The carriage drove directly into the backyard of the shop.
Xiao Jie jumped off the carriage and ran to stroke Xiao Hei.
Xiao Hei has not had much freedom since coming to the county town. He has been tied to a pillar in the backyard with a rope and is almost depressed. Now that he sees his little master, he barks excitedly.
"Xiao Jie!"
Yingbao came out of the kitchen and waved at him: "Come and eat chestnut cake."
I just made a pot of it this morning, it’s still hot, crispy and delicious.
Jiang Jie ran into the kitchen and saw his second cousin making chestnut cakes. There was a large flat iron pan on the stove. She placed the chestnut cakes one by one into the pan.
Next to it is a bamboo plate filled with chestnut cakes that have just come out of the pot, emitting a rich aroma.
Jiang Jie picked up a piece and took a bite.
It’s really delicious, much better than the chestnut cake at my teacher’s house.
While wrapping chestnut cakes, Yingbao asked his younger brother about his studies. He felt very happy when he knew that Mr. Wu often praised him.
My younger brother will definitely be able to pass the exam and become a high-ranking official.
Outside the shop, Jiang Cheng had just put ten boxes of packaged chestnut cakes on the shelf when someone walked into the shop.
"Brother, how much are your specialties?"
Jiang Cheng: "What do you want to buy? There are prices on each item."
The man was wearing a brocade robe and a fu hat with a gorgeous silk flower inserted on it. He looked like a wealthy person.
"Oh, your goods are not cheap. If I buy more, can I get a discount?" The man with the flower on his face was covered with thick powder and his eyebrows and eyes were drawn, so his real appearance could not be seen.
Jiang Cheng looked at him and said, "Excuse me, sir, how much would you like to buy? We won't give you a discount if you buy less than 30 boxes."
The man wearing the flower laughed, and suddenly pulled out a folding fan from his waist and waved it, "I can't buy so much for now, give me two boxes of cakes first."
As he said this, he took out copper coins from the wallet at his waist, paid the bill, picked up two boxes of chestnut cakes and left.
Jiang Cheng collected the money and continued to sit at the counter drawing product labels.
He learned some painting skills from that student and is now much faster. He can draw more than a dozen pictures in an hour.
Before they knew it, it was noon. Jiang Quan came to take his brother's place to eat in the backyard, and saw a man in a brocade robe walking into the store.
Jiang Cheng recognized this person; he was the customer who had bought two boxes of chestnut cakes earlier.
"Oh, you're busy." The man asked with a smile, "Your cakes are good. Give me four more boxes."
Jiang Cheng didn't suspect anything and gave him four boxes.
After paying the money, the man did not leave, but said to Jiang Cheng: "Can you help me deliver these four boxes of cakes to Feihe Tower? I am the owner of Feihe Tower."
Jiang Quan knew Feihe Tower and quickly said, "I'll go and take it there." His elder brother hadn't eaten yet, so he decided to go and take it there himself.
Jiang Cheng nodded, tied up four boxes of pastries with thin hemp ropes, and handed them to his younger brother, telling him to ask clearly before delivering the goods. After all, they didn't know the owner of Feihe Tower, and if the wrong goods were delivered, they would have to pay compensation.
"I know." Jiang Quan picked up four boxes of snacks and ran away.
Feihelou is a big restaurant that sells wine downstairs and entertains guests upstairs. It is a place frequented by wealthy people.
Jiang Quan ran to the front of the building. Before he even climbed the stairs, he saw a man dressed as a waiter coming down to greet him: "These are the cakes that our boss bought, right? Just leave them to me."
Jiang Quan glanced at Feihe Tower and asked, "What's your boss's surname? What does he look like?"
"What do you mean?" The waiter glared at him and said, "Our boss's surname is Lai. Didn't we buy two boxes of cakes from you this morning? Give them to me quickly. The guests upstairs are waiting."
