On the top of Sun's palm was a bag of things, wrapped in medical paper, which was already wrinkled by Sun's grasp.

As soon as Brother Gong saw this thing, he snatched it from Sun's hand and touched the thin packet, which should be in powder form.

He said, "What is this?"

"Hey, give me back the things." Seeing that the things in her hands were taken away, Sun shi struggled like crazy, and she was full of fear.

Brother Gong handed the things to Xu Qinyu.

Xu Qinyu took it, opened the paper bag, there was ground brown powder inside, she got close and smelled it, it was the smell of croton.

Croton is a kind of medicinal material, which can warm the intestines and expel accumulation and dispel water to reduce swelling, but if it is not for treating patients, this thing is slightly poisonous and will cause diarrhea. It is self-evident that Sun is holding this thing.

"Croton." Xu Qinyu said: "What did you want to do when you took croton from the owner of Ping'an Restaurant? Do you want to add croton to the food of Xu Ji Restaurant tomorrow? You want to ruin the reputation of Xu Ji Restaurant. ?"

Mrs Sun was so anxious that she burst into tears, "Master, listen to me, I, I'm not so wicked, I really didn't plan to poison the diners, yes, it was given to me by the shopkeeper of Ping An Restaurant, she said, She said that if I don't help her this time, she will tell you what I did twice. I, I, she stuffed this thing to me again, and said, let me drink it in the sour plum soup and milk tea tomorrow. Yinzi, but I didn't agree, my boss, I really won't be poisoned, I'm not that bad, it's her who scare me..."

Sun was already a little incoherent.

She was full of fear, fear, and fear. She had no bad intentions. She didn't want to cause Xu Ji to close the door. She knew that the boss was a good person, but she was just afraid.

But didn't expect to go wrong step by step.

That day, when she was buying needles and thread at a small stall, a woman came to chat with her and asked her if she was working in Xuji Restaurant.

It is a bit of an honor to be able to run the hall in Xu Ji.

She was very proud to say that she was running the hall in Xu Ji, and spoke to the woman who asked her.

She also said that Xu Ji's boss is very good, and she specially found women like them to run the hall, pay 800 yuan a month, and also manage the morning and evening meals. Although the morning and evening meals are all made by the owner's apprentices, they can eat all the food. It's fine grains. There are eggs in the morning and meaty food in the evening. It is also said that the owner will give it a red seal at the end of the year.

Hearing this condition, people around him are envious. They also say that she is lucky and let her work hard. They say that the owner of Xu Ji Restaurant is kind-hearted. Fish for everyone.

Most of them also lined up to buy Xu Kee's Braised Fish, Fish Balls and Fish Head.

People who have eaten it say that it is as delicious as the food in Xu Ji's store.

Sun shi naturally said cheerfully, "I will definitely work hard. Our employer also said that we will increase our wages every year."

"Oh, you are also lucky. If it wasn't for the recruitment of people from Guihua Lane, we would also like to try."

"No, Xu Ji's business is good, is the owner still short of people?"

This Sun family is not clear, she can only shake her head.

After selling the needle and thread, the Sun family planned to go back.

On the way back, the woman who had spoken to her at the beginning also walked with her and said that she would stop by.

On the way, kept talking to her about Xuji Restaurant, and said that she envied her and said she had a good life. She kept asking around Xuji Restaurant, but Sun didn't take it seriously, she just chatted with the woman and walked all the way. After a day, he ended up chatting baldly and chatting out what Wen Shi and Wen Yunling said that day.

It was Wen Yunling who asked Concubine Wen's Concubine Gui, who was suffering from tuberculosis, how she was doing.

Sun felt that this kind of gossip should not be said nonsense, but she said that she was bald, thinking that the shopkeeper said that it was not a tuberculosis, and her body had already recovered, and she was relieved.

Who knew that the woman heard this and immediately sighed and couldn't help but say, "There is a patient with tuberculosis in her family? Then why do you still eat food? What if it is passed on to the diners."

