Shopkeeper Yuan was so frightened his hair nearly stood on end. He waved his hands frantically, trying to calm the two down.
Su Liuyue gazed steadily at the young man before her. He looked barely past twenty, his brows tightly furrowed, lips pressed together, yet his eyes fixed on her—angry, but with a trace of grievance.
Su Liuyue couldn’t help but smile. Tapping her finger lightly on the table, she said: “Did I ever say your two pastries were not tasty?”
Song Zhuo froze, opening his mouth but unable to speak. Strictly speaking, she hadn’t said they were bad. But her words had cut deeper than that!
“We are running a business. Customers don’t care whether your skills were hard‑earned. They only care whether the pastries taste good, whether they make them want to return, even recommend them to others.”
Her gaze suddenly turned cold as she spoke each word clearly: “The truth is, your pastries lack the power to attract customers, and your ability to keep them is mediocre at best. For a pastry shop, pastries that fail to appeal to customers—what difference is there between them and garbage?”
“You! You!” Song Zhuo trembled with rage, his eyes red, as if he might burst into tears at any moment.
Er’an was dumbstruck. Was their young lady making a grown man cry?
Too unbelievable!
Yet the aura in her words just now—tsk tsk—even though she wasn’t the one being criticized, Er’an felt a little afraid herself.
Shopkeeper Yuan quickly seized the chance to smooth things over: “Enough, enough. Chef Song, though Third Young Lady’s words are harsh, they are not without reason…”
“I don’t care if she’s Third Young Lady or Fourth Young Lady!”
Song Zhuo suddenly gritted his teeth, glaring at Su Liuyue: “Are those even words a person should say?! Even you never spoke to me like this—so why should she?!”
Shopkeeper Yuan froze, glancing awkwardly at Song Zhuo. He coughed lightly and said: “Chef Song… the Third Young Lady truly does have the right to speak…”
“Because the current owner of this shop is none other than the Third Young Lady.”
Song Zhuo felt as though thunder had struck his head. His eyes widened sharply. He turned to Yuan, staring in disbelief, stammering: “N‑no… impossible…”
Su Liuyue gave him a faint smile. “Er’an, take out the deed and show Chef Song.”
Even after seeing the deed laid on the table, Song Zhuo still couldn’t accept it, his face full of shock and confusion.
Ada also looked at Su Liuyue in stunned silence.
Su Liuyue didn’t intend to waste time. Once they had seen the deed, she said: “Since I am now the new owner of *Manyifang*, from now on you must all listen to me. You know well the state of this shop in recent years. I cannot allow *Manyifang* to continue like this…”
“Absurd! Absurd! This is the most ridiculous thing I’ve heard all year!” Song Zhuo suddenly interrupted her, gritting his teeth and shouting: “Even if the deed is in your hands, you’re just a sheltered young lady who’s never stepped outside the inner courtyard! Even Shopkeeper Yuan couldn’t manage *Manyifang* properly—what could you possibly do? Are you just bored and here to toy with us? Rather than follow a little girl’s nonsense, I’d rather—”
Shopkeeper Yuan quickly interjected: “Chef Song, think before you speak!”
But Su Liuyue’s lips curved faintly as she said calmly: “Rather what? Rather not work here anymore? Chef Song, is it that you don’t trust me, or that my critique of your pastries offended you, so you’re deliberately opposing me?”
Song Zhuo hesitated, then stiffened his neck and said: “How am I supposed to trust a new owner who suddenly appeared out of nowhere?!”
Su Liuyue nodded slightly. “Mm. The same new owner who just harshly criticized your proudest pastries.”
Song Zhuo: “…”
This woman—why did she keep bringing that up! Was she deliberately stabbing at his pride?!
Seeing him nearly jumping with rage, Su Liuyue chuckled softly, stood up, and said: “Chef Song’s concerns aren’t wrong. I appeared suddenly, and it’s natural for people to find it hard to trust me. For a pastry shop, the most important thing is, of course, the pastries themselves. So here’s my proposal: give me half a month. After half a month, I will present pastries I’ve made for you to taste. If even one of you is dissatisfied, I will apologize to Chef Song and never again interfere in the management of this shop. How about that?”
Everyone present was stunned.
Er’an looked at her mistress in shock. Wait—since when did their young lady know how to make pastries?! She had always been the one with a picky tongue, scolding the kitchen cooks for making food fit only for pigs!
After a long pause, Song Zhuo frowned deeply, his face full of suspicion.
“Are you playing tricks on me?”
“I have never played tricks on you.” Su Liuyue spoke calmly: “My making pastries isn’t just to prove my ability. If *Manyifang* is to return to its former glory—or even surpass it—we need pastries with real impact. Otherwise, relying only on your mung bean ice cakes and snowflake crisps will merely keep the shop from closing, nothing more.”
Song Zhuo: “…”
This woman was absolutely stabbing at his pride on purpose!
His fists clenched tight, lips bitten hard, he growled: “Fine! I’ll see what kind of miraculous pastries you can make! If you’re just toying with me, then I have no reason to stay here. When the time comes, I’ll leave!”
Shopkeeper Yuan was startled. “Chef Song…”
But Song Zhuo, having thrown down his harsh words, turned and stormed back to the kitchen, his face dark as iron.
Shopkeeper Yuan’s face crumpled with worry. “This is bad, this is bad. *Manyifang* has already been teetering on the edge of loss every month. If Chef Song leaves and we can’t find a suitable replacement quickly, the shop will surely be doomed! And with our current situation, we can’t afford to pay high wages. Any skilled chef likely wouldn’t be willing to come here…”
Su Liuyue raised her brows slightly and smiled: “Shopkeeper Yuan, are you already assuming I won’t be able to make pastries that satisfy all three of you?”
Shopkeeper Yuan’s throat caught.
How was he supposed to answer that?! Even if Chef Song wasn’t the best, he was still a trained pastry chef. How could he believe that a sheltered young lady could surpass him in skill? And worse, she had already offended Chef Song deeply today. Yuan and Ada might be able to say a few kind words out of loyalty, but Chef Song would surely judge her pastries with the harshest eye. No matter how he thought about it, there was no way her pastries could pass Chef Song’s test!
Seeing Shopkeeper Yuan’s deeply troubled expression, Su Liuyue smiled and said: “Enough, I won’t make things harder for you. Let’s wait until half a month has passed—after you’ve tasted my pastries, then we’ll talk. My maid should be back soon with the physician. Shopkeeper Yuan, please pack me some mung bean ice cakes and snowflake crisps. I still have matters to attend to, and once the doctor arrives, I’ll be leaving.”
Shopkeeper Yuan blinked in surprise and couldn’t help asking: “Third Young Lady, why are you packing mung bean ice cakes and snowflake crisps?”
Wasn’t she the one who had just dismissed Chef Song’s pastries? Or was Chef Song right earlier, and the Third Young Lady was only playing tricks on him?