Chapter 44
The next day, Fan Changyu got up early as usual to kill the pig.
During the two days after the New Year, most people in the town visit relatives and have meat to eat almost every meal. With too much fat in their stomachs, they don’t crave meat much, so the fresh pork in the shops doesn’t sell very well. The brine business is booming, and every household is willing to buy ready-made brine to take home and entertain guests. It also gives them face by serving it as a main dish at the table.
In the past, Fan Changyu's shop could sell two pigs' worth of fresh meat, but these past two days he only slaughtered one pig to sell.
As for the brined meat to be supplied to Yixianglou, it was all meat she bought from other places. On that street where pork was sold, almost all the pig heads and pig feet were bought by Fan Changyu.
She was no longer just a competitor to the butchers, but had also become a major customer for them. In order to establish long-term business with her, all the butchers on the entire street would smile when they saw her on weekdays, and would greet her more enthusiastically than before.
If she encountered any difficulties in the shop, she only had to open her mouth and a group of people would come to help her.
Fan Changyu suddenly understood why some people in the town, in order to curry favor with the Song family, tried their best to step on Song Yan after she passed the imperial examination.
It was exactly as Yan Zheng said. When she had nothing, no matter how good her temper was, others would be able to find fault with her.
And if she only had a little connection with the rich and powerful, she would receive many times more kindness than before.
Everything was moving in a good direction, except that Fan Changyu now had to deliver meat to Yixianglou and the fat shopkeeper, and also look after his own pork shop, so he was really overwhelmed.
It's not easy to find a helper in a short time.
While having breakfast, she looked at Xie Zheng, wanting to say something but stopping herself.
Xie Zheng didn't sleep well last night, and the dark circles under his eyes became more serious. After noticing Fan Changyu's frequent glances at him, he put down his bowl of porridge and asked, "What's wrong?"
Fan Changyu only then noticed that his eye circles were darker than before, and was dumbfounded. He asked, "Did you not sleep all night?"
Xie Zheng lowered his eyes and said, "No, there was a sound of a mouse in the room last night, and it took some time to find it."
There was indeed a mouse, but he killed it with a bamboo stick and threw it to the Saker Falcon.
When Fan Changyu heard the word "rat", he thought of the bacon hanging above his own fire pit and immediately became worried. He hurriedly got up to check, but found no signs that it had been eaten by rats, so he felt relieved.
She said: "In the past, my family didn't have so much brine and bacon. We bought fresh meat directly. There weren't many mice at home. It was my negligence. I have to catch a cat and raise it later."
Changning had finished her meal and went to the chicken coop to look at the Saker Falcon. She burst into tears and said, "The Saker Falcon is gone again!"
Fan Changyu was also a little puzzled: "Flew away again?"
The two sisters looked at Xie Zheng at the same time.
Someone was silent for a moment and said, "That creature is wild and hard to tame. Maybe it has not been tamed yet."
The golden beans in Changning's eyes suddenly fell down one after another.
Fan Changyu said helplessly: "Be good, stop crying. I'll raise a nest of chicks for you in the spring, okay?"
Chang Ning was still crying: "I don't want a chicken, I want a falcon!"
She wiped her eyes with her sleeve: "Falcon will come back!"
After she finished speaking, she looked at Xie Zheng with expectant eyes.
This time, Xie Zheng did not give her a definite answer, but only said, "Maybe he will come back."
Changning suddenly clenched her lips and cried even more sadly.
Fan Changyu coaxed her: "How about we go to the wild and catch another one?"
Chang Ning shook his head: "I don't want anything else, just Falcon."
Fan Changyu knew that a stubborn child would test one's patience, so she said, "The gyrfalcon has already flown away. It is adapted to live in the wild, and I can't find it. All I can do is that if you still want another one, I will go to the wild and catch one for you, but you don't want it and just keep crying. Ning Niang, tell me, what can I do?"
Chang Ning sniffed in grievance, raised her fat hands and hugged Fan Changyu: "I'm sorry, sister, Ning Niang is not willful, Ning Niang just can't bear to leave Falcon."
Fan Changyu patted the child on the back.
Chang Ning buried his head in her shoulder and said in a low voice, "It's spring time, let's raise a kid."
Fan Changyu agreed.
Chang Ning stood up straight, and said with red eyes: "The chicken has grown up. If a falcon flies over and sees it, it can come down and eat it."
Fan Changyu thought he had coaxed the child: "...Okay."
Anyway, the child finally stopped crying.
Fan Changyu sat down at the table again, and finished his remaining half bowl of porridge with mixed feelings. Thinking of the shortage of staff in his butcher shop, he nodded and asked Xie Zheng: "Will you catch up on some sleep later?"
