As night deepened and drowsiness crept in, everyone gradually drifted off to sleep.
Dressed in night clothes, Guan Hu seized the opportunity, quickly leaped down from the roof, and slipped into the three-person room.
The next day, at the crack of dawn, Wang Fengyang, who had woken up first, jumped out of bed, worried about his family. He immediately ran to the three-person room, when a sharp scream echoed throughout the barbecue restaurant. Lan Yamei and Aunt Guan were instantly awakened and rushed outside, a sense of foreboding washing over them.
As soon as Lan Yamei stepped into the room, she saw three people on two beds, bleeding from their seven orifices and with bluish-purple faces. Her mind went completely blank. How could this be! Wang Fengyang, who was the first to discover the situation, cried out in a heart-wrenching and pitiful way.
Er Gou's family was also awakened and ran over to see what was happening—a dead body! Er Gou's mother, afraid of frightening the child, quickly covered the child's eyes and told her daughter-in-law to hold the child and avoid the area.
Aunt Guan was also clearly flustered. She quickly pushed aside Lan Ya Mei, who was standing frozen at the door, and went to check on the three of them.
The corpses were clearly stiff and completely cold. The blood flowing from their seven orifices was black, greasy, and foul-smelling. He frowned, shook his head, and said, "They were poisoned with arsenic. Someone must have been here last night! Who wanted to kill them?"
Upon hearing this, Wang Fengyang, who was sobbing, seemed to realize something, wiped his tears with his sleeve, pushed aside the few people who were standing at the door, and rushed out.
Aunt Guan tried to stop her, but it was too late. She stamped her foot and said, "What a tragedy! They all came back to life, who could be so cruel?"
Er Gou's mother covered her mouth and exclaimed, "Heavens above! We were just starting to see some good days, how could someone die like this?"
Er Gou didn't say anything, but he was clearly frightened. He helped his mother up and waited for the two shopkeepers to give him instructions.
This was the first time Lan Yamei had witnessed a death scene since she transmigrated, and she was genuinely panicked, unsure of what to do next.
Grandma Guan, having seen much of the world, immediately suggested, "There are only two options now. One is to report it to the authorities immediately and have them investigate what happened, but there's no guarantee of a result, and it might take a long time. The other is to go all the way and not report it to the authorities. The authorities can't handle these kinds of things anyway, so let's take care of the child's funeral arrangements. Lan'er, what do you choose?"
"We must report this to the authorities!" This was Lan Yamei's first thought.
Three lives lost! Humans, not fish! Their deaths cannot be left unpunished. The dead deserve justice! The public demands the truth! And Wang Fengyang needs the strength to continue to trust in this society!
Besides, this happened at a barbecue restaurant that's just starting out. Who knows how things will be explained later? For both public and private reasons, we should report it to the authorities. So he firmly said, "Report it to the authorities! We must find out the cause of death and find the murderer."
Aunt Guan hesitated for a moment and said, "If we report to the authorities, we might be criticized. You should think carefully. Public opinion can be overwhelming. You need to be cautious."
"If you're upright, you have nothing to fear. We're doing a good deed, and Heaven will surely be on our side. Even if people gossip, we're innocent." After saying this, he told Er Gou to hurry up and report to the authorities.
Before long, the government officials arrived. After examining the scene and the body, the coroner ordered the body to be taken away.
The barbecue restaurant was temporarily closed because it was the primary crime scene. Everyone was ushered outside to await the coroner's further on-site examination.
Good news doesn't travel far, but bad news travels fast. Soon after the notice was posted, the neighbors gathered at the shop entrance, whispering among themselves. Someone mustered up the courage to ask, "Sir, what happened at the shop?"
The official only said, "Someone has died. The government is handling a case. All bystanders, please disperse."
Upon hearing this, the crowd erupted in uproar!
"I told you this place was up to no good! See? People's been eating there to death! Tsk tsk tsk! Luckily you don't eat that junk food." Manager Zhang of the restaurant on the same street said to the crowd with schadenfreude.
