When Wen heard what Yu Niang said, she was stunned for a moment and couldn't help asking, "Why did Yu Niang think it wasn't Ling Jie'er?"

Xu Qinyu said: "The time is wrong."

It's not that she was speaking for Wen Pingling, nor that she thought Wen Pingling was a good person, but the rumor was spread at the wrong time.

It had been almost a month since Wen Pingling last ran into her grandmother Gui. If Wen Pingling really wanted to spread the news, she should have done so then. Even if she didn't spread it then, it shouldn't be now. She should at least wait until Wen Pingling's restaurant opened. This would be beneficial to Wen Pingling. So she intuitively felt that it was not Wen Pingling who spread the news.

As to whether it was someone else from the Wen family, she couldn't be sure, but she still vaguely felt that it was not the case, and that the timing was just not right.

Her business has been getting better and better recently. Even if there is nothing else to eat for breakfast, she would rather buy two meat buns at the door and take them away to eat, and is not willing to eat anywhere else. I'm sure other restaurants, hotels and food stalls are jealous of her.

Apart from the family members, only the Wen family knew about the affairs of my grandmother Gui.

The Wen family should now just think that Gui has recovered and have no idea that she was faking illness.

Everyone in the family knew that Gui did not have tuberculosis at all, and Wen and Ning Jie'er were definitely not gossipers, so they would never spread rumors outside.

Even if only Aunt Bai knew the inside story on Cheng'er's side, Aunt Bai would not spread it around. Although Cheng'er and Gong'er were still teenagers, after spending a few months together, Xu Qinyu knew that the two brothers were very tight-lipped. Tao Jie'er stayed with Ning Jie'er all day and had never visited other neighbors in Guihua Lane.

After all, it was definitely not told by our family members or Cheng Ge'er.

Xu Qinyu frowned.

If it wasn't someone from my family or the third room, then who could it be?

But I am definitely closer to my family, at least I come into contact with them every day.

She asked, "Mom, have you talked about grandma in the restaurant recently, or heard Cheng Ge'er and the others mention it?"

The only possibility is that it was spread from the restaurant.

Mrs. Wen thought about it and her heart skipped a beat. "A month ago, Sister Ling came to the restaurant to look for you. After she finished eating, she said she wanted to look for you. I said you were busy in the kitchen, so I asked her to go back. Then she asked how Aunt Gui was doing. Didn't she have tuberculosis? She was in better health and didn't say anything like that. I was afraid that others would hear it, so I lowered my voice and said that your grandmother was well. She didn't say anything, just nodded and left. It was breakfast time and there were many guests around. Did the news get out at that time? If that's the case, it's all my fault..."

Xu Qinyu still felt something was wrong. If the news had really spread a month ago, why were the restaurant's customers only now unwilling to come to the restaurant after hearing about it?

She said, "It's okay, mother, don't worry. This matter is not urgent. I heard that someone in our family has been overworked recently and has contracted tuberculosis. This rumor is obviously spread with ulterior motives, and it shows that the person spread it on purpose, specifically targeting our business. This matter is easy to resolve. We can bring grandmother and Sister Ning here tomorrow. Brother Feng and Sister Yan will also come to the restaurant. I will make some evening snacks for everyone, and after dinner Sister Ning will take them for a walk."

Tuberculosis is indeed scary, but there is no real patient in her family. As long as it is clarified and the news spreads, there will be no problem.

When Wen heard this, he felt a little relieved.

…

Wen Lingling also heard about this and sneered. After returning, she told her mother-in-law about it, "Could it be that Aunt Gui didn't have tuberculosis and deliberately deceived us? Now that this matter has spread, it can be regarded as retribution for them."

Yue nodded, "That's true. You can't blame others. But if this was really done by other restaurants and hotels, that's really stupid. It's just a rumor. Once they invite Gui Yi Niang to stay in the restaurant for two days, the rumor will be broken by itself. It won't have any impact."

After saying this, Yue asked, "Sister Ling, how is the decoration of your restaurant going?"

Wen Lingling couldn't hide the joy on her face. "It's still under renovation. I plan to decorate it according to the decoration of Jixiang Building."

If the tallest shop in Yuanbao Town was only three stories high, she would have wanted to find a six-story shop with eight or nine shop rooms to use as a restaurant, but now she can only make do with what she has.

