Chapter 173 It’s Not Over Yet

"I greet Master Shao and pay my respects to him."

The word "official" is so important that even Master Zeng, who is so majestic and flattered by countless people outside, has to kneel down obediently when he sees Master Shao.

Master Shao smiled and said, "Master Zeng, you've come just in time. You should hear about this, too. Go ahead and tell us."

Master Shao pointed to the followers around him.

The attendant nodded and told the shopkeeper everything he had done.

Young Master Zeng's cheek muscles trembled violently: Is my uncle crazy?

He said that I should not interfere and he had his own ideas. Is this a bad idea?

"Master Shao"

"What does Master Zeng think should be done with your uncle?"

Young Master Zeng gritted his teeth and said, "Master, this matter was caused by my uncle's confusion. My uncle is easily deceived and must have been instigated by his servants. My uncle definitely doesn't know these rogues, let alone have any contact with them. They must have been sent by his servants. My uncle didn't know people well and misunderstood what they said, which is why he almost did something stupid. Fortunately, Madam Xu didn't suffer any loss!"

"We at Sifang Restaurant will no longer accept that ice jelly recipe. This incident frightened Madam Xu, so we will compensate her with one hundred taels of silver and pay a fine of three hundred taels. We will never again listen to one side of the story or give people the wrong impression that we are bullying the market or forcing people to buy or sell. Master Shao, please give us a chance to mend our ways."

Master Shao smiled and said, "Young Master Zeng is eloquent and impartial. For the sake of the Zeng family, let's leave it at that."

"Thank you, Master Shao! Thank you so much, Master Shao!"

Shopkeeper Fang also breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay, okay, I won't get beaten."

Shao Shiye continued, "Madam Xu has already presented this recipe to the county magistrate's wife. Don't even think about not trying to steal it. Even if you wanted to, it's not your turn."

Shopkeeper Fang and Young Master Zeng were secretly shocked and their faces turned pale.

Shopkeeper Fang secretly cursed him for being cunning, while Young Master Zeng was shocked that Xu Zhichun had the ability to hook up with the county magistrate's wife. If they had known this would happen, they would not have -

Forget it, there's no point saying anything.

Master Shao ordered his men to arrest all ten hooligans, gave each of them twenty lashes of the stick, and after giving them a lesson, they were released.

The matter was settled.

However, only the government and Xu Zhichun had dealt with it, but the Zeng family had not.

Xu Zhichun earned one hundred taels of silver. Everyone who should know knew the recipe for the ice jelly. She presented it to the county magistrate's wife, and no one dared to covet it anymore.

Many people asked if we could sell some to them as well.

The answer is of course no.

The quantity of agar-agar seeds is limited, and even if fewer are sold in winter, they will not be out of stock.

After all, this ice jelly is not like osmanthus cake and mung bean cake that can be bought in any teahouse or pastry shop. It is unique and there will always be someone buying it.

She had to cheat just to supply Tang Shopkeeper, so how could she supply anyone else? Moreover, she had signed a contract with Tang Shopkeeper.

Shopkeeper Fang and Young Master Zeng returned home in disgrace.

Madam Zeng hurriedly pulled Shopkeeper Fang up to look him over. Seeing that he hadn't been beaten or suffered any harm, she finally breathed a sigh of relief and angrily complained, "Who on earth could have done such a wicked thing? Why would they harm you out of the blue?"

Young Master Zeng looked at his mother helplessly and said, "Mom, let's go inside and talk."

He went into the house and dismissed the servants, leaving only one or two trusted confidants to serve him.

After Manager Fang drank a few sips of hot tea, his blood flowed faster and his fear and panic gradually faded away. Instead, he felt embarrassed and angry because he had lost face.

"Who else could it be? Isn't it your good concubine's daughter? Isn't it that damned girl Zeng Xiaoyan! If she had treated me as an elder, if she had cared about the Zeng family, things wouldn't have turned out like this."

"Why is it her again?" Madam Zeng was filled with disgust and anger. "What did that little bitch do again? She's getting more and more outrageous!"

Shopkeeper Fang sneered and began to distort the truth and exaggerate the facts.

Zeng Xiaoyan knew that Bingfen would be a hit, but she didn't tell him and instead helped the Lotus Restaurant win the prize. He wanted to buy the Bingfen recipe from Madam Xu, but Zeng Xiaoyan interfered. He was desperate to boost his restaurant's business and strike a blow against the increasingly complacent Lotus Restaurant, so he bribed a few people to persuade Madam Xu to sell the Bingfen recipe.

Zeng Xiaoyan didn't tell him that Madam Xu had somehow managed to curry favor with the county magistrate's wife and had already presented her with the ice jelly recipe.

Look, all those who went to persuade Madam Xu were arrested by the government, and they gave him away, and he was also taken away for questioning.

This time I lost all my face and lost several hundred taels of silver in vain. It was all the fault of that damn girl Zeng Xiaoyan.

Madam Fang was furious and immediately ordered Nanny Fang: "Go now and tell that damn girl to come back, come back immediately!"

"Mother," Young Master Zeng, with a splitting headache, stopped her, "please calm down."

He didn't dare to expose his uncle's behavior in front of his mother.

Although Zeng Xiaoyan was not innocent in this matter, her uncle was obviously exaggerating and not telling the truth.

Recently, Master Zeng's heart has been hit hard one after another.

I thought that my close relatives were so hideous and behaved so absurdly.

"Mother, no matter what, this matter involves the county magistrate's wife, so we need to think it through carefully. If we call Xiaoyan back now to teach her a lesson, and people find out that we're unhappy with how this matter was handled and with the county magistrate's wife, I'm afraid there will be more trouble."

Shopkeeper Fang said with a smile: "Mingguan, when did you become so close to that damn girl? It's really rare for you to speak up for her."

Madam Zeng frowned and glared at her son. "Even the county magistrate's wife cannot interfere in the affairs of my Zeng family. It is only natural for me to discipline my own concubine's daughter. Madam Fang, hurry up and go."

"Yes, ma'am."

Nanny Fang was full of fighting spirit and went there with two strong maids.

She was almost furious when she heard her uncle say that. How could the Third Miss be so bold? Did she still take the Madam, her legitimate mother, seriously? If she wasn't taught a lesson, she would definitely rebel!

Young Master Zeng was powerless to stop it. He was angry and disgusted, and felt that his uncle's face was distorted and extremely hideous.

"By the way, uncle, those ten hooligans have admitted their fault, but I'm sure you know what kind of people they are. I'm afraid they won't give up after being beaten. They will definitely come back to ask for benefits from you. What do you plan to do?"

Shopkeeper Fang glared at him angrily: "What do you mean? Why are you saying this at this time? Are you doing this on purpose?"

Mrs. Zeng asked hurriedly, "Thugs? Ten? What's going on?"

She couldn't help but scold Shopkeeper Fang: "Those dirty and vulgar things are not good. You should avoid associating with them. Even if they flatter you, they just want to take your money."

-——

There is nothing wrong with the lawyer's handling of the matter. It is reasonable to beat up and teach a lesson the thieves who have threatened, intimidated, and forced them to buy something, and then let them go. It is impossible to let them stay in jail for the rest of their lives.

(End of this chapter)