She Became A Downfall Noble Lady

Chapter 80: Chapter 80: Left Out by Others Chapter 80: Chapter 80: Left Out by Others The next day, Ye Xinyan settled the rice tofu stall with her family and once again led Qi Jia to the Great Crane House.

Yesterday, Ye Xinyan had never intended to use Qi Jia’s childish charm to gain favor with the proprietor of the Great Crane House; she was simply too busy with the morning stall to leave him unattended for fear he might wander off. She hadn’t expected that it would actually turn out to her advantage at Shopkeeper He’s establishment.

Today, she still led Qi Jia along to keep an eye on him, but now there was also an element of strategizing. If the little fellow was so likeable, why not leverage his charm? It would also expose him to more experiences. With so many benefits, of course, she had to bring the little guy along.

Furthermore, Qi Jia was still basking in the joy of the previous day, and not bringing him today would have been a blow to the child.

When Ye Xinyan and her companion entered the Great Crane House, the servant from yesterday immediately greeted them with a smile, “Big sister has arrived! Our shopkeeper isn’t here yet. Please have a seat and wait a moment.”

Ye Xinyan guessed that Shopkeeper He probably wanted to keep her in suspense to make her fret during the wait, thus gaining more leverage when bargaining. It seemed that the ice cream deal was definitely going to happen, so waiting a bit longer was no bother.

As time ticked by, Ye Xinyan wasn’t in a hurry since she had a feeling of certainty, but Qi Jia was getting bored sitting around. He took out a folded paper airplane and fiddled with it in his hands.

After a while, Qi Jia looked up and asked Ye Xinyan, “Sister, can I throw this paper bird around since the room is so big? I won’t touch anything else, just the paper bird.”

The paper airplane was a lightweight toy, and Qi Jia was always sensible and careful. Ye Xinyan reckoned he wouldn’t cause any harm, but still looked towards the waiter cleaning the hall to ask his opinion.

The waiter hesitated as he looked at the peculiar toy in Qi Jia’s hands and then gave a non-committal response, “Big sister, please keep an eye on the young master. As long as he doesn’t damage anything here, he can play in the front hall.”

Ye Xinyan nodded quickly in agreement, thanking the waiter, before turning back to Qi Jia with a smile, “Did you hear what brother said? Be careful, okay? There are so many tables and chairs here, and you mustn’t bump into any of them, understand?”

“I understand,” Qi Jia cheerily agreed and climbed down from the chair.

So, in the large hall of the Great Crane House, a paper airplane glided gently between the tables and through the weaving waiters.

This simple toy distracted the waiters wiping tables and chairs, causing them to occasionally glance up at the paper bird soaring overhead or bend down to pick it up, inspect it for a moment, and hand it back to the little one who came looking for it.

Watching Qi Jia toss his paper airplane without hurry, Ye Xinyan had been waiting for nearly a shichen when Shopkeeper He finally arrived, unhurried.

In a stroke of bad luck, just as Shopkeeper He entered, something flew directly at his face.

Shopkeeper He hastily dodged the object flying straight towards him and was about to reprimand the hall boys when he heard a woman’s voice apologetically saying, “I’m so sorry, really sorry to have disturbed you. My little brother is young and can’t sit still, so he was playing here. He didn’t mean to let the paper bird fly this way; it wasn’t intentional mischief on his part.”

Continuing from yesterday, that clever little thing scurried over, bent down to pick up the curious object on the ground, and said in a milky voice, “Uncle He, I’m sorry, Xiao Jiajia didn’t mean it, please don’t be mad at Xiao Jiajia.”

Shopkeeper He looked at the two of them and the small object in the child’s hand, and smiled at Qi Jia, “It’s alright, I’m not angry, uncle is not angry.”

Ye Xinyan explained, “I apologize, Shopkeeper He. Jiajia is still young, and I, as a young mother, was afraid he couldn’t sit still. Seeing that there were no customers here yet, I let him play with his paper bird.”

“Oh,” Shopkeeper He looked again at the flattened piece of paper in Qi Jia’s hand, didn’t pursue the topic further, and said apologetically to Ye Xinyan, “I’ve made Lady Qi wait for too long, I’m truly sorry. I’ve discussed with the boss about the two snacks made by Lady Qi, please come to the back hall, and we can sit down and talk in detail.”

When Shopkeeper He came in, he was distracted by Qi Jia’s paper airplane and didn’t immediately notice whether Lady Qi was impatient from waiting. Now, looking at her again, she seemed calm and didn’t show any signs of anxiety from the wait, which made him feel regretful, unsure if he could negotiate terms with this woman.

Ye Xinyan, holding Qi Jia’s hand, followed Shopkeeper He to the back hall where they took their seats as host and guest.

After the server brought tea, Ye Xinyan slowly sipped her tea, smiling at Shopkeeper He, waiting for him to speak.

Shopkeeper He also used drinking tea as a cover, patiently waiting for a while. Seeing that Ye Xinyan still showed no sign of inquiry, he finally couldn’t sit still any longer and had to speak up, “Lady Qi, I have discussed with the boss. Our boss believes that even without your cold desserts and snacks, Great Crane House would still be the largest restaurant in Qingyuan County. And without selling your snacks in Great Crane House, the Qi family’s snacks can’t become the luxurious food enjoyed by the wealthy folks. Moreover, it is uncertain if they can even be successfully marketed. Don’t you think this is true?”

Upon hearing this, Ye Xinyan laughed, “Is this the result you and the boss came to after deliberating since yesterday?”

Shopkeeper He’s face turned red, but he didn’t speak anymore, only looking at Ye Xinyan, waiting for her to talk.

Ye Xinyan said with a smile, “Shopkeeper He is indeed correct, to leverage the situation, my family’s snack shop must open next to a restaurant, otherwise, it truly is difficult to get started. If we can’t come to an agreement with Great Crane House, I, as a petty merchant, would have no choice but to lower my conditions and choose to open the shop next to another restaurant. Although doing so might not fetch as high a price as Great Crane House, resulting in earning much less silver, it’s a necessity, who said we aren’t a small business.”

As she spoke, Ye Xinyan stood up, and with sincere regret, bowed to Shopkeeper He, “Shopkeeper He, I’m not good with words, please don’t take offense. We have no intention of threatening your esteemed restaurant, we are just speaking the plain truth.”

Shopkeeper He shook his head slightly, finding this woman truly hard to deal with. To say it’s not a threat, that was a blatant threat, wasn’t it?

This small business that relies on the restaurant really is a threat to the competitors. Whichever restaurant she partners with will indicate that a very attractive exclusive food item will be available at their premises. During the peak of summer, if only one restaurant has the sweet, icy Ice Cream, then customers who want a cold dessert along with their meal will have to patronize that restaurant.

The other snack, called double-layered milk custard, seemed quite ordinary, just made of egg whites, cow’s milk, and sugar. However, after multiple attempts yesterday, the dessert chefs at Great Crane House could only produce something vaguely similar; they couldn’t replicate the taste of Lady Qi’s double-layered milk custard.

It seems that Lady Qi’s two snacks indeed have some secret techniques behind them.

Thinking this way, Shopkeeper He didn’t bother to spar with Ye Xinyan anymore, and given the current circumstances, it seemed futile to try.