Yue said, "Don't worry about your fourth sister-in-law. Just take care of your own wine shop and make a lot of money in the future."

Wen Lingling nodded, "Mom, I'll save it."

She and her mother went to Raozhou City to hire a chef. She had tasted the chef's cooking skills and found them to be really good. She paid him twenty taels of silver per month, but Wen Ling was still a little dissatisfied because she knew in her heart that even this chef hired from Raozhou City could not match the skills of her fourth sister-in-law, not even the chef of Jixianglou. The chef she found could only tie with the chef of Donglai Restaurant at best. In her heart, she still preferred her fourth sister-in-law.

The cooking skills of the fourth sister-in-law...

Wen Lingling swallowed her saliva. She wanted to go to Xu's Restaurant for breakfast and dinner.

In fact, no one in the family has ever tasted Fourth Sister-in-law’s cooking.

However, when my grandparents found out that my fourth sister-in-law had opened a restaurant, they scolded my second aunt, saying that she was unfilial and that she didn't send them any food even though her daughter-in-law was a good cook.

…

At dinner time the next day, Sister Ning took Aunt Gui, Brother Feng and Sister Yuan to the restaurant.

She was already aware of the latest rumors in the market and was very angry about them.

After Gui found out, she felt even more guilty.

On the way, I met other neighbors from Guihua Lane, and they couldn't help asking, "Sister Ning, where are you going?"

Neighbors all know Ning Jie'er and like her very much.

Ning Jieer smiled and said, "Take my grandmother to the restaurant for dinner."

The neighbors had also heard about the rumors about the West Street Market, but they all lived in Osmanthus Lane. They knew if there were any patients in Miss Xu's family. The whole family looked healthy. Even the old lady who had just returned a few months ago was skinny and looked haggard, but she was in good health after taking care of herself for so long.

The neighbors comforted Ning Jie'er and Gui.

"Sister Ning and the old lady, don't take it to heart. Just go out for a walk and let those people see it with their own eyes."

"That's right. They even said that there was a patient with tuberculosis in Miss Xu's family. It's really ridiculous. We have been buying fish and meat from Miss Xu's family for more than half a year, but nothing happened. I think someone is jealous of Xu's restaurant's good business and deliberately made trouble."

"It should be. Who is so bad? When we go to buy fish tonight, talk to the people around us. Don't believe everything. Otherwise, Xu's Restaurant has been open for a month and a half. Isn't everyone fine?"

"That's right, Mrs. Ning, you two should hurry over first. We will queue up to buy fish when the time comes."

Pei Jianing and Gui felt warm at heart when they saw their neighbors speaking up for their family.

Pei Jianing, however, knew very well that this was a good fate brought upon her by her fourth sister-in-law.

Ning Jie'er and Gui Shi took their two children to Xu's Restaurant.

In the past, there would be people lining up at dinner time, but now there is no one lining up, but there are already customers sitting in the restaurant's living room.

Seeing her son, daughter, granddaughter and mother coming over, Wen quickly came over and arranged a seat for them by the window. "Sister Ning, mother, please sit down first. Yu Niang said she has prepared squirrel fish for you. You can go out for a walk after you finish eating."

Pei Jianing nodded and quietly watched the people coming and going in the market outside.

Gui rarely went out, so she felt a little awkward at the moment.

Brother Feng and Sister Yan sat there obediently.

After about a quarter of an hour, Chen came over with a brightly colored dish with its head held high and its tail curled. Not only that, it was also fragrant, with a sweet and sour flavor filling the restaurant.

The table where Mrs. Gui and Sister Ning sat was the first to be served.

Other customers couldn't help but ask, "Boss, waiter, what kind of dish is this? Why haven't we seen anyone order it before? Is this a new dish in the restaurant?"

Mrs. Chen said loudly, "It is indeed a new food, but it is not new in the restaurant. Our Miss Xu made it specially for her grandmother, sister-in-law, uncle, and niece. It is called squirrel mandarin fish. It tastes sweet and sour and is more suitable for the elderly and children. Our Miss Xu's family is here. Don't let anyone say that there are patients with tuberculosis in Miss Xu's family. Look at everyone's complexion. Does it look like they have tuberculosis? It's really nonsense. I don't know who is jealous of our restaurant's good business and probably made up a rumor. Miss Xu also said that she would invite her family to the restaurant to show everyone openly. If anyone else talks nonsense, our Miss Xu will report it to the police."