When Xie Zheng hesitated to speak before her, he saw that she seemed to want to ask him for help, so he said, "What is it? Just tell me."
Fan Changyu said shamelessly: "My pork shop is open today, but I still have to deliver salted pork to Mr. Yu's wine shop. If you are free, can you help me look after the shop for a while? I will be back after delivering the goods."
Although he had just said he wanted to leave last night, it didn't seem right to ask for help at this time, but Fan Changyu really couldn't handle it all by himself, so he could only squeeze him first.
Xie Zheng nodded, and Fan Changyu breathed a sigh of relief.
If he refused, no matter how thick-skinned she was, she would probably still feel embarrassed.
She had improved a bit in social skills and no longer mentioned wages. After all, people were willing to help her out of a favor, and if she asked for wages, she would undoubtedly be trampling on this favor.
If you really want to thank him, you might as well prepare more things for him before he leaves. This kind of silent gratitude afterwards is the real way to repay a favor, rather than promising all kinds of benefits like making a deal right from the start.
She and Xie Zheng were both going out, and Fan Changyu was worried about Changning being alone at home, so she sent Changning to Aunt Zhao's house next door as she did in the past.
Afterwards, he stopped an ox cart outside the alley and delivered the fresh meat to Fan's butcher shop.
The meat alone was heavy enough, so Fan Changyu and Xie Zheng did not take a car, but followed the ox cart all the way to the shop.
Xie Zheng had been in this town for a long time, but this was the first time he had seen the morning market here. It was not as prosperous as the one in the capital, but it was unexpectedly lively.
In front of the breakfast shops and the stoves, there was steam rising. The cries of hawkers and shouts mixed with the hustle and bustle of traffic. People came and went in a hurry. It was the atmosphere of human life and the vitality of this town.
When they arrived at the shop, Fan Changyu had just brought down a pot of salted pork when Xie Zheng followed suit and brought down all the fresh pork.
Fan Changyu took a look and couldn't help but sigh in his heart that it was indeed a lot easier to have someone to help.
After she put the brine basin in place, she placed the fresh meat on the chopping board and told Xie Zheng which part of the meat it was and how much it cost.
The butcher's wife in the butcher shop across the street saw how good-looking Xie Zheng was and joked, "Changyu, you finally brought your husband out for everyone to see! Such a handsome young man! No wonder you kept him at home all this time!"
Fan Changyu was used to being teased by Yu Qianqian, so when she heard others teasing her and Xie Zheng, she was not so shameless and said, "Auntie, you are joking. He had been recuperating at home before, and he has recovered recently. I was too busy, so he came to the shop to help me."
The butcher's wife knew that Xie Zheng was Fan Changyu's son-in-law, so she dared to make such a joke. She was a generation older than Fan Changyu and knew that many sons-in-law would be sensitive about their identities. Her joke might even cause the young couple to quarrel when they returned home.
After hearing Fan Changyu's serious explanation, he immediately changed his tone: "Auntie, that was just a joke, little brother, please don't mind it."
Xie Zheng said: "No."
The butcher's wife added: "In the past, Changyu worked alone inside and outside this shop. Now that she is married, she has someone who can help her."
Xie Zheng helped put the pork on the table. He glanced at Fan Changyu who was scraping the pork rump onto the iron hook without saying a word.
Although it was a severe winter, she was wearing thick winter clothes and her forehead was already sweating a lot.
In the past, she came to the butcher shop by herself and did almost everything by herself.
"Pork butt is 35 wen per pound. If someone bargains, the lowest price cannot be lower than 30 wen..." Fan Changyu explained the price. After hanging up the pork, he turned around and saw Xie Zheng looking at him. He frowned and asked, "Didn't you remember?"
Xie Zheng looked back and said, "I'll remember that."
Fan Changyu was a little suspicious and asked worriedly, "What did I just say?"
Xie Zheng smiled slightly and said, "Pork rump meat is thirty-five cents a pound. You can't bargain for less than thirty cents."
Fan Changyu nodded and said, "That's it."
As they were talking, a woman who was buying vegetables passed by the shop and saw Xie Zheng standing in the pork shop. He looked really eye-catching and asked, "Young man, how much do you sell your hind leg meat?"
Fan Changyu said nothing, wanting to see how Xie Zheng sold meat.
When Xie Zheng looked at the lady, he answered calmly, "Thirty-three cents a pound."
The old lady muttered: "It's so expensive..."
Xie Zheng half raised his eyes and didn't say anything, which seemed to indicate that if you want to buy it, then buy it, and if you don't want to buy it, he won't persuade you any more.
Fan Changyu's eyelids jumped when he saw this, and he hurriedly said, "You can go to other shops to have a look first, and then come back to buy this meat if you think it's good."
