Chapter 59 Standing Someone Up

After leaving the Qin residence, Li Qi and Wu Furong hurried toward the North City without a moment of rest. The situation there proved to be even more severe than Li Qi had imagined. The Jade Pavilion's branch had been established less than a mile away from the Yang Building, a blatant challenge designed to rival the Yang Building directly. Moreover, its business was exceptionally booming, making the Yang Building appear rather desolate by comparison.

Furthermore, the Jade Pavilion branch was selling its stinky tofu for only two hundred and fifty wen a plate, a full fifty wen lower than the price at the main establishment.

Following a brief investigation, Li Qi and Wu Furong returned to the Qin residence.

Upon seeing them return, Madam Qin asked anxiously, "How is the situation over at the Yang Building?"

Wu Furong shook his head and recounted the intelligence they had gathered to Madam Qin.

After listening, Madam Qin knitted her delicate brows together and said, "No wonder Manager Zhang looked so flustered yesterday." She paused, glanced at the persistently silent Li Qi, and added, "It seems to me we would be wise not to get involved to avoid burning ourselves. I shall tell Manager Zhang the plain truth tomorrow."

"No, not only can we not stand by and watch, but we must also render our full assistance to the Yang Building," Li Qi said, shaking his head.

Madam Qin asked in astonishment, "Why is that? We cannot afford to provoke either of these two establishments."

"Precisely because of that, we must help the Yang Building."

Li Qi said with a solemn expression, "By helping the Yang Building now, we are actually helping ourselves. Judging from the Jade Pavilion's recent expansion, Cai Minde clearly intends to dominate Bianjing's restaurant industry. If we simply sit on the sideline and watch the tigers fight, once Manager Cai defeats the Yang Building, he will turn his weapons on us. After all, we are located too close to the Jade Pavilion, and considering we are still in our startup phase, we stand no chance against them. Therefore, we must join forces with the Yang Building to keep the Jade Pavilion in check and prevent them from becoming the sole dominant power."

"What you say does make some sense," Wu Furong said, frowning and nodding.

Madam Qin furrowed her brow and said, "But you have already signed an agreement with Manager Cai, pledging not to sell the stinky tofu recipe to anyone else. How can we help Manager Zhang then?"

Li Qi smiled faintly and countered with a question, "Madam, how did you respond to Manager Zhang yesterday?"

Madam Qin replied, "I merely told him that I needed to consult with Uncle Wu before giving him an answer."

"Splendid! We have this business deal firmly in our grasp," Li Qi said, the corners of his mouth curving upward in a smile.

Madam Qin looked at Li Qi with bewilderment in her eyes.

Wu Furong asked excitedly, "What brilliant scheme do you have?"

Li Qi smiled. "Although we cannot sell the stinky tofu recipe to Manager Zhang, we can sell the stinky tofu directly to him. Those four jars of brine in the cellar aren't serving any particular purpose sitting there anyway, so we might as well put them to use. That way, I won't violate my agreement with Manager Cai, and we can still make a hefty profit."

Upon hearing this, a sharp gleam flashed in Wu Furong's eyes, and he nodded briskly, "Splendid, I think this idea is quite feasible."

Madam Qin nodded slightly, though she said with concern, "Your idea is indeed clever, but Manager Zhang might not necessarily agree."

"He will certainly agree. You just need to tell him the truth about the agreement we signed with Manager Cai," Li Qi said with a smile.

Madam Qin asked in surprise, "Won't you be the one negotiating with him?"

Li Qi laughed. "Such matters must naturally be handled by you, Madam. My standing is simply not high enough. Do not forget that, nominally, I am merely a cook at the Drunken Immortal Pavilion. Even Uncle Wu lacks the appropriate status for this, I daresay."

How could Wu Furong not understand the hidden agenda turning in Li Qi's mind? However, this suited his own wishes perfectly, so he quickly agreed, "Quite right, quite right."

