Chapter 226: Surprise
Old Man Wu kept personally watching the three people, afraid that there might still be some fools in the village who would be fooled into letting them go.
Previously, no traveling merchants had ever come to the village to collect medicinal herbs. How come as soon as Spiritual Medicine Pavilion opened, these people smelled the scent and came?
Old Man Wu felt that these three were definitely coming for Shopkeeper Shang, and who knows how they planned to harm her.
Their village had finally produced someone promising who could lead everyone to make money together. Shouldn’t they protect her like a treasure? They absolutely couldn’t let a few outsiders bully her.
Seeing that the sky was darkening, Old Man Wu figured that Shopkeeper Shang and the others would be back soon, so he instructed his son to tie up the three people and bring them out, giving an explanation before Shopkeeper Shang heard the news.
The others had just come to join in the fun, of course, mainly to show that they stood on Shopkeeper Shang’s side. They absolutely had no intention of selling medicinal herbs to anyone else.
After hearing the reason, Shopkeeper Shang had already guessed whose handiwork it was.
Seeing all the villagers looking at her, Shopkeeper Shang curled her lips, her tone neither light nor heavy, yet resounding.
“Everyone is free to sell medicinal herbs to whomever they want. I can’t control it and won’t. But there’s one rule: for the herbs taken from me, anyone who wants to play tricks like swapping them or passing off inferior goods as good quality, better drop those thoughts early. Otherwise, don’t blame me for not considering old ties and turning hostile.”
Shopkeeper Shang had said long ago that once everyone learned the skills, she welcomed them selling herbs they dug up themselves from the mountains after processing, and she wouldn’t interfere if they sold to others.
But if they swapped her medicinal herbs to others, she wasn’t some bodhisattva who wouldn’t mind teaching the villagers a lesson about her methods.
As soon as these words came out, the previously restless crowd instantly quieted down. Whether they had those thoughts or not, everyone took Shopkeeper Shang’s words to heart.
Wu Mingli looked around and was the first to speak: “Shopkeeper Shang, we’re all following you to make money, so we’re naturally on your side. We wouldn’t do such heartless things.”
“Yeah.”
“That’s right.”
“We’re all from the same village. Everyone knows what’s what!”
Many people chimed in agreement.
Whether sincere or not, at least at this moment, it sounded comforting.
Lu Chengjing walked to Shopkeeper Shang’s side and timely took over: “Uncle Wu, we’ll take these three back with us.”
Old Man Wu quickly pointed at Wu Mingli and the two men standing beside him. “You three go. Escort the Xiucai Scholar home.”
“Got it!” Wu Mingli grabbed the people and left, the other two hurriedly grabbing them and following, not giving Shopkeeper Shang and the other a chance to refuse.
The remaining people all held torches, pairs of eyes eagerly watching Shopkeeper Shang, looking somewhat pitiful for no reason.
“It’s getting late. Everyone, go home and rest early.” Shopkeeper Shang’s face showed a smile again, her tone softening, sounding very amiable. “The apothecary has made several big deals. Everyone will be busy in the coming days.”
“Really?”
“That’s great!!”
The crowd was both surprised and delighted. They weren’t afraid of being busy; they were afraid of having no work.
No one wanted to just stand around anymore. They eagerly hurried home to tell their families the good news.
Old Man Wu stayed a bit longer. After most people had left, he said to Shopkeeper Shang: “Some people in our village get muddled if others say a few words to them. I’ve scolded them one by one. They don’t have bad intentions; they just don’t understand the tricks involved. Don’t take it to heart, and don’t hold it against them. I’ll apologize to you on their behalf.”
“Uncle Wu, no need.” Shopkeeper Shang said, “I look at results.”
The result was that as soon as she returned, the villagers had tied those three people in front of her.
Hearing this, Old Man Wu’s heart, which he had been holding for the villagers, finally settled.
He realized he had still underestimated Shopkeeper Shang. The girl had more magnanimity than he thought.
“Shi Tou, escort Uncle Wu back.”
“Got it!” Shi Tou lit a lantern and came over. “Uncle Wu, this way. I’ll see you off.”
·
After the family ate dinner, Xiao Huan busied herself preparing snacks that Chu Xu liked.
The child was leaving, and Xiao Huan was reluctant. She thought to make more tasty things for the child to eat on the road.
Chu Xu followed Xiao Huan around like a little tail, calling “Auntie” sweetly over and over.
The herb-collecting trio was locked in the woodshed. Lu Chengjing and Shopkeeper Shang were interrogating them together inside.
Yuan Yuan stood on Xiao Hui’s back, her small hands gripping the window as she peered inside. Her big eyes were wide with curiosity.
Shopkeeper Shang simply picked up the child and put her on her lap to watch Lu Chengjing interrogate together.
In terms of interrogation, Lu Chengjing and Shopkeeper Shang had completely different styles. Shopkeeper Shang relied on torture, while Lu Chengjing used almost pure verbal kung fu.
He was skilled at catching loopholes in the trio’s words, leading them in with speech, then fishing for information.
Shopkeeper Shang felt it was still easier to just beat them. These three didn’t look like they had tough bones.
“We’re not traveling merchants. Li Ping sent us.”
Lu Chengjing: “Who is Li Ping?”
“He’s a servant from Qi Residence. He has dirt on us, so we had to obey him.”
“The silver notes were from him too. He told us to come to Elm Tree Village, buy up all the medicinal herbs. If the villagers wouldn’t sell, find a way to destroy them.”
Unfortunately, before they could act, the villagers locked them in the cellar.
“We had no choice. Let us go. We promise not to breathe a word.”
The three begged repeatedly, their bruised faces and panda eyes making them look quite comical.
Shopkeeper Shang carried Yuan Yuan out. Lu Chengjing re-gagged the three, checked their ropes to ensure no looseness, then followed.
“How to deal with these three?”
“Send them back where they came from.” Shopkeeper Shang smiled, beckoning Lu Chengjing. “Let’s give Shopkeeper Qi a surprise.”
Lu Chengjing leaned in to whisper. Yuan Yuan also perked up her little ears to listen. Whether she understood or not was secondary; she had to feel involved.
·
The next day, just as dawn broke, the shop assistant at Ji Min Apothecary opened the door. Midway through a yawn, he looked up and saw three swaying figures in front of the door, scaring him into a shrill scream.
“Dead people!!!”
This shrill, off-key shout brought out all the neighbors.
“Where are the dead people?”
“Ouch, such bad luck first thing in the morning!”
“It’s Ji Min Apothecary. Three people are hanging in front of the door.”
“Not dead, not dead. They’re still moving.”
The unlucky herb-collecting trio, wearing only underpants, were hung upside down in front of Ji Min Apothecary. Their mouths were tightly gagged, and they glared with three pairs of dead-fish eyes, utterly mortified.
“There are words written on them. Let me read them for everyone.”
“Qi Yongbao is a sneaky villain.”
“Ji Min Apothecary is guilty of tax evasion and is doomed.”
“Ji Min Apothecary’s medicinal powder is all ground from moldy medicinal herbs.”
The reader spun the hanging people around and found two more lines on their backs: “We are Qi Yongbao’s lackeys. Please report to the authorities.”
“I’ll go, I’ll go. I love helping others.” A trouble-loving onlooker shouted and really ran toward the county yamen.
The shop assistant reacted and tried to chase, but it was too late. He didn’t even have time to let down the three hanging people and hurriedly ran to notify his own shopkeeper.