The old lady said that just to bargain. Seeing that she couldn't bargain down the price and that the meat looked really good, she said, "I think you two young people are honest and would not cheat an old woman like me. Give me two pounds."
When Fan Changyu was about to pick up the knife, he saw Xie Zheng beside him had already picked up the knife. He estimated that he had cut off a piece, which was exactly two kilograms.
Fan Changyu wrapped the meat and gave it to the old lady. As she counted the copper coins, she kept looking at Xie Zheng's face and asked, "Are you married, young man? If not, I have a granddaughter who is only seventeen this year. She looks good and has a good personality..."
Xie Zheng said calmly: "This butcher shop belongs to my wife. I came here to help her."
The old lady suddenly felt a little embarrassed, "Is that so..."
She looked at Fan Changyu. After all, he was already several decades old, so he still had the wit to smooth things over. She smiled and said, "You two young couple, the man is handsome and the woman is pretty. At first glance, I thought you were brother and sister. So you look like a couple? You are so lucky!"
Fan Changyu could only curl the corners of his lips as a token of his appreciation.
As soon as the old lady left, she couldn't help scolding Xie Zheng: "No matter what, you have to greet people with a smile when doing business. You have a stern face as if someone owes you money. Who would buy your meat?"
As he was talking, a young girl who was buying food looked at Xie Zheng and asked with a red face, "How much are these spare ribs?"
Xie Zheng's face remained expressionless: "Thirty-nine cents a pound."
Spare ribs are the most expensive fresh meat.
The young girl didn't dare to look at Xie Zheng. She lowered her head and blushed as she murmured, "I want three pounds. Help me chop it into small pieces."
Xie Zheng picked up the chopping knife, chopped the ribs in a few strokes, packed them up and passed them over.
Fan Changyu was stunned watching from the side.
In order to make counting easier, people would string together a hundred coins with a string, which would be convenient for both parties when buying and selling things.
Xie Zheng took the 117 documents and handed them to Fan Changyu, who was still a little confused.
Then I slowly accepted the fact that other people sell pork with their mouth, but this guy sells pork with his face.
She held her forehead with one hand and said half-jokingly, "I should have asked you to come to the shop to help earlier. Maybe my business before the New Year would be even better."
Xie Zheng glanced at her but didn't answer.
It was still early, and there were few people buying vegetables at the market. The butcher shop nearby was deserted, and only Fan's butcher shop had already done two orders.
Although other butchers were also very jealous, Fan Changyu would still go to their shops to buy pig heads and pig feet when he made brine, and occasionally buy offal, as a way of taking care of their business, so no one was jealous.
Butcher Guo and Fan Changyu's family have had a long-standing grudge. Even if Fan Changyu wants to buy meat, it is impossible for him to buy the meat from his shop, and the two families are becoming increasingly hostile.
As he was clearing the snow in front of his shop, he shoveled the snow onto the street and said in a sinister tone, "You really want to sell meat. Why do you come here? Wouldn't it be better to sell it in the shabby houses?"
It was nothing more than a satire on Xie Zheng who relied on his good looks to attract many people to buy meat from Fan's shop.
Fan Changyu's face darkened immediately.
She was the most protective person. Xie Zheng had married her in order to help her save her family property. It was fine if others made fun of his status as a son-in-law behind her back, but now they were gossiping right under her nose, and what they said were all mean words! How could she tolerate this!
What's more, her uncle had recently helped Fan Daxiang in an attempt to divide up her family property. Adding new grudges and old hatreds to the mix, it's time to settle the accounts!
Fan Changyu walked out of his butcher shop and stood in the middle of the street, looking at Guo the butcher: "Say what you just said again."
Her shout attracted the attention of all the shop owners on the street and the few pedestrians buying vegetables.
Guo the butcher had suffered at the hands of Fan Changyu, so he didn't dare confront her directly. He just said, "What did I say? Oh, just now a kiln girl and a rabbit man walked by on the road flirting with each other. I was wondering where the kiln girl and the rabbit man were. Why did you, Miss Fan, rush over to get scolded?"
Just as he finished speaking, he was hit hard on the jaw with a stick. The force was so great that Guo the Butcher staggered back several steps and only managed to steady himself after he bumped into the counter in the shop.
He covered his jaw with one hand, and felt as if his two rows of teeth were stuck together. His mouth was filled with the smell of blood, and he couldn't utter a word for a long time. He pointed at Fan Changyu with his other hand, but before he could say anything, he raised his head to meet Fan Changyu's cold eyes.
She only said two words coldly: "Apologize."
Guo the butcher endured the sharp pain from his jaw, spat out a mouthful of blood foam, and then became furious. He said, "I didn't say anything about you and your pretty husband. You came here to admit it yourself. Why should I apologize?"
