Secretly Losing Money

Qin Sanniang grabbed Zhang Zhuzi and went to the teahouse opposite the Serenity Vegetarian Bistro, taking a window seat, determined to stake out Su Li.

The silver Zhang Zhuzi scraped together from Tang's family, plus a bag of silver Qin Sanniang extorted from Princess Mingyu, made Zhang Zhuzi's household one of the wealthiest in the village, second only to Su Li, Yuan Jie, and Zhang Mu. They used to be too poor to dine out, but now they ordered several meat dishes at once with great flair.

The waiter bringing the dishes immediately recognized their rural background from the way they ordered.

The waiter brought the dishes, and Zhang Zhuzi stuffed a big chunk of fatty meat into his mouth, juices dripping as he said, "This meat is delicious; what's the point of a vegetarian bistro? Su Li must be out of her mind to open a vegetarian place. I bet no one will go there, and it'll probably be closed down in a couple of months, losing money."

Qin Sanniang nodded. Though she came from a brothel, her experience was limited, and she wasn't a refined scholar, so she didn't understand why wealthy families who were tired of exotic delicacies would seek out vegetarian food.

Qin Sanniang said, "Exactly, why eat vegetarian when there's meat? I don't get it. Zhuzi, look, no customers at her bistro means business is bad. I bet Su Li's place is only for show, and she's definitely losing money behind the scenes."

The couple shared similar views, increasingly convinced that Su Li's family was all show and not as wealthy as they appeared.

The waiter silently smirked nearby; these two country bumpkins clearly didn't understand the market. Working at the teahouse, he knew well how expensive and popular the vegetarian bistro was, and how much money it made.

The vegetarian bistro had no customers now because it didn't open until noon; since it wasn't open yet, of course there were no customers.

Of course, the waiter was too lazy to explain all this to the two ignorant rubes and just left after serving the food.

Qin Sanniang and Zhang Zhuzi finished all the food on the table; Zhang Zhuzi almost licked the plates clean. After eating, they ordered some dim sum and tea, sitting patiently to wait for Su Li. Suddenly, they overheard a loud conversation at the next table.

Zhang Zhuzi turned his head and saw two men in their fifties wearing robes seated not far away.

One was Director Zhang of Qingmiao Academy, and the other was the teacher Wang Xiucai from Qingmiao Academy.

Director Zhang drank while saying, "This month, five students dropped out of the academy again. Sigh, these days, morals are declining. These students have no respect for teachers or the way of the world. They just quit whenever they want! It's really too much!"

Teacher Wang slammed the table and worriedly said, "Yes, after teaching them for years, they show no gratitude! Director Zhang, recently more students have been dropping out. I even heard that another four or five students are planning to quit!"

Director Zhang's face turned pale with anger as he said, "It's all that Haizi Academy stealing our students! What kind of broken school is that? A bunch of country bumpkins running a school, it's a disgrace to culture!"

Teacher Wang said, "Director Zhang is right. Our Qingmiao Academy was doing fine, but since Haizi Academy opened, so many students have run off. If this keeps up, we'll have to close down and starve. Director Zhang, you have to think of something!"

Director Zhang sighed, "I've tried. I chased away the teachers they hired. But then, somehow Su Li managed to hire new teachers! That Su Li is so hateful. A woman running a school is just outrageous!"

Teacher Wang said, "Director Zhang, we absolutely cannot let Haizi Academy thrive, or else we'll really have no way to survive!"