CHAPTER 331: CHAPTER 331: COMPOSED MINDSET

WangLintao indeed wants to snatch it. Pei Shu’er takes a step back, her face showing a gentle smile, but her eyes carry mockery.

"I knew you’d be such a government officer. Seems I was right to guard against you."

Seeing that he really can’t win a fight, WangLintao doesn’t want to fight anymore. Anyway, attacking a court official is a sure thing, she can just wait to rot in jail.

"Come with me."

After saying this, he pointed at Pei Shu’er.

"Just wait, I’ll make you pay for your arrogance today."

Pei Shu’er nods with a gentle smile.

"Alright, Lord, I’m waiting."

Liu Hongwang also made a move to leave with his uncle and aunt when Pei Shu’er’s soft voice called from behind.

"Wait a moment."

Liu Hongwang paused, then started to run, but hadn’t gotten far before Pei Shu’er’s crossbow shot him.

Liu Hongwang, clutching his knee, fell to the ground, biting the dust.

Pei Shu’er slowly walked towards Liu Hongwang with a thin smile on her lips.

"You thought I wouldn’t give you trouble?"

Liu Hongwang tried to retreat but Pei Shu’er yanked him by the leg and dragged him over.

Pei Shu’er spoke softly, "You’ve provoked me several times, how should I deal with you?"

Liu Hongwang looked grim as Pei Shu’er chuckled lightly, "How about I break one of your legs?"

Liu Hongwang hurriedly kneeled to beg for mercy. Pei Shu’er smiled and looked at Lin Yu without responding to him.

"Lock him up for me, he’ll be useful later."

That old couple watched Liu Hongwang get locked up, feeling somewhat satisfied, ready to kneel in gratitude.

Pei Shu’er’s expression turned cold, "Don’t be too happy, you also need to stay and be witnesses for me."

The old couple’s faces turned grim, almost on the verge of tears.

Pei Shu’er said indifferently, "As long as you tell the truth when I need you to, I can get Liu Hongwang locked up, and you two will have a better life from now on."

"But if you slack off again, you’ll join Liu Hongwang in jail."

For such people who go back on their word due to threats, Pei Shu’er felt no goodwill. Even if they had their own difficulties, the trouble they caused her was not insignificant.

Pei Shu’er handled this matter discreetly, all at the back of the yard, so it didn’t affect the business at all.

Upon entering the shop, Pei Shu’er noticed the customers’ strange looks.

Their gazes were filled with a mix of sympathy, shock, and a desire to avoid her.

This shop seemed bound to go under.

Pei Shu’er didn’t mind, and the shop’s business was actually better than before.

The customers’ thinking was simple—such delicious pastries, along with that soap and beauty soap, the more they could hoard, the better.

If the shop folded, they wouldn’t be able to buy these anymore.

Lin Yu looked at Pei Shu’er, a bit concerned for her.

"Young Madam, maybe we shouldn’t run this shop anymore and should return to the Deserted Mountain."

Pei Shu’er smiled gently, "It’s okay, tell the others not to panic. No matter what, we’re in the right. If the sky falls, I’ll hold it up."

Lin Yu sighed, they were in the right, but this place wasn’t for reasoning.

If the county government shut them down, no one would know how the Young Madam would be tormented.

Pei Shu’er not only wasn’t afraid but even came up with a few pastry recipes. When she headed to the kitchen to make pastries, her subordinates looked at her with admiration in their eyes.

After all, beating a government officer was endless trouble, yet she didn’t even care.

She planned to expand Pei’s Pastry Shop to offer low-end, mid-range, and high-end pastries.

Although the current pastries tasted good, they weren’t exquisite, and followed a populace-friendly approach.

To attract more customers and ensure steady foot traffic, she aimed for a low-margin, high-volume strategy.

For mid-range pastries, she intended to make them slightly more exquisite and package them into gift boxes, selling at one silver tael a box.

As for the higher-end pastries, they would be priced between three to six taels.

At that time, these could be used as gifts, too.

Selling one box of mid-range and high-end pastries could equal selling over a hundred pieces of low-end pastries.

Pei Shu’er made one type of mid-range and one type of high-end pastry.

The mid-range was flower cake, which included layers of finely cooked red bean paste and fresh, rich candied fruits in rice cakes, soft and sweet, with a rich flavor.

The high-end was the Inscribed Bean Sugar, something unprecedented. This kind of biscuit was especially tasteful as a gift for scholars. The bean sugar had a rich bean aroma and a light sweetness, delicious and non-sticky.

Everyone first tasted the flower cake, as its appearance was too beautiful. Shaped like a child’s fist-sized flower, it looked exquisite and cute.

This flower cake resembled rice cake, but upon tasting, one finds the flavor of the flower cake to be more layered and sweeter than rice cake.

Moreover, everyone present quickly fell in love with the flower cake.

Honghua laughed, "Young Madam, this flower cake is so complex to make. Selling it for just a few coins would be too much of a loss."

Pei Shu’er said, "I plan to package twenty per box and sell it for one silver tael. As for the gift box, I’ve already designed it."

The gift box bore the name of Pei’s Pastry Shop, with the flower cake’s design and name, alongside beautiful lines, and a background of elegant pale yellow interwoven with a touch of light green.

When everyone saw the gift box, their eyes were full of amazement.

"Young Madam, this gift box is so pretty, not at all tacky."

Pei Shu’er smiled, "Come have a look at this Inscribed Bean Sugar."

When Pei Shu’er unveiled the cover of the bean sugar, everyone found the elaborate design with embedded characters quite novel.

"Young Madam, how did you embed the characters?"

Pei Shu’er said, "First, make the characters, then pour the liquid mixture of pea powder and sugar over it. I’ve already made a couple of templates for the characters, just pour toasted sesame powder into the character molds."

Pei Shu’er said, "Have a taste."

Everyone picked up a piece of bean sugar to try.

Initially assuming the flavor might be ordinary, tasting it proved otherwise; the flavor was unexpectedly good, not excessively sweet—a taste everyone would like.

This was an experiment by Pei Shu’er. The Inscribed Bean Sugar could be called a pastry, yet calling it a sugar loosely worked too. At that time, she planned to use this bean sugar as a test and then research other types of sugar.

Pei Shu’er didn’t make much of the Inscribed Bean Sugar due to its complex process.

However, everyone agreed the taste was excellent upon tasting.

In fact, Pei Shu’er made slight modifications to the Inscribed Bean Sugar, tweaking it to better suit the general palate.

Once Pei Shu’er brought out the Inscribed Bean Sugar, she decided to rename it.

"How about calling it Zhuangyuan Cake? For instance, if a scholar in the family is about to take exams, buying this Zhuangyuan Cake has the connotation of being literate and articulate; it’s quite a meaningful gesture."