Hmph, let him curse if he wants, what does it have to do with these passersby? They're just being nosy!
Liu Liang turned around impatiently, but as soon as he saw the man's face clearly, his expression immediately became respectful.
Because the man who spoke was of noble status, he was Meng Wenyuan, the son of the headmaster of Dongcheng Academy.
Meng Wenyuan's father was named Meng Ruxiu. Although he was just the headmaster of a small county school, he had quite a background.
It is said that Meng Ruxiu came from a wealthy and influential family. Although the Meng family later declined, Meng Ruxiu was a promising young man.
He achieved the top rank in the imperial examination and became the most famous scholar of his time!
It is said that the late emperor valued him highly and arranged for him to take up a high-ranking post in the capital.
Unfortunately, Meng Ruxiu himself disliked officialdom and was instead eager to cultivate talent for the Great Sheng Dynasty. So he resigned from his post and left the capital, came to Sishui County, and opened the Dongcheng Academy.
Not to mention in Sishui County, even in the entire Jingzhou Prefecture, Meng Ruxiu was a highly respected Confucian scholar.
The Zhong family may be wealthy, but their status in Jingzhou Prefecture is far inferior to that of Meng Ruxiu, and they dare not easily offend him.
Upon recognizing the man speaking as Meng Wenyuan, Liu Liang's previously impatient expression instantly transformed into one of respect.
He forced a smile, his tone indescribably fawning.
"Oh, so it's Young Master Meng! You're right, business competition is only natural. As a businessman, how could I not understand this? The reason I cursed them is because they went too far!"
Today is Meng Wenyuan's birthday.
His father usually disciplined him strictly and didn't give him much money. Today, because it was his birthday, he reluctantly gave him a little more living expenses.
He then brought his friends from the academy, intending to have a proper gathering at the largest restaurant in Sishui County.
But as soon as they reached the door, they heard Liu Liang's vicious words.
He had always hated such vicious and treacherous people, and immediately wanted to turn around and leave.
But listening to Liu Liang's words, he felt there was more to the story, so he stopped and asked, "How much did they go wrong?"
Seeing that there was still room for maneuver, Liu Liang's eyes lit up, and he immediately put on a dramatic performance, his eyes reddening as he began to cry.
"Recently, braised food has become very popular in Sishui County. After trying it once, I found that the taste of braised food was indeed very good. If it could be sold in Yumantang, it would definitely attract many diners. So I went to West Street, found the young lady who sells braised food, and offered a high price of one thousand taels of silver to buy her braised food recipe."
"I genuinely wanted to buy the braised food recipe, otherwise I wouldn't have offered such a high price of one thousand taels. But who knew that greed would lead to such a loss! That young lady saw how generous I was and became greedy, asking for five thousand taels right off the bat!"
"Yu Mantang sounds nice, but to put it bluntly, it's just a small shop that sells some food. Besides, it suffered a lot of losses during the previous famine. How could it possibly come up with five thousand taels of silver all at once? So I refused that young lady."
"I thought that even if the business deal fell through, we could still be on good terms. Since I couldn't buy the recipe, I thought I'd just buy some braised food to support their business. But that young lady held a grudge against me because of this!"
"Not only did they refuse to sell me braised food, they also threatened to make me pay the price!"
Meng Wenyuan was shocked: "I heard that the person who sells braised food is just a widow. How could they, a widow and her child, make your Yumantang pay the price?"
"They are a widow and her children, and we certainly can't make Yu Mantang pay the price, but they'll use others to do their dirty work!"
Most of the students at Dongcheng Academy came from wealthy families and frequently dined and drank at the restaurant.
If he can use this opportunity to ruin the reputation of Jinzunlou, he might be able to turn the tide!
At the same time, it would also make the young woman selling braised food lose face.
Such a brilliant plan to kill two birds with one stone! He's so clever!
Liu Liang chuckled inwardly, but his expression grew increasingly bitter.
"Since I took over the management of Yu Mantang, Yu Mantang has directly surpassed Jin Zun Lou across the street. After that young lady found out about this, she went to the manager of Jin Zun Lou and colluded with him to start selling braised food in Jin Zun Lou and other restaurants that were on good terms with Jin Zun Lou."
"As you gentlemen know, braised food is quite famous nowadays. Even in Jingzhou Prefecture, many people know about it. Shops that sell braised food are always packed with customers."
"But our Yu Man Tang lost most of its customers to Jin Zun Lou because we didn't have any braised dishes!"
"I was anxious seeing this, so I went to find the young woman who sells braised food and asked her to sell braised food in our Yu Man Tang. But she said she would never sell braised food in Yu Man Tang. She also said that she did this on purpose to make Yu Man Tang go bankrupt. This is the revenge she mentioned!"
When he got excited, Liu Liang even squeezed out two crocodile tears.
"To be honest, although I am the manager of Yu Mantang, Yu Mantang is actually my brother-in-law's business. My brother-in-law trusted me and entrusted Yu Mantang to me. I never thought... that I would cause Yu Mantang to go bankrupt because of a momentary lapse in judgment. I have no face to see him again and can only atone with my death!"
As he spoke, he made a gesture as if to crash into the stone pillar.
Meng Wenyuan, along with many students behind him, were startled and quickly stepped forward to stop him.
"Manager Liu, this is absolutely unacceptable!"
"That young lady did this to force you to your death. If you then try to kill yourself, wouldn't that fulfill her wish?"
Meng Wenyuan's face showed disgust: "What young lady? That person is so vicious, she's clearly a poisonous woman!"
The students around him, who claimed to be Meng Wenyuan's friends, were actually mostly there to curry favor with him because of his status as the son of the headmaster.
They followed his lead without question, nodding in agreement and joining in the condemnation of Wan Shu.
“That’s right! Brother Wenyuan is right. That’s no young lady at all; she’s clearly a vicious woman!”
"This kind of wicked woman will surely be punished!"
Standing at the very back of the crowd, Su Fan, fearing he would fall behind, hurriedly squeezed to the front, and countless vicious words spilled from his mouth.
"Brother Wenyuan, you are all too kind-hearted. Calling this kind of little slut a poisonous woman is too kind! She should be called a whore and a harlot, a worn-out shoe ridden by a thousand men and trampled by ten thousand!"
Since Su Fan passed the imperial examination this year, he has received many gifts and favors from people around him. He used these gifts to gain admission to Dongcheng Academy, which he had always dreamed of.
He originally thought that he could thrive in Dongcheng Academy with his status as a Xiucai (a successful candidate in the imperial examinations), but after entering Dongcheng Academy, he found that Dongcheng Academy was full of Xiucai!
He has completely blended into the crowd!
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