Traveling through time and space to become a child, supporting the family by catching fish and shrim

"Bear paw? The Ma family is really willing to give it away."

As a witness and participant of the events that night, Tang Kewei, the owner of Tang's Cloth Shop, couldn't help but sigh after seeing the bear paw placed in front of him.

Bear paws are one of the delicacies and must be ordered in advance if you want to eat them. Tonight, there are at least twenty tables set up in Tingxue Tower, which means twenty bear paws.

It is true that the cost of the banquet was raised by the cloth merchants, but the Ma family's connections and means to get so many bear paws are still impressive.

After tasting a piece of bear paw, Tang Kewei turned to a shopkeeper beside him and asked, "Who do you think will win tonight?"

The shopkeeper whispered, "From the perspective of what's most beneficial to us, it would naturally be best if either the Min family or the Xu family wins."

"But I think Chen Lang... seems to have absolutely no interest in this campaign. From the opening to now, he hasn't even glanced towards the center of the lobby. He's been eating the entire time."

"As for the Min family father and son, they are calm and composed, and they seem to have a plan in mind. It seems that they are fully confident."

"But the Lai family is no pushover either. They've been the imperial merchants for so many years, so they must have some hidden tricks up their sleeve."

Tang's Cloth Shop is located in Linshui. It is a small to medium-sized cloth merchant, but they have one advantage, which is that they are very independent. Unlike other small and medium-sized cloth merchants, they do not rely on the Min family or other large cloth merchants.

From this point of view, Xu's cloth shop becoming the imperial merchant was the most advantageous for them, as both parties could carry out relatively independent cooperation. If it were the Min family, however, they would most likely become a subordinate merchant if they wanted to obtain a portion of the "cloth" orders from them, which was contrary to the Tang family's long-standing business strategy.

But why does Chen Lang look like it has nothing to do with him?

The shopkeeper sighed and said, "Young Master Chen is considered a leader in the wine business. But he's really no match for the cloth business. After Xu Mengru was assassinated, although the Xu Cloth Shop advertised its ambition to become a royal merchant, everything Young Master Chen did was completely contrary to what it meant to be a royal merchant."

Tang Kewei thought for a moment and said, "Do you think this is possible?"

The shopkeeper asked, "What?"

"A trick," Tang Kewei mused. "Master Chen is deliberately putting on this act to lull everyone into a trance, letting them down their guard. Then, tonight, he'll make a grand entrance and take down the Imperial Merchant in one fell swoop?"

The shopkeeper smiled helplessly and said, "Boss, do you believe this?"

Tang Kewei looked at Chen Lang again and found that the plate of bear paws in front of him had been eaten up.

"Mr. Chen, you are here for the banquet." Tang Kewei shook his head and smiled bitterly.

At this time, the voice of the weaving and dyeing official was heard in the center of the lobby.

"Please welcome Lai's Cloth Shop."

The atmosphere at the scene suddenly became tense. Everyone stopped talking and looked towards the center of the lobby.

Even Chen Lang put down his chopsticks.

Lai Han hugged Qingcheng, smiled at everyone around him, and showed no intention of getting up.

A steward beside him walked slowly onto the stage, holding an exquisite box in both hands.

The box was opened, and the steward picked up the two corners of the cloth with both hands and lifted it up.

A piece of festive red cloth appeared in front of everyone.

"hiss!"

There was a sound of people gasping for breath at the scene.

Then the small and medium-sized merchants hurriedly turned their attention to Chen Lang and the Min father and son.

The Min family's father and son were whispering something.

Chen Lang...is still eating!

"Is Chen Lang a good-for-nothing?"

"Does this mean you don't care, or do you just vote?"

"Of course they voted. The soul of Xu's Cloth Shop is Xu Mengru. If she falls, what else can Xu's Cloth Shop use to fight for it?"

"You made such a fuss before, but it was all just a joke?"

"You know Chen Lang's style of doing things. He likes to do things like this. The "Shui Tiao Ge Tou" hanging in Guhong Tower, and the huge advertisement hung on the city wall before, all show that this person likes to make a big fuss."

"But a cloth business is different from a winery. You can create a big show, but if you don't have a backup plan, it will just become a joke."

"I hope the Min family can step forward. The red cloth of the Lai family, whether dyeing, weaving, or embroidery, is too exquisite. This year, Linshui is the first independent election venue, and we can't end up making wedding dresses for outsiders."

Lai Han was very pleased to see the anxious look of the Linshui cloth merchants.

Do these idiots really think that the Lai family has been the royal merchant for all these years just because of the Lu family of Fanyang?

Without some real skills, you can't hold on to the thighs of others.

What's more, coming to Linshui to compete for the title of Imperial Merchant has another important meaning, which is that no mistakes are allowed.

Thinking of this, Lai Han looked at Chen Lang.

Then he burped and picked his teeth slowly.

The smile on Lai Han's face froze instantly.

"I want to see what you have prepared!" Lai Han said gritting his teeth.

After the Lai family's cloth appreciation was over, an official from the weaving and dyeing department came on stage and said, "Next, we would like to welcome the Min family cloth shop."

As soon as these words came out, everyone was in an uproar.

This order of appearance is wrong.

The Min family is Linshui's ace cloth merchant. According to normal logic, he should be the last to appear, because this is in line with the Min family's identity.

Even though Xu's Cloth Shop has a great figure like Xu Mengru, she can only be regarded as a rising star in Linshui. Why should she be the finale?

Min Qingshu ignored the puzzled looks from others and walked towards the stage holding a brocade box.

Lai Han's expression changed again, and he looked at Jiang Bin beside him: "What's going on? Didn't you say that the Min family would be the finale tonight?"

Jiang Bin shook his head: "I don't know about that either."

"The Min family has lowered their status to be the second to last to appear. Could it be that they are teaming up with Chen Lang to deal with the young master first?"

Lai Han said, "Humph, no matter how powerful the cloth merchants in Linshui are, how powerful can they be?"

"If it's really as you say, I'd like to see what these two families can come up with together...what can they do?"

Before he finished speaking, a piece of dark green silk suddenly unfolded before everyone's eyes.

If the red color of the Lai family shocked everyone present, then the dark green color of the Min family shocked everyone.

Tang Kewei even stood up and rubbed his eyes hard, fearing that he was dazzled and had misjudged the color of the fabric.

Lai Han's expression became uncertain, and after a moment, it turned pale.

"This place has suddenly changed. Is it going to become my burial place?"

On the stage, Min Qingshu introduced his own fabrics while secretly observing Chen Lang's reaction.

However, Chen Lang's reaction was... no reaction.

It was as if he had never seen this piece of cloth before.