Chapter 26: Surrounding her, is it robbery or [VIP]

Sweet and salty tofu pudding is a common breakfast dish made by the Shen family recently.

Tanaka Zheng and Shen Qingshan love salty food. After eating two large bowls each, they still feel unsatisfied. Their stomachs are like holes that cannot be filled due to lack of oil and water. No matter how much they eat, it never feels enough.

After breakfast, Tanaka Zheng carried Shen Qingshan out of the main house and let him bask in the sun in the yard.

"Brother-in-law, please hand me the long pole under the corridor." Shen Qingshan took the long pole handed over by Tanaka and drove away the four little chicks who wanted to rush into the vegetable field.

Yang Wenying would usually let the chicks out to bask in the sun, but as soon as they were out for some fresh air, they would flap their little wings and rush to the vegetable patch.

If we don't drive them away, they will peck at the vegetables that A Yao has worked so hard to grow.

"Cousin, go home and rest for the morning. When I come back from the city, we can practice reeling silk."

Tian Baozhu was helping Yang Wenying wash the dishes by the stove. "I know. You should get out of here. I heard my cousin Dongsheng was bragging to my brother about something. Why is he so talkative now?"

In the yard.

Huang Dongsheng was chatting with everyone about the gossip in the city, such as which restaurant had secretly raised the price of its vegetables, which restaurant had occupied someone else's stall and started a fight, and was scolded by the police.

When talking about the official business, Huang Dongsheng and everyone else praised Liu Chuang as a good person.

Shen Qingshan paused while herding his chicks and looked at his nephew. "Tell me what's so good about Liu Chuang?"

After Huang Dongsheng's excited explanation, everyone learned that Liu Chuang was both civil and military and entered the county government with his own ability, unlike Wang Gongcha who entered through the back door.

Liu Chuang never takes advantage of street vendors and always behaves fairly and justly.

"Even when I treated him to the cakes my cousin gave me, he still gave me money, saying he was buying them with me. If it were the official from Wang, I'm afraid he would have asked me to pay him even more."

Huang Dongsheng was talking with his back to the kitchen, not realizing that Chen Yao was standing behind him.

Tian Baolai glanced at his cousin and deliberately asked, "Did you accept the money from Constable Liu?"

Huang Dongsheng was laughing, but before he could finish, someone grabbed his ear. The familiar pain made his laughter come to a sudden halt.

"I specially left the pastries for you, but you were so greedy for money that you even had the guts to use them to earn money for business trips. I'll tell your mother about this." Chen Yao pretended to call someone to the kitchen.

Huang Dongsheng reached out and hugged Chen Yao's arm, crying out in injustice: "Cousin, I didn't make any money, so I treated Liu Gongcha, Brother Bai, and the owner of the bun shop to a piece of the cake, and I ate the rest myself."

Chen Yao gave up after hearing this.

Huang Dongsheng rubbed his ears and muttered softly, "You all bully the weak, and you only bully me!"

"What did you say?"

Huang Dongsheng picked up his load and ran out, with Chen Yao chasing after him.

After entering the city, Chen Yao first handed forty pieces of bean curd sheets and ten pounds of Ruyi vegetables to the waiter in the backyard. As soon as she put the money into her arms, she was surrounded by a group of people.

Robbery in broad daylight?

Chen Yao saw that the leader was a young woman in her early twenties, and the two men following her were both burly and strong with fierce looks.

"Big brother, second brother, she was the one who stole my husband's family's tofu recipe and stole our business in the East Market!"

As soon as the woman finished speaking, the two thugs rolled up their sleeves and started to fight Chen Yao, pressing forward step by step.

"You're talking nonsense. I don't even know who you are or where you live. How could I steal your recipe? If you come here again, don't blame me for being rude." Chen Yao held the tiger bone knife at her waist and stared at the two strong men in front of her.

"Big brother, second brother, don't waste time talking to her. Beat her up and don't let her enter the city again." The woman gave an order, and the two strong men swung their heavy punches at Chen Yao.

Chen Yao took off the backpack and walked forward, then drew the tiger bone knife from her waist and held it tightly in her hand to resist.

