Yet, when faced with Yuchi Gong’s angry glare, Ji Xinhe looked unperturbed. Far from showing any fear, she even hooked up a small smile at the corners of her lips.
"Master Yuchi, you certainly kept me waiting. I’ve already had a cup of tea while waiting for you. If one didn’t know any better, one might think you were avoiding me out of shame."
Yuchi Gong’s face darkened even more, "Bah!" he spat, "What would I be afraid of!"
Clearly, he no longer cared to maintain any pretense of civility. Ji Xinhe was driving him crazy.
Xin He, nonchalantly, chuckled: "Indeed, there’s nothing to be afraid of. I simply brought Master Yuchi some jugs of wine, the three new fruit wines we’ve recently brewed. Apple wine, Waxberry wine, and together with grape wine, they form a series. You have all tasted and are aware of the delightful taste of grape wine. I assure you, these three will not disappoint either."
Her voice rose a few tones, and her last words were clearly meant to advertise her new product to the crowd.
Yuchi Gong’s face grew even darker. He coldly retorted, "I don’t need it! Who wants your wine?"
Ji Xinhe tilted her head, her expression a mix of amusement and disapproval: "It doesn’t matter if Master Yuchi is not interested, as long as my customers are satisfied."
Turning her head towards the packed hall, she shouted loudly, "Would you like to taste it?"
A burst of cheers erupted from the crowd: "Yes!" They were visibly excited. Who wouldn’t want to taste such a fine wine for free?
Yuchi Gong’s face turned from pale to purple, shaking with anger, "If you want to distribute drinks, do it outside! What are you doing making trouble in my shop!?"
The smile on Xin He’s face receded a bit, replaced with a cold undertone: "Is that how it is? Master Yuchi must have forgotten about our bet from half a month ago. Half a month ago, Master Yuchi caused quite a commotion in my shop, accusing me of stealing from the Yuchi family’s craftsmanship. I said I didn’t care for the Yuchi family’s craft, yet Master Yuchi accused me of ’putting on a brave face’. We made a bet and agreed to settle it half a month later when my three new products are released. Now, the time has come to fulfill the bet. Is Master Yuchi afraid of losing, has he learned to go back on his word in advance?"
Once she finished her words, the crowd erupted into a wave of booing: "This is going too far. Yuchi Gong should not act so shamelessly. He initially caused trouble for Miss Ji under his brand and now won’t acknowledge when Miss Ji comes to settle the score. He can’t pretend it wasn’t him. The character of the Hu family really isn’t that great."
"Exactly, Miss Ji stays true to her word, she promised new products in half a month, and in half a month, we have new products. Now, Miss Ji has put so much effort into making new products and even brought them to Master Yuchi, but Master Yuchi just wants to throw her out. Even if he doesn’t want to pay up, we can’t let him forget the slander he threw at Miss Ji right? That’s not how life works!"
"Doing business requires a certain amount of integrity. People can’t go too far. If Miss Ji, a young lady, can honor the bet, why is Master Yuchi refusing to acknowledge it at the last minute?"
Seeing that people were clearly siding with Ji Xinhe, Yuchi Gong felt pressured. He knew that now wasn’t the time for willful behavior. Even if he wanted to kick her out, he could only endure it.
Yuchi Gong gritted his teeth angrily, "What do I have to be afraid of? Taste it then! You better not be trying to fool me with some apple flavored water!"
Ji Xinhe chuckled, "Isn’t Master Yuchi the one capable of such actions?"
"You!"
Ji Xinhe didn’t argue further, instead signaling Li Saner with her eyes.
Upon receiving Ji Xinhe’s signal, Li Saner promptly opened the wine jug and poured it into several small bowls arranged on the table.
As soon as the jug was opened, the scent of the wine filled the entire hall. Everyone watched, swallowing with difficulty. It smelled heavenly!
"Come on, come on, each one take a bowl and be a fair judge. Let’s see if our new fruit wine offering at the Qinghe Shop is worth its reputation! And let’s see if we need to envy the craftsmanship of the Yuchi Family!" Li Saner distributed the wine to everyone with a smug face.
A scramble ensued among the crowd.
"Wow! This tastes really good! I initially thought their grape wine was a heavenly brew, but I never imagined they would have so many other new varieties. And each one has its unique characteristic, truly remarkable!"
"It’s really delicious! Is there more? Is there more?"
"With these new products from Qinghe Shop, they could even outshine the grape wine. Does Qinghe need to envy Yuchi’s grape wine techniques? I think Yueke Lai is just jealous that Qinghe is taking their business and wants to slander them!"
Everyone got a bowl of wine and they praised it extensively, eager for more.
Li Saner laughed: "Don’t worry, everyone. Our Qinghe Shop has plenty of wine. If you think it’s not enough, feel free to visit Qinghe Shop! I’ll be waiting for you there!"
Ji Xinhe showed a teasing grin, looking at Yuchi Gong, "Won’t Master Yuchi have a try? It’s free today, but we’ll be charging tomorrow."
Yuchi Gong’s face turned even uglier, but he denied tasting it. Annoyed, he pushed away the bowl of wine that Li Saner had offered, "The skills of the Yuchi family have been handed down for five generations and are famous to this day. Why should we care about your insignificant little shop?"
Ji Xinhe laughed as if it didn’t matter: "Master Yuchi is quite upset now. If you want to complain, feel free. I don’t care. As long as the customers love the wine, that’s what matters, isn’t it?"
Seeing his own ’punch’ being as effective as hitting cotton and Ji Xinhe just takes it calmly as if feeling nothing, made Yuchi Gong very frustrated!
At this moment, a servant whispered into his ear, "Master, all is well."
Yuchi Gong’s face relaxed a little, his eyes gazing at Ji Xinhe with a hint of malicious glee, "You are boasting in front of me. I will let you know what it means to set your backyard on fire without knowing!"
Upon receiving this good news, Yuchi Gong felt relaxed. He burst out laughing, "Miss Ji, you’re right, as long as the customers love it, that’s what matters. Isn’t your purpose here to clear Qinghe’s name? Fine! Suppose I did slander you, so what? The Yuchi family’s centuries-old craftsmanship, passed down from one generation to another, could it be worse than your wine? I have nothing to fear!"
Ji Xinhe softly smirked, "I hope so. Otherwise, if Master Yuchi resorts to underhanded tactics in the future, I might not be able to handle it."
"What do you mean?"
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