The Wealthy Eldest Sister Rules Supreme

“It’s just forty taels of tofu, not that heavy or troublesome.”

Zhuang Qingning laughed, she leaned into the courtyard, “Is Uncle Zhang around?”

“Oh, master, you just missed him. He just left to buy some stuff, probably some seasonings for the kitchen.”

Lian Rong raised his eyes and smiled, “Miss Zhuang, are you looking for Master?”

“Hmm, we’ve salted some duck eggs at home, and I was thinking of asking Uncle Zhang to try them and tell us what they taste like.” Zhuang Qingning said as she took out salted duck eggs from her bag and handed them to Lian Rong.

“These two are for you.”

Lian Rong couldn’t help but squint upon seeing this.

Zhuang Qingning said she wanted Zhang Yongchang to taste the salted duck eggs she made at home. Since the signature dish of Fushun Tower, golden loin, is made with salted egg yolks, Zhuang Qingning probably wanted to introduce her own salted duck eggs to see if Fushun Tower would buy them.

Zhuang Qingning was certainly business savvy.

More importantly, she remembered to do favours for even the small fries like them. Making them feel flattered and pleased inside.

Lian Rong happily took the duck eggs, saying, “Rest assured, Miss Zhuang. As soon as Master comes back, I’ll give him the eggs to taste.”

“It’s kind of Miss Zhuang to remember me. I’ve been so busy since morning that I didn’t have a chance to eat breakfast. I’ll look for a pancake in a bit, and take a couple of bites with this salted duck egg.”

Having received a favor, Lian Rong naturally expressed his gratitude.

“You can also taste it to see how it is. If you find anything that doesn’t taste right, feel free to tell me.” Zhuang Qingning laughed, “You go back to your work, 1 should go back to check my tofu stall.”

“Take care, Miss Zhuang.” Lian Rong picked up the tofu, and after grabbing the duck egg, went back to the kitchen.

Zhuang Qingning returned to her tofu stall and continued selling her tofu and the few salted duck eggs.

She didn’t call out to sell or offer tastings for the salted duck eggs. They just sat there next to the tofu, in a very visible spot, attracting the attention of those buying tofu.

“Miss, are these salted duck eggs?” An old man who often bought tofu couldn’t resist asking.

“Yes, they are salted duck eggs.” Zhuang Qingning nodded and replied with a smile, “We just salted them yesterday and I brought them here today to see if anyone wants to buy.”

The old man laughed, “When you were selling tofu, you were calling out loud. When it comes to these salted duck eggs, you are silent. Are you too embarrassed to call, or do you think you’ll sell these?”

“Not really.” Zhuang Qingning kept laughing, “It’s just that we didn’t make a lot of these salted duck eggs this time. We only have a few left after keeping some for our own consumption. It doesn’t seem worthwhile to sell them, I thought if someone asked, 1 would sell, otherwise, I would keep them for ourselves.”

“You are an interesting little lady,” the old man said, laughing heartily, “But given how tasty your tofu is, 1 bet these duck eggs are probably pretty good too. How much are these salted duck eggs? I’ll buy three or four to pair with my peanuts and alcohol at noon.”

“Two coins each.”

“That’s not expensive at all… Get me four then.” The old man reached into his money bag.

“Hold on!”

An abrupt loud shout made the old man’s hand shake, almost dropping his money bag.

Taken aback, Zhuang Qingning also looked up to see what was going on.

Before she could figure out the situation, Zhang Yongchang swiftly grabbed all the salted duck eggs from the bamboo basket.

“I’ll take all these salted duck eggs, here’s your money!”

Zhang Yongchang, holding the salted duck eggs in one arm, tossed his coin pouch to Zhuang Qingning to count, not even bothering to count the money himself.

This, of course, displeased the old man who had just been about to buy the eggs. He gave Zhang Yongchang a sideways glare and yelled, “Hey, Chef Zhang, 1 was here first, buying these duck eggs. How did you just step in and snatch away my eggs? What are you trying to pull? Bullying me?”

“I don’t like what you’re saying. How is this bullying? The young lady is selling salted duck eggs, I’m buying them, that’s the most normal thing in the world. Where’s the bullying?”

Zhang Yongchang wasn’t about to back down and started arguing with the old man, “Also, you said I’m taking your eggs. Where’s your proof?”

“I said I was buying four duck eggs and was taking out my money when you bought them. If that’s not stealing, what is?”

“Wow, that’s a really interesting way to put it. You said you were buying, but you didn’t take out the money yet. So technically, these still belong to the seller. And I bought them from the seller, the legitimate way, with money. If you’re going to say 1 stole them, you’re slandering me.”

Zhang Yongchang argued, “By your logic, does that mean I can just go into any shop and say 1 plan to buy everything in there and nobody else can buy it because if they do it’s considered stealing from me?”

“This is just silly. Let’s be clear, 1 bought these salted duck eggs today. Stop making a fuss and move along.”

“Chef Zhang, you are going too far!” Failing to out-argue Zhang Yongchang, the old man started yelling at the people on the street, “Come and take a look, everyone! The head chef of Fushun Tower is bullying people here…”

Bullying people, Fushun Tower.

Those were all attention-grabbing keywords, especially when it’s the head chef of Fushun Tower bullying someone. Naturally, it piqued people’s curiosity.

So, under the old man’s shouting, a crowd gradually gathered, curious to see what was really happening.

When they found out that these two grown men were arguing over a few salted duck eggs, they were taken aback and began a heated discussion.

“In my opinion, what Chef Zhang said is not unreasonable. We’re all here to buy something. You didn’t take out your money, so others could rightfully buy it. You can’t just say they stole just because they were faster.”

“You can’t just say it like that. He was about to take out the money. If someone else bought it first, wouldn’t anyone be angry? Wouldn’t you be mad if it happened to you?”

“There’s some truth to that, but it’s hard to judge who’s right and who’s wrong in this situation…”

“Never mind who’s right or wrong for now. 1 just want to know how delicious these salted duck eggs this young lady is selling must be, to make two grown men argue in the street and disregard their dignity…”

“Exactly, they must be really good?”

So, the focus of the crowd’s attention shifted from who was in the wrong to how delicious Zhuang Qingning’s salted duck eggs must be..