As soon as the words "report to the police" came out, there was a loud bang, like the sound of a plate or porcelain hitting the ground.

Chen turned around and saw that it was Sun, another waitress in the restaurant.

Sun was carrying a few small empty plates to the kitchen to wash them, but she slipped or something and the plates fell.

This small porcelain plate is for pickled vegetables.

For guests dining in the evening, each table will be given two plates of pickled vegetables. Some guests have already finished both plates of pickled vegetables before the dishes are even served.

So Sun was carrying the empty plates of pickled vegetables from several tables back to the backyard.

Chen couldn't help but ask, "Sister-in-law, are you okay?"

Among the three waiters, Sun is the oldest.

Sun said hurriedly, "It's okay, it's okay. My hand slipped and I just wiped the porcelain pieces off. Don't come over here yet, lest you get hurt."

Her face was a little pale, and I didn't know if it was because she was scared by dropping the disc, or for some other reason.

Sun quickly swept away the broken plates on the floor and mopped the floor.

Chen is not familiar with Sun, but she is more familiar with Yuan.

Chen lived in Laixi Lane and Yuan lived in Guihua Lane. The two were quite familiar with each other and were both chosen by Xia's sister-in-law Wu Wan for Xu Qinyu.

The woman who broke the plate was Sun, who Xu Qinyu couldn't find, so she randomly picked one from the list of women who applied for the waiter position. Sun was relatively tall and looked strong, so Xu Qinyu chose her. Sun was indeed very diligent in her work and never cheated. This was the first time she broke a plate.

In the back kitchen, Xu Qinyu knew that she had broken the plate but didn't say anything. She just asked Wen to keep a record of it and then compensate her according to the purchase price of the plate, which would be deducted from her salary at the end of the month.

Although this small plate is not expensive, only two cents each, it is still the rule that broken utensils should be compensated according to the price.

Sun nodded quickly and said yes.

Chen didn't take Sun's plate-breaking seriously and even told the other guests in the living room that her boss was unlucky and had been slandered.

"When our boss's grandmother was brought back a few days ago, she was indeed not in good health. But after a few months of recuperation, she looks healthy and strong now. If she really had tuberculosis, would she look like this?"

The diners nodded, "That's right. It's really shameful to use such dirty tricks in an upright competition."

It's easy to imagine that this is caused by business competition. Many of these diners are businessmen and naturally understand this.

One customer laughed and said, "But there are also benefits. Some people really believed the rumor, but if you come here to eat, you don't have to queue up, so we can relax a little bit."

"Hahahaha, but it's not good for the boss. The boss can't make any money without business."

The diners were chatting and laughing, and they also planned to help the restaurant clarify the matter in the future, otherwise Xu's Restaurant would really be closed down. Where would they go to eat such delicious food in the future?

There is Chen’s loud voice to help, and she will help to talk to the diners when they come.

There were also neighbors who were queuing and chatting at the door. They said that they had been buying fish balls from Miss Xu's house for more than half a year and that they felt healthier after eating them. They didn't know where they heard these nonsense rumors. They also said that Miss Xu's restaurant had been open for more than a month and diners had been eating there for so long, so if there was really tuberculosis, it would have spread long ago.

Quite a few people heard it.

Sure enough, within a few days, Xu's Restaurant's business picked up again.

In fact, business was pretty good when the rumors were spreading. Xu Qinyu would be busy for more than an hour whether it was breakfast or dinner. Now business is even better and people have to queue up again.

Another main reason is that these diners who believed the rumors went to other restaurants and hotels to eat and found that they still missed the food at Xu Ji Restaurant. The taste was so different, so they all went back to Xu Ji Restaurant to eat.

…

Xu's Restaurant's business was going on as usual. Xu Qinyu still took two days off every month. Later, she decided to take days off at the beginning and middle of each month, and all the restaurant employees took a day off.

Even in the past two days, Xu Qinyu didn't have to prepare fat-reducing meals for Yang Zhizhi.

Soon it was mid-June, and Xu's Restaurant was closed.

