Transmigrating to the Song Dynasty: Water Margin Business Management

When Ma Zi saw the old man selling sauce turn to leave, he quickly grabbed him and said, "Grandpa, I'd like to buy some sauce from you, wheat sauce."

The old man glared at him and said, "Why are you buying sauce?"

Ma Zi chuckled and said, "I love shredded pork with sweet bean sauce the most. I want to buy some sauce and make it myself when I get home."

The old man looked at him suspiciously and said, "With your shifty-eyed appearance, you can cook?"

Ma Zi nodded quickly: "Grandpa, don't let my appearance fool you, my cooking skills are excellent, all I need is your good sauce to finish it off!"

The old man selling sauce said, "I have some sauce left over, you can have it all."

Ma Zi's heart skipped a beat. He knew he couldn't just take it for free; how could he get any information out of someone without spending money? So Ma Zi gritted his teeth and said, "No way, sir. Your sauce is so good, I can't just take it for free. I have to pay." After saying that, in order to get things done, Ma Zi had no choice but to spend some of his own money first, taking some cash out of his pocket and handing it over.

Then he started rambling on and on to the old man selling sauce, spitting as he said, "Grandpa, your sauce tastes great, I can help you promote it. Just imagine, if I help you promote it, your sauce will be in high demand and you'll make a fortune!"

The old man selling the sauce curled his lip and said, "Have you eaten it? I told you it tasted good."

Ma Zi hurriedly said, "Grandpa, although I haven't eaten it yet, I can tell from the smell that it's the right one. I don't have any other skills, but I have a keen sense of smell, and I can tell it's good stuff just by smelling it. Trust me, I can really help you sell this sauce very well."

The old man sneered, "Hmph, you? I think you're just trying to make this old man happy and get information out of me, aren't you?"

Ma Zi was startled, but his face remained all smiles: "Sir, what are you saying? I genuinely think your sauce is excellent. Look, I've already paid for it, how could it be fake?"

The old man waved his hand: "Alright, alright, stop trying to fool this old man. I'm just doing a small business, I'm not trying to make a fortune."

Ma Zi said anxiously, "Grandpa, you need to broaden your horizons. With my help, I guarantee you'll live a good life."

The old man grew impatient: "Get out, get out, don't bother me here!"

Ma Zi was stunned for a moment. He didn't expect the old man to be so stubborn. He had spent money and still got a cold shoulder. He was really unlucky.

Ma Zi thought to himself, "Why is this old man selling soy sauce so difficult to deal with? 'Old age without dying is the way of thieves,' and this old man is too cunning, truly a sly old fox." But in order to get information, he suppressed his displeasure and put on a smiling face, saying to the old man, "Grandpa, I really can help you sell this soy sauce. Please trust me this once."

The old man selling soy sauce glanced at him sideways and said, "Then write down a few names for me, so I can recommend them to sell soy sauce as you said."

Upon hearing this, Ma Zi thought to himself, "This is easy." He immediately wrote down the names of Zhang San, Li Er, Wang Wu, and Zhao Liu, and respectfully handed them to the old man selling soy sauce.

The old man selling soy sauce took the piece of paper, shook it, and said, "What's the use of just having these names? Give me their addresses."

Ma Zi secretly groaned, but there was nothing he could do but obediently write down the address again.

The old man selling soy sauce looked at it, but he was still not satisfied. He said, "You have to put your seal on this before I will believe you."

Ma Zi gritted his teeth inwardly, cursing, "I'll deal with you, old man, after I finish this." But on the surface, he still smiled and said, "Alright, sir, I'll sign right away."

After finishing drawing the seal, Ma Zi thought that this should finally work.

Seeing his sinister smile, the old man said, "What? Do you still secretly want to get back at this old man?"

Ma Zi's heart skipped a beat. Could this old man read minds? He quickly put on a smile and said, "No, no, sir, you're judging me by my own standards. My feelings for you are truly sincere."

The old seller snorted and said, "You know perfectly well who the villain is. Don't think I don't know what tricks you're up to."

The man with pockmarks quickly nodded and bowed, "Grandpa, you've really misunderstood me. I only have respect for you, how could I dare to have any other thoughts?"

The old man selling soy sauce glared at him: "Stop talking nonsense. Let me tell you, if you dare to lie to me, you'll be sorry."

Ma Zi wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "No, no, sir, please don't worry."

The old man selling soy sauce then put the paper away and said, "Alright, I'll believe you this time. But if you dare to try anything funny, I won't let you off the hook."

Ma Zi readily agreed, but in his heart he was plotting how to quickly extract useful information from the old man and then make a quick getaway.

The old man selling soy sauce sat on the ground, puffing on his pipe, the smoke obscuring his face. Pockmarked man approached him, his face pleading, and asked, "Grandpa, how's business at this restaurant?"

The old man selling soy sauce snorted, exhaling a puff of smoke from his nostrils, and said, "Can't you tell? It's already closed down."

Ma Zi quickly chimed in, "Yes, yes, but I think Boss Zhao definitely has a way to turn the situation around."