Fan Changyu was too lazy to waste words with him and thrust the long stick in his hand forward again. Guo the butcher was so scared that he quickly dodged. The long stick had no tip, but it pierced through the wooden board on the cabinet door with its strong strength.
One can't help but wonder, if it was the forehead, the long stick in her hand might have pierced a bloody hole.
Guo the butcher was so frightened that his buttocks trembled. He said sternly, "How dare you touch me? My uncle is the county magistrate's assistant. If the case is brought, you will be put in jail for life!"
Fan Changyu said, "Do you believe that before your uncle, the master, gets here, I can first twist your head off and feed it to the dog as a food bowl?"
When it comes to bullying, Guo the Butcher is really no match for her, and he immediately looks a little unhappy.
Fan Changyu shouted again: "Apologize!"
Guo the butcher was extremely reluctant, but looking at the long stick pointed at his face, he could only grit his teeth and say in front of everyone, "I'm sorry."
Fan Changyu took back his long stick and snorted coldly: "People say that eunuchs love to gossip. Your ability to gossip is even better than that of the eunuch! What's the point of being jealous of my butcher shop's business? With your ability, you should go to the palace and become a chief eunuch. It would be a shame for your tongue that can say black and white!"
The onlookers burst into laughter.
The butchers in other butcher shops also had their smiles on their faces.
"Empress? Don't even mention it. Guo looks strong on the outside but weak on the inside. Who knows, he might be a really inhumane person!"
"I heard that his son looks like his cousin. Maybe his son is a borrowed child!"
"Didn't everyone say in private that his wife was cheating on him? God has mercy on her. She has been criticized and scolded in secret for so long. It turns out that it's not his wife who is a coward, but he himself is useless!"
"He is a tall and strong man, how come that thing doesn't work?"
"It is said that when he was killing a pig, he failed to hold it down while struggling, and the pig fell to the ground, and the pig stepped on it!"
Guo the butcher listened to the onlookers talking, his face flushed with anger, veins bulging under his neck, "What are you talking about? Believe it or not, I'll chop you to death one by one!"
The onlookers stayed far away, but the discussions continued.
"Looking at him like this, it's clear that he's been poked in the sore spot. Could it be true?"
"I was wondering why he, a grown man, could be so talkative and always scold the handsome young man for being a bunny. Turns out he is a bunny himself!"
The rumors became more and more outrageous, and the angrier Guo the butcher got at the onlookers, the more people made up stories for him that were more convincing.
In the end, Guo the butcher could only stare at Fan Changyu with hatred: "Just wait for me!"
Fan Changyu didn't even want to look at him anymore, and just said, "When you talk about other people's gossip, your mouth is as filthy as it can be. When it's your turn to be framed, do you know how uncomfortable it is?"
Yan Ji then picked up the stick and returned to his butcher shop.
After listening to all those people talking, Guo the butcher had no mood to continue doing business today, so he simply closed the door and hid at home.
After Fan Changyu entered the shop, he said to Xie Zheng with a bit of apology: "I'm sorry, you're about to leave, and I let you be framed by that Guo guy."
He had seen her defending him outside just now, and Xie Zheng just said, "It's okay."
The look in his eyes was somewhat complicated.
Fan Changyu said: "He just relies on his uncle who is a teacher. When the county magistrate's term is up and he is transferred away, his uncle will be nothing!"
After the fight, the cloth straps tied around her cuffs loosened.
Fan Changyu frowned, untied the belt and tied it up again. In order to tie it tighter, he bit one end of the belt with his teeth, and with his other hand, he clumsily tied the belt around his sleeve.
Although the cuffs of her winter coat were narrower than her summer coat, it was still inconvenient to use them for work. In addition, she often used a knife to chop bones, so in order to protect her wrists, she tied the sleeves at her wrists with cloth tape.
Seeing this, Xie Zheng took the cloth strip from her hand with his long fingers and said, "I'll help you."
He seemed to be just informing her, not asking for her consent, because before Fan Changyu could reply, he had already twisted the piece of cloth she was biting on with his other hand and said, "Let go."
Fan Changyu didn't react for a moment, and stupidly loosened the strength between his teeth.
When she came back to her senses, Xie Zheng had already folded her sleeves slowly and steadily, pressed down on the wrists with a moderate force, and then tightened them a little bit with a cloth tape. The touch from her wrists was particularly clear.
Fan Changyu's fingertips curled slightly unconsciously.
The cloth belt was dark blue, and his slender fingers were wrapped around the dark cloth, which was pale but with distinct bones, and was indescribably beautiful.
He looked very focused, but he still managed to ask her, "When will the term of office of your county magistrate end?"
