Chapter 172 Chapter 172 Update.

"Why haven't you been to my place lately?"

He raised an army to question the culprit, and Ji Xu said:

"Master Li has gotten much better after these days of recuperation. Besides, I've just opened a new restaurant here, so I don't cook for customers much anymore. But if you want something to eat, you can still send someone to buy it from me."

Li Quanye's gaze shifted from the plaque of "Ping An Restaurant" back to her face, and he said cunningly:

"What's there to be busy about? If you need money, just ask me for it. How can I be shortchanged?"

"How can they be the same? After all, I feel more at ease with what I earn myself. My grandmother used to say that life is not easy when you have to rely on your wealth. Besides, I like cooking. Since Master Li is here, would you like to come into the restaurant and have a seat?"

"I won't sit down, and I won't eat the food you cook."

Li Quanye said this in a fit of anger.

"Then please do as you please, Master Li. I'll be busy now."

Just as I was about to withdraw, he asked me again:

"Did you tell your wife yourself that you didn't want to be my second wife?"

Ji Xu admitted it,

"I'm telling you, I'd rather marry a commoner and live my life with him wholeheartedly than be a lowly wife in an official's family and live a life of dependence."

"That's how narrow-minded you are. I'd rather be a concubine in a rich family than a wife in a poor one. I've also heard about how Manxianglou made things difficult for you. If you had agreed to be my concubine, none of this would have happened."

"Is it easy to be a concubine of the Li family? I've heard of many cases of concubines being given away as concubines. It would be better for me to establish myself here. At least I have freedom and can do what I love. I don't think we can reach an understanding on this matter. If Master Li is here for this matter, please go back."

"Who wants to give it to you? You said so much, it's nothing more than wanting to be the main wife. You are of humble origin, so you are really not up to the standard. If you serve me well, I will raise you as a concubine in the future."

Ji Xu was still talking to Yu Shi. Li Quanye's face changed, his eyes reddened, and he said:

"You know my grandfather is the Minister of Agriculture, in charge of money, grain, rent and taxes. If you don't agree to my will, you can forget about opening this Ping An Restaurant."

"Li Quanye, if you still have any good feelings for me, don't use such despicable means!"

Li Quanye left, saying before he left:

"I'll wait for you to change your mind."

The next day, the mayor of Gao City and his entourage of city officials broke into Ping'an Restaurant and said:

"A customer reported that your restaurant sold unclean food and caused diarrhea. Starting today, the restaurant will be closed for a thorough investigation!"

He drove the diners out of the restaurant without thinking.

Ji Xu wanted to see the guest who had a stomachache, but was rejected. She asked him when and what he had eaten, but was ignored. She understood that this was a case of power being used to oppress people, and she felt very angry.

Tian Dou was so angry that he was in a mess. He stopped this person, saying that he couldn't rob, and pulled that person, saying that he couldn't move.

Candou clenched his fist and said, "How long are you going to investigate?"

The city clerks took away all the food from the kitchen. Among them, the resentful city clerk Lu was particularly arrogant. When he entered the kitchen, he kicked over two baskets of vegetables and stuffed the braised meat into his arms.

"You check the ingredients, why do you steal the money?"

Chen Che'er, who was doing the accounting, held the money box tightly and refused to let go. This was all the money collected today that had not yet been recorded in the account.

He was kicked away by the city clerk Lu, who poured out all the money in the box and divided it up with his colleagues.

Big Yak had come in from the backyard with a basin of washed dishes, but they all snatched them away and smashed them to pieces.

The kitchen was like a forest of locusts, bare and with only a mess left.

"I'll let you know the results when I have them."

The mayor said that when the group left, they released the Five Blessings and Six Valleys who had been pressed underground, drove them outside, closed the gate, and locked the door with a large iron chain from the government.

