“In Daling County, Lu Hei Ya (a type of braised duck) does sell very well, and we welcome merchants who sincerely want to cooperate to run the business together. But Shili Piaoxiang (another braised duck brand) is really an eye-opener. It’s one thing to want to buy my Lu Hei Ya recipe at a low price, but they even sent spies to my house to try to steal the recipe. I have seen many dirty tricks in the industry, but I have never seen anyone as shameless as Mr. Liu.”
As He Jiuniang spoke, Liu Yancai kept making pleading gestures, begging her not to talk nonsense, but He Jiuniang completely pretended not to see it and finished speaking in one breath.
A new round of self-criticism began in the crowd, and even his own wife looked at him strangely.
Liu Yancai was displeased: "You, you, you young widow, you can't just make false accusations! If you're going to say that, you have to provide evidence, otherwise I'll take you to the authorities!"
“I am indeed a widow, but you don’t need to keep reminding me. It would be better to go to the magistrate. I’m afraid that Boss Liu will bully ordinary people like us who make a living by doing small business. It’s a good opportunity to ask the magistrate to give us justice.”
Liu Yancai thought she would never dare to go to the magistrate's office with him. He had already driven away that woman surnamed Zhou, and the Lu family would not be foolish enough to take her in again. Therefore, they had no witnesses or evidence and could not find any fault with him.
But who would have thought that this woman would react differently than usual? Could it be that they have caught that woman surnamed Zhou again?
Liu Yancai realized he had been careless; he should have gone all the way and dealt with that woman directly.
Seeing his stunned expression, the crowd, who had initially only believed him halfway, now believed him nine-tenths of the time.
If it were me, and I were truly wronged, I would definitely rush to see the authorities immediately. But Liu Yancai's hesitant manner clearly showed that he was guilty.
"Boss Liu, is what this young lady is saying really true? You really hired someone to steal their recipe? That won't do!"
"Although your Shili Piaoxiang hasn't come up with anything new in recent years, it's still an old shop that we all miss. As long as you run it well, there's no reason why it shouldn't go out of business. Why bother sending people to steal other people's recipes?"
"yes."
...
Everyone had their own version of events, but Liu Yancai retorted, "I didn't do it! This is a frame-up! Show me the evidence!"
He Jiuniang smiled, then took out a stack of papers from her bosom and waved them under everyone's gaze. She said, "These are the witnesses who saw Zhou being chased out of the gate of Shili Piaoxiang in Daling County for stealing things. They have all signed and fingerprinted their statements, which count as physical evidence. As for witnesses, if needed, we can bring those people from that day here, and everyone can testify in court."
There was actually no evidence of any signature or fingerprint; she couldn't be bothered to do such a thing. She was just trying to scare Liu Yancai.
Liu Yancai was surprised that she was so well prepared, and for a moment he had no idea what to do.
The others also noticed something amiss and were quite disappointed with Shili Piaoxiang. After all, it was a well-established brand, but they didn't expect the owner to be so unreliable. It seemed they would no longer dine at this restaurant.
"Then what do you want? Even if what you said is true, it still doesn't work, does it?"
Liu Yancai asked in a low voice, "Given the current situation, none of the circumstances are favorable to me, so I have no choice but to back down for now."
Everyone gasped. This was an admission, and the first time they'd ever seen someone admit it so confidently.
"I don't care about anything else. The purpose of my visit today is to tell you that if you want to do business, come to me openly and honestly. If you can afford it, we can cooperate. If you can't, you'd better give up on that idea. Your manager Zhang should have told you that I went to see him. If you don't listen to me, your fate will be even worse than his."
After saying that, she prepared to leave, but stopped as she passed Madam Liu and said, "If you want to remove the dark spots on your face, please come to Yuyuantang to find me."
Madam Liu was plump with dark skin. Most people couldn't see the dark spots on her face; they just thought she was dark-skinned and ugly. But He Jiu Niang noticed them at a glance, which stunned Madam Liu.
When she came to her senses, He Jiuniang had already left.
Madam Liu grabbed the hand of the maid beside her and said, "She just said, where should we look for her?"
"Yes, it seems to be Yuyuantang, a medical clinic run by Imperial Physician Song."
"Then you've made a note of it. We'll go find her tomorrow!"
Mrs. Liu became excited. If she didn't have other things to do today, she would have wanted to go with them right now!
Over the years, she has put a lot of effort into her face, but to no avail.
She was ridiculed wherever she went. Although her family was wealthy, she was rarely invited to social gatherings by other women unless they needed something from her. She desperately wanted to improve her situation.
The maid readily agreed and tried to help Madam Liu home, but Madam Liu waved her hand and said, "No rush, there are still things to take care of."
As she spoke, disregarding the many people watching, she grabbed Liu Yancai by the ear and dragged him upstairs to a private room, cursing under her breath: "Liu Yancai, you better explain to me what's going on with these little sluts! What did I tell you before? If you want me to spend money on your business, you have to listen to me! Look at what you've done!"
After entering the private room, various crackling sounds and Liu Yancai's pleas for mercy came from inside. Everyone sighed, shook their heads, and left.
Madam Liu scolded Liu Yancai and went back home. Then she sent someone to inquire about the female doctor at Yuyuantang. She learned that He Jiuniang was indeed a miracle doctor, the one who cured Miss Gao. She was overjoyed and decided to go see her first thing the next morning.
At this time, Liu Yancai did not dare to go home and stayed at the restaurant, lying on the bed and having Liu Chang apply medicine to him.
"That vicious woman Cheng Xuewei dared to disrespect me in front of so many people. One day I'll divorce her!"
"Ouch, ouch, be gentle! It hurts so much!"
"That young widow is really something. If she had something to say, why didn't she just ask you to come to me? Making such a scene, is that even acceptable?"
...
Liu Yancai kept talking, and Liu Chang didn't dare to answer at all. The widow had indeed asked him to call the master out, but he had taken it upon himself to have the servant teach her a lesson, which led to this mess.
Liu Yancai continued, "But that young widow does look pretty hot! That bastard Lao Zhang didn't even make it clear when he wrote the letter. That young widow is so beautiful, how could we use such underhanded methods? We should treat her with tenderness! Now we've ruined our image in her eyes, and that's my loss!"
Liu Chang: ? ? ?
Liu Chang: It seems that the one who caused you to be beaten by your wife was that young widow. Shouldn't you be angry? Why are you feeling sorry for her instead?
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