Chapter 49: Making Trouble
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"Is this the No. 1 braised food shop in Xiahe Town?" A muscular man with a broad forehead and square face blocked the doorway. His voice was loud, and when he spoke with a stern face, he looked fierce, as if he was about to hit someone at any moment.
The once lively atmosphere in the restaurant instantly fell silent. The diners put down their chopsticks and looked up at him, a tense atmosphere filling the air.
She Hongmei was originally taking orders and getting food at the food counter. Seeing that the doorway was blocked by him and the customers outside didn't dare to come in, she finished serving her food and handed it to the customer. She wiped her hands with a towel before coming out.
"It's just a small restaurant, not some top-notch braised food shop. What do you want?" Wearing a homemade mask, only her phoenix eyes were visible on She Hongmei's face. When she met his gaze, her eyes were firm and resolute, exuding an aura of neither servility nor arrogance.
The man was very tall. She Hongmei was already considered tall at over 1.7 meters, but she still had to look up at him. She estimated that he was at least 1.9 meters tall, a height that is rare in the South.
The man looked down at She Hongmei in front of him, frowned slightly, and after sizing her up, he spoke, "You're the owner of this shop? I thought you were a man."
His tone dropped, his voice filled with contempt and disdain, clearly showing that he looked down on her.
"Yes, I am. Are you here for dinner, or is there something else?" Ignoring his provocation, She Hongmei asked calmly.
It's peak dining time right now, and this person deliberately chose this time to come. With such a rude attitude, the chances of them causing trouble at the restaurant are much higher than if they're just eating there.
“I heard there’s a shop in Xiahe Town that makes really good braised food, even better than the braised food at Judinglou Restaurant, so I came here to check it out. But…” The man looked She Hongmei up and down, then paused deliberately, “I thought the owner would be a very capable person, but I didn’t expect her to be a woman.”
"Whether the braised food is delicious or not has nothing to do with whether the owner is male or female. If you want to try it, come in and line up to buy it. If you have any other questions, you can speak up," She Hongmei said neither humbly nor arrogantly.
The man was clearly not expected She Hongmei to be so calm. He was stunned for a moment, but quickly sneered, "Pretty tough. Your business is so good. Besides putting down other restaurants, I bet you have someone backing you up."
Hearing this, She Hongmei realized that her restaurant must have offended someone or stolen someone's business. Too lazy to listen to his sarcastic remarks, She Hongmei pulled off her maroon sleeve and slammed it on the table, and she started to confront him directly.
"What's wrong? Does good business mean the food and quality can't be good too?"
"With such a tall stature, why do you speak so hesitantly and evasively? Can't you just be more open and honest? What do you mean by having someone backing you up? Why don't you just ask directly who your backer is and which force is helping you steal customers?"
"If you can't even speak clearly, don't be so sarcastic and suspicious. It makes you seem like you're just a sniper in the shadows."
She Hongmei fired off a rapid-fire speech like a machine gun, her voice laced with sarcasm and a cold laugh.
"You think the boss is capable, but it turns out he's a woman? Pshaw! You can't compete with a woman, so all you can say is this to protect your ridiculous pride?"
The restaurant had only been open for a short time, and she was initially worried that a commotion would affect business, so she planned to keep quiet and just bear it. After all, there are all sorts of people in the world, but the man's words were simply too much for her to bear.
Her fiery temper flared up immediately upon hearing such disrespectful remarks about women.
"What do you think I relied on to open this restaurant? My gender? Or do you think women are born to do menial tasks in the kitchen? That they can't be head chefs? That they're not good enough for formal occasions?"
“Let me tell you, what men can do, women can do too, and even better! The leaders have said that women hold up half the sky! What, is your thinking still stuck in the feudal era?”
She stood with her hands on her hips, her eyes sharp, as if she wanted to pin the other person to the wall. "Besides, the reason my restaurant is so good is because of the quality ingredients, the dedication to management, and the word-of-mouth recommendations from my customers, not because of my gender or connections!"
The 1.9-meter-tall, muscular man was slammed into a retort by her, his face turning bright red. He stammered, trying to refute her, but couldn't utter a single word.
She Hongmei didn't give him a chance and continued, "If you're not satisfied, you can open your own business and compete based on your own abilities. Don't just stand here making sarcastic remarks. Women are bothering you? That's because you're not capable enough, and you're blaming others!"
Those around her, upon hearing She Hongmei's words, all cast supportive glances their way.
"The boss is right!"
"Support the boss!"
Some people couldn't help but applaud in support of She Hongmei.
The man blushed deeply, sweat beading on his forehead, and under the watchful eyes of the crowd, he raised his hand.
A man, 1.9 meters tall, with a muscular build and a flushed face that looked like he was angry and embarrassed, raised his palm, which was as big as a palm fan. Standing in front of him was She Hongmei, who was several sizes smaller than him and whose face was not even as big as his palm.
She rushed as fast as she could, and just then she appeared at the restaurant entrance. When she saw the scene inside, her eyes widened in horror.
"What do you want to do?!" A furious roar stunned everyone in the restaurant.
"Grandma, sit here and rest for a bit. I have something to take care of." After shouting, She Ning quickly helped the old woman who had fallen not far from the restaurant and placed her on a chair in the waiting area at the restaurant entrance. She then rushed into the restaurant.
