"Can I buy a lot... a lot of candied hawthorns?"

Liu Quan was amused.

"Of course, if you can read, even if you work as a waiter in a restaurant, the pay is better than farming in the fields, and it's not too tiring."

"Okay, I'm willing. Mm!"

Liu Fugui simply nodded, responding earnestly.

The family walked happily to the bookstore and looked at the storybooks hanging on the rope with clips.

Based on his limited literacy, he could barely recognize a few characters.

God? Depth? Fire? Man? Two? Wood?

The shop assistant greeted him warmly, saying, "Sir, are you buying a storybook? Would you like to see the currently very popular detective storybook in the city, Detective Di Renjie? The original price is thirty coins, but it's 10% off now."

The woman frowned and tugged at his clothes, whispering, "You can read, all you know is buying things. That's a day's wages! It's too expensive. I can't bear to buy it."

The waiter was very quick-witted. Seeing that the man was dressed as a farmer, he smiled and said, "Guest, please go to the rest area. There are people there who read and explain things."

"It doesn't cost any money. All you need to do is, when you go out, if someone asks you what you think of this book of Judge Dee's stories, just say that the plot is full of twists and turns and very exciting."

Liu Quan was slightly taken aback. Was there really such a good thing?

The waiter led him to the rest area, where, sure enough, there were many people like him. He found a seat and listened quietly as the person who seemed to be a storyteller began to read aloud.

Before long, Liu Quan gradually became immersed in the story and took a break in the middle.

Three or five men, laughing and joking, started wandering around the rest area.

"Oh dear, the Di Gong case is good, but it still hasn't completely escaped the power struggles within the royal family. It's confusing to listen to. Have you all seen the news from the seminar?"

Those people were absolutely right.

Mr. Di, you've strayed from the main path. There's really no need to exaggerate this story; compared to Mr. Qingyunlou's "The Case of Liu Gong," it's not much different, is it?

It seemed like a rhetorical question, or perhaps a sarcastic remark.

If Liu Quan didn't know who this so-called Mr. Di was, that would be one thing, but now that he heard his boss being mocked, he stepped forward to stand in front of this person.

"Brother, you're being really rude. The study provides you with tea, a place to rest, and even has someone read to you."

Even if they didn't help promote it when they went out, there's no need to make up such baseless rumors. It's so despicable!

The man's smiling eyes suddenly turned fierce. "I'm warning you, don't meddle in other people's business."

"Hey, I'll take care of it."

The commotion gradually attracted the attention of the waiter, who advised, "For guests who are neutral, the study will prepare good tea and water. But if you speak rudely, don't blame the study for kicking you out."

The man shoved the young man to the ground.

Liu Quan shouted, "That's fucking arrogant!"

He bent down and, while the man was still grinning, went straight for his crotch like a monkey picking a peach.

A scream rang out, and the man, shrinking back, shouted to his accomplices scattered around him, "Report to the authorities! This isn't over until I've got at least a dozen taels of silver."

The scattered shop assistants quickly summoned several constables.

The woman cried out, "This is extortion! It's clearly extortion! How could it possibly cost more than ten taels of silver?"

The waiter quickly called over Uncle Fu, who was still busy outside.

After hearing the shop assistant's reply, Uncle Fu smiled and said to the constable, "It's just a small matter. I wonder if it's still Wu the head constable in charge of arresting people and apprehending thieves?"

The constable was slightly surprised.

The other party seems to frequently deal with government officials.

Uncle Fu smiled and said, "The owner of Rainforest Study is surnamed Su."

The constable seemed to understand something, and carefully had the onlookers around him ask questions. Then he said calmly, "I think you were the one who started the trouble. You deserved to be beaten."

You're pretty arrogant.

As far as I know, the Judge Dee Stories are a new storybook from the Rainforest Study. It's quite shameless of you to criticize someone else's storybook in their study.

Tell me, did the rivals send you?

The man suddenly felt guilty and stammered in a low voice, "Putting aside the facts, he hit me and kicked me in the groin. Shouldn't he be arrested and taken to the county government for a good education?"

"Pay me back for the cost of my medicine."

"You'll have to pay at least five taels of silver, or this isn't over."

The constable hesitated slightly.

Uncle Fu laughed and said, "Forget it, even if the study is in trouble, I'll pay for the medicine."

Uncle Fu looked at Liu Quan and smiled slightly. Isn't this Brother Chen's worker?

Fine, I'll pay for it for him.

"I have no money, so just throw me in jail. I don't have a single penny."