Chapter 207: Chapter 203: Deception_1

Translator: 549690339

The carriage drove directly into the backyard of the shop.

Xiaojie hopped off the carriage and hurried over to pet Xiaohei.

Ever since Xiaohei had arrived in the county, his freedom had been severely limited by being tied to a post in the backyard. He was almost falling into depression. Seeing his little master now, he barked excitedly.

“Xiaojie!”

Yingbao came out from the kitchen and waved at him, “Come and have some chestnut cake.”

They had just made a pot of it in the morning. It was still warm, crispy, and delicious.

Jiang Jie ran into the kitchen to find his cousin Yingbao packaging chestnut cakes. She was placing the packed chestnut cakes, one by one, into a flat-bottomed iron pot on the stove.

Off to the side, there was a bamboo tray of freshly baked chestnut cakes that were giving off a rich aroma.

Jiang Jie took a piece and bit into it.

It was really delicious, much better than the chestnut cake from his teacher’s house.

While packaging the chestnut cakes, Yingbao asked Xiaojie about his studies. Learning that Master Wu often praised him, she was quite happy.

Her little brother would surely pass the exam and become a high-ranking official.

Outside the shop, Jiang Cheng had just placed ten boxes of freshly packaged chestnut cakes on the shelf when a customer walked in.

“Young man, how much do you charge for your specialities?”

Jiang Cheng: “What would you like to buy? The prices are displayed with each item.”

The visitor was dressed in a bright silken robe and wore a turban adorned with a brightly colored silk flower. He looked like a person of wealth.

“Oh, your prices are not low. Can I get a discount if I buy in bulk?” The man, with a thick layer of fragrant powder on his face and his eyebrows and eyeliners painted on, was difficult to ascertain his real appearance.

Jiang Cheng glanced at him and responded, “May I ask how many you want to buy? We do not offer discounts for purchases less than thirty boxes.”

The man laughed and then suddenly took out a folding fan from his waist and began fanning himself, “For now, I can’t buy that many. Just give me two boxes of pastries for now.”

He took out copper coins from his purse, paid for the pastries, picked up two boxes of chestnut cakes, and left.

Jiang Cheng collected the money and continued to sit inside the counter to draw product labels.

Having learned some painting skills from the scholar, he was now much faster. He could draw over a dozen labels in two hours.

Unconsciously, it was already noon when Jiang Quan came to replace his elder brother so he could go to the backyard and have lunch. Jiang Cheng noticed a man in a silken robe entering the shop.

Jiang Cheng recognized him. He was the customer who had bought two boxes of chestnut cake earlier.

“Ah, you’re so busy.” The man smiled and said, “Your pastries are really good. Give me four more boxes.”

Jiang Cheng did not find it suspicious and gave him four boxes.

Instead of leaving after paying, the man said to Jiang Cheng, “Can you deliver these four boxes of pastries to Feihe Building? I am the owner of Feihe Building.”

Jiang Quan knew of Feihe Building and quickly offered, “I’ll deliver it.” His elder brother hadn’t eaten yet, so he would just make the delivery himself.

Jiang Cheng nodded, tied up the four boxes of pastries with a thin hemp rope, handed them to his brother, and reminded him to verify the details before delivering the goods. After all, they didn’t know the owner of Feihe Building, and if the goods were delivered to the wrong place, wouldn’t they have to compensate?

“I know,” Jiang Quan said, picking up the four boxes of pastries and running off.

Feihe Building was a big restaurant. It served drinks on the ground floor and had dining rooms upstairs. It was a place frequented by the wealthy.

Jiang Quan ran to the front of the building. Before he could go up the stairs, person who looked like a servant came forward, “Are you delivering the pastries our owner bought? You can just give them to me.”

Jiang Quan glanced at Feihe Building and asked, “What is your owner’s last name? What does he look like?”

“What do you mean?” The servant gave him a glare, “Our owner’s last name is Lai. Didn’t he buy two boxes of pastries at your place in the morning? Hurry up and give them to me, the guests upstairs are waiting.”

