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墨書 Inktalez
“Xia Muxin, you shameless little brat, get out here!”
Before the pot of Orchid Beans was even finished cooking, a deafening voice rang out from outside. It was unmistakably Feng San Niang's voice. Xia Muxin frowned slightly, then smirked; it seemed that Feng Liulang was still as despicable as ever.
She thought to herself, a weasel paying New Year’s respects to a chicken—there could be no good outcome.
“Sister-in-law, you come.”
She handed the spatula to Ermiao, took off her apron, and walked outside. Before stepping out, she noticed Yan Zhouwan and her sister-in-law looking at her with concern and reassured them, “Don’t worry, I can handle this.”
When Xia Muxin stepped outside, her parents were already waiting at the door. She heard her mother politely ask Feng San Niang, “What’s going on, San Niang?”
Feng San Niang's face darkened at the question. With her hands on her hips and almost snorting through her nose, she said sharply:
“What’s going on? Your family still has the face to ask? Back when my Liulang wanted to marry your Xia Muxin, your family refused him outright. Now that my Liulang has made something of himself, your family shamelessly changes its tune and demands money from him in front of everyone! My family has elders above and children below; Liulang is a good-hearted boy. So as his mother, I have no choice but to play the villain.” Feng San Niang spoke with righteous indignation, spitting as she went on. “Hurry up and tell me how much my Liulang owes you; hand it over immediately!”
Seeing Feng San Niang’s sharp-tongued demeanor made Xia Muxin want to slap her across the face. Just look at that rat-like appearance of Feng Liulang; if he really became an official, it would be a disaster for the people. Instead, she calmly approached Feng San Niang and pulled out five taels of silver from her pocket.
“This is the money for the Orchid Beans that Feng Liulang bought from my shop.” Upon seeing such a lump of silver, Feng San Niang's eyes lit up with greed; she looked ready to pounce. But hearing Xia Muxin's words made her expression sour again. Xia Muxin knew that she was about to unleash another tirade, so she preemptively stated, “I’ll give it to you, but you must return my five pounds of Orchid Beans. This is a fair trade; I doubt any merchant would be as fair as I am.”
Xia Muxin thought this would make Feng San Niang understand the situation better. Seeing her eyes flicker for a moment, she hesitated before mumbling:
“What Orchid Beans? You see how little you charged the villagers for Fava Beans? How is it that by changing the name they become hot sellers? My Liulang isn’t stupid enough to spend that much silver on your cheap beans.”
Xia Muxin scoffed lightly, neither angry nor annoyed. “Fine then, you make me five pounds of Orchid Beans in exactly the same flavor; each one must taste just right. If you can do that, I’m willing to refund your money. But I really must thank you for the reminder; otherwise, I wouldn’t have known that your precious son Feng Liulang is such an idiot.”
"Mother, don't go. This is all Liulang's choice."
While this was still unfolding, the Zhou Family arrived again. Zhou Cailian was dragging the furious Wu Family and the You family along, looking troubled as she half-pushed, half-pleaded.
"You all from the Xia Family are adorned in gold and silver. Look at my Color Lotus, she's nothing but skin and bones now. She's carrying two lives, how can your family have the face to take Liulang's money?"
The Wu Family completely ignored Zhou Cailian, launching into a tirade against the Xia Family, their eyes squinting into slits as if the Xia Family had devoured their flesh and drained their blood.
"There's no need for further discussion. Songzi, if anyone dares to cause trouble again, just unleash Python Brother."
Xia Muxin couldn't be bothered to deal with these two families any longer, so she made her statement and walked into the house without looking back.
At the mention of Python Brother, they fell silent, shrinking their necks and glaring at Xia Muxin's retreating figure, wishing they could bore a hole through her with their stares.
"What are you doing? Is it not embarrassing enough?"
At that moment, Feng Liulang rushed over, panting and glaring at his family members with a hint of anger.
"Husband, don't blame Mother. It's all my fault; I took their words too seriously. They've been living in hardship for so long that they came here to air their grievances."
