The Fortunate Lady and Her Mountain Man

Chapter 96: Chapter 96: Not the Same Thing at All

Once the crowd had their fill of laughter, Ji Huan put on a puzzled expression.

"But what does honoring your in-laws have to do with me? I’ve never taught anyone how to make dehydrated vegetables. You simply stole the method. If I were to press the matter, I could have this restaurant owner take you to the government office with me."

Seeing Tian Jiao flinch, Ji Huan smiled. "Don’t be scared. What you made aren’t real dehydrated vegetables anyway, so I can’t press charges against you."

"What do you mean they aren’t dehydrated vegetables!"

Tian Jiao had been planning to make a name for herself this year and continue the business next year. Hearing Ji Huan so easily dismiss her product as not being dehydrated vegetables, she immediately lost her composure.

Ji Huan turned to Aunt Gao and the others. "Aunties, you all helped me pack the vegetables and have tasted them yourselves. What do my dehydrated vegetables look like, and how do they taste?"

The moment she finished speaking, Aunt Gao and the other women all started talking at once.

"With Wuan’s dehydrated vegetables, you can tell at a glance that the dried cabbage is still cabbage, and the dried radish is still radish... Basically, no matter which vegetable it is, you can still tell what it is after it’s been prepared."

"The flavor is amazing, too. Once you cook them, they’re just like fresh vegetables. They look plump and taste so tender..."

"And they dare compare these things that look like goat droppings to what Wuan makes..."

By the time they finished, Tian Jiao’s tear-streaked face was contorting with rage.

To make matters worse, Ji Huan was still smiling sweetly as she asked, "Did you hear that clearly? Your product and my product are two completely different things."

Only then did Tian Jiao realize she had walked right into a trap set by Ji Huan.

’What could she possibly say now?’

If she insisted she had learned from Ji Huan and that her product was also dehydrated vegetables, then Ji Huan would have her dragged to the government office.

But if she admitted her product was different, she couldn’t implicate Ji Huan this time, and she could forget about ever using the name "dehydrated vegetables" again.

"Wan..." she called out pitifully, taking a few steps forward to grab Ji Huan’s hand, but Ji Huan sidestepped her.

She froze for a moment, then pretended to take out a handkerchief to wipe her tears, trying to cover her own awkwardness.

"We grew up together, after all. If my life were any easier, I wouldn’t have resorted to... I just never imagined you’d be so guarded that you’d deliberately teach me the wrong method..."

"It seems you’re incapable of understanding reason." If Ji Huan’s heart weren’t so strong, she probably would have died of anger on the spot.

"The recipe is mine. If I’m on guard, it’s against thieves. Is there a problem with that? And let’s get something straight: I have no obligation to teach you, and I never taught you a single thing. You’re the one who spied on me, tried to copy my work without the skill, and ended up with a pathetic imitation that scammed others and hurt yourself. What I really don’t understand is how you had the gall to sell it under my name. Oh, so you pocket the Silver, and I take the blame when things go wrong?"

If she had a feather fan in her hand right then, Ji Huan would have imitated the great strategist Zhuge Liang, pointed it right at Tian Jiao’s nose, and bellowed, ’I have never met such a brazen and shameless person!’

"You!"

Tian Jiao had assumed Ji Huan would pull her punches, never expecting her to air everything out so publicly, so bluntly, and so harshly!

In an instant, all the murmurs and pointed looks from the crowd were directed at Tian Jiao.

The gist of their gossip was that stealing someone’s method was despicable enough, but to go out and use their name was even worse. It was a good thing Wuan was clever enough to figure it out. Otherwise, she would have been extorted by this father and son, and not only would her name be dragged through the mud, but she’d also have to pay compensation for Tian Jiao!

Tian Jiao’s face went deathly pale as she looked back at Ji Huan.

The last trace of a smile had vanished from Ji Huan’s face. Her cold, clear eyes were fixed on Tian Jiao, and they seemed to hold daggers of ice, sending an involuntary shiver down her spine.

She couldn’t have said why.

Tian Jiao didn’t dare meet Ji Huan’s gaze again and instead turned her efforts on the restaurant owner.