The old man selling soy sauce snorted again, glancing sideways at the pockmarked man, and said, "Him? You said that a few days ago, the tables, chairs, benches, cups, plates, and chopsticks in my restaurant all inexplicably flew up on their own. Could it be some kind of evil spirit?"

Ma Zi quickly chimed in, a look of surprise on his face: "Definitely!"

The old man selling soy sauce continued, "I heard someone gave Manager Zhao a talisman, and it seems to be quite effective."

After hearing this, Ma Zi curled his lip and said, "Am I joking? What kind of strange thing is this?"

The old man selling soy sauce tapped his pipe on the ground, glared at the pockmarked man, and said, "Seeing is believing. I saw it with my own eyes. Would someone my age lie to you?"

Ma Zi quickly smiled apologetically and said, "Sir, I misspoke. Please don't be angry."

He pondered to himself, then asked, "Is this talisman really that useful?"

The old man selling soy sauce said earnestly, "Manager Zhao put this talisman on the back window of the kitchen, and it really worked. Just now, I saw a black mist rush over, and it immediately dissipated."

The pockmarked man's eyes widened in astonishment. He thought to himself that this talisman was so powerful that if he could get his hands on it, he might make a fortune. He then asked, "Sir, do you know where this talisman comes from?"

The old man selling soy sauce glanced at him and said, "How would I know! I'm just a soy sauce seller, and I only happened to see these things."

Unwilling to give up, Ma Zi continued to press, "Grandpa, please think about it again, even just the smallest clue would be helpful."

The old man selling soy sauce grew impatient, stood up, dusted himself off, and said, "I have other things to do, I can't talk to you anymore."

Seeing that the old man was about to leave, Ma Zi hurriedly said, "Grandpa, you go ahead with your work."

Watching the old man selling soy sauce leave, Ma Zi stood there, frowning and deep in thought, trying to figure out how to uncover the secret of the talisman.

Ma Zi stood there for a moment, then muttered to himself, "This is quite important; I need to hurry back and report." With that, he turned and, as if his feet were greased, dashed off. He was faster than a rabbit, shouting as he ran, "I have to hurry, or I'll mess things up!"

The old man selling soy sauce paused for a moment as he watched Zhao Tianming's departing figure, then burst into laughter, the sound echoing through the empty street. He turned and went back into the restaurant, where Zhao Tianming was anxiously awaiting news.

As soon as Zhao Tianming saw him return, he quickly asked, "How did it go?"

The old man selling soy sauce ripped off his beard and took off his clothes, revealing his true identity. It turned out that the old man selling soy sauce was none other than Wu Yong in disguise. He said with a grin, "Manager Zhao, just as I expected, the troublemakers have sent someone to investigate our movements."

Zhao Tianming snorted coldly, his eyes widening like copper bells, a hint of anger flashing in them. He said, "These people have repeatedly opposed me and ruined the restaurant's business. I absolutely cannot let them get away with this!" As he spoke, he waved his fist, looking as if he wanted to devour someone.

Wu Yong, fanning himself, said slowly, "Manager Zhao, don't be impatient. Now that they're here, let's lure them into our carefully designed trap."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Tianming perked up and said, "Master Wu, please tell me quickly, how does this trap work?"

Wu Yong smiled mysteriously and said, "Let's trap them like turtles in a jar. Set up some traps in the restaurant, and once they come in, they won't leave alive."

At this moment, Li Kui couldn't help but interject, "Once we catch these bastards, we'll beat them all to a pulp, then make them sign confessions and send them all to the government office!" After saying that, he even made a few gestures with his fists and feet, almost overturning the table next to him.

Zhao Tianming glared at Li Kui and said, "All you know is fighting and killing. We need to outsmart you, don't you understand?"

Li Kui scratched his head and smiled sheepishly: "Shopkeeper, I was just so angry."

Wu Yong continued, "Let's do this first, and then do that..." He spoke eloquently, and Zhao Tianming and Li Kui listened with wide eyes, nodding repeatedly.

Zhao Tianming slapped his thigh and said, "Alright, let's do as Wu Xuejiu says. This time, we'll definitely teach them a lesson!"

The restaurant was instantly filled with a tense yet exciting atmosphere, as everyone waited to see how the bad guys would fall into their trap.

After Ma Zi rushed back to report the news, Yin Tianxi and Gao Lian immediately gathered together to discuss countermeasures.

Yin Tianxi frowned and paced back and forth, saying, "This talisman seems to be the key; we must get our hands on it."

Gao Lian chimed in, "That's right. With this talisman, Zhao Tianming has lost his support."

At this point, they decided to send Zhang San, along with Li Er, Ma Zi, Wang Wu, and Zhao Liu, to steal the talisman.

Zhang San muttered reluctantly, "Will this work? What if we get caught?"

Ma Zi patted his chest and said, "What are you afraid of? We'll act under the cover of night. If we're careful, we'll definitely succeed."

Wang Wu nodded in agreement: "That's right, fortune favors the bold, let's do it!"

Zhao Liu said somewhat timidly, "I...I'm a little scared."

Li Er glared at him: "Look at your pathetic self, you better pull yourself together!"

Despite their apprehension, these individuals, urged on by Yin Tianxi and Gao Lian, gritted their teeth and prepared to steal the talisman.