Chapter 53: Selling Potato Chips at the Wanhua Pavilion

Early in the morning, Lin Sangqian’s whole family was up, having hired two ox carts to transport twenty catties of chicken feet to the town. As soon as the carts pulled up to the gate and before they could even move the chicken feet out, Lai Ruyu arrived.

“Well, Third Brother, heading into town again?” Lai Ruyu greeted them with a smile, eyeing the hired ox carts. “You’ve even gone and hired carts!”

“Is there something you need?” Lin Hongda replied coolly.

“My old hen just laid two eggs this morning, so I brought them over for you!” Lai Ruyu’s face was all smiles, but her heart ached terribly. Eggs! Just yesterday her own daughter had asked for them, and she couldn’t bring herself to hand them over. But after listening to Lin Shuimei last night, she’d tossed and turned, unable to sleep. How could Third Brother’s family be living so well? Even if she couldn’t stop it, she had to get a share for herself! And so, she’d kicked Lin Shengrong awake in the middle of his deep sleep, and the couple spent half the night plotting. In the end, Lin Shengrong suggested she cozy up to Third Brother’s family, try to get in their good graces. That’s why, with a heavy heart, she’d brought the two eggs this morning.

“We don’t need them!” Liao Shuxia stepped out of the house, her tone unfriendly. “Keep them for yourself.”

“Sister-in-law, come now. I know, we’ve had our misunderstandings, and it’s all my fault. Let’s just let bygones be bygones.” Lai Ruyu braced herself and persisted.

Liao Shuxia sneered, “You nearly sold my daughter off as a concubine to that old miser, and you want me to just let it go? Fine, send your own daughter over and I’ll consider it forgotten!”

Lai Ruyu’s face turned awkward. The truth was, that old miser had some twisted hobbies and liked to torment people—several of his concubines were left in a miserable state. That’s why she would never dare let Lin Shuimei marry into that household. Besides, the miser’s first wife was still alive, so even if Lin Shuimei went there, she wouldn’t get much money out of it.

“All the fault is mine, every bit of it…”

“Enough with the nonsense. You think I don’t know what you’re up to?” Liao Shuxia cut her off impatiently. “Let me tell you right now: no matter how well off my family gets, don’t even dream of getting a single coin from us. You’ll just have to watch us eat and drink well, and there’s nothing you can do about it. Does that make you mad?”

How could Lai Ruyu not be furious? She trembled with rage.

“You, you…”

“And another thing,” Liao Shuxia’s face darkened. “What you took from us before, we’ll take back sooner or later.”

Lai Ruyu’s face went pale, whiter and whiter, and she fled in a panic, tossing a “You must be crazy!” over her shoulder.

How had Third Brother’s family changed so drastically?

From what Third Brother’s wife said, did she intend to reclaim the family property? That would never do! Those assets were supposed to belong to her family, and she’d resented even splitting them with Second Brother!

“I thought she was something special, but it took just a few words to scare her off.” Liao Shuxia curled her lip. “I can’t imagine how the original mistress could have been bullied by her so badly.”

“Oh, you…” Lin Hongda could only smile helplessly.

At this point, Lin Sangqian and her three brothers finished loading the chicken feet onto the carts. The whole family then set off for town.

Once there, they headed straight to Fortune Pavilion Restaurant. After handing over the twenty catties of chicken feet, Lu Chengren paid Lin Sangqian one tael of silver and two hundred copper coins without hesitation, then instructed Yang Shi to sell the goods at once.

Yang Shi had barely started hawking at the entrance when customers rushed in. Though the chicken feet were a bit pricey, everyone who had tasted them before praised their flavor. With limited supply, they were considered a rare treat, and many people felt they simply had to try them at least once, or else they’d regret it.

Yang Shi was happily selling chicken feet when he suddenly heard shouting from across the street at the entrance of Ten Thousand Blossoms Restaurant. Qian San was calling out, “Potato chips for sale! Ten coins a portion, first come first served!”

Yang Shi froze in surprise. How come Ten Thousand Blossoms Restaurant was selling potato chips, too? Hadn’t Fortune Pavilion already bought the exclusive rights to the recipe? Yang Shi didn’t believe Lin Sangqian would betray them, but this was no trivial matter. He hurried back to inform Lu Chengren.

“Manager, they’re only charging ten coins a portion! I already saw people going to buy!”

At Fortune Pavilion, potato chips sold for twenty coins a portion, with each portion containing thirty chips. Ten Thousand Blossoms’ price was half theirs—surely, that would lure customers away.

Lin Sangqian hadn’t left yet, and upon overhearing, she remained unruffled. “It’s normal. The method for making potato chips is simple. It’s not surprising they figured it out. Besides, it’s called ‘potato chips’—anyone could guess the main ingredient is potatoes.”

After all, potatoes’ formal name is “earth apples.”

“So what do we do?” Yang Shi stamped his foot anxiously. “If I’d known, we’d have called them something else! Now our business will be stolen away!”

“Don’t worry,” Lin Sangqian replied with a smile. “They can’t take it.”

Lu Chengren considered for a moment and asked, “You mean, their potato chips won’t taste the same as ours?”

“Exactly,” Lin Sangqian said confidently. “They definitely missed a crucial step.”

“Let’s go see for ourselves,” Lu Chengren suggested.

Together they walked outside and saw that Ten Thousand Blossoms Restaurant was indeed doing brisk business. People were already queuing for potato chips, which were displayed right at the entrance. At a glance, they looked no different from those at Fortune Pavilion.

“Miss Lin…”

“Just wait a little longer,” Lin Sangqian replied leisurely.

At the front of the line stood a woman and a little boy of six or seven she held by the hand. The woman bought two portions of chips, handing one to the boy right away.

“Go on, eat. You’ve been craving them all morning.” She smiled.

The boy eagerly popped a chip into his mouth, but quickly scrunched up his face. “Mama, this isn’t good! It’s nothing like the ones I had before.”

“Huh? What’s going on?” The woman tried one herself and exclaimed, “You’re right! It’s not the same at all! Oh, this is Ten Thousand Blossoms Restaurant? I thought it was Fortune Pavilion! No wonder they’re so cheap today.”

“Big sister, are the chips from Ten Thousand Blossoms not good?” someone nearby asked.

“Exactly! They’re limp and soggy—what a disappointment!” the woman grumbled.

Her complaint prompted the other customers to sample their purchases, and soon dissatisfied faces appeared all around.

“These aren’t real potato chips at all! They taste awful, the texture is all wrong!”

“If I’d known, I wouldn’t have been so cheap—should have just bought from Fortune Pavilion!”

“Cheap goods are never any good. If you can’t make them as tasty as the originals, don’t bother copying them!”

“Refund! We want a refund!”

The cry was quickly taken up by the rest, and chaos erupted. Qian San panicked—he had never expected things to turn out like this. Flustered, he protested, “Once sold, the chips can’t be refunded!”