Madam Qin said with a face full of anxiety, "Yet I worry—"

Before she could finish her sentence, Li Qi interrupted her, "Madam need not worry. After all, tomorrow's negotiation will boil down to three points: first, the quantity of stinky tofu; second, the price; and finally, the delivery schedule.

As for the quantity, as long as he can afford to pay, any amount is fine. Regarding the price, a catty of stinky tofu yields about fifteen or sixteen pieces. The Jade Pavilion sells it for two hundred and fifty wen a plate of ten pieces; we shall sell it to him for two hundred wen a catty, and we will still take the lion's share. As for the timing, we still need to visit Third Uncle Zhang to inspect things, but regardless of how we arrange it, we must make Manager Zhang wait a few days. Manager Cai just sent us a substantial sum of money, so we must throw him a small bone first. Once he secures his footing in the North City, we can then begin selling stinky tofu to the Yang Building. Having been suppressed by the Jade Pavilion for so many days, the Yang Building will surely launch a massive counterattack once they acquire the stinky tofu. When the two tigers fight, we will sit back and reap the fisherman's profit."

What a venomous scheme!

As Wu Furong listened from the side, he broke out in a cold sweat. At the same time, he felt a secret sense of relief; luckily, they had taken Li Qi in earlier. Otherwise, today's situation might have turned out entirely different.

Madam Qin felt that acting this way was somewhat dishonorable, so she cast an inquiring glance at Wu Furong. The latter gave a slight nod. Receiving his confirmation, Madam Qin finally said, "Very well, let us do as you propose."

At that moment, Xiaotao's voice suddenly came from outside the door, "Madam, Wu Xiaoliu is outside asking for an audience, saying he has an urgent matter concerning Young Master Li."

"Looking for me?" Li Qi frowned, feeling deeply puzzled, and said to Madam Qin, "Madam, allow me to step outside and see."

Madam Qin nodded and said, "Go ahead."

The moment Li Qi stepped into the front hall, Wu Furong—no, Wu Xiaoliu rushed over and blurted out anxiously, "Brother Li, something terrible has happened!"

Li Qi asked in alarm, "What terrible thing has happened?"

Wu Xiaoliu stammered, "That—that White—White Lady has arrived."

The White Lady?

Li Qi was slightly startled, and it instantly dawned on him that he was supposed to accompany Bai Qiannuo to the eastern suburb today to provide relief to the disaster victims. He looked left and right, and with a sinking heart, asked, "She—she came to the Qin residence?"

Wu Xiaoliu shook his head and replied, "Not quite, but she is currently at the shop, demanding to see you by name, and her expression is terribly grim."

Someone stood you up; could her expression possibly be pleasant?

Li Qi swallowed hard, glanced at the sky, and seeing that the sun was already setting, began to curse his own bad luck. How could he have possibly forgotten about this young lady?

He had originally assumed that a trip to the Qin residence would take very little time, after which he could hurry over to rendezvous with Bai Qiannuo. He had never expected that once he got caught up in business, every other matter would slip his mind.

Seeing Li Qi covered in cold sweat, Wu Xiaoliu swallowed nervously and asked, "Brother Li, you didn't happen to offend that White Lady, did you? You have no idea—the last time, the manager of a tavern in the South City—"

"Enough!"

Li Qi roared angrily, cutting Wu Xiaoliu off. "I'm already annoyed enough as it is. Can you please shut your trap for a moment? Wait for me right here, I'll be right back—Damn it, not having a mobile phone is truly inconvenient."

Li Qi returned to the inner parlor. Seeing that his expression was somewhat unsightly, Wu Furong asked out of curiosity, "Young Master Li, has something happened?"

Li Qi quickly shook his head and said, "Nothing serious, just a minor issue. However, I must go handle it now. So, Uncle Wu, I must trouble you to make a trip to Third Uncle Zhang's place later."

Seeing that Li Qi was reluctant to elaborate, Wu Furong did not press further and nodded, "You may rest assured about that, old man will go shortly."

Li Qi nodded, bid farewell to Madam Qin, and hurried back to the shop with Wu Xiaoliu.

