Chapter 82. Suppliers
Qin Liu snorted coldly.
He didn't force your wives to spend money at the Yihonglou, they did it willingly. Women like them, who are promiscuous and unfaithful, are only cherished by these men.
Qin Liu was about to retort angrily, but suddenly remembered that Cheng Songer was still standing by.
Men can argue and fight among themselves, but they must never let women see it. Once a woman sees his malicious side, her impression of him will be greatly diminished, and he will be no different from those scoundrels in her eyes.
Therefore, Qin Liu faced these arrogant masters and restrained his sharp tongue, silently lowering his head, pretending to be weak and pitiful.
"I only met this young lady once, and I have never seduced her. If you want to scold someone, scold me, don't involve others."
His figure was already attractive, and even with a veil, one could still see his approximate expression. With his head slightly lowered, enduring the insults from others, he looked extremely aggrieved.
This greatly aroused the sympathy of women.
Especially the shop assistant who was watching on the side, her eyes were fixed on Qin Liu, feeling an itch in her heart.
Before Cheng Songer could speak, the shop assistant who was captivated by Qin Liu's beauty took the initiative to help him out. She brought tea and snacks to Master Li and said, "Gentlemen, please calm down. We are all here to shop, let's not ruin the atmosphere."
Little did she know that Master Li, who was still angry, didn't buy into her act. Instead, he retorted sarcastically, "What? Are you also interested in this little slut? Huh, don't blame me for not reminding you, if you want to help him out, he won't appreciate it! His benefactors are either wealthy merchants in the city or talented scholars with unlimited prospects. And you? Just a lowly shop assistant, do you have the audacity to act heroic in front of me?"
The shop assistant was sprayed with verbal abuse, her face turned ugly, but what he said was an undeniable fact.
Cheng Songer didn't want to continue getting involved in this mess, so she paid and turned to leave.
Little did she know that Qin Liu followed closely behind.
"Miss, please wait."
Cheng Songer frowned, "Do you have something to say?"
Qin Liu noticed her expression, having grown up in a difficult environment, he learned the skill of speaking differently to different people. With his cunning nature, he could win people over. Apart from a few jealous men who envied his beauty and his ability to manipulate others, no woman had ever shown such a disgusted expression towards him.
Cheng Songer doesn't understand where she went wrong, so she is more cautious in her attitude towards Cheng Qingzhi, and her goodwill is more straightforward.
Cheng Songer said lightly, "Instead of apologizing to me, you should be concerned about your companion who defended you just now. After all, she spoke up for you and was humiliated by Lord Li, while I did nothing but watch coldly."
Honestly speaking, his concern for Cheng Songer is purely driven by his desire to win.
As for that companion, the shop assistant doesn't care about him at all. What's the use of speaking up for him? It's all because she is attracted to his face, which clouds her judgment. If he didn't have exceptional beauty, why would that companion defend him?
In the end, the companion doesn't genuinely want to help him.
Women are all the same.
"There's nothing to feel guilty about. If you're not feeling well, don't wander around. I should go now."
"How do you know if I'm feeling well?" Qin Liu's fox-like eyes showed a hint of surprise.
"Your voice is hoarse. Let's not talk anymore. My husband is waiting for me at home." After saying that, Cheng Songer walked away quickly.
Qinyu touched his throat with his fingertips. He had strained his voice while singing a play last night, and his Adam's apple hurt with the slightest movement.
But in order to maintain his own value, he had been enduring without making a sound. Who would have thought that this woman would discover it?
He smiled and watched Cheng Songer, as if she was cherishing her precious belongings, rushing home with a small box containing hairpins. He murmured, "Does she really care about her husband like this?"
As soon as the words fell, Qinyu laughed self-mockingly. How could that be possible? Women are fickle and unfaithful.
Cheng Songer walked home with the small box in her hand, passing by a roast chicken and duck shop. Especially the roast duck, its crispy skin was smoked with fruit peels, and fat would occasionally drip out, making people salivate.
Thinking about the days of famine, they hadn't eaten much meat, so she went into the shop and bought one.
The owner of the roast duck restaurant took the roast duck off the hook and chopped it into small pieces on the chopping board. At this moment, Cheng Songer noticed that besides the heart and liver, all the other internal organs of these roast ducks had been hollowed out.
Cheng Songer asked, "Boss, do you throw away everything else when you handle chickens and ducks here?"
The boss smiled and said, "How is that possible? Chicken feet, duck feet, chicken gizzards, and chicken offal are all sold to Juxian Restaurant. They have many customers, and the kitchen staff there collects them from everywhere. We only keep the duck intestines for ourselves because they are difficult to handle and not tasty. We slaughter dozens of ducks every day, and it's too much to eat and easy to spoil, so we just throw them away."