Fan Changyu originally felt that the atmosphere was a little strange, but after he spoke, he seemed less awkward and said, "Counting it, my three-year term will be over after the New Year."
Xie Zheng said: "Then Master's good days are over."
According to the official law of Dayin, county magistrates sent out to other places are replaced every three years, usually by transfer. They can be promoted only if they have made great achievements. If the local people jointly write a letter requesting their retention, they can also remain in the local area.
When Fan Changyu asked him the reason, he explained it with official law. Fan Changyu suddenly understood and said with a smile: "Then I am even less afraid of that Guo guy!"
The teacher was just an aide hired by the county magistrate and did not eat any royal food at all.
Since he was the one making plans for the county magistrate, he must have known many of the county magistrate's secrets. Basically, every time a county magistrate was transferred or promoted, he would either bring his master with him to the new place to take up the post, or give the master a sum of money and order him not to be a counselor for others in the future.
Given what the Qingping County Magistrate had done in Qingping County in the past few years, it was impossible for the people to write a letter to the people asking him to stay.
Well, no matter whether the county magistrate is promoted or demoted, he will not stay in Qingping County. Even if Guo the butcher's uncle is still his teacher, he is no longer in Qingping County and naturally cannot continue to show off his power in Qingping County.
After Xie Zheng tied the cloth around her cuffs, he looked up and saw the unbridled smile on her face.
He narrowed his eyes slightly, looked away and said, "Okay."
Fan Changyu moved his wrists, still smiling: "It is indeed tighter than I tied it myself, thank you!"
The tightness that remained at her wrist was as if his hand was still pressing on it, and after she rubbed it, the strange feeling subsided a little.
Xie Zheng said: "It's just a simple effort."
Fan Changyu glanced at the sky outside and said, "I have to hurry to deliver the goods to Yixianglou. I'll leave the matters in the shop to you."
Xie Zheng said, "Don't worry."
Fan Changyu walked to the door and turned around to say, "If someone comes to buy meat and it's sold out, and they want to make a reservation, please remember it for me."
Xie Zheng nodded in agreement.
Only then did Fan Changyu feel relieved to leave. When he got on the ox cart, he couldn't help rubbing his wrist slightly, but he couldn't tell where he felt uncomfortable.
-
The roads were slippery due to the snow, and it took Fan Changyu half an hour to reach Yixianglou in the county town by car. From a distance, he saw a circle of people gathered in front of the gate of Yixianglou, and there were faint cries, as if someone was wailing for death. People could not squeeze in, let alone ox carts.
Fan Changyu had no choice but to get off the bus and ask the passers-by who were crowded outside to watch the excitement: "What happened to Yixianglou?"
Seeing the excitement, the aunt turned around and glanced at her, saying, "Someone died from the food at Yixianglou. The children of that family carried the coffin directly to the door of Yixianglou and placed it there. They are now asking for an explanation!"
Fan Changyu was shocked. She had worked at Yixianglou before and knew that the dishes purchased there were of the highest quality. Yu Qianqian had never been careless about the quality of the dishes, so how could she suddenly kill someone?
She grabbed the aunt and asked, "When did it happen?"
Seeing how excited she was, the aunt said, "I heard that she was having lunch at Yixianglou yesterday at noon, and she suddenly started foaming at the mouth while eating. We called a doctor, but she couldn't be saved. So she came to Yixianglou early this morning to settle the score."
The two men nearby glanced at Fan Changyu and shook their heads, "They charged such a high price, but the dishes they served were so bad that people would die. This restaurant owner is really evil!"
"If the government doesn't conduct strict inspections, who will dare to eat in restaurants in the future?"
"I've heard that the female manager of Yixianglou knows some shady tricks. I heard that she added something to the food that makes people addicted. Otherwise, how could she suddenly open two restaurants in just a few years and have such a prosperous business? Maybe she added too much of that thing this time and that's why people died!"
"If you ask me, it's a life for a life! Just arrest that female storekeeper and interrogate her. From her face, it's clear that she's a person who doesn't like to stay at home! She's definitely not a good person!"
Fan Changyu listened to two men wearing felt hats and with rat-like faces talking about Yu Qianqian with contempt, and he became so angry that the corners of his mouth flattened.
After she stepped out of the crowd, she asked the old man driving the ox cart to wait on a less congested road while she went to the alley behind Yixianglou.
After entering Yixianglou from the back door, Fan Changyu discovered that there were almost no people in the kitchen. The steward and the waiters who usually received distinguished guests were all at the front door arguing with the deceased's children who were causing trouble.
Fan Changyu finally spotted a clerk and hurriedly called him over and asked, "Where is Manager Yu?"
