Chapter 232 Don’t Panic, Stir the Water First

Chapter 232: When Trouble Comes, Stir the Water First

Wang Xiaocui, being from the countryside, had never encountered such a situation before. She could only desperately wave her hands at the crowd, "No, no, my ingredients are all clean! Don't listen to her nonsense. She has a grudge against me and is trying to ruin me!"

Ji Qingqing, with an air of righteousness, retorted, "What do you mean I'm trying to ruin you? Dare you say you didn't just come from the countryside? Dare you say your hands haven't been in manure? Dare you say you didn't have a serious illness earlier this year? You're just a dirty woman who came to the city to stir up trouble!"

"Your husband divorced you because you were too dirty, and now you're out here selling food. Aren't you afraid of making people sick and getting into trouble? Don't blame me for speaking harshly; I'm doing this for your own good!"

Wang Xiaocui's face turned red with anger, "Ji Qingqing, you're talking nonsense!!!"

Ji Qingqing, with a haughty expression, took out a handkerchief and waved it in front of her nose, "As expected from someone from the countryside—rude and filthy!"

The onlookers began to look at Wang Xiaocui with suspicion. She was, after all, a divorced woman. What kind of respectable woman gets divorced?

Wang Xiaocui, hearing the murmurs and pointing fingers from the crowd, felt a mix of embarrassment, anxiety, and shame welling up inside her.

Seeing Wang Xiaocui's discomfort, Ji Qingqing's eyes gleamed with satisfaction.

"Everyone, smash her stall! Let's see if she dares to come out and harm people again. This woman is wicked; who knows how many people she's harmed already!"

If it were just Ji Qingqing alone, Wang Xiaocui would have grabbed her and beaten her senseless. But Ji Qingqing was inciting the crowd to destroy her stall. With so many people around, Wang Xiaocui didn't dare to act rashly.

An An had warned her that fighting in the city was illegal. She could only quickly and desperately explain herself to the people around her. But her cunning was no match for Ji Qingqing's.

As the crowd began to close in on her, Wang Xiaocui felt utterly helpless.

Zuo Zuying, who had been watching the commotion from the side, stuffed the last bite of his pancake into his mouth. He recognized the woman selling pancakes—she was his comrade's mother!

Last time on the train, he had heard Wang Xiaocui and Su An cursing someone named Su Jianjun and Ji Qingqing. It must be this Ji Qingqing standing in front of him.

He remembered from the book that Ji Qingqing was just a minor character, one of the many mothers-in-law in the protagonist's circle.

Zuo Zuying glanced at Wang Xiaocui and shook his head slightly. The crowd's anger had already been riled up. What good would explaining do now? One mouth couldn't outtalk several, especially with someone like Ji Qingqing fanning the flames.

If he wasn't mistaken, several other stall owners were also egging on the crowd, while the rest of the onlookers maintained an indifferent attitude.

In such a situation, there was only one way to turn things around—create confusion.

Tossing the greasy paper wrapper on the ground, Zuo Zuying clapped his hands and lunged at Ji Qingqing. With a sliding kick, he hit the back of Ji Qingqing's heel.

"Ouch~"

Ji Qingqing let out a scream as she was sent flying two meters, landing face-first on the ground.

Zuo Zuying pounced on her, grabbed her elbow, and pulled it back, while using his knee to press down hard on her back.

"Ahhhhhhh~"

Ji Qingqing was in such pain that she began to sweat profusely. "Help! Help! I'm being attacked!"

Hearing Ji Qingqing's cries for help, the crowd started to move forward. Zuo Zuying turned and shouted at them, "Everyone, check if you're missing anything!"

"This thief just stole something from me at the west street entrance and then came here. I saw it clearly from where I was standing. She tried to steal a pancake without paying, and when the lady caught her, she started badmouthing her!"

"And you two over there with the stalls, check if you're short any money. This woman was hanging around your stalls just a moment ago!"

"What? A pickpocket?"

The onlookers, hearing Zuo Zuying's words, all grew tense and began checking their belongings.

The two stall owners who had been stirring up trouble quickly went to check their cash boxes. Since they often had to collect and give change, their money was stashed in a small bucket.

After Zuo Zuying finished speaking, he wasted no time searching Ji Qingqing's pockets, pulling out a handful of loose change and scattering it on the ground.

"Look, the missing money has been found! Everyone, check if you've lost any money!"

Wang Xiaocui, quick to act, stepped forward and picked up two dimes from the ground. "I lost a pancake, two dimes!"

The crowd checked the money they had on them, but many couldn't remember how much they had brought. Seeing the money on the ground, they all thought it was theirs.

The two stall owners, like vultures, stared at Ji Qingqing, pushing through the crowd to pick up the money. "I lost some, I lost some!"

"I did too!"

"Oh my God, I remember I had more than this. Where did my money go? My money was stolen too."

One of the older women, who often didn't know where her money went, said, "I knew it! I clearly have over thirty yuan every month, but I never have any left. Turns out it was stolen by this thief. Damn thief, stealing my hard-earned money!"

The older woman, furious, lunged forward and kicked Ji Qingqing.

Her husband and mother-in-law often scolded her for squandering money, but she had been frugal and hadn't spent much. Yet, she never had any money. Now she knew why—her money had been stolen.

Ji Qingqing, hearing the angry shouts around her, desperately cried out, "No, no, I didn't steal anything, I didn't!"

"Let me go! You've got the wrong person, I'm not a thief!"

"You still deny it? Did you pay for that pancake you took?"

Ji Qingqing shot back, "I just hadn't had the chance to pay yet!"

Zuo Zuying bellowed to the crowd, "Did you hear that? She admitted it! She admitted she took the pancake without paying, and now she's trying to deny it by saying she hadn't had the chance to pay!"

"Not paying is bad enough, but then she badmouths others, looking down on country folk, and making up excuses like they've been handling manure. Do you think we're all fools? You cook and eat with hands that have wiped your butt, you're the disgusting one! By your logic, we're all disgusting, all slobs."

Seeing everyone reaching for the money, Zuo Zuying snatched up two larger bills. "Hey, hey, I only saw the pancake seller auntie lose her pancake. I don't know how much others lost. Don't just grab it, I haven't gotten back what I lost yet!"

"That's mine, I lost money!"

"I did too!"

"I didn't lose any today, but I lost two yuan last week! This woman is clearly a habitual thief, she must have stolen it too!"

"Kill her, damn thief! My hard-earned money, I can't even spend it myself, and you stole it!"

The hefty woman selling fruit squeezed through the crowd. "No wonder my money hasn't balanced for days! Tell me, did you steal my money?"

Her gambling-addict husband, seeing an opportunity, jumped in, "Wife, it must be her! You accused me the other day, saying I stole money to gamble. No matter how I explained, you wouldn't listen. Now you see, we've found the real culprit."

As more and more people grew indignant, Ji Qingqing was already restrained by the hefty woman. Zuo Zuying quickly slipped out of the crowd amidst the chaos.

In the center of the crowd, Ji Qingqing's desperate pleas were followed by screams.

"Hold her down, don't let her run away! She steals, gets caught, and then slanders others. She's clearly a habitual thief, who knows how many people she's harmed. Today we caught her red-handed, with witnesses and evidence. Let's take her to the police station!"

"Yes, take her to the police station!"