Zhang Liunian seemed to discover something and opened the door again. As expected, the foul smell drifted in. He then closed the door once more.
“Brother Liunian, what was that smell just now? Did someone poop at our doorstep, or was it a dead rat? Why was it so stinky?” Du Ziteng recovered, stood up, and looked indignant.
Since Zhang Liunian had opened the shop door, he was certain there was nothing outside. It was just a smell that wafted in, making him uncomfortable.
“There’s nothing,” Zhang Liunian denied Du Ziteng’s guess.
“If there’s nothing, why is it so smelly? Where is this smell coming from?”
Du Ziteng was perplexed. He sniffed around and then, as if discovering a new continent, pointed to the adjacent shop. “I smell it! The smell seems to be coming from next door, it’s so awful!”
“I’ll go take a look.” Seeing Du Ziteng pointing to the next door while holding his breath, Zhang Liunian opened the door and went next door.
“Are you guys making stinky tofu?” Zhang Liunian recoiled as soon as he arrived next door, startled by the dark, viscous liquid in a large vat.
The short, dark man, who was stirring the mixture, heard the sound and looked up, smiling. “Yes, doesn’t it smell fragrant! Want to try some? I’ll give you a bowl.”
“No, no, thank you.” Zhang Liunian pinched his nose, thinking that he had eaten stinky tofu in his past life. Although it wasn’t his favorite kind, it certainly didn’t smell like this, nor was the odor this potent.
However, in this man’s hands, the stinky tofu was practically a biochemical weapon.
If he had to open a shop with someone like this, his braised meat would likely turn sour too.
No wonder people were afraid to come over. This was clearly cutting off his livelihood!
Wait a minute. The Tang and Qian families had been quiet. Could they be waiting for him here?
With that thought, Zhang Liunian sized up the other man several times and then cautiously asked, “Comrade, your stinky tofu is so smelly, how are all of us on this street supposed to do business?”
His smell wasn’t the pungent aroma of actual stinky tofu, but rather like something dead, utterly unbearable.
“What does that have to do with me? I do my thing, you do yours. We don’t interfere with each other.” The short, dark man seemed oblivious to how bad his product smelled and even looked rather enraptured.
Zhang Liunian clenched his fists and turned to find several neighboring shop owners.
He had intended to rally them to confront the short, dark man, but they all shook their heads and refused, as if they had received some sort of directive.
This forced Zhang Liunian to suspect that something was amiss.
Returning to the shop, Zhang Liunian opened the door. As they had feared, the fragrant braised meat soon became nauseating to smell, not because the meat had spoiled, but because the odor itself made one want to vomit.
Zhang Liunian knew the meat couldn’t be sold here. He immediately decided to have Du Ziteng and the others take the meat elsewhere to sell, perhaps the market or residential areas.
As long as it was a place with high foot traffic.
After everyone had been dispatched, Zhang Liunian sat in the shop and waited. Aside from someone picking up sauce, only two customers came to buy braised meat, and they fled with their hands covering their mouths, overwhelmed by the strange smell in the air.
Zhang Liunian knew that business was ruined for the day. He got up, closed the shop, and went to a secluded spot to observe the adjacent shop. About half an hour later, the short, dark man came out and specifically glanced at his shop.
Seeing that he had closed up and left, a smile appeared on the man’s face.
Now Zhang Liunian was certain. The other party was doing this intentionally, but he had no proof.
After standing there for a while longer, Zhang Liunian turned and went to the Administration for Industry and Commerce to inquire about his business license, wondering why it hadn’t been issued after ten days.
“What’s the hold-up? Do you know how many people come here to get permits every day?” The clerk, seeing Zhang Liunian inquiring about the status, waved him away impatiently.
Zhang Liunian clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. “Didn’t they say individual business licenses take two to three days? Why hasn’t mine been issued after ten days to half a month? Is this how your office operates? It seems you’re all just occupying positions without doing any work, which is why your efficiency is so low.”
Actually, Zhang Liunian suspected that these things might have been blocked by the Tang or Qian families. Otherwise, he would have received his license long ago, instead of waiting ten days without it. But he was simply angry and wanted to confront them.
The clerk, seeing Zhang Liunian’s accusation, was momentarily speechless, pointing a finger at him for a long time without being able to utter a word.
“If you don’t process my license today, I’ll immediately submit my feedback to the suggestion box upstairs.” Zhang Liunian meant what he said.
The clerk felt a pang of guilt and wanted to get angry, but seeing Zhang Liunian’s even more aggressive demeanor, he couldn’t say anything.
As Zhang Liunian walked out of the business license office, he bumped into his second sister-in-law, Fang Ru. She approached him with a smug expression.
“Isn’t this my little brother-in-law who’s running a private business?”
Zhang Liunian initially didn’t want to pay her any mind, but Fang Ru blocked his path, insisting on talking to him.
“Second Sister-in-law, is something the matter?” Zhang Liunian stopped, his long legs moving impatiently.
Fang Ru seemed not to notice, crossing her arms. “Did you come here to apply for a business license? But it’s been delayed, hasn’t it?”
“How did you know?” Zhang Liunian narrowed his eyes slightly. He had thought it was the Tang and Qian families blocking him, but could his second sister-in-law also be involved?
“Of course I know. My father is an employee inside, so how could I not know? So, why don’t you beg me? Why don’t you try to appease me with your braised meat recipe? Perhaps I’ll be in a good mood, and I’ll mention it to my father, and then everything will be easy to handle, don’t you think?”
Fang Ru’s smug, petty expression made Zhang Liunian want to spit on her.
“No need. You should save your energy for the surprise,” Zhang Liunian suddenly smiled, as if he could already see Fang Ru’s fate. In fact, Zhang Liunian had already seen the fate of everyone in the Fang family once before, but Fang Ru was just experiencing it earlier this time. When Zhang Liuxing’s first love returned with her son, Fang Ru would no longer be his second sister-in-law.
“Surprise? What do you mean by that?” Fang Ru looked at Zhang Liunian’s sarcastic smile, her heart pounding, as if something were about to happen.
“Take a guess!” Zhang Liunian raised his eyebrows with a very bad attitude.
“A cornered dog will bite, you’re just talking nonsense. You don’t have to beg me, but your license will never be issued.”
“I’ve noted that. You’ll receive the surprise I have for you,” Zhang Liunian gave Fang Ru a cryptic look and then strode away.
He didn’t go back to the shop immediately. Instead, he genuinely wrote a complaint letter. Although he wasn’t very optimistic about its effectiveness, he still wrote it, even drafting several letters and submitting them to different places.
Upon returning to the shop, those who sold braised meat and those who sold crayfish sauce were back. Seeing the happy smiles on their faces, Zhang Liunian knew they had completed their tasks. As expected, everything had been sold out.