The waiter thought she was delivering the salted meat, and waved his hands repeatedly, saying, "Boss Fan has also seen the situation in the building, so we can't accept your salted meat today."
Fan Changyu said, "I'm not looking for Manager Yu for this. What happened to the man who died in the building yesterday?"
The waiter said with a gloomy face, "Who would have known that a guest suddenly fell ill yesterday. The shopkeeper saw it and said he might have epilepsy, so he immediately asked for a doctor. The family was very grateful at first, and after taking the guest home, they suddenly died at night. This morning, they came to the door of the restaurant with a coffin to cause trouble, and asked the restaurant to pay for the old man's life! Isn't it obvious that they are trying to cheat them out of money?"
"No matter how the shopkeeper tried to persuade them, they refused to give in. He planned to spend money to suppress the matter, but they refused to give in. It seemed that they were here to cause trouble. The shopkeeper was worried that some restaurant had set them up. He reported it to the authorities, but no officers came. The shopkeeper went to the authorities in person to make connections, but he has been out for a while and has not returned yet."
Although Fan Changyu had not received much education, he knew that a big tree attracts the wind.
The banquet hosted by Yu Qianqian a few days ago was very beautiful, and Yixianglou has also become famous in the county, snatching away a lot of business from big restaurants. This will definitely make people jealous, but it is really despicable that the other party used such despicable means to deal with Yu Qianqian.
The reason why so many people gathered outside the gate of Yixianglou was partly because that family came with a coffin to cause trouble, but everyone was criticizing Yu Qianqian and no one stood up to speak for her. Some even said that addictive drugs were added to the dishes of Yixianglou. Fan Changyu subconsciously thought of those two men with rat-like eyes.
Aren't those two people who are singing the same tune deliberately speaking to people who don't know the truth and adding fuel to the fire?
If you can't persuade the people carrying the coffin to leave, then kill the people who are guiding public opinion first.
Fan Changyu thought for a moment and said to the guy, "Find a few more people, change your clothes in the building, and go out with me."
After this incident happened in Yixianglou, the staff there were also very worried and said, "I'm sorry, Boss Fan, we really don't have enough staff to help today..."
Fan Changyu said: "Among the people outside, some are deliberately slandering Yixianglou. You bring people with me to pick those people out."
When the clerk heard this, he immediately called someone to go.
Half a minute later, Fan Changyu, along with seven or eight Yixianglou waiters in plain clothes, went out through the back door and squeezed into the crowd again.
She observed for a while and saw that most of the passers-by were just looking for a while, and when they found that the matter had not been resolved and they had other things to do, they left first.
There was only a group of people like the two men in felt hats who had been guarding the door of Yixianglou, swearing louder than anyone else. Whenever an uninformed passerby came over and asked what was going on, they would immediately come up with the excuse that addictive drugs were added to the food at Yixianglou.
Fan Changyu was basically certain that these were the shit-stirring sticks, and he gave the employees of Yixianglou a look.
These guys all treated Yixianglou as their own home, so how could they tolerate others slandering them? So they pretended to squeeze into the center of the crowd as Fan Changyu said, pushing those shit-triggers to the outside of the crowd, and then the guys behind them grabbed their shoulders and led them out.
These people were guilty by nature, and they were about to yell as soon as they were held. However, Fan Changyu quickly punched them in the abdomen several times, successfully making them swallow the yell that was about to come out of their mouths.
Some people nearby looked at them, and Fan Changyu said angrily, "What are you looking at? Have you ever seen a casino collecting debts?"
As she spoke, she kicked one of the men in the felt hat and said, "You bastard! Run! If you can run on the first day of the month, how can you run on the fifteenth day?"
When the employees of Yixianglou saw the amiable boss Fan suddenly kicking people in the street like a bully, they were stunned for a moment, then they hurried forward to help drag the two men by the collars and drag them to the corner, taking the opportunity to take revenge, beating and kicking them, cursing: "It is only natural to pay back debts! If you run again, I will break your legs!"
The common people who noticed them, when they heard that they were debt collectors from the casino, thought that those people had sneaky looks and did not look like good people, so they quickly moved aside and did not dare to meddle in their affairs.
Those people wanted to shout again, but a dirty rag was quickly stuffed into their mouths. They could only groan as they were dragged into the yard in the back alley of Yixianglou and tied up like animals. They looked in horror at Fan Changyu and a group of Yixianglou employees disguised as gangsters who were standing in front of them with their arms folded.
Fan Changyu was sitting like a mountain king on a chair brought by a waiter from Yixianglou, playing with a boning knife in his hand. The moment he raised his eyes, the sharp boning knife was thrown out and pierced through the hat of one of the men in the felt hat. The remaining force of the boning knife carried the felt hat and nailed it to the tree trunk behind the man in the felt hat.
