Chapter 1997: All the Customers Have Been Snatched Away

It hadn't been long since their last visit to Prison Immortal Tower, but this time Li Chengshan and Ma Lin could barely swallow their food.

They both thought they weren't picky eaters; in the past, coming to Prison Immortal Tower was just to have a drink.

As for the food, they had no special demands, so why was it like this this time?

It definitely wasn't Prison Immortal Tower's fault; the taste hadn't changed, and the cook hadn't been replaced.

Then there was only one explanation: their mouths had become spoiled.

Over the next few days, the number of customers at Ye Zhangqing's canteen kept increasing.

In less than five days, Ye Zhangqing cancelled the small stove and switched directly to big pot rice.

And whenever it was mealtime, the crowd coming to eat remained endless, as if half the town had shown up.

Each person held a big bowl, queued up for rice, with no complaints, and even brought their own bowls and chopsticks.

This was also Ye Zhangqing's rule: bring your own bowls and chopsticks, because he didn't want to clean up.

Li Chengshan and Ma Lin were also in the crowd; they had long been regulars here, coming for every meal.

Others were the same.

And while Ye Zhangqing's place was booming, correspondingly, the other taverns in Prison Immortal Town were surely doing terribly.

Especially Prison Immortal Tower, which was hit the hardest; formerly its customers were endless and a seat was hard to get, but these past two days it could be described as having the gate so empty that sparrows could be caught there.

The shopkeeper's face was full of worry, his brows furrowed tightly enough to pinch a fly.

Seeing a shop assistant rush in anxiously, the shopkeeper hurriedly asked.

"How is it? Have you found out?"

"I... I found out."

"Speak."

Recently this situation has been off; suddenly the customers all stopped coming, they hadn't done anything at Prison Immortal Tower, nor had they cut corners, so something must have happened.

Moreover, these past two days, whenever a certain time of day arrived, the town would be empty.

The shopkeeper had also specially observed that it happened three times a day, at fixed times, extremely regular.

This made him unable not to suspect.

Seeing the shop assistant had gathered the news, the shopkeeper hurriedly asked.

Faced with the question, the shop assistant truthfully related the information he had received.

He learned that the customers had all gone to eat at the canteen outside the city.

The shopkeeper's face darkened as he muttered to himself.

"A newly arrived small tavern, so you're saying our customers were all snatched away by him?"

"Yes, and that canteen only serves big pot dishes, and you still have to bring your own bowls and chopsticks, but even so, it's always packed."

"You have to bring your own bowls and chopsticks?"

"Yes, and I heard the prices are very cheap; shopkeeper, do you think it might be because of the price?"

The prices at Ye Zhangqing's place are nowhere near comparable to Prison Immortal Tower's; they're far too low.

But regarding that, the shopkeeper shook his head.

"That's unlikely, after all there are people in town who aren't short of money, yet they haven't come recently either."

The price probably isn't the main factor, and the shopkeeper fell into deep thought.

The customers have all been snatched away; what are they to do? Now there isn't even a full table each day, and the pantry's ingredients are about to spoil.

After thinking it over, there was no good solution, or rather he could no longer decide on his own; he could only go consult the family head.

"You stay and guard the shop; I'll go see the family head."

After giving the orders, the shopkeeper hurriedly went out the door.

Prison Immortal Tower is the Zhao family's property, and this plump shopkeeper is also a member of the Zhao family.

After the Zhao family fled to Prison Immortal Town, they opened Prison Immortal Tower and settled down in the town.

Using their remaining funds, they built a residence in the town for the clan members to live in.

The Zhao family members who fled to Prison Immortal Town are not many, just over a dozen.

Now the family head is the Zhao family's former young master, not old in age, about the same as Ye Zhangqing, named Zhao Buzhu.

The plump shopkeeper hurried back to the mansion; although Zhao Buzhu was cultivating, after being reported he still managed to meet him.

"What's wrong?"

Seeing the plump shopkeeper rush back to see him, Zhao Buzhu opened his mouth in the secret room to ask.

Hearing that, the shopkeeper didn't waste words, and told Zhao Buzhu the full story of Prison Immortal Tower and Ye Zhangqing's canteen.

After hearing the shopkeeper's words, Zhao Buzhu's young face showed a hint of contemplation.

"Outsider, can you find out his identity clearly?"

"I don't know the specifics, only that this person is called Chang Gui; he arrived in Prison Immortal Town a few days ago, first sought out Li Zhenlao, and then opened this small tavern on the main road outside town."

It doesn't seem to be aimed at the Zhao family.

But right now their business has been completely snatched away, and Prison Immortal Tower can be said to be the Zhao family's sole source of income.

The whole family relies on Prison Immortal Tower to make a living.

Without Prison Immortal Tower, the clan members would have trouble cultivating, and couldn't even obtain resources.

So even if Ye Zhangqing meant no harm, the Zhao family cannot just ignore this.

After the two discussed it, Zhao Buzhu finally felt that the price might indeed be a reason.

Although the shopkeeper thought the price wasn't important, Zhao Buzhu still decided to first lower the prices.

Isn't Ye Zhangqing's place cheap? Fine, we'll lower Prison Immortal Tower's prices to match his.

Moreover, Ye Zhangqing's canteen only offers big pot rice and requires you to bring your own bowls and chopsticks; at Prison Immortal Tower, with the same prices, you can also eat from the small stove, order dishes, and choose your favorite delicacies.

No matter how you look at it, we have seized all the advantages.

We'll just use price to beat you to death.

Anyway, over these years the Zhao family has also relied on the Prison Immortal Tower to accumulate some wealth; facing an outsider, they still have the confidence to compete financially.

At worst, we'll just sustain a loss for a while; once we've driven them away, we can slowly restore the original price.

This is the most direct, simplest, and also the most effective method.

At least, in Zhao Buzhu's view, that's the case.

Although Pang Zhanggui didn't support this method, thinking price wasn't the main reason, but the family head insisted, he had no choice but to carry it out.

He hurried back to the Prison Immortal Tower, informed everyone of the price cut; hearing this, several shop assistants were all shocked.

"My goodness, this price cut is a bit too harsh—cutting so much at once."

"I heard it's based on the canteen outside the city; whatever they sell for, we just price a bit lower than that, just a bit lower."

"But doing this is completely a loss."

"You don't get it; the family head wants to use price to drive out the opponent—with such a low price they can't make money, so naturally they'll leave."

That day, the Prison Immortal Tower's price was reduced; Pang Zhanggui anxiously awaited the result.

We're already running at a loss, not knowing if it will work, feeling uncertain.

Anyway, Pang Zhanggui always feels the price shouldn't be this low; after all, there are still those who aren't short of money, yet they no longer come to the Prison Immortal Tower, all going to Ye Zhangqing's canteen—what does that indicate?

So whether it succeeds still depends on the final outcome.