When Xu Qinyu rested, she really just rested. She didn't dare to do anything. When she couldn't sleep, she would just lie in bed in a daze or think about recipes.

Wen also wanted to let Yu Niang rest and sleep for twelve hours a day. If Yu Niang had not refused, she would have wanted to bring breakfast and dinner to her bedside for her to eat.

Whenever Xu Qinyu takes a break, many diners would sigh. These diners are already loyal customers of Xu Ji Restaurant. They basically have a meal at Xu Ji Restaurant every day, either breakfast or dinner.

When Xu Ji is on break, they can only eat somewhere else or at home.

I didn't expect that when Xu's Restaurant was closed that day, Ping'an Restaurant on West Street also started selling custard buns, glutinous rice intestines and raw fish slice porridge for breakfast.

However, the custard buns and glutinous rice sausage at Ping An Restaurant are not put in small baskets like those at Xu Ji Restaurant. They are all in a large steamer, with glutinous rice sausage on the bottom layer and custard buns on the top layer. The fish porridge is also cooked in a whole pot.

And the price is cheap.

A custard bun costs two cents, a piece of glutinous rice and pork intestines costs three cents, and a bowl of porridge with raw rolled fish slices costs only four cents.

Therefore, quite a few diners go there to eat.

When the diners entered, the female waitress of Ping An Restaurant also said frankly: "It is indeed imitating the food of Xu Ji Restaurant. The taste may not be as good as Xu Ji Restaurant, but it is cheap. Whether you are satisfied with the meal or not, I will tell you frankly. If you think it is not as good as the breakfast at Xu Ji Restaurant, you can go to Xu Ji another day."

She said this very clearly, so the diners naturally understood.

After I went in and tried it, I found that the taste was really not as good as Xu Ji Restaurant, not even half as good, but it was cheap. Xu Ji Restaurant's custard buns cost five cents each, but here they cost two cents, and they are bigger than Xu Ji Restaurant's. The glutinous rice and pork intestines and fish porridge both have a fishy smell, and the taste is relatively strong. I just want to drink water after eating. It is indeed uncomfortable to eat, and I plan not to come here tomorrow.

However, because Xu Ji Restaurant was closed today, Ping An Restaurant offered the same breakfast dishes as Xu Ji Restaurant, which were clean and tidy for customers who wanted to try something new.

But without exception, any customer who has eaten breakfast at Xu's Restaurant cannot help but say before leaving, "Boss, even if Ping'an Restaurant imitates Xu's breakfast, the taste should at least be somewhat similar. Your custard buns are too sweet, and the milk flavor is not right. And the glutinous rice and fatty intestines taste a bit fishy. And the fish fillet porridge, the fish fillets are cut too thick, and they still have a fishy smell and are not tender at all. "only after saying this will they be willing to leave.

The female storekeeper smiled and said that the situation would improve, but in her heart she hated Xu's Restaurant.

…

The rear residence of the county government.

The maid Chunhong happily returned to the west room carrying several food boxes.

The west wing is where Yang Zhizhi lives. Today, Xu's Restaurant was closed, so she didn't go out to eat and asked Chunhong to buy some food for her.

Xu's restaurant is closed. Qinyu is so tired every day. Yang Zhizhi is now a good friend of Qinyu. Knowing that her friend is very tired on weekdays, she is reluctant to let her friend rest and cook breakfast and evening meals for her. She also hopes that Qinyu can rest well. Fortunately, there are only two days a month. Qinyu also said that she can eat whatever she wants on these two days, and she just needs to not eat after the end of the evening.

But Yang Zhizhi couldn't eat the food from other restaurants.

When Xu's Restaurant closed for the first time, she asked Chunhong to go to Donglaiju to pack up the dishes she usually ate, but she found that she couldn't eat them at all. The taste was too strong and it was not the taste of the ingredients themselves at all. The food made by Qinyu could basically taste the original taste of the ingredients.

So during the few times that Xu's Restaurant was closed, she didn't really want to eat.

She has been losing weight for two months. Except for weighing herself every three to five days in the first month, she rarely weighed herself afterwards because she found it troublesome.

The main reason was that weighing was too troublesome, so she measured her waist and legs, and found that both her waist and leg circumference were getting smaller.