This person was the one who scolded Yu Qianqian the harshest before.
Fan Changyu raised his eyes and was about to say something harsh, but he was stunned for a moment. There was actually a bald head under the felt hat!
No wonder you have to wear a hat!
Without the felt hat to protect his head, the bald man felt a chill on his head. The wind blowing on his scalp felt as painful as a knife. Thinking that a knife had indeed flown past his scalp just a second ago, his face turned pale.
Fan Changyu put away the momentary confusion on his face, and asked fiercely, "Who ordered you to come to the door of Yixianglou to cause trouble?"
The man with a sly look next to the bald man sneered, "No one is instructing us, but people have died from the food in Yixianglou, and we are not allowed to seek justice? They tied us here and want to kill us to silence everyone? This Yixianglou is not a restaurant, it is clearly a black shop where people are killed and robbed!"
Fan Changyu felt annoyed when he heard this sneaky guy chattering non-stop. He was exactly the same kind of disgusting person as Guo the Butcher!
She picked up the wooden mallet on the wall and hit him on the head three times. The crisp "bang bang" sound was indeed much more pleasing to the ear.
The man was obviously stunned.
Fan Changyu said fiercely: "Did I let you speak?"
The other bound people swallowed their saliva, moved with difficulty, and quietly moved away from the man, trying to shrink their bodies to reduce their presence.
The man wanted to continue gossiping, but when he saw the hammer in Fan Changyu's hand and his forehead was still aching as if it was split open, he closed his mouth in dismay.
Fan Changyu snorted coldly: "It's useless to keep your tongue. Come on, pull it away, chop it into pieces and feed it to the dogs!"
The waiters of Yixianglou looked at each other in bewilderment at first, and then two people immediately came forward and dragged the tied-up body to the backyard.
Immediately afterwards, there was the sound of someone sharpening a knife, then the sound of the knife hitting the chopping board, and the man's screams. After a moment, the screams stopped, leaving only grunting sounds.
The few bastards who were tied up in the yard were so scared that their faces turned pale.
Fan Changyu almost couldn't sit still in her chair. She was just doing what was written in the script and pretending to scare this group of people. Could it be that the waiter at Yixianglou didn't understand what she meant and really cut off the man's tongue?
In a short while, a waiter came over with a plate with a small piece of bloody tongue on it. He said to Fan Changyu, "That guy fought hard. We couldn't pull out his whole tongue. We only cut off this section."
The rascals were so frightened when they saw the bloody mess that they nearly peed their pants, so they dared not look any longer. Fan Changyu often killed pigs, so he recognized at a glance that it was a small piece of pig tongue. It was not fresh at all, and it was stained with someone's blood, either chicken or duck. It looked scary when it was placed on the plate.
She breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that the waiter at Yixianglou was quite clever. He kept a fierce look on his face and said, "Bring a dog here and feed it!"
Immediately, a guy brought a wolfhound over, threw the pig tongue on the plate to the wolfhound, and the wolfhound immediately started to gobble it up.
Several of the bastards saw this and couldn't stop vomiting, some were even scared to the point of incontinence.
Fan Changyu thought that since he had frightened the man to such an extent, he could probably get the truth out of him, so he continued to ask the bald man with a fierce face: "Tell me, who ordered you to come to Yixianglou to cause trouble? If you tell a lie, your tongues will be cut off and fed to the dogs!"
The bald man choked until tears came out of his eyes. He kept saying, "I said! I said! It was the servant next to Master He who asked us to come."
Hearing this answer, Fan Changyu couldn't help but be stunned.
How is it related to Master He's shit-stirring stick?
She shouted, "You're lying!"
The bald man was tied up but he kept kowtowed to her: "Auntie, I really didn't lie, it was really the servant next to the master who found us!"
Fan Changyu said: "Master He has no grudge against Yixianglou, why would he instruct you to do this?"
The bald man burst into tears: "We don't know this either!"
The other few idiots also cried bitterly and pointed at Master He.
"Let them go." A female voice came from the Moon Cave Gate.
Fan Changyu looked up and found that it was Yu Qianqian. He stood up from his chair and asked, "Is the shopkeeper back?"
Yu Qianqian nodded, looked at Fan Changyu with a smile on her face, and said with some gratitude: "I just came back and happened to hear you helping me interrogate these people. Thank you, Sister Changyu."
Fan Changyu said, "I can't help Manager Yu at all."
Yu Qianqian said: "This is enough, let them go."
She signaled to the staff beside her to tie up those loose skins.
The man who had been suppressed by Fan Changyu's men was also brought out. His tongue was not cut, but his mouth was blocked. It was obvious that the screams before were just made by Yu Qianqian in some way.
