"What's going on?" Li Xi noticed the sudden incident and immediately stepped forward. "Your food made someone sick, pay up!" the man in blue shouted. "Impossible, other customers ate there too, and they're all fine. Why is it only your friend who's in trouble? You're not here to extort money, are you? I've seen this kind of trick before. Tell me, which restaurant sent you here?" Li Xi looked like she was about to punch him.
"Hmph, I'm perfectly fine, no pain or illness, how could I suddenly faint? It's your fatty intestine noodles, maybe you're not careful with hygiene and accidentally put something in there that you shouldn't have." "Then let me take a look at him," Meng Zhelan said indignantly. "This humble woman has some knowledge of traditional Chinese medicine," Meng Zhelan said, and was about to squat down to take the pulse of the fallen man.
"Get out of my way. Who knows who you are? This shop is yours to run, and you get to decide everything," the man in blue said, placing himself next to the other man to prevent Meng Zhelan from getting close.
"Heh, you still say you're not trying to extort money? Look at your friend, he's almost dying, and you won't let anyone else see him. It might be too late to save him now," Li Xi said with a sneer.
“Yes, brother, let Manager Meng take a look at your friend. Maybe he has some hidden illness you don’t know about,” a middle-aged man advised. “Yes, yes,” the others echoed. “No, who knows what tricks they’re playing? Give me a hundred taels and I’ll take him to see a doctor,” the man in blue insisted, refusing to budge.
Without saying a word, Li Xi grabbed the man in blue by the back of his collar and pulled him aside, refusing to let go. Seeing this, Meng Zhelan stepped forward to take the man's pulse. After a moment, she said, "His pulse is stable, with no signs of poisoning. His complexion is rosy, and his breathing is even and long. He is in good health and living to seventy or eighty is not a problem."
"How could he be alright? If he were alright, why did he faint?" the man in blue retorted, thinking to himself, "That Manager Xu never said the shopkeepers here could treat illnesses. He even said there were only a few girls and boys, and that a few words of scare would get them to hand over their money, and that he could ruin their shop's reputation. Now they haven't been scared; instead, they've lost their composure."
"Alright then, since you don't believe us, we'll report this to the authorities. They'll have a doctor come and see for themselves. If it's not our fault, then sending you to jail is the least we can do. If you know what's good for you, just tell us who sent you," Li Xi said angrily. "Hmph, scare me won't work. Anyway, the person collapsed here," the man in blue retorted stubbornly, breaking free from Li Xi's grasp.
The man in blue rushed to the man on the ground and said, "You're bullying people because you outnumber them." "Hey, you scoundrel!" Li Xi rolled up her sleeves, wanting to beat him up to vent her anger, but Meng Zhelan patted her sleeve and said, "No need to get angry. Tian Tian, go report to the authorities and say that someone is causing trouble." Tian Tian came out from the side and walked out of the shop.
Seeing this, the man pulled the person off the ground and rushed outside, as if afraid of being caught if he was too late. Passersby laughed and said, "With such a paltry skill, he dares to extort people." "That person's act of fainting is too convincing. His face is rosy, he doesn't look sick at all. He should just make his face whiter." Everyone burst into laughter.
"Thank you all for your trust in our shop. I apologize for disturbing you. Today, you will receive a 50% discount," Meng Zhelan said, bowing and clasping her hands in greeting. "Shopkeeper Meng, you're too kind. You are all honest and upright shopkeepers. The tea you prepare every day is indeed effective. After drinking it for two days, I feel much better." "Yes, how can we let those two rascals cause trouble?"
There are still more kind people in this world. Seeing the two of them run away, Tian Tian followed them...
"Xiao Xi, it's very good that you two remained calm and composed in the face of trouble..." Old Sun said, stroking his beard. Everyone had already taken their seats and continued to enjoy the food.
Sweetie followed the two men, turning left and right, but they didn't stop for a long time. It seemed the two men knew they were being followed and were just leading her on a "tour of the garden." Helpless, Sweetie had no choice but to go back. "Miss Lan'er, those two seem to have realized they're being followed; they've been circling around." "It's alright. These two have someone behind them. They didn't succeed this time, but they'll be back to cause trouble again soon. Go and rest..." Meng Zhelan pondered, fiddling with her abacus.
