On the second day after opening, Su Ji Kitchen was even more popular than before.
Before the hour of Chen had even arrived, the heated wall that gave off warmth was already crowded with neighbors rubbing their hands and stamping their feet, along with laborers who had risen early for work.
Everyone craned their necks, eagerly waiting for that domineering aroma of meat and the rich fragrance of beans.
The joy on Madam Wang and Scholar Su’s faces couldn’t be hidden; even their movements were quicker and more efficient than usual.
Just as the shop was bustling and the first batch of roujiamo was about to sell out, a sudden commotion arose from the street corner.
“Make way! All of you, move aside! Shopkeeper Wang is here!”
Several burly attendants dressed in matching indigo short jackets rudely shoved the people in line aside, forcefully clearing a path.
The crowd grumbled, but once they saw who it was, they all fell silent.
A middle-aged, heavyset man in a dark blue patterned silk robe, wearing a scholar’s hat and idly rolling two glossy walnuts in his hand, walked over slowly, surrounded by his attendants. His chin was raised high, his triangular eyes scanning Su’s humble stall with disdain, even wrinkling his nose in disgust.
“It’s Wang Defu from Wang Family Fencha!”
“Why is he here? The Zhou Bridge night market isn’t close at all!”
“Judging by this, he’s not here with good intentions!”
Whispers spread through the crowd.
Grandma Lin, who was selling drinks nearby, saw the scene and her expression changed. She quietly tightened her grip on the rolling pin beside her.
Wang Defu ignored everyone and walked straight to the counter, treating the waiting customers as if they didn’t exist. His gaze lingered briefly on Su Qingyan before falling on the pot of fragrant braised meat in front of her. His Adam’s apple bobbed involuntarily.
Su Qingyan didn’t stop what she was doing. She split open the last baked flatbread, neatly stuffed it with braised meat, wrapped it in oil paper, and handed it to the waiting customer. Only then did she look up at Wang Defu.
“Shopkeeper, what can I do for you?” she asked calmly, as if she hadn’t noticed his overbearing manner.
Wang Defu snorted and pointed his chin toward the busy stove behind her.
“Little girl, not bad skills,” he said bluntly, his voice dripping with condescension. “I, Wang Defu, have taken a liking to your roujiamo and that… brown sugar mantou recipe.”
He raised five thick fingers and waved them in front of her.
“Fifty strings of cash! I’ll pay fifty strings to buy out both recipes.”
A collective gasp swept through the crowd.
Fifty strings!
For the ordinary people of Shuiguai Street, who struggled daily for a few dozen copper coins, this was an unimaginable fortune! Enough for a family to buy a house and land, to live a lifetime without worry!
Behind the counter, Madam Wang’s hand trembled as she was putting coins into a pouch, scattering copper coins all over the floor. She didn’t even bother picking them up, staring in shock at those five fingers, her breathing quickening.
Scholar Su’s face also turned pale, his hand gripping the edge of the table trembling slightly. Fifty strings… with that money, his daughter wouldn’t have to work so hard anymore, and the whole family could live a stable life. He instinctively looked at Su Qingyan, his lips moving, but no words came out.
Wang Defu took in everyone’s reactions and curled his lips into a smug smile. He was certain no one could refuse this price.
He added leisurely, “Of course, once you take the money, you’ll have to close this shop. From now on, these two foods must never appear again in Bianjing. Understood?”
At those words, the crowd’s tone instantly changed.
This wasn’t buying a recipe—this was cutting off the Su family’s livelihood!
All eyes turned to the thin young girl.
Su Qingyan’s expression didn’t change at all. She didn’t even glance at the promised money. Instead, she picked up a clean cloth and slowly wiped the small knife she used to cut the bread. The blade gleamed brightly, reflecting her calm, unruffled eyes.
“Fifty strings?”
She let out a light laugh. It was crisp, yet it silenced the surrounding noise.