Jiang Quan had no choice but to hand him the four boxes of pastries, and then watched the waiter go into Feihe Tower.
When I returned to the shop, the customer was gone.
Jiang Cheng asked him, "Is that man really the owner of Feihe Tower?"
"Well, the guy inside said yes." Jiang Quan said, "Brother, go eat. I'll look after the shop."
Jiang Cheng nodded and turned to go to the backyard.
Erni and Yingbao cooked a lot of dishes today, and also bought braised goose and chicken from outside.
Yingbao also bought a can of boiled fruit juice from somewhere, which was sour and sweet and very delicious.
Jiang Cheng sat down to eat and saw the chestnut cakes still frying on the stove. He said, "Chestnut cakes are selling well today. One person bought six boxes and said he would come back next time and asked us to make more. His guests like it."
"The guests like it?" Yingbao just felt strange.
The price of their own gift boxes of chestnut cakes is very high, and most people would not buy the packaged ones to eat at home, unless their family is very rich.
Jiang Cheng: "He is the owner of Feihelou. He said that his guests are either rich or noble, and ordinary cakes are not pleasing to them."
Yingbao just felt that something was wrong, but she couldn't find out what was wrong.
While eating, I suddenly heard Jiang Quan calling out from the front: "Yingbao, how many chestnut cakes do you have at home? This guest wants fifty boxes."
Fifty boxes, at the price of one jin and four hundred coins per box, would be twenty taels of silver.
This is not a small amount of money.
Yingbao counted the packed chestnut cakes in the kitchen and said to her second brother, "There are forty boxes."
Jiang Quan: "Forty boxes is fine. The customers are waiting for them. Let's send them to Feihe Tower for payment."
No cash
Yingbao immediately became alert and ran to the shop in front to check.
Then a man wearing a silk flower on his head was seen waving a folding fan and looking around. He saw a little girl but didn't pay any attention to her. He just said to Jiang Quan, "Hurry up, my guests are waiting."
"Okay, right there." Jiang Quan sorted out the chestnut cakes in the shop and tied them into piles with hemp rope.
Five boxes make a stack, so fifty boxes would probably make ten stacks.
Yingbao asked, "The customer doesn't want to pay in cash?"
Before Jiang Quan could reply, the man glared at him and said, "What do you mean? How can I, the owner of Feihe Tower, owe you a mere twenty taels?"
The more Yingbao looked at this person, the more she felt something was wrong.
He said he was the owner of Feihe Tower, but apart from his fancy looks, he didn't look like the owner at all.
And even with a thick layer of white powder, it couldn't hide the filthy look on her face.
"We don't sell on credit in our store."
Yingbao said bluntly: "If the customer can't pay in cash, go to another store and buy cheaper ones."
Jiang Quan was stunned and looked at his little cousin, not knowing what to say.
The man was furious, pointing at Ying Bao and cursing, "Where did you come from, you bastard! How dare you be rude to me? Do you still want to do business?"
Yingbao was not afraid of him at all. "My uncle is from the police station. How dare you threaten me?"
He turned to his second cousin and said, "Go to the police station and find uncle. Tell him that there is a swindler here who wants to cheat us out of our money. Humph! I know the owner of Feihe Tower. He is not someone like you at all!"
Yingbao's words were so certain that the man was stunned.
Seeing that Jiang Quan was really walking out of the shop, he suddenly turned around, picked up the corner of his robe and ran away.
He didn't even bother to pick up the folding fan in his hand when it fell.
Seeing this, Jiang Quan could only come back and ask: "Yingbao, is this guy really a liar?"
"Yeah." Yingbao had encountered this once in her previous life and was almost cheated. Fortunately, she was vigilant and stingy, so the scammer did not succeed.
Jiang Quan was puzzled: "Then how did he cheat?"
I didn't lose anything.
Ying Bao rolled her eyes at him and said, "First I'll give you something sweet, then I'll cheat you."