allonlinenovel Chapter 201 The Best Sister-in-law 9
Chapter 201 The Best Sister-in-law 9
When they arrived in the city, Cheng Yue had sharp eyes and immediately spotted a good place with a lot of people coming and going.
Cheng Yue helped set up the stall with swift hands and feet, Cheng Geng made a fire, Wu Sumei mixed the batter, and Cheng Yue was busy setting up the pancake pan and seasonings. As soon as the pancake pan was heated, the aroma wafted out.
Cheng Yue yelled at the top of her lungs: "Come on, come on, freshly-baked pancakes, fragrant and piping hot. If they don't taste good, you don't have to pay!"
Passersby were attracted by the fragrance and Cheng Yue's hawking voice and gathered around.
Wu Sumei was busy and having fun. Pancakes came out of the pan one after another. Customers ate them with gusto and kept praising them for being delicious.
Cheng Yue collected the money and said, "Thank you for your care. Take care!"
But the good times didn't last long. Several street thugs surrounded them. The leader squinted and said, "Where did this country bumpkin come from? Don't you know this is our territory?"
Cheng Yue's heart tightened, but she did not back down. Instead, she smiled and said, "Brother, this is our first time here and we don't know the rules. Please forgive us. This is a small gift from us." As she spoke, she handed over a few hot pancakes.
The gang leader took the pancake, took a bite, and his eyes lit up: "Hey, this pancake is really good. Okay, forget it today, remember to show your filial piety next time."
After a while, several burly bullies squeezed into the crowd, and the leader spoke in a rough voice.
"Whose stall is this? Are you new here and don't know the rules? Have you paid the protection fee?"
Cheng Yue's heart tightened. Why are you here again? She mustered up her courage and answered, "Brother, this is our first day here. We don't know the rules. Please give us some advice."
The city bully sneered: "Don't you know the rules? Then you have to pay protection fees!" He stretched out his fat palm.
Cheng Yue reluctantly took out the few copper coins she had and said distressedly, "Brother, this is all our belongings. Please be merciful."
The city tyrant weighed the copper coins in his hand and said disdainfully: "Is that all? Well, I'll let you go today. Remember, bring more next time!" After that, he left with his men.
The family looked at each other with heavy hearts. When the sun was overhead, the number of people in the market began to thin out, and Cheng Yue and her parents began to pack up their stalls.
Cheng Yue sat on a small stool, holding the few remaining copper coins in her hand, feeling a little upset.
She counted it over and over again, but she didn't even make back her capital.
Wu Sumei consoled him, "Forget it, Yue'er, let's go back to farming. This business is not easy to do."
Cheng Yue was unwilling to give up. She looked up at Wu Sumei with a firm gaze: "Mom, we can't just give up like this. Although we didn't make any money today, we learned something. We have to try again. I don't believe we can't make money."
She actually had a plan in mind, which was to teach those little hooligans a lesson.
Cheng Geng smoked his pipe, exhaled a puff of smoke, and said in a deep voice: "Mei Niang, Yue'er is right. We can't back down when we encounter a little difficulty. Besides, we can't save much money by farming in the village all year round."
Seeing Cheng Geng's support, Cheng Yue felt relieved. She continued, "Dad, Mom, let's come back tomorrow. I promise we can make money. We can go early to get a good spot, prepare more pancakes, and sell them faster. When we make more money, we should be able to make a little more after paying the protection fee."
Wu Sumei felt soft-hearted when she saw her daughter's unyielding spirit, and she sighed.
"Yue'er, girl, I know you want to save our family's reputation, so let's try again. If it still doesn't work, we really have to go back to farming."
The next day, just after daybreak, Cheng Yue woke up her parents, and the family set out again with their pancake stall.
Cheng Yue got up early and got a good seat in the market. This time Cheng Wencai and Cheng Wude also came with them. After the pancakes came out, they sat at the stall and ate them.
Cheng Yue was holding back her anger, she didn't want yesterday's failure to happen again. She said to Cheng Wencai: "Brother, watch the streets carefully today, if those thugs come, report to the police immediately."
Cheng Wencai nodded and said seriously: "Okay, Yue'er, I'll watch and I'll go if there's any movement."
Cheng Yue watched Wu Sumei making pancakes and shouted, "Come on, freshly baked pancakes, made from home-grown wheat and home-ground flour. They are very fragrant. Come and try them!"
Customers were attracted by the fragrant pancakes and Cheng Yue's shouting, and they all gathered around.
Cheng Yue collected money, Wu Sumei spread pancakes, and Cheng Geng was busy packing for customers. Business was much better than yesterday, and Cheng Yue was secretly happy.
After a while, the thugs came over again and asked for copper coins from the stalls.
Seeing this, Cheng Wencai immediately turned around and ran towards the yamen.
Soon, the gangsters came to Cheng's pancake stand. The gang leader looked at Cheng Yue and stretched out his hand: "Where's today's money? Don't try to fool me again."
Cheng Yue's heart tightened, but she still forced herself to smile and said, "Brother, we haven't made much money today, can we give it a few days?"
At this moment, the eldest brother came back panting with two yamen runners. Cheng Yue was delighted, thinking that he had found a savior.
But unexpectedly, the yamen runner took a look at the gang leader and said to Cheng Wencai: "Who caused trouble? Reporting a false case will result in a beating."
The gang leader smiled smugly and said to the bailiff, "Sir, it's all because these country bumpkins don't know the rules."
Cheng Yue and her elder brother looked at each other, their hearts chilled.
The bailiff stared at Cheng Wencai, as if waiting for him to fail to explain himself so that he could take him away.
Cheng Yue gritted her teeth, took out the money she earned today, packed up several more pancakes, and handed them to the yamen runners.
"Sir, my elder brother may have seen it wrongly. You have been troubled. These pancakes are our apology to you."
The bailiff snorted coldly, "Don't cause trouble, I'll let you go today."
After saying that, he took his men away.
The gang leader sent the people away with a smile, but his expression changed when he turned around. He narrowed his eyes and stared at Cheng Wencai fiercely, his eyes scanning back and forth among the five members of the Cheng family.
"I'll give you a quarter of an hour. If you can't collect the booth fees today, I'll smash your booth."
After saying this, he took his people to the next stall.
Cheng Geng looked at this scene and said angrily: "Is there any law here?!"
Wu Sumei was so anxious that she almost cried: "What can we do? The money we worked so hard to earn was taken away by them just like that."
Although Cheng Yue was angry, she knew that now was not the time to confront them head-on. She said to her parents.
"Dad, Mom, let's be patient for now and earn the money for the stall."
When it was time to close the stall, the gang leader sent some thugs over, and Cheng Yue had no choice but to hand over the coins.
The family helplessly watched the gangsters take away the money they earned today, their hearts filled with helplessness and anger.