At the dinner table, Mother Liu was reluctant to say anything else. Of all the concubines' sons and daughters, Concubine Qing and her children were the most troublesome. Concubine Chai would at least be afraid, and Liu Yanyuan wouldn't dare come over too often. Even Liu Fang wouldn't dare act in front of them, no matter how troublesome she was. Only Concubine Qing and her children dared to come over all the time.
"I'm full." Liu's mother said, "You guys eat now."
Liu's mother hadn't eaten much before she said she was full and left. Liu's mother didn't give Liu Yuqin any more face. Who was Liu Yuqin showing her displeasure to?
Even if Xiao Dayu was from the research institute, even if this person came to the capital with Liu Yulian, Liu's mother would not give these people much face.
The Marquis of Jingning Mansion didn't owe these people anything, and they weren't doing research for the Marquis of Jingning Mansion. Even if they were doing research for the Marquis of Jingning Mansion, it was an employment relationship. Mother Liu didn't think they needed to give them too much face.
"Father." Liu Yuqin pursed her lips and looked at her father.
"You guys eat, you guys eat." Marquis Jingning also stood up.
“…” Liu Yuqin threw her chopsticks on the spot.
"You've all eaten, right? Then you can go back," Father Liu said. "I'll send you an invitation when you get married. Come when you're free."
Liu's father didn't plan to prepare a dowry for Liu Yuqin anymore, and he was willing to meet Xiao Dayu, which was already very good. When Liu Fang was engaged, even if Liu's father didn't like the third wife, he still wanted to meet Zhen Wenze.
"Don't come here for no reason in the future." said Father Liu.
Xiao Dayu had thought that the people at Jingning Marquis's mansion wouldn't treat them that way. At least the Marquis would talk to him. Isn't it said that people who care about their daughters will treat their sons-in-law better? His eyes flashed, and he couldn't help but feel a little regretful. But he had embarked on Liu Yuqin's boat, and he couldn't get off.
The two of them are already engaged. If he doesn't want this marriage, how will the people in Jingning Marquis' Mansion view him, and how will his colleagues in the research institute view him?
Xiao Dayu and Zhen Wenzhe look the same, but there are still differences between them.
Zhen Wenze didn't know at first that Liu Fang had such a bad relationship with the first wife, but Xiao Dayu knew it. However, Xiao Dayu still wanted to give it a try. If Jing Ning Hou secretly valued Liu Yuqin, then maybe he could get promoted faster.
Xiao Dayu, a man with limited literacy, was able to rise to the rank of sixth-rank official by studying glass. This was due to his ability to plan and get things done, but the more he worked, the more he realized he lacked the necessary skills. It seemed as if all his knowledge had been used up.
Jiang Lang has run out of ideas!
Xiao Dayu was thinking about finding some connections. He thought that if he was the son-in-law of those powerful families, then he wouldn't have to worry too much about the future.
"Father!" Liu Yuqin shouted at Marquis Jingning's back, "Is this how you treat your daughter?"
Father Liu didn't pay much attention to Liu Yuqin. Liu Yuqin was angry, but there was nothing she could do. The most she could do was throw things.
After a while, the housekeeper came in and asked Liu Yuqin and Xiao Dayu to leave.
Liu Yuqin and Xiao Dayu hadn't gotten married yet, so after leaving the Jingning Marquis's residence, they just took a walk. When Xiao Dayu sent Liu Yuqin back, she didn't get angry at him. Instead, she said, "You must be more powerful than that Liu Yulian in the future."
Liu Yuqin thought that as long as her husband was more capable than Liu Yulian, he would be able to take charge of the research institute.
In the second shop, Su Qiuya thought that it would be better for Liu Yuqin to get engaged earlier, so that Liu Yuqin could pay more attention to other things instead of always worrying about their affairs.
Su Qiuya stood in the shop and looked at the restaurant across the street. Mrs. Su said that An Hongkang was not allowed to open a restaurant there. Yes, An Hongkang did not open a restaurant at first, but sold other things for a few months.
An Hongkang sold the place to someone else to open a restaurant.
In fact, An Hongkang was collaborating with others, and Su Qiuya understood it clearly.
