Wang Xian frowned after hearing Meng Zhao's words. Although he had no business experience, he found Meng Zhao's words unreasonable.
Especially after hearing that Zhao Ji's braised pork was addictive, his face instantly darkened, and he said to the young apprentice below, "How did you get to eat Zhao Ji's braised pork? Tell me in detail."
The young apprentice, after these days of turmoil, had slightly sunken cheeks and somewhat cloudy eyes. Hearing the magistrate's question, he stammered:
"In reply to your question, sir, the first time I ate Zhao Ji's braised meat was in the first few days after they opened, but I thought it tasted bad at the time, so I never went back."
"Later, it was one of my younger brothers who worked on Xishui Street. He said that Manager Tian from Zhao's Braised Pork Shop had sent a lot of braised meat to their shop. Since the shopkeeper wasn't there, he distributed it among the employees. He got a big bowl and asked me to eat with him."
"I didn't feel anything after eating it, but one time I wanted to go to Meng Ji's shop. When I got to the door, I saw a lot of people, so I don't know why I went to the other side and bought a serving."
“Since then, my child has been going to eat there often. At first, he could go without eating for a few days, but later he would miss it if he didn’t eat it for a day or two.”
"My master and senior brother said this stuff is addictive and they don't let me eat it. These days, I crave that braised meat every mealtime. If I can't eat it, my mouth gets dry and I can't eat. I also have trouble sleeping at night. When I try to read during the day, my eyes are blurry and I can't concentrate on anything. It's really awful."
Seeing that this young apprentice had only eaten Zhao's braised meat eight or nine times and was already in such a state, Wang Xian's anger grew even stronger. He slammed his fist on the table and angrily ordered, "Go and bring back the owner and manager of Zhao's braised meat, as well as all the shop assistants."
Seeing this, Meng Zhao quickly took out a booklet with various shapes of poppy flowers, poppy seeds, poppy shells, and poppy shell fragments. With the magistrate's permission, she handed the booklet to the constables who were to make the arrest.
Catching a thief and catching him red-handed is a mission that can't be wasted.
***
In the backyard of Zhao's Braised Offal, Manager Tian drove the rest of the people out of the house and started adding ingredients himself. He had spent a lot of money and had finally managed to buy these poppy shells, so he was reluctant to use too many. He only put two packets containing poppy shells in the pot.
After they retrieved the spice packet, they heard a door being kicked open outside, followed by a waiter shouting, "Officer... what are you doing here?"
Upon hearing the voice, Steward Tian turned pale with fright, his legs went weak, and in his panic, he tried to throw the spice bag he had retrieved into the stove. But it was too late. The waiter who had come in first saw through his intentions at a glance, kicked Steward Tian aside, picked up the spice bag from the ground, and shouted, "Search everything!"
A short while later, amidst the chaos, a group of constables escorted the staff of Zhao's Braised Pork out of the shop.
Soon, crowds of onlookers gathered on both sides of the street. Although the shop assistants were trembling with fear, they could still walk normally. The man surnamed Tian, however, had legs that were so weak that he could only walk by being supported by two constables.
Meanwhile, Wu Rongzhou led another group of constables to a restaurant in the county. Inside, they found a group of young masters drinking heartily, with unfinished braised meat on the table.
A young master dressed in a magnificent brocade robe, his face flushed, staggered to his feet. Pointing at the constables, he roared, reeking of alcohol, "Who dares to disturb my drinking? I'll skin you alive!"
Another young master chimed in, "Get the hell out of here! You've disturbed my enjoyment, I'll smash your restaurant to pieces!"
Wu Rongzhou originally wanted to ask someone which one was Zhao Shida, but seeing the situation, he didn't even bother to ask and just arrested them all.
Once everyone was brought in, the county government hall was packed with people. Some were crying out for justice, while others were drunk and acting crazy. Wang Xian slammed his gavel down and ordered someone to pour a ladle of cold water on the drunkards before things quieted down.
Wang Xian's gaze was sharp as he coldly swept over the crowd below, and he asked in a dignified and deep voice, "Zhao Shida, Tian Hongwu, do you know your crimes?"
Zhao Shida was quite tipsy. When he heard his name called, he thought someone was inviting him to drink, so he said, "Drink! What's there to be afraid of? My shop is doing very well now. Before long, I'll be able to open a shop on Tongfu Street and completely squeeze out that Meng guy. Then, all the braised pork offal business in this city will belong to Zhao's, hahahaha."
A friend who was still relatively sober standing nearby was alarmed to see Zhao Shida talking nonsense and quickly covered his mouth to stop him from speaking.
Seeing this, Wang Xian stopped questioning him and turned to Tian Hongwu, saying, "Tian Hongwu, do you know your crime?"
The man surnamed Tian shook his head frantically, "Damn it... I don't know, I really don't know!"
"In order to attract repeat customers and increase business, you added an addictive substance to the braised meat sold at Zhao's. Do you admit to this?"
"Addicted? How could that be, Your Excellency? My shop is doing well, and that's all because the braised meat tastes so good!" Along the way, Tian Hongwu had thought about many things, but now he could only pretend to be calm.
Then, his gaze fell on Meng Zhao standing in the hall, and as if he had suddenly found an excuse, he said loudly and emotionally, "Your Excellency, you can't listen to this little wench's one-sided story! She made bad food and couldn't keep guests, so she framed me. I'm really innocent, Your Excellency."
At this moment, Doctor Wang walked steadily forward and handed over the booklet they had previously recorded.
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