"Yes, let's report it to the authorities. I'll go with you—"
"Mom, my stomach hurts so much, I can't take it anymore—"
"Father, am I going to die? Father, please save me, I don't want to die—"
"....."
There were at least a hundred people gathered outside Zhou's shop, some sitting, some lying down, some pale-faced, and some glaring angrily.
The commotion caused by the crowd was so great that the shopkeeper quickly ran to Zhou Laocai's house to report the matter.
Less than fifteen minutes.
Zhou Laocai and the officials arrived at the shop entrance together.
"Quiet down, what's going on?"
Seven or eight officials arrived and quelled the commotion.
"Sir, the poisonous ice powder that Zhou Ji sold yesterday caused my children to vomit and have diarrhea all night. What should we do? Look at them, their faces are deathly pale. They are my only children, twins, born when I was thirty. If anything happens to them, my wife and I won't be able to live!"
“Me too. Before it rained yesterday, the weather was hot and humid, and I didn’t have much of an appetite. I only ate two cups of ice jelly. Last night, I started having problems. I vomited seven or eight times and had diarrhea more than ten times, even passing blood. Oh, it was so awful. I went to get a doctor, but it was all in vain. It turns out everyone has the same symptoms as me. No wonder we couldn’t get a doctor. Sir, you must do us justice.”
“Zhou Ji is utterly immoral. He sells poisonous ice powder to make money. Isn’t this murder for profit? Officer, please arrest him and torture him severely. He has committed many harmful acts.”
"I remember that ice jelly was sold at Yan's Pastry Shop, so how come Zhouji has it too?"
A bystander chimed in.
"Who knows where it was stolen from? I've tried Yan's ice jelly before, and it tastes amazing. It not only cools you down but also helps you sleep better at night. I don't have any of these symptoms at all. So it must be Zhou's ice jelly that's poisonous! No wonder it's so cheap. I shouldn't have been greedy for cheap things, and now I'm suffering all night."
"You damned wretch, you make money without any conscience, may you be childless and have no descendants—"
"....."
Soon, the crowd began hurling insults at Zhou Laocai again.
Zhou Laocai was already sweating profusely with fear.
He and his son ate ice jelly yesterday, and nothing happened to them.
Could it be...?
Did the Yan family poison his ice jelly jar?
Or perhaps these people were hired by the Yan family?
Truly, a woman's heart is the most poisonous.
Zhou Laocai was so angry that his eyes turned bloodshot.
He was as happy as he was yesterday for earning more than twenty taels of silver, and he was just as furious today.
As luck would have it, Yan Xia had just gotten off the oxcart and arrived at the shop entrance.
"Sir, my ice jelly is not poisoned, absolutely not! It must be that Yan's shop is jealous that I am taking away their business, so they framed me. If you don't believe me, go and search her shop. My ice jelly is exactly the same as hers!"
These words were spoken.
All around was silent.
"What does this mean? Zhou's ice jelly is exactly the same as Yan's? Could it be...?"
"I knew it tasted almost the same! Turns out Zhou's family stole the Yan family's secret recipe!"
"The taste is similar? Far from it. I'm a gourmet, I can tell the difference with just one bite. Zhou's ice jelly is no match for Yan's. It also has an indescribable mushroom flavor, which is very strange. Luckily, I thought it was awful, so I only took one bite and didn't buy it. Otherwise, I would have had diarrhea today too."
"I also think it's not very tasty, but it's really cheap, more than half the price of Yan's Pastry Shop. So I bought a cup for everyone in my family, and I didn't sleep all night because of it. Ouch, my stomach hurts."
When Yan Xia heard Zhou Laocai call her name, she told her children to go back to the shop first.
He walked into the crowd by himself.
"Oh, it's exactly the same as the ice jelly in my shop? How come I didn't know? What, Manager Zhou, have you suddenly turned to theft? Don't you know the law that stealing means having your hands cut off? You've got some nerve—"
This strange, sarcastic look made Zhou Laocai's face turn black with anger.
"Who stole your ice jelly? It was your unfaithful daughter! She secretly pledged herself to someone and even stole your ice jelly to give to her lover. I heard your daughter's body is no longer pure. I advise you to marry her off as soon as possible, lest she get pregnant and disgrace your Yan family. But that's true, how can you have any face? I heard from the waiter in the shop that you asked his sister for her hand in marriage before, but his family thought you were a widow and divorced from your dead husband, which is heartless and ungrateful. That's why they didn't agree to the marriage with your family. It's a good thing for my Yi family to get such a beautiful wife."
Zhou Laocai's words made the others' eyebrows stand on end.
Some people, ignoring their stomach pain, cheered up to watch the play.
The crowd suddenly fell silent.
"Go to hell! You old bastard, your mouth is so foul! Your ancestors for eighteen generations must have been buried in a cesspool, otherwise how could your mouth be so stinky? I can accept that you're just jealous of my shop's business, but now you're trying to frame me for the poisonous ice powder. Who knows where you got the poisonous ice powder to harm the people? People like you should be dragged to the execution ground and beheaded! And now you're even spreading rumors about my daughter. What, you think widows are easy to bully? I'll beat you to death!"
Yan Xia didn't care at all whether the officials were present or not.
She rushed up to Zhou Laocai and slapped him twice across the face.
I used about 70-80% of my strength.
Blood gushed from Zhou Laocai's nostrils instantly, and he lost three or four teeth.
His face swelled up like a pig's head.
"You bitch—"
Just as the two were about to fight, the officers intervened, separating them and standing between them.
"Your Honor, please see the truth! I am just an honest pastry seller who never makes enemies. You can tell by asking my customers. My products are clean and hygienic. I only sell freshly made products that day. Even if we don't sell them all, we take them home to eat. We would never let our customers eat leftovers. This Zhou Laocai slandered me in front of everyone. He's trying to kill me! He's also spreading rumors about my unmarried daughter. If my daughter hears these words and something happens to her, I will take this all the way to the capital to sue your Zhou family!"
Yan Xia screamed at the top of her lungs, and two cat tears welled up in her eyes.
It's heartbreaking to see.
"Zhou Laocai, you old bastard! You bully women and sell poisoned ice jelly! You'll die a horrible death! Officer, I know Manager Yan's character best. I've eaten her ice jelly many times, and it's absolutely clean. If it weren't for the recent tight money situation, I wouldn't have bought her ice jelly from Zhou's shop just to save money. You must stand up for us ordinary people! Don't be fooled by this unscrupulous merchant!"
"That's right, you unscrupulous merchant! You bullied Manager Yan and even tried to harm us. You must compensate us for our medical expenses!"
"Pay me back!!"
"Pay me back!!"
"Apologize!"
"Cut off his head! Do justice for us, sir!"
Various voices emerged from the sparse crowd.
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