Madam Gu witnessed everything clearly. She rushed over, squatted down, and with trembling hands, tried to help Aunt Feng'e. But the constable still wanted to continue attacking.
Meng Zhao was filled with regret at this moment. She shouldn't have thought that this was a place where reason could be reasoned.
Having learned her lesson, she dared not say anything more. With trembling hands, she took out her purse from her waist, which contained at least three or four taels of silver. She carefully handed the purse to the constable in front of her.
"Sir, we'll push the cart away immediately. Please, don't hurt anyone. You're so kind, please let us go this time."
The constable took the money pouch, weighed it in his hand, and a disdainful smile appeared on his lips. He then stuffed the pouch into his pocket. "Now you know you were wrong? Why didn't you do this sooner? Brothers, let's keep flipping it."
When the constables couldn't kick the cart, they swarmed forward and overturned the bowls of food one by one.
These dishes were prepared bit by bit, starting early in the morning. Spilled soup splashed everywhere, mixing with the mud on the ground and creating a mess.
Meng Zhao felt a sharp pain in her heart as she watched this scene, but there was nothing she could do. She could only hold Gu Shi and Aunt Feng'e while watching them recklessly overturn the stalls.
After all the food bowls had been overturned, the men seemed to have finally calmed down. The head constable coldly said to Meng Zhao, "Don't let us see you on the dock again, or we'll overturn your bowls every time we see you."
After saying this, he led his men away in a swagger. Once they were gone, the crowd slowly gathered around them again.
"Oh, what a waste! They've ruined perfectly good food."
"I don't know who they offended, or how things got to this point."
"You still dare to say that? Aren't you afraid of being arrested and taken to the authorities too?"
After those people left, Madam Gu could no longer hold back and cried, "Why? We're just doing business honestly, why did this have to happen to us?"
Meng Zhao looked at Madam Gu, her lips moved slightly, but she found that she could not give her a reasonable explanation. She suppressed the pain and anger in her heart and turned her gaze to Aunt Feng'e, "Aunt, how do you feel? I'll take you to the clinic."
Aunt Feng'e shook her head slightly. "It's alright, Zhao Zhao. I have thick skin on my stomach, so it doesn't hurt anymore. It's just a pity about all these vegetables. A bunch of beasts, all they do is oppress the people."
Although Aunt Feng'e seemed to be in relatively good condition, Meng Zhao still dared not let his guard down. After all, most of a person's organs are located around the abdomen, and the force of that kick was not light. There might be some internal injuries. "No, we must go to the clinic. Aunt, wait for me."
Meng Zhao dared not delay. He suppressed his anger and slowly squatted down to straighten the several basins that had been overturned on the ground. The area around the dock was all soil, and the vegetables were no longer edible once they were spilled on the ground. But even if they were inedible for people, they could be washed and eaten by livestock. He couldn't let them go to waste.
Seeing Meng Zhao start to take action, Gu Shi also mustered her spirits and stepped forward to help. Aunt Feng'e also wanted to stand up and help, but Meng Zhao quickly stopped her.
After Meng Zhao finished packing, Aunt Zhang from the dock approached him, her face showing reluctance.
“Zhaozhao, I’ve been at the docks for so long and I’ve never seen anything like this before. Think carefully, have you offended anyone recently?”
Upon hearing Aunt Zhang's words, Meng Zhao quickly considered the situation in her mind. Her shop was doing very well, and as the saying goes, "a tall tree catches the wind," so she might indeed attract jealousy.
But if someone really wanted to target her, logically they should have targeted the shop, not the stalls at the dock.
Meng Zhao shook her head. "I don't know either. The constables only said that someone reported that they had food poisoning." Then, as if suddenly remembering something, Meng Zhao...
"Aunt Zhang, Brother Wu also works in the yamen. Could you please ask him to help us find out who we offended? At least let us know so we can figure out how to deal with it."
Hearing Meng Zhao's words, Aunt Zhang nodded. She really liked Meng Zhao. Not only was she skilled, but she was also kind and always willing to help others in need.
"Okay, I'll go back and have my son inquire about it. I'll tell you when I get any news. Don't be too sad. It's already winter, and it'll probably freeze over soon. Even if we keep selling, we might not be able to sell for much longer."
Meng Zhao gave a bitter smile. Although she only planned to continue her business at the dock until the end of the year, it was really hard for her to accept being kicked out for such an unfounded "unclean" reason.
After loading everything into the car, Meng Zhao thanked Zhao Cheng and his wife again. After all, even just informing them of this was a great favor.
"Mr. Meng, please don't be so polite. If we can help you, my wife and I will feel better."
The couple had been doing something wrong by imitating Meng Zhao's cooking, but Meng Zhao not only didn't blame them, she also greeted and spoke to them as usual. She was such a good person, and it was truly unfair that she had to go through something like this.
After expressing his gratitude, Meng Zhao had Gu Shi help Aunt Feng'e to Huichuntang, where they went to see Dr. Li, Chen Xiaowu's friend.
Seeing Doctor Li emerge from behind the curtain, Meng Zhao hurriedly asked, "How is he, Doctor Li? Is it serious?"
Li Shize shook his head. "It's just some bruising, nothing serious. You don't need to worry too much. Just follow my prescription, one dose a day for three days, and you'll recover."
Hearing this, Meng Zhao's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled down. She went with Li Shize to get the medicine. When they returned to the courtyard, Meng Zhao gave the medicine to Aunt Feng'e and told her how to take it.
Looking at the medicine, Aunt Feng'e sighed, "Sigh, it was just a kick, nothing serious. Why be so delicate? This medicine must have cost a lot of money."
Meng Zhao said seriously, "Whether it's a small matter or not depends on what the doctor says. Auntie, remember to take your medicine on time when you get home. Don't come to work for the next three days. I'll give you three days off."
As he spoke, Meng Zhao turned around and went back into the house to get half a string of coins. He walked to Aunt Feng'e's side and stuffed the money into her hand. "Take this money, Aunt, and buy some good food to nourish your body."
Seeing Meng Zhao treating her illness and giving her money to buy things, Aunt Feng'e felt both touched and angry. Remembering what had happened earlier that day, she couldn't help but start cursing again:
"A bunch of bastards, they're talking complete nonsense. If you ask me, there's no such thing as food poisoning. They're just deliberately causing trouble. I dare say there's no place cleaner than ours in this whole dock."
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