Chapter 100 The shopkeeper slid to his knees swiftly, immediately...
The shopkeeper slid to his knees quickly, not only immediately apologizing for his behavior but also waiving Su Zhihan's fees.
This attitude slightly changed the diners' opinion, and the previous chatter gradually subsided. However, Su Zhihan looked around and smiled, "Was it really just a one-off mistake in serving the wrong dish?"
The shopkeeper's smiling face suddenly froze.
The man who came over to join in the fun was taken aback at first, and then followed Su Zhihan's gaze to see the bowl of 'baby fish' on his table.
His expression changed instantly: "Holy crap?"
The man strode back to his seat, picked up his chopsticks, and quickly counted the pieces of meat in the dinner.
Segment by segment, piece by piece.
Halfway through cleaning, the man couldn't help but mutter, "Hey, have you eaten the head and feet yet?"
"No, it's all body fat we eat."
"Wow, so many bones..."
"Sir," the shopkeeper said hastily, seeing the situation was not good. "The head and legs of that giant salamander have a poor texture and are very rough. We never use them when cooking, and we always take them out before stewing."
"We used the wrong ingredients for the ladies' portion, but the others are definitely correct." After saying this, the shopkeeper looked at the waiter beside him. The waiter repeatedly agreed, feeling very annoyed: "That's exactly why I made a mistake."
Then, the shopkeeper added, "This was indeed our oversight. How about this, I'll give everyone here a discount and only charge half the price."
However, compared to before, the reaction in the room was much colder this time, and some people even continued to jeer, shouting at Su Zhihan: "Young lady, do you have any other evidence!"
"Of course there are more." Su Zhihan smiled and walked around. There were quite a few customers in the restaurant who ordered the salamander dish, and many of them started counting the bones in front of them when they heard the voice.
Soon, Su Zhihan returned to the next table and helped the man pick out the pieces of meat from his bowl, not even letting go of the bones he was chewing.
"From the moment I started eating it, I felt that the taste was both familiar and unfamiliar, and then I noticed something else."
"The surface of a giant salamander should have a layer of gelatinous substance, and the flesh should be soft, tender and chewy. However, the flesh of this fish is rather lean and has a firm texture. Of course, the shopkeeper could also say that your cooks removed the skin cleanly, or that the giant salamander itself is relatively lean."
“But these pieces…” Su Zhihan slowly pieced together the selected pieces of meat, making the piece longer and longer.
Then, she paused and pieced together another piece of meat. The patterns on the two pieces of meat were completely different; one was striped, while the other was pure black.
Su Zhihan stopped what she was doing and showed the pieced-together meat to the shopkeeper, the waiter, and the surrounding diners. She said bluntly, "I've looked around, and everyone's bowls are filled with this... What do you mean by accidentally making a mistake? I'm afraid your shop has always been using snake meat instead of salamander, hasn't it?"
The shop was quiet for a moment, then erupted in an uproar. All the diners who had ordered the giant salamander turned pale and quickly began searching through their bowls for the meat pieces, piecing them together in that manner without exception.
At this point, everyone was furious.
Several hot-tempered diners stood up and stormed towards the innkeeper and waiter. The leaders grabbed the innkeeper by the collar and waved their fists, shouting, "Good heavens, they're shameless!"
"They actually dared to try and trick us with snake meat—"
"Calm down, calm down—"
"Gentlemen, please calm down." Seeing the fists waving in front of him, the shopkeeper's body went limp, but he forced himself to calm down: "What do those two young women know!"
"There are many varieties of giant salamanders, and their colors and patterns are also slightly different," the shopkeeper explained loudly, wiping his sweat.
With the evidence laid bare, the diners had no reason to believe the innkeeper's story. No matter how much the innkeeper pleaded, the diners' anger showed no signs of abating; on the contrary, it only intensified.
Seeing that they were about to smash the shop, several officials who had been maintaining order on the street rushed in and shouted, "What are you doing?"
"Stop! All of you, stop!"
"Sir, you've come at the perfect time!" Upon seeing the newcomers, the diners' eyes lit up, and they rushed forward, chattering away.
"Sir, the people at this restaurant are cheating us! They're using that giant snake to impersonate a giant salamander! Hey, this one dish costs us almost five strings of cash!"
"That damn snake is worth at least three strings of cash."
"Pah, shameless bastard!"
"My lord, you've been wronged! Those two women are just spouting nonsense, deliberately piecing together this to slander us!" The shopkeeper, his collar being pulled, hurriedly protested, "Sirs, you should know that our boss is the county magistrate's own nephew. How could he do such a thing!"
"He's just a county magistrate's nephew..."
"Just because he's the magistrate's nephew, he can lie?"
"Who the hell doesn't have a relative who's an official?"
Those who could come to this Tea Horse Road to do business were all wealthy merchants or even officials. Upon hearing this, they looked disdainful and, instead of stopping, became even more annoyed.
At the same time, Jiang Zhenniang also showed disdain: "If you really didn't do such a thing, why do you keep mentioning the county magistrate? You're clearly guilty, that's why you keep talking about the county magistrate..."
Jiang Zhenniang had seen plenty of people like this in the capital. They didn't have any official position or authority, but they always mentioned so-and-so in their conversations, thinking that this would make others look up to them.
"That's right, that's right."
"The magistrate's nephew... could he be using the magistrate's name to tarnish the magistrate's reputation?"
Upon hearing these words, even the officials' gazes towards the shopkeeper changed.
As for the shopkeeper, his face had already turned black, and he was secretly gritting his teeth, thinking that he would definitely make this mother and daughter pay.
Ignoring the other diners, he forced out two tears and cried out loudly, "Sirs, I want to sue these two women for slandering our shop. I beg you to clear our name!"
