You are unlucky and I am tough

Upon entering the restaurant, Sun Youzhi, like many other restaurant owners, looked greedily at the food after glancing at the menu and various new ingredients on the display shelf.

If they can buy these new ingredients from Taibai Tower, they can also make all sorts of new dishes.

Those who have been in business for a long time have a keen eye. After a little observation, it is not difficult to see that Taibai Tower's daily capacity is not enough for the population of the prefecture. Therefore, even if Taibai Tower sells its ingredients to one or two restaurants, it will not affect its business and it can make more money.

It all comes down to which company will get this opportunity. Everyone is racking their brains trying to figure out how to persuade Xie Zhiyou to cooperate.

The front building was full; there were just too many people coming to see the play "The Dream of the Opera." Madam Sun and Sun Miaochun also wanted to see the play but there were no seats available, so they could only choose to sit on the second-floor terrace. That way, they could at least get in and catch a glimpse of the play once it started.

After ordering, Sun Youzhi asked the waiter where Xie Zhiyou was and gave him a tael of silver to invite him over.

The terrace had a great view, and the tables were quickly filled. The corridor connecting to the east building was bustling with people, and the scene was prosperous.

Cheng Shuang and Wei Qinglang came from the corridor of the East Building. They had just escorted the manager of Moxiang Bookstore into a private room and were discussing whether to send a pot of wine or two more servings of pastries after the meal.

As I passed the terrace, I heard a strange, sarcastic shout.

"Yo, who is this?"

Cheng Shuang looked in the direction of the sound with suspicion and saw Madam Sun, with whom she had a conflict not long ago in Chongwen Hall because of a fight between their children. She immediately frowned.

What a disappointment, why did she come?

I remember now, this woman said that the Sun family also owned a restaurant, called Hong something-or-other.

It seems they came as fellow professionals to gather information.

Cheng Shuang wasn't a petty person; she had let the past be the past. However, judging from the other party's tone, it was clear that they were holding a grudge.

Madam Sun held a grudge against Cheng Shuang for making her precious son bow his head and admit his mistake last time. She got up and walked towards Cheng Shuang, saying, "Look at you, a peasant from the village who dares to come to a place like this. Do you know how much money it costs to order a table full of dishes here?"

Wei Qinglang frowned and looked at Cheng Shuang, asking her with her eyes, "Who is this person?"

Cheng Shuang gave him a look that was hard to describe, and then looked at Madam Sun and said, "I haven't ordered it before, so I really don't know."

"I knew you couldn't afford it."

Madam Sun let out a contemptuous laugh. She had been humiliated at Chongwen Hall last time, and it had kept her up at night for several days. Now that she had run into her again, she had to vent her anger.

She sized up Cheng Shuang. "Look at you, all dressed up so flamboyantly. Is that a new outfit? You don't know this place is full of wealthy and powerful people, and you're just hoping to catch the eye of some rich guy by taking a stroll around here, do you?"

Then he glanced at Wei Qinglang and said, "Who is this young master from? Don't be fooled by this woman. She's just a poor farmer from the village."

"Those who farm in the village are all poor scum, so what are you then?" Wei Qinglang retorted unhappily, "A nouveau riche reeking of money? Scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants, agriculture is the foundation of the country. You look down on farmers here because the dishes on the table behind you weren't grown in the ground, or the silk on your clothes appeared out of thin air?"

Cheng Shuang gave Wei Qinglang a knowing look, then retorted defiantly, "Madam Sun, with such a foul mouth, did you eat shit before you left?"

“You…” Madam Sun’s face darkened after being rebuked by the two of them. She pointed at Cheng Shuang and said, “You are indeed a vulgar and poor slut. Do you know where this is? This is Xie’s territory. My Sun family are honored guests of Young Master Xie. If you offend us, we will kick you out and never let you set foot here again.”

"Really?" Cheng Shuang had never encountered a mad dog that pounced on her and started biting before. She sneered, "I'll see if you have the ability to kick me out today."

"What kind of demon are you trying to create now?"

After listening to the argument, Sun Youzhi came over with a stern face and said, "I have important business to discuss with Young Master Xie today. Don't cause trouble on his turf."

Madam Sun immediately glared at him, "Sun Youzhi, who am I doing this for? Do you even know that it was this little hussy's brother who hit Hong'er and forced our Hong'er to apologize?"

Sun Youzhi was protective of his own, and his gaze towards Cheng Shuang turned cold upon hearing this. He only found out about the fight that day when he got home that evening, and he was heartbroken to see his son with a bruised and swollen face.

He had already learned from his wife that the other party was an ordinary family from a village in Huanhua County outside the city. Their parents had died early, and only their older sister took care of their younger siblings.

Madam Sun knew how much her husband doted on their son, so she immediately added fuel to the fire, "I heard from Hong'er that after she went back that time, only one of her two younger brothers was sent back, and the other dropped out of school. They must not be able to afford tuition anymore. Our Hong'er was bullied by such a family. Can you really swallow this insult, sir?"

Sun Youzhi sized up Cheng Shuang. Seeing that she was a frail woman, he didn't want to make things too difficult for her, so he put his hands behind his back and said, "In that case, this lady should apologize to my wife, and we'll let bygones be bygones."

Wei Qinglang, standing beside them, was actually mistaken by the two of them for some young master whom Cheng Shuang had used to attract and flirt with her by relying on her beauty.

Both of them were amused by the situation. Cheng Shuang stopped Wei Qinglang from stepping forward and told her to leave the arguing to her.