Jiang Quan had no choice but to hand over the four boxes of pastries and watched as the servant went into Feihe Building.

When he returned to the shop, that customer was no longer there.

Jiang Cheng asked him, “Is that man really the owner of Feihe Building?”

“Yes, the servant inside said so.” Jiang Quan replied, “Elder brother, you go and have lunch. I’ll look after the shop.”

Jiang Cheng nodded and went to the backyard.

Today, Erni and Yingbao had cooked many dishes and bought stewed goose and chicken from outside.

Yingbao had also bought a can of fruit juice from somewhere. It was tart and sweet, and very refreshing.

As Jiang Cheng sat down to eat, he saw the chestnut cakes still being fried on the stove. He said, “The chestnut cakes are selling really well today. One person bought six boxes and said he’ll come again next time. He told us to make more because his guests like them.”

“His guests like them?” Yingbao found it odd.

Their gift box of chestnut cakes was priced high. Ordinary people wouldn’t buy it to take home to eat unless they were very wealthy.

Jiang Cheng: “It’s the owner of Feihe Building. He said his guests are either rich or noble, and ordinary pastries won’t attract their interest.”

Yingbao felt that something was off, but she couldn’t put her finger on it.

While they were eating, they suddenly heard Jiang Quan calling from up front, “Yingbao, how many chestnut cakes do we have left? This customer wants fifty boxes.”

Fifty boxes, that would be twenty taels of silver at four hundred coins a box.

This was no small amount.

Yingbao checked the number of pre-packaged chestnut cakes in the kitchen and told her second brother, “We have forty boxes.”

Jiang Quan: “Forty boxes should do. The customer is waiting. He wants us to deliver them to Feihe Building and settle the account there.”

He’s not paying upfront?

Yingbao immediately became alert and ran to the front of the shop to check.

She saw a man sporting a silk flower on his head, casually fanning himself with a folding fan, looking around. He didn’t pay much attention when he saw a little girl, and he said to Jiang Quan, “Hurry, my guests are waiting.”

“Alright, I’m coming.” Jiang Quan prepared the chestnut cakes in the shop, bundling them up with hemp rope into piles.

Five boxes a pile, fifty boxes would probably make up ten piles.

Yingbao asked outright, “Isn’t the customer paying upfront?”

Before Jiang Quan could respond, the man glared at her, “What do you mean? Do you think I, the owner of Feihe Building, would owe your little shop twenty measly taels?”

The more Yingbao looked at this man, the more something seemed off about him.

He claimed to be the owner of Feihe Building, but apart from the flamboyant decorations he didn’t look like an owner at all.

Even the thick layer of white powder couldn’t hide his lewd appearance.

“Our shop has a strict policy against credit.”

Yingbao said unapologetically, “If you can’t afford to pay in cash, you should go somewhere else to buy cheaper pastries.”

Jiang Quan was stunned, looking at his cousin clueless about what to say.

The man was furious, pointing at Yingbao and cursing, “Where did this little rabbit come from? Dare to be disrespectful to me? Do you still want to do business?”

Yingbao was not afraid of him at all, “My uncle works for the Patrol Post, how dare you threaten me?”

She turned to her second brother, “Go to the Patrol Post and get uncle. Tell him there’s a scammer here trying to cheat us. Humph! I know the owner of Feihe Building, and he’s nothing like you!”

Yingbao was so sure of herself that the man was taken aback.

Seeing Jiang Quan really heading out of the shop, he suddenly turned around, lifted his robe, and ran away.

He didn’t even bother to pick up the folding fan he dropped.

Jiang Quan could only come back and ask, “Yingbao, was that man really a scammer?”

“Yes,” Yingbao nodded confidently. She had had a close encounter with such a scammer in her previous life. She had almost been fooled, but fortunately, her caution and stinginess prevented the scammer from succeeding.

Jiang Quan was confused, “But how did he attempt to scam us?”

They had suffered no losses.

Yingbao rolled her eyes at him, “He gives you a sweet taste first, then attempts to scam you.”