter the day after tomorrow. If he likes the carpenter, the marriage will be arranged."

Ye Yong's expression changed: "Then what should we do..."

Hu Xiuxiu was at a loss for what to do.

Hu Xiaosi rolled his eyes and said, "Why don't you take my sister out to hide for a while, Brother Yong?"

"No way!" Ye Yong refused without hesitation. "A woman who runs away is a concubine, and a woman who elopes is despicable! Even if we come back in the future, our reputation will be ruined."

Especially Xiuxiu, as a woman, she endures a thousand times more than men.

Hu Xiuxiu gritted her teeth: "Then what should we do..."

“Or, I could talk to that carpenter and tell him what I feel… No, no, I’ve heard that he’s narrow-minded. If I say that to him, he’ll lose face, and if he tells the matchmaker or my mother, she’ll sell me off.”

“How about we delay it? If we can delay it for two months, we can raise enough money, and then we can use the drowning incident to threaten your mother. With twenty taels of silver, she will agree to our marriage,” Ye Yong said.

The question is, how do we delay it?

"Ah, I've got an idea!" Hu Xiaosi's eyes lit up and he smiled. "Sister, give me twenty coins, and I guarantee that the carpenter will voluntarily postpone the matchmaking date by two months."

Hu Xiuxiu frowned: "What method?"

"Give me the money first. You'll find out tomorrow."

Seeing that he was keeping her in suspense, Hu Xiuxiu was so anxious that she wanted to hit him.

But of the younger brothers, the fourth one was the smartest and most clever. Hu Xiuxiu nodded: "Okay, I'll give it to you when we get home."

Hu Xiuxiu still has some private savings.

After Hu Xiuxiu and Ye Yong had a good talk, she felt as if the sky had cleared up.

The two men, one chopping wood and the other bundling it, wore smiles on their faces.

...

The next morning, at four in the morning.

Ye Caiping and Grandma Ye were getting ready to get up and bustling around in the kitchen.

Grandma Ye said, "Yesterday, another hot and sour soup stall opened, which made us sell for an extra hour. How much should we make today?"

Ye Caiping thought for a moment: "Make one less bucket."

Grandma Ye hesitated for a moment: "If we take away one bucket, we're afraid it won't be enough to sell."

"If we can't sell enough, we'll just take a break."

After the spicy soup was ready, the four of them rode the oxcart back to town.

Sure enough, four more hot and sour soup stalls opened today, with prices varying widely.

They have small bowls for three coins, some for four coins, but they're all cheaper than what they sell. This is a price war.

Ye Caiping found it amusing; if you're going to engage in a price war, the quality has to be the same!

If you don't have the ability, following the trend won't help!

However, although those stores were all show and no substance, they still managed to draw away some customers, since everyone has the desire to get a bargain and try something new.

Thinking that the spicy soup place I went to yesterday wasn't good, maybe a few other places would be! Since I was only a couple of coins cheaper, I naturally decided to give it a try.

Of the four new stalls, one was surprisingly popular, selling a small bowl for four coins.

Grandpa Xu went to act as their spy again, buying from whichever store had the most customers.

Ye Caiping took a bite and nodded. This place actually added pepper, which is the most important ingredient in hot and sour soup!

But compared to theirs, it's still far inferior.

Although business was somewhat affected, the two large buckets of spicy soup were sold out within three hours.

Customers who didn't get to try the spicy soup were disappointed and had no choice but to try other places.

Grandma Ye said, "They sold out pretty quickly. I should have made half a bucket more."

Ye Caiping laughed and said, "Let's also use a bit of scarcity marketing, and let customers try other places and compare."

As the four were packing up their stall, a short, stout middle-aged man walked over, smiling broadly.

"Boss, your spicy soup is really delicious. My surname is Lin, and I work at Baiweilou."

Ye Caiping smiled and said, "We know Baiweilou, the most popular restaurant in our Dashu Town."

Manager Lin laughed heartily: "Your spicy soup... is quite good. We at Baiweilou are very interested. How about we cooperate?"

Ye Caiping raised an eyebrow: "How do we cooperate?"

"Hmm...can you sell us your recipe?" Shopkeeper Lin asked.

"Of course, you can continue to set up your stall after you buy the recipe. I guarantee that we will only start selling after noon. In this way, you can sell in the morning market and we can sell in the afternoon and evening markets without any conflict."

"I'm sorry, I don't want to sell." Ye Caiping refused without even thinking.

Manager Lin frowned: "Wait, don't be so quick to refuse, I haven't given you a price yet! I'll offer fifty taels!"

Ye Caiping almost spat out her tea.

Even Old Madam Ye and Jin'er were furious.

Ye Caiping said, "Shopkeeper, you want to buy the prince because we're doing well, right? You're in the food business too, do you think we can't earn fifty taels?"