My sister became the empress, but I'm still growing vegetables and raising chickens

Manager Hu had inquired about it and found out that the Si family's food store was rented and not owned by the Si family, so even if it burned down, it would not have much impact on the Si family. It would just mean paying compensation to the owner and affecting the business for a few days.

But his purpose in doing this was not to wipe out the Si family immediately, but to make the Si family submit.

After all, he had tried his best to make the base of spicy hot pot and fragrant hot pot many times, but he couldn't make it taste like the Si family's.

As long as he takes action this time, the Si family will know that they can't compete with Fumanlou at all. Will they still agree to hand over the method of making the base and dipping sauce to him?

Thinking of this, Shopkeeper Hu felt a little proud.

"Oh no, oh no, something's wrong, Manager Hu." The waiter ran in hurriedly, panting with exhaustion.

Shopkeeper Hu's face darkened. "What's going on? I asked you to find out why Mr. Shen canceled his reservation today. Why are you running back in such a hurry?"

The waiter hurriedly said, "Boss, I did go and ask around, and I found out that Mr. Shen didn't cancel the dinner because of something else, but went to another place, to the Eight Immortals Restaurant."

Baxianlou is also a famous restaurant in Lingnan, and it is a century-old brand. It is usually the biggest rival of Fumanlou.

Now that this old customer had gone to his rival, how could Shopkeeper Hu not be furious? He slammed his hand on the table and said, "What's wrong with Mr. Shen? How could he be like this out of the blue? Have you ever heard of it?"

The waiter said, "I didn't see Mr. Shen, I only saw his entourage. They said... our Fu Man Lou's reputation is tarnished, so he doesn't dare to come and eat..."

"Bad reputation? What does that mean?"

The waiter continued, "I didn't know at first, so I went to ask the other two guests who had canceled their private rooms and found out they had the same reason. Then I went outside to ask around, and I heard, I heard..."

"Oh, what did you hear? Tell me quickly." Shopkeeper Hu was very anxious.

This is because although Fumanlou is a large restaurant with branches in Lingnan City and various counties, the Fumanlou in Fenghuang County has the most prosperous business, which is naturally inseparable from the painstaking management of the shopkeeper Hu.

It was also Fumanlou in Fenghuang County that brought up the reputation of Fumanlou.

It can be said that although the Fumanlou in Fenghuang County is not the first store, it is the most praised one.

Now, the Fumanlou in Fenghuang County has actually been rumored to have a bad reputation. That is a big deal.

The waiter paused before saying, "They say the ingredients used in Fu Man Lou are not fresh, and... not clean either."

"Bullshit! Who spread that rumor?" Shopkeeper Hu was furious. "How dare we at Fu Man Lou use stale food?"

The waiter said aggrievedly, "That's what I thought, but those people said that Fu Man Lou is a big bully, bullying many customers and making them unable to taste the food. Not to mention using ingredients that have been sitting for a few days, there are rats running around in the kitchen, and the whole place is full of dirty water..."

Shopkeeper Hu was furious: "If the ingredients at our Fu Man Lou are not fresh, then no restaurant in Fenghuang County will have fresh ingredients."

This was the truth. To protect their customers, Fu Man Lou was very selective in their food selection, with freshness being paramount. Even the fish, if they couldn't get fresh, would rather not sell it than pass it off as good quality.

"Besides, what about rats and sewage? Who doesn't cook it?" Shopkeeper Hu was so angry that his eyes widened. "Besides, if we're not good, how can the Eight Immortals Restaurant be any good?"

Shopkeeper Hu felt that this must be a trick devised by the Eight Immortals House to deal with them deliberately.

But the person in charge of his work shook his head and said, "Manager Hu, I don't think it can be the Eight Immortals Restaurant."

"Why?"

The manager said, "Baxianlou is similar to our Fumanlou. Slandering Fumanlou won't attract many customers. After all, when customers hear that Fumanlou isn't clean, they'll probably think other restaurants aren't very clean either."

"But if guests want to dine out, they have to choose a restaurant. If they don't come to Fu Man Lou, they will go to Ba Xian Lou or other restaurants."

"But that's a strategy that hurts the enemy by a thousand and hurts yourself by eight hundred." The manager turned to the waiter and asked, "Have you been to the Eight Immortals Restaurant? I wonder how business is going there today?"

The waiter thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Not really. The place used to be packed with guests, but today, almost half the number is gone."

"If it's not the Eight Immortals Tower, who could be so wicked?"

The manager said, "Let's not worry about who's being so wicked. These things aren't true. Let's quickly issue a notice and tell everyone that we at Fu Man Lou wouldn't dare to cheat in the slightest. Also, have some trusted patrons come over and help spread the word. Once the rumors die down, everything will be fine."

Shopkeeper Hu nodded and gave orders, asking people to do as the boss said.

But he was not the type to give up easily, so he quickly sent someone to investigate, only to discover that the person behind the scenes was the Xu family, which had nothing to do with Fumanlou.

"Why would the Xu family attack us when they're doing nothing? Could it be that they're planning to start a catering business as well?"

The Xu family sold jewelry, cloth, and precious jade. They were said to be a major merchant family in Kyoto, but they had only recently moved to Lingnan and opened a few shops, so they weren't particularly prominent.

The manager shook his head. "But if you want to run a restaurant business, you shouldn't start out with such shady tactics. Could it be that there's some conflict between the boss and the Xu family?"

While the two were guessing, the waiter whispered, "Boss, it looks like the Si Family Food Shop on East Street. Is it from the Xu family?"

"The Xu family rents to the Si family?" Shopkeeper Hu was stunned. "So the Xu family is doing this to help the Si family?"

After discussing it, several people felt that this was the most likely possibility.

Shopkeeper Hu gnashed his teeth and said, "The Si family is really powerful. They even asked the Xu family for help. I can't touch the Xu family, but how can I not touch the small Si family?"

The person in charge hurriedly said, "Since the Xu family is willing to step forward, it's very likely that they are our people. When we went to the Si family to scout the area, we were discovered by the Xu family. Let's not do the oilcloth and flint thing for now."

Shopkeeper Hu's eyes were gloomy: "Then I will fight back!"

The tit-for-tat approach was used very quickly. Within two days, two big men were encountered in the Si family restaurant. They said that they found something dirty in the food.

The younger sister was a little panicked now. She was quick to react and immediately understood. Her face turned pale as she grabbed her second sister's hand and said, "They've come back for revenge."

"Revenge? What revenge?"

The two big men at the door yelled, "Did you see that? Bugs this big were just eaten from the hot pot. This shows how unclean their kitchen is!"