Chapter 33 Second House’s Thoughts
The shopkeeper was basking in the sun on a rocking chair in the backyard. When he saw Zhou Jiawang running over, he frowned unhappily and said, "Why are you here if you're not going to work?"
Zhou Jiawang smiled flatteringly: "Boss, people from our village came to sell bamboo shoots. They said they saw that the bamboo shoots in Zuixianju were provided by people from our village, so they also went to the same place to pick some back. They wanted to ask if we would accept them. Do you want to meet us?"
The shopkeeper sat up and asked, "Did your village provide it? How do the bamboo shoots from your village taste?"
Zhou Jiawang replied weakly: "This... I haven't eaten it either. My family has always said that bamboo shoots can't be eaten, so no one eats them."
The shopkeeper thought for a moment and said, "Bring the person in."
"Ai."
Zhou Jiawang took the two of them to the backyard.
The shopkeeper looked at the bamboo shoots in the basket and saw nothing different. He said, "I'll have someone stir-fry them and test the taste. If they taste similar to those from Zuixianju, I'll take them."
"Hey, thank you, shopkeeper."
Li Youfu smiled ingratiatingly.
The chef over there is frying bamboo shoots, and the shopkeeper over here is asking about bamboo shoots.
"You said that the people who provided bamboo shoots to Zuixianju were from your village. Do you know them well?"
"I dare not hide it from the shopkeeper. That's my eldest brother. I have the same father as the eldest wife, but different mothers. Their family has already separated, and we don't have much contact with each other. It was only when I saw the people from Zuixianju coming to our village to buy bamboo shoots that I knew my eldest brother was doing business with Zuixianju."
"So that's how it is."
While he was talking, the chef brought up the braised spring bamboo shoots with an expression on his face that was hard to describe.
The shopkeeper looked at Li Youfu and said, "Try it first."
Li Youfu was stunned for a moment, then picked up a piece with chopsticks and put it in his mouth. He chewed it twice and spat it out. It tasted astringent and numb, and his face wrinkled.
The shopkeeper's face darkened instantly: "Okay, you dare to come to Ruifu Building to play tricks on me."
"No, no, boss, we wouldn't dare to play tricks on you no matter how brave we are. These are indeed bamboo shoots picked from the same bamboo mountain as Zuixianju. We didn't know they would taste like this."
The shopkeeper was silent for a moment, then said, "You dare not lie to me. According to what you said, your eldest brother's family used another method to remove the astringency. How about this, if you can get the method to process spring bamboo shoots, I will give you five taels of silver."
Li Youfu's eyes lit up instantly. Five taels of silver? Great, this five taels of silver can buy a lot of things.
"Don't worry, boss. We will do our best to get it done."
Zhou Jiawang then escorted the two men out of the restaurant.
He stared at her and said, "Dad, when you get the method, you must tell me first and I will give it to the shopkeeper. Then you can get five taels of silver, and I can also increase my wages."
"Okay, I will definitely not forget you."
Zhou Jiawangcan smiled and saw the two off.
As soon as the two men walked out of the town, they dumped the bamboo shoots on the roadside.
Li Youfu said angrily: "I never thought that Li Youshan had this skill. He knew how to deal with bamboo shoots, but he didn't tell the villagers. He is really selfish."
Li Dalin advised: "Okay, Dad, you should think about how to learn how to process bamboo shoots. That's five taels of silver."
"Let's talk about it when we get back."
The two walked back to the village.
When they got home, the meal was just ready. Mrs. Li saw that her son didn't look well, so she asked quickly, "Fu, what's wrong?"
Li Youfu looked at Mrs. Li, then glanced at Old Man Li, and sighed, "Mom, it's nothing. I saw that my eldest brother and his family made money by selling bamboo shoots, and I also wanted to make more money for the family, so I took Dalin to the bamboo mountain to pick some bamboo shoots and brought them to the town.
As a result, the restaurant only accepted the goods from my eldest brother's restaurant, so we went to the restaurant where my son-in-law Jiawang worked. Jiawang said that their restaurant's business had also been taken away, and their boss was angry about it. I was thinking, can I ask my eldest brother to deliver goods to Jiawang's restaurant as well?"
He didn't say how to deal with the bamboo shoots.
Old Man Li was stunned for a moment before he said, "What did you say? Your eldest brother is doing business with the restaurant? Does he have the ability to do that?"
"I heard that it was Yue Yatou and Sandong that boy who went to discuss the business. If Sandong knew how to do business, he would have gone there a long time ago. I think Yue Yatou learned it from the Gao family. Gao Zhiyuan is a scholar, and he must have taught her a lot in the past three years."
Old Lady Li sighed, "It seems that the first wife's family still blames us. They knew Jiawang was in the Ruifu Restaurant, but they didn't tell her to go to her cousin's husband to discuss business first, but ran to the rival's house. What if the restaurant manager finds out and takes his anger out on Jiawang? Maybe he will ask Jiawang to pack up and go home, and Damei will be worried too."
Old man Li slammed the table, raised his eyebrows and said angrily, "This bastard really doesn't take me seriously. Erfu, go find your eldest brother after dinner and tell him that it was my idea. Ask him to tell you how to deal with the bamboo shoots, otherwise I will punish him."
Old Lady Li pretended to remind him, "You Fu, be polite when you talk to your eldest brother. Don't go empty-handed. Bring some dried radishes, dried beans, etc. to your eldest brother's house. After all, you are brothers. Say a few nice words. Your brother won't be unkind."
"Yeah." Li Youfu responded. After dinner, he put a few handfuls of dried vegetables in a basket. Looking at the basket, there seemed to be too many dried vegetables, so he grabbed another handful and put it back, then carried the basket to Li Youshan's house.
"Is my brother home?"
Li Youshan heard the noise and came out of the main room. When he saw the person coming, he subconsciously looked up at the sky.
Li Youfu saw this and looked up as well. There was nothing in the sky. He asked, "Brother, what are you looking at?"
"Let me see if the sun has set in the east." Li Youshan looked away: "Why are you here?"
What good can it be for a weasel to give a gift to a chicken?
Li Youfu's smile froze. "I know Yueyue is back. Dad has always wanted to see her, but she didn't come to see me. Dad asked me to bring you some dried vegetables and see if Yueyue is okay."
Li Youshan's face darkened slightly. "Are you saying that my Yueyue is unfilial? It was Dad who said that Yueyue is a money-loser and should never bother him. What? Is it wrong to listen to Dad and not bother him?"
Li Youfu's face became even stiffer. The old man did say that all the time.
"Brother, you also said that was in the past. Ever since you separated, Dad has been talking about you all the time, and his attitude has changed. How about, brother, let me sit in the room for a while, and we can sit down and talk?"
Li Youshan: "Aren't you here to deliver something? Just leave it there. I have a lot of things to do at home, so I won't keep you here."
Li Youfu gritted his teeth secretly. If it weren't for the way to prepare the bamboo shoots, he would never have tried to please the eldest wife.
"Brother, this is what happened. Dad asked me to come. Jiawang came to our house yesterday and told us that their competitor Zuixianju's new food was provided by your family. Their shopkeeper found out about it and knew that Jiawang and we are relatives, so he asked him to come and discuss the matter of sending bamboo shoots to Ruifulou.
They want you to deliver bamboo shoots to their restaurant. The owner said that this job must be done well, otherwise he will be fired. When my father heard this, he was anxious and asked me to come to you. Brother, whether Jiawang can continue to work in the restaurant depends on you. "
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