"Boss, instead of wasting your time making things difficult for me, you’d be better off going to her. She’s the one who invented dehydrated vegetables. If you get her to teach you the method, you can have as many as you want, can’t you?"

Seeing Tian Jiao act this way, many of the onlookers shook their heads in disapproval.

"What’s wrong with the Jiang family’s daughter-in-law? She stole Wuan’s idea to make money, and Wuan hasn’t even pressed the issue, so why is she still clinging to her like a leech?"

"I used to think she was a sensible girl, but I never realized she was so thick-skinned... She’s the one who caused this mess. Why should the owner go after Wuan? And why on earth should Wuan have to teach her recipe to someone for free?"

Of course, there were dissenting voices as well.

"...Actually, if Wuan were willing to teach others, maybe we could learn, too. Look, just a few baskets sold for ten taels. If we..."

"As if she’s that generous! You’re all singing her praises, but when she was hiring help, she didn’t think of any of you..."

But such voices were in the minority, and they were led by none other than Gou Sheng’s wife.

The restaurant owner had already experienced Ji Huan’s formidable nature firsthand; there was no way he’d switch targets just because of a few words from Tian Jiao.

Besides, the very mention of "dehydrated vegetables" gave him a headache now. He had no desire to get involved with them again. He just wanted his Silver back.

"Since you’d rather die than part with your money, let’s take a trip to the government office. I’m a grown man, what have I got to fear? We have witnesses and evidence. You can consider those ten taels the price for spending the rest of your life in prison."

When Tian Jiao saw that the restaurant owner couldn’t be swayed and was determined to take the matter to court, her guilty conscience made her lose her nerve. She didn’t dare make any more excuses.

"Let’s talk this over, we can talk this over! I-I’ll get you the money right now..."

"Wait!" the owner called out. "The principal is ten taels. On top of that, you have to compensate us for our losses. After all, my restaurant was closed for two days while we were looking for you. I won’t ask for much, just three taels."

It was Ji Huan who had given him the idea to ask for compensation. When he’d first heard it, he’d thought to himself that this Ji Huan was pretty ruthless too.

"Three taels?" Tian Jiao’s eyes went wide. "Wait... Boss, I haven’t even charged you for trying our vegetables, and now you’re asking *me* for compensation?"

"Don’t want to pay? Fine. We’ll take it to the government office and let the County Magistrate decide who ought to be compensating whom."

At the mere mention of the government office, Tian Jiao had to swallow any further arguments. If a woman was dragged into a public court, her reputation would be utterly ruined.

She turned to Jiang Wu, her eyes filled with helplessness as tears streamed down her face like pearls from a broken string.

Jiang Wu had so many questions he wanted to ask, but now was not the time.

He turned to Mrs. Mao and said, "Mother, give Jiaojiao another three taels."

"Are you insane?" Mrs. Mao hissed. "How many taels have we managed to save over all these years? Let her pay her own debts..."

Mrs. Mao had whispered this to her son, but Tian Jiao was standing close enough to hear every single word.

She clutched her handkerchief, thinking, ’Once I get through this, just wait. If I ever get the chance to turn the tables, I’ll make every last one of these people laughing at me pay!’

"Mother! It’s better to lose some money to avert a disaster! Everyone is watching. Do you want our family to become the laughingstock of the entire village?" ’Though we already are,’ Jiang Wu thought grimly.

Mrs. Mao’s greatest fear was being looked down on by others. Hearing her son put it that way, she could only grimace and reluctantly go back to get the Silver.

Tian Jiao had already spent some of the ten taels on fabric and other goods, so in the end, Mrs. Mao had to add a full four taels of their own money to have enough.

As she handed the money to Tian Jiao, Mrs. Mao’s glare was like daggers.

Tian Jiao kept her head down, pretending not to notice.

The restaurant owner took the money, unloaded their goods and returned them, then gave Ji Huan a quick, respectful salute before leaving.

Ji Huan had no intention of staying any longer either. But as she turned to leave, Tian Jiao’s eyes flickered, and she called out to stop her.

"Wan, you saw what happened. Not only did I not earn any money, but now our family’s meager savings are gone too. What are we supposed to do now? Can you... can you please take pity on our family and teach us your method for making dehydrated vegetables? You wouldn’t want to watch us starve, would you?"

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