Chapter 32 Fan Xiaoxiao is ready to lie down
Under Hou San's piercing gaze, Butcher Zhang cursed inwardly that Fan Xiaoxiao was truly unafraid of getting into trouble.
Moreover, the fact that they were able to exchange a few words with Hou San shows that they had miscalculated today. Thinking of this, Butcher Zhang quickly waved his hand and said to Hou San with an embarrassed smile, "No...nothing like that! We just had some accounts about the sewage from a few days ago that we couldn't settle."
Zhang nodded, unaware of the wink Zhang was giving her, and continued to complain to Hou San, "Yes, Third Master! A few days ago, this girl took advantage of my old man's kind heart and tricked us out of so much offal to do business. Do you think we should pay her back?"
Hearing this, Hou San's narrow eyes glanced at Fan Xiaoxiao again, and he asked in a drawn-out tone:
"Oh? Miss Fan, is there anything you said about this?"
Fan Xiaoxiao smiled innocently and spread her hands, saying, "How could that be? We're new here after all. The offal was sold to us as part of the meat we bought, and now Boss Zhang says we have to pay back the money we paid earlier."
But before that, those sewage items were considered worthless by everyone. Our family cleaned them up and sold them at the dock, which actually helped spread the word for Mr. Zhang.
So, if Boss Zhang wants us to pay, then he should also pay us for the work of "spreading the word" that food can be made from the sewage.
When Zhang heard Fan Xiaoxiao mention that so-called "advertising fee" again, she got angry, put her hands on her hips, and started cursing: "Screw your advertising! That offal is from my pigs! It's edible! Why do you need to advertise it? I think you just don't want to pay!"
Fan Xiaoxiao shook her head repeatedly and replied calmly, "What you said, Madam, is unreasonable. I think it's clear that you don't want to sell us offal anymore. Since I was able to take the offal with me back then, the money and goods were already settled. Since the money and goods were already settled, how can it still be considered as something from your pig?"
Besides, if I didn't make good braised offal, how would so many people know it's delicious? Only when it tastes good can a business thrive. In the end, I think it's just that Madam doesn't want to sell the offal to me anymore.”
At this point, Zhang was also somewhat confused by anger. She hadn't expected this little girl to be so difficult to deal with. In her anger, she blurted out without thinking, "So what if I don't want to sell you! Without my offal! Let's see how you do business!"
Fan Xiaoxiao covered her mouth with her sleeve, her face showing exaggerated shock, and said in disbelief, "So, whether I can close a deal or not still depends on Madam's mood?"
Many people in the vicinity turned pale upon hearing this. They were all businessmen who had been bullied by the Huang family before, but they never expected that the family of one of Huang's concubines could act so recklessly.
But Zhang didn't notice any of this. Seeing that Fan Xiaoxiao seemed to have been intimidated by her, she felt a little smug. Raising her chin, she took a few steps forward and said, "That's right! If you didn't rely on me for this business, let's see how you could have succeeded!"
Zhang the butcher covered his face in the back and hurriedly stepped forward to pull his foolish wife aside. Didn't she see that Hou San's face had darkened? And she was spouting such arrogant words right in front of him!
"Oh dear! Wife! Just say less!"
Annoyed by Zhang the butcher's attempts to pull her away, Zhang shoved him aside and snapped, "I'm just telling the truth! Why are you pulling me like that! Get out of my way! Look at you, such a wimp!"
A round of clapping rang out, and Zhang noticed Hou San's sinister expression. Her heart skipped a beat, and she realized what was happening.
Hou San didn't give her a chance to speak. The Zhang family, taking advantage of their daughter being Huang the rich man's concubine, often threw tantrums and tried to evade rent. Although the Fan family was poorer, they never missed a single rent payment. Looking at the crowd of onlookers, it was clear that the majority were on the Fan family's side.
Thinking of this, he let out a muffled sneer and said, "I didn't know that whether or not I could do business in this market depended on your family's attitude."
"Where do you place Mayor Huang? Hmph! If I hadn't come today, I wouldn't have known your Zhang family was so domineering! No wonder there have been fewer food vendors at the market lately. It's because you've been running rampant here, overstepping your bounds!"
Zhang trembled at Hou San's tone and hurriedly waved her hands, saying, "No, no, no, Third Master! That's not what we meant. We're related to Mayor Huang by marriage, how could we possibly overstep our bounds!"
Hou San snorted coldly: "Hmph, that's hard to say. I think you're trying to force the Fan family to stop doing business. Fine, then, Madam Fan will pay us twelve coins a day in rent! From now on, I think you can pay that!"
After saying that, Hou San flicked his sleeves and walked away without looking back amidst the cheers of the surrounding crowd. This made the Zhang couple very anxious. They didn't care about Fan Xiaoxiao and her group anymore and hurriedly followed Hou San, bowing and scraping as they apologized.
As if this wasn't big enough, Fan Xiaoxiao bowed slightly to the onlookers and said loudly, "Everyone, I'm sorry. As you can see, my Fan family can't buy any more ingredients for braised pork. From now on, my family will no longer be selling braised pork!"
Upon hearing this, many onlookers in the market began to discuss it amongst themselves.
There were quite a few customers inside who had patronized the Fan family's restaurant. They looked somewhat indignant, for everyone knew that the young lady of the Fan family made incredibly fragrant and delicious braised pork offal at a very low price.
Sure enough, someone in the crowd started shouting, "Miss Fan! No! You can sell less!"
"Yes, yes! If some of our families slaughter a pig, you can come and buy from us! Don't stop doing business!"
The crowd was shouting incoherently, clearly quite agitated.
Fan Xiaoxiao pressed her palm down, knowing that these people were also angry because of what the Zhang family had said.
"Fellow villagers, thank you all for your kindness! If we have the opportunity in the future, we will definitely make braised pork again! If I make food again, I will let you know. I hope you will all support our business then!"
Seeing that Fan Xiaoxiao had made up her mind, everyone sighed with regret. In the crowd, an inconspicuous figure frowned. Beside him, two men who looked like dock vendors were whispering to each other.
"Alas, Miss Fan is truly pitiful; she actually ran into such scoundrels as the Zhang family!"
"Who says otherwise! We don't usually eat pork here. That family is domineering and mostly sells to merchants from outside. Locals mostly buy bones and such. When they buy pork, this family will shortchange them. Don't be fooled by their seemingly efficient appearance; they only sell you eight ounces of meat per pound. That young lady doesn't know this and is already being taken advantage of."
"Yes, that's right. It's the only butcher in our town. Otherwise, how could it be like this? You rarely see pork vendors at the docks!"
The man beside him listened to all these words without saying a word, and finally looked in the direction where the Zhang couple had left, his eyes dark and unreadable.
(End of this chapter)
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