Lian Ji urged impatiently. Before long, Feng Yuan stood meekly in front of her.
"Didn't you assure me confidently back then, claiming that only you could offer top - grade bird's nests in the towns within a hundred - mile radius? What's going on now!"
How could Feng Yuan not see that Lian Ji was in a fit of anger and was clearly taking out on him all the frustration she had endured from Li Ying?
He was indignant inside. In fact, the bird's nests he had provided were flawless. It was all Lian Ji's greed. She had actually regarded the townspeople as bumpkins and sold the lowest - grade broken bird's nests with feathers not even picked clean!
However, he was of humble status. Unwilling to be inferior to Li Ying and hoping that Lian Ji would give him a leg up, he had no choice but to swallow his anger and wait for her to calm down.
Lian Ji pointed at his nose and threw a big tantrum. Then she slowly leaned back on the beauty's couch, regained her usual poise, and asked in a soft voice, "You just said that the little whore advised you to seize this opportunity and offer bird's nests of higher quality?"
A hint of helplessness flashed across Feng Yuan's face.
"Madam, it's not that I'm deliberately hiding something. Bird's nests are naturally formed. Despite my years of searching, I only managed to obtain one top - grade Dragon's Tooth Nest, which I've already presented to you. Where can I find better ones now!"
Moreover, a Dragon's Tooth Nest was so outstanding in appearance that it was priceless. Even if he were extremely lucky to find one, no one in this small town could afford it!
Hearing this, Lian Ji squinted slightly and said nonchalantly, "I've heard that there's a kind of blood bird's nest, which is regarded as the holy grail among bird's nests."
Feng Yuan's heart tightened.
Indeed.
The few bird's nests Li Ying had presented were of superior quality. In such a hurry, he really couldn't come up with something that could outshine hers.
The words "blood bird's nest" had been swirling uncontrollably in his mind since Li Ying had proposed it.
Blood bird's nests were extremely rare. An ordinary person might spend a lifetime without finding even one.
Seeing the thoughtful look on his face, Lian Ji knew that he had already come up with a good idea. She immediately smiled.
"Shopkeeper Feng, I know you must have a good plan. Just go ahead and do it. Don't worry. I'll back you up."
Feng Yuan backed out of her room. Facing the blazing sun, he squinted slightly. After a long while, as if finally making up his mind, he took a deep breath.
His lifelong aspiration was to secure the top position in the town's catering business.
It was simply unseemly to allow a mere woman to trample all of them men under her feet!
"Go, take out all the remaining bird's nests in the warehouse. Then send someone to get some swallow droppings. Remember, this must be done extremely carefully. Not a single bit of information can leak out!"
He waved over his confidant and whispered instructions. The confidant understood and quietly went to make preparations.
After the man left, Feng Yuan sat down solemnly on the red - wood eight - immortals chair.
Success or failure hinged on this one move.
He had no idea that all his actions had been seen by Lu Xunguang.
Watching the confidant carefully place one bird's nest after another into a box, Lu Xunguang didn't want to watch any longer. He went straight back to the village and told Li Ying everything he had seen.
Li Ying sighed.
Feng Yuan was a man of evil intentions. She had only given a slight hint, and this unscrupulous merchant had really taken the bait.
"A Ying, do you want me to destroy all those things?"
Li Ying just shook her head and said softly, "No need."
The swiftlets she had brought back hadn't fully recovered yet, and the plan to raise house swifts artificially still needed some time. They mustn't tip off the enemy at this moment.
Lian Ji had been restless ever since she came to the town with the big boss and had been opposing her everywhere. It was time to teach her a lesson.
She arranged people to keep a close eye on Feng Yuan's movements. Seeing that the injuries of the swiftlets recuperating at home had mostly healed, she drew a sketch of the swiftlet house. Taking Lu Xunguang with her, she took the opportunity of going to buy konjac and arranged the task of building a swiftlet house on the island.
Since the swiftlets had chosen to nest on the cliff of that island, building an artificial swiftlet house there would naturally increase the success rate of attracting other swiftlets to move in.
The village head never expected that Li Ying would trust him so much. Moreover, swallows were a good omen. He quickly agreed, hastily repaired his own house, and called on the young and strong lads on the island to get busy.
Li Ying was relieved. She loaded a boat with cooked konjac tofu and konjac vermicelli and returned fully loaded.
The female workers on the swiftlet island were meticulous in their work. All the konjac had been rinsed seven or eight times, and the residual alkaline taste had been washed away completely.
Seeing that it was time for dinner, Li Ying changed her clothes and was about to cook.
First, she fried the egg liquid until it was golden and fluffy. The pre - marinated chicken, shrimps, and squid were quickly fried in oil until they were half - cooked.
She stir - fried the self - made black pepper sauce and tomato sauce until fragrant, then added a little oyster sauce, salt, and sugar for seasoning. Finally, she poured the cooked konjac vermicelli and side dishes into the pan and stir - fried until every strand of konjac vermicelli was coated with the rich sauce. Then she added a handful of tender green vegetables.
This seafood konjac fried noodles was very quick to make, but the taste and flavor were extremely delicious and novel.
A Man had smelled the aroma early on. Sniffing like a greedy dog, she came over and said with a smile, "Sister, what delicious food are we having today? Is there any meat?"
When she had disguised herself as a Kunlun slave, she was thin and sallow - faced, like a withered straw. Now her little face was getting rounder.
Li Ying gently pinched her chubby cheek and said, "Today we're having diet meals! A Man, have you forgotten about the body management of a female star?"
After winning the championship in the dance competition, the big boss had arranged for a nanny to teach A Man etiquette so that she could perform on a bigger stage in the capital in the future.
Although Li Ying didn't agree with the "white, young, and thin" aesthetic, she still reminded A Man to have a balanced diet and not ruin her promising future because of momentary gluttony.
Although A Man didn't understand what a "diet meal" was, smelling the delicious food on the plate, she immediately dug in without hesitation.
"Sister, what kind of noodles are these? They're so novel. They're different from the potato noodles we ate the other day!"
Her eyes sparkled with excitement. Li Ying smiled and said, "This is a diet meal. The konjac fried noodles you're eating now are filling but can't be absorbed by the body, so it's not easy to gain weight. Do you like it?"
A Man didn't understand her explanation. All she cared about was eating. She nodded vaguely and repeatedly, "Like, like!"
Li Ying was relieved. She cooked another bowl of spicy and sour noodles, replacing the potato noodles with konjac vermicelli. The minced meat and toppings were the same as usual. Granny Sun and Lu Xunguang also enjoyed their meals.
However, the three of them couldn't help but feel a little confused.
"A Ying, why on earth did you make these diet meals?"
Li Ying smiled slightly. Before she could answer, the hurried voice of Bao Guiyou came from outside the door.
"Boss Li, something's wrong! You've got to help us come up with a good solution!"