There was a package on Sun's palm, wrapped in medical paper, which was wrinkled from being held by Sun.
As soon as Gongger saw this thing, he snatched it from Sun's hand and touched the thin package, which should be a powdery substance.
He asked, "What is this?"
"Give it back to me." When Sun saw that the thing in her hand was snatched away, she struggled like a madman, her face full of fear.
Gong Ge'er handed the things to Xu Qinyu.
Xu Qinyu took it and opened the paper package. Inside was ground brown powder. She leaned in and smelled it. It smelled like croton.
Croton is a medicinal herb that can warm the intestines, eliminate accumulation, expel water and reduce swelling. However, if it is not used to treat patients, it is slightly toxic and can cause diarrhea. The thing that Sun was holding is self-evident.
"Croton," Xu Qinyu asked, "What do you intend to do with the croton you took from the owner of Ping'an Restaurant? Are you planning to put croton in the dishes at Xu's Restaurant tomorrow? Are you planning to ruin Xu's Restaurant's reputation?"
Sun was so anxious that tears streamed down her face. "Boss, listen to me. I, I'm not that mean. I really didn't intend to poison the diners. Yes, the owner of Ping'an Restaurant gave it to me. She said that if I didn't help her this time, she would tell you what I did the last two times. I, I, she stuffed this thing in my mouth again and told me to put it in my sour plum soup and milk tea tomorrow, but I didn't agree. Boss, I really wouldn't poison anyone. I'm not that bad. She was just trying to scare me..."
Sun was already a little incoherent.
She was filled with panic and fear. She had no bad intentions and did not want to close Xu's business. She knew the owner was a good person and she was just scared.
But I didn't expect that one wrong step would lead to several wrong steps.
That day she was buying needles and thread at a small stall when a woman came over and chatted with her, asking her if she worked at Xu's Restaurant.
It is more or less an honor to be a waiter at Xu Ji.
She proudly said that she was a waitress at Xu's and started talking to the woman who asked her questions.
She also said that the boss of Xu's was very good and specifically hired women like them to work as waitresses. They were paid 800 yuan a month and their breakfast and evening meals were provided. Although breakfast and evening meals were prepared by the boss's apprentices, they ate fine grains, with eggs in the morning and meat in the evening. She also said that the boss would give them a red envelope at the end of the year.
Everyone around her was envious of her when they heard about this condition. They said she was lucky and encouraged her to work hard. They also said that the owner of Xu Ji Restaurant was kind-hearted and did not forget his neighbors when he opened the restaurant. He also sold such delicious and cheap fish to everyone.
Most of them have also queued up to buy Xu Ji’s braised fish, fish balls and fish heads.
People who have eaten it all say that it is as delicious as the food in Xu Ji’s restaurant. The owner of Xu Ji doesn’t show favoritism and just makes it casually because it is cheaper.
Sun said cheerfully, "I will definitely work hard. Our boss said he will give us a raise every year."
"Oh, you're lucky. If they hadn't only recruited people from Guihua Lane, I would have wanted to give it a try too."
"That's right, Xu's business is booming, is the boss still short of people?"
Sun didn’t know about this, so she could only shake her head.
After selling the needle and thread, Sun planned to go back.
On the way back, the woman who spoke to her at the beginning also walked with her and said it was on her way.
On the way, she kept talking to her about Xu Ji Restaurant, saying that she envied her and that she was lucky. She kept asking questions around Xu Ji Restaurant. Sun didn't take it seriously and just chatted with the woman. They chatted all day long and ended up talking about something that Wen had said to Wen Yunling that day.
Wen Yunling was asking how Concubine Gui of the Wen family was doing after she contracted tuberculosis.
Sun felt that such gossip should not be spread casually, but after she finished speaking, she felt relieved thinking that the shopkeeper said it was not tuberculosis and that he had recovered long ago.
Unexpectedly, when the woman heard this, she uttered a sigh and couldn't help saying, "There's someone with tuberculosis in her family? Why is she still cooking? What if the disease spreads to the diners?"
Sun immediately retorted, "Our shopkeeper said it's not tuberculosis. He recovered long ago."
The woman smacked her lips, said something to her and left.
Unexpectedly, a few days later, rumors spread in the market that there was a tuberculosis patient in Xu Ji Restaurant.