Su Zhihan and Jiang Zhenniang could easily see that the shopkeeper was a bully who preyed on the weak and feared the strong. He didn't dare to deal with the men, so he targeted the two of them instead.
Hey, you've run into a brick wall this time!
Just as Jiang Zhenniang was about to bring her son out to show him off, someone else walked in from outside.
It turned out that several officials, seeing that something was wrong, hurriedly went to invite Master Zhen over: "Master Zhen, the two ladies say that this dish is made of snake meat, but the shopkeeper insists that it is made of giant salamander. The two sides are arguing and both say they want to go to the government office."
"Look—"
"Master Zhen, you've eaten at my house before with the magistrate, so you should know..." The shopkeeper hurriedly stepped forward and said eagerly.
Unexpectedly, the official Zhen ignored him and instead asked questions one by one, before looking at the two pieces of meat placed on the table.
Upon seeing Su Zhihan and Jiang Zhenniang, a hint of surprise flashed in Zhen Guanren's eyes. He then turned his gaze away and carefully examined the two pieces of meat. The two pieces of meat were exactly the shape of long snakes, but the shopkeeper stubbornly denied it, insisting on comparing them to others: "Look, they're all like this. Besides, you can send someone to search my kitchen. Where would I get so much snake meat..."
Su Zhihan was shocked that even at this point, the shopkeeper was still trying to argue. She laughed angrily, "Oh? Then I'll kill a giant salamander and personally dissect its bones for you to see."
The shopkeeper's expression suddenly changed: "That won't do..."
He didn't dare to say much to Su Zhihan, but instead shouted that he wanted to go to the government office and ask the county magistrate to make a decision for him.
Now, Mr. Zhen and the surrounding diners were certain that he was indeed up to something. The surrounding diners weren't stupid either; they didn't dare to show themselves, but they could still do something secretly. Many of them deliberately moved to the doorway, blocking the way for the shopkeeper and the shop assistants, determined to keep them inside the shop.
Seeing that the shopkeeper was about to argue, Su Zhihan became impatient: "Why not? If I really made a mistake, I will compensate you ten times the amount of money; if I didn't make a mistake, you will compensate us ten times the amount of money, how about that?"
The shopkeeper stammered, unable to say it.
After pondering for a moment, Master Zhen said, "I'll vouch for you. Please, madam, kill a giant salamander to check!"
Upon hearing this, Su Zhihan immediately headed towards the kitchen. She glanced down at the salamander swimming in the basin, and chuckled softly. The one swimming most enthusiastically was clearly the salamander that the kitchen helper had scooped up right in front of her.
Goodness, it really has "come back to life".
Unfortunately, even if you are resurrected today, you must die again!
With quick eyes and hands, Su Zhihan grabbed the resurrected giant salamander, raised her cleaver with her other hand, and slammed the back of the blade heavily into the salamander's neck. Then, she swiftly and accurately cut into the neck, killing the giant salamander in one stroke.
Instead of removing the bones directly, she worried that the shopkeeper would make up some excuse about how live animals are different from cooked ones. So she simply recalled the taste she had just eaten, put the salamander into a pot to blanch it, and scraped off the mucus attached to its surface.
Then, she took a knife and cut the giant salamander into even, large pieces, piling them on a plate.
Next, sauté scallions, ginger, and garlic until fragrant, then add the pinkish-white giant salamander meat, stir-fry evenly, and then add various spices and sauces to simmer.
Su Zhihan's movements were fluid and smooth, flowing continuously, and she remained in the sight of the officials, restaurant staff, and diners throughout.
As the aroma gradually wafted out, the diners outside became restless: "Hey... what's that smell?"
"It smells so good..."
"Whose cook was that young lady just now? Was she here to challenge us?"
While the diners outside made wild guesses, the manager inside was already ashen-faced. Watching Su Zhihan's skillful and efficient movements, he nearly spat out blood.
Once the broth had reduced by more than half, Su Zhihan took it off the heat and served it. Even without comparing the taste, just by looking at the drastically different appearance, everyone present could tell that the dish just served was definitely not a giant salamander.
"It really was fake!"
"Good heavens, this is completely different!"
"Using something like this to fill out the place, are you just trying to fool passersby?"
[Background sound: Seriously... this meat smells so good.]
"What a shameless person!"
"How much money was actually scammed?"
"Pah! You're trying to frame someone else!"
[Background audio: Can we have a taste?]
The anger that had subsided reignited, leaving even the shopkeeper speechless.
Seeing the diners' agitation, Master Zhen quickly led his colleagues forward to calm them down: "Please calm down, everyone!"
"If anyone gets hurt, then it will be everyone's fault." Master Zhen raised his hand and said loudly, "I will arrest these people now and send them to the county government!"
"This shop is run by the county magistrate's nephew. Could it be that he deliberately sent us here?"
"Yes, yes!"
"Let's go to the county government office together!"
"That's right, that's right—make them pay up right now!"
[Background sound: This smells amazing!]
Master Zhen understood that if he were to argue further at this point, he would likely be beaten as well. He nodded, signaling the constables to tie up the shopkeeper and waiter and send them directly to the yamen.
Then, he turned to Jiang Zhenniang and Su Zhihan: "Ladies, please come with me..."
Zhen Guanren's voice came to an abrupt halt.
The diners still in the restaurant turned around to look. They saw that the officials who had come in with Master Zhen were gathered around the table, their eyes fixed on the bowl of stir-fried giant salamander, looking eager to try it.
Zhen Guanren: "Ahem."
Old Chen sheepishly withdrew his hand: "I should go, I should go... Oh right, this is evidence, isn't it? Shouldn't we take it to the county government office with us?"
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