Chapter 76: The Black and White Schemes of a Scoundrel
When Madam Chen returned home earlier, she'd only briefly mentioned the divorce, and the family was practically ready to beat her to death, but she'd finally managed to hide away by playing nice. For the first few days, they were a bit worried, but as time went on, they realized Ma Er was afraid to leave the house, let alone come to Bianjing. But they couldn't avoid him, and he still showed up.
She had been living with Danier these days, and their life was very stable. They had food and drink at the restaurant, and after paying the rent in January, they could save most of the remaining money. This money was all saved for her eldest sister.
Because of what happened today, Madam Chen and Danier didn't dare go back to rest at night. Now that Ma Er has been captured, he hasn't caused any trouble at home yet. They are afraid that if he is released, he will rob the family. So Madam Chen asked the shop assistants to help her collect the valuables in the house.
Mrs. Chen's husband's surname was Ma. He wasn't tall, but he was stocky, with a dark green face that resembled a green-skinned squash. He was the second child in the family. His older brother had died prematurely, so everyone called him Ma Er. His family had always indulged him. While Mrs. Chen was home, he had been somewhat restrained. But later, when Mrs. Chen went out to work, she returned with a deep dislike for him.
"Originally, when we talked about marriage, they said the Ma family was well-off and down-to-earth, and they wanted me to marry into a happy life. But all these years, I haven't enjoyed any happiness at all, and I've even been worn out." Madam Chen smiled bitterly. "I worked hard every day for the Ma family for more than ten years and didn't get any good results. Later, I realized that working like a slave in a wealthy family is better than living in the Ma family."
Baozhu knew that Ma Er was going to make trouble, so she told Mrs. Chen to go back to the kitchen and work first. She had a way to deal with it. She told them to stay in the inn for a few days and ask the inn staff to take them there after work every day.
After this delay in the restaurant, one table was given a plate of crispy meat as a gift. Some of the people who had complained about the slow serving of the dishes stopped talking after seeing the free plate of meat and the politeness of the shopkeeper.
Mrs. Chen knew that she had wasted time, and when she heard Baozhu say that there was a way, and that the boss was smart and would definitely be able to think of a solution for her, she no longer worried and hurried to the kitchen with Danier to start the fire again.
Baozhu asked Jiang Shi to put away the boxes of crispy meat patties and pickled vegetable patties, and explained clearly to him which store they corresponded to and who could get the tickets to pick them up. After looking over the store and arranging the affairs, Baozhu still had to go to the government office, after all, it was she who reported the matter.
He called a servant to go with him, and the servant drove a donkey cart and took Baozhu to the yamen.
"Excuse me, gentlemen. I'm the owner of the Zhen Family Restaurant on Caomen Street. Today, there was a disturbance outside the restaurant, and I asked my staff to report it to the authorities. I don't know how to deal with the troublemaker."
The yamen runner knew that she was the victim. They were very good at dealing with such ruffians and scoundrels. Seeing that Baozhu treated them politely, they also replied politely,
"We'll be able to determine the charges after a thorough investigation. According to the law, this disturbance and disruption of business operations is punishable by fifteen lashes of the cane."
Baozhu nodded, and with a smile, invited the yamen runners to come to the store for tea when they had time.
I went in to check on Ma Er. He had been restless since he entered the prison and had been beaten up again. I asked the jailer and found out that it was the prisoner who was imprisoned with him who disliked him and beat him up. Because Ma Er was such a troublemaker, he cried and screamed loudly but no one cared.
Seeing Baozhu coming, Ma Eryuan wanted to curse her with foul language.
Baozhu knew from the moment he opened his mouth that a dog couldn't produce ivory, so she said coldly, "Don't think everyone is afraid of you. Your rogue behavior is useless in Bianjing City. If you go out, you can go to my restaurant and cause trouble again. Let's see who gets the worst of it."
Even a fool knew that if he offended her, he would suffer the consequences. Ma Er took advantage of the situation and knelt down, tears streaming down his face. "Boss, you really shouldn't have trusted that woman. Our children are starving, and she's enjoying herself out and about without even bringing home a penny. How are we supposed to survive?"
