Chapter 27: Pulling Strings

Damn! This Uncle Wu, he shouldn't be acting like this just because he sees a pretty girl. He could at least introduce her to me.

Li Qi, desperate to strike up a conversation, found himself magnificently ignored. He stood to the side, feeling depressed, and kept winking at Wu Furong. But Wu Furong had long since forgotten him entirely. Stroking his beard, he asked with a smile, "Miss Yuanxiang, have you come today perhaps for that stinky tofu?"

In truth, Wu Furong was not well-acquainted with Li Qingzhao. He only knew Li Yuanxiang because, in years past, Li Qingzhao had maintained some friendship with Madame Qin and occasionally brought her maid along when visiting. Over time, he had come to recognize her, but that was all. Now that Li Yuanxiang had suddenly come looking for him, it went without saying that it must be for the stinky tofu.

Sure enough, Li Yuanxiang nodded and said, "Exactly. My mistress just went out onto the street and heard everyone talking about the Drunken Immortal Tavern and the stinky tofu, so she specifically sent me to buy some for her to taste."

"Oh! Sister Xiang'er, are you here to buy stinky tofu too?" Before Wu Furong could speak, Xing'er exclaimed in surprise.

Li Yuanxiang looked at Xing'er in astonishment and asked, "Could it be that you are here to buy this stinky tofu as well, Xing'er?"

"Yes, my master sent me," Xing'er said, holding Li Yuanxiang’s small hand and pouting. "But the stinky tofu in their shop is already sold out. If you want to buy some, you'll have to come and queue up early tomorrow morning to get any."

"Ah?"

Li Yuanxiang opened her small mouth slightly and looked at Wu Furong with an inquiring gaze.

Just as Wu Furong was about to speak, Li Qi interrupted from the side, "Excuse me, Miss Xiang'er, may I ask if it is truly your mistress who wants to eat it?"

He was terrified that the single-minded Wu Furong would tell Li Yuanxiang to come back and queue tomorrow morning. This was his idol's maid, after all; she had to be treated differently!

Li Yuanxiang only then noticed Li Qi, and subconsciously replied, "Naturally, it is true. But—who might you be?"

"Oh, this is our new head chef at the Drunken Immortal Tavern, Master Li," Wu Furong hurriedly introduced, though he cast a puzzled glance at Li Qi.

Upon hearing Wu Furong refer to a cook as "Master," Li Yuanxiang felt quite confused, but she did not show it. She bowed and said, "Greetings, Master Li."

"Hello! Hello!" Li Qi cupped his hands and smiled. His eyes darted, and he suddenly said, "Miss Xiang'er, please wait a moment."

With that, Li Qi turned toward the shop and shouted a few times, "Liuzi! Liuzi!"

Soon, Wu Xiaoliu scurried out from the back room, his face covered in grime, and ran up to Li Qi. "Brother Li, what do you need?" He then noticed the two young beauties standing at the shop entrance and exclaimed in surprise, "Oh, Sister Xing'er, Sister Xiang'er, why have you come?"

However, Wu Xiaoliu's enthusiasm was met only with a disdainful roll of the eyes and a faint smile.

"Why are you spouting so much nonsense, kid? Do you think you're that familiar with them? Come here!"

Li Qi hooked his arm around Wu Xiaoliu's neck and dragged him toward a corner by the wall.

"Ouch, ouch, Brother Li, take it easy!" Wu Xiaoliu yelped in pain.

Li Qi couldn't care less. After dragging him to the corner, he angrily demanded, "You’ve got some nerve! How dare you secretly hide twenty pieces of my stinky tofu? Do you not want to keep your job?"

"I’ve been wronged, Brother Li! I only took ten pieces in total. I fried one just now to eat, but I overfried it, so there are only nine left," Wu Xiaoliu hurriedly defended himself.

This kid was truly a coward! Li Qi suppressed a laugh and said with a straight face, "Really?"

"If you don't believe me, I can swear to the heavens! Brother Li, I really didn't lie to you. Those nine pieces are still in the kitchen," Wu Xiaoliu said with a mournful expression.

Seeing his miserable look, the muscles in Li Qi's face twitched a few times. He nodded and said, "Fine, I'll believe you this once."

In truth, Li Qi had no idea whether Wu Xiaoliu had stolen any or not. He only knew that Wu Xiaoliu was a glutton who often pulled such stunts, so he wanted to scare him. He hadn't expected the boy to be so easily intimidated and confess everything immediately.

Although Li Qi's expression had softened significantly, Wu Xiaoliu still dared not relax. His dark eyes rolled around a few times, and he hurriedly fawned, "Brother Li, actually, I saw that you were working hard, so I wanted to practice frying the tofu so I could help you out later."

"Go on, don't try to fool me with that talk. But even if you hadn't said it, I was planning to teach you how to fry this stinky tofu tonight anyway. As for those nine pieces you hoarded..." Li Qi beckoned to him with his finger.

Upon hearing that Li Qi was going to teach him how to fry the stinky tofu, Wu Xiaoliu felt a surge of joy. But when Li Qi mentioned the nine pieces again, he was startled and shrank back toward the corner.

Li Qi glared, reached out, grabbed him, and whispered something in his ear.

Only then did Wu Xiaoliu relax. He hurriedly smiled and said, "Brother Li, so that's all you needed me for? Don't worry, I know what to do."

"Go on then!" Li Qi patted his shoulder.

Wu Xiaoliu responded twice, then trotted over to Li Yuanxiang, bowed, and smiled. "Sister Xiang'er, I heard you want to buy some stinky tofu?"

Li Yuanxiang had been very curious after watching Li Qi and Wu Xiaoliu whispering for so long. Hearing the question, she nodded blankly and said, "But I heard Xing'er say just now that your shop's stinky tofu is sold out."

"Sister Xing'er is right; our shop's stinky tofu is indeed sold out. However, I happened to keep a few pieces aside. If you don't mind, I'll give them to you," Wu Xiaoliu said with a grin.

"Ah? Really?" Li Yuanxiang said, pleasantly surprised.

Wu Xiaoliu patted his chest. "Of course. I, Wu Xiaoliu, never lie."

"Then many thanks to you," Li Yuanxiang said gratefully.

"Hey, Liuzi, do you think I don't exist? I arrived before Sister Xiang'er!" Xing'er, standing to the side, immediately protested, shouting in dissatisfaction.

"This—!" Wu Xiaoliu looked troubled and cast a secret glance at Li Qi.

*Damn! How could I have forgotten this girl? Fine, since she knows now, I'll give her a piece or two to keep her from blabbing.* Li Qi gave a slight nod to Wu Xiaoliu.

Having received his instructions, Wu Xiaoliu hurriedly made a gesture of invitation. "Both sisters, please come in."

Once Wu Xiaoliu had led Xing'er and Li Yuanxiang inside, Wu Furong finally realized what was happening. He turned his head, frowned, and looked at Li Qi with an inquiring gaze, as if asking, "Didn't you just say you wanted to treat everyone equally and resolutely put an end to backdoor deals?"

Li Qi naturally knew what Wu Furong was about to say. Thinking quickly, he slapped his thigh and cried out, "Oh, no!"

Wu Furong's expression tightened. "What happened?"

"Uncle Wu, you don't know this, but those pieces of tofu that Liuzi hid haven't been fried yet, and I haven't had time to teach him how to fry the stinky tofu properly. If he—oh, this won't do! I have to go inside and check. I'll leave the outside to you!" With that, Li Qi rushed into the shop.

Wu Furong stood there stunned for a long time before he finally came to his senses and couldn't help but chuckle silently.