Chapter 148 The Scandal Spreads
As soon as he entered the door, he was hooked by the rich aroma. After parking the donkey cart, he rushed into the kitchen and asked, "What delicious food are you cooking? It smells so good!"
Su Tai turned around and smiled at him, "Boiled fish. I'm breastfeeding now, so I can't eat much. This is a good opportunity for you to eat as much as you want!"
Only then did Shen Yi notice the fish in the tank, and his eyes widened, "You went to catch fish again?"
Their family is still busy this winter and the fish business has not been done.
Su Tai nodded, "There are a lot of fish in there now, and they are particularly plump. You will know when you try them later. When you have time, go to Dongmen Village and ask my father. If there is anyone in the village selling fish this year, ask him to come to our house to buy fish."
"That's fine. I can't handle it alone, so let's earn a little less." Shen Yi grinned and brought a big pot of fish to the main room.
Su Tai followed behind him carrying a bowl of pancakes.
As soon as the two sat down, she couldn't wait to fill a bowl for Shen Yi and looked at him expectantly, "Try how it tastes."
Shen Yi followed her instructions and took a bite. He suddenly felt a spicy taste, but then the aftertaste was endless. He ate carefully again, nodding frantically while eating, "Fragrant! So fragrant! This is the first time I've thought fish is so delicious! Wife, you are amazing!"
Su Tai was flattered by the praise and started eating as well.
After the meal, Shen Yi washed the pots and pans before handing the money bag to Su Tai. "All the two thousand catties of brown sugar were sold out. One catty is twelve cents, and one catty is one hundred and twenty cents. The total amount sold is two hundred and forty catties."
"I thought it could be sold for three hundred taels." Su Tai was a little surprised.
Chen Yi curled his lips in amusement, "I originally wanted to set a higher price, but this would slow down the sales process and there is a high possibility of running into Young Master Bai, which is not good. It is better to suffer a loss and sell out the brown sugar as soon as possible. Anyway, we will make money.
Last time I heard from my aunt, she had a lot of resentment towards the Bai family, and I also wanted to take the opportunity to help her, so I sold it at a lower price. It would be impossible for Young Master Bai to sell it to the merchants in these four towns at a high price.
Zhaohua County only has eight towns at most, and we have disrupted half of the business. He must have suffered a huge loss."
Upon hearing this, Su Tai let out a long sigh and hugged her daughter to tease her happily.
At this moment, Bai Feng was really like what Shen Yi said, taking out his anger on the steward in Qiufeng Courtyard, "I have clearly visited the people below and discussed with the merchants in those towns long ago, why don't half of the merchants want our products now?"
The steward was trembling with fear, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead in the cold winter. "Master, I did deliver the goods according to your instructions, but they thought our price was too high. They insisted that they would not sell more than twelve cents per ounce, and asked us to find out the price before releasing the goods."
"How dare you!" Bai Feng swept the teacups on the table and roared angrily, "Eighteen cents for one ounce of silver. This price was agreed upon long ago. Now they are going back on their word. Do they think they are right?"
The steward wanted to say something but hesitated. Just when he didn't know how to persuade her, Mrs. Bai came over.
"Okay, you can back off!"
Bai Feng frowned in dissatisfaction, "Mom, he's not doing his job well, and you're just going to let him go?"
Mrs. Bai glanced at her son and asked the servants around her to leave.
"He is one of your father's confidants. His ability to do things is beyond doubt. What good will it do to you take it out on him now other than shaking people's hearts?" Madam Bai said earnestly, "At this point, you should think of sending someone to investigate. There must be a reason why so many merchants turned against you.
Either they got the goods cheaper, or someone is deliberately targeting you and making things difficult for you.”
"Impossible!" Bai Feng denied without even thinking, and sat down next to Madam Bai with a big fuss. "In the entire Zhaohua County, only our Bai, Zhu, and Cui families have a say in the county magistrate. Even the county lieutenant has to flatter us. Who dares to trip me up?
This batch of goods was originally given to me by the Zhu family. Their business is in the county town, and they don’t look down on the towns below. As far as I know, the Cui family didn’t get any of the goods.”
Madam Bai frowned more and more, her expression sinister, "If that's the case, what are you afraid of? Send someone to investigate! I want to see who is behind this!"
"Madam, madam, something bad has happened. Something bad has happened." Nanny Li suddenly rushed into the room in a hurry.
Madam Bai was already angry, and she slammed the table heavily, her voice becoming even more stern, "Madame Li! You are so reckless, what do you want to do?"
Seeing that the two masters looked unhappy, Nanny Li quickly knelt down to admit her fault and pleaded pitifully, "Madam, something happened! I was so anxious that I lost my composure. Please forgive me, Master!"
"What's the matter?" Bai Feng asked in an unfriendly tone.
Nanny Li immediately told the whole story urgently.
"Today, rumors are spreading all over the city, saying that the eldest young master is having an affair with Cuilan behind the eldest young lady's back. Even Cuilan's background has been exposed. Everyone knows that she was the eldest young lady's maidservant who came with the dowry and is married.
People outside are saying it, saying it.” Seeing that her master’s face was as dark as the bottom of a pot, Nanny Li dared not say a word.
Bai Feng clenched his fists tightly and squeezed out every word from between his teeth, "What did you say?"
Nanny Li shuddered and said, "They say that the young master is so hungry that he doesn't even let go of the women of his servants. They also say that the Bai family's upbringing is worrying and there are no rules or ethics."
"Enough!" Mrs. Bai was so angry that she almost fell down.
Bai Feng was startled and shouted quickly, "Find a doctor! Find a doctor!"
At the same time, Zhu also heard the rumors outside. Thinking of the humiliation she had endured during this period of time, she became furious and asked the maids to bring Cuilan over.
"Cui Lan, I think I have treated you well. You have been by my side since you were a child and I have always protected you. Is this how you repay me?" Zhu stared at Cui Lan with bloodshot eyes. All the new and old grudges broke out completely at this moment.
Cuilan was so frightened that her face turned pale. She knelt down and begged for mercy, "Madam, those are all rumors. I am innocent. I am innocent!"
"Cui Lan! There is no smoke without fire. Whether it is true or a rumor, the master will naturally investigate thoroughly. But what you have done during this period is so inappropriate, are you really wronged?" Ruolan accused loudly indignantly.
Cuilan was scolded like a quail, but she kept her head down and insisted that she was innocent.
Seeing her like a dead pig that was not afraid of boiling water, Zhu was furious and stood up suddenly and said, "Okay! Don't you want to prove your innocence? Now go to the yard and swear to the sky that you, Cuilan, have never betrayed your master, and have never had an affair with the young master. If you are lying, you will be struck by lightning and die a miserable death. You will never have a good ending in this life!"
Cuilan looked up at Zhu in disbelief, tears falling down her cheeks.
Zhu was domineering, staring at her intently, and said word by word: "Do you dare?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
