I'm dressed up as the timid eldest daughter, and the whole family has to listen to me!

Hearing this, Lin became even more anxious, so she grabbed Su Congxian's arm and whispered:

"I think she's a tough nut to crack. Maybe we should hurry up and leave. If we can't afford to mess with her, we can at least avoid her, right?"

Su Congxian hesitated for a moment before looking at the candied hawthorn in his hand.

"If we leave now, wouldn't all the candied hawthorns we made have been for nothing? Should we even set up our stall tomorrow?"

Lin gently nudged Su Congxian.

"Are you stupid? These candied hawthorns won't spoil even if you leave them for a day. We can just take them out and sell them again tomorrow, right?"

Su Congxian glanced at Lin Shi, and hesitated before speaking:

"That might not be appropriate. Didn't these two cause trouble today because they ate our bad candied hawthorns?"

Seeing this, Lin said impatiently:

"Oh dear, why don't you just stay here and let her have someone arrest you? I'm leaving now!"

As she spoke, Lin picked up her candied hawthorn and strode outside. Seeing this, Su Congxian hurriedly followed, afraid that if he was a step too slow, he would be arrested by the authorities.

The two didn't even bother to take the oxcart and walked all the way back to Sujia Village from Fuping County.

Upon entering, Su Mo noticed that the two had brought back their candied hawthorns as usual, and asked with some confusion:

"It seems like none of these candied hawthorns were sold; they were all brought back."

Lin put the candied hawthorns aside and, panting heavily, cursed:

"It's all because some jinx came to cause trouble today. I was just thinking of scaring her a bit and getting rid of her. Who would have thought she'd be such a tough nut to crack? She actually has relatives in the county government. She even said she was going to the county government to find someone to teach us how to arrest her. How could I just stand there and watch? I immediately grabbed my things and brought your third uncle back."

After saying this, Lin went straight into the house, took a big gulp of water, and then left the courtyard.

"We can sell these candied hawthorns anytime. But if we really get arrested by the county government, who will sell these candied hawthorns in the future?"

Su Mo frowned.

"What's going on? Why is this person going to report us to the authorities for no reason? We're just a small vendor, how did we get involved with people like them?"

Lin tilted her head and glared at Su Congxian.

"I have no idea. This has nothing to do with me. Yesterday, your third uncle sold his son two skewers of candied hawthorns, but the kid's stomach is really uncooperative. After eating the two skewers, he went home and started vomiting and having diarrhea non-stop. Today, his mother brought the kid to the stall to cause trouble. How could I let her have her way? She's ruining my business, so naturally I didn't give her a good look."

As she spoke, Lin shrank back, somewhat regretting her words.

"Who would have thought this would be such a tough nut to crack? Sigh, never mind, it's all bad luck! We can't sell all these candied hawthorns, so your third uncle and I will just sell one more tomorrow! Don't make any more tomorrow!"

Su Mo frowned as she looked at the candied hawthorns beside her.

“These candied hawthorns are made and sold fresh on the same day. If they are left until the next day, they will definitely spoil. Not to mention whether the inside will be rotten or not, the white sugar on the outside will melt. They will be sticky and unpalatable when you eat them. Wouldn’t that be ruining our own reputation?”

As Su Mo was saying this, she prepared to take all the candied hawthorns out to throw away, but Su Congxian, who was standing nearby, immediately stepped forward to stop her.

"Hey, you brat, you really don't know how to spend money, do you? Do you know that just because I spent your money doesn't mean you can waste my candied hawthorns? No way!"

As he spoke, Su Congxian stuffed the candied hawthorn into his arms to prevent Su Mo from moving. Su Mo stomped her feet in anger at this.

"Third Uncle, you're being foolish! We're in this business for the long haul. If you dare sell these candied hawthorns to someone else today, our business will probably fall apart in a few days. You can't be so careless about such a small thing, Third Aunt, what do you say?"

Upon hearing this, Lin glared at Su Mo.

“I say, if you ask me, your third uncle is right. These candied hawthorns won’t spoil even if they’re left out for a day. And the weather is getting cooler now. If we just throw away so many candied hawthorns, I’ll be heartbroken. We’re the ones who paid for them. Of course you won’t feel bad since you didn’t have to spend any money!”

Su Mo couldn't argue with the two of them alone, so she could only sigh helplessly and go inside. It seemed that the candied hawthorn business wouldn't last long. If Lin Shi and Su Congxian continued like this, the business would go out of business in a few days.

Only now did Su Mo understand why Su Banxia was unwilling to partner with Lin Shi and Su Congxian in business. It turned out that doing business not only required business acumen but also a secret recipe. If one were to partner with someone, it would be even more important to find a suitable partner. Otherwise, like herself, she would lose both her wife and her army.

Having wasted time and energy without accomplishing anything, Su Mo now fully understood why partnerships were so difficult to run.

Su Mo lay on the bed looking at the roof beams, reflecting on what she had done these past few days. Su Mo fell into self-doubt again, feeling that she couldn't do anything well or accomplish anything.

In that case, it's no wonder that her mother and father didn't think highly of her or love her. There's a reason why everyone favored Su Banxia.

Su Mo sighed, silently turned over, and fell into a deep sleep.

Su Banxia didn't sell all the candied hawthorns she made that day until evening. Although there were quite a few buyers, she made a lot today. She thought that since it was a new product, it would be good to make more so that everyone could have a taste.

The two new products have received a good response. Everyone wanted to have a second bite after the first one, and nine out of ten people praised how delicious they were. So Su Banxia is very satisfied with her new products. She will continue to research and develop more new products in the future so that she can keep customers coming back for more.

Over time, this becomes a habit, and when people talk about candied hawthorns in the future, no one else can compare to theirs. This is how the business can continue to thrive.

Whatever trouble the Lin family causes, it won't concern me. I just need to focus on doing my own business well. Even if they lower their prices, I won't lower mine, because my quality is what it is.

Just like what happened to the Lin family today, it must be because they cut corners in their production, which is why people got sick. They still want to deny it now, but once their reputation spreads, no one will buy their food anymore, and they won't be able to sell it even if it's cheap.

When Su Banxia led everyone back to the small courtyard on Dwarf Mountain, she saw Aunt Ning, the village head's wife, sitting in the courtyard with her son Mandun'er, waiting for her to return.