Chapter 50: Chapter 050: Turning Black into White
Translator: 549690339
“Why do you care about him?” Zhang Yongchang sneered, “With his effete ways, he can’t do anything right anyway. He can’t even make his own good-tasting tofu, so what gives him the right to nag at you?”
“If he nags you again, just ignore him. If he seeks further trouble, let him come to me!”
The person Chang Yuanda feared the most was Zhang Yongchang. Feng Yongkang was aware of this. With Zhang Yongchang backing him, he wasn’t afraid of Chang Yuanda causing trouble anymore.
As long as the message was relayed, seeing that Zhang Yongchang appeared very determined, there was nothing he could do. If Chang Yuanda complained afterward, he couldn’t be blamed. After all, no one in Fushun Tower dared to offend Zhang Yongchang, right?
As for the tofu matter, whoever used it, let it be. If it tasted good, it could only enhance the business of the restaurant. Why not, then?
Feng Yongkang felt that the whole affair didn’t pose any adverse effect on him. Drinking his tea for a while, he allowed Zhang Yongchang to take his leave early to go home.
“Manager,” Zhang Yongchang called out to him, “Don’t you find something strikingly odd?”
“What is it?” Feng Yongkang paused.
“Qin Hongbao mentioned that the dish he tried today tasted exactly the same as the one he had a few days ago. If that’s the case, then it is highly probable that on the day I made the braised tofu, a few plates were made with the tofu sold by those two girls.”
Zhang Yongchang stated, “In that case, it would be quite peculiar. We’ve always used Changji tofu in our kitchen and there were never any outsiders allowed in. So, where did this tofu come from and how did it end up in our kitchen?”
Upon hearing this, Feng Yongkang pondered, “Indeed, we should consider investigating this matter thoroughly…”
Li Fang, who was helping move dishes and utensils to the backyard, heard this conversation, his heart skipped a beat, and he almost dropped the dishes in his hands.
Sweat soaked his clothes at the back.
After a moment of thought, Li Fang tightened his grip and bravely approached Feng Yongkang, “Manager, I…I have something to discuss with you.”
“What is it?”
“It’s about the tofu issue…” Li Fang lowered his head, not daring to look at Feng Yongkang, and his voice was quite low, “The tofu in the kitchen was put there by me.”
“I saw the tofu stall not far from our shop doing good business, so I thought maybe their tofu tasted better than Changji’s. So I asked them to give me a piece to put in the kitchen. Since I was afraid that this could impact Changji Tofu Shop’s business, I did not dare to tell anyone else, but quietly placed it there. I thought that if the tofu was good, it should be noticeable.”
“Unfortunately, no one mentioned this matter in the past two days. Just then, one of the girls came to ask how the tofu was. I simply assumed that maybe we did not put enough tofu, and if we added more, more people might notice the difference, so I asked her to bring me more tofu.”
“However, the girl took this the wrong way she assumed I was cheating her. She not only scolded me but also demanded a refund for the tofu. Knowing her limitations, I did not argue and just gave her the money to let it pass.”
“You saw what happened that day too, didn’t you? You thought I was the kind of person who tricks others for money, you sharply rebuked me, and also docked a few days’ wages. I considered myself unlucky for getting into trouble, so 1 did not argue too much.”
“But now that the matter is out, it turns out that I put the tofu in the kitchen with the good intention of helping the restaurant do better business…”
Li Fang laid out his story.
“Then why didn’t you tell us straight away? For the past few days, Chef Zhang and I have been trying to find out why the taste of our braised tofu changed according to Manager Qin and some of the customers. You didn’t mention that it has anything to do with this?” Feng Yongkang asked with furrowed eyebrows.
“I wanted to say it…” Li Fang glanced at Zhang Yongchang before hastily lowering his head again, “But in our restaurant, everyone knows that the manager respects Uncle Zhang very much and Uncle Zhang is related to Uncle Chang by marriage. If I directly told the truth, wouldn’t that appear as if 1 was intentionally stealing business away from the Changji Tofu Shop?”
“So… I thought about it and figured that if the tofu from the tofu stall was truly delicious, the manager would notice it in the future, and Uncle Zhang might also be willing to use it. So, I didn’t dare to say it at the time…”
Hearing Li Fang’s explanation, Feng Yongkang nodded slightly, “You’re right. I suppose I was indeed quick to judge, I saw you arguing with the girl and instantly blamed you.”
“Although your methods were improper, and you didn’t clarify the circumstances afterwards, you were indeed thinking of the restaurant’s best interests. Considering this, I won’t fine you.”
“However, in the future, you should be forthcoming about everything. Even if you did something wrong out of goodwill, you should still tell us, otherwise, there could be misunderstandings. This matter only came to light today because we discussed it. If you hadn’t spoken up, you would have continued to take the blame, wouldn’t you?”
“Yes, Manager, you’re absolutely right. I will remember that for the future,” Li Fang nodded continuously, breathing a sigh of relief.
He originally went to Changji Tofu Shop to tell Chang Yuanda about the potential business threat, hoping that he would drive away the two girls and finally put an end to the matter.
Who would’ve expected that instead of dealing with it himself, Chang Yuanda would seek out Zhang Yongchang, treating him as a willing participant. Moreover, Zhang also took a liking to their tofu and Fushun Tower wanting to replace Changji in the future, it led back to this incident.
All his plans dropped to the ground and Li Fang had no choice but to come up with a hasty explanation to absolve himself.
Seeing the situation, he felt relieved. Not only was he off the hook, but he also managed to recover his docked wages.
Li Fang straightened his back.
Ma Tong, standing nearby, was muttering in his heart.
Good heavens, he made the wrong seem right. That’s truly impressive. Is his heart as black as his actions?
Zhang Yongchang glanced at Li Fang, whose face was brimming with satisfaction, and said, “Now that doesn’t make sense. This morning, Chang Yuanda said it was you who told him that someone was stealing his tofu business and he sought my advice on how to handle it”.
“What was the point of you telling him that?”
“This…” Taken by surprise, Li Fang was speechless and his heart fluttered in panic..
