A Good Country Wife
Chapter 265 - 257 Method Leak_1

Chapter 265: Chapter 257 Method Leak_1

No wonder someone as clueless as Zhao Erhu could feel affection for his wife. He’d feel the same way—if he had a wife like that, he’d definitely hold her dear in the palm of his hand. Hearing that the matchmaker mentioned the girl was from the same village as Erhu’s wife, Zhao Xing became a bit intrigued. As long as that girl was half as good as Zhao Erhu’s wife, he would accept this marriage proposal.

Recently, Zhao Erhu had also been worried. The bean sprouts they were producing weren’t selling well. Others at the market had also started selling bean sprouts, and at a lower price than theirs, naturally drawing customers toward the cheaper option. After some inquiries, he found out that it was the Wei Residence’s doing. With his growing business acumen, he soon connected the dots. He recalled that during a meal at the old Zhao family house, Master Wei had specifically asked him about the family’s recipe for food and method for growing bean sprouts. He had refused to divulge any information, but then Zhao Lingxiang visited them, surely there was a connection.

Lin Yue was also troubled when she heard about this from Zhao Erhu. She didn’t believe that the people from Wei Residence could have figured out how to grow the bean sprouts otherwise; otherwise, Zhao Yunxiang wouldn’t have specifically come to pry into their relationship. Now that the method had leaked, it was likely there was an issue on their end.

However, she had always been cautious about such matters, knowing full well that not everyone can withstand the temptations of interest. She and Zhao Erhu were the ones who handled matters involving technical processes, and they never entrusted them to anyone else. Only when they became too busy to handle everything did they delegate some less important tasks to Zhao Dahuo and his wife and Wu Qiang and his wife, including the bean sprouts. Lin Yue had always believed these few people would not betray them, but now that such an incident had occurred, she couldn’t help but feel suspicious.

"Zhao Erhu, I believe that the bean sprout growing method must have leaked from our side. Do you think it’s possible?" When Lin Yue said this, she felt somewhat unwilling to believe it, yet also disheartened.

Zhao Erhu understood what his wife meant and immediately denied the idea. He trusted that both his older brother and sister-in-law, as well as Wu Qiang and his wife, were trustworthy, and they would not do such a thing. This trust was not blind, but the result of long-term observation and interaction.

"Wife, it can’t be them. If I trusted them enough to delegate these tasks to them, I trust their character. And we don’t even have clear details about this whole affair yet, so we can’t hastily jump to conclusions."

"I don’t want to believe it either, but how would the people from Wei Residence know about the bean sprout method? Zhao Lingxiang had visited a while ago, and I didn’t reveal a thing." Lin Yue continued, realizing that Zhao Erhu also wouldn’t know the answer—only Master Wei would know where the recipe came from.

Thankfully, for the time being, it seemed that only their bean sprouts had been leaked. Nothing else was affected. Their strategy for selling bean sprouts was to go for small profits and quick turnover. The price at the market had only dropped by two coins, and they could simply adjust their price to match. Reducing it further wouldn’t be profitable, and so the Wei Residence probably wouldn’t lower their prices to compete with them further. Otherwise, Lin Yue would rather give up the bean sprout business and make their method public, and then the hard-earned method the Wei Residence had acquired wouldn’t be useful anymore.

The couple sat in silence, heavy with thought. While the loss from this bean sprout incident was not significant, what troubled them wasn’t the loss itself but how the bean sprout method leaked out. Only a few close to them knew about it, and the feeling of being betrayed was unpleasant.

"Zhao Erhu, what do you think we should do about this? If we don’t find out who it was, the same thing could happen again, and the losses won’t just stop here," Lin Yue said.

"We have to find out, but we need to come up with a proper way to do it. We can’t just alienate everyone close to us over this—that would be throwing the baby out with the bathwater." Zhao Erhu felt even more distressed than Lin Yue. Whether it was Zhao Dahuo and his wife or Wu Qiang and his wife—his genuine older brother and sister-in-law, or his childhood friend—he couldn’t accept the idea that any of them were involved.

"You’re right, but for now, I really can’t think of a more appropriate way. We just have to be more cautious from now on," Lin Yue sighed as she leaned on Zhao Erhu, seeing that he was still deeply furrowed in thought. She took Zhao Erhu’s hand and began to fiddle with it.

"Alright, let’s not worry too much about this. I’ve been thinking it over, and it probably has nothing to do with my older brother, sister-in-law, or Brother Wu. They know more than just this. If it really was them who leaked it, it wouldn’t just be the method for growing bean sprouts. Besides, we’ve hired a few laborers. Maybe it was them who inadvertently saw something, and we didn’t notice." Lin Yue didn’t want Zhao Erhu to continue to agonize over this. They would eventually find the cause.

When Zhao Erhu heard Lin Yue say this, he felt somewhat relieved. As long as it wasn’t his brother and sister-in-law or Wu Qiang and his wife, it was fine. Regarding the laborers, although they had been careful with their character when hiring them, they hadn’t been with them every day. As the saying goes, you can know a person’s face but not their heart—it wouldn’t be surprising if one or two of them had ulterior motives. They would just have to be more vigilant in the future.

As Lin Yue and Zhao Erhu were discussing this, outside, Zhao Dahuo and his wife along with Wu Qiang and his wife had learned of the news. Both families came together to discuss the mishap with the bean sprouts.

"Erhu, both of you are here. Let’s talk about the bean sprouts. We’ve only just found out ourselves not long ago. Only a few of us knew the method for growing them, so how could it have leaked? Your brother and sister-in-law and I have been pondering over this and can’t figure out where the problem lies, so we came over to discuss it with you. This is no trivial matter. If something else leaked in the future, our livelihood would be handed over to others," Zhang Chunhua spoke decisively on behalf of the group.

Watching Zhao Dahuo and his wife and Wu Qiang and his wife speak so openly made Lin Yue feel a bit ashamed for ever doubting them. Zhao Erhu was right; they were not that kind of people. Otherwise, he would never have entrusted such important matters to them.

"Older brother, sister-in-law, Brother Wu, Sister Chunhua, I was just discussing this matter with Erhu. We were wondering if we might have accidentally let the laborers in our home see the method and that’s how it leaked. We’ll have to be more cautious from now on."

Upon hearing Lin Yue say this, Zhao Dahuo and his wife and Wu Qiang and his wife felt relieved. In fact, they had hurried to discuss the matter with Zhao Erhu and his wife precisely to prove their innocence. After such an event, all of those in the know were suspects, and it turned out that Zhao Erhu and his wife did not suspect them at all.

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