The wicked mother-in-law doesn't try to whitewash herself; she only abuses her awful children.

Chapter 23 Opening
"I've been queuing for ages, why won't they sell me my mung bean cake?"

"It's not that we're not selling anymore, it's that we're out of stock. You can either come back this afternoon or buy other pastries."

"What do you mean there's nothing left? Who are you trying to fool? There were clearly two boxes left, I saw it clearly, and you took them inside."

"What's all the noise about? I said we don't have any, and that's final. Are you going to buy any other pastries or not? If not, don't block the way and delay the people behind you from buying them."

The sound of arguing between customers and the shop assistant could be heard from the front of the line.

"That's right, if you're not going to buy, don't block the way."

"If the mung bean cakes are sold out, just buy something else, why are you making such a fuss?"

The customers queuing behind were successfully provoked by the waiter, and they all condemned the customer in front who ordered mung bean cake.

The customer was young and easily embarrassed; unable to withstand the condemning gazes of the crowd, he stomped his foot and left the queue.

Tong Huaqiong glanced at him and saw that he was a young man.

"What the hell? This is a big store bullying its customers. There are two boxes of mung bean cakes left, why won't you sell them to me?"

The young man left the group indignantly and spat at the Su Shi Yuan restaurant.

What annoyed him even more was that the waiter clearly didn't take him seriously.

His mother hasn't had a good appetite these past few days and just wants to eat mung bean cake.

He arrived early in the morning to queue up, but when it was his turn, the mung bean cakes were no longer available.

He heard it clearly: just now, another waiter said that Master Hong had sent someone to order mung bean cakes, and the remaining two boxes were left for Master Hong.

Those two boxes of mung bean cakes were promptly removed from the shelves.

He was naturally angry after waiting in line for so long.

Doesn't Su Shi Yuan claim to treat every customer fairly? Does everyone have to queue up?
Why don't you just let Master Hong know when someone comes?

It's not that I can't accept Su Shi Yuan currying favor with Master Hong. He won't say a word if you make a reservation in advance. But you can't wait until people are in line and then say you're not selling anymore. What's the difference between that and cutting in line?
What's even more infuriating is the waiter's attitude; it's like he thinks he's the owner of the Su Shi Yuan just because he works there.

"If you're so capable, you should try throwing money around like Master Hong. Forget about mung bean cakes, you can have all the pastries in the shop."

The waiter looked at the young man with disdain.

The young man's face flushed red with anger.

"Mung bean cake, sweet mung bean cake, mung bean cake made with high-quality ingredients."

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Tong Huaqiong shouted and opened for business.

Sure enough, the young man was drawn in by the sound of mung bean cake.

The stall looks quite clean, but I wonder if the food is good. My mother loves Su Shi Yuan's mung bean cakes.

The young man originally wanted to go to Tong Huaqiong's stall, but after thinking about it, he decided against it.

"Come, come, young man, try my mung bean cake. I guarantee you'll want a second piece after you've had one." Tong Huaqiong enthusiastically approached the young man.

This is something Tong Huaqiong learned from her own experience in her previous life. If you shout directly at most people, they will feel that it has nothing to do with them. But if you shout at a specific person, that person will feel that they are involved.

"That's right, there are samples available. You can try them first to see if they're good before you buy."

Gu Taohua was more radical than Tong Huaqiong. She walked up to the young man, reached out and grabbed his arm, and pulled him to her stall.

The young man couldn't withstand Gu Taohua's strength and could only follow along.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Tong Huaqiong used a clean twig to stick a piece of mung bean cake into the young man's mouth and put it there. The young man subconsciously opened his mouth and the mung bean cake fell into his mouth.

"How is it?" Tong Huaqiong asked with a smile.

It has a fragrant aroma without being overpowering, and a sweet taste without being cloying. The mung bean paste is even more delicate than that from Su Shi Yuan.

In addition, he already harbored resentment towards Su Shi Yuan, and although the food was originally five points better than Su Shi Yuan's, the young man exaggerated its deliciousness to ten points.

"It's delicious, even better than Su Shi Yuan!" the young man exclaimed.

Although he was thinking of getting revenge on Su Shi Yuan, he had to admit that the taste really won him over.

Tong Huaqiong laughed; she liked this vengeful nature of his. "Want one?" Tong Huaqiong said.

