Chapter 315: So It’s His Home
But Lin Ping’er and Bai Zehao were oblivious to this. They fixed their gaze on the regular customer, their hearts thumping in their chest.
"Definitely not as tasty as yours, now I really believe you get what you pay for." He shook his head forcefully and took a long, purposeful sniff of the Bai family’s pancake aroma.
It didn’t take long before Bai Ruozhu’s pancake was ready. Bai Zehao handed it over to the customer, saying with a smile, "Enjoy your meal, please let us know if there’s anything we can improve."
After taking a bite, the customer smiled broadly, "Just the right taste, it’s very fresh. But..."
At this sudden elongation of his sentence, the hearts of Bai Zehao and Lin Ping’er, which had just settled, shot back up into their throats.
"If only there was more meat, like a thick layer of it, hahaha." He finished speaking and broke into a big laugh, knowing as well that the other party would be running a loss, he was just joking.
Bai Ruozhu gave the man a helpless glance. The uncle was being quite mischievous with his jest, so much so that it would have scared her mother and elder brother out of their wits.
Once the customer had left, Fusa, who had overheard the conversation, hurried over and asked worriedly, "Ruozhu, will this affect your business?"
"No big deal, their taste can’t compare with ours anyway. Customers still prefer good flavor over saving a penny. Can they afford to undercut prices indefinitely just for the sake of getting business?" Bai Ruozhu said nonchalantly.
Lin Ping’er, however, remained very anxious. "There aren’t many customers right now, let me sneak over there to check it out, see what their prices are."
Seeing her mother so worried, Bai Ruozhu could only nod and let her go, but she warned, "Mom, don’t get into a conflict with them. There are no rules that forbid others from selling pancakes."
Lin Ping’er gave Bai Ruozhu a reproachful look. "Do you think your mom is unreasonable?" After speaking, she strode off very quickly, clearly showing her anxiety.
Bai Zehao was also quite curious and tried to get a glimpse of the end of the street by standing on his toes and straining his neck, but he couldn’t see anything.
"Should I also follow to take a look?" Bai Zehao scratched his head and suggested to Bai Ruozhu.
Out of patience, she said, "Go ahead, but hurry back. I won’t be able to handle the stall alone if we get a rush of customers."
Despite her words, she surmised that it wouldn’t be crowded today, and probably not tomorrow either. People are always attracted to the new and most of them would be willing to try out the newly-opened stall, especially since it’s cheaper than hers.
Fusa was so anxious for the Bai family that she contemplated, "Maybe I should go over and check it out too. Niuniu’s dad, I’ll be back shortly!"
Lin Laifu responded with a hearty laugh and Fusa sped off.
Helplessly, Bai Ruozhu started making a pancake for herself to eat, as she hadn’t eaten enough at noon.
...
At the end of the street, a crowd of people gathered in front of the newly-opened pancake stall. There were two big tables set up behind it. Their cart was bigger than the Bai family’s, their iron pan larger, and even the flag hanging on the cart was bigger and redder. Just by looking, you could tell it seemed a lot more extravagant than the Bai family’s stall.
"Aromatic pancakes here! Cheap and delicious pancakes! Don’t miss out as you walk by, come in and give it a try!" A middle-aged man was passionately advertising, his resonant voice attracting the attention of many passing by.
"How much for your pancakes?" A passerby came forward and asked.
"Four pennies for a plain pancake, add an egg for three pennies, add a slice of meat for nine pennies, and vegetables are complimentary. Buy a pancake and get a bowl of soup for free!" The middle-aged man shouted at the top of his lungs, making sure that even people far away could hear him.
Before Lin Ping’er even got there, she heard these hawkings. She calculated on her fingers and found that their plain pancakes were cheaper than hers by a coin. The ones with egg were also cheaper by a coin, and if they had meat, they’d be cheaper by two coins.
"Oh, your prices are fair for both the young and the old," a customer praised with a chuckle.
"We’re honest traders, not like those who make a killing with extortionate prices. Everyone, why not come in and try some?" the middle-aged man continued.
Lin Ping’er was fuming so much that her face turned pale. Was this man insinuating that her family charges high prices and makes money greedily? Luckily the arriving Bai Zehao stopped Lin Ping’er, or else she would have rushed over to argue with him.
"Mom, let’s go over and see before we make any decisions," Bai Zehao motioned towards the crowd, suggesting they see the customers’ reactions.
The two slowly walked over, but did not get too close. By this time, there were already customers sitting down to eat the pancakes. A woman was making pancakes in front of the stove, she looked clean and her movements were very nimble.
The customers quickly received their pancakes and had their bone soup. However, the customers who were eating had a slightly furrowed brow, but they didn’t say anything.
"If you have any needs, just tell us. If there is anything not done well, do tell us," said the middle-aged man, a man who was attentive to details.
The customer with the furrowed brow laughed, "There’s nothing, your stuff is just cheaper." Then he stopped talking.
Lin Ping’er tugged on Bai Zehao’s sleeve and said triumphantly: "Did you see? The customer must be saying that you get what you pay for."
Bai Zehao frowned, he felt that there would still be some people pursuing cheap food to fill their bellies without caring much about the taste. Fearing that his mother would worry, he didn’t say anything.
After watching for a while and feeling bored, the two planned to leave. But then they saw an old lady walking up to the stall with a basket and handing it to the woman making pancakes.
Lin Ping’er and Bai Zehao’s faces changed simultaneously. That old lady was none other than the mother of the Wang family!
Bai Zehao slapped his forehead, "I was wondering why that hawking uncle looked so familiar... Now I remember, he’s the older brother of the Wang family."
Lin Ping’er’s eyes were blazing with anger, "So it’s the Wang family causing trouble again. I won’t let them off!"
Fearing that his mother would make a scene, Bai Zehao quickly pulled her away and said, "Please calm down, mother. Otherwise, sister will criticize you again. Let’s go back and discuss with sister about what to do next, alright?"
Thinking of how she scared the whole family with her temper a few days ago and how Bai Ruozhu criticized her afterward, reminding her not to anger easily, Lin Ping’er took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. She then followed Bai Zehao back to their stall.
From afar, Bai Ruozhu could see that the two looked very upset. She guessed it was probably because of the other stall doing good business, which worried her mother and older brother. However, she didn’t expect her mother to rush over and say angrily, "Ruozhu, do you know who’s running that pancake stall?"
Bai Ruozhu must have had some idea, but then, she heard her older brother say hastily, "It’s the Wang family, it’s the mother’s family of that old aunt."
Good heavens, the Wangs are really quick on their feet. Have their wounds healed from the beating they received?
"I don’t know whether the Wangs are envious of our good business, or they want to retaliate against us, deliberately competing with us for business. But they should think about it, if they hadn’t messed with us, would they have been beaten in the first place?" Lin Ping’er said indignantly.
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