"If you keep talking nonsense, I'll tear your mouth apart!" Aunt Guan retorted angrily.
"I'm talking nonsense? Didn't you hear? The government said someone died here, everyone agrees, right?" Manager Zhang deliberately incited the crowd, tarnishing the image of the barbecue restaurant, revealing his despicable nature.
"I knew it! How could this barbecue restaurant be doing so well? They might be selling human flesh barbecue. I wonder where they got three corpses and the authorities found out." A gossipy, long-faced woman speculated viciously.
Enraged, Tie Tou raised his fist, ready to punch her. "Go to hell! If you keep talking nonsense, I'll get rough with you!"
"Oh no! Someone's being hit! Someone's being hit! Your Honor, help me!" The long-faced gossip shouted, and the crowd, seeing the barbecue shop people as even less likely to be good people, automatically took a half step back to maintain a safe distance, their eyes filled with hostility.
Lan Yamei never imagined that people in feudal society could be so ignorant, so easily swayed by rumors. With just a few words, they spouted nonsense and slander. Not wanting to make things worse, she quickly tugged at Tie Tou's sleeve, and the eight brothers barely managed to suppress their anger.
"Hey big guy, you wanted to beat me up, huh? Scared? Let me tell you, in broad daylight, under the clear sky, how dare you harm me in front of the officials! Your barbecue restaurant is a real rip-off, thank goodness I didn't come. Not only will I not come, I'll also tell all my neighbors not to come here either. The barbecue here will kill you!" the long-faced gossipy woman said sarcastically, carrying a vegetable basket.
"Yes, what kind of barbecue restaurant is this? Someone died just two days after it opened. The government must investigate this thoroughly." Several uninformed villagers also became worried.
The restaurant manager, Zhang, was even more smug. "See? I'm not the only one who thinks this way; everyone thinks the same way. You guys are still too green." He shook his head, looking like a petty smug person.
Lan Ya Mei couldn't stand it anymore and retorted, "What do you mean by that? What do you mean we're too green? Are you some kind of old fogey? You just open your mouth and kick someone when they're down, your character is clearly lacking! Your moral standards are too low, unbecoming of a manager! How did your restaurant grow so big? Did you gossip and poach people to make it? It's really suspicious. Besides, the police officer clearly said that the matter is still under investigation, how can you be so sure that the cause of death is related to eating barbecue? Could it be that you poisoned me and framed me? I'm going to investigate you thoroughly!"
The machine-gun-like barrage of words made Manager Zhang stammer and blush with anger. He had come hoping to see a joke, but this young manager, despite his young age, was quick-witted and sharp-tongued.
The owner of the seafood restaurant next door, Manager Wang, chimed in, "Don't try to put Manager Zhang down. Let me tell you, I really do suspect there's something wrong with your barbecue restaurant! How come only your place has people dying, while we don't? What does that prove? It proves that there's something wrong with your barbecue. What's there to deny? Don't you all agree?" Manager Wang was clearly trying to vent his anger by putting the barbecue restaurant down.
"Exactly, someone died just two days after the business opened. It's bad luck."
"Maybe there really is a problem. Is it really that easy to do business on this street? I wonder who they've offended?"
"I would never eat that, it's too horrible."
...In short, there were all sorts of opinions, and it was a scene of whispers.
"The innocent are innocent, we'll see," Lan Yamei said, then ignored everyone else.
At this moment, Grandpa Ouyang, dressed in white mourning clothes, hurriedly squeezed into the crowd and said to Lan Yamei and Aunt Guan, "I heard something happened at the shop, what happened?"
"It's a long story," Lan Yamei sighed.
"Come on, let's stay at my house first. The authorities will question you after they finish their investigation." Ouyang invited everyone to leave this troublesome place temporarily. Since everyone had nowhere to go, they all followed him. Only Er Gou and his wife were left to hurry back to the manor to inform everyone that they would not be sending vegetables for the next few days.
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