The Fortunate Lady and Her Mountain Man

Chapter 243: Chapter 243: Blossoming Everywhere

In the blink of an eye, it was the end of July. Even the most laggardly families had finished their work in the fields.

The Cao Family was among the first to finish, but they had been putting off their trip to town because Cao Fugui’s leg still hadn’t healed.

But they say it takes a hundred days to recover from a serious injury. Was the entire family really supposed to wait that long?

Mrs. Wang, thinking of the daily income they were missing, couldn’t sit still. She discussed it with the two Cao elders, suggesting that Cao Fugui stay home to recover while the rest of them went to set up the stall.

Granny Cao had been a farmer her whole life and was completely clueless about running a business. Coupled with the conflict they’d had with that person before the summer harvest, she was hesitant.

But she would never admit she was scared of anyone. She only said, "Just the three of us... I’m afraid we won’t be able to handle it."

Hearing that, Mrs. Wang knew instantly that Cao Yunyun wouldn’t be going, and she was very displeased.

’This sister-in-law of mine is so needy and troublesome! And she always sides with outsiders, never once thinking about her own family.’

She only agreed to go set up the stall in town before because she was furious at Hu Liang for breaking off their engagement. She wanted to make him regret it, or even win him back.

But the Hu Family would rather give up the business entirely than go back on their decision to take back the betrothal letter. What did that tell you?

It showed that the Hu Family had seen her for who she truly was and would never waver.

’What was there for her to hold on to!’

’It was useless anyway. The engagement was off. Who was she trying to get sympathy from, moping around with that long face all day?’

Lately, with all the harvesting and planting, everyone in the family, young and old, had been swamped. Not only did she not lift a finger to help, but she even expected people to bring meals to her room.

’She’s so spoiled!’

No matter how dissatisfied Mrs. Wang was with her sister-in-law, she didn’t dare say a word in front of Granny Cao. She was still counting on her in-laws to help with the stall.

"Oh, come on, Mother. What’s wrong with three people? The Hu Family only had three, didn’t they?"

"Their family has two strong young men. Your father and I... we’re old and rickety..."

Mrs. Wang slapped her chest. "You and Father can just handle the easiest tasks. Leave all the heavy, tiring work to me!"

When money was on the line, Mrs. Wang wasn’t lazy or slick anymore. She was suddenly buzzing with energy.

Old Man Cao voiced the worry that Granny Cao was thinking. "Our spot was taken by that thug. The place we moved to afterward didn’t have many customers..."

Mrs. Wang shuddered, remembering the thug’s rampant bullying. But in the end, the allure of money was stronger than her fear.

"If a spot isn’t popular, we’ll just try a few others. We’re bound to find a busy one eventually!"

Granny Cao and Old Man Cao exchanged a look.

Mrs. Wang might be selfish, but she was doing this for her own family. As the elders, they had no reason not to help—as long as it didn’t mean fighting that thug for a spot again.

「Before dawn the next day, they arrived in town early, pulling their flatbed cart.」

To their astonishment, in the short time it took to complete the summer harvest, several stalls selling the "golden combo" had popped up all over town!

Stunned, Mrs. Wang marched to the nearest hot and spicy soup stall, grabbed the owner, and demanded, "How do you know how to make this golden combo? Did you steal the recipe from my family?!"

The person she had grabbed happened to be Aunt Wang.

The day before they started, Aunt Wang and the others had made a special trip to the Hu Family for some final pointers.

Ji Huan had been there and given them a piece of advice: it was best not to set up their stalls all in one place. If they spread out to different parts of town, they wouldn’t be competing with each other and could avoid any bad blood.

Everyone agreed this made a lot of sense.

Of the ten families who had joined in, two had relatives in the county seat and decided to set up their stalls there. Another person, who had been living with the Yue Family in a neighboring town for years since their parents died, decided to set up a stall there. After subtracting those, only six families were left.

The six families met privately, divided the town into territories, and then drew lots to decide who got which spot.