Sun shi immediately retorted: "Our shopkeeper has said that it should not be a tuberculosis, and the body has been healed long ago."

The woman smacked her lips, said something to her and left.

Unexpectedly, after a few days, there were rumors in the market that there was a tuberculosis patient in the family of Xu Ji Restaurant.

When Mrs. Sun heard this, her heart skipped a beat. She knew that she must have been gossiping before, but the woman heard it, and the woman told others, and it spread.

Feeling guilty, Mrs. Sun didn't know whether to be honest with the boss and the shopkeeper.

But if you say it out, the owner and shopkeeper might think she is a big mouth, likes to gossip, so what if she is not allowed to continue working in the restaurant.

So she didn't dare to say it, she could only pretend that she didn't know.

Fortunately, the boss invited all the family members to Xu Ji for dinner, and the rumors were self-defeating, so she felt relieved.

Unexpectedly, not long after, the woman who was chatting with her stopped her on the road, saying that she was the shopkeeper of Ping An Restaurant. Thanks to what she said last time, she knew that Xuji Restaurant was so excessive and had tuberculosis The patient still opened a shop, and said that he was just gossiping with people, but he didn't expect this to be spread.

Sun didn't believe her words this time, she was very angry, knowing that last time the woman purposely made a fool of herself and scolded her.

The woman didn't take it seriously, so she thanked her, and then offered her money to help her see how Xu Ji's food was prepared.

Sun was so angry that he cursed and refused directly.

The shopkeeper of Ping An Restaurant threatened her, "If you don't want to, I will go and talk to your shopkeeper about the gossip you told me a few days ago. Besides, I didn't let you steal the recipe, just If you usually see how your boss is doing, just tell me."

The Sun family was confused, startled and frightened, and seeing the face of the shopkeeper of Ping An Restaurant change, he walked towards Xuji Restaurant.

She became more and more afraid of letting her boss know, so she hurriedly stopped him, "What do you want to do, you, you can't go."

The woman smiled and said, "I didn't make things difficult for you, and I didn't let you steal the formula. Why are you so afraid, just tell me the general method of eating."

Mrs. Sun was really scared, and finally stammered and talked about the few court meals that she saw Xu Qinyu make on weekdays.

She thought, since she didn't tell the woman how to do it, she probably wouldn't learn anything.

After hearing this, the woman thanked her with a smile, and finally gave her five taels of silver, told her to find her in a month, and told Mrs. Sun where she lived.

In the end, he threatened Mrs. Sun that if Mrs. Sun didn't look for her in a month, she would tell Xu Ji's boss about the gossip and the formula.

After the woman finished speaking, she left in a hurry.

Mrs. Sun didn't want the five liang of silver at all, so she went back with five liang of silver.

Waiting for Ping An Restaurant to also make custard buns, glutinous rice sausages and sashimi porridge, she regretted and blamed herself more and more.

When Sun said this, tears were streaming down her face. She looked at Xu Qinyu, trembling her lips and said, "Master, I really didn't plan to poison you. I came here today to return the five liang of silver to her. I never thought of harming my boss or Xu Ji Restaurant."

As Mrs. Sun said, she took out a money bag from her body and opened it with trembling hands. There were indeed five taels of silver in it.

When she came today, she really wanted to return five taels of silver to the woman.

But after entering, the woman threatened her again, saying that the matter had come to an end, why not help her, and after the matter was completed, she would give her fifty taels of silver, but she also refused.

In the end, the woman showed a cruel face, saying that she had to do whatever she wanted, and that she had already boarded the pirate ship, so there was no reason to get off. After giving her the laxative, she couldn't help but push the person out.

"Boss, I know I was wrong, I won't poison you."

Sun cried tears all over his face.

Brother Cheng couldn't explain what he said after listening, and finally couldn't help but said, "Aunt Sun, are you stupid? You should have told the truth to Master the first time, instead of hiding it from Master. Now the troubles are getting bigger and bigger. I can't take it anymore."

