The Spirited Daughter-in-law and the Mountain Man

Shopkeeper Duan was unhappy, “What about your status? As if you have any!”

“You’re just a restaurant owner, aren’t you?” she snorted, “I’m also a boss selling stir-fried fern, we’re both bosses, at least as important as you.”

“Ha…” Shopkeeper Duan laughed mockily, “With dozens of patches on your clothes, yet you call yourself a boss. Your family must be too poor to afford a pot, right? Don’t think I don’t know you were bought as a wife by the Xiao Family of Wushan Village. I heard the Xiao Family is bankrupt, now it’s up to you, a woman, to support the family.”

“You sure do your homework.” Su Qingyue wasn’t surprised, “Shopkeeper Duan, it’s rather presumptuous to have such arrogance when asking for a favor from me. Does your mom know about this?” “What do you mean by ‘mom’?”

“I mean, your mother.”

“What’s that got to do with my mother?” Shopkeeper was pissed, “Who needs anything from you?”

“All this investigation about a boss like me, isn’t it because you want to buy my fried fern recipe?

He paused, “I will give you a tael of silver. You just have to tell my chef how to cook that delicious stir-fried fern.”

“Well…” Su Qingyue hid her laughter, “One tael of silver is a lot… My ferns are selling so well right now, I can make about the same in a day. Why would I teach you my method? You’re dreaming.”

“It’s just a dish of stir-fried fern. Even without asking you, my chef can figure it out.”

Su Qingyue gave him a contemptuous look, “Still, I am a boss. Do you think bosses are that easy to fool? If your chef can make fern as delicious as mine, would you need to buy my recipe? I bet a lot of people in town want to create the same taste of my stir-fried fern. You all tried, but always slightly off, your ferns taste bitter, right?”

Having been seen through, Shopkeeper Duan was angry, “I’ll give you 5 taels of silver.” He looked at her condescendingly.

“Twenty taels… If anyone else asked me to sell the recipe, I would. But you!” Su Qingyue wasn’t bothered, “To sell the stir-fry recipe to Shopkeeper Duan, I want thirty taels. Ten taels are for your disrespect.”

“You’re asking too much!”

“With your attitude you’re lucky I’m selling it at all. I make quite a bit each day, I don’t lack money. I can continue earning roughly a tael per day.”

“I don’t need it then. I’ll have my chef continue to experiment with the fried fern, I don’t believe he can’t figure it out!”

Su Qingyue smiled, “Your chef hasn’t been able to figure it out for a few days now. Besides, every early morning, another employee of your store comes to buy about twenty jins of my stir-fried fern.” She pointed at the young man who just entered the kitchen, “I wondered who could eat so much. It turns out your customers love it. There were plates of my stir-fried fern bought from my place on each table in your lobby. You’re not selling them cheaply, are you? It’s only four cents per jin from me, but at your place, two taels probably cost more than ten cents. It’s indeed a way for you to continue buying from mine. But since you upset me, I’ve decided not to sell it to you starting from tomorrow!”

“You…”

“When your customers order the dish of stir-fried fern, you have to be honest and say you can’t make it. I’ve got to take off now. Nothing else, I have important things to do.” She complained while walking away, “What a waste of my time! ”

Shopkeeper Duan gritted his teeth, painfully he said, “I’ll give you twenty taels, alright?”