Qiu Gu stamped her feet in anger:

"The vegetables are picked fresh from the fields by farmers, and the meat is slaughtered fresh from the butchers. Even if there are any leftovers, the owner will give us some to take home and eat. We are never allowed to use them the next day. How can we eat bad people?"

Ji Xu, who had just been driven out, walked out in a daze. It was a hot day, and a group of people stood under the scorching sun. There were spectators surrounding them, pointing and talking at them.

As she listened, she felt a buzzing in her head, and her eyes went dark and she lost consciousness. Shopkeeper Hu, who was in the distance, looked at her with a gloating expression and said:

"Open your shop wide and welcome your customers!"

"Boss!"

"Miss!"

At the Tian family in Sangshu Lane, Jindou went to ask Ma Dao Nun from Baqiao to come and take the patient's pulse and diagnose him.

"Our young lady got angry and collapsed in Gaoshi. Even after drinking soy milk, she still hasn't woken up."

As Jindou spoke, he whipped the oxen harder, shaking Taoist Ma from side to side. Tian was a regular customer of hers. Seeing that she was sweating profusely because of her daughter, she didn't mention those bluffs that tricked people into buying talismans and boiling water to drink. She told the truth:

"She's been working so hard, her body is weak, and she's covered in cold sweat. I'm afraid she's suffered some kind of blow. I'll write a prescription. You guys can get the medicine, boil it, and feed it to her."

"Yes, yes."

Tian was so distressed that she burst into tears and ordered Tian Dou to take the prescription and get the medicine.

The Wei Bridge was crowded with common people, who were there to watch the Han army returning to the capital.

"I heard that we won the battle against the Xiongnu, killed tens of thousands of Xiongnu, and even captured their King Outuo alive!"

"So, can the border market be opened again in the future?"

All that could be heard was the clatter of boots and horses' hooves. The soldiers had won a victory and were coming all the way from Hangu Pass. They were all in high spirits, and the people on the roadside bridges were blocking the way and cheering.

Tian Dou had no intention of watching these things. He squeezed in and finally made it to the pharmacy.

The shop assistant was also standing on a donkey cart, pointing and talking at the Han soldiers. When he heard Tian Dou talking about buying medicine, he pretended not to hear. Tian Dou scolded him:

"Are you deaf? If you don't come down and get me some medicine, I'll tell your boss and he'll skin you alive!"

"What's the rush? Is the rich man's girl so crazy?"

The clerk reluctantly helped her, rummaging through the medicine cabinet to vent his anger, and said,

"No wonder even the Li family was offended."

"You flatterers, forget the time you used to be circling around my house like dogs!"

"Humph, things are different now. We've all heard that your restaurant in Gao City can't open anymore."

The guys looked down on those slaves, thinking they were trying to extort some money from them by showing off, so they just gave them the smooth gold beans in exchange and bought it.

But Tiandou was a stubborn person, so she rushed to the back to call the shopkeeper, and the shopkeeper stopped delaying and gave her the medicine.

Tian Dou made a sound of "Puh" and hurried away with the medicine. After boiling a dose of medicine, Tian fed it to Ji Xu.

Taoist nun Ma continued to give her acupuncture. In the afternoon, Ji Xu suddenly vomited. Tian Shi caught the vomit in a gargle and patted her back to soothe her breathing. She said,

"Just spit it out. Nun Ma said this is the filth in your body. Just spit it out and it will be fine."

Ji Xu was able to sit up and eat a bowl of rice porridge, but he had been feeling lazy for days.

Maybe the tense string broke, I thought too much and ate too little, I was always weak and couldn't get out of bed.

Three days later, Jindou, who had gone to the government office to inquire about the news, came back and still shook his head, saying:

"Or they said they were investigating and sent me away."

That morning, Jindou pushed a wheelbarrow to the store to sell braised food, and then pushed it back the same way. She wiped her tears in anger and said:

"They say someone ate our braised food and got a stomachache, so they won't let us sell it anymore, and they won't even refund our rent for this month."

