TATSD Chapter 40

The moment Ji Wei saw Liu Qing, he knew the fish had taken the bait.

He didn’t need to set up his stall to sell pancakes.

However, to completely deal with Liu Qing and the others and prevent them from causing trouble later, he decided to handle it personally and eliminate these potential problems.

“How’s it going over there?” Liu Qing approached the Bun Lady’s stall, causing all the customers waiting in line to disperse immediately.

After the last fight with Ji Wei, where knives were even drawn, who wouldn’t be scared? With someone like him, who had been in prison and was out again within days, who would dare to stand up to him?

“It’s still the same, with only a few people.” The Bun Lady couldn’t hide her smugness.

“That’s good.” Liu Qing smiled darkly and walked up to Ji Wei’s stall, poking at it.

A large wall blocked the view, and with only a few customers around, they quickly left, muttering apologies as they scattered.

“What brings you here today, Mr. Liu?” Ji Wei flipped the pancake he was cooking, made sure it was thoroughly cooked, wrapped it in oil paper, and handed it to Liu Qing.

Liu Qing was momentarily stunned, and Ji Wei pushed it closer.

“Don’t worry, I haven’t poisoned it. It’s safe.”

Liu Qing glared, his face twisted with hatred, clearly seething with anger. No one had ever made him feel so humiliated before.

Ji Wei smirked, took a bite of the pancake, and noted how crispy and aromatic it was. “It’s a shame to waste good intentions.”

“Have things been tough lately?”

“I’m not sure what you’re referring to, Mr. Liu.” Ji Wei shot him a cold glance, making Liu Qing’s anger flare up.

He was Liu Qing, a well-known figure. With Ji Wei out of the Blue Dragon Gang and no one left to support him, how dare Ji Wei have the audacity to oppose him?

Liu Qing sneered, “Why stubbornly resist? If you just admit your mistakes to me, I’ll have Xiufen close her stall and give the business to you. How about that?”

“Is it that good?”

“You should thank me for being magnanimous.”

Ji Wei chuckled disdainfully as if he were hearing the biggest joke.

“And how exactly should I admit my mistakes?”

**“Simple. Just stand on the street and shout three times, ‘Grandpa Qing, I was wrong.’” Liu Qing envisioned the scene with excitement, his mouth twitching.

“And what if I refuse?”

“Then you’ll never be able to set foot on West Street again. Do you know who will be taking over for you?”

“Who’s that?” Ji Wei played along.

“Zeng Yang!” Liu Qing boasted.

Zeng Yang was a guy with a good relationship with Liu Qing and had never liked Ji Wei.

With Ji Wei’s withdrawal from the Blue Dragon Gang, Zeng Yang was the biggest beneficiary.

The territory that originally belonged to Ji Wei would be given to him, and in no time, he would start collecting protection money on this street.

Given how much he disliked Ji Wei, things wouldn’t be easy for Ji Wei.

Ji Wei’s mind raced, and he clapped his hands in admiration. “I guess you’ve been working behind the scenes on this, haven’t you?”

“Stop talking nonsense!” Liu Qing snapped.

“Liu Qing, it’s been so many years, and you’re still so insignificant. You really can’t change your nature.” Ji Wei wiped his hands, threw the cloth on the table, and looked coldly at Liu Qing.

“If I were the type to admit my mistakes easily, I wouldn’t have been at odds with you for so many years.”

“Fine! You brought this on yourself!” Liu Qing spat, turned, and headed toward Zeng Yang, planning to have him come early and make life difficult for Ji Wei.

But just as he took a few steps, Ji Wei called out to him, causing Liu Qing to stop, thinking Ji Wei had changed his mind.

“What’s wrong? Are you scared?”

“Scared of what? A barefoot person isn’t afraid of someone wearing shoes.” Ji Wei crossed his arms, smiling as he looked at Liu Qing.

“It’s just that after all these years, we haven’t resolved anything. How about we make a bet?”

“What kind of bet?” Liu Qing asked instinctively.

“Very simple. Let the Bun Lady set up her stall opposite mine, and we’ll see who holds out longer.”

“Is that it?” The bet seemed too simple and offered Ji Wei no real advantage. The Bun Lady had the support of Liu Qing’s three brothers, while Ji Wei only had himself, even if he earned a bit.

Was it really this simple?

If Lin Qing were here, he might advise him to reconsider.

But Liu Qing, being impulsive by nature and unable to resist a challenge, immediately agreed when Ji Wei implied he was cowardly.

“What’s there to be afraid of? I, Liu Qing, am not scared! You should be worried! Be careful not to lose everything and end up not even being able to afford food.”

“Oral bets are meaningless. How about we write it down in black and white, with signatures and seals? If I lose, I’ll accept it without complaint!”

Liu Qing frowned.

It was just a small pancake stall; how much could it cost? If he lost a lot, he could always go out and collect some more money on the street to make up for it.

Thinking this through, Liu Qing nodded in agreement.

“I’m afraid you might back out later! Let’s write it down!”

They found a shop and wrote up the bet.

Liu Qing’s bet was as he had said earlier: Ji Wei had to publicly apologize on the street, making him completely lose face in Changliu Town.

Ji Wei’s demand was simpler: whoever lost would pay the other twenty taels of silver.

