A few north winds blew recently, and the temperature has already dropped.
Before that happened, Lin Chuxia had Hou Xiaobao buy some honeycomb coal for heating for her master.
Currently, central heating isn’t widespread, so being able to heat with honeycomb coal is considered quite a good situation.
Worried about carbon monoxide poisoning from the coal, they even installed a flue. But even so, not having seen Lin Chuxia for several days, she was still a bit anxious.
Upon entering the yard and glimpsing the shadow of someone moving inside the house through the glass, she felt a bit relieved.
“Master, what are you up to again?” Lin Chuxia shouted as she breezily entered the house.
Old Sir He was on the kang bed fiddling with his plants; it’s no longer just a single pot, there are several pots, all of different shapes and sizes.
“What are you doing here again?” Old Sir He glanced up at her and seeing her complexion was fine, returned to what he was doing, “Did you finish taking the medicine?”
“I did, I did. Master, are you secretly hoping I get sick so you can get back at me? I feel like the medicine tastes horrifically bitter; I’ve never had anything so bitter.”
“What revenge? Haven’t you heard that good medicine tastes bitter?” Old Sir He glared at her, “If you’re really afraid that I’m giving you bitter medicine as payback, there’s a solution. How much of the medical book I gave you have you read?”
Lin Chuxia immediately felt guilty and took an apple out of her bag to hand to him, “Master, try this apple, it’s very sweet.”
Old Sir He snorted coldly but took a bite of the apple.
Lin Chuxia immediately began to playfully help him arrange the plants.
She asked Old Sir He why he hadn’t been to the bun shop in the last few days, to which he mercilessly replied that he feared Lin Chuxia would pass her sickness onto him and didn’t want to eat virus-infected buns.
Lin Chuxia felt that the only reason their master-disciple relationship could continue was truly because of her good looks and kind heart.
After leaving Old Sir He’s place, Lin Chuxia went to Qin’s Bun Shop in the city.
It was meal time, and the bun shop was quite busy. Qin Wu and Zhou Hongmei, as a couple, were still selling delivery food, and inside the shop, Qin Lihua and Chen Chunhua were busy working, while Zhang Guilan was at the front desk handling payments.
Even though they were busy with their tasks, their expressions seemed somewhat grave.
Seeing Lin Chuxia come over, Qin Lihua, who was closer to the door, quietly called out, “Auntie Four!”
“What’s the matter?” Lin Chuxia also noticed something amiss.
Qin Lihua glanced towards the office inside and shook her head, “I don’t know.”
Zhang Guilan also saw Lin Chuxia and came over to her, “Little sister-in-law, how are you feeling, any better?”
“I’ve been fine for a while now,” Lin Chuxia responded, “Where’s big brother?”
Zhang Guilan took Lin Chuxia to a private spot, “Your brother is in the office. Just a bit earlier, someone from the Food Store came looking for your brother. They already visited a few days ago, asking who was in charge of our shop, and your brother sent him away. Unexpectedly, they came back today; it’s probably regarding the cooked food business.”
Lin Chuxia nodded, “I’ll go take a look.”
She went straight to the office and upon entering, she saw a middle-aged man in his forties, dressed in a Zhongshan suit with a pen tucked in the pocket of his jacket.
The Food Store is affiliated with the food factory; unlike their private enterprise, they don’t have to deal with products hands-on. The man sat in an office and just made managerial decisions.
This person clearly recognized Lin Chuxia, and after seeing her enter, he didn’t rush to get up but smiled and said, “Meeting Boss Lin isn’t easy, huh.”
Lin Chuxia observed his composure and secretly raised an eyebrow.
True to his position as the head of a state-owned enterprise, his airs were grand indeed.
Despite his older brother Qin Han already standing up, this man remained seated, as stable as Mount Tai.
If Lin Chuxia hadn’t guessed wrong, the fact that he sought her out time and time again at their shop meant he needed something from her, or to put it another way, he wanted to negotiate terms with her.
Whichever the case, it was a passive position.
For someone in a passive position to have such an attitude clearly showed that he didn’t take their shop, or her, seriously at all.
Lin Chuxia smiled and as she walked into the room, she looked toward Qin Han, “Who might this be?”
Qin Han yielded the main seat and introduced, “This is Director Gao from the Food Store of the food factory.”
“Oh!”
Lin Chuxia clearly noticed that when Qin Han mentioned Director Gao, the man slightly puffed up his chest.
She smiled faintly, “Director Gao honors us with his presence. Is there something you need?”
Gao Hui’s face twitched coldly, his tone carrying a hint of interrogation, “Boss Lin sure knows how to pick a spot. Opening a shop here, are you aiming to compete with the food factory?”
Originally, they hadn’t taken it seriously when they heard that a bun shop was going to open here, let alone that it turned out to be Qin’s Buns Shop upon launching.
Even though they had heard that Qin’s Cooked Food was quite popular among the common people, they still didn’t care.
A small-time entrepreneur, even if setting up shop right across from their Food Store, wouldn’t have much of an impact.
Their food factory had decades of foundation, after all.
Yet ever since Qin’s Buns Shop opened, their Food Store’s business was dwindling by the day, the customers getting fewer with each passing day.
Where they used to sell a hundred and eighty pounds of cooked food a day, now they struggled to even sell sixty pounds.
If things continued this way, he, the director, might face disciplinary action.
“Director Gao flatters me, we’re just small individual entrepreneurs, how dare we challenge the food factory,” Lin Chuxia certainly didn’t play along with his words.
Gao Hui scrutinized the woman before him, a very beautiful woman, young in age, yet her poise was beyond her years, even more steadfast than Qin Han who he had just met.
His words were actually a probe, and the result of this probe was that this woman was not easy to deal with.
He exhaled lightly, “My visit this time is to discuss business with Boss Lin.”
Lin Chuxia continued to look at him, saying nothing.
Gao Hui had no choice but to continue, “I’ve tasted the cooked food from your bun shop, and the flavor is indeed good. The food factory has been working on improving the taste of its products for years, without notable success. Qin’s Cooked Food, however, has impressed us, so the food factory has decided to acquire the proprietary recipe from Qin’s Cooked Food to enhance the food quality of the factory. It’s a great thing for the benefit of the country and the people. Boss Lin can make an offer; as long as the price is reasonable, the food factory will accept it.”
Lin Chuxia’s smile was meaningful, dressing up the oppression of competitors in such noble terms was something only such a large state-owned factory could do.
Alas, the sense of superiority they had from decades of planned economy should now come to terms with reality.
“Sorry, but I have no plans to sell the recipes.”
Gao Hui frowned slightly, “Boss Lin, I hope you think carefully before you speak. Competing with the food factory won’t do you any good. Isn’t it better for your bun shop to just sell steamed buns?”
“Director Gao, I’ll repeat myself, I run my business without the intention of competing with anyone. The state opened up the market to encourage private entrepreneurship and diverse business operations. I sell steamed buns and cooked food without infringing on anyone’s interests. If there is any, it’s nothing but fair competition.”