Edward Brooks could only smile bitterly in his heart...

Everyone knew that there was absolutely no way the ancestral house would be given up. That was the blood and sweat of several generations of his ancestors.

If the ancestral house was gone, the only thing left to give up would be the Yu family shop.

If Edward Brooks lost the Yu family shop, it would be the same as losing his foothold on Ma Xing Street. But everyone knew that three hundred guan was no small sum. If business at the Yu family shop was booming, it could make about that much in a year. The problem was, Edward Brooks only had two months... to be precise, less than fifty days left.

So, many people felt that Edward Brooks had no way to keep the Yu family shop.

If he lost the Yu family shop, naturally he couldn’t stay on Ma Xing Street. In the future, Ma Xing Street would surely be taken over by George Harris. The knife hands didn’t care; they could find other shops to make a living. Even if Edward Brooks wasn’t on Ma Xing Street, it wouldn’t affect them much. But if they offended George Harris, it would be very difficult to make a living on Ma Xing Street in the future. This was also something the knife hands had to consider.

“All right, you can all go.”

“Brother Xiao Yi, please don’t blame us.”

Edward Brooks’s lips curled slightly, revealing a faint smile.

“You all have your difficulties, I understand.

These past years, it’s thanks to everyone’s help that my shop has been able to keep running. Now, Ethan brought this on himself, it has nothing to do with you all. People strive upwards, water flows downwards... Ethan will do his best to get through this hurdle. If you want to come back then, Ethan will still welcome you.

Remember to give my regards to Grandpa Ross for me. Tell him Ethan was ignorant before and caused trouble for everyone, I truly feel sorry. If Ethan can make a comeback, I’ll invite Grandpa to return, and hope he won’t refuse.”

“Brother Xiao Yi...”

The knife hand couldn’t help but choke up a little.

Usually, Edward Brooks was brave and fierce, not doing proper work, but he was always very kind to these knife hands.

Technically speaking, Edward Brooks was the boss.

But he never treated these knife hands as servants.

If Edward Brooks had cursed them out, the knife hands might have left without a care. But after hearing these words, the three knife hands didn’t know what to do. Standing in front of the shop, Edward Brooks was silent for a long time.

This shop was also the result of several generations of the Yu family’s hard work.

Could it really be ruined in his hands?

Since the knife hands in the shop had this attitude, then over at James Foster’s place, he had probably also been contacted by George Harris. That rascal George Harris, what tricks couldn’t he pull? Now that he was determined to get the Yu family shop, he must have made thorough arrangements. Thinking of this, Edward Brooks couldn’t help but feel anxious.

“Why are you still here?”

Edward Brooks took a deep breath, preparing to close up the shop first.

Unexpectedly, he saw the three knife hands still standing outside the shop, not having left.

“Brother Xiao Yi, you’re a righteous man.

If it weren’t for you these past years, who knows what kind of mess Ma Xing Street would be in, thanks to that filthy gang of Sammy Harris. You may be in trouble now, but we can’t leave... If we go, the Yu family shop is finished. No matter what, we’ll stay with you till the end. Even if we lose, at worst we’ll go to Luoyang to make a living. Could Sammy Harris really be a tyrant in Luoyang too?”

“That’s right, Brother Xiao Yi, we’ll help you.”

A warm current surged in Edward Brooks’s heart.

He forced a smile and cupped his hands, “Then, brothers, Ethan thanks you all.”

Just then, a man dressed as a shop assistant came running from the direction of Baifan Restaurant. “Brother Xiao Yi, I heard something happened at your house?”

“Huh?”

“The boss asked me to check if the fifty orders of lamb white sausage you promised yesterday can be delivered on time.

If you can deliver on time, the boss said he won’t worry about it. But if you can’t, he’ll have to find another way.”

This lamb white sausage, also called pan-fried lamb white sausage, is a famous snack in Kaifeng.

Basically, it’s made and sold fresh, an indispensable dish in restaurants. Previously, the owner of Baifan Restaurant would order fifty portions of lamb white sausage from Edward Brooks every day. But the person who used to make the lamb white sausage was Chef Martin. Now that Chef Martin had quit, naturally there was no one to make it.

But if they refused today, Baifan Restaurant might not order again tomorrow.

Edward Brooks took a deep breath and said with a smile, “Please tell Old Ethan that these fifty portions of lamb white sausage will be delivered on time.”

“Then I’ll report back. Remember, it has to be before noon, don’t be late.”

“Brother Xiao Yi, with Chef Martin gone, how are we going to make the lamb white sausage... We have the ingredients, but no one to cook, that’s a problem.”

“Brother Xiao Qi, could you go to Zhuque Gate? As soon as The Carter Store opens, have them make fifty portions of lamb white sausage and rush them to the restaurant. Since we promised, we can’t lose our credibility.

Even if we lose money, we have to deliver.

As for other matters, we’ll talk about them later... I have eight mǒ on me, how much does the shop have?”

“Let me check... about ten mǒ.”

“Good, take another seven mǒ, that should be enough to buy fifty portions.

Wait, don’t use official mǒ, use meat mǒ, that way we’ll have five wén left per mǒ... Hmm, Baifan Restaurant settles with official mǒ... Heh, counting it this way, we won’t lose money, we can even make a small profit of twenty wén.”

The retail price for one portion of lamb white sausage is thirty wén, so fifty portions would be 1,500 wén.