OFTLHFRO C31

Chapter 31: Two Solid Punches

Early the next morning, after Luo Mingchen and Huo Yan sold their tofu to the Kangde Restaurant, Huo Yan went to find a tiler to continue repairing the new residence, while Luo Mingchen held Huo Xinyue in his arms, took along a small stool, and went to the spot where they had previously sold tofu.

Sure enough, that mother and daughter were still there.

Seeing Luo Mingchen arrive with a child in his arms, Liu Xiang’er put on that same pitiable look. “Young sir…”

Before Liu Xiang’er could finish, Luo Mingchen said, “I didn’t come to make you leave.”

Hearing this, Liu Xiang’er fell silent for a moment, then probed, “Then… what brings young sir here?”

Luo Mingchen smiled. “We’ve sold out our tofu and came to take a look. You won’t mind, will you?”

Saying this, Luo Mingchen sat down to the side with the child.

Because he sat rather close to the neighboring baozi stall, Liu Xiang’er couldn’t say much.

She traded a look with her mother, signaling her to find a way to drive him off.

Madam Wang could sense that Luo Mingchen hadn’t come with good intentions. She deliberately picked up a piece of tofu, planning to “accidentally” toss it onto Luo Mingchen so she could force him to be the scapegoat and buy it.

Having watched them closely, Luo Mingchen let out a cold laugh. A ball of water struck Madam Wang’s foot, her ankle twisted, and she fell straight to the ground, the tofu in her hand shattering into a mushy mess.

Seeing how bedraggled she looked, Luo Mingchen raised his voice in feigned surprise. “Oh my! Auntie, are you alright? How did you just fall like that while walking? You couldn’t even hold onto the tofu—tsk, tsk—one piece of tofu costs one wen.”

Madam Wang, aching from the fall: “…”

As the mother and daughter were about to speak, Luo Mingchen cried out again with deliberate exaggeration, “Auntie, why are you holding tofu for no reason? There aren’t any customers right now. I’m just sitting here. Don’t tell me you can’t sell your tofu and want to force me to buy it?”

The nearby stallholders were never ones to pass up a good spectacle. Most passersby didn’t know what had happened, but those who often set up stalls in Taohua Town had heard about this bizarre mother-daughter pair and were happy to see them get their comeuppance.

The uncle from the baozi shop chuckled. “Wang shi, trying that old trick again—throw the tofu on someone and cry until they buy it?”

Hearing this, onlookers grew curious and glanced over.

Madam Wang glared at him. “Don’t you slander me.”

The uncle smiled, and said to Luo Mingchen, “Young sir, be careful now.”

Luo Mingchen smiled back. “Don’t worry, uncle. I won’t give them a chance to extort me.”

At that, Liu Xiang’er’s tone turned colder. “Young sir, if you’re not buying tofu or baozi, isn’t it inappropriate to sit here?”

“Who said I’m not buying baozi?”

Luo Mingchen immediately took out a few copper coins and bought two large meat buns, handing one to Huo Xinyue to hold and eat. “Also, I do have something to do here.”

Liu Xiang’er: “…”

Just as the mother and daughter were baffled, a few people who came to buy tofu greeted Luo Mingchen when they saw him.

One auntie who wanted to buy tofu asked in confusion, “Young sir, why are you sitting here today? Where’s the young man who collects the money?”

“Auntie, our tofu stall was occupied by someone else. It’ll be a few more days before the lease ends, and we were told not to fuss with an orphaned mother and daughter. I’m worried some regular customers won’t know, so I came specifically to say that our tofu will be delivered to Kangde Restaurant these few days. Later, we’ll open a tofu shop at the street corner on the next street.”

Hearing this, the auntie stopped reaching for her money. “This tofu isn’t yours?”

“No. The tofu they’re selling has nothing to do with us.”

Those who had come to buy tofu yesterday started clamoring when they heard this. “Why does this girl always twist the truth? Yesterday she said they learned to make tofu from you, and it only wasn’t as tender because they made a few mistakes.”

“Exactly!”

Seeing several people echoing this, Luo Mingchen glanced at Liu Xiang’er in surprise.

This girl was bolder than expected—to say something like that out loud.

Sensing the tide turning, Liu Xiang’er immediately put on a fragile act, her voice trembling with tears. “Elder brothers and aunties, I had no choice. There’s a young brother at home who needs care, and my father owed a great deal of silver before he passed. Life has been truly difficult.”

At her display, Luo Mingchen simply rolled his eyes. “Girl, if your brother is so young and there’s no one at home, why not bring him along? See, no matter how busy I am, I bring my daughter. Or does your brother have the ability to care for himself? If so, then he’s not ‘young,’ is he? You’re having a hard time—tell me, who isn’t these days? I have two sons studying at the academy; the expenses aren’t small. Also, your family’s debts are your business. What does that have to do with us? Why are you deceiving people under our name?”

“Young sir, you’re a man and you have a sworn partner. However things go, you’ll earn more than two women. Why be so aggressive here? Must I dash my head to death before you’ll forgive me?”

She was implying that, as a man, he was bullying women and being ungenerous.

Luo Mingchen laughed. “If you think it’s hard not having a man at home, you can marry. If you don’t want to marry, then have the courage to face life. How much my family earns has nothing to do with you. You deliberately went to the steward and had him give you a stall that was already rented out. I’m only a few days from the end of my term and didn’t even hold it against you. Ten wen a day—five days makes fifty wen.”

At this, Luo Mingchen looked to the growing crowd. “That’s still money, isn’t it? If my family had money to burn, would we be out here in the glaring sun running a stall? I didn’t even pursue the fifty wen loss, and now you try to threaten me with talk of life and death. Let me tell you, if I were a woman, I’d give you two solid punches right now! Precisely because I’m a man, you should count yourselves lucky.”

Seeing Liu Xiang’er about to speak, Luo Mingchen added, “Besides, I’m not doing anything here except giving familiar customers a heads-up so they won’t be cheated and suffer the same loss I did. And I haven’t overturned your stall, so what’s the rush? Don’t tell me your tofu didn’t turn out well again today?”

At this last line, quite a few people laughed.

One auntie said, “Tsk. So many petty tricks just to sell tofu; this tofu can’t be any good. Girl, if it really won’t work, change trades.”

Another aunt chimed in, “Indeed, why steal someone else’s business only to do it badly?”

There were many more behind who criticized her.

Liu Xiang’er was stupefied. Why were the tricks that had always worked suddenly failing?

What she didn’t realize was that, when Luo Mingchen said he’d taken such a loss and still stood on the buyers’ side to prevent them from being cheated, in everyone’s heart he was on the same team as them—so naturally they would help him.

Luo Mingchen couldn’t do the thing of crying to win sympathy, but he also wouldn’t swallow losses with his nose pinched. If it’s about quick wits and a sharp tongue, who can’t do that?

Had he met few people while hustling for a living? There were plenty of quarrels in the hotel industry; his skill in that might not be flawlessly perfected, but dealing with a little “white lotus” was hardly difficult.

What’s more, Liu Xiang’er’s routine of crying, making a scene, and threatening suicide had zero effect on Luo Mingchen.

Even if the King of Heaven showed up, Luo Mingchen couldn’t summon a shred of sympathy for someone who had conned him out of money.

“white lotus” (白莲花 báiliánhuā) means someone who looks gentle, pure, and harmless on the surface but is manipulative, hypocritical, or scheming underneath, often using tears or victimhood to gain sympathy and advantage.