Chapter 158: Stealing Business

Early the next morning, the Xia family’s carriage arrived at the village and hauled away the second batch of goods.

Qin Huiyin and the others still had to rush to finish the rest. Even though she had hired several helpers this time, they were still short by half.

Next door, the Zhang family was brimming with festive joy. Having borrowed Third Master Tang’s ox cart, they set off with numerous packages of betrothal gifts. They planned to pick up the bride from the Xiao family the very next day, as soon as the Xiao family gave their consent.

After a busy day of work, Qin Huiyin and the others saw the Zhang family members returning with the ox cart in the afternoon. Zhang Erzuo’s face was wreathed in smiles, clearly indicating that the Xiao family had not made things difficult for him this time.

Having been through the ordeal with Zhang Lei, the Xiao family was worried that the trouble Zhang Lei caused might come back to haunt them again. Marrying their daughter off early at this juncture was the safest course of action.

The Zhang family began decorating the bridal chamber.

Villagers also came over to help clean the courtyard, packing away the carpentry tools so there would be enough space for tables.

Grandma Zhang showed up again, but no sooner had she arrived than Pang marched right up to her, fixing the old woman with an icy stare. "You are no mother-in-law of mine. If I beat you, not a single person would dare say a word."

Relying on her seniority, Grandma Zhang scoffed, "You wouldn't dare! Go ahead, hit me, hit me..."

*Crack!* Pang struck her across the face with a resounding slap.

"I've lived to this age, and this is the first time I've ever heard someone actively make such a request. I certainly learned something new today." Pang blew on her palm. "You didn't ask around, did you? I raised Mingrong all by myself; there isn't a single kind of person I haven't dealt with. Old woman, I don't possess any fine virtues about respecting the elderly or cherishing the young. Your little tricks are useless on me. If you don't leave right now, I'll throw you out myself."

"You... Heavens! A daughter-in-law is using her own family to beat her mother-in-law! Is there no justice left in this world... I've lived to this ripe old age, only to be slapped across the face by a junior! I won't live anymore..."

Pang sneered, turned around and entered the room, emerging moments later with a cold expression and an axe in her hand. "Allow me to grant your wish."

Grandma Zhang scrambled up with surprising agility and fled at breakneck speed. "You're crazy! You're a madwoman..."

Pang chased after her, hurling the axe in Grandma Zhang's direction.

"Aah..." Grandma Zhang shrieked, dropping to a crouch in sheer terror. She resumed running the moment the axe flew past her. "Goodness, this lunatic is trying to murder someone..."

Watching Grandma Zhang scamper off into the distance, Pang leisurely strolled over to retrieve her axe.

When she returned, she found the members of the Zhang family staring at her with wide, gaping mouths.

Maintaining an expression of utmost normalcy, Pang said, "Rest assured, I am neither crazy nor ill. I simply despise noisy old women. Whoever comes crying and making a fuss in front of me gets chopped."

***

Li Taohua stood under the eaves, laughing so hard that her shoulders shook uncontrollably. Once she caught her breath, she gave a resounding thumbs-up and declared, "I really like your temper. If you ever need anything, just come to me."

With Pang holding down the fort, Grandma Zhang wailed and made a scene at home upon her return, but she never dared to cause trouble at the Zhang household again.

The Zhang family continued decorating the new house and making preparations for tomorrow's bride-welcoming ceremony.

Zhang Erzuo drove the ox cart to town to buy piles of supplies, and also hired the aunties and sisters-in-law in the village who were skilled at cooking to come help prepare the banquet the next day. Following Qin Huiyin's example, they would be paid wages for their labor.

"Sister Huiyin..." Zhang Erzuo sought out Qin Huiyin, who was currently making crab paste.

Qin Huiyin wiped the moisture from her hands and strode over. "Brother Erzuo, is something the matter?"

