Chapter 434: Older Brother is a Tough Character
Bai Ruozhu found this quite amusing. Who would have thought that purchasing pastries could lead to getting some for free? She wondered if this counted as saving money?
The onlookers began praising the good nature of the Ronglang Pastry Shop’s owners. Some started shouting out, "These green bean cakes are truly delicious, I’ll have a jin!"
Immediately, others joined in, "They really are tasty, give me a jin too."
The shop owners were a bit taken aback. Just a moment ago these pastries were going to be removed and sold at a loss, but now they’ve suddenly become sought-after commodities?
Only when the customers started to get impatient did the couple snap back to reality. Together they started weighing and packing the pastries. Soon, all the green bean cakes were sold out. Those who didn’t get any were a bit disappointed, but they also bought some of the other pastries, and before leaving, they did not forget to remind the shop owner, "Definitely have fresh green bean cakes tomorrow, I’ll come back."
After they finished with the rush, the couple noticed that Bai Ruozhu was still there. They rushed to thank her again. Bai Ruozhu laughed and said, "There’s no need to thank me. I got some pastries from you guys. I should be the one thanking you. Just now, you guys were busy and I didn’t get a chance to order. Now that it’s calmer, can you help me weigh and pack some pastries?"
The wife was now even more fond of Bai Ruozhu. Laughing, she said, "Miss, my maiden name is Wang, everyone calls me Wang Dasao. How may I address you?"
"I’m Bai Ruozhu, you can just call me Ruozhu." Bai Ruozhu responded with a smile.
Seeing that this lady was holding a child and chose not to mention her husband’s family name, Wang Dasao figured there was something more to her. She quickly diverted the topic and said, "What else would you like? I’ll give you a discount!"
Bai Ruozhu waved it off, "Just charge what you should. I wouldn’t want you to work hard without making any money. Could you help me pack some gift boxes? Each box should contain either four-color pastries or nine-color pasties. Pick vivid and desirable colors as they are gifts that I’ll take home to share. Hmm, you can start with 10 boxes - I’m afraid if there are too many, I won’t be able to handle."
Upon hearing this, Wang Dasao hurriedly responded, "If you order more than ten boxes, we provide home delivery, so you don’t need to worry about that."
Bai Ruozhu thought it over and said, "My mansion is quite far, and with the two of you running the shop and making pastries, delivering the goods would be too time-consuming."
Wang Dasao chuckled, "We won’t be delivering the goods ourselves. It would be the guy from the shop next door, he runs errands for us. As a youngster, he’s good on his feet and delivers quickly, we’d just pay him for the delivery."
Bai Ruozhu nodded, thinking this was a good arrangement.
Estimating the number of boxes she needed for her gifts, Bai Ruozhu realised she needed two boxes for the old mansion, four boxes for her sister-in-law’s family, a box or two for homes of friends like Zhou Deshun, boxes for the family of the tribal chief, her two other grandfathers, Bai Zeji’s house, the Xie family, Rongrong’s house, Lai Fu’s wife’s house, and Mrs. Ding, who she would send supplies to on her way back, also needed a gift. Oh, and she needed to send some for Officer Li’s family too.
Therefore, ten boxes would definitely not be sufficient, so in the end she ordered thirty boxes of pastries. Luckily, she hired a carriage to get back home, otherwise she and her brother would have no way to transport them all.
Wang Dasao hadn’t expected her to order so many in one go, this was a big business deal after all. She immediately started packing the boxes for her, choosing pastries that looked intact and attractive. Eventually, she gave Bai Ruozhu a special family price. Bai Ruozhu, who is not stingy, rounded up the amount as she paid, saying, "Don’t be polite. I’ve taken more pastries from you. Once I move to Beiyu City, I’ll come here to buy pastries."
"Miss Ruozhu, you’re certainly first rate in your kindness. If it wasn’t for you today, our shop’s reputation would have been ruined, and we would’ve suffered huge losses. In future, if you ever have any difficulties in Beiyu City, feel free to tell me, Wang Dasao. As long as I can help, I definitely will!"
Bai Ruozhu hadn’t expected to make a friend while he was just out buying pastries. She liked Wang Dasao’s personality and agreed with her business attitude and principles. So, she immediately said happily, "Then let me thank Wang Dasao. When I get a chance, I’ll invite you to visit my home."
"Sure, no problem!" Wang Dasao promptly replied.
Bai Ruozhu left the two bags of pastries that Wang Dasao had initially given her behind, then left the address for the delivery and took Dengdeng away from Ronglang Pastry Shop.
She allcasually strolled a bit more around the market. In fact, she wasn’t really planning to open a hand-grabbed cake shop anymore. As long as she could start the fresh soup and noodles business, it wouldn’t be necessary for the whole family to work hard from dawn till dusk. Just running the fresh soup and noodles business would be enough.
Of course, she wasn’t satisfied with the current situation, otherwise, it wouldn’t be fair to the Zhang family who had sworn allegiance to her. Once she moved and got settled, she would definitely start some other businesses as well to expand her family’s fortunes.
She figured that there was no one in the yard right now, worrying about the delivery arriving when she wasn’t home, so she just found a carriage and sent Dengdeng and herself back to the yard.
Indeed, not long after she arrived home, the delivery boy arrived.
The delivery boy appeared to be about her brother’s age, with a strong build and a somewhat tan complexion. Even in the depth of winter, sweat was beading on his forehead, a clear indicator that he had rushed over.
He placed the goods at the gate for Bai Ruozhu, saying, "Ma’am, please check and see if the quantity is correct."
Bai Ruozhu glanced quickly over the goods and found no issues. Seeing how much effort the delivery boy had exerted, she handed over a dozen or so copper coins and said, "Thank you, young man. Go rest and have some tea."
The delivery boy grinned sheepishly, bowed to Bai Ruozhu and said, "Thank you, ma’am, thank you."
Once the delivery boy had left, Bai Ruozhu decided to take the pastries inside. Only then did she realize how heavy they were. Originally, she wanted to leave them at the door to easily load them onto the carriage later, but in the end, to prevent the pastries from absorbing moisture, she moved them into the house one by one.
When Bai Zepei returned, he saw all the pastries and realised that his younger sister had bought all the gifts for their return home. Feeling somewhat guilty, he said, "You’ve been taking care of all this alone. I haven’t been much help."
Bai Ruozhu casually waved her hand and then proudly let her older brother taste the pastries that Wang Dasao had given her. She also recounted the events that unfolded at the Ronglang Pastry Shop today.
After trying the pastries, Bai Zepei also found them to be good. However, he soon wore a mocking expression and said, "Little sister, you’re amazing, your nose is as sharp as a dog."
Bai Ruozhu glared at him, retorting, "Then you stop eating my pastries, don’t give these as gifts when we return, and don’t mention that you know me when you’re out!"
Seeing that she was genuinely upset, Bai Zepei quickly said, "Alright, I admit I was wrong. How can a dog’s nose compare to yours?" After saying this, he couldn’t help breaking into laughter.
Bai Ruozhu stared him down again, "Brother, even a dog can’t talk as much nonsense as you!"
Bai Zepei just laughed for a long time before finally pulling himself together. He said, "Alright, alright, I won’t tease you anymore. If we keep bickering like this, we’ll just make fools of ourselves. I apologize."
As he finished speaking, he even made a serious bow to Bai Ruozhu.
Bai Ruozhu glared at him sternly, thinking to herself, ’My brother certainly is sly and flexible. It’s good that he’s on our side. If he was an enemy, he would be a really tough opponent.’
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Just one more Chapter tonight. I’ll post the rest during the day. Don’t wait up, y’all. Have a good rest~