Could it be because of the man by her side?
Xia Zheng’s radiance was too intense to ignore. Wang Qiaoxin had certainly noticed it, but she always felt his aura was somehow familiar and dangerous, which was why she didn’t approach. However, Chen Shimei had never interacted with him, and was therefore still curious.
Seeing Lin Yuan alone once again, Chen Shimei’s vanity inflated anew. His first thought was that Lin Yuan had come for him, that she still had feelings for him.
Chen Shimei deliberately posed as if Lin Yuan was beneath his notice, and laughed, "Lin Yuan, what brings you here? I heard Rice Flower Fragrance is the best pastry shop in Zhuma Town, so I brought Qiaoxin to check it out. I never expected that in just three months of my absence, Zhuma Town would gain such a fine establishment. It’s truly surprising."
Seeing him completely dismissive of the young girl, Wang Qiaoxin felt a relief and picked up a tray full of pastries from Lv Liu’s hands, laughing, "Exactly, not only are the offerings good, but the prices are quite reasonable too. Look, I bought so much and only spent 20 taels of silver."
To someone like Lin Yuan, a simple village girl, 20 taels of silver surely seemed a vast sum. Wang Qiaoxin’s sneer was barely concealed, an apparent attempt to regain face after the humiliation of being sent away from Lin Yuan’s house the day before.
Lin Yuan glanced at the tray in Wang Qiaoxin’s hands, chuckled lightly, noting it was filled with the shop’s mid-tier pastries. It seemed Wang Qiaoxin was no better after all.
"Yes, ever since the Century-old Cake Shop ran into trouble, business at my Rice Flower Fragrance has gotten even better. Not only do locals from Zhuma Town come to buy, but people from neighboring towns have been visiting as well," Lin Yuan said with the polite smile she always wore for customers, unfazed by Wang Qiaoxin and Chen Shimei’s presence.
But her seemingly casual remark caused a great stir in the hearts of Wang Qiaoxin and Chen Shimei.
My Rice Flower Fragrance? My Rice Flower Fragrance!
Wang Qiaoxin and Chen Shimei exchanged looks, at a loss for words.
While they were still agonizing over how to respond, Lin Yuan had already gone off to greet other customers with a laugh, chatting amiably. This forced them to acknowledge that Rice Flower Fragrance really was Lin Yuan’s shop!
Wang Qiaoxin looked at the tray in her hands, wanting desperately to throw the pastries away, but couldn’t bear to do so; 20 taels of silver, twenty! That was her monthly allowance. Even though her father was the Magistrate of Yecheng, because Yecheng was the capital of a prefecture with Prefect Tang above him, her father was always one step behind, and even his daughter was outshone by Prefect Tang’s daughter in every aspect.
People thought being a Magistrate in Yecheng was better than in a lesser town, but it wasn’t the case; her father couldn’t match the secret earnings of Li Chang of Zhuma Town.
Because Lin Yuan was the owner of Rice Flower Fragrance, Wang Qiaoxin, despite initially wanting to discard the pastries, ended up taking several of the higher quality offerings due to saving face, spending thirty taels of silver. They were robbing her!
Sitting in the carriage, Wang Qiaoxin held a suffocating breath in her chest, not even glancing at the bag of pastries. She had spent thirty taels, and when it was time to pay, they didn’t even use a wooden box from Rice Flower Fragrance, just giving her a cardboard one instead. Though the cardboard box was quite pretty, compared to the wooden one, it was simply not on the same level.
Being surpassed in Yecheng was bad enough, but to come to the small town of Zhuma Town and be bested here too was infuriating.
"Lv Liu, has Madam Li sent a reply yet?"