Chapter 89 If he refuses to clean house, I'll be generous and help him out.
Looking at the smirking mustache, Sheng An's eyes flashed with disgust, and he directly ordered Shu Qi and the other two: "Beat him!"
The three of them, Shuqi, were all stunned for a moment, then reacted and rushed forward to subdue the man with the mustache.
The man with the mustache was startled and stared at Sheng An in a panic: "What are you doing? What are you going to do? Your Sheng Garden is a den of bandits..."
Before he could finish speaking, Shu Yan, who had the strongest grip, slapped him twice across the face: "Dare to disrespect your master? You deserve to be beaten to death!"
"Ouch--"
The man with the mustache screamed in pain as he was beaten, and his thin face quickly swelled up.
Still not satisfied, Sheng An took a step forward and kicked the man with the mustache in the stomach: "If you dare to look around again, I'll gouge out your dog eyes!"
The man with the mustache lost control of his body and landed heavily on the ground. For a moment, he didn't know whether to clutch his stomach or his buttocks that had been split into four pieces.
The three of them, Shuqi, looked at Sheng An with awe.
Our mistress is truly a heroine among women. When faced with disgusting troublemakers, she doesn't hesitate to take action without a second thought!
Xu Jinnian's gaze was fixed intently on that petite yet powerful figure.
"You...you dare to hit me? Is this how Shengyuan treats its guests?"
The man with the mustache lay sprawled on the ground, unable to get up. He berated Sheng An with a fierce but inwardly weak tone, but dared not let his eyes wander any further.
Sheng An sat casually in the main seat, looking down at his disheveled mustache: "I never show any mercy to barking dogs."
Called a dog, the man with the mustache turned a liverish color with anger, wishing he could glare at the two men with his eyes: "Fine, fine, I'll remember Mr. Sheng's 'warm hospitality'!"
After saying that, he struggled to his feet and prepared to leave.
Did I say you could leave?
Sheng An’s cold voice rang out, and Shu Qi and the other two seemed to have received some kind of order, immediately stepping forward to stop the mustache-wearing man who was trying to run away.
"What...what do you want to do?"
The man with the mustache finally became frightened. He had no ability to force his way out and looked at Sheng An with deep fear in his eyes.
"Ha, is that all you've got? You dare to run wild on my turf? Who gave you the guts?"
Sheng An slammed his hand on the table, the loud noise echoing in the quiet hall, startling the man with the mustache so much that he almost wet his pants.
"No, no, I didn't, it wasn't me..."
Stared at by the three of them, including Shuqi, and having to endure the gazes of two others who looked at him like he was dead, the man with the mustache swallowed hard and stammered an explanation for himself.
"Who else could it be but you? Could it be Manager Cao of Zuixianlou?"
As if asking casually, Sheng An expectedly saw the man with the mustache stiffen, his expression visibly flustered.
Before the man with the goatee could deny it, Sheng An didn't give him a chance to speak and directly confirmed, "It really is him."
Eight-character mustache: "..."
This woman is terrifying!
Looking at the man with the ever-changing face like a color palette, Sheng An suddenly smiled, a smile that was exceptionally amiable:
“Every wrong has its perpetrator, and every debt has its debtor. You took a kick from me, which settles your offense. I will not continue to retaliate against you.”
His mustache trembled, and he felt even more frightened.
His legs trembled, and his lips quivered as he begged Sheng An for mercy: "Boss Sheng, please be magnanimous and spare me. I will never dare to do it again!"
Seeing that he gave in so quickly, Sheng An nodded in satisfaction: "From now on, answer whatever I ask. If you answer well, I'll let you go."
The man with the mustache dared not refuse, nodding vigorously: "I answer, I answer, I would never dare to deceive Boss Sheng!"
"Better to die than to die, my friend. The benefits Cao offered are far less important than my own life. Let this tigress fight Cao."
To everyone's surprise, Sheng An's first question caused the man with the mustache to change his expression: "You just used the excuse that Sheng Yuan didn't have any beef to belittle and mock them. Does that mean Zui Xian Lou is involved in the illegal sale of beef?"
Despite the freezing weather, cold sweat beaded on Sheng An's forehead. He knew perfectly well the sinister intentions behind Sheng An's question: "This, this, this is definitely not true. Zuixianlou would never steal and sell beef."
The government strictly prohibited the slaughter of cattle by the people. Occasionally, when there were old, sick, or disabled cattle that had to be slaughtered, government officials would be present to supervise the process.
This beef could never be available on the market. Even if Zuixianlou had connections to get beef, they couldn't make it public, and the word "beef" was not allowed on the menu.
Normally, officials don't investigate unless the people complain, but once someone takes it seriously, the government can't ignore it, after all, laws and regulations are not just for show.
To cover up such a thing would require a huge price.
A few years ago, the owner of a restaurant offended someone, who then seized on his illegal sale of beef and took him to court. In the end, he had to pay 2,000 taels of silver to resolve the matter.
The man with the mustache knew very well that if he dared to admit that Zuixianlou was secretly selling beef, he would definitely be arrested by Sheng An and taken to the government, making Zuixianlou suffer a terrible fate.
Sheng An didn't let the mustache off the hook, sneering and pressing, "Since Zuixianlou couldn't possibly be stealing beef, why did you just belittle Shengyuan and praise Zuixianlou?"
His face turned pale, and he couldn't explain himself.
In desperation, he slapped himself hard across the face, shouting, "It's all nonsense! It's all just idle talk! It's all because I'm bored! It's all because I deserve to die..."
The sudden action of the man with the mustache startled the three of them, who instinctively stepped back, thinking he had gone mad and was torturing himself.