You set up shop wherever you drew, no arguments and no complaints allowed.

The six families also chose to open on the same day. They had now been selling for two or three days. With the customers spread out, business wasn’t as booming as it had been for the Hu Family, but it was still quite good.

While the townspeople found it strange that hot and spicy soup stalls had seemingly popped up overnight, they were also quite happy about it.

Before, there was only the one stall in South Town. For people living in other neighborhoods, it was a real hassle to go for a bowl. You always had to wait in a long line, and by the time you got to the front, they might already be sold out.

Now that there were stalls right on their own streets, they had every reason to be pleased.

Aunt Wang sized up the sharp-featured, shrewish-looking Mrs. Wang. It only took a moment for her to guess who this was, and she angrily slapped her hand away.

"How shameless! ’Your family’s recipe’? Your family’s surname is Cao, isn’t it? But this soup belongs to the Hu Family! What gives you the nerve to claim it’s yours!"

Aunt Wang and the others had always assumed the soup was named after the Hu Family.

Hearing this, Mrs. Wang and Granny Cao mentally kicked themselves. ’Why didn’t we think to change the name! We should have called it Cao’s Spicy Soup!’

Mrs. Wang tried to bluff her way through. "So what if it’s from the Hu Family? They promised us they wouldn’t sell it anymore. You’re from Dafeng Village, aren’t you? Did the Hu Family teach you this?"

"That’s none of your business! We learned this fair and square and paid good silver for it. We’re not like some people, who cheat and swindle and use all kinds of dirty, low-class tricks!"

"You!"

Mrs. Wang was about to argue further, but Second Sister-in-law Xu from a neighboring stall came over with her husband.

"Aunt Wang, someone causing trouble? Who’s this...?"

Aunt Wang rolled her eyes. "Who else? The folks from Cao Family Village. The ones who traded their daughter for the recipe."

Granny Cao’s expression soured. "Who are you saying traded their daughter for a recipe?!"

"I’m talking about whoever did the dirty deed!"

"You bitch, I’ll tear your mouth off!" Granny Cao lunged, trying to scratch Aunt Wang’s face.

Before Aunt Wang could even react, Wang Min and their second son pulled her back behind them.

"What do you think you’re doing? Looking for a fight?"

Second Sister-in-law Xu’s husband also walked over and stood beside Wang Min, arms crossed.

Facing three burly, intimidating men, Granny Cao instinctively backed away.

She glanced back at her own side. There was only one man, the withered and frail Old Man Cao. Her courage evaporated in an instant.

Mrs. Wang, still remembering the terror of being manhandled by the thug last time, had already scurried across the street. She craned her neck and shouted, "Mother, don’t lower yourself to their level! Let’s just find another spot!"

But where could they possibly find another good spot?

It was as if the people from Dafeng Village had coordinated. Aside from South Town, every decent spot on the other main streets was already occupied.

Moreover, after that little spat, it seemed they had all gotten the word. No matter where the Cao Family tried to set up, two other stalls would follow, boxing them in tightly on both sides.

They couldn’t win a shouting match, and they were outnumbered in a fight. Customers, seeing the commotion, simply took their business to the other stalls.

This was, in fact, a strategy the six families had secretly agreed upon.

The Hu Family had given them a livelihood for a mere five taels of silver, taking a huge loss in the process. Grateful for this, the families had unanimously decided to drive the Cao Family out.

This would not only help the Hu Family get some payback, but it would also benefit their own businesses.

Besides, after Hu Liang’s "upgraded" instructions, their hot and spicy soup tasted far better than the version the Cao Family had stolen. The Cao Family had lost their last remaining advantage. With what were they supposed to compete?

Things went just as they had planned. Surrounded and suppressed day after day, the Cao Family couldn’t sell their pots of hot and spicy soup and fried dough sticks. Forget making a profit; they were losing money hand over fist.

As their business dwindled day by day, the Cao Family finally snapped. They stormed off toward Dafeng Village in a fury.

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