She pulled She Hongmei back a step, blocking her way, glaring at the man, and said, word by word, "Lin, Xin, Miao, what, do, you, want, to, do, do, you!"
Upon suddenly hearing her full name, Lin Xinmiao's raised hand froze. Staring at the boy who had suddenly appeared before her, her face was stern and her jaw was taut. Her bright eyes glared at him as if they were spitting fire. Turning her head to look at the condemning gazes of everyone around her, Lin Xinmiao realized what was happening.
Oh dear, I hope no one thinks he's going to hit someone.
Assault is illegal, but he doesn't admit to that crime.
"I just wanted to scratch my head, why are you all making such a big reaction?" Lin Xinmiao reached out and scratched his bald head, then casually wiped the sweat from his forehead and explained.
Although he was a bit chauvinistic and traditional, believing that good women should be obedient, stay at home to manage household chores and carry on the family line, and not show their faces in public, he thought that hitting women was something cowards did, and he had never done it.
Wait, how could this girl know his name? He's never met her. If she knows his name, does that mean she also knows where he's from?
Lin Xinmiao squinted at She Ning, looking at her suspiciously: "You know me?"
She Ning remained wary after hearing his explanation; who knew if he was just making things up under pressure?
The magic cloak that made her invisible provided maximum defense from head to toe. She Ning held onto She Hongmei's hand tightly, protecting her from going forward. She Hongmei stood beside her, unable to break free, but secretly kept a close eye on the situation, ready to pull the two apart if anything went wrong.
"Everyone knows the second chef of Judinglou's braised dishes," She Ning said coldly.
Even before setting up her stall, she had heard that Judinglou's braised food was exceptional, the best braised food shop in Xiahe Town, bar none.
Knowing yourself and your enemy is the key to victory in every battle. She had done her homework long ago. However, she remembered that the head chef of Judinglou who made braised dishes was a descendant of an imperial chef who had a recipe from the palace.
They fled from the north during the famine years ago and later settled here through certain means.
She Ning tried Ju Ding Lou's braised dishes, which are on the salty side. They are usually made with a lot of salt, soy sauce, and spices, with very little sugar. The resulting braised dishes are mainly salty and fragrant, with a dark brown or reddish-brown color, rich color, mellow taste, and strong aroma of spices.
Her family's braised dishes are perfectly balanced between salty and sweet. They add a suitable amount of rock sugar or brown sugar during the preparation process, resulting in an overall sweet and salty taste, a bright red color, and a rich and mellow aroma.
Actually, the braised dishes at both Judinglou Restaurant and Shejia Restaurant taste excellent. The main reason is that the locals prefer sweet and savory flavors, which is why Shejia Restaurant's braised dishes sell so well.
Having been closely following the developments, the restaurant guests began whispering amongst themselves when the young owner, She Ning, revealed his identity.
"Ah, so it turns out that Judinglou Restaurant can't stand that other people's food is better than theirs, so they deliberately sent people to cause trouble."
"They're not as skilled as others, yet they dare to resort to underhanded tactics. Their character is terrible. Their character is reflected in their food. I'll never go to Judinglou again."
"To be honest, the owner's braised food really suits my family's taste. Since we started buying from him, we haven't been to Judinglou, which we used to go to three or four times a week, anymore."
“Young man, go back and tell your boss that competition should be fair and square. Sneaking around will only make people look down on Judinglou.”
When he heard She Ning reveal his identity, he had a bad feeling.
Sure enough, the crowd's anger quickly spread to Judinglou Restaurant, which frightened Lin Xinmiao so much that he quickly distanced himself from the restaurant.
“It has nothing to do with Judinglou Restaurant. Today’s events were all my own doing, and the restaurant was unaware of them.”
However, no one bought his words. They had united to spread the word and tell everyone not to go to Judinglou Restaurant.
"Mr. She, I'm sorry. I was reckless today. I was wrong." A wise man knows when to yield. In order to quell public anger, Lin Xinmiao immediately knelt down, his 1.9-meter-tall figure bending over at a 90-degree angle to apologize.
She Ning turned away from his greeting and looked at She Hongmei. She had offended She Hongmei, and whether she would forgive him or accept his apology depended on her attitude.
She Hongmei gently patted She Ning's hand, and She Ning stepped aside to let her come forward.
“I do not accept your apology. Today you have offended not only me, but all women,” She Hongmei said coldly. “Whether you change your attitude or not is beyond my control, but I hope you will remember this lesson and learn to respect others.”
Hearing her words, Lin Xinmiao's face flushed red and then turned pale. He didn't think he had done anything wrong at all and retorted indignantly, "Didn't you suffer no loss? I've already apologized, why are you still being so aggressive? Leave room for maneuver in your actions, so you can meet again in the future. Don't be so ruthless."
Stubborn to the end! She Hongmei didn't even want to talk to him anymore and was about to ask him to leave her shop.
"Smack!"
"You good-for-nothing, dare you say that again?!" An angry voice rang out, followed by the loud sound of a stick hitting flesh.
Lin Xinmiao was suddenly struck hard on the back and doubled over in pain.
She Ning looked in surprise at the old woman who had just been helping the woman sitting outside the shop. She was standing behind Lin Xinmiao, the wooden stick she had swung in mid-air still in her hand, ready to strike him a second time.
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