Upon seeing Feng Liulang, despite having many grievances of her own, Zhou Cailian held back her emotions and gently tugged at his robe, speaking cautiously like a small woman.
Yet inside, she loathed Xia Muxin. She knew that Feng Liulang was still not ready to let go; otherwise, he wouldn't have come here. Moreover, now that he had money, instead of buying things for his family, he went to her shop to buy those expensive Orchid Beans. If it weren't for Tang Sanwan getting fed up with them, they would still be in the dark about it.
"Short-sighted!"
Unexpectedly, instead of giving her any face, Feng Liulang brushed her hand away in annoyance. He then pulled out a few pieces of silver and tossed them on the ground, glaring coldly at his family as he said, "Money, money, money—what more do you want? You’re always nagging like little girls; it’s driving me insane." He then turned to Summer Forest and others: "Uncle, Auntie, don’t stoop to their level. It’s all my oversight that has caused Muxin to suffer."
The polite words he spoke, along with his reprimand of his own family, left the couple from Summer Forest at a loss for words. They exchanged glances, and Aunt Xia smiled as she said, "It's fine, it's all a misunderstanding." With that, the couple didn't linger and went inside together.
"Mother, from now on, stay out of my affairs. You can't afford to delay my important matters."
Feng Liulang gazed greedily at the five-story distinctive building before him. After a moment's pause, he coldly addressed his family and then strode away without looking back, leaving both families dumbfounded and exchanging bewildered looks.
The business at Delicious and Abundant had been thriving for three consecutive days. Everyone was busy to the point of exhaustion, returning home only to prepare more goods. Of course, they were also collecting money until their hands ached. Since that day, the Feng Family had not caused any more trouble, and Xia Muxin was glad for the peace. Today marked the fourth day; as lunchtime approached, the number of customers in the shop dwindled. Xia Tieshu was busy restocking when suddenly loud commotion erupted from outside, followed by heart-wrenching cries:
"Woo... you black-hearted shopkeepers! You will pay for this! My husband bought some beans and biscuits from here this morning. I just sat down for lunch to call him, only to find him lying on the bed, lifeless, with unchewed Orchid Beans still in his mouth. Woo woo woo... you murderers! Give me back my husband's life! Give me back my husband's life..."
Hearing the cries, Xia Muxin walked over and saw a woman in her thirties dressed appropriately but now wearing coarse clothing with a white ribbon tied around her head. She was holding a four or five-year-old boy who was similarly dressed and carrying a spirit tablet inscribed with: Spirit Tablet of Zhao Dabiao.
The commotion had attracted a crowd around the shop's entrance, quickly blocking it off.
Xia Muxin beckoned to Songzi and whispered something in his ear, prompting him to squeeze into the crowd.
"You think you can just call for help after causing someone's death? It's not that easy. Now tell me how this is going to be resolved. Don't think our Zhao Family is easy to bully."
In an instant, Songzi was grabbed by a tall, dark-skinned man who glared at everyone present before finally fixing his gaze on Xia Muxin and bellowing.
"Poor my nephew! Just when life was getting better, this happens! You young lady, how could you be so heartless? How could you commit such an atrocious act... woo woo..."
Following this, an elderly man with a flower-patterned robe was supported by several young women as he stumbled forward, crying uncontrollably.
Xia Muxin had been in this town long enough to recognize many faces, but she had never seen the Zhao Family before. Moreover, the way the onlookers regarded them was equally unfamiliar; she felt certain they were not locals.
"Every grievance has its source; every debt has its owner. If it truly turns out that someone died from consuming our food products, I will willingly accept all legal consequences. Moreover, this is a matter of life and death that should be thoroughly investigated by the Yamen before any guilt is assigned. Our food has been sold for more than just a day or two; not to mention throughout Zhushan County, at least one-third of people have tried it. Yet now there’s an incident resulting in death—how am I supposed to believe that?"
Xia Muxin remained calm and composed, though she was puzzled. Today, it seemed that dozens of unfamiliar faces had come to buy Orchid Beans, all dressed appropriately, mostly young men. This raised her suspicions; she couldn't help but wonder who had dug such a big pit for her.
