Li Yun swallowed the cold chicken skewer in his mouth, then squinted at the chefs.
"What have you tasted? I must have the same dishes served in my Yunlai Restaurant within two days!"
He was stern and fierce. The chefs looked at each other, and all of them showed a bit of embarrassment on their faces.
Li Yun roared, "What are you standing there for, like a bunch of idiots! I've spent a fortune to keep you, not for you to sit around doing nothing! A mere village woman came up with some cheap tricks and made some unrefined stuff. How could it stump you?"
Hearing this, the chefs finally said cautiously, "Boss, it's not that we're incompetent. It's just... these skewers are either offal or chicken tips. They're really not suitable for the high - class guests of our Yunlai Restaurant. How could they be willing to eat such vulgar food?"
Li Yun was taken aback. He really hadn't thought of this reason.
He frowned and pondered for a long time. Finally, he waved his hand and dismissed the chefs.
There was really no need for Yunlai Restaurant to lower its status like this.
He summoned his trusted servant and whispered some instructions in his ear. The servant immediately nodded obsequiously and left to carry out the order.
That night, some gossips spread in the streets and alleys.
"Eating chicken heads makes one a chatterbox, spreading rumors and being annoying."
"Eating chicken claws makes one write messily, like scribbling."
"Eating chicken gizzards makes one narrow - minded, always nitpicking and getting annoyed."
"Eating chicken hearts makes one muddled - minded, far from achieving success in the imperial examinations."
These rhymes were obviously aimed at Li Ying's grilled chicken stall. The servant of Yunlai Restaurant only spent a few copper coins to bribe the naughty kids on the street. They sang merrily as they ran.
Scholars studied hard for ten years, hoping to pass the imperial examinations one day. It was said that some of them would wear red undergarments when going to the capital for the exams, for the sake of good luck. Now, these nursery rhymes seemed to cut off their path to success. The scholars immediately became superstitious, and the number of customers at the stall decreased significantly compared to before.
Grandma Sun said angrily, "These pedantic scholars! They can't study well themselves and instead blame our food!"
She had tasted every kind of grilled chicken skewer. If it weren't for Li Ying's concern that her gout, which had just been under control, might get worse, Grandma Sun would have feasted on them to her heart's content.
Li Ying wasn't worried. She didn't need to guess to know that these nursery rhymes must have been the work of someone with ill intentions.
She was too lazy to defend herself. Instead, she simply gave all the leftover chicken claws from that day to the beggars in the city who were short of food and clothing.
The beggars were always hungry. As long as they could fill their stomachs, they wouldn't be picky.
They bowed and scraped to Li Ying, regarding her as a living Bodhisattva who saved the suffering. They told everyone that Mrs. Li was generous and kind, a great person who had accumulated virtue for many lifetimes.
Later in the day, some whispers spread in the city.
It was said that a little beggar found more than a dozen copper coins beside a slop bucket.
It was also said that a beggar saw a customer coming out of a gambling house. He wanted to avoid him quickly for fear of being beaten like a stray dog. But unexpectedly, the customer had won money and was in a good mood. He simply threw a silver coin as a reward.
The beggars who had eaten Li Ying's grilled chicken claws all seemed to be lucky. They all received a lot of alms. They were overjoyed and spread the news to each other.
Before long, someone joked that eating Mrs. Li's chicken claws had miraculous effects. They were simply "fortune - grabbing hands".
With such a good omen, how could businessmen miss this opportunity? The news spread quickly. Overnight, the chicken claws at the grilled chicken stall, which had been ignored before, became extremely popular.
Even the grilled chicken offal, which customers had been a bit hesitant about before, was in short supply.
There was a huge crowd in front of Li Ying's small cart stall. The customers were all afraid of missing out and rushed to stuff the skewers into their mouths. She closed the stall early and returned to her mansion. Then she picked up some cold and spicy chicken claws she had made in the morning and went to find Lu Xunguang.
"Brother Lu?"
She stepped into the Lu Mansion. Lu Xunguang was sitting in the pavilion waiting for her, wearing a thin cloak.
"Was it you who secretly helped with the 'fortune - grabbing chicken claws' thing?"
Li Ying looked at him with a smile. Although it was a question, her tone was very certain, indicating that she had already guessed Lu Xunguang's doing.
Lu Xunguang was afraid that she would catch a cold. He took off his cloak and put it on her. He said frankly, "It was indeed me who sent people to reward those beggars to help you solve the problem."
"I know, A Ying is smart and can surely turn the situation around easily. But this Li Yun from Yunlai Restaurant is really arrogant. My Lu family has been lying low for many years, just accumulating strength secretly. If I didn't take action, that Li Yun would really think he could bully you, a weak woman."
There was a glint in his eyes. Li Ying looked at his high - spirited appearance and vaguely saw a touch of heroic spirit of a "golden dragon not to be confined in a pond". She smiled.
Lu Xunguang tightened the collar of the cloak for her and asked softly, "A Ying, will you blame me for meddling?"
Before she could answer, he added in a deep voice, "A Ying, people in the capital are different from those in the fishing village. Most of them are snobbish. If you don't have the support of a noble family behind you, you'll surely be looked down upon everywhere and have a hard time. Although the Lu family is not a prominent family now, it still has some foundation."
"Don't worry, A Ying. I will make the whole Lu family your strong backing."
He said it firmly, and Li Ying felt a warm current in her heart.
This man rarely intervened in her business on his own initiative. The only two times he did it were to help her get rid of potential troubles.
He was so devoted to her. How could she blame him?
While there was affection in the Li Mansion, in Yunlai Restaurant, everyone looked solemn. Several trusted servants hung their heads obediently and didn't even dare to breathe loudly.
"You useless idiots! You can't even deal with a mere woman?"
Li Yun was extremely angry. He slapped the mahogany table hard with one hand.
"Boss, don't be angry. This time, that woman just took advantage of a loophole. We were just a bit too hasty and didn't think it through."
"That bitch just made some new and fancy things. Our chefs are highly skilled. They can easily make dishes that taste better than hers!"
Seeing that Li Yun still looked unhappy, the trusted servant quickly added, "Boss, you don't need to worry about lowering our status. I've already come up with a perfect excuse! I guarantee that Li Ying will shoot herself in the foot and have no way to complain!"