When Sun heard this, her heart skipped a beat. She knew that the gossip must have been heard by that woman, who then told other people about it, and it ended up spreading.
Sun felt guilty and for a moment she didn't know whether she should be honest with her boss and the shopkeeper.
But if she tells it out, the boss and the manager might think she is a gossipmonger and don't want her to continue working in the restaurant.
So she didn't dare to say it out loud and could only pretend not to know.
Fortunately, the boss later invited his family to Xu's for dinner, and the rumors were dispelled, so she felt relieved.
Unexpectedly, not long after, the woman who chatted with her stopped her on the road and said that she was the owner of Ping'an Restaurant. Thanks to what she said last time, she knew that Xu's Restaurant was so excessive that a tuberculosis patient could open a restaurant. She also said that she was just chatting with others, but she didn't expect that the matter would spread.
Sun didn't believe her this time. She was very angry. Knowing that the woman had deliberately tried to trick her last time, she scolded her.
The woman didn't take it seriously. She just thanked her and said she would give her some money and ask her to help her see how Xu Ji's food was made.
Sun was so angry that she cursed and refused directly.
The owner of Ping An Restaurant threatened her, saying, "If you don't agree, I'm going to tell your boss about all the gossip you told me a few days ago. Besides, I didn't ask you to steal the recipe. I just saw how your boss made it, so you can tell me about it."
Sun was at a loss, shocked and scared. When he saw the owner of Ping'an Restaurant's face change, he walked towards Xu's Restaurant.
She was increasingly afraid that her boss would find out, so she hurriedly stopped him and said, "What do you want to do? You, you can't go."
The woman smiled and said, "I'm not trying to embarrass you, nor am I asking you to steal the recipe. Why are you so scared? Just tell me the general recipes for those dishes."
Sun was really scared, and finally stammered as she told him about the breakfasts she had seen Xu Qinyu make.
She thought that since she didn't tell the woman the specific methods, she probably wouldn't learn anything.
After hearing this, the woman smiled and thanked her. Finally, she gave her five taels of silver and told her that she would come to see her in a month. She also told Sun where she lived.
Finally, she threatened Sun that if she didn't come to see her after a month, she would tell the gossip and the recipe to Xu's boss.
After the woman finished speaking, she hurried away.
Sun didn't want the five taels of silver at all. She was at a loss and finally took the five taels of silver back with her.
She only felt more regretful and guilty when Ping'an Restaurant started making custard buns, glutinous rice intestines and porridge with raw fish slices.
When Sun said this, tears were already streaming down her face. She looked at Xu Qinyu and said with trembling lips, "Boss, I really didn't intend to poison her. I came here today to return the five taels of silver to her. I didn't intend to harm you or Xu's Restaurant."
As Sun spoke, she took out a purse from her pocket and opened it with trembling hands. There was indeed five taels of silver inside.
She came today because she really wanted to return the five taels of silver to the woman.
But after she went in, the woman threatened her again, saying that since things had come to this point, she might as well help her. After the matter was done, she would give her fifty taels of silver. She refused too.
Finally, the woman showed a stern face and said that she had to do it whether she was willing or not. There was no reason to get off since she was already on the pirate ship. After stuffing the laxative into her mouth, she pushed her out without saying anything.
"Boss, I know I was wrong. I won't poison you."
Sun's face was covered with tears.
Cheng Ge'er was speechless after hearing this, and finally couldn't help but say, "Aunt Sun, are you stupid? You should have told the master the truth the first time instead of hiding it from him. Now the situation is getting bigger and bigger, and you can't cover it up anymore."
Xu Qinyu didn't know what to say. Sun was a tall and strong man, but why was she like this?
Also, isn't this obviously a trap for Sun, forcing her into taking the bait step by step?
Originally, the first rumor and the second recipe were nothing. Sun did not reveal the specific recipe. It was Ping'an Restaurant that deliberately tricked Sun step by step and forced him to do these things.
It was indeed Sun's own fault that he was confused.
Gong Ge'er couldn't help scratching his head, and finally asked Xu Qinyu, "Fourth sister-in-law, what should we do now?"
Should I just knock on the door and confront Ping An Restaurant?
