CHAPTER 410: CHAPTER 410: DO YOU REALLY WANT TO COMPETE?

It was already a commendable outcome for her to fight to this point against the local tyrant.

Shu’er immediately questioned Mrs. Liu Zhang with righteous words, subtly advertising.

"The reason Liu’s fears Pei’s is simply because Pei’s is flawless in its craft, so they resort to underhanded tactics, fearing our rise."

Mrs. Liu Zhang didn’t realize what Pei Shu’er meant by these words, but the onlookers elevated Pei’s status.

What kind of delicious pastries must it be to make even Liu’s wary?

The onlookers, initially just bystanders, had their curiosity piqued by Pei Shu’er and became even more intrigued by Pei’s pastries.

Then Pei Shu’er smiled.

"To celebrate Pei’s clearing its name, the first hundred customers will receive a free egg cake,

and with this, Pei’s reputation was redeemed, and Pei Shu’er even attracted a wave of customers.

There were as many as two hundred onlookers, and the courtroom was very crowded.

Upon hearing this, no one dared to stay—they immediately ran to Pei’s.

Whether Pei’s pastries were tasty or not, they didn’t know, but they were free regardless.

And there were only a hundred, so even if they weren’t delicious, they at least filled the stomach.

So those who were initially there to watch the drama quickly turned towards Pei’s.

Once they arrived at Pei’s, they immediately received an egg cake.

Since Pei Shu’er had instructed in advance, the first hundred people received egg cakes.

As they ate, everyone soon realized that Pei’s egg cakes were actually better versions of Liu’s twenty-wen salted egg yolk cakes.

Moreover, Pei’s egg cakes obviously tasted better.

Liu’s egg cakes weren’t as sweet, nor as delicate in texture, and even their appearance wasn’t as appealing.

In terms of texture alone, Pei’s was a whole cut above.

Everyone finally understood what Manager Pei meant when she said that Liu’s treated them as competitors.

This level of deliciousness completely surpassed Liu’s—it was generous even to call them rivals.

However...

An older woman looked up at Pei Shu’er, her tone tinged with hesitancy.

"Manager Pei, I shouldn’t say this, but aren’t your pastries made by stealing Liu’s recipe? Liu’s won’t let this slide."

The older woman’s voice was loud, and everyone around heard it.

Pei Shu’er looked at the woman and caught a flash of malice in her eyes, although she wore a facade of honesty and sincerity.

If that accusation were substantiated, Pei’s reputation would suffer, and they would always remain beneath Liu’s.

No matter how delicious Pei’s pastries were in the future, it would only elevate Liu’s status higher.

How could Pei Shu’er let that label fall on her?

Especially when the recipe was originally hers.

Pei Shu’er smiled, "Before this lady tasted Liu’s salted yolk cake, had she ever tasted such egg cake?"

The woman shook her head, "No, this taste I’ve only had with Liu’s salted yolk cake."

Pei Shu’er didn’t argue with the older woman; instead, she looked at the onlookers.

"I suppose there are knowledgeable people here who have tasted egg cakes from Su County?"

A few elegantly dressed individuals nodded, "Moreover, the packaging seemed to have ’Pei’s’ written on it."

This was why Pei Shu’er insisted on packaging those pastries earlier.

"That’s right, those were made by us at Pei’s. In fact, this Pei’s in Jingzhou isn’t the first, Su County’s is the first, opening half a year ago."

"And the egg cake has been around even earlier at the Deserted Mountain trade point."

"This information isn’t a secret. You can find out if you make the effort to inquire."

The older woman frowned, "I’ve never heard of Pei’s, nor any egg cake. All I know is that your taste mimics Liu’s salted yolk cake."

Pei Shu’er smiled, raising an eyebrow, "Ma’am, I’ve explained so clearly, why do you cling to this recipe issue? If you believe we at Pei’s base our cakes on Liu’s recipe, then why not have Liu’s people come?"

The older woman looked at Pei Shu’er with a mocking glance.

"I’m afraid Manager Pei will regret it then."

Pei Shu’er knew from this that the woman likely held some position at Liu’s.

"I won’t. Whatever I’ve said, I, Pei Shu’er, will never regret it."

The older woman left with an egg cake, and soon a steward from Liu’s appeared at Pei’s.

Manager Liu immediately said, "I heard someone from Pei’s slandered us at Liu’s, accusing us of stealing your recipe?"

Pei Shu’er frowned at these words.

"Manager Liu, let’s not jump to conclusions. All I mentioned was that Pei’s egg cakes have been around longer."

Manager Liu sneered, "What a joke, whatever you say counts? Our pastries were created by many chefs at Liu’s. Can your rural Pei’s compare to us?"

Pei Shu’er laughed, "True, we’re from Su County, but if you say our skills are inferior to Pei’s, we can’t accept that."

Manager Liu sneered, "That’s really thinking too highly of yourselves."

Pei Shu’er said, "How about this, why don’t you have your chefs from Liu’s come out, and we can have a contest to see whose pastries are better."

These words left Manager Liu stunned.

"Did you really mean to compete?"

Regardless of whose recipe it was, their chefs were clearly more skilled than Pei’s.

The most renowned pastry chef came from a premier bakery in the Capital, incomparable to a few village women.

Pei Shu’er smiled and nodded, "Yes, we want to compete."

At this moment, everyone looked at Pei Shu’er as if she were mad.

Some onlookers were even ready to watch the joke unfold; although Pei’s egg cakes were good, perhaps it was due to excellent ingredients.

If the ingredients were the same, then it was unsure whose taste would prevail.

Manager Liu laughed, "Alright, if it’s a contest you want, then let’s set some stakes. Our pastry chefs’ time is very valuable."

Pei Shu’er nodded, "Manager Liu, tell us what you’d like to wager."

These words brought a sinister look to Manager Liu’s eyes.

"Simple, if you lose, you leave Jingzhou. We don’t want to see thieves of our recipe wandering under our noses."

These words even emphasized the accusation that Pei’s stole Liu’s recipe; if Pei Shu’er didn’t reply carefully, it’d certainly be a misstep.

Pei Shu’er retorted, "I know, you’re afraid your theft of our recipe will be exposed, so you’re eager to drive us away. However, rest assured, Pei’s will firmly establish itself in Jingzhou City."