Xiong Neng wasn’t a particularly picky male beast. The air was thick with the rich aroma of meat, and since he was already at Bai Dan’s stall, he decided not to bother being selective.
He handed the coins to the stall owner. "I’ll have a serving."
"Alright, I’ll get you a big piece." Bai Dan’s face beamed with joy as she took the coins and began to cut the meat, glancing over toward Feng Si out of the corner of her eye.
Feng Si had customers at her stall too, but the crowds at Bai Qi’s and Bai Dan’s were also quite large. And to think Feng Si was actually using leaves to serve her meat today—how low-class.
Bai Dan sneered inwardly. ’I’ve already copied your white-cut pork belly. From now on, I’m going to steal all your business too!’
That’s right. In her mind, the cooking method wasn’t the issue; it was just the difference between boiling and stewing beast meat.
Meat like this, with its alternating layers of fat and lean, was truly delicious when boiled. It was so tender you could bite right through it. No joke, all the females would surely fall in love with it.
Bai Dan confidently handed over the plate, a wide smile spreading across her lips. Then, she lowered her head to prepare the next order.
’Business is booming!’
Xiong Neng took the bowl, casually picked up a piece of meat, and ate it. His brow furrowed instantly.
’Damn it, this is disgusting.’
’I really want to snatch my two hundred coins back. Isn’t this just plain boiled meat?’
"You just said if it tasted bad, you’d give a tenfold refund. Give me 2,000 coins back, or I’ll break your legs!" Xiong Neng, a regular meat-eater, slammed his plate down hard on Bai Dan’s stall.
The other customers eating the meat thought it was decent, but it tasted no different from what their own families cooked. They all felt that if this ordinary meat was going for 200 coins, they might as well just go to a proper restaurant downstairs and eat sitting down.
They felt ripped off and were furious.
Following Xiong Neng’s lead, they put down their bowls and started clamoring for a refund, threatening that the women wouldn’t even make it home if they didn’t pay up.
The same thing was happening over at Bai Qi’s stall. The moment the customers tasted the meat, they realized it was nothing like its enticing aroma, and they weren’t having it.
"I earned these coins with my blood and sweat in the forest! Why should I let some middle-aged sub-female cheat me? Refund my money, now!"
Bai Dan and Bai Qi were dumbfounded. They had only sold 2,000 coins’ worth of food so far; they hadn’t even recouped the cost of the meat. How were they supposed to be giving refunds already?
Bai Dan panicked.
She turned her head and saw that only at Feng Si’s stall were the customers quiet. In fact, Feng Si was still collecting money. A sudden realization struck her.
She recalled Feng Si’s silence that morning upon seeing them selling the same white-cut pork, followed by her sudden interjection. ’It must have been Feng Si! She deliberately spoke up to trap us into offering refunds!’
’Otherwise, once food is sold, it’s sold. Who’s ever heard of a tenfold refund!’
Not daring to talk back to the tall, ferocious male beasts, they could only point the finger at a fellow sub-female. Bai Dan pointed at Feng Si and shouted, "She’s the one who sells white-cut pork, and she’s the one who mentioned a tenfold refund! If she pays up, I’ll pay up."
"That’s right! We just followed her method," Bai Qi chimed in, her voice breaking into a sob. "If anyone has to give a refund, she should be the first one to do it!"
All eyes turned to Feng Si. It was true that she had been the one to bring up the refund first.
However...
"You didn’t buy your white-cut pork from me," Feng Si said, her expression perfectly calm. "If any of my customers feel they’ve been cheated, I will naturally refund their money without a second thought. If not, you can go ahead and break my legs."
Bai Dan was beyond furious.
’See!’
’She’s openly inciting them to break my legs!’
Bai Qi also understood what was happening and glared furiously at Feng Si.
Feng Si, however, looked perfectly relaxed as she continued to slice meat for her customers.
Tian Tian’s eyes lit up as she ate her white-cut pork. "I’m very satisfied! The other two stalls don’t have this dipping sauce. You wanted to steal her business, but it’s a pity you didn’t learn how to make her sauce, did you?"
"Dipping the meat in this is absolutely delicious! You couldn’t even find this at the Lord’s banquets," Huang Juan exclaimed, dramatically devouring half his plate. "I could eat this for a lifetime and never get sick of it."
The other customers at Feng Si’s stall were stuffing the meat into their mouths. It was obvious how satisfied they were with the white-cut pork this sub-female had made.
A total of four people had been duped at the other two stalls; the rest hadn’t paid yet. Seeing the long line at Feng Si’s stall, they felt a mix of anger and shame for being tricked.
They stared coldly at the stall owners. Maybe before they would have let it slide, but now they were demanding a refund, no matter what.
Bai Dan burst into tears under their intense glares and stammered, "I... I don’t have the money..."
"No money? Then go home and get it," Xiong Neng said furiously. It was all this sub-female imposter’s fault. Because of her, his nose had lost a battle of scent against Huang Juan’s.
This was a massive deal! In the future, when they were out in the wild and had a disagreement while trying to sense danger, wouldn’t Huang Juan bring this up forever?!!
Bai Dan and Bai Qi hadn’t even been open for a full morning before the male beasts shut them down and forced them to go home for refund money. On their very first day of business, not only did they fail to make a profit, but they ended up losing several thousand coins.
Feng Si watched all of this unfold and let out a cold laugh in her heart.
’Did they really think my business was so easy to steal?’
’It isn’t only physical force that can kill; the weak can kill and wound with words. I hope the other Beastmen lurking about, who see me as a soft target, take note of what happened to these two sub-females and are smart enough not to provoke me.’
’Or else—’
...
Chi Jie took off his outer coat, tossed it to a subordinate behind him, and strode into the room without a backward glance. The door shut behind him.
Lowering his gaze, he raised a hand and tapped his fingertips on a light terminal. He then unfastened the top button of his collar with his free hand.
The cold hum of an electronic communication call broke the room’s long silence.
He sat down casually in a chair, his posture relaxed. He didn’t look like a man who had just returned from a battlefield littered with mountains of corpses and seas of blood; he looked more like a general coming home from a banquet.
BZZZ—
BZZZ—
"Young Master, greetings..." Ying Kong’s voice sounded faint. He had remained behind in Cang City, and though he was a soldier victorious in a hundred battles, he never imagined he would be stuck for so long on the simple task of finding a red-haired female.
"Have you found her?" A figure materialized in mid-air, and a palpable danger flooded out with his cold voice, instantly filling the spacious room.
Ying Kong’s heart pounded with panic. The dark circles under his eyes testified to his diligence.
He bowed his head in submission. "Your female... she has not yet been found. However, I have already mobilized the Cang City garrison and expanded the search area."
"Investigate every female on the roads from the outer regions to the main city." Chi Jie’s golden eyes stared out, and even through the holographic screen, one could feel their chilling glint.
Ying Kong flinched as if he’d been physically struck and hastily accepted the order. "Yes, Young Master."
After the figure on the screen vanished, Ying Kong realized his forehead was slick with cold sweat. A chill rising from the depths of his heart swept away all his fatigue.
He wiped the sweat from his brow and, ignoring the late hour, headed straight for the Lord Mansion in Cang City.
Ten minutes later, Lord Black Snake, having been awakened in the middle of the night by a subordinate, took a deep breath. He climbed out of the arms of a gentle sub-female and hurried toward the first-floor reception hall.
Standing on the staircase, he immediately recognized the distinguished late-night guest. A smile bloomed on his old face. "Your Excellency, your presence graces the Lord Mansion. This is a great fortune for my clan."