Baozhu sneered, "You're a man, not an animal in a pen. No one's tied you up. You have hands and feet, and a mouth that can tell lies. Even if you were to tell stories, you could still support your family. How dare you ask your wife for her money?"
Ma Er hesitated but couldn't get through with his argument. He was an old punk and knew that it was useless to be angry. He also knew that Baozhu would not help him, so he immediately softened his tone and begged Baozhu to let him go. He would never dare to cause trouble in her restaurant again.
"Auntie, please forgive me. The one at home just gave birth to a child, so she should at least call her mother. She should at least be worthy of being called mother and give some money to this child." Ma Er kowtowed shamelessly. "I know this matter has nothing to do with you, shopkeeper. I was blinded by lard and went to your shop to make trouble. I won't go there again. I only ask you to call that poisonous... my wife here, and I will talk to her personally."
Baozhu smiled and said, "There's nothing much to say. Since you've already remarried, why not write a divorce letter and let your wife go? Then I can use it to mediate the flogging."
"So that's what you were planning. No matter how powerful you are in Bianjing, you actually conspired with the government to suppress me. When I get out, I'll spread the news of your actions, you vicious woman, and even instigate my wife to divorce me. No wonder she had ambitions outside. It turns out that someone behind the scenes instigated her. No matter who hears this, it makes no sense."
As if he knew what Baozhu was planning, he stopped kneeling and begging. Instead, he sat on the ground calmly, looking nonchalant, without any trace of the pitiful begging look he had just had.
Baozhu naturally knew that this time she couldn't convince him, so she just wanted to test his bottom line. Seeing him like this, she didn't say anything more and left with the waiter without looking back.
Ma Er remained calm, assuming the woman would return to negotiate reconciliation. He had already made up his mind: that vicious woman was so ruthless that even bringing her home would be a nuisance. His newly married second wife, though a widow, was more gentle and considerate than this cruel woman. He had made up his mind to make her his wife's wife upon his return. However, if these people wanted him to write a divorce letter, he would never agree to it easily. He would demand at least a hundred taels of silver.
No! It needs two hundred taels of silver.
He was thinking happily, but he didn't expect that the person would just leave without even looking back. He didn't get to say what he wanted to say, and he just leaned against the prison door, feeling so angry.
Many people saw Ma Er causing trouble that day. After the government officials inquired, they confirmed that it had happened and that no one was hurt. He was only hit ten times, and those ten hits were very severe. He stayed in the inn for two days before slowly moving to Zhen's restaurant.
Because she didn't know when this man would come back to cause trouble, Baozhu had been watching the restaurant for the past few days. Seeing that he was just hanging around the door and not causing any trouble, she didn't want to chase him away. Baozhu asked the waiters in the restaurant to pretend that they didn't see this man and leave him alone for a few days.
However, as soon as Mrs. Chen got off work and went out, he pestered her and wanted to follow her to the inn where she was staying.
As soon as it got dark, there were fewer yamen runners patrolling the streets. Baozhu was afraid that something might happen, so she took them all to the Zhen family to stay for a few days. The daily expenses of ordinary people in Bianjing City were quite high, not to mention that Ma Er was still living in the inn. If he continued to spend money like this day after day, he would become restless in a few days.
"What are you thinking of when you kidnapped my wife?" Ma Er saw Baozhu taking the person away and was furious and wanted to settle the score with her.
Jiang Shi stretched out his hands to stop him from behind. Baozhu knew that he was about to get furious. Seeing his expression, she knew that he was just one step away from success. Baozhu then pretended to ask someone to report to the police.
Ma Er held up the marriage certificate and shouted,
"You kidnapped my wife! And now you want to report it to the police! I think I should be the one to report it. Just wait, I don't believe there is no place in this whole city of Bianjing where you can seek justice!"
Ma Er was furious. Mrs. Chen was shaking all over and her heart was pounding. Danier saw that her mother was about to collapse, so she supported her and started to curse at Ma Er.