Xu Qinyu thought for a moment and told Sun, "The only solution now is to report this to the authorities. You can serve as a witness and expose the evil deeds of Ping An Restaurant. But if you report this to the authorities, you, Aunt Sun, will definitely be punished. Are you willing to do that? And after this incident, I won't employ you anymore. I'll give you some severance pay."
She wouldn't completely believe what Sun said.
According to Sun, she was innocent and was forced by that woman.
Xu Qinyu did not have Sun's perspective, so naturally she had no idea whether what she said was true or false, or a mixture of truth and falsehood.
Moreover, whether it was the spreading of rumors in the beginning or the providing of the recipe in the end, Sun committed a big taboo.
She would definitely not use such a person again.
Sun hesitated, "It's my duty to help the boss report it to the police, but, but after that, I, I will be gossiped about by outsiders, and the boss won't let me continue working. How can I find a job in the future?"
Xu Qinyu said calmly, "Aunt Sun, even if you don't want to report it to the police, I will report it. This is a serious matter. Ping'an Restaurant's vicious competition tactics are also illegal. If we don't report it to the police, won't we let Ping'an Restaurant go unpunished? When we meet a rival in the future, they will use these malicious tactics to compete and harm others. And even if I don't report it to the police, I won't let this matter go, and I won't continue to use you. The news will still spread. Aunt Sun might as well take the initiative to admit her mistake. Maybe she can even gain a good reputation outside."
Sun hesitated for a long time and finally agreed.
It was already dark, but we could report to the government office at any time.
Xu Qinyu came to the yamen and beat the drum.
Soon the yamen gate opened, and the county magistrate and his runners entered the courtroom.
Xu Qinyu didn't know the county magistrate, she only knew that his surname was Yang. She already knew that her good friend Yang Zhizhi was the daughter of the county magistrate's family, but she always treated her normally.
Although County Magistrate Yang could eat the food his wife and daughter brought home from Xu's Restaurant every day, he also did not know Xu Qinyu.
The group knelt down and said they wanted to report to the police, and recounted the whole story.
When County Magistrate Yang heard the name Xu Ji Restaurant and then heard the young lady in front of him claiming to be the owner of Xu Ji Restaurant, he couldn't help but look at her again.
He often heard his daughter mention Miss Xu, who was indeed very young. It was hard to imagine that such a young lady could have such superb cooking skills.
After hearing the whole story, County Magistrate Yang immediately ordered the bailiffs to arrest the owner and boss of Ping'an Restaurant.
When the yamen runners passed by, Mrs. Li, the owner of Ping'an Restaurant, was still proudly telling her husband that Xu's Restaurant would be in big trouble in a few days.
Ping'an Restaurant is a husband-and-wife shop. The chef is Li's husband. He is quiet and only knows how to cook.
Hearing this, her husband couldn't help but ask, "You, what have you done? Mother, let's just focus on business and food, don't be mean. Let's not make those custard buns, glutinous rice intestines, etc. After all, we learned from Xu Ji, and I'm not very good at making plain pastries."
Mrs. Li snorted and said, "What can I do? I'm only concerned about our restaurant. Xu's restaurant has taken away so much of our business. She deserves it. Even these breakfast dishes were invented by us. How can Xu's restaurant do it but we can't?"
She did not tell her man what she had done outside. She knew that her man was stupid and would not let her do such a thing.
Li was illiterate and had no idea about the law. She thought it was just a laxative and nothing serious. Everyone has had a stomachache.
The two were about to rest when they heard knocks on the door.
Li was shocked, but didn't think much about it. She thought someone was looking for them. She cursed in her heart, "Who the hell knocked on the door so loudly and broke it?"
When she went out and opened the gate, as soon as she opened it, someone grabbed her arm and twisted it behind her back.
Li screamed, "What are you doing, boss, boss, there are robbers coming to rob our house."
The yamen runners shouted, "Keep your voice down! Who are you? Look carefully at what we are wearing. If you have committed a crime, we will take you to the yamen."
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Li was still confused. "What crime could I have committed? I'm just an ordinary woman in the market. I haven't done anything like murder or arson."
Li's husband Zhang Quan went out immediately after hearing the sound, and was stunned when he saw the yamen runner.
The yamen came forward and escorted both of them to the yamen.
