Chapter 58

Since Li Qi had made an appointment with Bai Qianuo yesterday to go outside the city to help the refugees and select suitable candidates, he got ready to leave early in the morning, but he was muttering to himself, looking quite depressed.

Actually, he really didn't want to go through all this trouble. When he first suggested this idea, a significant reason was because of Bai Qianuo. He wanted to hand all these matters over to Bai Qianuo and spend the least amount of money to get the greatest return.

However, Bai Qianuo was not a pushover.

She naturally knew Li Qi's如意算盘 (如意算盘 means "如意" - as one wishes, and "算盘" - abacus, which together imply a clever plan or scheme), but how could there be such a good thing in the world? So she nipped his idea of staying out of it in the bud.

Li Qi had also strongly protested against this.

Pay and work hard too?

Is there no justice in the world?

But Li Qi's protests were ignored by Bai Qianuo. She only said one sentence: "If you agree, we do it; if not, we split!"

Just seven simple words made Li Qi submit.

As soon as Li Qi stepped out of the door, he almost bumped into Wu Furong.

"Uncle Wu, are you looking for me?" Li Qi asked curiously, seeing Wu Furong's hurried appearance.

Wu Furong nodded, looked at Li Qi's attire, and asked, "Young Master Li, where are you going?"

Li Qi smiled slightly and said, "To take care of some business outside the city."

"Outside the city?"

Wu Furong was slightly stunned and asked anxiously, "Is it something important?"

Li Qi shook his head and said, "Nothing important, just a small matter. By the way, what do you need me for?"

Wu Furong was slightly taken aback, then remembered why he came to find Li Qi and said, "Oh, just now, Lady sent Xiao Tao to invite both of us to the manor."

"Ah? Another visit to the manor!"

Li Qi scratched his head and complained, "Lady really, if she has something to say, why doesn't she just come over? She has to make it so complicated, truly rigid."

Wu Furong ignored Li Qi's complaints. He didn't want to get involved in the grievances between Li Qi and Lady.

Li Qi saw the strange look on Wu Furong's face and inwardly despised him, then asked irritably, "Uncle Wu, do you know what it's about?"

Wu Furong shook his head and said, "Xiao Tao didn't say what it's about. I don't think she knew either, but she told me that Mr. Zhang from Yanglou visited Lady yesterday. I think it's related to this."

"Yanglou?"

Li Qi frowned and thought for a moment, then asked, "Strange! Lady never deals with business matters. If it's about business, Mr. Zhang should have come to you. If it's not about business, then there's no point in Lady calling us."

Wu Furong shook his head and said, "Young Master Li, you don't know. For minor matters, I can make decisions, but for major matters, I still need to consult Lady. Since Mr. Zhang came in person, in my opinion, this is no small matter and is beyond my authority."

"I see!"

Li Qi nodded and said, "It seems this matter is very urgent, otherwise Mr. Zhang wouldn't have rushed to see Lady."

Wu Furong nodded and said, "I think so too."

Li Qi squinted and thought for a while but still had no clue, then nodded and said, "Since that's the case, let's go quickly."

"Then you're not going outside the city?" Wu Furong hesitated and asked.

"Oh, right, I almost forgot about that!"

Li Qi patted his head, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Forget it, it's just a small matter. It doesn't matter if I don't go. Let's figure this out first."

Although he said this, he was quite anxious inside, thinking, "That Lady Bai shouldn't break our partnership over this, right?"

The two rushed to the Qin manor as quickly as possible.

After some pleasantries, Lady Qin asked, "Uncle Wu, do you know about the new branch of Feicui轩 (Feicui轩 is a name, so it remains untranslated) in the North City?"

Wu Furong nodded and said, "I have heard about it, but it's supposed to open next month."

Lady Qin shook her head and said, "The branch opened yesterday."

"What?"

Wu Furong exclaimed and asked, "Lady, is this true?"

Lady Qin nodded and said, "Of course it's true. Mr. Zhang told me yesterday."

"Lady, did Mr. Zhang come for the stinky tofu?" Li Qi suddenly asked.

Lady Qin's eyes flashed with surprise, and she asked, "Young Master Li, how did you know?"

Li Qi smiled and said, "It's simple. I once heard Uncle Wu say that Yanglou was founded during the reign of Emperor Renzong and has a history of over eighty years. It has always dominated the North City and is well-known. No one can compete with it, and the location of the North City is not ideal, so few people are willing to open taverns there. Apart from Yanglou, the only other large tavern is a branch of Fanlou, but it is the smallest branch compared to the others.

Logically, the opening of a new branch of Feicui轩 should not cause Yanglou such panic, so it must be because of the stinky tofu.

Now, in Tokyo, besides us, only Feicui轩 can make stinky tofu, and its reputation is already well-established. I believe Mr. Cai decided to open a month early to challenge Yanglou's position in the North City. From the fact that Mr. Zhang came to see us as soon as the branch opened yesterday, it seems that Feicui轩's first battle was quite successful. But..."

At this point, Li Qi suddenly sighed.

"But what?" Lady Qin asked quickly.

Li Qi shook his head and sighed, "But I didn't anticipate this. If I had known Mr. Cai was going to use stinky tofu to attack other taverns, I should have charged him more. Sigh, I was too lenient."

Wu Furong, hearing this, couldn't help but laugh and cry, and said, "Young Master Li, don't take it too seriously. Selling a recipe for 1,500 guan is unprecedented. I think it's enough."

"Yes! Contentment brings happiness. Sigh!"

Although he said this, Li Qi still felt very regretful.

Seeing Li Qi's regretful expression, Lady Qin shook her head helplessly and said, "Young Master Li is right. Mr. Zhang came yesterday for the recipe of stinky tofu."

Li Qi smiled bitterly and said, "Mr. Cai had already anticipated this. When he bought the recipe, he made me sign an agreement that neither of us could sell the recipe to anyone else, not even Lady."

"What? There's such a thing? Why have I never heard you mention it?" Wu Furong asked in surprise.

"Is that so?"

Li Qi smiled awkwardly and said, "I guess—I might have forgotten."

Could he forget something like this?

Wu Furong was speechless.

Lady Qin said, "Since that's the case, Young Master Li doesn't have to force it. I'll refuse Mr. Zhang tomorrow."

"No, don't rush to refuse him. Let me think about it."

Li Qi frowned and paced around the room, then suddenly stopped and said, "Lady, I'll go to the North City with Uncle Wu to check the situation. We'll discuss what to do when we return."

Lady Qin looked at Li Qi suspiciously and nodded.