Transmigration: The Little Chef Calls The Shots
Chapter 440: Eavesdropping at the Corner (5)_1

Chapter 440: Chapter 440: Eavesdropping at the Corner (5)_1

Xia Zheng bit his lip, huffed a sound, and knew Lin Yuan was intent on sending him back. He pouted and returned to the carriage with an air of grievance, even deliberately letting out soft whines of pretend crying.

Lin Yuan held her forehead, if it weren’t for considering Xia Zheng’s delicate health, she wouldn’t have rushed him off. He was different from Lin Yi; Lin Yi could even sleep on tree branches, but Xia Zheng ? Not a chance.

Moreover, the house indeed didn’t have enough rooms. Of the four rooms in the North Room, besides the central hall that couldn’t be used for sleeping, one room was occupied by the postpartum Lady Liu and her attendant Lady Fan, one room housed the three Lin Yuan Sisters and Liu Limin, and even Lin Jiaxin had started using a crutch to go to an annex room to sleep.

Originally, Xia Zheng could have shared the annex room with Lin Jiaxin, but every time Xia Zheng woke up after sleeping with Lin Jiaxin, he seemed to be in poor spirits. At first, she didn’t understand why, but after she happened to see Lin Jiaxin taking a nap, she figured it out. Lin Jiaxin loved to snore when he slept, something Lady Liu had gotten used to over the years, but how could Xia Zheng, with his pampered upbringing, get used to that?

So, Lin Yuan just couldn’t bear to let him sleep in the same room with Lin Jiaxin. It was better to send him back to town!

Early the next morning, Lin Yuan got up and went to town. She needed to check on Rice Flower Fragrance first, and then have Lin Yi go to Liu Family Village to bring Liu Siqi and Jeng Ruyue over, so she was a bit pressed for time.

With Lady Fan and Liu Limin keeping an eye on things at home, she felt reassured.

After sending Lin Yi to Liu Family Village, Lin Yuan waited for them at Rice Flower Fragrance.

Recalling the incident that had occurred at Rice Flower Fragrance a few days earlier, Lin Yuan specially called over Liuzi and inquired about the rumors.

Liuzi, with a face full of indignation: "Boss Lady, in the days you weren’t here, I was nearly driven mad. I went to ask the street beggars, and guess what they said? They told me that these rumors all started from Century-old Cake Shop! Gah, it infuriated me so much I almost caused a scene right there at Century-old Cake Shop!"

"You didn’t go, though, did you?"

It was indeed them! Lin Yuan, after tasting a piece of freshly made Osmanthus Cake and finding the flavor satisfactory, felt at ease.

Liuzi, with righteousness on his face: "Of course not! I haven’t found any evidence yet. Once I do, I swear I’ll turn Century-old Cake Shop upside down! Hmph, their cakes are not as delicious as ours, their business isn’t as good as ours, and now they start playing these dirty tricks – they’re just a bunch of lowlifes that can’t show their face in public!"

Lin Yuan wasn’t as incensed as Liuzi. She had seen plenty of such malicious competition in her previous life and had long since grown accustomed to it. The problem was the lack of evidence at present, and from her experience, this kind of rumor-spreading was usually without tangible proof.

In fact, Lin Yuan hoped these people would lose their patience and do something rash – that would give her an opportunity to catch them in the act.

"Without evidence, we can’t say much, but if one trick fails them, they are sure to have a backup plan. Tell everyone to keep a sharp eye these days. Outsiders shouldn’t be able to enter our kitchen, so watch the main hall closely. Don’t give those people a chance to tamper with our cakes."

After instructing Liuzi, Lin Yuan tried a piece of mung bean cake, a recipe she had just taught Uncle Wang. To her surprise, Uncle Wang had mastered it on his first try, producing mung bean cakes that were both tender and glutinous, and exceptionally tasty.

Impacted by the rumors, the shop’s business had plummeted, so Lin Yuan had to put extra effort into the style of the cakes, coming up with several new designs.

However, such measures were merely temporary fixes. Before she could catch those responsible, she needed to find a way to restore Rice Flower Fragrance’s reputation.

Thinking of Uncle Wang, Lin Yuan suddenly remembered the incident where she stumbled upon Lin Siyu, and the more she thought about it, the more she felt something was off about Panpan. Liuzi mentioned she was Uncle Wang’s little girl, yet she had rarely heard Uncle Wang talk about his eldest daughter.

Moreover, according to Liuzi, when Panpan came to find Uncle Wang that day, Uncle Wang seemed helpless, and the father and daughter seemed to have argued about something.

Intuitively, Lin Yuan felt there was definitely something going on.