Crossing Over to Yamada Love

"If everything is done properly, it will probably take another half a month or so." Mo Lan kept track of the shop's progress every day, so she knew the timeline.

"It'll be soon. You'll be inviting the village elders for a feast when it opens, right?" Cheng Xiao asked.

“Yes, the clan chief, the village head, the local headman, Mr. Liu, some elders, and your father, Scholar Cheng, but I reckon Scholar Cheng won’t be coming,” Mo Lan said with a smile.

"Can I come?" Cheng Xiao asked, but in his heart he was planning to bring his father over that day to save face for Mo Lan and the others.

"Of course you can. You can come not only that day, but also anytime. However, we will charge you later." Mo Lan joked with a grin.

"Yes, I'll visit often. If you need any help, just let me know." Cheng Xiao took Mo Lan's words seriously and thought to himself that he would visit her often in the future.

"Okay. I'll head back now." Mo Lan turned to leave, but then suddenly stopped and said, "Aren't the chrysanthemums quite pretty?"

"Chrysanthemums? They're alright. I prefer white chrysanthemums. Why are you asking?" Cheng Xiao replied casually.

Haha, Mo Lan was practically bursting with laughter inside. This idiot.

"And what about the dark chrysanthemums?" Her smile was somewhat teasing.

"Black? I've never seen black before. Black Chrysanthemum? Black Chrysanthemum! Could it be you...?" Cheng Xiao seemed to understand something, her face turning slightly red. She quickly added, "I just bumped into her that day, we exchanged a few words, and then we met again here today. I don't know how it happened so coincidentally. I rushed back. What does it matter to me whether she's pretty or not?"

Mo Lan smiled. The boys here were quite innocent. She was just teasing him; seeing his blushing face was really amusing.

"Alright, alright, I'm really leaving. You should go back too." Mo Lan waved to him, no longer joking with him, afraid that things would get out of hand and it would be difficult to handle later.

Cheng Xiao stood there watching the receding figure.

Several days passed in this way. On this particular day, Mo Lan and the others steamed a lot of buns, so they arrived a little late. This was because the craftsmen no longer brought their own food and ate all their buns, so the number of buns they steamed at noon was increasing.

The three of them had just arrived at the place when they looked ahead and were immediately dumbfounded. What was that in front of them?

There was a cart parked there, with a wooden box and a large wooden barrel on it, and like them, bowls and chopsticks. Two people were busy working behind the cart.

Mo Lan recognized the two men. The woman was Aunt Erdan, whom Mo Lan had met the first time she entered the town, and the man was her husband, Liu Erdan.

Mo Lan looked over and saw that Aunt Erdan was serving soup to people, while Liu Erdan was picking out steamed buns for people, both wrapped in lettuce leaves. They had also come here to sell steamed buns, using the same ingredients. It seemed that they had figured out her business.

As soon as Mo Quan finished parking his car, many people came up to him and said:

"Uncle Mo, why are you late today?"

"Uncle Mo, other people's steamed buns sell for three coins for two, shouldn't you lower your price to two coins each?"

"Uncle, can you sell them for three coins each? I'll buy from you."

…………

Many voices came from the crowd. Mo Lan frowned. She had no objection to selling steamed buns here; this business couldn't be hers to monopolize forever. However, using price as a weapon to compete was somewhat unfair. If you lower your price today, and she lowers hers tomorrow, in the end, you'll lose everything.

"Uncles and sirs, you can buy from any store, as long as you can have a full lunch and have the energy to work. We really can't afford to sell our buns for three coins each. Please try the buns first before you decide," Mo Lan cleared her throat and called out to the crowd.

"Okay, I'll go buy it over there first. Just let me know when you're selling it."

"Everyone else can sell them, but they can't. They're clearly trying to make more money. Let's go buy some from over there."

"Exactly, I won't buy from her anymore."

Many people rushed over to buy, while a few stayed behind to buy steamed buns from Mo Lan's shop.

"Uncle Mo, give me a bowl of soup." A man bought three steamed buns and handed over 7 coins.

"Okay, I'll serve you right away." Mo Lan took the large sum of money. Mo Mei opened the bucket lid.

"Hey, this soup isn't made from pork bones, why is it a bit yellow? But it smells pretty good though." The man asked curiously, looking at the bucket of soup.

"Today I'm making chicken soup. It's been simmering for several hours. Besides vegetables, it also contains chicken. We're worried that everyone will get tired of drinking bone broth every day, so we need to change things up a bit," Mo Lan explained to the people.

Mo Mei cooperated and, following Mo Lan's instructions, scooped a finely shredded piece of chicken from the bucket and placed it in a bowl.

"Chicken soup is very nourishing, and this penny is just right." The man was quite happy and took two sips of the chicken soup.

Many people started asking for soup, but far fewer people were buying steamed buns.

After settling the food and buns for Steward Qin and Steward Zhang, Mo Lan began to carefully examine the craftsmen.

