Master Chen was dumbfounded.
"Compensation!"
"Compensation!"
The surrounding guests were all furious, storming into De Yue Building.
At least six to seven hundred stead buns had been sold.
With the penalty being a hefty tens of thousands of taels of silver.
Words once spoken are like water poured out.
Master Chen wanted to regret it, but it was already too late.
"Close the shop!"
Master Chen spat a few tis, but the taste of rotten cabbage still lingered in his mouth.
Before the door could close, he heard a group of governnt officers with imposing anger rushing in.
"Where is Master Chen?"
The one leading was the County Magistrate.
"County Magistrate, your timing is perfect, these troublemakers are causing a ruckus here. Quickly drive them away."
Master Chen breathed a sigh of relief and stepped forward to greet him.
"How dare you! De Yue Building has been found passing off inferior goods as superior, Empress Dowager commands that De Yue Building be shut for three days, and if it fails to make proper adjustnts, it will be permanently sealed."
The County Magistrate seed to have changed his deanor completely, radiating a stern impartiality. With a single command, the governnt officers rushed forward and sealed the entrance of De Yue Building with official seals.
"This... This..."
Master Chen was stunned.
He only then realized the gravity of the situation; earlier Empress Feng had ordered him to make so White Jade Stead Buns to be sent to the Imperial Palace, hoping to curry favor with the palace. Little did he know, it would lead to a catastrophic debacle.
De Yue Building was being sealed and ordered to reform.
Master Chen was livid, his face ashen.
"Master Jiu, this ti you’ve truly brought disaster upon us; what exactly did you bring back, it’s all these cabbages’ fault."
Master Chen moved out basket after basket of Purple Cloud Cabbage still in the storeroom.
"What’s wrong with these Spiritual Energy cabbages? Didn’t we try them before?"
Master Jiu was also confused.
He picked up a head of Purple Cloud Cabbage.
The Purple Cloud Cabbage stolen from Chu Mansion still looked verdant and luscious, full of Water Spirit.
But when Master Jiu sniffed it, he discovered that the fresh green scent was gone, replaced by a musty odor. After chewing a few bites, the cabbage leaves tasted foul.
Just two days stored, and these cabbages, which looked like jade carvings, had all spoiled.
"All the cabbage seeds planted in the field have also rotted."
Master Chen’s expression grew increasingly grim.
This ti, De Yue Building had really lost out big ti.
"I understand now, these Purple Cloud Cabbages can’t be preserved once they are out of the ground."
Master Jiu had a sudden realization.
Xin Lin’s Purple Cloud Cabbage was grown from seeds soaked in Jade Pure Spring.
This kind of cabbage had much more Spiritual Energy than ordinary cabbages, but it also had a fatal flaw.
Firstly, the shelf life of the cabbage was very short; once removed from the soil, they would deteriorate from the inside out, changing taste. Yet outwardly, they looked no different from fresh Purple Cloud Cabbage.
That’s why Xin Lin and others would generally sell them fresh or pickle them directly.
Chu’s Restaurant never used overnight Purple Cloud Cabbage for their buns.
Secondly, once the Purple Cloud Cabbage was mature, its seeds couldn’t reproduce normally unless soaked in Jade Pure Spring. Otherwise, once sown, the seeds would simply rot.
Xin Lin knew these rules very clearly, but Master Jiu and Master Chen did not.
"It seems that the person behind the scenes at Chu’s Restaurant is much more formidable than we imagined."
Master Jiu mused.
"What’s the use of saying these things, the gold-lettered signboard of De Yue Building has been smashed."
Just thinking about the three-day rectification period for De Yue Building and the compensation of tens of thousands of taels of silver, not to ntion the damage to the reputation caused this ti, Master Chen’s face twisted with worry.
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