Chapter 87: Counterattack
Set up a tent?
Even though she hadn't gone to see it yet, Shi Xiaoai subconsciously felt that this matter was related to Shi Laoer's family.
"Let's go and take a look!" Cheng Yang, who was standing next to him, didn't bother to scold his brother anymore. He turned around and walked out first.
"Sister-in-law, when I went to buy salt, I saw a group of people standing over there making gestures. I didn't pay attention at first, but when I came back, I saw someone pulling a tent over.
I'm telling you, sister-in-law, this is definitely against us! They're jealous of us because we're making money!"
After all, Cheng Lin was once the son of a high-ranking official. Although his father was a bad person, generally speaking, no one dared to bully him outside.
Where has this young man ever suffered such humiliation?!
The whole person feels like a balloon that has been inflated and is about to explode!
Shi Xiaoai could only pat him on the back to calm him down, and said, "Don't panic, it's not a big deal."
Cheng Lin was furious. He glared at Shi Xiaoai and said, "Isn't this a big deal? Sister-in-law, in your eyes, nothing is a big deal, right?"
"Cheng Lin!" Cheng Yang was unhappy in front.
Is he allowed to blame his own wife?
Shi Xiaoai herself didn't care. She slapped Cheng Lin on the back and joked, "Look at how little you've accomplished! After your brother left, I was counting on you to support me. How could I expect you to be so impatient?"
This sentence immediately made Cheng Lin anxious.
He wanted to explain, but he felt he couldn't explain it clearly, and if he didn't explain, he would feel wronged. When he looked up again, he was met with his brother's disgusted eyes, and he immediately felt unwell.
He took a deep breath, suppressed all the anxiety and grievance in his heart, raised his head, frowned, and imitated his brother to put on a deep look.
Although he didn't imitate it very well, because he was holding back his anger, the coldness in his eyes and the look of keeping strangers away made him look quite intimidating.
As they were talking, the three of them had already walked to their own tea stall. Just as Cheng Lin said, a military tent was being set up across the street.
The tent was exactly the same as the one they used at home, but because it was new, it looked even grander than their own.
"That's the guy! The tent should belong to him. I just saw him setting it up over there."
Cheng Lin gestured with his chin towards the opposite side, pointing to a man who looked obviously much taller than the others and said.
Shi Xiaoai looked over and immediately realized that the person must be Shi Daxi.
After all, he looks so much like Shi Xiaomei.
Cheng Yang obviously recognized him as well. He asked softly, "From the Shi family?"
Although it was a question, the tone was firm.
Shi Xiaoai hummed, then said to the other two: "Let's go back, dinner isn't ready yet."
Cheng Lin turned around with a look of surprise: "You're back so soon? Sister-in-law, are we going to ignore things here?"
Shi Xiaoai asked back, "How can we control it? The tents are already here, how can we stop them from setting them up?"
Cheng Lin thought about it, but he really couldn't think of any solution, and he was so angry that he was panting.
Cheng Yang suggested: "Why don't we go to the office and ask? It's not a good idea to open two snack shops so close to each other."
Shi Xiaoai shook her head. "We could ask Aunt Liu, but I don't think it would be helpful. The area in front of the hospital isn't necessarily under the jurisdiction of our office. Otherwise, Director Yu would have given us a heads-up."
Cheng Yang had obviously thought of this, but after a pause he insisted, "Go ask. It's not a big deal."
As a result, they didn't have to go to the office. Aunt Liu was already waiting for them when they got home.
Seeing them return, Aunt Liu's first words were, "That tent was built by Shi Daxi and his family. They must have gotten some help from the hospital's leadership. That place isn't under the jurisdiction of our subdistrict office."
Although they had thought about it beforehand, the two brothers still looked unhappy after hearing these words.
Seeing them like this, Aunt Liu became even more worried.
Although she was always hesitant and did not quite approve of her daughter working with Xiao Ai, she also did not want any problems to arise in Xiao Ai's business.
After all, she is the younger generation whom she has always treated like her own daughter, and she can also see how much her daughter cares about this job.
She took two steps forward and asked nervously, "Xiao Ai, Shi Daxi and the others' behavior won't have any impact on you, right?"