An Hongkang also said that he didn't make much money selling other things, so he sold the place to a friend. His friend wanted to open a restaurant, but he had no choice.
This made Su Qiuya feel particularly disgusted with Madam Su and An Hongkang. These two people were always like this. An Hongkang said that he opened a restaurant because he was losing money in other businesses, and it was opened by his friend. Even if Su Qiuya went to Master Su and said this, Master Su would not think that Su Qiuya was right. Master Su would definitely say that there were too many people opening restaurants, so he should let him open it.
"What's wrong?" When Liu Yanbo came back, he saw Su Qiuya standing in front of the shop.
"Look across the street." Su Qiuya said, "Ever since the restaurant opened across the street, our business hasn't been that good."
That restaurant doesn't only sell expensive dishes. They also have affordable dishes, and some of the dishes are even cheaper.
"They just opened, and in order to attract customers, the prices are low." Su Qiuya suspected that An Hongkang did it on purpose.
In the past, not many people priced their products so low when they first opened. The items that the restaurant priced low were mostly similar to those in Su Qiuya's shop.
"It's squeezed out some of our business." Su Qiuya sighed, "We can only think of new things. We still need a secret sauce."
Su Qiuya thought that her secret sauce was not easy to imitate. Even if someone tried to imitate it, it would be difficult to imitate the real taste. Su Qiuya couldn't just close her shop because An Hongkang's friend opened a restaurant there. She still had to open a shop, and she couldn't run away to open a shop somewhere else.
"I'll go back to the Su family later." Su Qiuya said.
"I'll accompany you." Liu Yanbo said.
"No need, I'll go." Su Qiuya said, "It's just a small matter, not a big deal, I'll be back soon."
"Your stepmother's brother is really not a good person." Liu Yanbo didn't believe that An Hongkang was behind the restaurant across the street. He said that An Hongkang's friend wanted to open a restaurant, but this kind of thing was just an excuse. "Be careful of your stepmother."
"She just likes to put on a show." Su Qiuya said, "If I go over there, she will pull me aside and apologize."
Su Qiuya knew too well what her stepmother would do. Her stepmother had always been like that.
"They couldn't open a shop anywhere else, but they chose to open it right across from ours. And within a few months, they're complaining about losing money," Su Qiuya said. "How could anyone know that without seeing their account books? Even if they did, wouldn't they be able to falsify their accounts?"
Su Qiuya wasn't that stupid. She went back to the Su family just to vent her anger and talk. She thought she had to speak in front of Master Su, even if it was just a few words, in case Master Su took those words to heart.
As time goes by and it happens more often, it will be impossible for Mr. Su to be so nice to Madam Su.
Mrs. Su treated Su Qiuya the same way. The reason why Su Qiuya's body deteriorated was a gradual process.
If Su Qiuya wanted to compete with Madam Su, she would have to compete in endurance, and she would have to find a way to hold Madam Su's handle. Madam Su was not a person who lent money, and Su Qiuya did not see any other major handles on Madam Su.
Mrs. Su is a cunning fox, and it is difficult for them to catch her tail.
"Don't worry about me." Su Qiuya said, "My father likes making money and saving face. I said that we lost money and our business was affected, so we have to ask them to compensate us."
Yes, Su Qiuya went to the Su family to ask for compensation.
An Hongkang's business suffered losses, so does Su Qiuya's business also suffer losses?
Doesn't Madam Su like to do superficial work? Doesn't she always like to show that she is very good to Su Qiuya? Su Qiuya wants to take advantage of this and make Madam Su bleed.
"Okay." Liu Yanbo did not stop Su Qiuya.
Liu Yanbo truly felt that his mother was much better than Madam Su. She had never harmed their health and always sent for a doctor when necessary. She was never that stingy, but they just didn't understand.
"I'm going to the bookstore to buy a couple of books," Liu Yanbo said. "Rong Ning published a cookbook a while ago, so I'll buy that too."
"Okay." Su Qiuya had no objection.
Although these recipes have been made public, they may have other ideas after reading them.