Cheng Songer's eyes lit up. Duck intestines were a delicacy for her whenever she ate hot pot.
She said, "Boss, if you have duck intestines later, sell them to me."
The boss wrapped the roast duck in oil paper and smiled, "Sure, it's something we can't sell anyway. If you want 10 catties, it will cost 2 wen. We have several catties in the kitchen. Do you want to take some back?"
"Okay," Cheng Songer replied, suddenly remembering something. "Do you sell duck blood here?"
"Duck blood?" The boss burst into laughter. "Are you joking with me, miss? Duck blood is naturally put directly when we process the ducks. Who would be crazy enough to drink duck blood?"
It seemed that the people here hadn't discovered the delicacy of duck blood yet.
Suppressing her excitement, she said, "Then next time, when you slaughter ducks, collect the duck blood in a basin for me."
"Really?" The boss widened his eyes. "You're not joking?"
"Of course not." Although these people didn't know how delicious duck blood was now, once her hot pot restaurant opened and this way of eating was discovered, the price of duck blood would naturally rise.
Taking advantage of this opportunity to gain as much advantage as possible, since duck intestines were already so cheap, the price of duck blood should be even cheaper. Just as Cheng Songer was about to negotiate the price, the boss said directly, "Alright, although I don't know what you want to do with this duck blood, you can take it directly, but you'll have to bring your own basin."
Cheng Songer couldn't help but feel delighted. "Of course. Boss, I will come to buy from you regularly in the future."
The boss also smiled. Having a long-term supplier was better than anything else. Although she only earned 2 wen for 10 catties, it was still better than giving them away for free like before.
Having obtained the duck blood for free and also taking two catties of duck intestines from the boss, Cheng Songer's mood became even better.
She went to the blacksmith's house halfway to have ten copper pots made, and then took a detour to the vegetable market.
In ancient times, there was no greenhouse technology, so there were not many varieties of vegetables. The most common ones were radishes and cabbage, as well as potatoes and yams.
She picked some leafy greens and happened to see what seemed to be a newly opened butcher shop.
Compared to a nearby old shop that had been open for many years, the business at this butcher shop was very poor, with only one woman alone in the store.
Cheng Songer approached and the butcher immediately stood up warmly and greeted her, saying, "What would the young lady like to buy? The meat I have here was freshly slaughtered this morning, very fresh."
She also bought some pork liver, pork belly, and pork loin from the meat stall, and cut them into thin slices. Although they couldn't compare to the taste of tender beef, they were excellent for hot pot.
"Boss, how much is the pork throat here?" She looked around the butcher shop and asked.
Although pork throat wasn't as delicious as beef throat, it still had a good taste. It only needed a quick blanching before it could be eaten, and it had a refreshing texture.
The butcher was taken aback and asked in a low voice, "Miss, what is pork throat?"
"Pork throat is the blood vessels on the pig's heart," she replied.
The butcher suddenly realized, "No one wants that thing at all. We usually just throw it away. But if you want it, I'll get it for you right now."
Without asking for the reason, the butcher directly brought out a long piece of pork throat from the back room, showing her sincere nature.
"Since you've bought so much meat, this. . . pork throat, right? I'll just give it to you," the butcher said generously.
Cheng Songer gratefully said, "Thank you, boss. Don't throw away this thing in the future. When my shop opens, I'll buy it directly from you. I'll buy as much as you have."
"Really?" The butcher was overjoyed. Suddenly, she received a big order, which was a rare occurrence for her struggling business. She was excited and said, "Alright, from now on, whatever you want, just tell me."
With the basic supply of meat for hot pot resolved, Cheng Songer happily returned home.
She put the meat and vegetables in the kitchen and had Xiao Zhi add charcoal to the copper pot. The meat was sliced thinly and ready to be cooked in the hot pot later.
She then eagerly ran into the house, pushed open the door, and presented the golden hairpin to Cheng Qingzhi as if presenting a treasure.
The autumn breeze gently blew, messing up her hair.
"Do you like it?" She sat beside him, and the golden magnolia seemed to bloom from the palm of her hand.
". . . . I like it." Cheng Qingzhi's Adam's apple rolled, his eyes shimmering with moisture, many words choked at the edge of his lips.
"Then let me help you put it on." Cheng Songer pinned the hairpin on his hair bun, her clear voice carrying warmth. "My Qingzhi looks so handsome."
Note: Revised