Zhao Laosan and his wife sat together on the donkey cart. The cart swayed and rocked, making Laosan's wife feel a little nauseous.
She gagged a few times, but nothing came out—she hadn't eaten anything that morning.
Zhao Laosan patted his wife on the back and sighed deeply.
The third son's wife also sighed, "Luckily, before opening the shop, I brewed some for the children to drink. They have a keen sense of taste and could tell that something was wrong, so they discovered it."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Laosan spat fiercely and said, "It's not from the tip of their tongues, it's diluted with water..."
He couldn't continue.
That wasn't milk diluted with water at all; it was water with some milk added, so it didn't taste like milk at all.
In other words, they had to prepare before opening the shop, so they came over before dawn. Under the kerosene lamp, it was hard to see clearly, but when they looked under the bright sunlight, the color was so pale that it was hard to see the white.
The third son's wife nestled against her husband, asking worriedly, "What should we say when we get to Boss Zhao's place later?"
Zhao Laosan wiped his face: "I don't know either."
He had spent his whole life toiling in the fields, and had never experienced anything like this before. Thinking about what might happen next, he was so nervous that his stomach ached.
The third son's wife touched his arm and said, "It's okay, I'm always with you, don't be afraid."
Zhao Laosan held his wife's hand tightly.
Because they had a donkey cart, the two of them arrived at Boss Zhao's cattle farm in no time.
It was the dead of winter, and there wasn't a single cow on the hillside. The two of them asked the villagers for directions to Boss Zhao's house, but no one answered when they knocked on the door.
Seeing that they had been standing at the door for a long time, the villagers couldn't help but ask, "Who are you looking for?"
“We’re looking for Boss Zhao,” Zhao Laosan said with a simple smile. “We ordered milk from his company and wanted to ask him something, but we can’t find him.”
“Old Zhao,” the villager nodded thoughtfully, looking at Zhao Laosan and his wife’s noses, which were red from the cold, and said with a pang of sympathy, “His dairy cows are currently being kept on the outskirts of the village, in a row of wooden pens. They’re easy to spot. Why don’t you go and look for them over there?”
“Okay, okay,” Zhao Laosan nodded repeatedly, “Thank you.”
"It's nothing," the villager waved his hand.
Zhao Laosan didn't get on the cart. Instead, he led the donkey cart towards the village entrance. After circling the village less than halfway, he saw a row of cattle pens.
He quickened his pace and rushed forward, but was stopped by the guards.
The man, holding a whip, pointed at Zhao Laosan and asked, "What do you do?"
Zhao Laosan did not back down, but asked, "Is Boss Zhao here?"
"What do you want with Boss Zhao?" The guard glanced at him, then looked at the third son's wife who was getting off the carriage and carrying a wooden bucket of milk, and said with a sneer, "He's not here."
"Then where is he?" Zhao Laosan pressed.
"I don't know. He doesn't come every day. He just came yesterday. He might not come again for a few more days."
When the guards said this, Zhao Laosan became anxious. He said, "There's something wrong with the milk he delivered to me. I have to see him immediately."
"Don't talk nonsense," the guard said anxiously. "If others hear this, how will we be able to do business?"
The third brother's wife came over and said, "Big brother, we're not liars. There really is a problem with the milk. We're here just to have a good talk with Boss Zhao, not to cause trouble. The most important thing is for everyone to sit down and solve the problem."
Seeing how reasonable the woman in front of him was, the guards softened their tone and asked, "What's wrong with your milk?"
Old Zhao brought the wooden bucket over, placed it in front of the guard, and lifted the lid, saying, "Brother, take a look at this milk..."
Upon seeing this, the guard frowned.
He knew that Boss Zhao and his men were diluting the milk with water. Business was bad, wages weren't being paid on time, and several cows had died due to neglect. The remaining milk was not enough to go around.
Strictly speaking, the solution to this problem should be to buy a few more dairy cows, but even if Mr. Zhao had the money, it's not a good time to buy cows now that it's the dead of winter and snowing heavily.
Furthermore, the best dairy seller right now is Li Xinxiang, and Boss Zhao would never bow down to the woman he abandoned.
So, when there wasn't enough milk to go around, Boss Zhao and Wang Yingying came up with the idea of diluting it with water.
As long as the amount redeemed is not large and no one notices, we can get through this winter.
The guards, seeing this, simply turned a blind eye, since they still needed to get their wages from the guards!
However, the bucket of milk that Zhao Laosan placed in front of him was really too much. It was obvious to the naked eye that too much water had been added. In the snowy weather, the ice crystals that formed were almost transparent.
this--
The guard, feeling he could no longer even deny it, couldn't help but ask, "Is this what the milk we delivered to you like?"
Only a fool would accept that, right?
Upon hearing this question, the third son's wife touched her nose.
The milk was delivered last night, much later than usual. The third son's wife was working in the kitchen, so the second son's wife helped receive it.
The second son's wife was usually careless and never thought about inspection. She just had the workers move the buckets to the storage room and take away the empty buckets, and that was it.
Everyone else was busy all day and didn't even think to check on the milk.
That's why it wasn't discovered until the next day.
Zhao Laosan said, "Brother, look at the appearance of this milk. It couldn't have been made by us, could it? What good would it do us if we delayed our business?"
The guards saw that they were dressed simply, like ordinary country folk working in the fields, and that they looked honest and didn't act cunningly. They didn't think they were there to extort money, so they assumed that Boss Zhao had mixed too much water yesterday, maybe even twice, and that it was a mistake.
He sighed and said, "Mr. Zhao and his wife went to stay in the county town. I don't know where they are staying. If you want to go and look for them, you can try your luck. If it doesn't work, come back in a couple of days and I'll mention this to him then."
"Okay." Zhao Laosan and his wife nodded repeatedly, left their names and addresses with the guards, and then reluctantly left.
The third son's wife sat in the carriage on the way back, feeling lost and helpless.
At this moment, light snowflakes began to fall from the sky. Since there was no shelter on the donkey cart, ice crystals quickly accumulated on their heads.
My head was warm, but the snow melted into water after a short while, leaving my hair wet and making me even colder.
When Zhao Laosan saw his wife shiver a few times, he quickly hugged her and breathed on her hands to warm them.
The third son's wife asked, "Are we still going to the county town?"
“No, let’s not go,” Zhao Laosan shook his head. “Let’s go find Wang Mazi and settle the score.”
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