"What impact can it have? We sell ours, he sells his, and we don't interfere with each other."
Shi Xiaoai smiled and comforted her: "Auntie, go back and tell Xiaoai to come over early in the evening. It's time to cut the nuts tonight."
"Okay, I'll go back and tell her to eat quickly."
Shi Xiaoai's calm attitude gave Aunt Liu a shot of confidence. The old lady was obviously much more relaxed. She agreed and hurried home to inform her daughter.
Shi Xiaoai's attitude also eased Cheng Lin's mood. Seeing that there was nothing for him to do outside, he put the salt he bought in the kitchen and returned to the cabin.
Shi Xiaoai looked at the vegetables at home, stuffed the small aluminum pot into Cheng Yang's hand, and said, "You go wash the rice and cook, I'll do something else."
Cheng Yang took the basin and finally couldn't help asking, "Have you figured out a way to deal with it?"
"It hasn't been finalized yet." Shi Xiaoai answered very straightforwardly.
"Let's see what they do first."
Cheng Yang looked at her deeply, said nothing more, and turned around to wash rice.
Shi Xiaoai was not idle either, she went to the warehouse.
After walking around inside, she soon came out with a big bunch of things in her arms.
When she returned to the kitchen, Cheng Yang had already steamed the rice and was cutting radishes for dinner.
Shi Xiaoai put the things on the table and said, "Don't eat the radish. I remember you bought some meat at noon. Take it out and braise it."
Cheng Yang stopped what he was doing.
He bought meat today with the intention of eating it tomorrow.
Cheng Yang will have to report to school in two days, and he wants to have a good meal with his family before leaving.
He was also thinking of taking his wife to buy a bicycle after dinner tomorrow.
But looking at the situation now, it is estimated that all his plans will be ruined.
Cheng Yang didn't say anything, turned around and took out the meat he bought from the cupboard.
Shi Xiaoai saw the large piece of pig fat at a glance, and her eyes lit up: "Did you buy pig fat today?"
"Yeah, we just happened to meet." Cheng Yang replied.
Lard is usually hard to buy, and you really need a bit of luck to come across it.
Looking at such a large piece of lard, the menu in Shi Xiaoai's mind instantly changed again, and a surge of joy surged in her heart.
I just feel like God is helping me.
A smile suddenly appeared on her face, and she seemed to be walking with the wind.
She looked at Cheng Yang and asked, "Can you make oil, the kind that's white and fragrant? If not, I can teach you, or ask Cheng Lin to do it?"
"You teach me." Cheng Yang answered without hesitation.
The time that Cheng Yang can spend alone with his wife like this is becoming less and less, and he cherishes it very much.
At this time, even your younger brother has to stand aside!
Shi Xiaoai didn’t know what Cheng Yang was thinking. At this moment, she just felt that she was full of fighting spirit!
She instructed Cheng Yang to cut the lard into small pieces, told him the trick of refining the oil, and gave him an iron pot, asking him to simmer it slowly aside.
And she started to braise the meat.
Before long, the aroma of the braised meat began to slowly waft around.
Because the Shi family’s newly renovated kitchen is located closest to the courtyard gate, and a new window has been added to the house!
Soon the fragrance spread to everyone in half the alley and could be smelled.
It is the time when every household is having dinner, and some people who work overtime have just returned home.
This strange meaty aroma is so overbearing that no one who smells it will not be attracted to it.
With the smell of meat, all the dishes cooked at home no longer taste good.
Finally, someone couldn't stand it anymore and ran to knock on Xiaoai's window.
The person who came over was Aunt Liu's next-door neighbor, who was usually close to Shi Xiaoai.
The old lady didn't even enter the yard. She knocked on the window in her kitchen that faced the alley and shouted, "Xiao Ai, what delicious food did you make? My grandson is crying at home because he's so greedy!"
Shi Xiaoai quickly opened the window and smiled at the people outside, "Auntie Wang, I braised some vegetables and was just about to send some to the neighbors to try."
As she spoke, she turned around, scooped a braised egg from the pot, put it in a small bowl, opened the door and handed it out.
