Chapter 38

"Uncle Wu, you handled it very well!"

Li Qi nodded and then asked, "By the way, did Cai Lao San ask about me?"

Wu Furong shook his head and said, "He didn't mention you at all. He did ask a few questions about the stinky tofu, though."

Could I have misjudged the situation?

Li Qi squinted his eyes, his face full of confusion.

Seeing Li Qi's heavy expression, Wu Furong asked curiously, "Young Master Li, why did you think Cai Lao San was looking for you? Could it be that you knew him before?"

"I was thinking—never mind, talking about it now is pointless."

Li Qi sighed, his brows furrowed as he paced back and forth in the room.

Wu Furong sat to the side, not daring to disturb him, and waited quietly.

After a while, Li Qi suddenly stopped and exclaimed, "I get it!"

Wu Furong was startled and, regaining his composure, asked, "Young Master Li, what do you understand?"

"Oh, oh, nothing, nothing!"

Li Qi gave Wu Furong a few dry laughs, the gloom on his face now gone. He thought to himself that the old fox must have wanted to kill two birds with one stone. He must have seen that Zui Xian Ju was gradually rising in prominence, and the longer he waited, the harder it would be to buy it. Moreover, he must have investigated Li Qi's background and found out that he was originally a homeless drunk on the street. So, he planned to offer a high price for Zui Xian Ju, and when Li Qi had nowhere to go, he would have to rely on him. At that time, the secret recipe for the stinky tofu would become his.

Indeed, it was a clever plan.

But he definitely didn't expect that Li Qi had now become a half-owner of Zui Xian Ju.

Seeing Li Qi standing there with a sly smile, Wu Furong asked curiously, "Young Master Li, what are you thinking about?"

"Oh—, I—I'm thinking about how to respond to Cai Lao San." Li Qi was slightly stunned and said seriously.

"Have you thought of anything?" Wu Furong asked.

Li Qi squinted his eyes and slapped the table, saying, "He wants to buy Zui Xian Ju, right? Fine, let's sell it to him."

Wu Furong's face tightened, and he stammered, "Young—Young Master Li, you—you're going to sell Zui Xian Ju to Cai Yuwai?"

"Of course."

Li Qi chuckled, "Sixteen thousand guan, not a single coin less."

Wu Furong almost bit his tongue, exclaiming, "Sixteen thousand guan? Young Master Li, that's the price of two Zui Xian Ju. Saying that is the same as refusing him outright."

"Uncle Wu, you're wrong!"

Li Qi smiled slightly, "Back when Zui Xian Ju was at its lowest, it was still worth eight thousand guan. Now, let me tell you, no one in Bianliang doesn't know Zui Xian Ju. Just the reputation alone is worth eight thousand guan, and we haven't even made a profit yet."

Not even a profit?

Wu Furong was sweating, shaking his head, "I don't think Cai Yuwai will be willing to pay such a high price."

"That's his problem. We've made our offer, and whether he buys it or not is up to him. Besides, we don't plan to sell it, Uncle Wu, right?" Li Qi spread his hands and smiled.

"Exactly, exactly! You're right, we don't plan to sell it." Wu Furong nodded and then suddenly said, "But what if he's willing to buy it?"

Li Qi laughed, "Then we'll sell it to him, and we'll use the sixteen thousand guan to build an even more luxurious tavern next to Zui Xian Ju, driving him out of business. Then we'll buy Zui Xian Ju back for four thousand guan. At that time, Cai Yuwai will be so angry he'll jump off a building."

Wu Furong listened, and the two of them looked at each other and burst out laughing.

After laughing for a while, they finally stopped.

Li Qi said seriously, "Uncle Wu, if Cai Lao San asks about me tomorrow, you still say I left early in the morning. But if he inquires about me, you can tell him the truth, just don't mention that I bought Zui Xian Ju. Just say I'm a cook."

Wu Furong took a deep breath and asked, "Why is that?"

Li Qi had a mysterious look on his face and smiled without saying a word.

The next day, before dawn, Li Qi quietly slipped out and didn't return until dusk.

"Brother Li, you've been going out every day these past few days. What important business are you up to?"

As soon as he entered, Wu Xiaoliu came up, his face full of curiosity.

"What's it to you, kid?"

Li Qi waved his hand, found a table, and sat down. Chen Xiaozhu, who was very considerate, brought him a cup of tea. Li Qi took a sip and asked Wu Xiaoliu, "Nothing happened today, right?"

Wu Xiaoliu shook his head and laughed, "What could happen? Everyone just kept coming to buy stinky tofu."

In the past two days, Wu Xiaoliu had been in the spotlight, and some people had even started calling him "Sixth Master."

