Chapter 423: Chapter 410: How Embarrassing

“From my understanding, the current Mrs. Cao managing the tofu shop is a very kind and diligent person. She never takes advantage of anyone.”

“And the guy Zhang Xiangrong who’s managing the hot and sour rice noodle stall is also a very honest person. His two daughters are well-behaved and clever, they are doing business very energetically. Ah, yes, Aunt Liu is also a very kind person…”

“You just said that your eldest brother and sister-in-law don’t care about the elderly, but now your mother-in-law is living with your eldest brother and sister-in-law, and always praises her son and daughter-in-law in front of others. How do you explain this?”

After Zhuang Qingning spoke, she glanced at Mrs. Guo.

Mrs. Guo’s face turned pale, but she quickly regained her composure. “You’ve all been deceived by them. My eldest brother and sister-in-law are good at pretending. We’ve been living with them for so long, we know their true colors. You haven’t been with them for long, so of course you’ve been deceived.”

Seeing Zhuang Qingning’s dismissive response to her words, Mrs. Guo felt displeased. “You’re quite a character. I simply wanted to inquire about something. If you knew it, you could tell me. If you didn’t, just say you didn’t. Instead, you’re questioning me.”

“I think you don’t know anything about this tofu shop at all, you’re just pretending!”

“Manager Zhuang.”

Before Zhuang Qingning could respond, someone came running over, cheerfully greeting Zhuang Qingning with a bow.

“Manager Qin.” Zhuang Qingning recognized him as the shop manager of the bun shop, Qin, and returned his greeting. “Is business going well lately, Manager Qin?”

“Thanks to your blessings, Manager Zhuang, it is going well.” Manager Qin replied with a beaming smile. “I’ve been meaning to invite you to our shop for a visit, but I was hesitant to bother you when you were so busy. Now that I finally ran into you, I must insist on inviting you to the shop.”

“How about coming to my bun shop for lunch? What would you like to eat? Bun filled with pork and green onions, chives and pork, or mushrooms and pork? Or would you prefer vegetarian options like chive and egg, or tofu buns?”

“The taste of the buns in Manager Qin’s shop is indeed exceptional, and I should really not turn down your kind invitation. However, I have already promised Uncle Zhang to have mutton soup at Ruyi Pavilion at lunchtime…”

Zhuang Qingning turned him down tactfully.

“Chef Zhang?” Hearing that Chef Zhang had arranged a meal with Zhuang Qingning, Manager Qin laughed and said,” Since Chef Zhang has invited Manager Zhuang for a meal, I certainly won’t compete with him.”

Otherwise, considering Zhang’s temper, he might end up tossing over the steamer racks in his bun shop.

Can’t afford to offend!

“Then let’s change it for another day…” Manager Qin laughed awkwardly, rubbing his hands a bit embarrassingly, “There is something I wanted to discuss with Manager Zhuang, as it’s not easy to meet you. I will not beat around the bush and simply speak plainly.”

“Manager Qin, are you referring to the tofu buns?” Zhuang Qingning asked with a smile.

“Yes, exactly.” Manager Qin quickly nodded his head. “About the matter we discussed earlier, could you please consider it again, Manager Zhuang?”

The fillings for the buns in Qin’s Bun Shop come in a great variety, among which tofu filled buns are included, and are a signature dish.

Manager Qin has always been very proud of the taste of his tofu buns, especially since he started using the tofu from Zhuang’s tofu shop. He believes his buns have gotten even better, like icing on the cake.

Manager Qin believes that his tofu filled buns are the best in the whole town, no, in all the nearby towns.

Until one day, when he went to Zhuang’s Tofu Shop to buy tofu as usual, he saw Zhang Qiuying eating buns for breakfast, specifically tofu buns, while complimenting how delicious it was.

As someone who sells buns himself, upon hearing someone praising the tofu buns, and knowing that it’s not from his shop, Manager Qin got curious and thick-facedly asked for one to try.

Upon tasting it, Manager Qin was both pleasantly surprised and disappointed.

The pleasant surprise was that the bun was indeed delicious, so much so that someone could make such tasty buns.

The disappointment came from the fact that someone in town could actually make tofu buns that taste better than those from his shop.

With this shock, Manager Qin immediately asked who made these tofu buns. After some persuasion, Zhang Qiuying and Mrs. Cao finally revealed that the buns were made by Zhuang Qingning, who specially had them delivered to them for breakfast by Zhuang Sifu when he delivered tofu in the morning.

So Manager Qin found out where the delicious tofu buns came from, and he set his heart on asking Zhuang Qingning for the recipe for the tofu filling.

Manager Qin had sought Zhuang Qingning to ask for the recipe twice before. Zhuang Qingning thought he was merely being polite and flattering, but now seeing how serious he was, it was clear that he was determined to get the recipe.

“Well, it’s not that I can’t…” Zhuang Qingning scratched her ear, “But I didn’t pay much attention when I made it. I couldn’t even tell you if you asked for the recipe right now. Let me think about it and get back to you, and I’ll also make a copy for you.”

Manager Qin was once again pleasantly surprised and disappointed.

Naturally, the pleasant surprise came from Zhuang Qingning’s straightforward acceptance.

The disappointment came from the fact that the recipe was not some time-honored secret, but a casual creation of Zhuang Qingning.

She managed to create such delicious tofu filling so casually, this made his bun shop, renowned for three generations…

Look disgraceful!

Manager Qin sighed deeply, his face showing mixed expressions of surprise and disappointment, which made him look a bit unnatural. However, he still thanked Zhuang Qingning hastily, “I really cannot thank you enough, Manager Zhuang.”

“But don’t worry, Manager Zhuang, I definitely won’t take the recipe for free. Just name a price, as long as I can afford it, I won’t hesitate!”

“It’s not such a remarkable recipe. You can just offer a symbolic price, Manager Qin.”

Zhuang Qingning had a rough idea about the price of recipes from Chef Zhang, but as this was a bun filling recipe, and it’s for a local bun shop, Zhuang Qingning was not familiar with the going rate. So, she gave the initiative to Manager Qin, to see if he was indeed a solid and honest man.

“Once I complete the recipe, Manager Qin can try it first to see if it matches the taste. We can discuss the price after that.” Zhuang Qingning suggested.

By proposing to try first and pay later, she clearly showed complete trust in him.

The feeling of being trusted usually makes people feel very comfortable, and Manager Qin was no exception.

“Thank you so much, Manager Zhuang.” Manager Qin thanked her again.