"I apologize to you?" Cheng Shuang sneered. "I thought the head of the family would at least be reasonable, but it turns out that the upper beam is crooked and the lower beam is crooked too. People like you want to do business with Taibai Tower? Go home and dream."

"You woman, you refuse to listen to reason and insist on going to the Sun family to make trouble for me?" Sun Youzhi said with a straight face. He thought he was very gentlemanly and only asked Cheng Shuang to apologize. He did not expect her to be so ungrateful.

Cheng Shuang rolled her eyes at him. "Are those two holes on your face for breathing? Didn't you see who pounced on you like a mad dog and started biting?"

"Who are you calling a mad dog?" Ignoring the onlookers at the other tables, Madam Sun rushed forward and raised her hand to hit Cheng Shuang.

Cheng Shuang didn't need Wei Qinglang's help. She grabbed Wei Qinglang's wrist and pushed her, saying, "I'll curse whoever barks the loudest."

Just then, the waiter who had gone to fetch someone returned, followed by Xie Zhiyou, who had seen the commotion from afar and was completely bewildered.

What are you all doing here?

Upon seeing that it was Xie Zhiyou, Sun Youzhi immediately tugged at Madam Sun and gave her a meaningful look.

Madam Sun put away her harsh expression and said with a smile, "It's nothing. We just encountered an ungrateful person. Young Master Xie, you don't need to pay any attention to him. Please sit here."

"Ungrateful wretch?" Xie Zhiyou frowned as he looked at Cheng Shuang and Wei Qinglang. "Brother Wei, Madam Cheng, what's going on?"

Wei Qinglang said, "It's nothing. It's just that this wealthy, upper-class lady, Madam Sun, thinks my wife is too poor to afford the food in the restaurant. She's here to use her looks to snag a rich husband."

Xie Zhiyou was startled. "Why is Madam Sun speaking so rudely?"

Madam Sun's expression changed repeatedly; the man beside her was none other than her husband.

However, what she didn't understand was why Xie Zhiyou sided with that poor wretch, and she anxiously said, "Young Master Xie, don't believe this woman's one-sided story, she..."

"Shut up." Sun Youzhi was very perceptive. He observed Xie Zhiyou's changing expression and realized that his relationship with Cheng Shuang was unusual. He immediately cut off Madam Sun's unfinished words.

Then, he casually and evasively explained why the conflict had occurred, and said with a forced smile, "I was just being short-sighted, please forgive my foolishness, Young Master Xie."

Thinking of giving Xie Zhiyou some face, Madam Sun glared at Cheng Shuang and went back to sit down.

Cheng Shuang ignored her and pulled Wei Qinglang away.

Xie Zhiyou was invited to sit down by Sun Youzhi, who had adopted a humble attitude. After being poured wine, he said that he wanted to cooperate with Taibailou to purchase ingredients that were not available on the market.

"I can't make that decision."

Xie Zhiyou put down his wine glass with a smile. "Mr. Sun, you may not know this, but this Taibai Restaurant is not owned by my Xie family alone. The couple who had a conflict with you just now are the second owners of this restaurant."

He suppressed his schadenfreude, trying not to be too obvious. "The ingredients that Boss Sun wanted were all provided to me by them. If you want to cooperate, you have to talk to them. It's useless to come to me."

Sun Youzhi was dumbfounded. He had just offended someone badly, and now he was finished.

Madam Sun's eyes widened. "What? That little hussy was the owner of Taibai Tower? How could that be? She's just a lowly farmer."

Could it be that the information she found out was wrong?

"Madam Sun, please have some self-respect." Xie Zhiyou's expression darkened.

Sun Youzhi was furious at the thought of the business falling through, and he slapped him, yelling, "Shut your stinking mouth!"

"How dare you hit me?"

Madam Sun covered her face in disbelief, then rushed over and began to struggle with Sun Youzhi.

Upon seeing this, Xie Zhiyou immediately stood up and left without looking back.

Sun Miaochun, who had been sitting across from Xie Zhiyou without saying a word, had a livid face because she saw the disgust on Xie Zhiyou's face.

Seeing his parents arguing and tearing at each other, he felt utterly ashamed and got up to go inside to watch the show.

Lin Zhelan had already taken the stage and started singing inside the building. The lobby and aisles on the first floor were packed with people, and there were even people blocking the doorway outside who couldn't get in. Even if you couldn't see her, just listening to her performance could be a topic of conversation over tea.

When it came to selling ingredients, Cheng Shuang not only rejected the Sun family, but also other restaurants that offered to cooperate.

She has her own preferred partners.

The most important thing for a restaurant is, of course, delicious food and ingredients, but drinks and snacks are also indispensable.

Looking across the entire city, the restaurant that sells the best drinks is Yixianlou.

Its ability to gain a foothold in such fierce competition is all thanks to its alcoholic beverages.

If the owner of Yixianlou comes knocking, there is a collaboration we can discuss with her.

After Cheng Shuang shared her idea, Xie Zhiyou advised her to give it up.

Xie Zhiyou said, "Nie Jiuniang will definitely not come. When she first joined the Chamber of Commerce, she was constantly targeted because of her identity. Her competitors have done countless things to trip her up, both openly and secretly. Therefore, she is very hostile to her competitors and never associates with us."

"Young Master Xie... have you ever tried to trip her up?" Cheng Shuang asked tentatively.

"Of course not." Xie Zhiyou quickly shook his head; only he would do such a thing.

"That's good." Cheng Shuang was relieved. "As for the cooperation, let me think of a solution."