Chapter 43: First update

About five or six days had passed, and Cao Yang had already gotten the hang of running the stall, so Lu Lingbi stepped down from the stall.

This morning officially marked the start of work.

Cao Wen and Xu Duoyan discussed and decided to pay Cao Yang thirty wen daily as wages.

Though it was mainly for him to gain experience, he was still labor.

Boys of thirteen or fourteen in farming families were already main contributors to household work; they couldn’t let him work for free.

They planned to give some wages as a token.

Thirty wen wasn’t much compared to the stall’s current business, but in the market, it was the wage for a day’s labor.

Once the boy worked longer, they would consider increasing his pay.

Cao Yang stubbornly refused the wages, but it was only after Cao Wen spoke to Cao Yongquan that the matter was settled.

That day, the three of them carried their back baskets and loads to the market, as usual setting up on the vacant lot beside the Wine Shop.

Just as they put down their things, a worker from the Wine Shop came running out.

“Master Cao, you’ve finally arrived! Look at the stall under the Rong Tree on Sifang Street!”

“That father and son have been old vendors in the market for some time. They’re a bit dodgy; you should be careful.”

Upon hearing this, Cao Wen and Xu Duoyan looked over and saw the vendor who had been learning how to stir-fry rice from them was back at his stall today.

He had arrived hours earlier, and his stall was already set up.

Many customers gathered around the stall at the head of the street, and the owner had already started lighting the fire and stir-frying dishes.

Seeing this, Cao Wen’s brow twitched.

“A Yang, you’re new here, go have a look.”

Cao Yang quickly put down his basket and mingled with the crowd.

“Sifang Street’s small stir-fry is here, right?”

“Look at that iron wok; it’s definitely for stir-frying.”

Cao Yang craned his neck.

A customer asked, and the smiling waiter carrying plates beckoned the unaware further in.

Still, some were discerning and curiously asked, “Why is there another small stir-fry here? Is it the same as Master Cao’s stall?”

The man wielding the spatula lifted the cloth covering the dishes on the board.

“Take a look at the prepared ingredients on our chopping board.”

“Hey, it really is the same as the one beside the Wine Shop.”

“Please, come inside.”

“Master, I don’t even know your name, but how did you open a second stall in just a few days?”

“It’s hot out. Everyone’s been waiting a while; having two stalls means we can serve better.”

Cao Yang listened, anger rising.

Clearly, they had just copied their dishes, but they even said it ambiguously, trying to pass the two stalls off as one to split the customer flow.

He was furious but dared not make a scene.

Annoyed, he quickly returned.

“That old Laotou is really sly. I thought he’d quit this business, but he secretly learned the skills.”

Cao Wen said coldly, “When I went to the Rou Shi this morning to get supplies, the butcher said someone else took two sets of pig offal too.”

“The pig offal over there is five wen cheaper than ours.”

Cao Yang whispered, “They’re deliberately making things difficult for us.”

“An old trick.”

Xu Duoyan said, “But they’re really willing to spend money. Our profit margin isn’t high, relying on small profits and quick turnover, yet they’re willing to undercut.”

The three were talking when a regular customer came over.

“Master Cao, hasn’t the stall opened yet today? I’ve been waiting quite a while.”

Seeing this, Cao Wen quickly brought out a bench.

“Please have a seat. I’ll start cooking immediately.”

“Alright, I’ll have a drink inside the Wine Shop. Bring it out as soon as it’s ready, quickly!”

“Got it. Coming right up.”

Cao Wen and Xu Duoyan hurried to prepare the stall, and although Cao Yang had more to say, he buried his head and went to work.

As Xu Duoyan set up the canopy, she noticed Cao Yang pressing his lips tightly and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Sister-in-law, should we just ignore that side? With them like this, what about our business…”

Cao Yang had never seen anything like this and felt uneasy.

“Small businesses can’t be run by just one person. Everyone wants to make money; costs aren’t high, so who wouldn’t want to try? It’s a waste of time to get tangled up with them. As long as they don’t interfere with our stall, we should live and let live.”

Xu Duoyan said, “Besides, cooking isn’t something anyone can just copy to get the same flavor. Otherwise, there’d be no difference among the many taverns and eateries in the market. Some would do well, others poorly.”

Hearing Xu Duoyan’s words, Cao Yang felt somewhat reassured.

“Let’s work quickly so the customers aren’t kept waiting.”

Cao Yang nodded.

The three swiftly set up the stall and began serving customers.

With the canopy up, the crowd came flooding in as usual.

But today, there was a new small stir-fry stall down the street.

Some went there out of curiosity; others, frustrated by the wait, cursed a few times and turned away.

Cao Wen and Xu Duoyan paid little mind.

There would always be competitors.

Being too tense would only bring trouble.

Their current business was already busy enough.