When she saw Sun, Li finally knew what was going on. She really didn't expect that Sun would dare to report to the police. It was obvious that Sun was so timid before and didn't dare to tell the owner Xu.
Li cursed at Sun.
"Silence!" the county magistrate slammed the table.
Sun pointed at Li and took out five taels of silver and a laxative.
At first, Li refused to admit it. She did not admit that she knew Sun, nor did she admit that she bribed Sun to give laxatives to Xu Ji's diners.
The county magistrate said, "Didn't you just curse at Sun, and now you deny knowing her? And you even lied before the court, saying you never bought any laxatives? Regarding the laxative matter, I can send people to several pharmacies in town to inquire and find out whether you bought any. If you don't tell the truth, I'll make your crime even more serious after the investigation."
After all, it was Li's first time in court, and he was a little scared, so he finally admitted his crime.
It was indeed similar to what Sun said. She said that she had not thought of asking Sun to give laxatives to Xu Ji's diners at the beginning. The first two times she just spread rumors and asked about the recipe of custard buns. Later, she asked Sun to come to her house a month later, also intending to continue to ask her about the recipes of some dishes at Xu Ji Restaurant, and did not intend to give laxatives.
But as summer began this month, Ping'an Restaurant's business became increasingly worse, with few customers.
But Xu Ji Restaurant still had a lot of diners and even introduced several new dishes. She hated Xu Ji so much that she wanted to make things difficult for Xu Ji, so she bought some laxatives and forced Sun to give them to Xu Ji's diners when she came.
Li also admitted that Sun came to her house today to return the five taels of silver she had given her last time.
But she said that after the matter was done, she would give Sun fifty taels of silver, and reluctantly pushed Sun out of the door, and Sun did go out with the laxative.
Sun also began to protest her injustice, saying that she was forced to do it. If she didn't take the laxative and leave, Li would go to the owner of Xu's restaurant to complain about her.
The two began to bite each other.
Regardless, both are guilty.
Sun took the initiative to confess his guilt, served as a witness, and presented physical evidence. In the end, Sun was beaten with ten boards and Li was beaten with twenty boards.
This is because the laxative has not yet been administered. If the laxative has already been administered to the diner's food, the punishment would be more than just a few strokes of the cane.
So even if someone is jealous of their competitors, they would not think of putting drugs in the rival store.
When a stick is used, the buttocks are hit, not the back.
Caning is usually only used for more serious crimes. If a person is caned twenty times, he will be half dead.
Spanking the buttocks usually doesn't kill people.
But whether it was ten or twenty blows, it was hard to bear.
Ten strokes of the cane usually don't cause bleeding, but after twenty strokes, the buttocks will bleed.
The two men were beaten and screamed in pain.
Zhang Quan was not at fault in this matter and he was not beaten with a stick.
He kept his head down, and only after Li was beaten did he come over and hurriedly say sorry to Xu Qinyu, then turned around and hugged Li and left.
Only Sun and Xu Qinyu and their group were left in the yamen.
In the end, Xu Qinyu called a car to send Sun home, and helped to invite a doctor, paid the medical fee and money for the medicine, and finally left two taels of silver before leaving.
When Sun's family learned what Sun had done, they were very angry. Finally, they learned that Sun would not be able to work for Xu's in the future. They also wanted to ask Xu Qinyu to forgive Sun this time. It was obvious that even after Sun made such a mistake, the owner of Xu's was still willing to pay for the medicine and medical fees, so they really had the nerve to ask Xu Qinyu to continue to employ Sun.
…
By the time the report was filed, it was already midnight.
Seeing that it was getting dark, Cheng Ge'er and Gong Ge'er sent Xu Qinyu back to the Pei family.
On the way, Xu Qinyu thanked Cheng Ge'er.
Cheng Ge'er hurriedly said, "Fourth sister-in-law, it wasn't me, it was Gong Ge'er who discovered it. I asked Gong Ge'er to help me keep an eye on it."
Gong Ge'er also grinned, "Fourth sister-in-law, it's not that I discovered it. These days, I always take some leftover food from the restaurant, saying it's for my friends, but in fact, they are helping me to spy on them. These friends of mine are a few little beggars, not even as old as me, so pitiful, all disabled, and no one wants them. Even if I sell them to other families as slaves, no one will want them. Fourth sister-in-law, can I continue to share the leftover food from the restaurant with them in the future?"