This amount wasn’t small; even Liu Qing couldn’t come up with it all at once. Hearing such a large stake, he felt uneasy and hesitated.

But then he considered the low-profit margins of the pancake stall and Ji Wei’s recent excessive spending. According to Liu Qing’s information, Ji Wei had spent over ten taels but only earned a few, continually losing money.

If he could bring Ji Wei down in one go, it would be perfect!

With that thought, Liu Qing’s hesitation was brief, and he immediately slapped the table in agreement.

They signed two copies of the agreement, Ji Wei bid farewell to Liu Qing, and happily returned to his pancake stall.

The morning business hadn’t been very good, with only ten or so pancakes sold. After the morning rush, there were even fewer customers buying food.

Ji Wei didn’t linger and decided to close up early.

After returning, he parked the car in the yard and went next door to find Aunt Zhou, asking her to join him at the stall the next day.

The request was sudden, catching Aunt Zhou off guard. However, seeing Ji Wei’s determined attitude, she couldn’t refuse and agreed to his request.

For the next two days, Ji Wei and Aunt Zhou set up the stall together to sell pancakes. Although the business was just average, Ji Wei remained relaxed and carefree each day, while Aunt Zhou was getting increasingly anxious.

“You silly child, that woman is making all the money. Aren’t you worried? Shouldn’t we lower our prices a bit?”

“No way. If she’s losing money, we’re at least breaking even. Why lower our prices?”

“But seeing her like this makes me so frustrated!”

“There’s no need to rush.”

Once Aunt Zhou was up to speed, Ji Wei stopped setting up the stall himself, leaving Aunt Zhou to run it. He provided all the materials and the cart, so naturally, the money earned was Ji Wei’s.

However, the profit was meager, and it was more about competing with the Bun Lady and giving Aunt Zhou some practice.

For five consecutive days, Wen Xuan traveled back and forth between the county school and Changliu Town.

Cookies were selling hot. After finishing one batch of orders, another batch came in.

Once Ji Wei had sold all his stock, he stopped taking orders and ceased selling.

This was partly because the supply of cookies to the county school was about to be saturated; continuing to sell would lead to oversupply. It was better to stop abruptly rather than end up with a disappointing outcome.

If that were all, it would be fine. Ji Wei wanted to build anticipation for the students. He scheduled the next cookie sale at the county school for a month later.

Good marketing strategies always work well, no matter the era.

As the saying goes, “Scarcity makes the heart grow fonder.” For students stuck in the academy with only books to occupy their time and no indulgence in food, the strategy of hunger marketing was perfect.

After several rounds of sales, just the cookies sold at the county school were enough to cover all costs and leave a substantial profit.

With this success in cookies, Ji Wei made a strong debut in the prosperous town of Daxi.

In Daxi Town, the Lin Family:

“Why didn’t you bring anything back this time? I thought you loved them?” Lin Yaozu quickly instructed his servants to bring something to eat from the kitchen.

His son, Lin Tai, was generally good but had an enormous appetite. Since their family was in the food business, he had been pampered since childhood, growing plump with an appetite larger than an adult’s.

Ordinary pastries didn’t satisfy him; he’d eat nine or ten pieces in one go, which barely filled him up.

“I wanted to, but they stopped selling.” Lin Tai grumbled, tossing his books onto a chair and drinking the tea Lin Yaozu had just prepared.

He had complained non-stop about this to his classmates on the way back and was now very thirsty.

When Wen Xuan was selling cookies at the academy, Lin Tai was a big customer.

He came every day and bought a large quantity each time. At least half a tael per purchase, with half of it going straight into his stomach.

Now that he couldn’t get any, he was in a bad mood.

“What’s the big deal? Didn’t you say business was good and everyone was scrambling for them? Just wait a few days. It’s not a big deal to stop for a day or two.” Lin Yaozu wasn’t too concerned, considering the time needed to transport goods and prepare them.

“Father, it’s not just a few days; it’s a month! A whole month! Father, who in their right mind would pass up making money?”

“Impossible.” Lin Yaozu was skeptical. Who would stop doing business at its peak?

Such behavior was either the result of someone who wasn’t a proper businessman or had some other agenda.

Wen Xuan was a smart person who had once been a student at the academy, so he was surely clever. Such smart people wouldn’t make foolish decisions.

Lin Yaozu stroked his sparse beard, deep in thought.

“Father, what are you thinking?” Lin Tai asked curiously. He greatly admired his father, Lin Yaozu, who was usually cheerful and could handle any problem.

Lin Tai also had a lot of respect for him.

Seeing Lin Yaozu deep in thought, Lin Tai didn’t disturb him and patiently waited.

“You said Wen Xuan was only responsible for selling. Do you know who made the cookies?”

Lin Tai nodded vigorously. “Of course!”

The promotional flyer Wen Xuan distributed was very clear. Besides the producer Ji Wei, it also listed the detailed address of the Ji family at the bottom.

Lin Tai had laughed when he first saw it.

“It’s someone named Ji Wei.”

“Ji Wei? Are you sure? Is it the Ji Wei from Changliu Town?” Lin Yaozu was surprised.

The name Ji Wei was quite well-known.

The county office often heard about him, and those of them in the small business world were very aware of him.

“Yes, it’s the Ji Wei from the west alley of Changliu Town.”