Xu Qinyu didn't know what to say, the Sun family was tall and big, but why did he have such a temperament.

Also, doesn't this obviously set a trap for Sun's, and force her to take the bait step by step?

Originally, the first rumor and the second recipe were nothing, and Sun didn't say the specific formula.

It was true that Sun was confused.

Brother Gong couldn't help scratching his head, and finally asked Xu Qinyu, "Sister-in-law four, what should I do now?"

Knock on the door directly to confront Ping An Restaurant?

Xu Qinyu thought for a while, and told the Sun family, "The only way now is to report to the official. As a witness, you will expose the evil deeds of the Ping An Restaurant. Are you willing? And after this, I will not use you again, and I will pay you some severance pay."

She would not completely believe Sun's words.

In Sun's mouth, she herself was innocent and was persecuted by that woman.

Xu Qinyu didn't have Sun's perspective, so naturally she didn't know whether what she said was true or false, or whether it was a mixture of true and false.

And whether it's the rumors in front or the recipes in the back, Sun has made a big taboo.

She would definitely not use such a person again.

Mrs Sun hesitated, "It's right to help the boss to report to the official, but, after reporting to the official, I, am I going to be gossiped by outsiders, and the boss refuses to continue to let me go to work, where can I find it in the future? Get a job."

Xu Qinyu said in a low voice: "Aunt Sun, even if you don't want to report to the official, I will report to the official. This is a big deal. The competition method of Ping An Restaurant is vicious and violates the law. It's not that Ping'an Restaurant is allowed to go unpunished. When they meet their opponents in the future, they will use this malicious means to compete and harm others. And even if they don't report to the officials, I won't let it go, and I won't continue to use you. Things will still happen. If it spreads, Aunt Sun might as well take the initiative to admit her mistake, and maybe she can get a good reputation outside."

Sun shied around for a long time, and finally agreed.

It was already dark, but the yamen could report to the officials at any time.

Xu Qinyu came to the yamen to beat the drum.

Soon the gate of the yamen opened, and the county magistrate brought the yamen to the hall.

Xu Qinyu didn't know the county magistrate, but only knew that the county magistrate's surname was Yang. She already knew that her friend Yang Zhizhi was the daughter of the magistrate's family, but she had always treated it quite normally.

Although Magistrate Yang could eat the food that his wife and daughter brought home from Xuji Restaurant every day, he also did not know Xu Qinyu.

A group of people knelt down and said they wanted to report to the official, and said the ins and outs of the matter again.

When the magistrate Yang heard about Xu Ji Restaurant, and then heard that the young lady in front of her claimed to be the owner of Xu Ji Restaurant, she couldn't help but glance at her.

He often heard his daughter mention Mrs. Xu, but she was indeed very young. It was hard to imagine that such a young lady could have such a superb cooking skill.

After hearing the ins and outs of the matter, Magistrate Yang immediately asked the yamen to arrest the shopkeeper and the owner of the Ping An Restaurant.

When the yamen passed by, Mr. Li, the shopkeeper of Ping An Restaurant, proudly told his man that in a few days, Xu Ji Restaurant would be in bad luck.

Ping'an Restaurant is a mom-and-pop shop, and the man in charge is Li's man. If he doesn't like to talk, he knows how to cook.

Hearing this, his man couldn't help but ask, "You, what have you done? Motherfucker, let's do business and eat food in a down-to-earth way, don't lose your mind, that custard bun, Jiang Mi fat intestines or something, Let's not do it, after all, I learned from Xu Ji, and besides, I'm not very good at doing white cases."

Li snorted and said, "What can I do, I'm not all for our restaurant, then Xu Ji restaurant robbed our family of how much business, she deserves to be unlucky, even these morning meals, we figured it out ourselves. If we can do it with even memory, we can’t.”