"Well, are you all heading into town tomorrow?" Zhang Erzuo asked with an embarrassed smile. "I have to go to the Xiao family to welcome the bride tomorrow, and I'll be busy with the wedding banquet, so I won't have time to go into town and invite Brother Ze and the others. Since you're heading in, would you mind calling on Brother Ze and the others and inviting them to my wedding banquet? I know Brother Ze is very busy, but I'd still like to try inviting him, just to see if he might have the time to come."

"I'll look for him tomorrow and pass along the message. As for whether he has the time to drop by, that will be entirely up to him."

"Thank you so much, Sister Huiyin," Zhang Erzuo said, bowing deeply and sincerely.

"Brother Erzuo, what are you doing?" Qin Huiyin hurriedly stopped him. "I'm younger than you; I can't accept such a heavy bow from you."

"You've helped our family so much—you are our great benefactor and esteemed patron. Once I'm married, I have to go right back to the dam, leaving me unable to attend to matters at home. I must ask Sister Huiyin to look after things a bit more in the future. The immense grace you've shown the Zhang family, Zhang Erzuo will keep engraved in my heart forever."

Unaccustomed to receiving such grand formal courtesies from ancient people, and seeing how solemn he was, Qin Huiyin readily agreed.

The next day, Li Taohua and her children still went into town to conduct business.

Even though their household income had increased significantly, making money was addictive. Besides, there was no reason for Qin Huiyin to hand over the culinary empire she had worked so hard to establish on a silver platter.

"Why are there so many fewer customers today?" Li Taohua remarked, looking at the line of customers.

An auntie nearby—the very same woman who had tried to muscle in on Qin Huiyin's business last time only to be rebuffed by Li Taohua—stepped closer and said, "I heard them saying that a new eatery just opened in town, and their dishes are almost identical to yours."

"What do you mean by 'almost identical'?" Qin Huiyin asked.

"It used to be a steamed bun shop, but business must have been poor, so they converted it into an eatery just like yours. They have griddled items, deep-fried items, stir-fries, and even marinated dishes like yours. I haven't seen it myself, but that's what people are saying."

"How utterly shameless, actually copying us!" Li Taohua said indignantly.

***

"Mother, there's no need to be angry. This is something bound to happen," Qin Huiyin said. "Actually, it's already a bit later than I originally anticipated."

"Our business is going to be affected from now on," Li Taohua grumbled, displeased.

"We still have our condiment paste business. We make and sell it fresh right at the stall; observant people can grasp the essence of it after watching a few times, so it's normal for others to imitate us. Seasoning paste is different—ordinary people can't just copy that."

"That's true," Li Taohua said, brightening up again. "And there's also the profit share from Carpenter Zhang's side. Even though we can't collect it right now, once they deliver the goods, we'll rake in a huge sum all at once."

Today's customer volume had dropped by half. After discussing it with her family, Qin Huiyin decided to relocate their stall to try a new spot for a while, and take the opportunity to visit the dam to find Song Ruize and deliver Zhang Erzuo's invitation.

Over at the dam, workers currently on break caught the rich aroma drifting through the air, and their stomachs immediately began to rumble.

"Where is that fragrance coming from?"

"This smell seems a bit familiar."

"I remember now. Isn't this the exact taste of the delicious food Supervisor Song shared with us last time?"

When Song Ruize finished handling matters with the stone-cutting group and returned to the storeroom, he saw several of his subordinates rushing outside. Catching sight of him, Jiang Qibin grabbed his arm and pulled him along.

"The little sister is here! Let's go, let's go take a look, or we'll miss out if we're late."

"What do you mean, miss out?" Hearing that Qin Huiyin had come, a wave of warmth washed over Song Ruize's heart.

As Jiang Qibin dragged Song Ruize out of the dam's entrance, he saw the workers—who had looked utterly miserable just moments before—craning their necks as they formed a queue. That was when he finally understood what Jiang Qibin had meant by "missing out."

"You're all my older brother's friends, so I'll give you a discount. This one is four *wen*, this one is six *wen*, and you can have three skewers of this for one *wen*..." Qin Huiyin's bright, cheerful voice rang out clearly.