It turns out that after those who knew the inside story told those who didn't, some curious people compared the candied hawthorns sold by Lingyue Tower with those sold by Su Yun'er.
It was discovered that almost every skewer sold at Lingyuelou had a problem, while Su Yun'er's were all outstanding; those candied hawthorns were simply beautiful to look at.
However, the prices on both sides were exactly the same.
In reality, even if that were true, the common people wouldn't be too angry. Merchants have always had their share of both loyal and treacherous individuals, which is perfectly normal. People will compare prices from different vendors and buy from whomever they prefer.
However, Lingyue Tower dared to cry foul despite its own poor performance. Fortunately, a righteous scholar came forward to testify, otherwise, this young lady, a weak woman, would have been bullied by a restaurant!
That won't do!
The crowd's sense of justice was instantly ignited, and they all shouted for Lingyue Tower to apologize!
When Manager Wen ran out, he saw a crowd gathered in front of his shop. Some were indignant, while others stood on the outside watching the commotion.
Behind the crowd was an oxcart, and behind the oxcart stood three people, one woman and two men, who looked at him indifferently.
I suppose that woman is the young lady the waiter was talking about earlier.
Manager Wen bowed to the crowd with a smile on his face: "Ladies and gentlemen, I am grateful for your support of Lingyue Tower over the years. However, what happened today is really hard to talk about. I have already heard from the shop assistants that it was our shop assistants' fault for sticking out and provoking everyone's anger. I apologize to you all on behalf of our shop assistants."
As soon as Manager Wen arrived, he adopted a very humble posture, so some people in the crowd quickly quieted down.
However, his apology was directed at the crowd, not at the person involved. Anyone with eyes could see that he was trying to cover it up.
Seeing that Manager Wen seemed only interested in getting things over with, Su Yun'er smiled knowingly and called out softly, "Manager Wen, the person you should really apologize to is right here."
Manager Wen pretended not to see anyone, but a kind person in the crowd pointed to the direction of the oxcart behind him.
Shopkeeper Wen's smile twitched slightly: "Yes, yes, I was confused. Thank you for showing me the way, sir."
He walked down the steps with an awkward laugh, passed through the crowd to the oxcart, and bowed deeply to Su Yun'er and the Song brothers: "Today's incident was caused by my young apprentice's ignorance and quarrels. I hope you villagers will forgive him. I apologize to you."
Looking at Manager Wen's smiling face, Su Yun'er shook her head inwardly.
People in this era have no concept of copyright, so the shopkeeper naturally doesn't think he's plagiarizing anything.
But they shouldn't have been so arrogant, daring to spread rumors about me on the street. I can't let them off easily today.
"Manager Wen, we should all be doing our own business and not interfering with each other. It's common for a business owner to have a good idea that is then copied by another business owner. But you shouldn't have failed to properly discipline your subordinate and allowed him to speak ill of others."
"I didn't intend to comment on your business methods; we each have our own ways of doing things. But since you've crossed me today, if I don't retaliate, it would make me seem like a pushover. The candied hawthorns you sell at Lingyue Tower are made with inferior fruit, less sugar coating, and are uncleanly prepared—yet you still dare to sell them. If someone with poor eyesight, or a young child who doesn't know that rotten fruit shouldn't be eaten, eats your fruit, wouldn't they get a stomachache or get sick? This is called neglecting food hygiene and engaging in fraudulent business practices!"
After Su Yun'er's words, some of the onlookers gradually understood.
That's right! Lingyue Tower is selling broken products as high-quality ones; they're just trying to cheat people!
Manager Wen hadn't expected that he had underestimated this frail woman, and that she would actually point out the hidden problems in this matter. It seemed that he had met a tough opponent, and cold sweat immediately broke out on his forehead.
The anger of the onlookers, who had just been fooled, surged again.
Manager Wen broke out in a cold sweat, worried that things would escalate further.
He hurriedly pleaded with Su Yun'er, this time with greater sincerity than before: "Young lady, we were wrong, terribly wrong. Please, have mercy on us and forgive us this time. We will never dare to do it again."
"If Manager Wen apologizes to my sister, admits that he learned the candied hawthorn making technique from her, and compensates the customers who bought your substandard products, we will forgive you this time," Song Muqiang said.
"Well... the former is easy to explain, but the latter... we don't know who bought them."
Song Shanqiang snorted: "You're the manager, running such a big tavern, don't you have any ideas? Why did you have so many ideas when you were learning from others?"
"Okay, okay! I understand, I understand, I will definitely do as you say." Manager Wen was speechless after being rebuked by the three of them.
"Young lady, it's my fault. I saw your business was booming and I got envious, so I had my shop assistant buy your candied hawthorns and candied balls. I had the kitchen staff taste them and figure out how to make them, and then we copied them. Selling substandard products was my mistake, and we will never dare to do it again." Manager Wen said, bowing repeatedly.
"There's still money to be lost!" Song Shanqiang warned.
"Alright, alright. Let's make up for today's losses first." Manager Wen had a headache and dared not delay any longer. He hurriedly ran back to the shop to call the young shop assistant to refund the money for all the candied hawthorns sold today.
"Manager Wen, are your words really that valuable? Your servant said that spreading rumors in the street will affect this young lady's business and reputation if someone actually believes them. Don't you have anything to say about it?" someone in the crowd shouted.
Su Yun'er raised one eyebrow.
Manager Wen dared not object any further and only wanted to get rid of today's matter as soon as possible.
"Yes, yes. I've prepared it..." Manager Wen began to rummage through his sleeves and pockets, finally pulling out two silver ingots of different sizes. "This, this is about three taels of silver, to compensate the young lady."
Su Yun'er didn't hold back either; since the rumors spread against her and hurt her, this was their compensation for emotional distress.
Having achieved their goal, Su Yun'er and the Song brothers didn't linger. As for how Manager Wen planned to return the money, let him figure that out himself.
Manager Wen watched Su Yun'er and the Song brothers leave, then smiled apologetically and dispersed the crowd at the door before returning to the shop looking pale.
The troublemaking shop assistant hid behind the counter, too afraid to come out. He had heard everything that had happened outside.
The shopkeeper has lost so much money; he's in deep trouble now.
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