Chapter 172: Capture
The officers sent by Mr. Shao to arrest someone from the Sifang Restaurant did not give Manager Fang any face at all.
At first, Shopkeeper Fang put on a smile and asked what was going on. No one paid him any attention. Two officers, one on each side, escorted him away.
The owner and his waiters in the restaurant were all there, but no one dared to step forward and could only watch.
Shopkeeper Fang hurriedly smiled and cooperated, "I can walk on my own, I can walk on my own, sir!"
The officers still ignored him and took him out of the restaurant in a humiliating and controlled posture.
Manager Fang's eyes went dark, his legs went weak, and he was so ashamed and angry that he almost fainted.
Didn't everyone see this? Surely everyone would think he'd done something wrong. Then where would his dignity be? Where would his reputation be?
Who is harming him?
Shopkeeper Fang was completely helpless and could only lower his head, wishing he could shrink his head into his neck to prevent others from seeing his face.
He never expected that when he was taken to the yamen and met Mr. Shao, he would see that he had bribed the two people who went to Xu Zhichun's stall to cause trouble.
Shopkeeper Fang suddenly had a bad feeling.
His premonition soon came true.
Master Shao: "You're bullying the market, forcing people to buy and sell things, and even bribing hooligans to try to steal other people's secret recipes. Fang Zhengduan, you're so bold."
Shopkeeper Fang knelt down hurriedly: "Master Shao, I am wronged!"
"Humph, they've already confessed."
"Master Shao, I asked them to negotiate with Madam Xu, using both emotional and logical arguments to convince her to sell the prescription to me. I didn't force her to buy or bully her into the market. These two must have misunderstood my intentions, or they were so eager to get the commission that they resorted to any means necessary."
"But this is their own decision, not the villain's!"
"Please, Master Shao, please enlighten me!"
The two men in blue glared at Shopkeeper Fang with dark faces, cursing him a thousand times in their hearts.
They didn't distinguish.
At this point, they were the ones involved, so they were bound to be punished. But Madam Xu didn't suffer any loss, did she? So, at most, they would receive a lecture and a few slaps from Master Shao, which was nothing.
Once he left the government office, he would have a reason to ask Manager Fang for a bribe, and he dared not refuse.
You have to give a big sum.
Just at this moment, two more people were caught red-handed.
The officers reported everything one by one and relayed Xu Zhichun's words.
Goodness me, these two were even more ruthless. Not only did they demand the recipe for ice jelly, but they also wanted the recipes for gray tofu and gray bean shreds. They forced Xu Zhichun to sign the contract immediately, but they didn't mention the price at all. They even drove the customer away on the spot.
Even Shopkeeper Fang was shocked.
He was so panicked that he kowtowed repeatedly: "Master Shao, Master Shao, I'm truly wronged this time. I only asked to buy Madam Xu's ice jelly recipe. I didn't ask for the gray tofu or gray bean shreds, and I certainly didn't steal them by force, Master Shao!"
"This is interesting," Master Shao mocked. "Talk about it, both of you. Do you want to talk about it now, or after the torture?"
Master Shao had dealt with gangsters and thugs many times, and he had caught countless of them. He knew exactly how to deal with people like them and was very familiar with it.
The lackeys under Manager Fang are very good at finding people, and they are all experienced people, which is exactly what Manager Fang wants. If Xu Zhichun did not have Mrs. Lu as his backer, even if he could not succeed, Xu Zhichun's business would probably not be able to continue.
The two guys were so terrified that they immediately knelt down and begged for mercy while confessing.
They chose the same path as the men in blue: accept everything and pay compensation later.
The two men hesitated and told everything under Master Shao's relentless questioning.
So they forced Xu Zhichun to even ask for the recipe for the gray tofu and gray bean shreds out of selfish motives, and they forced him to sign the contract without mentioning the price, also out of selfish intent to embezzle the money.
In their eyes, the country women who came to the city to set up stalls were helpless and timid, and were therefore at the mercy of their masters.
Shao Shiye was furious. "This is outrageous! I never thought that under Dong Weng's rule, there would be people as shameless as you! Come, take them away and give each of you twenty lashes of the cane!"
"yes!"
"Master Shao, please spare us! Spare us!" The two men cried and begged for mercy. The officers dragged them away, held them down and beat them without even stopping their mouths, deliberately letting the three men hear.
Shopkeeper Fang was terrified and terrified, and the two men in blue were sweating profusely, cursing at them as good-for-nothings.
Even though they themselves are not good people, they also know the principle of leaving a way out for the future meeting. But these two people are different. They want everything and are insatiable, pushing others into a dead end.
Even a rabbit will bite when it is anxious, and even a clay figure still has some earthy qualities.
Even if Madam Xu didn't know the county magistrate's wife, she would probably report them to the authorities and fight them.
They don’t even think about the fact that there are tens of thousands of peasant women in the countryside, but how many of them can keep their business going in the city for a long time?
Can Madam Xu be like other peasant women?
Stupid, you deserve it.
But Master Shao was obviously angry with them, so he must not take his anger out on them,
They were crying and screaming as they were being beaten with sticks, when, wow, two more people were brought in by the police.
The leading officer saluted and stepped forward to whisper instructions to Master Shao.
Shao Shiye laughed, looking coldly at Shopkeeper Fang, condescendingly saying, "Tell me the truth now. How many people have you bribed to target Madam Xu?"
Shopkeeper Fang wiped the cold sweat from his forehead again and again, trembling with nervousness and almost fainting again.
"say."
"I don't know either. This was handled by my subordinates. They say there were five groups of two people in total."
Master Shao: “.”
This time, Master Shao was genuinely pissed off and laughed. "Manager Fang, I really don't know what to say. There aren't many people who leave me speechless, and you're one of them. Do you think too highly of Madam Xu, or do you look down on her too much?"
Manager Fang lowered his head even more, not daring to say a word or look up.
When planning in this way, one thinks that success will come easily. At that time, one feels so proud, high-spirited and confident.
At this moment, everything turned into panic.
"Master, Young Master Zeng wants to see you."
Master Shao snorted, "Please come in, you've arrived just in time."
In broad daylight, the police rushed into the Sifang Restaurant and took the shopkeeper Fang away. The waiters of the restaurant ran to Zeng's house for help.
Mrs. Zeng was terrified and hurriedly sent someone to find her son, telling him to take the silver notes and go to the yamen immediately.
"Bring your uncle back safely no matter what!"
Young Master Zeng was also shocked. Although he was dissatisfied with his uncle now, he definitely did not want to see him get into trouble.
Young Master Zeng was really puzzled. Even if his uncle sometimes did things not very decently, at most they would just cause quarrels and frictions. Even if he bullied others, it was limited and no one was killed. Why was he taken away by the yamen?
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
