Hearing this, Ye Zhinan bid farewell to the old master with a smile and returned to the teahouse.
Sister Hong was listening intently when suddenly ten servings of rice cakes and ten servings of cold cakes appeared in front of her.
"Are you going to squander all your money?"
Only a young lady from a wealthy family would buy things in such large quantities!
On the way back, Sister Hong kept exhorting Ye Zhinan earnestly.
"These days are not as good as before. Don't spend money recklessly as soon as you have some. There will be many times in the future when you'll need money..."
Ye Zhinan nodded, but her mind was on what the old master had just said.
"Could there be something wrong with Zhao A'si's marinated dishes?"
As soon as she got home, she saw Lu Yanlai sitting in the yard, helping Han Xiangmei pick vegetables.
The mother - daughter - like pair were chatting merrily and didn't notice Ye Zhinan for a while.
Lu Yanlai noticed the shadow beside her. Looking up, she saw a rough - looking figure staring at her intently. Looking closer, she burst out laughing.
"You look extra masculine with your makeup today!"
"Could the young lady accompany me for a cup of tea?" Lu Yanlai pleaded pitifully. Han Xiangmei waved her hand.
"Go ahead. I'll call you when the meal is ready."
The two of them moved small stools and sat aside. Ye Zhinan took out a handful of sunflower seeds from her bag and stuffed them into Lu Yanlai's hand.
"I went to South Street. The business there is not as good as that on East and West Streets, but it shouldn't be as bad as the accounts show."
"Why is that?"
Lu Yanlai looked confused, but her mouth didn't stop for a moment.
"Have you ever tasted their food?"
As Ye Zhinan said this, she took out a package from her bosom. Opening it, they saw it was a marinated duck.
"This..."
Lu Yanlai didn't say a word. She reached out and took a duck neck and started eating.
"Sure enough..."
"The taste is off!"
Ye Zhinan and Lu Yanlai said in unison.
Ye Zhinan had asked Sister Hong to buy this package. Just by smelling it, she knew something was wrong.
It had no flavor. She had carried it in her bosom all the way, and there wasn't a trace of fragrance.
No wonder the business was bad!
There was full surprise in Lu Yanlai's eyes. "Why would Qiao Jie sell such things?"
According to Qiao Jie's personality, she would never pass off inferior goods as good ones, let alone ignore the taste.
She looked at Ye Zhinan and suddenly understood.
"It's Zhao A'si! How could he?"
"Then we'll have to ask Brother Li to look into it!"
Ye Zhinan didn't want to believe that Zhao A'si had tampered with the food.
As a talented chef, he would never allow the sale of unpalatable food.
When Han Xiangmei finished cooking, Lu Yanlai had already gone back. She looked at the stir - fried eggs with chives in her hand regretfully.
"I was going to make this for her!"
"Mom, can I eat it?" Ye Zhinan vied for attention.
"Sure. Let's eat. I feel sorry for Yanlai. She's a young lady from an official family, exiled here, and she's the only one left in her family. You should invite her to our place for meals more often in the future!"
Seeing Han Xiangmei getting more and more sad and her eyes misting over, Ye Zhinan quickly tried to comfort her.
"She's already married. How can she be alone?"
Han Xiangmei immediately changed her tune. "Right. Fortunately, she married a good man!"
She emphasized the last three words and looked at Ye Zhinan.
"I'm saying that for a woman, marrying a good man is so important. Just like your mother..."
Ye Zhinan quickly picked up an egg with her chopsticks. "Mom, try this freshly - laid egg. How is it?"
"I'm saying..."
"Try this freshly - picked eggplant!"
"And the peppers and potatoes."
...
In a short while, Han Xiangmei's rice bowl was piled up like a small mountain.
"Father always taught us not to talk during meals. Mom, hurry up and eat. The food will get cold soon."
With that, Ye Zhinan started to eat with her head down.
Han Xiangmei still wanted to say something, but seeing Ye Shenyan shaking his head, she swallowed the words on the tip of her tongue.
This daughter was impossible to persuade.
No talking during meals. In the silent atmosphere, there was only the sound of chopsticks rubbing against each other and the quacking of ducks outside one after another.
Recently, the demand for ducks had increased, so Ye Zhinan had found several duck suppliers she usually did business with.
But raising ducks was also a science. Those who had just started couldn't compare with those who had been doing it for a long time. Sister Zhang was one of them.
After the meal, Ye Zhinan saw Sister Zhang lingering at the door, so she went out to greet her.
"Sister Zhang, come in and tell me what's up!"
"I'm really sorry to trouble you every time. But raising ducks is not just my business, so I've come here shamelessly."
Sister Zhang was a straightforward person, so her words were a bit blunt. Ye Zhinan was used to it. Knowing that she was a hard - working person, she didn't mind.
"Just tell me what it is."
Sister Zhang hesitated for a moment and said, "I don't know how to raise ducks, and you have very high requirements for the quality of ducks. I'm afraid I won't be able to supply enough. So..."
"Didn't I teach you? What else is the problem?"
Ye Zhinan remembered that she had given them unified training. The quality of the ducks from her place in the subsequent transactions was not the best, but it shouldn't be a problem of insufficient supply. Could there be something else?
She immediately decided to go to Sister Zhang's place to have a look.
As soon as she arrived at Sister Zhang's, she saw the ducks roaming freely in the yard. Ye Zhinan's brows gradually furrowed.
"So that's the problem. Your ducks will get sick this way."
"Get sick? Is it that serious?" Sister Zhang was shocked.
"Look, if you put the weak and strong ducks together, the weak ones won't get enough to eat, and the strong ones won't be full. So you need to separate them into groups."
"Also, look at this water trough. Although ducks aren't very picky about their drinking water, you can't just leave it like this. Otherwise, it will get moldy and make the ducks sick."
"And this duck shed is drafty everywhere. It's not good for the growth of the ducklings!"
Ye Zhinan rattled off a whole list. Sister Zhang followed behind and silently took notes.
"Miss Ye really knows a lot. I'm completely at a loss!"
Hearing this, Ye Zhinan frowned. "If you don't understand, learn. If you don't know, ask. What's the use of just complaining?"
"Yes, yes. You're right, miss. I'll change it right away."
Sister Zhang accompanied her with a smiling face and nodded timidly, seeing her out of the door.
Just then, they happened to meet a person. The smell of perfume on her was so strong that it was nauseating.
Ye Zhinan wanted to ignore her and leave, but the person shamelessly blocked her way.
"What? Did you do something shameful?"
Wei Shiyi twisted her slender waist. Her thin dress fluttered in the gentle breeze.
She was really beautiful but shivering with cold.
Ye Zhinan frowned coldly and said indifferently, "It's none of your business!"
Wei Shiyi was taken aback and her expression turned ugly.
"You'll pay for what you've done sooner or later. Don't be so arrogant!"
"You're absolutely right! But who do you think you are? Why should I listen to you!"
Wei Shiyi's face turned ashen. "Don't think that just because you've hooked up with Constable Qin you've found a backer. Take a good look at your own face."
Ye Zhinan stepped closer and sized Wei Shiyi up carefully.
"Well, you do have a human face, but your brain doesn't seem to have fully evolved. If you have the means, eat more pig brains. Eat like for like. And, did you start the rumor about me and Constable Qin?"
Ye Zhinan was imposing. A flash of killing intent passed through her gloomy eyes and disappeared in an instant.
"Don't slander me!"
Wei Shiyi stammered and tried to defend herself.
"Better not. Watch your face."
As the words fell, Wei Shiyi felt a shadow looming over her head.