For more than two months, her family members who saw her every day couldn't tell whether she had lost weight or not. But a few days ago, her grandmother came over and said that she looked a lot thinner and her clothes were a lot looser for her.

She planned to wait for Chunhong to buy her breakfast and let Chunhong help her weigh it.

As soon as Chunhong came back, she said happily, "Miss, guess what breakfast I bought for you?"

Yang Zhizhi lay on the square table, her chubby face resting on it, looking a little listless, "Do you want to eat at Donglaiju? Qinyu is closed today, and I don't really want to eat anything."

Chunhong immediately smiled and said, "Of course not, I bought custard buns, glutinous rice sausage and fish porridge."

Yang Zhizhi suddenly raised her face from the table, "Qinyu opened the store today?"

"No." Chunhong said, "I bought it at Ping An Restaurant. This morning I went to West Street to see if there was anything to eat. I saw that Ping An Restaurant was also selling custard buns, so I bought some and brought them back. Come and taste it, girl."

Yang Zhizhi immediately opened the food box. She didn’t want to eat it, but also wanted to see how Ping’an Restaurant had the courage to imitate Qinyu’s food.

She didn't care about anything and picked up a custard bun to take a bite. The texture was not right and it was not soft at all.

When I put it in my mouth, the dough had no milky fragrance and was not soft. I took a bite but didn't feel the filling yet. When I tasted the filling inside, my face turned a little green. It was so sweet. It should be the filling made from sugar and egg yolks. It also had a bit of fishy smell from the egg yolk. The filling was also dry.

I tried the glutinous rice and pork intestines again, and the taste was not right either.

The fish porridge was even worse.

Yang Zhizhi ate one bite each and refused to eat any more, saying angrily, "What is Ping An Restaurant doing? Even if they want to imitate Xu's restaurant, they should at least make it more delicious. This is such a mess. Even if they sell it cheaply, it might affect Xu's reputation."

Chunhong also picked up the food that the girl didn't eat and took a bite, then frowned.

She had also eaten at Xu's Restaurant, and the food was really not that good.

Yang Zhizhi was a little angry, but there was nothing she could do. It was indeed impossible to say that other restaurants could not make or sell Xu's food.

She was so angry that she lost the mood to weigh herself and wanted to tell Qinyu.

But considering that my friend is resting, I decided not to talk about such a depressing thing.

Xu Qinyu didn't find out until the next day. A guest came over to have breakfast and told Chen and the others about it. Chen and the others then went to the kitchen and told Xu Qinyu about it.

Xu Qinyu just smiled and said, "It's okay, don't be surprised, it's very common to follow the trend of food. Diners say that their food doesn't taste good and they don't want to eat it a second time. There's nothing to worry about. We will continue to do our own thing."

Chen said angrily: "But this is too much."

Xu Qinyu smiled, but her heart sank.

It is normal for people to imitate others in making food. The only abnormal thing is that there really was a thief in Xu Ji Restaurant.

Even if you are imitating someone's eating, you should know how it is done.

Fish fillet porridge and glutinous rice and pork intestines are okay. You can probably tell how to make them after having eaten or seen them. The only difference is the recipe and ingredients. But custard buns are different. You can’t tell how to make the filling of custard buns just by having eaten them. At least you have seen how they prepare the filling.

But it is not ruled out that some talented chefs can tell what ingredients and seasonings are in the food just by tasting it.

She just thought that the chef in Ping An Restaurant shouldn't be that amazing. If he really had such a taste, he must be a world-famous chef.

So it is very likely that they have found a thief.

Even if it was an internal thief, some people could be ruled out. Cheng Ge'er was already her apprentice, so it was impossible for him to sell the recipe of custard buns to others. Gong Ge'er was also impossible. This child was careless and could see through anyone's thoughts at a glance. Besides, they had known each other for so long, and their character could be seen. Wen Shi was even less likely. So the only people left were the three waitresses.

Xu Qinyu couldn't figure out who it was for a moment, and just glanced at the Chen, Yuan, and Sun families.

The three of them were chatting and laughing while washing the pots and pans. Chen's voice was still as loud as ever. Yuan didn't like to talk and just smiled. Sun was not as open as Chen and didn't speak actively. She only responded to Chen occasionally.

She thought about it, called Cheng Ge'er over, and whispered a few words in his ear.