Fan Changyu was very confused and asked Yu Qianqian: "Aren't you going to take them to court for a confrontation?"
Yu Qianqian just shook her head, looking tired. After the bastards were taken away by the staff, she said, "You just found out that it was Master He who ordered these people."
Fan Changyu frowned and asked, "The restaurant that competes with Yixianglou for business has found Master He's connections, hoping to use this to strike a blow at Yixianglou?"
Yu Qianqian smiled bitterly: "It's even worse than this."
Fan Changyu thought the worst was what she thought, but Yu Qianqian said it was even worse than that. She really couldn't imagine it, so she asked, "What's going on?"
Yu Qianqian's sleek bangs had long been rubbed out of shape by her. She closed her eyes and said, "Yixianglou can't be saved. It's also my fault. I was too radical. If I hadn't been in a hurry to open a restaurant in the county last year..."
Fan Changyu had the impression that Yu Qianqian was always confident of winning, and rarely showed such helplessness. She said, "Although my friendship with the shopkeeper is not very deep, the shopkeeper often recommends me, and I remember it in my heart. Although I don't know what difficulties Yixianglou has encountered, as long as the shopkeeper needs it, my family has some connections with Constable Wang of the county government. I can go to Constable Wang to ask for a favor and see if I can help Yixianglou."
Yu Qianqian shook her head: "It's useless."
She shook Fan Changyu's hand, forced a smile and said, "I appreciate your kindness. I've been out for half a day and have used all the connections I can. If there is a way, I will not sit and wait for death. Don't go to Captain Wang to beg for mercy, it will only bring him trouble."
Fan Changyu could sense Yu Qianqian's fatigue. Even she had not expected that something like this could happen to Yixianglou overnight. She said, "I still can't figure out what kind of trouble Yixianglou has gotten into. The old man who had dinner in the restaurant yesterday, I heard from the waiter that he had an epilepsy and was spitting white foam. How can this be blamed on the food in the restaurant? There are doctors who can testify in court, right?"
Yu Qianqian asked, "Do you know who Master He works for?"
Fan Changyu spat out two words: "County magistrate?"
Yu Qianqian nodded tiredly: "The most powerful official in Qingping County wants to steal my family property. He has the final say on right and wrong in court. How can an ordinary citizen dare to go against an official?"
Fan Changyu said: "The case was reported to the Fuzhou Prefecture. The county magistrate is the highest official in Qingping County, but outside Qingping County, what does he count for?"
Yu Qianqian still shook her head, revealing a trace of grief: "I heard the news from those noble families and knew that it was the work of the county magistrate, so I sent guards to drive to the Jizhou Prefecture. Just now, when I entered the door, someone let something slip away..."
Yu Qianqian's voice was trembling: "It was a severed finger of my guard. The officials and bandits colluded and all the roads leading to Jizhou Prefecture were blocked by the bandits."
Fan Changyu had seen what it meant to cover the sky with one hand. What Yu Qianqian was going through now was even more despairing than when she had her property robbed by Fan Da.
The government had already spread the rumor that something was added to the food at Yu Qianqian's restaurant. Coincidentally, an old man fell ill and died after having a meal at Yixianglou. The government could easily say that there was something wrong with Yu Qianqian's food, and after confiscating all her assets, they might even arrest her and put her in jail.
In a flash, Fan Changyu remembered what Xie Zheng had said before about the military rations in Jizhou Prefecture. She said, "You are definitely outnumbered if you are alone, but if the people of Qingping County rebel against the county order, then it doesn't matter whether the government seals off the prefecture or uses yamen runners to suppress us!"
Yu Qianqian asked: "How do you say that?"
Fan Changyu said: "The Fuzhou government is collecting military grain. Our county collects one dan of grain per person. If you can't pay the grain, you have to pay silver. There are more than 100,000 people in Qingping County. That means a county alone can forcibly collect 100,000 dan of grain. It's impossible for Fuzhou to force the people into a desperate situation. It's obvious that the county magistrate is taking the opportunity to save money!"
When Yu Qianqian heard what she said, her expression changed drastically.
She murmured, "The county magistrate is not saving money. At this critical moment of being transferred, he suddenly took so much money from the people and set his sights on my Yixianglou. Even if he can hide it for a while, he can't hide it forever. It will be exposed eventually. He can't escape punishment even if he is transferred. Maybe... Yixianglou is just the chicken that was killed to scare the monkeys! The rich businessmen in the entire Qingping County are his target!"
She looked at Fan Changyu with an extremely ugly expression: "Chongzhou is right next to Jizhou. The county magistrate wants to join the rebel king!"
The author has something to say:
A late chapter, 100 red envelopes dropped in this chapter~
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
