Tao Zhi let out a strange "gurgle" in his throat. It seemed that he wanted to defend himself, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't come up with any reasonable excuse.
Several servants immediately "politely" escorted him out.
The master of the house looked at Li Ying with great interest. "Du Zhong praised you to the skies in his letter, saying that you're a rare talent. Now that I've met you in person, it's really true."
He put down his white jade chopsticks. From his somewhat tired and cloudy old eyes, two sharp beams of light suddenly shot out.
"Mrs. Li, you've gone to so much trouble to invite me here. It mustn't be as simple as just wanting to be a cook in my mansion. Come on, tell me what you want."
Since he had come straight to the point, Li Ying didn't beat around the bush anymore. She said clearly, "I want to sign a gambling agreement with you. As an investor, you give me the initial capital to open a restaurant. One year later, if I can make the income of the restaurant the highest among all your industries, you'll continue to invest in me. If I can't make a fortune every day, I'll return all your investment with interest without any hesitation!"
Before the master of the house could say a word, the beautiful woman beside him snorted disdainfully.
"Such a young upstart! Where did this little girl come from, daring to talk such big talk? It's just some food. At most, it can only sell for a few dozen taels of silver. Thinking that your restaurant can make a fortune every day is nothing but a pipe dream!"
The master of the house whispered to stop her. "Lian Ji, don't talk nonsense."
Lian Ji pouted unhappily but finally held her tongue.
Li Ying said confidently, "Food is the paramount necessity of the people. The daily food expenses may seem insignificant at first glance, but over the years, it can be a huge sum. Moreover, restaurants are places where people come and go. Since ancient times, they've been the most active places for information dissemination. Businessmen value connections the most. If the restaurant can be a national chain, it will be a great help to your business, sir."
Although the master of the house had never heard the term "national chain", he vaguely understood what she meant, and his mind was jolted.
This young lady, with her high - spirited and commanding appearance, overlapped with a beautiful and graceful figure in his youthful dream, making him feel a sense of nostalgia for a long time.
He took a deep breath, steadied his mind, and then told his subordinate to get the silver note and hand it to Li Ying.
"Mrs. Li, I'll take this gamble with you!"
Lian Ji watched as Li Ying, just with a table of plain white fish, managed to get the old man to spend a large amount of silver notes like water. She felt as if every bit of flesh between her ribs was aching.
She wanted to persuade the old man something, but Li Ying didn't notice at all. Holding the silver note, she stood under the bright sun. The warm sunlight shone on her, making the blood in her body a bit warmer.
She was finally going to have her own shop!
Li Ying steadied her mind and rushed straight to Tianxiang Restaurant.
Tao Zhi and several shop assistants were sitting around the table, frowning. Everyone had a worried look on their faces as if they didn't know if they could make it through the next day.
"You poisonous woman! Are you here to gloat over the misfortune of my Tianxiang Restaurant?"
Tao Zhi glared at Li Ying hatefully, his eyes spitting out venomous flames.
He really couldn't understand. Tianxiang Restaurant had been the best in the town for many years. Even when there were strong competitors, he had managed to drive them away by fair means or foul. But why, just after this young lady had been here for a few days, he had been retreating step by step, without even the strength to fight back?
Li Ying saw the unwillingness in his expression and said calmly, "You've brought this upon yourself. Shopkeeper Tao, I didn't mean to compete with you. It was you who forced me again and again. You can't blame others."
Tao Zhi caught sight of the silver note in her hand and immediately understood. He laughed out of anger.
"Li Ying! You even dare to dream of taking over my Tianxiang Restaurant? You're daydreaming!"
The reason why Tianxiang Restaurant had been able to operate until now was its good location, which was easily accessible. If even the shop was taken over by her, he would really have no chance of turning things around!
Li Ying said calmly, "It doesn't matter, Shopkeeper Tao. I'll talk to the middleman about the price myself. I'm just kindly informing you and your assistants that the fact that the blue - ringed octopus is poisonous has already been exposed. The diners in the town are panicking. For a businessman, without honesty, it's very difficult to stay in business. You'd better make preparations early."
She turned around gracefully and walked away. After walking a few steps, she felt a heavy weight on her shoulder. It was Maomao. This little guy's leg injury had almost recovered, and he was becoming more and more restless. Every day, he followed her like a tail.
Maomao found a comfortable position in her arms and lay down, squinting his eyes and raising his little cat head, asking her to scratch his chin.
It was obvious that he must have played some tricks secretly and was coming to claim his reward proudly.
"Did you play some tricks in Tianxiang Restaurant?"
Li Ying was in a great mood, holding the fluffy Maomao in her arms. Maomao lazily meowed.
As if in response to Maomao, behind them, the shop assistants in Tianxiang Restaurant let out a series of exclamations.
"Hey! Shopkeeper! Something's wrong! Where did such big rats come from!"
"Kill them quickly! If the villagers see the rats, they definitely won't come to our Tianxiang Restaurant anymore!"
The shop assistants were in a complete mess. Li Ying couldn't help but stop and watch. She saw a large group of big gray rats scurrying out of the back kitchen of Tianxiang Restaurant, charging straight towards the crowded places.
Tao Zhi stood there blankly in the middle of the rat swarm.
His Tianxiang Restaurant, to which he had devoted his whole life, was really over.
His lonely figure looked rather desolate. Li Ying didn't want to look anymore. She just sighed that those who do evil will surely bring ruin upon themselves, and then gently patted Maomao's ears.
"You're really something, managing to attract so many big rats. With such a serious hygiene problem in Tianxiang Restaurant, it will be troublesome for us when we take it over and open for business!"
However, it was precisely because of this terrifying rat infestation that Tao Zhi was completely defeated, and the deed of Tianxiang Restaurant finally fell into Li Ying's hands. It cost her a hundred taels of silver less than her budget.
After rewarding the great hero Maomao, Li Ying personally chose an auspicious day and took down the plaque of "Tianxiang Restaurant".
The villagers in the town gathered curiously at the door, discussing in twos and threes. They wondered how Mrs. Li was going to decorate this old Tianxiang Restaurant.
Li Ying greeted the guests with a smile, but in her hand, she was carrying a heavy hammer, which made people puzzled.
She walked to the kitchen with some difficulty, gritted her teeth, and with all her might, slammed the hammer hard on the white wall beside the chopping board!
The wall ash fell all over the ground, and the broken bricks that were exposed looked like an old toothless woman grinning.
"No destruction, no construction! In the future, my Li's Restaurant will have an open kitchen. There will never be any more rat infestations or poisoning incidents. Please rest assured, villagers!"
Carrying the heavy hammer, she made a solemn promise. Every word she said was resounding.
The villagers were stunned for a moment. When they understood the meaning of the four words "open kitchen", they couldn't help cheering!