"That's good!"

After resting for a moment, Li Qi looked around and, not seeing Wu Furong, asked, "Xiaoliu, where's your uncle?"

"My uncle—he—"

At this point, Wu Xiaoliu suddenly lowered his voice and whispered in Li Qi's ear, "Brother Li, Cai Lao San just came over."

"Really?"

Li Qi stood up abruptly, looking nervous, and asked, "Where is he?"

"Just left! My uncle saw him off, and he should be back soon."

Damn! You scared me to death!

Li Qi let out a sigh of relief and sat back down.

Seeing Li Qi's nervous reaction, Wu Xiaoliu was puzzled and asked, "Brother Li, why did Cai Lao San come to our tavern?"

"How should I know? By the way, weren't you here just now?"

"Ah, it's all my uncle's fault. They were talking in the room, and I didn't get a chance to eavesdrop. If I had, I could have brought you some information." Wu Xiaoliu said regretfully.

What kind of quality is this?

Li Qi glared and said, "You little brat, you always meddle in other people's business. When you have free time, just go to the kitchen and practice your knife skills. When I have time, I'll teach you my family's secret Li knife technique."

Li knife technique?

It sounds pretty powerful.

Wu Xiaoliu quickly responded, "I know, I know, I'll go right away."

Saying this, he skipped happily to the kitchen. Brother Zhu, who was nearby, also sneaked in, clearly very interested in learning the "Li knife technique."

Finally, some peace and quiet!

Li Qi leisurely sipped his tea, and suddenly heard Wu Furong's voice from outside.

"Young Master Li, you're back!"

Li Qi turned and saw Wu Furong, quickly standing up to greet him, "Uncle Wu, how did the talk go?"

Wu Furong looked around and then gave a meaningful glance, "Let's talk in the room."

The two went to Wu Furong's room.

After closing the door, Wu Furong said, "Young Master Li, you didn't see it, but when I told Cai Lao San the price you gave me yesterday, he almost fell off his chair."

Li Qi chuckled and asked, "What did he say?"

"He said we were deliberately fooling him. Then I repeated what you said yesterday, and he had nothing to say. He said he would go back and ask Cai Yuwai." Wu Furong chuckled.

"I think it's a waste of time."

Li Qi sneered and asked, "Did he mention me?"

"Yes!"

Wu Furong nodded, his face showing admiration, "Young Master Li, just as you predicted, Cai Lao San tried to get information about you by asking about the stinky tofu."

"What did you tell him?"

"I told him exactly what you said."

"Good!" Li Qi nodded.

Seeing Li Qi's excited expression, Wu Furong frowned, his face showing concern, and whispered, "Young Master Li, from what I heard, Cai Lao San's Jade Green Pavilion seems very interested in the stinky tofu. I think Cai Yuwai has evil intentions towards your stinky tofu recipe. You need to be careful."

Evil intentions? Hmph, I'm not afraid. I'm afraid he won't have evil intentions.

Li Qi drew a sharp breath and said fearfully, "Is that so?"

Wu Furong looked at him suspiciously and nodded, "I think Cai Yuwai will come to you soon. When he does, he'll offer a large sum of money to try to get you to sell him the stinky tofu recipe."

After saying this, Wu Furong recounted how Cai Yuwai had stolen the "Flower Carving Drunken" recipe from Zui Xian Ju.

Li Qi had known about this for a long time and realized that Wu Furong was testing him. He waved his hand and said seriously, "Uncle Wu, don't worry. I, Li Qi, am not the kind of person who would sell out for money. No matter how much he offers, I won't sell it to him."

"Yes, yes!"

Wu Furong's face lit up, and he nodded, "Young Master Li, you might not know, but the recipe is the lifeblood of the tavern. Over the years, Cai Yuwai has sent people to gather recipes, causing several taverns to close. We're not afraid of him taking it by force, but we need to be wary of his underhanded tactics."

Li Qi nodded humbly, "That's true, that's true."

Deception?

Li Qi wasn't afraid. He didn't know who would deceive whom.

As for force?

Li Qi wasn't afraid of that either.

He had already found out that Cai Yuwai did come from the Cai Taishi's mansion, but it was because he had been caught stealing and was expelled. He had no connection to Cai Taishi anymore. His arrogance came from the connections he had made with ministers while in the mansion, and it was said that he sent money to their mansions every year.

As long as Cai Jing wasn't backing him, Li Qi wasn't afraid.

Moreover, Qin Fu's family was also a prominent clan. In terms of power, the two families were evenly matched. They were both businessmen, each relying on their own abilities to make a living.