Many people bought steamed buns from Liu Erdan and his wife, but after they started eating, they became much quieter. They also ate their buns much slower than they would have at their stall.

"Hey buddy, what kind of meat do you use for these buns? Why don't they smell as good as other people's?" After taking a couple of bites of a bun, a burly man finally couldn't help but ask Liu Erdan.

"Brother, what are you saying? Our buns are made with good meat, unlike those black-hearted vendors who use rotten meat to cheat people. You don't know how unscrupulous those people are, using rotten meat and selling it at such a high price. Isn't that just blatantly making dirty money? We couldn't stand it anymore, so we steamed buns to sell, just in case you guys get sick from eating them." Aunt Erdan glanced at Mo Lan and started talking.

"No way, their steamed buns look pretty clean to me. I've been eating them for days and nothing's happened. Besides, their steamed buns smell much better than yours." The burly man who asked the question seemed a bit skeptical.

"How could I lie to you? They said they used rotten meat, it was their own family who said it, it was that little girl's aunt herself. The recipe for our steamed buns was given by her aunt. If we make money, her aunt will get a share too. How could I lie to you?" Aunt Erdan was afraid that people wouldn't believe her, so she brought up a witness.

"Let's go find them and teach them a lesson for their shady business practices. Let's smash their car and see them make money off them!" A dark-faced man shouted from the crowd as he approached Mo Lan and the others.

"No way, the Mo family's steamed buns are really delicious. I was thinking of buying two more after I finished eating these. The ones here aren't as good as theirs."

Many people didn't believe it in their hearts, but that didn't mean they couldn't come and see what was going on. They talked about it and followed along.

"Old Mo, explain yourself! How can you try to fool us with rotten meat? If we get sick from eating it, how are you going to compensate us? How can you be so heartless? If you don't explain yourself, I'll smash your car today and see if you dare to make dirty money again!" The burly, dark-faced man started yelling as soon as he approached. He even raised his fist as he yelled.

Mo Lan rushed forward and shouted, "You dare!"

"Get out of my way, you little brat! I won't stand up to you. Otherwise, I'll beat you up too!" The burly, dark-faced man waved his fist, trying to scare Mo Lan.

“Brother, we’ve used only the best meat, don’t listen to what people say. We’re all honest people. Besides, Lanlan is just a child, how can you scare her like that? If you have a problem, come at me.” Mo Quan rushed out and pulled Mo Lan behind him. He wasn’t good with words, so he could only explain in what he thought was appropriate.

In fact, Mo Lan had already overheard Aunt Erdan's words and knew that they were jealous of her family and had colluded with Cui Shi to steal her business. Stealing business wasn't enough; they wanted to ruin her business as well. She looked at the somewhat agitated burly man and her somewhat helpless sister. She stepped out from behind Mo Lan and shouted, "Stop! Listen to me!"

Everyone was startled by her shrill voice and stopped to look at her.

"Uncle, you need to have evidence to back up your words. Even the county magistrate needs evidence to make a judgment! What makes you think the meat my family uses is bad?" Mo Lan asked the burly man with the dark face without any panic, completely ignoring his fists.

"That's what the steamed bun seller said, what evidence do you need?" The dark-faced man was obviously an impulsive person. After hearing Mo Lan's words, he directly pointed the finger at Aunt Erdan.

"Uncle, you believe everything they say? What if I told you their steamed buns are made of cat meat? Would you believe me?" Mo Lan asked calmly without making a fuss.

"This, this, how could this be cat meat?" The burly, dark-faced man stammered.

"How dare you talk like that, you brat! Whose cat meat are you calling? Explain yourself, or I'll never forgive you!" Aunt Erdan was furious when she heard Mo Lan's words. She rushed over, stood in front of Mo Lan, and shouted at her.

"Why are you in such a hurry? Can't I even speak? You can call my meat rotten, but I can't? That's ridiculous." Mo Lan wasn't afraid of her and retorted.

"Saying your family is rotten meat is something your own family members said. How could family members be lying?" Aunt Erdan curled her lip, speaking with obvious schadenfreude.

“My family? My grandparents? My parents? My uncle and aunt? My sister? My brother? And the mistress?” Mo Lan said a name, and Aunt Erdan shook her head. Mo Lan frowned and said again, “Did I say that myself? How could I say such a thing? My family is clearly the good meat.”

Seeing her conflicted expression, everyone burst into laughter; this girl was quite amusing. Her expressions were so rich, it was as if her little face could speak.

“It’s your third aunt. She’s a member of the Mo family. She wouldn’t lie, would she?” Aunt Erdan couldn’t stand it anymore and brought up Cui Shi directly.

"Oh," Mo Lan drawled out the last syllable.

"Now you have nothing to say, right?" Aunt Erdan smiled smugly.

"Aunt Erdan, you're getting old." Mo Lan said this out of the blue, leaving people confused about its meaning.

"You brat, how dare you say I'm old! I'll tear your mouth apart!" Aunt Erdan's eyes widened in anger, and she rolled up her sleeves, ready to strike.