She didn't tell her man what she did outside. She knew that he was stupid and would not let her do such a thing.

On the other hand, Mrs. Li was illiterate, and even more ignorant of the law. She thought it was nothing to take a laxative. Who has not eaten a bad stomach.

The two were about to rest when there was a knock on the door outside.

Li Shi was shocked and didn't think much about it, thinking who was looking for them, and still scolded in her heart, whoever knocked on the door with a thousand knives knocked so loudly that it smashed her door.

When she went out to open the courtyard door, she was restrained by someone grabbing her arm and twisting her back as soon as the door opened.

Li shi screamed, "What are you doing, the head of the house, the head of the house, there are robbers coming to rob our house."

The yamen scolded: "Be quiet, who is the robber, take a closer look at what we're wearing, you've done something wrong, we're pressing you to go to the yamen."

"What nonsense are you talking about." Mrs. Li still didn't know why. "What can I do? I'm just an ordinary city woman, and I've never done murder and arson."

Li's man Zhang Quan went out immediately when he heard the voice, and was stunned when he saw the yamen.

The yamen stepped forward and escorted both of them to the yamen.

Seeing Mrs Sun, Mrs Li finally knew what was going on. She really didn't expect Mrs Sun to report to the official. She was so timid before that she didn't dare to tell Xu Ji's boss.

Mrs. Li cursed at Mrs. Sun.

"Silence!" The county magistrate beat the case.

Sun identified Li and took out five taels of silver and laxatives.

Li refused to admit it at first, did not admit that she knew Sun, and did not admit that she had bribed Sun to give her laxatives to Xu Ji's diners.

The county magistrate said: "You didn't yell at the Sun family just now, but now you don't know Sun's family? You dared to lie before the court, and said you haven't bought laxatives? About the laxatives, this official sent someone to town to get some medicines. If you don't ask for it, you will be able to know if you have bought it or not, and after the investigation is completed, the crime will be increased by one!"

After all, it was the first time for Mrs. Li to go to court, and she was a little scared, and finally admitted the crime.

It is indeed similar to what Sun said. She said that at first she never thought of letting Sun give Xu Ji's diners laxatives. The first two times she just spread a rumor and asked about the method of custard buns, and later asked Sun to come to the door after a month. , I also wanted to continue to find her and ask Xu Ji restaurant some ways to eat, but I didn't want to take laxatives.

But this month has entered the summer, and the business of Ping An Restaurant has worsened, and there are not many customers.

There are still a lot of diners in the business of Xu Ji restaurant, and there are a few new dishes. She completely hated Xu Ji in her heart, and wanted to make it difficult for Xu Ji, so she bought laxatives and asked Sun to come. , forcing Sun to give Xu Ji's diners laxatives.

Mrs. Li also admitted that Mrs. Sun came to her door today to return the five taels of silver she gave her last time.

But she said that she would give Sun 50 taels of silver after the matter was completed, and she would push Sun out of the door with a half push, and Sun did go out with laxatives.

Mrs. Sun also began to complain, saying that she was forced, and if she did not leave with the laxative, Mrs. Li would go to Xu Ji’s owner to sue her.

The two began to bite each other.

Either way, both are guilty.

Mrs. Sun took the initiative to plead guilty, gave witnesses, and presented physical evidence. In the end, Mrs. Sun was punished with ten major penalties, and Mrs. Li was dealt with twenty major penalties.

This is because the laxatives have not yet been prepared. If the laxatives are already in the food of the diners, there will be more than just such a plan.

So even if someone is jealous of their peers, they will not think of such a thing as selling medicine in the opposite store.

The stick hits the buttocks, not the back of the stick.

The back of the stick is usually a bigger crime, and if the back of the stick falls down, half your life will be lost.

Hitting the butt usually doesn't kill anyone.

But whether it's the top ten boards or the top twenty boards, it's a bit unbearable.

The top ten strokes generally do not bleed, but after the top twenty strokes, the buttocks bleed.