What Xia Muxin said made sense, and most people agreed, whispering among themselves, generally in favor of letting the Government intervene.
"Hmph, you have money, and you think you can settle this with a few coins. How can we trust that the Government will handle this fairly?"
Unexpectedly, the tall man did not buy into this reasoning at all. Grabbing Songzi by the collar, he lifted him up and fixed a sharp gaze on Xia Muxin. Though his words seemed like a tantrum, his actions were clearly threatening.
Songzi's face turned bright red and then pale as he struggled to breathe. Seeing this made Xia Muxin furious, but she dared not act rashly at that moment.
"I say, young lady, just pay some compensation and settle this privately. They don't seem like harsh people. You've caused quite a stir already; expecting them to remain calm is unrealistic. Besides, they haven't dragged you to see the officials because they don’t want to escalate things. After all, this is business. If it gets to the Government, do you think your shop will still be able to operate?"
It was the steward of the Ouyang Family who spoke up. While it appeared he was trying to help Xia Muxin out of a tight spot, he was actually pulling her into deeper trouble. Did he really think she could be so easily deceived? If she settled privately, it would mean she admitted that there was an issue with her family's Orchid Beans. Even if she stopped doing business afterward, her reputation would be tarnished.
Moreover, he seemed so certain that she would fall for it, openly saying such things in front of everyone as if he wanted the whole world to know about this incident.
"Oh no... what kind of business does your family run? I’ve only eaten a few and now my stomach hurts terribly."
"Compensate me for my losses and medical expenses; otherwise, I’ll smash your shop today."
Suddenly, over twenty people surged in from nowhere—faces Xia Muxin recognized as those who had bought Orchid Beans earlier that morning. They hurled the beans at her with force, clutching their stomachs and turning pale with rage as they shouted threats at her.
"Ah, young lady is just a young lady; not listening to the wise words of elders has led to trouble right before her eyes..."
At that moment, the Old Butler of the Ouyang Family shook his head in disappointment and slowly stepped out of the crowd.
Xia Muxin followed his silhouette and looked across, where she spotted a vague figure on the second floor. The person was dressed in a white snow coat, their features indistinct, holding a teacup, and at that moment, they provocatively raised the cup towards her.
A sinister smile lurked in their eyes.
Another unfamiliar face. Xia Muxin felt a bit flustered inside and took a few deep breaths to calm herself.
Then, to everyone's astonishment, she walked into the shop, moved out a chair and a small table, and after sitting down, spoke calmly:
"Unfortunately, I have some knowledge of medicine. You all might as well come forward and let me take your pulse to investigate."
Seeing the faces of those who had been shouting in pain turn serious, Xia Muxin's gaze sharpened as she scanned the crowd:
"I'm just curious. How can you be so certain that our county magistrate in Zhushan County is not a good official? That he would treat lives as mere grass for a bit of money while allowing wrongdoers to roam free? Or are you all simply feeling guilty about your own misdeeds and deliberately creating this incident to frame me?" At this moment, her eyes narrowed, her pretty face radiating an icy aura. Her words were aggressive, and when she noticed the group had forgotten to shout in pain and were staring at her instead, she took a step back: "If you don't believe in my medical skills, that's fine. The Tang Family Medical Hall is right over there. I'll pay for everyone’s treatment; are you willing?"
As she spoke, she bent down, picked up some fallen Orchid Beans from the ground, and began to eat them whole, skin and all.
A collective gasp arose from the crowd below. Some elderly people looked at her with genuine admiration, while dozens of others stared at her nonchalant act of eating Orchid Beans in shock.
After finishing a handful of Orchid Beans, no one spoke up. Whether it was intentional or not, she suddenly became furious. She slammed her hand on the table and said in a low voice:
"What’s wrong? Feeling guilty? Choose between the Government or the Tang Family Medical Hall; it's up to you. I don’t have time to waste."
- End of Chapter -
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