The man looked at the bamboo pillow he had brought and saw that it was indeed different from the one on the stall. It wasn't just the plum blossom mark that was different; even the feel of it was different. But now that things had escalated to this point, he was absolutely not going to apologize. Besides, the injury on his child's face had cost him several tens of coins. With that thought, his attitude hardened again.
"I don't care about any of that. This bamboo pillow belongs to your family. You have to pay for it today, whether you want to or not..."
Han Yiyi's face darkened when she saw that the man was acting aggressively. Da Niu saw that the man looked like he really wanted to fight, and thinking that Han Yiyi had only gotten into the conflict with this man to help him, he was worried that she would get hurt, so he mustered up his courage and took a few steps forward, standing in front of Han Yiyi.
“Brother, you can’t provide any evidence that you bought this item from us, and you don’t believe the evidence we provide. In that case, we’ll go to the yamen and let the official judge this. If it’s proven that you didn’t buy this item from us, you’ll not only have to apologize to us, but you’ll also have to pay for my brother’s medical expenses…”
As Han Yiyi spoke, she bent down to pick up the bamboo pillow on the ground, seemingly intending to report it to the authorities.
When the woman behind the man saw Han Yiyi's actions and heard her say that she was going to report to the authorities, she was worried that things would get out of hand, so her face turned even paler. She tugged at the man's sleeve and whispered to him.
"Honey, I didn't buy it here..."
At this moment, the woman was talking to the man, and Da Niu saw the woman's appearance and recognized her, so he spoke up directly.
“I remember you. You didn’t buy this bamboo pillow from me at all. You came to ask the price, said it was too expensive, and then left…”
The woman originally bought the bull from the vendor because it was cheap and she thought the bull was too expensive, but when she got home, her child was cut.
The reason she chose the cheaper one was that she ran into her brother with her nephew on the street and spent five coins to buy a sugar figurine. However, when she went out to buy a bamboo pillow, her husband gave her twenty coins. She didn't want her husband to know that she had spent money on her family again, so she bought the cheaper one.
She originally thought all bamboo pillows were the same, which is why she didn't stop her husband from causing trouble for Da Niu. She thought that Da Niu would pay compensation and the matter would be resolved. But who knew that not only did the other party have evidence to prove that the items were different, but they also wanted to report it to the yamen. Ordinary people have an instinctive fear of stewards, so she told the truth.
Although the woman spoke softly, several people nearby still heard her. Upon hearing his wife's words, the man slapped her across the face, then grabbed the child without a word and prepared to leave.
"Brother, wait a minute. You wronged my brother, hit his chin with a bamboo pillow, and were about to leave like this."
"What do you want..." The man stopped in his tracks when he heard Han Yiyi's words, but the anger on his face did not dissipate at all as he stared straight at Han Yiyi.
Han Yiyi was still a little scared by the man's gaze. After all, her small frame couldn't withstand a punch from him. At this moment, Da Niu tugged at Han Yiyi's sleeve and whispered something.
"Sister Yi, it's alright, it's just a small scratch, it's nothing serious..."
Han Yiyi, however, believed that kindness was often taken advantage of. If they let it go today, someone might come looking for trouble again in a few days. So she exhaled, looked up into the man's eyes, and spoke.
"Apologize to my brother and compensate him for his medical expenses..."
Looking at Han Yiyi, the man felt that Han Yiyi's demeanor was not what a peasant woman should have. He narrowed his eyes slightly, turned to Da Niu and said sorry. Then he took out a string of copper coins from his sleeve and threw them to Da Niu. Then he left without looking back.
The woman who had been slapped to the ground by the man saw him leave, quickly got up, ignoring the pointing and whispering of the people around her, and hurried after him.
After the woman left, Han Yiyi heard the two women next to her talking, and one of them spoke up.
"Sigh, Guo Da's wife has fallen into her old habits again. In the past, she always took her family's money back to her parents' home to give to her brother, which is why Guo Da wouldn't give her a single penny. I never expected that she would do something like this again today for her brother's sake..."
"Yes, who can argue with that..."
Han Yi listened to their conversation. As a woman, she felt no sympathy for the woman who had just been slapped. She felt that no matter what, she shouldn't let others pay for her mistakes.
After the woman left, the onlookers also left. Da Niu gripped the string of copper coins in his hand tightly, his fingertips turning white. Suddenly, he looked up at Han Yiyi and said.
"Sister Yi, I'm sorry, it's all my fault..."
Han Yiyi then noticed that Da Niu's eyes were red, filled with guilt and self-blame.
Han Yiyi understood Da Niu's feelings. He was only fourteen years old and had hardly ever left the village. It was normal for him to be a little scared when he suddenly encountered such a thing. Besides, when he saw the man was about to make a move, he stood in front of Han Yiyi. So she smiled and said.
"It's okay. This is the first time something like this has happened. You've done a great job. Don't blame yourself..."
Han Yi was about to say a few words of comfort to Da Niu when a man's voice rang out in front of him.
"Excuse me, ma'am, is this stall yours...?"
Upon hearing the voice, Han Yiyi saw a man in his thirties standing in front of her, who was smiling at her.
When Han Yi heard the man address her, she inwardly cried out. She was only twenty years old, yet a man in his thirties was calling her "big sister." She thought to herself, "You're the big sister! Your whole family are big sisters!" But then she thought about her face and realized that he was already being very polite by not calling her "auntie." So she forced a smile and replied.
"Yes, this is my stall. Sir, are you looking to buy some braised food? But I've already sold out for today. If you need some, I'll save some for you tomorrow..."
"No, no need for braised food. I am the manager of Yunlai Restaurant. My surname is Tong. May I ask your surname, madam?"
Upon hearing the identity of the visitor, Han Yiyi's eyes flickered. She knew about Yunlai Restaurant; it was the largest restaurant in Ping'an Town. So she quickly replied with a smile.
"Hello, Manager Tong. My surname is Han, but you can call me Han Yiyi. May I ask what brings you here, Manager Tong...?"
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