The lively atmosphere in the hall soon reached Shui and Sui, who were writing in the study.
The two men grabbed the men next to them and asked.
"The water's coming out outside, why is it so lively?"
"Oh, here comes a member of the Chen family who has a stall in the food street."
"Oh, that's alright then."
Suddenly, Mr. Shui asked again, "Are the Chen family members from farming backgrounds?"
The waiter shook out his clothes. "Yes, look! These clothes I'm wearing were bought for me by Boss Chen. He's really generous!"
"Ah! Where is everyone? Have they left?"
"Just left!"
"Oh my god, my mistake, I missed another chance to see the face of the author of Liaozhai..."
As soon as he arrived at the food street, vendors greeted Chen Xian.
Chen Xian nodded slightly in response.
"I heard that a new person in charge has recently come to manage the food street."
"My heart is still pounding. Will it be another annoying person like Manager Ma?"
"Probably not."
Their magistrate just punished Steward Ma; he wouldn't make an example of someone so quickly, would he? We should have a comfortable time for now.”
Liniang, Chen Xian, and Shuangshuang set up their stall.
A short while later, a young man, not very tall, around 30 years old, walked over from a distance.
With a friendly expression, he said to Chen Xian, "Mr. Chen, my surname is You. I handle everything here in the food street. The cleaning department is looking for me. I heard your braised pork is quite good. I'd like a serving first."
Chen Xian responded with a smile.
So, Manager You and his entourage bought a serving and quietly left.
far away.
A person close to him said, "Sir, was it really necessary for you to come in person? He's just a sinecure with no real power. It sounds nice, but in my opinion, he should have come to visit you with gifts!"
"Shut up! Do you think I'm living too comfortably?" Master You scolded. The incident involving Chen's stall on the food street had become a hot topic. Even though Chen Xian was no longer an idle official and was just a small vendor, he was still someone you couldn't afford to offend.
Judging from the magistrate's swift and decisive handling of the situation, firstly, Magistrate Su simply could not tolerate the rampant corruption; secondly, the anger of the students and common people was ignited, and failing to punish Ma Jinping would be a stain on Magistrate Su's record; and thirdly, judging from Magistrate Su's attitude towards the Chen family, the two likely had a fairly good relationship in private.
In his stance on this matter, he clearly sensed that Magistrate Su was biased towards Chen Xian.
He had recently learned a little bit of information from the jailers in the county government offices: Ma Jinping had died in prison. Generally speaking, whether a person who has been convicted lives or dies is ultimately decided by the Yingzhou Prefecture through the Ministry of Justice, which then makes the final decision on whether the person should be executed or exiled.
But this guy had only been in there a few days when he died in a fight with some thugs. His throat was ripped out. It was so damn brutal.
It's impossible to think about it too much.
Was that person dealt with by Magistrate Su, or did the Chen family use someone else to deal with him?
The methods were so ruthless, decisive, and swift that they sent chills down my spine upon closer reflection.
Considering all of the above, he felt he should re-evaluate the Chen family and even lower his stance, as such people were not to be trifled with.
Crowd riot.
The Chen family's stall started to get busy.
A few rather strange sounds were mixed in among them.
"Boss Chen, is your meat still selling for over twenty coins a serving?"
"What's wrong, bro?"
The diner hesitated and said, "Recently, a new restaurant called Zuixiangju opened in town. I heard it's a branch of the neighboring Laomiao Town. Coincidentally, they also sell braised pork, and the price isn't expensive. They say it's only about 20 coins a serving, and they also give you a few steamed buns and a bowl of rice wine."
Hearing this somewhat absurd statement, the other diners laughed and said, "I like to tell the truth. The prices in big shops are suitable for entertaining wealthy young men from the Shanggu family with status. After deducting rent and staff costs, if they really sold it for 20 coins a serving, they would lose their underwear!"
These restaurants would need to sell dishes for at least seventy or eighty coins, or even a hundred coins, just to cover rent and staff costs.
The diner was at a loss for words.
"Maybe it's because they just opened and want to attract some new customers in the last few days!"
Chen Xian responded with a smile.
A thought suddenly struck him: the newly arrived Zuixiangju restaurant—why would they also serve braised pork? Could it be that Baiweilou's interior has been completely infiltrated?
I feel somewhat helpless.
"Mr. Chen..."
Manager Jiang pulled Chen Xian to a corner.
His expression was somewhat awkward, he stammered, opened his mouth, glanced at Chen Xian, and his expression was complicated...
Chen Xian asked in confusion, "Manager Jiang, has something happened at the restaurant?"
Manager Jiang gave a dry laugh.
"Boss Chen, give me the truth, besides selling the braised pork recipe to me..."
Chen Xian asked in confusion, "Is Zuixiangju selling braised pork again?"
"ah?"
Manager Jiang looked somewhat embarrassed and annoyed. "Perhaps there's another traitor in my household!"
Chen Xian shook his head, "No, there's one more person who knows this recipe!"
"Manager Tao!"
"Damn it, that bastard still won't give up!"
With a somewhat serious expression, Chen Xian asked, "What's going on with Zuixiangju? Is it a grand opening sale? Are their vegetables really only 20-something coins a serving? Have they given any time limits?"
Manager Jiang shook his head. "No, damn it, that scoundrel Manager Wei is really cunning. When he opened his business, he even treated the owners of several restaurants in our town to a meal, saying that he was going to provide shelter for his youngest son and make some extravagant profits for him. He didn't intend to compete with everyone else in town for business. But after only a few days, he's completely changed!"
Chen Xian was somewhat puzzled.
"The youngest son shelters you from the wind and rain?"
"Zuixianglou is coming on strong. It's not just targeting your Baiweilou, it's targeting me too. When did I ever offend someone like that?"
Manager Jiang suddenly realized.
"His eldest son, I heard, got engaged to a girl from the village a few years ago. When he went on a business trip, he was attacked by bandits on the road and was slashed several times. He was not killed, but he died on the way back with a high fever."
"He entrusted almost all his business aspirations to his eldest son. He was practically retired during those years. After his eldest son died, he had to force himself to return to the business world to build up a family fortune for his younger son!"
At first, Chen Xian was lamenting the unpredictability of life, but as he listened, he realized that something was wrong.
"And what about the girl? What became of her?"
"We don't know about that... and we're too lazy to ask."
Looking at Su Liniang, who was busy at work, she smiled and said to the diners, "Take care, uncle."
A man who was originally standing in front of the Chen family's stall suddenly said to Su Liniang, "You're a jinx! You killed my young master, and now you're planning to kill that man too?"
Su Liniang, whose smile had been gentle and serene, suddenly froze upon hearing this voice...
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