“Shopkeeper Wang, is that price meant to insult my family’s craft, or to insult me, Su Qingyan?”
Wang Defu’s face darkened. “What do you mean, girl? Think it’s too little? Don’t refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit!”
“You misunderstand,” Su Qingyan said, setting down the knife and meeting his gaze. “What Su Ji sells has never been just recipes written on paper. It’s my parents’ hard work, my siblings’ labor, and the skill and conscience shaped by my own two hands.”
She paused, her voice not loud, yet it carried clearly across the street corner.
“The recipe itself isn’t valuable.”
“I—these hands of mine—am what’s valuable.”
Everyone present was stunned.
Wang Defu laughed in anger. “Sharp-tongued little girl! You think I don’t understand? You’re just trying to raise the price!”
He waved his hand grandly.
“Fine! I’ll add thirty more strings! Eighty strings! That should be enough, right? With that kind of money, a family like yours could live in glory for generations!”
Eighty strings!
Madam Wang’s legs went weak, nearly collapsing, caught just in time by Scholar Su. The couple exchanged a look filled with struggle and panic.
But Su Qingyan looked as if she’d heard the biggest joke in the world.
She stared at Wang Defu’s confident, fleshy face and said, word by word:
“Not to mention eighty strings—even eight hundred, even a thousand—I won’t sell.”
“Because what you want to buy is not my recipe.”
“It’s the very foundation my entire family depends on to survive!”
The fat on Wang Defu’s face twitched, and a cold, vicious light finally appeared in his triangular eyes.
“Good! Very good!” he said, furious yet laughing. “Looks like you refuse the easy way and want it the hard way! Don’t think knowing how to cook a couple of dishes means you can swagger around Bianjing! Let me tell you—my Wang Family Fencha has stood in the Zhou Bridge night market for years. I’ve got plenty of ways to make sure your shabby stall won’t even open tomorrow!”
His attendants stepped forward immediately, cracking their knuckles, glaring viciously at the Su family.
Just as a fight was about to break out, an angry shout rang out:
“Surnamed Wang! At your age, bullying a young girl—have you no shame?!”
Grandma Lin had rushed over at some point, her thick rolling pin swinging fiercely as she jabbed it toward the nearest attendant.
“What are you doing? Want to hit someone? Is there no law anymore?!”
Several Imperial Academy students who frequented the stall also stepped forward indignantly, forming a protective barrier around the Su family. Leading them was Shen Yan’s classmate, Zhang Zheng.
“Shopkeeper Wang, forced buying and market bullying—if this reaches the Kaifeng Prefecture, it won’t look good, will it?” Zhang Zheng said righteously.
Wang Defu hadn’t expected to provoke public anger, especially involving Imperial Academy students. His expression shifted, and in the end, he shot Su Qingyan a vicious glare.
“Just you wait! In this city of Bianjing, there’s nothing I, Wang Defu, can’t take!”
With that threat, he led his men away, retreating awkwardly through the crowd.
The disturbance subsided for the moment, but everyone knew it wasn’t over.
Su Mingyue’s face was pale with fear as she clutched her sister’s sleeve. Madam Wang was even more worried, tears brimming in her eyes. “Qingyan, what do we do? We’ve provoked big trouble!”
Su Qingyan gently patted her sister’s back and supported her mother.
There wasn’t a trace of fear on her face.
She turned to the neighbors and customers who had stood up for them and announced loudly:
“Thank you all for speaking up for us today! Su Ji has nothing much to repay everyone with.”
“So,” she continued, her clear voice filled with confidence and boldness, “on the first day of next month, Su Ji will launch two new pastries—unique flavors you won’t find anywhere else in Bianjing! For the first three days, all regular customers will get half price!”
The crowd was stunned.
Everyone had thought she would lie low for a while. Instead, not only was she unafraid—she was going to expand her business right in the face of Wang Family’s threats.
This young girl’s backbone was harder than the stones of Bianjing itself.