The man in the short shirt was surnamed Zhou and named Sizhu. The woman was his wife, named Juanniang. They lived in a village in Qili County.
The couple had one son and two daughters. They originally ran a small snack shop in Pingyang Prefecture, selling local noodles. The business was good, and they could not only support their family but also send a few taels of silver back to their hometown to support their parents during festivals.
However, starting last winter, migrants began to gather outside the prefectural city, prices rose, and no matter how strictly the government investigated, some migrants still managed to sneak into the city.
In the bustling city center, things are alright, but in those poor streets and alleys, robbery and extortion are becoming increasingly common.
Zhou Sizhu's small shop was located in a remote area. At first, he kindly gave some food to the beggars, but as time went on, the beggars and thugs started to extort money from them in various ways.
They would visit him every few days, disrupting his business and almost kidnapping his two-year-old daughter.
Even worse, some of their competitors took advantage of their misfortune, hiring scoundrels to extort a large sum of money from them under the pretext that the food was unclean, forcing the couple to sell their property and return to their hometown to farm.
However, Zhou Sizhu was straightforward and honest, and he felt uncomfortable keeping this resentment inside.
Song Liyun also asked that Juan Niang had a habit of eating Sichuan peppercorns since she was a child, and that her family was good at making spicy dishes.
However, a fire broke out at home while they were smoking and roasting meat. Both her parents died in the fire, and her elder brother was also burned. She then sold herself into slavery to raise money for her brother's medical treatment.
She met Zhou Sizhu while working as a slave for a wealthy family. After getting married, she was freed from slavery and opened a small shop with Zhou Sizhu. The business was good, which attracted covetous eyes, and that's how things ended up like this.
Song Liyun thought that Tianxianglou's current offering of only barbecue was indeed a bit monotonous. It would be even better if it were paired with other foods, such as porridge, soup, and snacks, and if it were to offer spicy dishes in the future.
Unfortunately, no proper chefs from Qili County dared to come to Tianxianglou.
Although Sun Wencheng and his colleagues knew how to grill meat, they were all self-taught.
While grilling meat in the wild might be barely edible, achieving a high-quality, refined experience requires professional guidance.
When Zhou Sizhu and his wife heard that Song Liyun wanted to hire them as chefs and asked if they would like to stay, they agreed almost without hesitation.
Tianxianglou used to have more than a dozen waiters, cooks and general laborers. In addition, they also had to take in local thugs who ran errands, so they specially partitioned off a few small rooms in the backyard, which are still empty now.
Zhou Sizhu and Juanniang moved in with their child that same day.
Now the couple works in the kitchen, while their ten-year-old son, Xiaozhu, and eight-year-old Dahua do light chores and run errands in the building. Two-year-old Xiaohua is usually left in the backyard where it is safe.
With the addition of this couple, the kitchen of Tianxianglou finally had a backbone, and with Lin Tao as the manager, the business smoothly got on track.
Meanwhile, Magistrate Jiang in the county government, after receiving the six local ruffians sent by Zhou Xiang, took the opportunity to make a hefty profit.
As expected of someone from the Dali Temple, his investigative skills were first-rate. As soon as the few thugs entered the courtroom, they confessed the truth: Huang Changsheng from Zuichunlou had ordered them.
However, when the constables summoned Huang Changsheng for questioning, these thugs could not produce any evidence and had to let him go.
Zhou Xiang was still a little annoyed when he got to this point: "I don't know what Jiang Feng meant, he just asked one question and released the person when he didn't admit it."
It's laughable that they expect us to be lenient. These are the very people making things difficult for us, yet we're expected to show mercy to such malicious individuals.
It turns out that although Huang Changsheng did not admit to instigating people to extort money from Tianxianglou, he did admit that he had gone to the county government to inquire about the purchase and had spent a lot of money to bribe several clerks.
However, this cannot be considered evidence that he extorted money from others.
After complaining, Zhou Xiang continued, "Lord Jiang also said that Tianxianglou is being targeted by several restaurants and eateries in Qili County. If Huang Changsheng is punished now, it will definitely cause dissatisfaction in the culinary world. He told us to keep a low profile for now!"
Is this a case of "the law does not punish the masses"? Or is it about maintaining order in Qili County?
After thinking for a moment, Song Liyun said, "It can only be said that civil officials handle things differently than military generals. Lord Jiang has his reasons for doing what he wants, so we just need to be careful."
Jealousy is like wild grass in spring; once you pull out one, another will grow. Now that we know Huang Changsheng and Shen Leyan are the ringleaders, all we need to do is be wary of them.
Tianxianglou is a business that needs to be run; harmony is essential for making money.
In the past, we had nothing to lose and weren't afraid of those wearing shoes, but now we have to restrain ourselves and stop fighting and causing a scene.
Moreover, it has been privately known that Tianxianglou is a property of the garrison, and Jiang Feng should avoid suspicion.
These are all just speculations by Song Liyun and the others.
No one knows what methods Jiang Feng and Luo Baihu used, but Qili County suddenly became peaceful.
Several days have passed, and apart from the thugs who tried to extort money the first time, no one, not even a Tom, Dick, or Harry, has come knocking on the door.
The kitchen staff were also completely dead.
However, Song Liyun had no intention of letting these people off the hook; whatever they did, there had to be consequences.
There's still a long time to go. You'll pay back for the mistakes you made when you first opened the business!
Jiang Feng's focus these days has indeed been on maintaining stability, after all, he came not only for this small county town, but also for other matters.
A month ago, Qing'an Prefecture was captured by the Di barbarians on horseback, and refugees scattered. The influx of people into Pingyang Prefecture increased the pressure there.
Under the scorching sun, the refugees' lives were even more unbearable than in the dead of winter. Often, before they even breathed their last, the stench of decay would spread, and plagues would follow.
Qili County and Suijin Town are closer to the Dilu Grassland than the prefectural city.
Moreover, due to poor communication, more than half a year has passed, and the story of the Di tribes attacking the walls of Suijin Pass during the New Year festival is only now spreading throughout Yunzhou among the people.
Out of fear of the Di people, those who fled did not come this way, and the county town became a haven.
With the country falling into enemy hands and the Xuanwei Army no longer reliable, the Zhenbei Army of Hecheng has already dispatched troops, trying to drive the Di barbarians on horseback towards the grasslands.
Within the territory of the Wu Dynasty, the water and grass were abundant and the granaries were full. The Di cavalry did not even need to carry fodder and could freely roam the fields and villages.
This is also why the Zhenbei Army went to great lengths to build garrison castles in order to keep the Di barbarians outside the pass.
Once they enter the Wu Dynasty, the situation will be unfavorable for the Zhenbei Army.
The Di barbarians rode swiftly like the wind, their direction unpredictable, and no one could stop them wherever they went. Moreover, they could take a large number of Wu Dynasty villagers hostage, making it difficult for the Zhenbei Army to catch up and attack them.
This kind of work, where you have to be careful not to hurt the victim, is not easy to do. If you're not careful, you might not only fail to save the person, but also get yourself into trouble.
Grain can be harvested again if it is looted, but excessive casualties will severely damage the foundation of the nation.
The Zhenbei Army could not launch a direct attack on the Di cavalry that occupied the villages. They could only slowly shrink their defensive line, block the road ahead, and force the Di to retreat back to the grasslands after looting before taking action.
In the capital of the Wu Dynasty, the weather was scorching hot in June. Under the blazing sun, even the cicadas hid in the shade of the trees and sang softly.
In the imperial court, the officials, dressed in their heavy court robes, were drenched in cold sweat and remained silent as if trembling with fear.
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