Several of his men saw him off, but Ma Er didn't dare to follow and act aggressively. He simply walked away with his tail between his legs. Everyone in the family was eager to get money out of Chen Niang, but only Dani'er felt sorry for her mother.
Baozhu specifically told her and her daughter not to go out alone for the next few days, as Ma Er wouldn't last much longer in Bianjing. Baozhu's prediction was correct; within two days, he went to the government office to report the incident, accompanied by a large group of yamen runners. They said they were closing down the restaurant because the owner of the Zhen Family Restaurant had abducted his wife.
A crowd of onlookers gathered around, pointing and talking, thinking something big was going on. It wasn't until Baozhu came out that they realized the shopkeeper was actually a woman. For a moment, everyone booed Ma Er, even the yamen runners accused him of causing trouble.
Baozhu said that the man had been lingering at the door of the store these days and was really hindering the business. Her family paid taxes on time every month, and last year the officials in the yamen praised their restaurant. Now, because of this man's trouble, they could not do any business. Baozhu burst into tears and said that the last flogging would not teach him a lesson, so she asked the yamen runners to catch him and give him a good beating.
Ma Er's legs weakened at the mention of being beaten. "It was indeed this shopkeeper who abducted my wife. My child is still young and cannot be separated from her mother—"
"What nonsense are you talking about! How can you kidnap a young lady like her?"
As soon as the tall and strong yamen runner spoke, Ma Er immediately fell silent.
"I work to earn decent money, and my children can barely feed themselves, yet this man uses my earnings to marry a child, and now he's throwing mud at me." Madam Chen came out with a kitchen knife, a look of determination on her face. "You want money today, but I won't give you a penny. At worst, I'll cut my throat and die in front of you, so that others will know that your Ma family forced you to death."
She then looked at the shopkeeper and said, "If something happens to me today, please help me report it to the authorities. Even if I die, this family will not have an easy life!"
Baozhu pretended to block the knife in his hand, and then kindly asked the yamen runners to leave. The yamen runners had made a wasted trip, and seeing that Ma Er was getting angry, the last one kicked him to the ground.
"If you are willing to waste time, then stay in Bian Jing. No one will care about you anyway. But you won't get any money. If you are willing to divorce, I might even give you some money for the trip home." Baozhu said coldly.
Ma Er wailed, "There's no place in the entire capital where the people can rule. Yet, a single restaurant has become so powerful that even the government can't do anything about it."
Seeing that he was confusing right and wrong with just his words, Baozhu asked Jiang Shi to pull him up.
Mrs. Chen was so angry that she found Ma Er very funny. When she went to work as a cook in a rich family, this man said he was reluctant to let her go. Now, only two years have passed and his new wife is already in confinement after giving birth.
It is not easy for a woman to get a divorce these days. Her family is weak and she only has an elder sister who is looking for a husband. When she was still at home, she often visited her elder sister. But since she started working as a hired worker, her husband's family would never come to visit her again. Not only did her family have no support for the divorce, but the gossip from all the relatives behind her husband's family was enough to overwhelm her.
The woman Ma Er later married naturally wanted to be his wife, which was his only advantage. Mrs. Chen would never feel at ease until this matter was resolved. She wanted to divorce him, but she couldn't get rid of this family of leeches.
Because of the commotion early in the morning, only three or two diners were left in the restaurant. Baozhu asked Chen Niangzi to go to the kitchen to cook. After the onlookers had dispersed, Baozhu winked at Jiang Shi.
Jiang Shi and two other employees went to pull Ma Er, who was lying on the ground, and said, "Our boss wants you to come in and talk."
Ma Er instantly became arrogant again. Jiang Shi didn't like him to begin with, so he stopped the man who was about to enter the restaurant with such arrogance, "We still have customers. How can we let them eat when you look so sloppy? At least clean up first."
Ma Er was interrupted by this and his high spirits were mostly gone. He brushed off the dust on his body and then walked in hesitantly. Once inside, he saw that the restaurant was clean and tidy. The remaining half of his high spirits were even lowered by a lot.
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