Su Qiuya thought about how she had wondered why Liu Yulian didn't give her the tofu recipe when she was in the northwest. Now she thought about it and felt ridiculous. Why did Liu Yulian give her the tofu recipe? Su Qiuya thought that the first wife didn't owe the second wife anything, and Liu Yulian didn't owe them anything either. It was her own assumption.
When Su Qiuya arrived at the Su family, Mr. Su was not at home.
Su Qiuya didn't care whether Mr. Su was at home or not. She mainly wanted to talk to Mrs. Su about An Hongkang.
"The prices of dishes at the restaurant your brother is cooperating with are so low that it's affecting my business." Su Qiuya said directly, "He said he wouldn't open a restaurant across from our shop, but he still opened it now."
"Isn't it because we are losing money?" Mrs. Su did not allow An Hongkang to open a restaurant opposite Su Qiuya's shop at the beginning, and that was also to satisfy Mr. Su.
If An Hongkang had opened a restaurant opposite Su Qiuya's shop from the beginning, then when Su Qiuya told Master Su about it, Madam Su might have been scolded by Master Su. But after An Hongkang's shop suffered losses, it was nothing for An Hongkang to open a restaurant with his friends.
"By the way, didn't he say he wanted to rent out the place?" Mrs. Su said.
"Whether it was rented out or not, we both know it, so let's not talk about it anymore." Su Qiuya sneered, "Do you want me to go to my father to ask for money, or do you brothers and sisters fill this hole for me?"
Su Qiuya thought that she didn't need to be polite to these people. "It doesn't matter if you don't make up for it. Father should be happy to make up for it."
"It's time to give you some extra." Mrs. Su said.
Mrs. Su's expression was a little embarrassed. She obviously didn't expect Su Qiuya to come directly to her house to ask for money. She was still thinking that Su Qiuya's business was not good and that Su Qiuya could not continue to run a restaurant. Who could have thought that Su Qiuya would do this?
"It's not enough to just compensate us a little. It's almost the New Year, and business was pretty good for a while before." Su Qiuya said, "Because of this delay, we're going to lose a lot. We'll lose this much this year, and we might lose more next year. How about this, you compensate us for this year's losses first, and we'll come back to you for next year's losses."
"This..." Mrs. Su did not expect Su Qiuya to be so shameless. It was obvious that Su Qiuya was going to ask her for money for a long time.
"Although others can open a restaurant there, they may not set the prices so low." Su Qiuya chuckled, "Father has been in business for so many years, he will know it at a glance."
"It's time to compensate you. Let's compensate you for this year." Mrs. Su asked someone to get the banknotes.
"To be honest, working in the kitchen is tiring." Su Qiuya said, "If you want to make up for it for a few more months, that's fine. I can take it easy for the next few months."
Su Qiuya wasn't afraid of people being attracted by the low prices. An Hongkang had the ability to keep the prices low. She wasn't afraid. If she made a loss, she would come to Madam Su for money.
When Su Qiuya was about to leave, Master Su came back.
Su Qiuya smiled and said, "The An family and their friends opened a restaurant across from my shop. They've had to offer low-priced dishes to attract customers in recent months. So, your good wife gave me some extra money. She gave me some extra money for every few months that the restaurant offered low-priced dishes."
"Compensation money?" Mr. Su looked at Mrs. Su.
"Yes," Mrs. Su said with a smile, "it's because of my disappointing younger brother. He said that his shop was losing money, so he rented the building to his friend to open a restaurant and offered low-priced dishes. My eldest sister's business is a small-scale business, and its business has been affected. I have to give them some money to prevent them from starving, don't you think?"
Mrs. Su's heart ached. She had given Su Qiuya several hundred taels of silver. Even if Su Qiuya's shop couldn't make that much money, Mrs. Su couldn't give less. She always liked to show her concern for her stepdaughter, but she couldn't let her down at this time.
"That's right." Master Su nodded. "We have to make up for it. It's really unfair to do business with low-priced vegetables. Over time, those people may not go to other shops."
Mr. Su is a businessman himself, and he knows a lot of things. He can more or less see that there are other ways to do this matter, but Mrs. Su has already compensated Su Qiuya, so it doesn't matter.
"This money shouldn't be paid by the public, right? If it is paid by the public, my brothers and sisters will probably be fed up with me." Su Qiuya said, "Is it paid by the An family, or who else?"
