Because one could clearly see the layout of the Drunken Immortal Residence from the Fragrant Full Building, Xia Zheng intended to have Lin Yuan go back to the Fragrant Full Building to investigate further. However, Lin Yuan insisted on stopping next to the Drunken Immortal Residence. With no other options, Xia Zheng had Lin Yi park the carriage at the mouth of a small alley opposite the Drunken Immortal Residence. There was a cloth shop selling silk fabrics there, and Lin Yuan’s carriage, adorned with pink curtains, was inconspicuous stationed there.
Lifting a corner of the carriage curtain, Lin Yuan could see clearly the situation across the street. Just as Shopkeeper Wu had said, the Drunken Immortal Residence had indeed put out a sign for their newest tofu dish at the entrance. Although the name was slightly different, one could guess from the name alone that it was almost identical to the Fragrant Full Building’s dish. Take the stuffed tofu, for instance: at the Fragrant Full Building, it was called "Iron Plate Stuffed Tofu," but at the Drunken Immortal Residence, they changed it to "Assorted Tofu Stuffed." In the end, it was all made following the Fragrant Full Building’s recipe.
What infuriated Lin Yuan even more was that the Drunken Immortal Residence had also displayed the prices of their dishes, and it was obvious they had a thorough understanding of the Fragrant Full Building’s pricing—their prices were a full fifty percent lower. Fifty percent off didn’t stand out for a single dish, but add them up, and it was obvious. The Drunken Immortal Residence was truly flush with cash, intending to use this pricing war strategy to crush the Fragrant Full Building.
Lin Yuan snorted coldly, holding nothing but disdain for such low tactics from the Drunken Immortal Residence.
Xia Zheng also seemed to perceive the trickery involved, and with a corner of his mouth lifted in a sneer, he mocked, "Heh, since when did the Drunken Immortal Residence start using such low-level tactics? Truly unimpressive."
Lin Yuan gave him a sidelong glance, "With such low-level tactics, has Young Master Xia actually thought of a solution?"
Xia Zheng chuckled and was about to press his cheek closer when Xiao Linshuang gave him a stern look, and he backed away. Touching his nose awkwardly, he sheepishly said, "The solution is simple, find the traitor and introduce new dishes."
Lin Yuan pursed her lips, saying nothing, her thoughts aligning with Xia Zheng’s.
As they were talking, they saw two customers leaving the Drunken Immortal Residence. Lin Yuan’s eyes flickered, and she immediately had Lin Yi drive after them. These two were middle-aged men, and because there were quite a few carriages parked in front of the Drunken Immortal Residence, theirs was farther away. But this distance was sufficient for her to eavesdrop on their conversation.
"Tsk tsk, the Drunken Immortal Residence’s tofu is too cheap, it’s half the price of the one over there!"
The other man curled his lip, "There’s a reason why the price is low, didn’t you taste it? The tofu from the Drunken Immortal Residence is nowhere near as authentic as the one from the Fragrant Full Building."
The first speaker chuckled and clasped his hands in a greeting gesture, "You are the most famous Golden Tongue in Yecheng, after all. I wouldn’t have invited you to taste the dishes here today otherwise. I could only tell that the tofu was not as delicious as the other place, but as for why it wasn’t as good, I really couldn’t tell. Please do tell, what is the difference?"
The man, flattered, smacked his lips and said arrogantly, "My title as the Golden Tongue is not in vain; I could tell the quality of the tofu from the very first bite."
"Firstly, about the tofu itself, I don’t know what they added too much of, but the tofu has a sour taste, although slight, it significantly affects the taste. Also, in terms of preparation, it’s even worse, clearly, they only managed to copy the technique without capturing the essence. It might look similar on the surface, but the taste is vastly different. Either not enough oil or too much soy sauce is used, it simply doesn’t have that astounding flavor when you eat it."
The man shook his head, sighing with disappointment, "I didn’t expect the Drunken Immortal Residence to stoop so low as to reduce their own standards to produce such unrefined dishes, just to suppress the business over there. It’s truly disappointing."
The man who had offered the compliments was slightly embarrassed, but still nodded repeatedly, very much in agreement with the Golden Tongue.
As they chatted, their carriage arrived at the restaurant’s entrance. The "Golden Tongue" bowed to the other man and without turning back, boarded the carriage.
Lin Yuan watched all this quietly, thinking that the Golden Tongue was indeed a very conceited person. However, from the conversation between the two men, it was clear that the Golden Tongue must truly possess some skill. With this information, she felt more at ease inside.
The slight sourness in the tofu was due to not mastering the ratio of vinegar to water when using white vinegar to curdle the tofu. In that case, it shouldn’t be someone from the branch who had leaked the information. Because during the process of teaching Lan Hua and the others to make the tofu, she had emphasized the importance of the ratio of vinegar to water.