"Can I sell them in smaller quantities?"

A surge of surprise crossed the young man's mind.

Pastries aren't meant to be eaten as a meal. Even if my mother wanted to eat mung bean cake, she would only eat two pieces at most at a time. Su Shi Yuan (a famous pastry shop) would weigh out half a jin (250 grams) at a time, and by the end, the flavor would have become mushy.

“Of course, one yuan and six wen,” Tong Huaqiong said.

The young man hesitated and said, "It's a bit expensive."

“Young man, you’ve already tasted it. You can tell you know your stuff. There’s a reason it’s expensive. My mung bean cakes are made with high-quality ingredients,” Tong Huaqiong said.

"May I ask, young man, who are you buying this mung bean cake for?"

"Give it to my mother."

Tong Huaqiong smiled.

She had already figured it out; the young man wasn't buying the pastries for himself. She guessed they were either for his mother or for his wife and children.

No matter who she's selling to, she always has a marketing script ready.

"Oh my, no wonder! I could tell you were a filial son. I thought someone as refined as you wouldn't have any conflicts with anyone. There must have been a reason why you were arguing so loudly inside. It turns out it was all because of your filial piety!"

"As the saying goes, filial piety is the most important of all virtues. Young man, your mother is truly the envy of everyone with a son like you. Just for your filial piety, I can't bear to make money off you. How about this, I'll give you a discount of one coin. You can buy two pieces to take home for your mother to try. If she likes them, she can come again next time. I'll always give you this price."

Who doesn't love to hear compliments? Who doesn't love to be praised?
The young man was indeed overjoyed by Tong Huaqiong's flattery.

Anyway, Su Shi Yuan wouldn't sell him mung bean cakes, so he couldn't let his mother suffer.

So, as if he had met a kindred spirit, he said to Tong Huaqiong, "Okay, give me four pieces."

We're open for business!

Tong Huaqiong used a clean handkerchief to hold four pieces of mung bean cake and handed them to the young man.

Gu Taohua accepted the money.

The young man felt more at ease. Despite it being a small stall, it was quite clean, and he didn't even touch the pastries.

"You can also try the mung bean cakes, which have a different flavor than mung bean cakes," Tong Huaqiong said, taking the opportunity to promote them.

At Su Shi Yuan, people buy half a jin (250g) of pastries at a time. Those who come to Su Shi Yuan to buy pastries bring at least half a jin of money. She has only sold four mung bean cakes so far, and the young man in front of her still has a budget.

The young man tasted the mung bean cake.

As expected, it has a different flavor from mung bean cake; the outer crust is so crispy it crumbles, and the filling is delicate and sweet.

He himself wished he could buy two pieces to eat.

"Give me four more mung bean cakes," the young man said.

"Alright, a mung bean cake costs eight coins. I'm sorry, sir, I can't give you a discount on this mung bean cake; the cost is what it is. But I can give you an extra dry cake."

Tong Huaqiong pointed to the dried biscuits in the basket.

The young man initially thought it was expensive, but when he heard that it would come with a dry biscuit, which was bright orange and sprinkled with sesame seeds and looked incredibly tempting, he happily accepted Tong Huaqiong's offer.

The young man took the mung bean cake and the dried biscuit, and couldn't resist stuffing the dried biscuit into his mouth.

The crispy, fragrant biscuits whetted his appetite.

The waiter at the opposite Su Shi Yuan restaurant, who had been arguing with the young man, witnessed everything that was happening and said disdainfully, "You poor wretch, you dare to eat the mung bean cakes from that stall?"

The young man, having heard this clearly, became angry and retorted, "I've never seen someone open a business and call their customers poor. If you're so capable, why don't you just do business with Master Hong? Why do you try to do business with everyone in town? I don't think every customer who buys pastries from Su Shi Yuan is a millionaire. Aren't you afraid of biting off more than you can chew?"

"Let me tell you guys, Su Shi Yuan treats customers differently based on their status. We paid for their food, and they still called us poor bastards. Su Shi Yuan thinks they're so arrogant just because they're the only shop in Yan Guan Town. I can't stand their attitude. And you know what? The mung bean cakes and mung bean pancakes at this stall taste much better than those at Su Shi Yuan."

"They're even offering free samples, everyone should hurry up and try it."

(End of this chapter)