Chapter 48: Negotiating a Deal

Li Shouji followed the address and arrived at the entrance of the street. He didn’t know the exact location, but when he walked towards the direction of the crowd, he found the stall.

Li Shouji dismounted and tied his horse to a corner. Then, he carried the food container to the stall.

It took him a long time to squeeze through the crowd. Li Shouji stood still and saw that it was a beautiful young lady who was selling the noodles. He was a little surprised. He cleared his throat and said, “Two bowls.”

Xiaoguo was busy cooking the noodles when she heard someone saying out his incomplete order. She looked up curiously at the man. He had dark skin and a square shaped face. Sitting above his big, clear eyes were a pair of thick bristly eyebrows. He exuded an aura of righteousness. After taking a good look, Xiaoguo lowered her head and said, “You will need to wait a while.”

Li Shouji coughed in embarrassment and snapped out of his daze. This young lady looked even prettier when she looked up.

Soon, realizing what was actually running through his mind, Li Shouji despised himself for judging the appearances of others.

Xiaoguo picked up the pace and cooked the noodles bowl by bowl. When her soup had almost run out, it was Li Shouji’s turn.

Seeing that there was not much ingredients left, Xiaoguo apologized to the people who had just joined the queue. “I’m sorry. The noodles are sold out today. Please come back here the day after tomorrow. I’ll be here early. I’m so sorry.”

When the crowd dispersed unhappily, Li Shouji was also about to leave. He couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed. Seeing that Li Shouji was getting ready to leave, Xiaoguo hurriedly stopped him. “Don’t you want your order anymore?”

Li Shouji stopped in shock. “Didn’t you say there were no more?”

Xiaoguo said helplessly, “The last two bowls are for you.”

Li Shouji immediately knew what she meant. He happily opened the food containers and handed it to Xiaoguo. Xiaoguo asked him what soup base he wanted.

Li Shouji thought for a moment and felt that the bone soup he had this morning was delicious. He asked for two bowls of bone soup.

Xiaoguo was delighted. There was just enough bone soup left. The mushroom soup had run out earlier. She uncovered the basket and took out all the remaining ingredients. Then she put them all into the pot. There were just enough for two bowls.

Xiaoguo put the potato noodles into a bowl and felt that the ingredients were slightly lacking. Not wanting to shortchange her customer, Xiaoguo added two large pieces of the pork bones from the soup and explained the situation to him.

Li Shouji nodded to acknowledge her words. Xiaoguo charged him the original price of twenty copper coins. She did not ask for more money just because two pork bones were added. Li Shouji took the food containers in satisfaction and rode his horse towards the fishing village.

Xiaoguo carried the empty pot back to the cart, and packed up everything. Holding on to her heavy money bag, she happily headed for home.

Xiaoguo was so happy that she couldn’t stop smiling. This time round, the total amount she made was half times more than what she made the last time. She kept the money carefully in a pocket under her coat. Just as Xiaoguo walked out of the alley, she heard shouts behind her.

Xiaoguo stopped the donkey cart and looked back at the person approaching her.

A man in a gray robe, who was about forty years of age, grabbed onto Xiaoguo’s donkey cart and leaned against it. He was panting heavily. “Wait a moment. Our… our boss wants to talk to you about a deal.”

Xiaoguo looked at the man, who was panting heavily. She looked in the direction he was pointing. Not far behind her, there was a noodle shop filled with antique decorations, and not a single customer was in sight.

Xiaoguo squinted hard to see the dusty words on the plaque—Ruyi Noodle Restaurant.

“Business with her? What kind of business?”

The street was bustling with people, hence Xiaoguo was not worried about them trying any tricks. She parked the donkey cart and followed the shop assistant into the eatery. A woman in the noodle shop was pacing around anxiously. When she saw Xiaoguo enter, she walked towards her happily.

“Hello, I’m the owner of Ruyi Noodle Restaurant, Xu Ruyi.”

Xiaoguo was feeling a little puzzled as she watched the woman eagerly introduced herself. “Hello.”

The waiter, who had just invited Xiaoguo over, brought out two cups of tea from the back of the restaurant. He gave a cough to remind Xu Ruyi, who was standing there in a daze. Xu Ruyi heard him and patted her head. She said distractedly, “Quick, quick, please sit.”

Xiaoguo sat down and looked at the woman, who seemed to be in a hurry. She sat down quietly and waited for the woman to speak.