Having gained an advantage, the Wang family stall owner was in high spirits, unable to conceal her triumphant expression when exchanging glances with Mu Simiao.
Mu Simiao glanced over at the stolen items on her stall, let out a soft tsk, and walked over to her own stall. The aroma of scallions filled the air as she deliberately stirred her ingredients to let the fragrance drift over and provoke the Wang family stall owner.
Before long, the smug look on the rival’s face gradually faded, replaced by a dazed confusion, as if she hadn’t expected Mu Simiao to suddenly change the food preparation method.
Watching her expression, Mu Simiao couldn’t help but chuckle. Beside her, Qi Yuze looked somewhat puzzled. Although Mu Simiao didn’t mind the stolen recipe, it was still a secret formula. Even if she wasn’t distressed, Qi Yuze felt it was a pity.
Noticing Qi Yuze’s confusion, Mu Simiao turned to him and said, “This tactic is called ‘Sound East Strike West.’ She thought that by obtaining the recipes for Liangmian and Sour Jujube Drink, she could ruin our business. Little did she know we’d outmaneuver her by directly introducing new dishes.”
After Mu Simiao’s explanation, Qi Yuze finally grasped the amusing aspect. He lowered his eyelids, covering his mouth with a handkerchief as he chuckled softly, his trembling eyes revealing his delight.
When their laughter subsided, students began emerging from the private school. Seeing that Si Miao Cold Noodles had been replaced by Cong You Banmian, they didn’t walk away but instead gathered around her stall to ask, “What’s this? We’ve never seen it before.”
It seemed any unfamiliar dishes they encountered were always at her stall, yet they remained willing to try them, indicating their trust in her.
Mu Simiao scooped half a ladle of Scallion Oil Dressing from the container, poured it over the noodles in the oiled paper, and handed over the skewer. “This is Cong You Banmian. Remember to mix it thoroughly.”
The enticing aroma made customers eager to try it. Paired with Guandong Zhu, they ate with relish. In no time, the crowd from surrounding stalls was drawn to the Cong You Banmian, and even those waiting for cold noodles began shifting positions.
Having successfully won back the customers, Mu Simiao didn’t rush to feel proud, as making money was more important at the moment.
The queue in front of her stall was longer than during the initial cold noodle sales, but they hadn’t prepared enough ingredients, meaning some people would inevitably miss out. To prevent customers from waiting too long, Mu Simiao estimated the number and asked Qi Yuze to inform them that no more queuing was needed.
However, just as she was bustling about, a commotion broke out at the end of the queue. Mu Simiao furrowed her brows, faintly spotting Qi Yuze blocked by the crowd.
Her heart sank. After asking the customers to wait a moment, she hurried toward the back of the line.
Qi Yuze was sitting on the ground, looking aggrieved as he glanced over. Mu Simiao helped him up and quickly understood what had happened.
A customer, annoyed by the long wait, had become angry when Qi Yuze announced that no more queuing was allowed. Such situations were common even in modern times, but stalls were different from shops. In ancient times, without refrigerators, noodles could only be made in limited quantities daily to ensure freshness.
“My sincere apologies. Today is the first day we’re serving this new dish, and we truly didn’t anticipate such overwhelming support. Here’s what we’ll do: tomorrow, we’ll offer a complimentary portion of Vegetarian Oden to all purchasers. For those who couldn’t buy today, we’ll provide an additional serving as well. Would that be satisfactory?”
The woman fell silent for a moment. Her companion leaned in and whispered something in her ear, after which she met Mu Simiao’s gaze and said, “Very well, then.”
Mu Simiao breathed a sigh of relief: “Please wait a moment, I’ll make some paper slips as proof.”
She brought Qi Yuze back to the stall, cut oiled paper into small pieces, and wrote simplified characters on them with brush and ink to prevent forgery by customers. Then she had Qi Yuze distribute them.
With this incident finally over, Mu Simiao continued selling Cong You Banmian and Guandong Zhu. When the food was sold out and Qi Yuze had placated the remaining customers who couldn’t buy any, the two stood together. Only then did Mu Simiao have time to check if he was injured.
“How are you? Did you hurt yourself anywhere?” Mu Simiao even raised her hand as if to touch him, but Qi Yuze quickly stepped back two steps, softly chiding, “Mu Niang, this servant is fine.”
Realizing he was probably worried about being seen by others, Mu Simiao simply observed him briefly. Superficially, he indeed appeared unharmed, so they packed up their things and prepared to return home.
Worried they might need medicine for potential injuries, Mu Simiao stopped the cart when passing by a medical clinic. She went in and bought a bottle of medicated wine for bruises and sprains before the two returned home together.
After parking the cart in the courtyard, Mu Simiao didn’t first attend to unpacking. Instead, she hurriedly pulled Qi Yuze toward the inner room, helped him put Yue’er down on the bed, and immediately reached to untie the sash at his waist.
Qi Yuze tried to avoid her, but Mu Simiao scolded him sharply. He had no choice but to stop moving and obediently let her remove his clothing.
Pale skin came into view, but Mu Simiao had no other thoughts at that moment because the alarming blue-black bruise on Qi Yuze’s back was truly severe. She sighed softly, stood up to retrieve the medicated wine nearby, and looked down at Qi Yuze: “Lie face down. I’ll apply the medicine for you.”
The bruising required medicated wine to be rubbed in. Though her words carried some ambiguity, Qi Yuze still followed her instruction and lay face down on the bed.
Yue’er, thinking they were playing some game, also lay on the bed and even tried climbing onto Qi Yuze. Mu Simiao moved her aside, somewhat impatient: “Go over there first. We’re doing something important.”
Seeing Yue’er roll onto her side and struggle to turn back, Qi Yuze immediately wanted to help her, but Mu Simiao stopped him.
Mu Simiao pressed on his back to prevent him from getting up: “It’s fine, let her stay like that for a while. I’ll apply your medicine first.”
Having learned the rubbing technique from the clinic physician last time, Mu Simiao poured the medicated wine into her palm, warmed it by rubbing her hands together, then pressed it onto Qi Yuze’s back. A pained hiss immediately escaped him. She chuckled lightly and couldn’t help chiding: “Not bearing it so well now, are you? Just moments ago you said you were fine.”
Qi Yuze remained silent, raising his wrist to bite it. But he didn’t realize how much more ambiguous this appeared in Mu Simiao’s eyes.
The intermittent moans made Mu Simiao’s face grow warm. After finishing, she corked the medicine bottle and instructed him to wait for the medicated wine to dry before putting his clothes back on. Then she walked out of the room with hurried, disordered steps.
She quickly washed her hands and returned to the room to carry Yue’er out, avoiding looking at Qi Yuze during the process: “I’ll take Yue’er for a walk by the fishpond. You rest for a while.”
Mu Simiao mainly wanted to cool off, but unexpectedly encountered the loud-voiced woman who had taken her to the brothel when she first arrived.
The woman’s eyes were full of disbelief as she looked at Yue’er in Mu Simiao’s arms: “Why are you carrying her? Could it be you’ve forgotten about Yuqi?”
Mu Simiao was quite puzzled by this, but from her tone, this person named “Lu Yuqi” seemed to be someone important to her. She needed to choose her words carefully, or she might reveal she wasn’t the original person.
“I forgot, I now have a family. Everything must prioritize the two of them.” Mu Simiao lowered her gaze with a faint smile, radiating a subtle melancholy that made the woman feel she was forcing her cheer.