The merchant's rebirth led to the complete downfall of the Marquis's mansion.

Liu and Jiang Xiaoxiao hadn't gone out, so they were unaware of what was happening outside.

But secrets don't stay hidden forever. The old woman who served Liu overheard something outside and said that Jiang Liu had opened a shop that ran into Qin Yao and had now lost all his capital.

He then whispered a few words to Liu, and that's when Liu found out.

Having already accumulated very little wealth, Liu couldn't bear such words and immediately dragged Jiang Xiaoxiao to check on the situation.

Without a carriage, the two had to walk. When they arrived and saw the magnificent shop, they still felt that the old woman was wrong.

With such a good location, there's no way they'd lose money.

Upon entering, both of them were startled by the cold and deserted lobby.

"Would you two like some hot pot?" The waiter came over to greet them observantly, not caring about their expressions.

It's been so long since we've had any business. We'll take whoever we can get in, and rip off whoever we can, right?

"Where's Jiang Liu? Bring him out here!" Liu ignored him and just wanted to get to the bottom of things with Jiang Liu.

"Well... Madam, our boss isn't here. You can just tell me if you want to eat!"

As he spoke, the waiter tried to lead the two inside.

After thinking for a moment, Liu decided to wait and see what happened.

"Let's go upstairs and get a private room."

"Alright!" The waiter was delighted and led them upstairs.

After settling into the private room, the waiter brought out the menu. Jiang Xiaoxiao took a look at it and listened to the waiter's explanation, finding it quite novel.

After ordering, Jiang Xiaoxiao looked around curiously.

"Mother, this store looks good! How could it be losing money? I really like it."

Of course, Liu could see that. As for losing money, wouldn't it be a loss if no one came?

The fire gradually picked up, the broth in the pot boiled, and the two began to add the vegetables as instructed by the waiter.

Who are Liu Shi and Jiang Xiaoxiao?

Even though the Marquis's mansion was in decline, it still had some influence. With Qin Yao's support, what delicious food hadn't the two of them eaten?

They'll know whether the food in their mouths tastes right or not after just one bite.

"Pah!" Jiang Xiaoxiao spat it out.

"It's so salty, and it even tastes sour! What is this?!"

Liu put down her chopsticks and spat the food in her mouth to the side.

The staff had long since slipped away, and the women looked at the empty room, their anger finding no outlet.

The soup in the pot was still emitting a fragrant aroma, but the two of them had lost their appetite.

"Let's go!" Liu stood up.

The two women opened the door and went downstairs. The shopkeeper was not surprised. Before they could even say that the food was bad, the shopkeeper had already started clicking the abacus beads a few times.

"Two guests, that's twenty taels of silver in total."

"What?" Jiang Xiaoxiao exclaimed.

This is their own shop, and they still want to charge them? Twenty taels of silver!

Twenty taels?! Are you robbing me?!

How could Jiang Xiaoxiao possibly tolerate this?

"Do you even know who we are? How dare you ask us for money?!"

"Hmph!" The shopkeeper snorted and clapped his hands. Several shop assistants came out and stood behind Liu and her husband.

Liu shouted loudly, stopping them from getting closer.

"What are you trying to do! Let me tell you, this is our family business! You all work for me! How dare you disobey us!"

Liu only had one nanny by her side, and Jiang Xiaoxiao didn't bring any maids. At this moment, they could be said to be outnumbered and outmatched, and could only put on a show of force.

But what kind of person is the shopkeeper? With no business for so many days and the boss unable to pay wages, shouldn't he think about his own interests?

He'd finally found a sucker; how could he let her go just because of a few words?

"Your shop?" The shopkeeper clicked his tongue twice. "Pay up or get beaten up, you'd better think about it?"

Seeing that he wasn't joking, Liu became anxious. "This really is my family's business, Jiang Liu! Jiang Liu is my family's steward! Tell him to come over! You'll know once he's here!"

Jiang Xiaoxiao watched as several shop assistants surrounded her, already holding the old woman in front of them, too frightened to speak.

Although this place is indeed her home, but... what if? Fists and kicks don't have eyes, what if she gets hurt?

"Stop arguing! Fine, let's give them a beating first!" As soon as the shopkeeper finished speaking, several waiters came over, fists waving.

Tools are unnecessary when dealing with three women.

"Wait a moment!"

With the fist right in front of her, Liu had no choice but to yell for a stop.

"Then pay up!" the shopkeeper said sarcastically from across the counter.

He had observed these three people as soon as they came in. They had no carriage, and their clothes were out of season. Although the material was not bad, they looked like they had been there for a while.

I immediately judged that these people had some money, but their families were in decline and they were certainly unwilling to give more. Twenty taels was about the right price.

We're not so badly unable to afford it, nor will we let them resort to desperate measures.

"Mother?" Jiang Xiaoxiao looked at Liu Shi.

They didn't bring any money with them when they went out, and... they couldn't possibly give that much money!

Liu knew perfectly well that if they didn't give it to them, they obviously wouldn't be able to leave unscathed.

Liu took off the hairpin from her head and then took the hairpin from Jiang Xiaoxiao's head, and asked the nanny to take it over.

"I left in a hurry and didn't bring any money, so these two pieces of jewelry will be used to pay for the meal."

The old woman put the things down and said with a smile.

The shopkeeper weighed the two pieces of jewelry in his hand, then put on a smiling face again and winked at the surrounding shop assistants, signaling them to step back.

"See you off, our two guests. Welcome back next time!"

The three of them were then able to leave the house safely.

Turning back to look at the "Immortal Hot Pot" sign, Jiang Xiaoxiao stomped her foot and said angrily:

"This Jiang Liu, I don't know what he's doing, he actually hired a bunch of bandits, is he running a black market inn? And he's even trying to extort money from us!"

"Mother! We can't let him get away with this!"

Liu was just as angry as Jiang Xiaoxiao. If Jiang Liu were next to her right now, she would have loved to slap him immediately.

But he wasn't there! The staff inside were still watching them. Liu didn't want to be arrested again, so she could only pull Jiang Xiaoxiao away first.

"Let's go! Let's check out the Qin family's shop!"

They came out this time to compare the two companies.

It's okay if you run into another store; the one that's worse off is the one who's afraid.

The "divine pot"...it doesn't seem like a good thing. Liu's heart tightened, and she was filled with unease the whole way.

When Liu arrived at the Qin family's shop and saw the bustling scene, her heart sank to the bottom.

Just standing outside the shop, you can smell the aroma wafting out and hear the customers' praises. You don't even need to taste it to know from their satisfied voices that it must be very delicious.

"Mother!" Jiang Xiaoxiao hadn't had any delicious food in a long time, and now her cravings were piqued. She shook Liu's arm, her meaning quite clear.

Liu was the same. She originally wanted to have a great meal at Jiang Liu's restaurant, but it turned out to be terrible. Now, she has no resistance to delicious food!

Gritting their teeth, Liu and Jiang Xiaoxiao went inside.

The old woman was surprised that they actually went inside, so she quickly followed and whispered a reminder to Liu.

"Madam, we have no money!"

They just used jewelry as collateral! How are they going to eat now?

"Go and keep watch over there. When Jiang Liu returns, have him come and pick us up!"

After saying that, Liu took her daughter's hand and went inside.

The old woman behind them looked bitter. She knew better than anyone how poor the Jiang family was that even Changwu had stayed home to work.

The old woman had no choice but to do as she was told, hoping that Jiang Liu would return soon.