Along the way, Li Qi walked while pondering how he should sweet-talk Bai Qiannuo to smooth things over. Yet no matter how much he thought, he could not come up with a good strategy. The crucial problem was that Bai Qiannuo was simply too clever to be easily fooled.

In the blink of an eye, Li Qi and his companion arrived at the entrance of the Drunken Immortal Pavilion.

Wu Xiaoliu pointed toward the second floor and said, "The White Lady is right upstairs."

"By the way, did she bring any bodyguards or thugs with her?" Li Qi asked with apprehension.

Wu Xiaoliu shook his head and said, "No! She came entirely alone. Brother Li, why would she bring thugs?"

A huge weight lifted from Li Qi's heart; as long as Bai Qiannuo didn't resort to physical violence, everything else was manageable! He glared at Wu Xiaoliu and said, "If you ask me, how am I supposed to know?"

Just as he lifted his foot to step inside, he suddenly paused, frowned, and said to the aggrieved-looking Wu Xiaoliu, "Xiaoliu, go immediately and fetch Big and Small Zhuzi. Go to the market and buy some Chinese pears, sweet oranges, honey pears, longans, and some honey."

Wu Xiaoliu counted on his fingers and scratched his head. "Brother Li, could you repeat that? There's so much, I can't memorize it all at once."

Suppressing the urge to beat him up, Li Qi repeated the list word for word and then asked, "Did you commit that to memory?"

Wu Xiaoliu nodded and said, "Got it, got it."

"Very well! Hurry off then. Remember, the faster the better!"

Wu Xiaoliu acknowledged the order and sprinted toward the backyard. Even without Li Qi's instruction, he would have dragged the two Zhuzi brothers along for an errand like this.

Li Qi stood before the door, briefly tidying up his unconventional hairstyle, took a few deep breaths, and finally stepped inside.

Once in, Li Qi gently closed the door, walked up to the second floor with a light, cat-like tread, and hid in the stairwell. He poked half his head out to survey his surroundings and spotted a woman in white sitting at a table by the window on the right.

Even her back looked alluring.

Li Qi let out an internal sigh. Although he could only see Bai Qiannuo's back, he could already feel a wave of intense fury radiating from her.

It seemed this calamity could not be avoided after all.

Li Qi sighed, gave a few gentle coughs, and walked forward.

Hearing the sound, Bai Qiannuo immediately turned her head. Seeing that it was Li Qi, a flash of fiery rage crossed her eyes, and she let out a cold huff.

Good grief! It seemed that in any era, breaking a promise was an extremely sensitive matter for women!

Li Qi gave a hollow laugh and said, "I knew it! No wonder the Drunken Immortal Pavilion was radiating such brilliance today—it turns out Her Ladyship the White Lady has honored us with her presence. I failed to go out to greet you in advance, a grave sin indeed, a grave sin!"

The corners of Bai Qiannuo's lips curled into a cold sneer as she said, "What virtue or ability does this humble woman possess that I should dare trouble Young Master Li to welcome me?"

"Hehe, the White Lady certainly knows how to joke. I, Li Qi, am merely a humble cook, not worth mentioning at all, not worth mentioning." Li Qi laughed awkwardly, stepped forward, and dropped heavily into the seat opposite Bai Qiannuo.

Bai Qiannuo cast a cold glance at him, retrieved several ingots of silver from her sleeve, placed them on the table, and said, "Here are seventy-eight taels. The remaining twenty-two taels were already used today to provide relief for the disaster victims."

This silver was what Li Qi had handed over to her yesterday afternoon so she could procure grain to aid the victims today, totaling one hundred taels. Seeing that Bai Qiannuo had actually returned the silver, he asked in bewilderment, "White Lady, what is the meaning of this?"

Bai Qiannuo sneered, "I, Bai Qiannuo, refuse to do business with an untrustworthy, fickle scoundrel like you. The silver has been returned to you. As for whatever person you want to find to help you, you can look for them yourself. Farewell." With that, she stood up, intending to leave.