Chapter 488: Dine and Dash

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Gu Zi was not worried about Mrs. Wang causing trouble. She had anticipated this from the start. It was impossible for Aunt Yang to be left in peace, so she decided to see how much of a storm the woman could stir up.

Instead of focusing her attention on Mrs. Wang, Gu Zi turned her attention to helping out with the work.

About ten minutes later, Mrs. Wang finished her breakfast. She and her son had ordered far more than they could consume. However, as the customer demanded, Li Hua had no reason not to serve so much.

When it was time for Li Hua to settle the bill, she looked at the leftover food on the table, picked over and uneaten, and felt a pang of regret. What a waste! Why order so much if you can’t finish it all?

Forcing a smile onto her face, Li Hua remembered Gu Zi’s advice: “A smile can take years off your face. When doing business, it’s even more important to keep a smile on your face. It makes you seem friendly and brings good fortune.” She said to Mrs. Wang, “Let’s settle the bill then. It’s five yuan and eighty-one cents in total. I’ll round it down for you, so it’s just five yuan and eighty cents.”

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Wang revealed a calculating smile. It was a smile, yes, but it was one that made people uncomfortable. She scoffed dismissively, “I heard at the mahjong parlor today that your shop has good food. I also heard that my mother-in-law is a partner here, right? I thought I’d come and try it out, support the elderly. But the taste isn’t that great.”

She continued, “Look at all this. I don’t like any of it. I only ate a little, and yet the price is so high. You’re charging me over five yuan for this little bit of food! It’s expensive and not tasty. Call my mother-in-law out. I want to ask her if this is how she does business.”

Mrs. Wang complained endlessly, all the while picking up her chopsticks and rudely turning over the leftover food on the table, acting as if she were some wealthy, high-ranking person.

Unfortunately, such behavior only served to embarrass ordinary people. If she were a high-ranking person, she would only be seen as a nouveau riche, unfit for the public eye.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Li Hua was taken aback by her barrage of complaints, unsure of what to say. When Mrs. Wang finally finished speaking, Li Hua slowly found her voice, though her tone was somewhat uncertain. “Mrs. Wang, what you’re saying is unreasonable. When you ordered, I told you the price of each item. You didn’t say anything then, and you ordered so much.”

This woman was simply too despicable. Now that she had finished eating, she was picking faults and devaluing their food. Was she looking for trouble, trying to dine and dash?

Seeing Li Hua’s slow reaction, Mrs. Wang sneered inwardly. She thought, ‘And she wants to do business and make money? She’s lucky to have a brother-in-law like Su Shen.’

She had no intention of paying for her breakfast. Instead, she took out a cigarette from her pocket, lit it, and started smoking, causing Li Hua to sneeze.

Helplessly, Li Hua reminded her, “Mrs. Wang, you can’t smoke in here. It will affect the other customers.” They had even posted a notice on the wall. The words were large and clear, but Mrs. Wang seemed to ignore them completely.

Mrs. Wang paid no heed, flicking her cigarette, the ash falling to the ground. She spat on it, saying, “Sorry, didn’t see it. Besides, who else is here?” Li Hua looked around, indeed finding no one else present, leaving her somewhat at a loss.

Just then, the voice of Aunt Yang rang out, “Even if there’s no one else, you shouldn’t smoke here. Smoking is not allowed.”

She knew that as long as she was here, Mrs. Wang would cause trouble. Li Hua and the others had helped her so much, she couldn’t just shrink back now and let Li Hua deal with this troublesome woman alone.

Seeing that the old woman had been forced to come out, a satisfied smirk spread across Mrs. Wang’s face, her expression full of hypocrisy. “Oh, so you really are the boss here. Yuan Yuan, look, this is your grandma’s shop. We’ll have a place to eat breakfast from now on. Li Hua, grandma, look, we’re all familiar faces. We don’t need to pay for today’s meal, right?”

Aunt Yang, her face cold, didn’t look at her. “I’m not a boss, I just work here, helping out. It’s rare to hear you call me ‘grandma’ instead of ‘old thing’ since you’ve driven me out. I don’t eat or drink your stuff anymore, so don’t cause trouble for no reason. You should pay what you owe, there’s no such thing as a free lunch.”

Gu Zi advised Mother Lin not to go out, then came out of the kitchen himself, walking over to Li Hua. After Aunt Yang finished speaking, a flash of hatred quickly passed through Mrs. Wang’s eyes. This damned old woman, she really had some nerve talking to her like that!

However, she had come today specifically to provoke this old woman. She was determined to get this free meal.