“What is this nonsense!”

“I waited for an hour or more, and this is what you bring me!”

Just as Cao Wen lifted a plate of Hanyao Hefried off the fire, a man dressed in fine brocade clothes suddenly appeared, throwing a pile of intestines directly onto the counter.

The noise startled everyone waiting in line and those eating under the canopy.

All stopped and stared at the stove.

“Sir, is this dish of intestines not to your taste? Please tell us, and we’ll remake it.”

Cao Wen didn’t lose his temper but patiently inquired.

The man pointed at the dish.

“They say your small stir-fry here in the market is unbeatable, praised to the heavens by the Wine Shop’s teahouse folks. I had a dish a few days ago, and it was pretty good. I’ve praised you enough and probably brought a lot of customers to your stall. Today, I invited two or three friends, had my servant buy two portions, and waited almost an hour for them. That I can tolerate.”

“But what is this? The intestines and stomach are so tough you can’t chew them. They’re tougher than mountain climbing ropes.”

The man grew angrier and plucked a piece of fatty intestine with his chopsticks.

“Look at this sticky slime on top. I even bit into a stone and almost broke a tooth!”

His eyes narrowed as he glared at Cao Wen.

“I say, stall owner, your business is only a few days old, and you’re already cheating customers? This food isn’t even good material, and you didn’t clean it properly. Who are you trying to embarrass?”

Cao Wen said nothing, picked up a piece of pork stomach, chewed twice, then spat it out.

The man stared at Cao Wen and spread his hands toward the crowd.

“Everyone see for yourselves — am I here to cause trouble, or is there really a problem?”

Cao Wen replied, “This dish wasn’t made here.”

The man’s eyes widened.

“If not here, then there’s another stall making it! Don’t try to deny it!”

Before Cao Wen could answer, customers around spoke up.

“Sir, the other side also has a small stir-fry stall. Did you buy it over there?”

The man looked in that direction and saw another iron wok small stir-fry stall had appeared, though he didn’t notice when.

His brow furrowed, and he shouted, “Xiao Wu, where did you buy this from?”

The servant timidly stepped forward.

“Master.”

“Where did you buy it?”

“There were so many customers here at Master Cao’s stall, and I couldn’t get served. I heard the stall across was the same as Master Cao’s and had fewer people and better prices, so I went there and bought two portions.”

Hearing this, the man kicked the servant twice.

“I told you not to be cheap! What kind of stuff did you give me to eat?!”

The servant cowered.

“I was just afraid Master would get impatient, so I went over there. They also said it was the same as here, so I dared to buy it.”

Xu Duoyan raised her voice, “We don’t know the people at the stall across, and they are certainly not the same. Please don’t confuse the two. Everyone has different tastes, and it’s their blessing to have options. Just don’t let misunderstandings arise.”

The man retracted his foot.

Though quick-tempered, he was reasonable.

“A misunderstanding, I truly apologize. Here’s a token of apology.”

He placed a silver ingot on Cao Wen’s stall, bowed, and then told his servant to collect the small dishes and stormed off toward the other stall.

“Sir, please come again.”

Cao Wen called out without concern.

The curious crowd craned their necks to watch the unfolding commotion across the street.

Already angry and now feeling deceived, the man’s temper flared, and before he even arrived, he was shouting curses.

Cao Wen and Xu Duoyan didn’t see how the man acted but could hear the loud bang and continuous cursing from afar.

“Damn it, selling food without cleaning it properly but still using someone else’s name. Shameless scoundrels!”

“Oh no! What are you doing? Smashing people’s stalls for no reason? This is making life hard for poor folk!”

Chaos quickly erupted across the street, drawing a growing crowd, but no one dared to intervene.

Troublemakers could be dealt with, but troublemakers with reason were the worst.

Someone shouted that the Guan Bing were coming, and only then did things calm down.

The town wasn’t big, so such a scene was embarrassing enough.

Cao Wen and Xu Duoyan didn’t need to worry; that stall was probably done for. Its reputation was ruined, and it couldn’t recover.

Cao Wen wasn’t petty; he simply thought the stall owner had no sense.

Seeing business go well, he blindly copied others.

Pig offal seemed cheap and easy to imitate, but stir-fry skills weren’t so simple.

This dish required skill and timing; without it, the taste would suffer greatly.

Even if the dish’s flavor was subpar, some customers would tolerate it for the price, but the big taboo was not cleaning the ingredients properly.

Few could accept pig offal to begin with.

People ate it because it tasted good. Failing to clean it only made customers sick.

After this scene, the rival’s business died down, customers dispersed, and the father and son quietly packed up and left.

Cao Wen and Xu Duoyan didn’t bother with them, as their own business remained busy.

But whether it was just a feeling or reality, Cao Wen often sensed a sinister glare scanning him from time to time.