Sheng An watched coldly, without sending anyone to stop it.
The man with the mustache felt bitter inside, and his mouth tasted strongly of rust.
But he didn't dare stop, slapping himself hard again and again until his skin went numb and his cheeks swelled up.
After countless slaps, Sheng An finally called a halt: "That's enough."
At this moment, the man with the mustache's eyes were swollen to slits, and streaks of blood trickled down the corners of his mouth, staining a small patch of blood red on his chest.
He dared not look up at Sheng An, fearing that her next words would be to force him to die.
"Second question, what is Manager Cao's purpose in sending you to Shengyuan to cause trouble?"
Sheng An had guessed the answer in his heart, but worried that he might have missed something, so he wanted to hear what the man with the mustache had to say.
The man with the mustache secretly breathed a sigh of relief and replied, albeit with unclear speech:
"He...he had his scoundrels kick Shengyuan hard under the pretext of not having beef, and then, on the grounds that Shengyuan was not presentable, he gathered a bunch of thugs and hooligans to cause trouble at Shengyuan every day, ruining Shengyuan's reputation."
Shengyuan's reputation is ruined, so naturally, wealthy people won't come to Shengyuan to eat.
In this way, the business of Zuixianlou was not affected, and Manager Cao also got his revenge for being kicked out by Sheng An.
"What a brilliant plan!"
Sheng An clapped his hands, but the smile didn't reach his eyes.
The man with the mustache was terrified, fearing that Sheng An might kill him in a fit of anger.
If he had known it would turn out this way, even if that Cao man had sent his new concubine to his bed, he wouldn't have dared to come to Sheng Garden to cause trouble.
That scoundrel Cao Xingwang really got him killed!
The man with the mustache cursed Manager Cao in his heart, while Sheng An waved for Shu Qi to bring paper and pen.
Soon, pen and ink were brought over. Sheng An coldly looked at the man with the mustache and said, "Write down exactly what happened between you and that Cao fellow. Sign your name and put your fingerprint on the bottom."
The man with the mustache dared not disobey, but he was not literate enough to write a confession by hand.
Finally, he dictated and wrote two confessions, using a pen and a book as his scribe.
As he pressed his handprint down, the man with the mustache felt as if he had swallowed a bitter pill; his face, which looked like a pig's head, was even more dejected than when visiting a grave during the Qingming Festival.
He blew the ink off the book before respectfully handing it to Sheng An for inspection.
Sheng An glanced at it, put away the confession, and coldly looked at the uneasy man with the mustache: "Go back and tell that guy surnamed Cao to wash his neck and wait."
The man with the mustache shrank his neck and hurriedly knelt down to kowtow: "Yes, yes, yes, I will definitely deliver the message!"
Sheng An waved his hand impatiently, his mustache swaying as he stood up and ran away as if a ghost were chasing him.
The three of them, Shuqi, looked at Sheng An with admiration, having learned a lot from this incident.
Sheng An coughed lightly, taking the opportunity to instruct them: "In the future, if you encounter someone who comes to cause trouble, don't be a coward. Just kick them out. It's best not to fight back, lest you get blamed."
The three of them bowed and replied, "Yes, Master!"
After the three of them left, Sheng An suddenly sprang up, rushed to Xu Jinnian, and stretched out her right hand, urging, "Quickly rub it for me, this hand can't be ruined!"
She hadn't controlled her strength when she slammed the table, and her whole palm went numb. The pain almost made her jump up.
My palms have regained sensation, but my wrists are still aching, probably from twisting them due to excessive force.
Xu Jinnian carefully held Sheng An's hand and massaged it gently: "Don't use so much force next time. If you want to hit someone, your husband can do it for you."
Sheng An was a little embarrassed: "Oh, I didn't know how to slam the table the first time. I'll definitely not hurt myself next time."
Xu Jinnian straightened his face and said in a serious tone, "Do you want there to be a next time?"
Sheng An said helplessly, "What can I do when trouble comes knocking on my door?"
Xu Jinnian remained silent, focusing intently on massaging her wrist.
Sheng An poked his chest: "Are you angry?"
Xu Jinnian pursed her lips and shook her head: "No."
Sheng An poked her chest again: "Do you want to get a mirror so you can look at your own face?"
Xu Jinnian took a deep breath and met her gaze with his deep eyes: "I'm not angry with you."
Sheng An nodded: "I know, you're angry at yourself."
After saying that, she wrapped her left arm around Xu Jinnian's lean waist and gave it a rather unceremonious pat:
"I can handle these little problems myself. But if I ever encounter something I can't handle, I'll definitely call you over. After all, you're my man."
Perhaps pleased by the words "You are my man," Xu Jinnian's expression softened, and he placed a kiss on Sheng An's slender wrist: "What will An An do next?"
Sheng An shook his sleeve, inside which was a confession written by a man with a mustache: "Send someone to deliver a copy to that old bastard Chen Peisheng. If he refuses to clean house, I'll be generous and give him a hand."
After driving Manager Cao away that day, Sheng An made a point of inquiring about the Drunken Immortal Restaurant, gaining a rough understanding of Chen Peisheng's character and conduct.
Xu Jinnian's eyes lit up with laughter: "An'an is really amazing!"
Sheng An chuckled: "That's right, how could you protect Sheng Garden without some skills!"
Xu Jinnian loved her look so much that his eyes darkened and he lowered his head to kiss her deeply.
After the two finished their lovemaking, it was already dark outside. Sheng An, with her lips slightly swollen, returned to the small building hand in hand with Xu Jinnian in a good mood, only to unexpectedly see Zhang Zhaodi.
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