"Auntie Wang, take this back for Bingbing. We've been building a house for a while and I'm sorry for causing trouble for everyone. Now that the house is finished, I'm busy every day and don't have time to invite everyone to roast the bottom of the pot, so I thought of making some stewed food for the neighbors to try."
Although Aunt Wang spoke loudly when she knocked on the window, she actually didn't mean to take advantage of Xiao Ai's family.
She originally thought that the Shi family's tea stall was going to have some new varieties, and she wanted to try one first, so she even brought fifty cents with her.
But unexpectedly, before the money was spent, someone gave me an egg.
This made her feel embarrassed immediately.
She quickly pushed it away.
But how could Xiao Ai take back what she had already served?
After pushing and refusing for a while, she simply said, "Auntie Wang, please stop pushing. Just consider it as helping us taste it. This is a new variety we will launch at noon tomorrow. If you like it, please come and patronize us more often in the future!"
After hearing this, Aunt Wang did not refuse anymore. She immediately agreed and promised to go to the tea stall to help out at noon tomorrow.
Shi Xiaoai then realized that the neighbors all knew about the tent across the street, and they also knew that it was a competition between the first and second branches of the Shi family!
When Shi Xiaoai returned home, several people in the house had already taken out the various braised dishes and cut them into small pieces according to her request.
Xiao Ai certainly couldn't give whole eggs to other neighbors, but putting two slices of braised meat, a few pieces of kelp, a quarter of a braised egg, a few slices of potatoes, and bean curd sheets in a small bowl...it still looked very rich.
The couple took Cheng Lin to deliver the tea to all the neighbors around them, and also spread the news that their tea stall would be adding new varieties.
Wang Xiaofeng arrived much earlier than usual, and the braised food was not ready yet when she arrived.
It can be seen that the little girl was worried when she first arrived, but when the aroma of the brine wafted out, her expression turned into excitement.
It was obvious that she trusted Shi Xiaoai so much that she didn't even bother to inquire about her next plan.
Xiao Ai was not in a hurry to start work tonight. She called Wang Xiaofeng and Cheng Lin together and held a small meeting with them.
At the meeting, she said, "Today is the 29th, and this month will soon be over. Starting next month, I plan to start paying you. Each person will receive a base salary of 15 yuan per month, and the commission will remain the same, as we agreed upon previously."
Pay wages?
Both of them were dumbfounded.
They originally thought that the sister/sister-in-law held a meeting with them to discuss how to deal with Shi Lao Er's family, but they didn't expect that it was to give them a raise!
Cheng Lin immediately shook his head: "Sister-in-law, no need, I don't want it!"
He eats and lives at home, and his sister-in-law also gives him commission. Cheng Lin is already very grateful. How can he ask his sister-in-law to give him more money?
"I don't want it either." Wang Xiaofeng also expressed her objection.
She was extremely worried before coming here today, fearing that the trouble caused by Shi Laoer's family would have some impact on Sister Xiao Ai's business.
Although her parents still dream of finding her a formal job, Wang Xiaofeng is not interested in that kind of job. If possible, she wants to work with Sister Xiao Ai in the future!
She has only been working for a few days and she has already earned more than 60 yuan, and there will be more in the future!
Wang Xiaofeng is very satisfied with her current monthly salary.
Sister Xiao Ai said that she would pay them wages in the future, but Wang Xiaofeng knew that this money was basically given to her and Cheng Lin for free.
She thought for a moment and said, "Sister, are you afraid of what we might think? Don't worry, I'll definitely follow you in the future. Even if the business encounters temporary difficulties, it's okay. We can just get through it together."
Cheng Lin nodded quickly after hearing this: "Yes, yes, I think so too."
Shi Xiaoai smiled and said, "You're overthinking it. Do you have so little confidence in me? Our business will only get better in the future, it definitely won't get worse, don't worry about that.
The reason I'm giving you a raise is because the variety we offer will change in the future, and your workload will increase. You deserve this pay, based on your work."
When they heard that the supply varieties would change, both of their eyes brightened.
Cheng Lin asked anxiously, "Sister-in-law, what kind of products are we going to add in the future? Is it this braised food? How will it be sold?"
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