"Of course." Xu Qinyu nodded. "I also want to thank your friends. After dinner tomorrow, you can invite them to the restaurant. I will prepare some food to thank them."
They were all a group of pitiful children. Xu Qinyu was also an abandoned orphan, but she was sent to an orphanage when she was young. Sometimes the older children would snatch her food away and she would sometimes not have enough to eat. But basically, she had enough food and clothing, unlike the abandoned children here. The children who were abandoned here and became beggars were usually physically disabled.
Otherwise, as long as they are not physically disabled, there will be traffickers who will take them in and help sell them to wealthy or official families as slaves.
"Will Fourth Sister-in-law thank them?"
Gong Ge'er was overjoyed.
Xu Qinyu smiled and said, "Although they are all children, they have helped, so of course we should thank them."
Gong Ge'er's smile became even more cheerful. "Okay, then I'll go find them tomorrow."
The two of them sent Xu Qinyu back to the Pei family and returned home.
When Xu Qinyu entered the yard, she found that Wen was still awake and waiting for her in the kitchen with an oil lamp lit.
Seeing Yu Niang come back, Wen finally felt relieved and asked about how things went.
Xu Qinyu briefly told Wen what had just happened.
After hearing this, Wen didn't expect it to be Sun. In fact, the three waitresses were all pretty nice, at least nothing could be seen on the surface.
Wen sighed and said nothing more. She just thought that there would only be two waitresses left tomorrow, so she asked Yu Niang if she wanted to hire more people.
Xu Qinyu also plans to recruit another one.
It would be too tiring for two people, and although there would be a lot of work for three people, it wouldn't be too tiring.
Wen said, "Okay, I'll take over for the next few days. Madam Yu won't be in a hurry. We can take our time choosing this time."
Apart from calculating and settling accounts, she doesn't have much to do on a daily basis.
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law talked for a while and then went back to their rooms to rest.
…
The next morning, Xu Ji opened as usual.
When Xu Qinyu was making breakfast, Li and Yuan found that Sun was not there. They were a little confused and thought that she had asked for leave from her employer.
Xu Qinyu told the two about Sun's affairs. They were both a little shocked. Li couldn't help but mutter, "How could she do such a thing? When she accidentally said the wrong thing and the rumors spread, shouldn't she have directly admitted her mistake to the boss?"
Li felt that her boss was good enough. If she admitted her mistake directly, he would definitely forgive her.
She just doesn't say it, and I don't know what she is afraid of.
"Okay, let's get to work. Thank you for your hard work these past two days. I will give you an extra twenty coins per day."
Li waved her hand and said, "No, no, the boss treats us well enough on a daily basis."
Xu Qinyu still paid them an extra twenty cents per day.
An hour later, bursts of delicious aroma came from Xu Ji Restaurant.
Diners who got up early to look for food also found that Ping'an Restaurant, one of the restaurants and hotels in the West Street Market, was closed.
But there weren't many diners at Ping'an Restaurant, so I didn't pay much attention and thought it was closed for some reason.
In the summer, after breakfast and dinner, the sky is not completely dark yet, and a little bit of the tail of the glow is still scattered in the sky.
After Xu Qinyu received the guests for dinner, she prepared a few more dishes.
She made a dish of steamed meat with soda, a dish of squirrel fish, a dish of braised pork ribs, a dish of three-fresh soup and a stewed eggplant, and also saved some glutinous rice for dinner.
After a while, Gong Ge'er came in with a few dirty children.
After entering the restaurant, the children were very restrained and stood behind Gong Ge'er, not daring to speak.
Xu Qinyu thanked them with a smile. Several children didn't dare to say a word. Finally, the one-eyed child stammered and said "you're welcome".
In fact, her current body is only a few years older than a few children.
But when talking to them, I unconsciously treat myself as an adult and them as children.
Gongger accompanied the children to eat dinner. The children ate voraciously and soon finished the food on the table.
After dinner, the children took the empty bowls and plates to the kitchen to be cleaned.
The one-eyed child hesitated for a while, then suddenly came in front of Xu Qinyu and knelt down with a thud.
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