night.
The old family had a rule of not speaking while eating or sleeping, but the second courtyard was relaxed and leisurely, with everyone eating and chatting, sharing the day's events.
Jiang Sheng and Zheng Ruqian were the main force, Xu Mo and Chang Yan responded occasionally, and the others acted as loyal listeners.
When asked about the clinic's patients today, Wen Zhiyun rarely spoke up, saying, "There's something I don't know whether I should say or not."
“You’ve already asked, how can I not tell you?” Jiang Sheng rested her chin on her hand. “Fourth Brother just loves to keep us in suspense.”
“Yes, yes, Xiao Si has gone astray,” Zheng Ruqian chimed in.
Wen Zhiyun smiled and said, "That's right. The patient not only had diarrhea, but I also found undigested jujube cake in his vomit."
Xu Mo, who had just picked up a piece of jujube cake, froze, silently put the cake back, and replaced it with vegetables.
Theoretically speaking, jujube cake is not uncommon; there are three shops selling it at the intersection of Guangtian Street.
However, the fact that the patient appeared near the Wen family's medical clinic, and in such a disheveled state, is worth pondering.
"You guys said you felt like someone was following you today?" Chang Yan suddenly spoke up.
Jiang Sheng nodded quickly.
Xu Mo, who was standing to the side, put down his chopsticks and asked, "Xiao Wu, do you think this patient is unusual?"
It is really difficult to make any inferences based on just a few words.
But Changyan felt something was wrong. "Even if he didn't eat the jujube cake from Jiuzhenfang, as long as he fell in front of Jiuzhenfang and blamed Jiuzhenfang, this stain can't be washed away."
“But he was found in an alley,” Zheng Ruqian questioned.
This is the key reason why things don't connect: someone trying to slander Jiuzhenfang wouldn't run into an alley and collapse from exhaustion.
Unless he miscalculated when the laxative took effect, or something else held him back.
However, this does lead to a good question.
"If someone really uses such despicable methods to slander Jiuzhenfang, Second Brother, have you thought about how to resolve this?" Changyan turned his head and asked seriously.
Zheng Ruqian's mind went blank for a moment.
This is far more malicious than poisoning, changing raw materials, or even spreading rumors.
Even if it's proven that he has no connection with Jiuzhenfang, being covered in excrement and urine is enough to drive away most of the customers.
The pastries in the shop would also get covered in dust, making it difficult for new customers to come.
"Too ruthless, too disgusting," Xu Mo commented, "but extremely useful."
Anything related to food can be precisely targeted with the word "disgusting".
Zheng Ruqian's face turned ashen. "Just because of lychees, even Jiuzhenfang is being targeted."
But he absolutely refused to give up the lychee business for the sake of Jiuzhenfang.
"Isn't there a way to satisfy both sides? Are those who make food just supposed to stand by and watch others slander them?" Jiang Sheng lamented.
Chang Yan was silent for a moment, then said, "It's not that there's no way, it's just..."
She was only slightly naked.
After whispering among themselves for a while, the siblings finally came to an agreement.
Zhang Xianglian brought the hot soup to the table, and Jiang Sheng held the bowl and sipped it lightly. "Has my elder brother encountered any trouble at the Imperial Academy recently?"
Compared to the Fang family, the Liao family was only a little dirtier.
What truly sends chills down your spine is the Fang family.
"I don't think so," Xu Mo hesitated for a moment, "It's still relatively calm."
Only then did everyone feel relieved.
the next day.
A sheet of Xuan paper, personally written by Xu Mo, hangs in front of Jiuzhenfang. It reads in black and white, "Due to malicious competition and slander against our store, which may cause trouble, all pastries will be discounted by 10%."
Such earth-shattering words would be considered explosive anywhere.
There's a lot of competition from peers, and there's malicious competition, but most of us are holding back and trying to outdo each other. I've never seen anything written so casually.
Some people in Fengjing were curious, while others were drawn by the discounts. As a result, business at Jiuzhenfang not only did not worsen, but became even more crowded.
Zheng Ruqian led Jiang Sheng outside to admire the scene, saying, "Xiao Wu is truly amazing; that move is absolutely brilliant."
By publicly announcing that the shop is being targeted, any unexpected incident would be labeled as "malicious competition and defamation." The people of Fengjing would not dislike Jiuzhenfang; instead, they would feel sympathy for it.
That's wonderful, wonderful!
As for the discount, it was Zheng Ruqian's idea. He believed that since a notice had been posted, the benefits should be genuine and substantial, while also preventing the possibility of being falsely accused – such as slandering Jiuzhenfang for being sensationalist.
Jiang Sheng wholeheartedly agreed.
For the next period of time, whether it was the Jiang family's warning that had an effect or the Xuan paper that was too intimidating, the Liao family did not take any action.
Time slipped from May to June, and the second batch of lychees from Lingnan was due to arrive.
Many prominent families have placed orders during this period. Needless to say, the Yao family placed orders for thirty catties, and the Qi, Zhao, and He families have also placed orders. If the third batch hadn't followed closely behind, Jiuzhenfang wouldn't have dared to accept them.
For this reason, Zheng Ruqian was very tense and would go to the official road whenever he had a spare moment to look around, hoping for the arrival of the lychee cart.
"Do you think the Liao family will stop my lychees halfway?" He waited for a long time and began to get a little impatient.
Changyan put down his carving knife, blew out a shaving of wood, and said, "If Second Brother is worried, why don't you take Jiang San and Jiang Si to meet him for a while?"
The route from Lingnan to Fengjing is all official road, with a considerable number of travelers. Even if the Liao family were to take action, they might not be able to accurately locate the lychee cart from Jiuzhenfang in the crowd.
But Zheng Ruqian was just stomping his feet at home in vain. He might as well find Wang Xiaosong and the others sooner so he could finally put his mind at ease.
"Okay." Zheng Lao Er responded to Xiao Wudi's suggestion almost without hesitation.
He packed up with Jiang San and Jiang Si, and even took Jiang Sheng with them. The brother and sister set off towards Lingnan.
It took about half a day for the carriage to gradually leave the territory of Fengjing and begin to border Sichuan and Chongqing.
There were noticeably fewer horse-drawn carriages on the roads, and most pedestrians were dressed in distinctive, colorful clothes that were particularly eye-catching.
Jiang Sheng stared wide-eyed with curiosity, but dared not speak.
Zheng Ruqian was almost going crazy. "It's been nineteen days since they left. We've been traveling for half a day and we're almost in this area. Why can't we see them?"
Especially as the sun sets and visibility decreases, if he can no longer see Wang Xiaosong and the others, he will have to turn back to Beijing to prevent them from missing each other.
Fortunately, Jiang Sheng had sharp eyes and pointed to the overturned carriage in front, "That person, isn't that Brother Xiaosong?"
Zheng Ruqian's heart sank. He spurred the carriage forward and stopped a little further away.
I ran over in a few steps, and there stood Wang Xiaosong, standing there in a daze.
"Xiao Song!" Zheng Ruqian gritted his teeth in hatred. "Where's the lychee? Where's the lychee?"
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