Several burly men were being aggressive. Li Ying stepped in front of Granny Sun, yet still wore a kind - faced smile on her face.
"Since the day our stall opened, we've always used genuine ingredients and treated everyone fairly, be they young or old. You gentlemen claim that our stewed pork bones are actually dog meat. I suppose you must have tasted them first - hand, right?"
Dogs guard homes just like oxen help with farming. They are good helpers for farmers. Hearing that these hooligans were so heartless, the on - looking villagers couldn't help but feel disgusted.
The burly men were left speechless. Just as the commotion on the dock was reaching a peak, they heard a distant barking.
It was Maomao. Somehow it had run out and now, looking mighty and proud, it led a group of stray cats and dogs charging towards Li Ying.
Li Ying had seen the leading dogs when there was a trouble - making incident at Deji Hall. She had even fed them a few bone scraps. Now, as soon as they stopped, they excitedly stuck out their tongues and rubbed against Li Ying.
Li Ying was surrounded by more than a dozen furry dog heads. Maomao even nimbly jumped onto her shoulder, looking extremely cocky with its shiny little cat eyes.
"Everyone, the innocent will prove their innocence. In this situation, I don't think I need to say any more, do I?"
Everyone fell silent.
Indeed, animals have the sharpest instincts. If Li Ying had really cooked their kind, these animals would never have been so affectionate towards her.
The burly men looked reluctant. Just as they were about to argue, they heard a breathless voice from behind.
"Don't slander and bully Lady Li! Those spines were all bought from my butcher shop. Since she bought a lot, I even gave her two marrow bones for soup. You hooligans, are you trying to slander my butcher shop for selling dog meat under the guise of pork?"
The villagers looked in the direction of the voice and saw that it was Butcher Zhang from the town's meat shop, rushing over in a hurry to testify.
"I've been selling meat for more than a decade. If you doubt me, then don't eat my meat from now on!"
Butcher Zhang was a straightforward and hot - tempered man. Since he had spoken, the on - looking villagers naturally didn't dare to doubt. There were hisses all around, and some people immediately urged to arrest those trouble - making burly men and take them to the yamen to clear Li Ying's name.
Unfortunately, seeing the situation going against them, Yang Er and the others had already slipped away early.
Seeing this, the villagers were even more convinced that Li Ying had been wrongly maligned. Realizing they had misunderstood her, they all felt ashamed and held her hands to apologize for a long time.
When everyone on the dock finally left, Li Ying saw Lu Xunguang waiting for her in the distance, leaning against a bluestone.
Granny Sun said understandingly with a smile, "Hurry up and go!"
Li Ying felt her face flush for no reason. She was a bit shy and softly asked, "Brother Lu, why are you here?"
Lu Xunguang glanced at Maomao lying in Li Ying's arms. The little fellow looked extremely proud. He calmly said, "From afar, I saw your sickly little cat rushing back with a bunch of followers. I guessed something had happened to you, so I finished work early and went to find a witness for you."
He said it as if it were the most natural thing.
Li Ying was touched. Just as she was about to thank him, Lu Xunguang continued, "Just now, I watched those men leave in the chaos. Although they were running away, they showed no signs of panic. Their steps were steady. They don't seem like street hooligans but rather people who know some martial arts. The person behind them must not be simple."
As if to confirm his words, a kind voice suddenly sounded behind Li Ying.
"Are you Lady Li? I'm Tao Zhi, the manager of Tianxiang Tower. I heard that your business opened today. I wanted to come and congratulate you, but I didn't expect to encounter such trouble."
She turned around and saw a plump man in purple robes. He bowed and smiled shrewdly at her. In an instant, she understood.
Wasn't this the mastermind behind the scenes coming to her on his own initiative?
Seeing that Li Ying remained calm, Tao Zhi didn't take it to heart. He continued on his own, "Lady Li is new here and a woman. It's hard for you to run a business alone in this town. It's inevitable that you'll be targeted. I'm here today because I have a great business opportunity to discuss with you. Can we talk privately?"
Li Ying saw his confident look. She was curious to see what else he had up his sleeve, so she simply smiled faintly and waited for Tao Zhi to continue.
"My Tianxiang Tower is willing to hire Lady Li as our head chef with a generous salary. As long as you can keep creating new and delicious dishes, the monthly pay can be negotiated."
"If Lady Li doesn't want to show up in public, you can also sell me your recipes. The price... will be the same as Deji Hall. I'll pay you fifty taels of silver in advance, and once you've written a hundred recipes, I'll settle the remaining balance. How about it?"
A hundred taels of silver would be enough for this woman to live a comfortable life for the rest of her life. Tao Zhi was confident, just waiting for Li Ying to agree.
Li Ying looked at him half - smiling. After a long while, she calmly said, "Thank you, Manager Tao, for your kindness. However, I'd rather decline this cooperation."
She had suspected that the trouble on the dock today was deliberately arranged by a restaurant in the town to give her a warning. Tao Zhi's actions were clearly a self - incrimination.
First, he sent people to slander her dishes, putting her in a difficult situation. Then, when she was feeling discouraged, he offered an olive branch.
And the offer of buying her recipes for fifty taels of silver also seemed rather strange.
When she was discussing business with Deji Hall, besides herself, the manager Du Zhong, and the young apprentice Huang Lian were the only ones present.
Tao Zhi's words seemed to be betraying Huang Lian mercilessly, but in fact, it was a warning to her that Deji Hall had been scheming against her as an outsider.
If she hadn't suspected Huang Lian early on and informed Du Zhong, and they hadn't secretly investigated the spy together, she might have fallen into this scheme of sowing discord and gratefully gone to work as a cook for Tao Zhi!
"I just want to earn a little money to cover my basic needs. I'm really not worth Manager Tao's high regard. I'm afraid I'll disappoint you in the future, so please don't mention this cooperation again."
She declined politely. Tao Zhi's hand, which was holding the contract document in his sleeve, paused for a moment, and his expression became rather ugly.
He was about to say something else, but Lu Xunguang beside him clearly had a cold look on his face, as if he was about to drive him away.
Tao Zhi could only force out two stiff laughs. "In that case, I wish Lady Li a prosperous business. Haha..."
Li Ying watched him leave awkwardly. She thanked Lu Xunguang again and again, settled Granny Sun and her daughter, and then rushed straight to Deji Hall without a moment's delay.
It was those new apprentices recruited by Huang Lian who were really suspicious. But without evidence, accusing them rashly might cause panic among the people in Deji Hall.
Now that Tianxiang Tower had accidentally revealed a flaw, if she didn't take this opportunity to completely root out the moles in Deji Hall, she would be "letting down" Tao Zhi's painstaking efforts.
The apprentices didn't expect her to come back. They all stopped what they were doing and looked at her in confusion.
"I was worried, so I came back to check on this glue."
Seeing her heading straight for the half - boiled Penfu glue, Huang Lian couldn't help but clench his fists tightly.
Could this woman have discovered something?
"Lady Li, it's getting late. You can come and check again tomorrow after the first batch of glue is completely boiled."
Huang Lian was afraid that Li Ying would point out the flaws, so he quickly stepped forward to stop her.
How could Li Ying not see through his thoughts?
She smiled slightly. "Huang Lian, why are you so nervous? I think this glue is of the highest quality. You've all worked really hard."
What?
Huang Lian never expected her to say such a thing. He was so shocked that he stood there, gaping.