"Xi'er, who do you think sent them?" "It's hard to say, but don't be afraid of them. I'm here to take action, and you're here to use tricks. There is still justice in this world." Li Xi paced back and forth with her arms crossed. "I'll go ask Grandpa Sun. He's quite familiar with this place."
"Grandpa Sun, do you remember those two people? Perhaps you've seen them somewhere before. What kind of shop owner likes to do this kind of thing?" "Hehe, Xiaoxi, you've stumped me. Normally I..."
"I only care about which restaurant has what delicious food." "Okay, Grandpa Sun, you eat first, it's on me. What else would you like?" "How could I eat and drink for free? Don't worry, I have enough money for food. If I need more, I have a friend who teaches at the academy up ahead. I'll just ask him."
Today, due to a farce, the profit was only a little over three ounces. However, this is how business is. The way of doing business, the way of dealing with people, and the way of treating others all lie in human nature. It's impossible for everything to go smoothly. Competitors are enemies, and there are no fathers and sons in the marketplace.
Meanwhile, the two men, having shaken off their pursuers, went to the back door of Yuanlai Restaurant. The innkeeper asked them, "Did you get it done?" "No, you said those guys were easy to handle? Bullshit! That innkeeper is very shrewd and even knows medicine. He could tell Zhang San was faking it just by taking his pulse. And that young man was as strong as an ox; he just picked me up. If we hadn't run, they would have reported me to the authorities. You should find someone else; we were almost scared to death. You should at least compensate us two taels of silver."
The shopkeeper, fearing they would betray him, quickly tossed them two taels of silver and shooed them away. "Boss Huang, ordinary threats won't work. They're not buying it. They're more difficult than we imagined. In just two days, these few people have amassed a loyal following. It's not something you can just fool with a few words."
The portly Boss Huang struggled to his feet, supporting himself with his hands. "Hmph, what do those brats have to do with me? My uncle is a captain in the city's patrol guards. I'll have him find a reason to shut down their shop. They've stolen a lot of business from me these past two days. I was even planning to take my tenth concubine, but I heard that Manager Meng is incredibly beautiful. Once their shop goes bankrupt, I'll reluctantly take her as my concubine, hahaha."
"Yes, yes, yes," the shopkeeper echoed. He really didn't want to do such a despicable thing, but he had to give in for the sake of making a living.
"Zi Mo, you said you have students all over the world, is that true? Can you tell me who's around here?" "Xiu Wen, you old rascal, what kind of trick are you up to now?" "Ha, no, no, just asking around."
"Speaking of which, quite a few students from our academy have passed the imperial examinations and become successful candidates, including the top three scholars," the old man said proudly. "Would you like to try the new restaurant? The food there is really good. Let's go check it out tomorrow." "Sure, I haven't left the academy for many days. Then I'll trouble you to lead the way."
As night fell, the moon was bright, the stars were few, and crows flew south. Li Xi and the others gathered to discuss their strategy. Li Xi suggested, "We should save the first serving of porridge, noodles, and rice every day. If they try to slander us again, we can report them to the authorities. This preserved evidence will come in handy." "Xi'er is so thoughtful," Meng Zhelan praised.
“Oh, it’s a small matter. I’m afraid we’ll have to prepare some money. If the officials come to inspect the shop, we can…” “Okay, I’ll listen to you,” they all agreed. “Tomorrow I’ll get a set of acupuncture needles. Whether the food is poisonous or not, we can find out immediately and they won’t be able to deny it.”
Without powerful backers in the capital, expanding her business would be difficult. Li Xi considered seeking Shen Xu's help, but having benefited from his favor yesterday, constantly troubling others seemed impractical. If all else failed, she could become a patrol captain; with her martial arts skills, even a minor captain position would be easily attainable, Li Xi thought to herself.
After the group dispersed, Li Xi gave the booklet to Tian Tian to take home and practice on her own. She meditated, adjusted her breathing, focused her inner energy in her dantian, and channeled it into her meridians. Her whole body felt warm, as if a powerful force was about to burst forth…
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