She swung the knife without any rules, and the two strong men tried to take the knife from her hand many times, but both got injured on the back of their hands by the blade.

The noise in the alley became louder and louder, prompting the waiters at Zhiweilou to open the back door to see who was causing trouble in their back alley.

This sight frightened him so much that he turned around and went to the front yard to look for the shopkeeper Ren.

In just a quarter of an hour, Manager Ren led the chef and the waiters out to rescue Chen Yao.

When the two strong men saw the scene behind Chen Yao, they didn't dare to stay any longer. They carried their sister and disappeared into the crowd.

"Madam Shen, do you want to report to the police?" Manager Ren looked at the bloody tiger bone knife in Shen Yao's hand. There was no fear on her face. Her fearlessness in the face of danger made him look at her with respect.

The guy who followed was very perceptive and handed a handkerchief to Chen Yao to wipe the knife.

Chen Yao thanked everyone and looked at the crowd outside the alley. This matter had to be resolved, but it was not yet time to report to the police.

"No need to report it to the authorities. It's my tofu business that's causing trouble for others."

"Madam Shen, are you planning to just let this go?" Competition among peers requires fairness and justice. He despises those who tamper with things behind the scenes and have bad character the most.

If he knew who the villain was, he would definitely not let him off easily. What if something happened to Madam Shen today?

The more Manager Ren thought about it, the more he felt that this person was hateful. He was probably not just a colleague of Chen Yao, but someone else.

"Madam Shen, we can't let this matter go like this. We have to report it to the police and teach the perpetrator a lesson. You can see what that person looks like."

Chen Yao nodded. She had a black mole. Her husband's family was in the tofu business. She had two older brothers in her family.

As soon as this was said, before Shopkeeper Ren could figure out who it was, the chef who was stirring the tofu started talking, "It's Zeng Xishi from Liushui Street. Her husband's family, Zeng Shiqiang, has made their fortune from tofu for two generations."

“Bah, she’s really Xishi. This woman has a vicious heart. How can she be worthy of this title? Madam Shen, are you really not going to report to the police with me?”

Chen Yao thought for a moment, then bowed to Shopkeeper Ren and said, "Filing a report to the authorities is time-consuming and laborious, and it will interfere with my livelihood. I'd like to ask Shopkeeper Chen to come forward and help me invite Zeng Shiqiang to your restaurant. We can talk this out, and business will only get better if we're friendly."

Chen Yao was thinking that if the matter really came to the government, if the higher-ups wanted to find out the truth, they might lose the recipes for tofu, bean curd sheets, and Ruyi dish.

"Okay, then you go sit in the private room. I'll ask the waiter to go and invite him over."

Manager Ren also wanted to see how Chen Yao would handle the matter.

Zeng's Tofu Shop on Liushui Street.

Zeng Shiqiang was counting the soybeans collected by the shop assistants in the warehouse behind the shop, and frowned as he looked at the quality of the beans in the sacks.

"It's not just the small quantity, but the quality is so bad too. I'm going to tell those farmers next time if they keep using beans like this to fill the gaps, and forget about getting me to pay for them in the future."

The waiter was being scolded and was about to explain when he heard the waiter from Zhiweilou coming over to ask the shopkeeper to come and discuss something.

Zeng Shiqiang was stunned at first, then he picked up a handkerchief to wipe his hands, brushed off the dust on his body, lifted the board in front of the door and followed the waiter to Zhiweilou.

When he met his daughter-in-law on the way home, Zeng Shiqiang specifically told her to go back and look after the shop and not go out again, as he might bring a big business to the family when he returned.

Zeng Xishi looked at the direction the shop assistant was going with her husband, and her eyebrows twitched. She turned around and went back to her parents' home to ask her brother to stay in the shop for her.

In the upscale private room, no tea was served. Zeng Shiqiang looked at the two people sitting on his left and right, and felt uneasy.

"I wonder why Manager Ren wants to see me?"

Shopkeeper Ren smiled without saying anything and looked at Chen Yao.