Su Qiuya looked at Madam Su. She didn't want Madam Su to use this to attack her again.
"I'll go, I'll go." Mrs. Su smiled.
"Then I feel relieved." Su Qiuya said, "Otherwise, I would starve to death and still feel guilty."
"Just rest assured." Mrs. Su wanted Su Qiuya to get out quickly, but she couldn't say that.
"Do you want to have dinner at home?" asked Mr. Su.
"No need to eat." Su Qiuya said, "It would be bad if I accidentally lost the money I was going to use for food."
Su Qiuya left with the banknotes in her pocket, and Madam Su looked at Master Su. Master Su's face was not very good. Master Su did not say those words in front of Su Qiuya, because he was giving face to Madam Su.
"She just runs a shop, not a big business, and it doesn't affect the family. Why do you treat her like that?"
"Master, it really wasn't me. I really didn't know my brother would do that." Madam Su hurriedly explained. She knew Master Su was unhappy. "Before, when I knew he bought the shop over there, I told him not to open a restaurant there. He listened to me and didn't open a restaurant. He started another business. Who would have thought that the business didn't do well and suffered losses, so his friends said they wanted to open a restaurant."
"Competing with low-priced vegetables is a money-burning job and will also make people in surrounding shops unhappy." Mr. Su said that this is equivalent to violating market rules.
When Mr. Su was doing business outside, he didn't dare to lower the price too low in one place. If he did that, how could others do business with him in the future? That would be a sinister tactic, using low prices to force others to leave.
"It should be before the New Year." Mrs. Su said.
"That's the best." Master Su's expression remained sullen. "Big sister's maternal grandfather's family is no pushover either. Don't mess with them. You're her stepmother, so be a good one. Since you said the money is coming from you, then it's coming from you. Don't take money from the public treasury."
"Yes." Mrs. Su replied. She did want to take money from the public treasury. But Mrs. Su knew Mr. Su's temper, so she couldn't just take money from the public treasury.
"Let Bai Shi help you manage the household," Master Su said, "so that we don't have to wonder where the money from the public treasury has gone."
Last year, An Hongkang took a lot of money from Madam Su, and Master Su didn't say much. But this year, An Hongkang did the same thing again. Master Su felt that he still needed to punish Madam Su and not let her continue to do so.
Bai was Master Su's concubine. She had originally lived in another place, but was brought back to the capital a few months ago. While she was in another place, Bai had also managed the harem, and Master Su was quite satisfied with her.
Bai Shi also had children, so she was considered Mr. Su's equal wife. However, Mr. Su never said anything about whether she was a equal wife or not. He used to say outside that the family over there depended on Bai Shi.
Mrs. Bai was no simple character. She had children, so she didn't want all the things in the house to be inherited by Mrs. Su's children. Mrs. Bai had also accompanied Mr. Su on business trips. If she was just a sweet talker in the backyard, that would be fine, but the key point was that she also did a lot of things outside.
"Bai?" Mrs. Su opened her eyes wide. She didn't like Bai. Bai had a son, and Bai didn't look simple either.
"Yes, that's her." Master Su nodded. "That's it. The two of you can manage it together, so that the public funds won't disappear."
Over the years, Madam Su had taken a lot of money from the public treasury, and Master Su knew all about it, but he just turned a blind eye and didn't do much about it.
"Okay, it's good to have Sister Bai help take care of it." Mrs. Su couldn't refuse.
The next day, Bai started to manage those things and even checked the account books. This made Mrs. Su very unhappy. In the past, Mrs. Su was the housekeeper, and she had to do the accounting the way Mrs. Su wanted.
The Bai family actually wants to check the accounts?!
"The master only gives the family that much money every year, and there are so many people in the family to support," said Madam Su. "The capital is not like other places. Socializing costs money, so how can there be so much money left over? Every year, that's just enough to support us."
"Just take a look. After seeing it, I'll have a better idea of what to do next." Bai smiled and said, "Sister, you've never done business outside, so I don't know if you can compare prices. I'll take a look to prevent those servants from deceiving you and deliberately using overpriced items to fool you."
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