"Hey, boss, you can see for yourself that it's a good deal, so why go to all this trouble? Look, the sun's about to set, and we need to get home. We don't want to waste time." Mrs. Chen quickly stopped the waiter.
The shop owner looked puzzled: "That's strange. Of course I need to check the ingredients carefully before buying them to see how much time it takes. It'll delay your journey home."
Seeing that the family looked a little guilty, the boss began to understand what was going on.
"I'm saying, are there any problems with the ingredients you sell? Did you put all the good ones on top?"
“Nonsense, how could that be? We just want to get home quickly. We’re all straightforward people, we don’t play those complicated games,” said Mrs. Shen.
“Since they’re selling the restaurant to my family, I’ll definitely take a look at everything. That’s how business is.”
"Otherwise, you can take it to another store to sell."
Old Song sneered: "Eight copper coins a pound."
The owner, however, was not tempted at all: "I wouldn't take problematic ingredients even if they cost less than eight cents a pound, or even three pounds for one cent. My restaurant has built its reputation over ten years, and I don't want to ruin it."
Old Song simply picked up the bag again: "Let's go, no need to waste words with her, next one, more of a chatterbox."
The older woman behind them sneered, "Everyone's shrewd enough; you can't fool anyone."
She is now certain that this family's fear of inspection is because they are trying to pass off inferior goods as superior ones.
The Song family didn't believe it, and kept asking from house to house, only to find a fool in the end.
But after asking four or five shops, the owners were all wary and insisted that they take all the ingredients out for a look before buying.
The Song family gradually lost patience. As it grew darker, they became increasingly anxious and irritable.
We found a rather run-down-looking restaurant. There were very few customers in the restaurant; it was almost dinnertime and there were only a handful of people around, making it seem quite deserted.
The boss seemed to be in a bad mood, sighing and complaining.
"Are the ingredients at stall number 8 on Changqing Street really that good? Everyone asks if they have these ingredients, and if they don't, they won't come to eat here."
"I'll go check it out tomorrow," he muttered to himself.
Song Lao Er's eyes lit up when he heard this.
"Boss, we have the ingredients sold at stall number eight, and the price is cheap, only eight coins per pound. If you buy them, I guarantee your business will improve."
"Eight yuan a pound? I heard potatoes cost twenty-five coins a pound, that's why I didn't buy any." The shopkeeper was a little surprised.
Ms. Shen: "It's eight copper coins a pound. Potatoes and peanuts are the same price, and corn is only four copper coins a pound."
“Alright, put them down. I’ll take several dozen kilograms each.” The boss said generously.
The Song family members exchanged glances and put the bags on their shoulders on the ground.
"Boss, why don't you take them all? We'll sell them at a discount," said Boss Song.
"If we buy them all, potatoes and peanuts will cost seven coins, and corn will cost three coins."
The shopkeeper considered it for a moment. He estimated that there were about 400 catties of these things, and buying them all would cost about two taels of silver. He had heard that they had a long shelf life, so buying more to stock up while they were cheap was not a bad idea.
"Okay, empty everything out so I can take a look."
"Hehe, no need to pour them out. They've all been weighed and carefully selected. Just take a look, boss," Song Lao Er said, opening a bag of potatoes.
The owner had visited stall number eight, but hadn't decided to buy any. These potatoes were smaller and didn't look as good, but they were cheaper, and customers wouldn't notice after they were cooked.
There must be a reason why they sell it so cheaply.
However, he said, "We restaurant owners have to inspect all the ingredients we buy, and dump them all out. We should also peel a few of the corn and peanuts to check them."
Then, just like before, the Song family made excuses and gave all sorts of reasons.
The boss saw that they were unwilling to pour out the ingredients, and even seemed a little guilty, so he became suspicious and walked over, picked up a bag of potatoes and poured them on the ground.
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