Li Ying was busy washing radishes, dried cuttlefish, kelp, dried shrimps and scallops, then putting them all into the pot to make the soup base. Seeing Bao Guiyou in such a hurry, she wasn't the least bit surprised.
"Amang, serve tea for Shopkeeper Bao."
But Bao Guiyou had no intention of drinking tea.
"If I'm not mistaken, there must be someone causing trouble at Yufengxiang. They said that after eating your soup dumplings and pork skin jelly, instead of seeing any beauty - enhancing effects, people have become fat and no longer have the slender figure like a willow in the wind, right?"
Li Ying carefully skimmed off the layer of foam floating on the soup base and just casually asked. Bao Guiyou stood there, staring in disbelief and was too shocked to say a word.
Amazing! Truly amazing!
How could Boss Li be so good at predicting things!
"You're right! There were already some rumors in the market yesterday, saying that pork skin is greasy, not as refreshing as bird's nest. Eating it for a long - term will make people overweight..."
Li Ying nodded, not at all surprised.
The common people had lived through years of famine. Now that they suddenly tasted the delicious and affordable pork skin jelly and soup dumplings, and heard that eating them regularly could beautify their appearance, they were eager for quick results. They couldn't wait to soak themselves in "collagen" three meals a day.
Eating like this, how could they not gain weight?
She wanted to persuade them, but everyone has a love for beauty. How could her words stop them?
Lian Ji couldn't beat her in the bird's nest business, so she must be up to some tricks. The fact that overeating pork skin makes people gain weight was the perfect breakthrough.
So, she had been in a hurry to prepare the fat - reducing meals.
She originally planned to make coarse grains like potatoes and sweet potatoes into delicate dishes. Unexpectedly, she got konjac, which was a pleasant surprise and made her even more powerful.
Bao Guiyou didn't know that she already had a countermeasure. He continued to relay the whole thing.
"Boss Li, you don't know. Today, someone even said that the story about pork skin beautifying was just a rumor you deliberately spread. You colluded with our restaurants to make money. After all the beautiful girls in town have gained weight, you can help Miss Amang clear her competitors. It's a win - win for you!"
As soon as Bao Guiyou finished speaking, Amang was the first to shout.
"They have such a petty mind! My sister is upright. How can they slander her like this!"
She was an impatient and impulsive girl. Hearing this, she couldn't hold back anymore. She rushed out of the door and was going to argue with those malicious people in the town.
"Boss Li... What should we do?"
Bao Guiyou was at a loss and looked at Li Ying expectantly.
Li Ying sighed. She put the peeled boiled eggs, konjac knots, kelp skewers, fish balls, shrimp dumplings, chicken meatballs, bamboo shoot tips and other ingredients into the soup base one by one and slowly simmered this pot of oden on a low - fire. She left Granny Sun to watch the house and then followed Bao Guiyou to the town to find Amang.
When they arrived, Amang was standing in the middle of the crowd, angrily pinching her own face.
"Don't you slander my sister! What paving the way for me? Everyone is just as gluttonous and has gained weight! Look at my double - chin! Look at the chubby parts on my arms!"
She then rolled up her sleeves without hesitation, showing a fair section of her forearm. Seeing that those fat women who were gossiping still looked unyielding, she stamped her foot in anger.
"Look at my belly! I've also gained a lot of weight. My sister didn't scheme against anyone!"
Amang reached out to lift up her dress.
Although the dress she wore on the day of the Hu Xuan dance was also very daring, that was on the stage. It was really indecent to do so in public.
It was Shihu beside her who blushed and quickly took off his short shirt and covered Amang's body firmly.
Li Ying couldn't help but rub her forehead helplessly. Amang's personality was really... simply lovely.
She cleared her throat, pushed through the crowd and walked forward. She said in a deep voice, "Everyone, please calm down. Can you listen to me?"
"Rome wasn't built in a day. Beauty - enhancing is a lifelong task. It can't be achieved overnight just by dietary supplements."
"Not to mention pork skin, even if it's bird's nest, if you eat too much, you won't be able to absorb the nutrients. Instead, you'll feel bloated. Excess is as bad as deficiency."
"What you said about weight gain today is indeed because of overeating pork skin jelly. But think about it. If you supplement with meat every day and still look haggard, isn't that too strange?"
What she said made sense. With Shihu's support, the women looked at each other and couldn't say a word.
They were just instigated by Lian Ji to stir up trouble. Now that they were rendered speechless by Li Ying, they had to leave resentfully.
Li Ying was calm. Taking this opportunity, she explained to the onlookers in detail how dietary supplements should be done gradually and not in a hurry.
Finally, she promised that the "fat - reducing meals" would be launched soon, which piqued the interest of the diners and made them look forward to it.
The next day, the oden had been simmered for a whole night. Even the big radishes were already very soft and flavorful. Li Ying loaded the big pot of oden onto a mule cart. She emptied half of the pastry shop to sell "light meals".
"Boss Li, what are you up to this time?"
Some curious diners looked at the big pot beside her. In front of her, the red and yellow mashed potatoes and other things emitted a faint sweet smell. They were a bit confused.
Li Ying introduced with a smiling face, "Fat - reducing bento, specially prepared for maintaining weight and having a light diet after a big meal. You can choose one coarse - grain staple food, two kinds of meat and a vegetable salad for each portion. Would you like to have a try, sir?"
The staple foods included mashed potatoes, mashed pumpkins, mashed sweet potatoes, multi - grain rice, and various flavored konjac fried noodles and konjac soup noodles.
The meats were light pan - fried white - fleshed fish, spicy and sour shrimp dumplings, marinated small seafood, marinated chicken eggs and so on. They were high - protein and low - fat, fragrant but not greasy.
Putting the selected side dishes together and putting them into the delicate food boxes, they looked like colorful jewelry boxes, pleasing to the eye.
If you didn't want to eat light meals, you could also choose oden. For one copper coin, you could choose two kinds of meat or three kinds of vegetables, paired with konjac noodles soaked in the soup. It was extremely light and refreshing.
The girls heard that no matter how much konjac you ate, you would never gain weight. They rushed to buy it. Soon, the whole pot of oden was sold out.
Strangely enough, after drinking the sweet soup base, although you felt very full in your stomach, there was no sense of greasiness. Instead, you felt extremely comfortable all over your body.
The stuffy feeling caused by overeating greasy food in the past few days had completely disappeared. You felt refreshed all over!
Only then did people believe Li Ying's "fat - reducing meals" and praised them highly.
When Lian Ji heard the news, she was so angry that she almost overturned the beauty's couch.
That little bitch Li Ying was even openly provoking her. She even sent a light meal and a portion of oden, saying that she invited her and the major shareholder to taste them!
Wasn't this just like slapping her in the face!
She had arranged for the old women to stir up trouble, but unexpectedly, Li Ying took advantage of the situation she created and opened a new shop. This so - called "fat - reducing meals" had become very popular as soon as they were launched. It was simply ignoring her!
It was simply outrageous! Outrageous!
Lian Ji was burning with anger, but she still didn't dare to knock the food box to the ground. She could only grit her teeth and shout at the servants.
"Go and find Feng Yuan for me! I'll ask him how much longer I have to wait for the top - grade blood bird's nest!"