Chen Yao stood up, took out the tiger bone knife from her waist and walked in front of Zeng Shiqiang.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Zeng Shiqiang's face was not good. While being wary of Chen Yao, he asked Manager Ren what he meant. Wasn't he doing business with him, but wanted to take his life?

Chen Yao guessed correctly. It seemed that Zeng Shiqiang was unaware of what the woman had done, so she told him what had just happened.

Zeng Shiqiang suddenly raised his head and refuted Chen Yao: "Impossible, you are falsely accusing me."

"If you don't believe me, Manager Zeng, go back and see if your uncle has any new injuries on his hands. We're both in the tofu business. I didn't lower the price and ruin the market, nor did I steal your recipe to run a business near your home. We each make money based on our own abilities, but your wife is committing violence and injuring someone. If this gets to the authorities, I'm afraid..."

Zeng Shiqiang was hurt by what Chen Yao said, not to mention that it happened in front of Manager Ren. As for the fact that his wife had hurt anyone, he absolutely did not believe it.

"Oh, I know you. You're the one selling Ruyi vegetables in the East Market!"

"You said fair competition. Fine. Tomorrow I'll go to the countryside to harvest soybeans and make Ruyi vegetables to sell. But I wonder if your business will be as good as before without soybeans and Ruyi vegetables?"

Zeng Shiqiang was secretly proud of himself. He was just a farmer making a living, but he accidentally discovered the recipes for making tofu and Ruyi vegetables, so he thought everyone else was a fool?

As soon as he tasted the Ruyi dish, he knew it was made from soybeans. After trying a few times, he was able to make it.

"Madam Chen, is this Ruyi dish made of soybeans? What about bean curd sheets?" Shopkeeper Ren at the side grasped the key point and was a little bit unbelievable. If so, how much profit would there be?

Chen Yao watched Zeng Shiqiang reveal his business secrets in front of Manager Ren and secretly cursed him for being a fool.

But she kept a calm expression on her face, and suddenly grinned, "How much do you want? I'll go back and inform the villagers. From now on, I'll buy the beans and send them directly to your shop. I can make money selling soybeans, so why would I bother working so hard making tofu and Ruyicai?"

"You, you are trying to blackmail me?" Zeng Shiqiang looked at me as if he was taking advantage of me.

Chen Yao was puzzled: "Didn't you just say you wanted to buy soybeans and make Ruyi vegetables to sell? From the tone of your voice, you seemed to want to buy up all the soybeans and stop me from doing business in the East Market?"

Zeng Shiqiang's face instantly turned the color of liver, and he simply tore his face off and told Chen Yao how to cook Ruyi's dish.

"Manager Ren, this woman is a profiteer. Soybeans are used by country folk to feed livestock. How could such a cheap thing be consumed by the rich? Don't be fooled by her!"

People really laugh when they are speechless. Chen Yao regretted not reporting to the police. It turned out that Zeng Shiqiang and his wife were from the same bed and were both fools!

"Don't treat soybeans as food. In years of famine, they keep people fed. In cold winters, they provide everyone with a fresh meal. Don't forget that your ancestors also made their fortune from soybeans. The shopkeeper once picked up his bowl to eat, but put down his chopsticks and cursed his mother. How ungrateful he is!"

"You--" Zeng Shiqiang felt like someone had stepped on his tail. Unable to argue with Chen Yao, he turned around and said goodbye to Manager Ren. Before leaving, he also left a harsh word, saying that he would just have to wait and see with Shen Yao!

As for the incident of his own wife beating someone, he refused to admit it and was not afraid of Chen Yao reporting it to the police. Without any witnesses or evidence, he would turn around and accuse Chen Yao of false accusation.

Chen Yao didn't want to argue with fools anymore, so she decided to restore the reputation of soybeans and make them available on the tables of the rich this winter, but they would have to pay a high price to buy them from her.

Manager Ren was happy to watch the two of them fighting each other. After they left, he specifically instructed his staff to keep an eye on Zeng Shiqiang for the next two days.

If Zeng Shiqiang can really make the Ruyi dish, he doesn't mind cooperating at a low price, as businessmen are profit-driven!