Jindou was driven back by the local market official, who said she was being forced to sell herself and was then forced to do hard labor.

Not long after this happened, Yindou, who had gone to Huai City to set up a stall, also came back the same way, with the reason that they paid the city tax late. As God knows, they never paid the city rent and taxes late for a single day.

According to Ji Xu's instructions, they often bribed some of the city officials, but they all turned their backs on them and simply refused to allow them to sell anymore. Tian gritted her teeth and cursed:

"This bullying has gone too far. Is there any law left in this world?"

He didn't dare to curse loudly. Ji Xu took medicine in the room before going to bed.

He ordered Jin and Yindou to keep this secret from Ji Xu, fearing that she would get angry after hearing it. He went out by himself and shouted at Xue the market official at Jiaomen.

"Mr. Xue! Mr. Xue!"

Xue, the market clerk, had received many favors from her family. Now he was hiding in the market tower, and Tian scolded him from below:

"Mr. Xue, explain clearly! Who got sick from eating my food? It's clearly you who fabricated this story to bully my widowed mother and her family."

The vendors nearby were pointing and talking. They usually fought each other to the death, but when they saw the Tian family fall into trouble, they felt a little sad, as if the rabbit had died and the fox had grieved for the loss.

"It's all because of the offense against the Li family."

"It used to be a good business, but now they can't sell it anymore."

Jin was also watching there. Her son Ji Huhai was now helping to sell millet rice and meat soup to earn money to repay the loan from Wuyan's family.

Later, Du Xian opened the door and let Tian into the market tower. Xue, the market official, had no choice but to compensate her with two taels of silver.

"You have offended the people above you. How can a mere clerk like me protect you? This is the money your family gave me the other day. I am just returning it to you."

The news that the two stalls in the family were closed spread like wildfire within a day, and the next day, the gate of the yard was blocked by debt collectors.

Jindou and Che'er stopped outside to persuade him. Jindou said:

"It's not the day to settle the bill yet. Is my family usually short of money? Don't be anxious, accountants. Come in and have a cup of tea. We can discuss something."

"We don't want to drink your tea, just give us the money. We will settle the bill so that we can report to our boss."

These accountants held up the account books and said,

"The medicine shop in the east of the city owes ten taels of silver."

"The merchant shop in the direct market owes two hundred taels of silver!"

There are also butcher shops and wine shops... They used to keep accounts on record and settle accounts monthly, but now they have heard the news and come to collect the debts in advance.

Among them, the shops in the direct market owed the most money, which was owed for purchasing utensils, tables and various furnishings for the Ping'an Restaurant.

At that time, all the savings were used to build the building, leaving only a sum of money for working capital, and this large debt was owed. At that time, Ping'an Restaurant was very popular, and it was rumored that the Li family was its backer, so they were able to keep such a large account. Now, of course, they can't do that.

The noise outside reached the east wing. Ji Xu asked what was going on. Tian Shi was still trying to hide it, fearing that she would be upset after hearing it. So she said:

"There's been a troupe of jugglers hanging around here lately. Maybe the neighbors are just here to watch the fun. I took my medicine first."

Ji Xu had just taken the medicine when he saw Jindou peeking at the door, as if he had something to say to Tian.

Ji Xu called her in and said, Jin Dou just glanced at Tian Shi, and she knew something was wrong.

"Don't look at my mother, what's going on outside?"

Jindou was unable to stop her and had to tell her everything. Jixu was so anxious that she spat out the medicine. Tian was there massaging her back and wiping her mouth.

"I said you're still sick, don't worry about these things. What if you throw up the medicine you just took? The money shouldn't be paid back now, so they're right to come and ask for it early? I say, just lock the door and ignore them."

"Mother, I'm fine. Staying indoors isn't the right approach. Jindou, let them in and have Che'er bring the account books."

Ji Xu forced himself to go out, holding the money box, and met these officials in the hall.