The two screamed as they were beaten.

Zhang Quan was not at fault in this matter, and he was not executed by the cane.

He kept his head down, and waited for Li Shi to be beaten before he came over and hurriedly said sorry to Xu Qinyu, turned around and hugged Li Shi to leave.

Sun and Xu Qinyu were the only ones left in the yamen.

In the end, it was Xu Qinyu who called a car to take Mrs. Sun home, and helped hire a doctor, gave the consultation fee and the money for the medicine, and finally left two taels of silver before leaving.

Sun's family was very angry when they learned what Sun had done, and finally learned that Sun would not be able to work in Xuji. They also wanted to ask Xu Qinyu to forgive Sun this time. It can be seen that Sun made such a mistake. Xu Ji's family is still willing to pay the medical fee and consultation fee, so they really ask Xu Qinyu to continue to work with Sun's.

...

The reporter was delayed, and it was Haishi.

Brother Cheng and Brother Gong saw that the sky was so dark and sent Xu Qinyu back to Pei's house.

On the way, Xu Qinyu thanked Brother Cheng.

Brother Cheng hurriedly said, "Sister-in-law Si, it wasn't me, it was Brother Gong who discovered it, and I asked Brother Gong to keep an eye on it for me."

Brother Gong also grinned, "Sister-in-law, it's not like I discovered it. These days, I always get some leftovers from restaurants. They say it's for my friends, but they are actually helping me to keep an eye on them. These friends of mine are little beggars, they are not as old as me, they are poor, they are all disabled, and no one wants them, and no one wants them if they are sold to other people's homes as slaves. Fourth sister-in-law, the rest of the restaurant Can I continue to share the food with them?"

"Of course." Xu Qinyu nodded, "I would also like to thank those few friends of yours. You can invite them to the restaurant after tomorrow's evening meal, and I will make some food to thank them."

They are all poor children. Xu Qinyu is also an abandoned orphan, but she was sent to an orphanage when she was a child. Occasionally, she was robbed of food by older children and sometimes she couldn't get enough to eat. But they basically have no worries about food and clothing, unlike the children who are discarded here, the children who will be discarded as little beggars here are usually physically defective.

Otherwise, as long as the body is not deformed, someone will take them in and help sell them to wealthy or official families as slaves.

"Sister-in-law Fourth, do you want to thank them?"

Brother Gong was overjoyed.

Xu Qinyu said with a smile: "Although they are all children, but they helped out, of course we should thank you."

Brother Gong smiled more cheerfully, "Okay, then I'll go look for them tomorrow."

The two sent Xu Qinyu back to Pei's house, and they also returned home.

Xu Qinyu went into the yard and found that Wen Shi was still awake, waiting for her in the kitchen with the oil lamp still on.

Seeing Yuniang coming back, Wen finally felt relieved, and asked how things were going.

Xu Qinyu briefly talked about the matter with Wen Shi just now.

After listening to Mrs. Wen, she didn't expect it to be Mrs. Sun. In fact, the three women running the hall are quite nice, at least they can't tell from the surface.

Wen Shi was emotional, but didn't want to say more, just thinking that there would be only two women running the hall tomorrow, so she asked Yuniang if she wanted to hire someone.

Xu Qinyu also plans to recruit another one.

It's too tiring for two people, although three people have a lot of work, but they won't be too tired.

Wen Shi said: "Okay, then I will be the top for the next few days, and Yuniang is not in a hurry. Let's pick slowly this time."

She doesn't have much to do other than settling accounts and paying the bills.

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law talked for a while, then went back to their respective houses to rest.

...

Early the next morning, Xu Kee opened as normal.

When Xu Qinyu was cooking for the morning meal, Mrs. Li and Mrs. Yuan found out that Mrs. Sun had not come, and they were a little puzzled, thinking that she had sue the owner.

Xu Qinyu told the two about Sun's affairs, and both of them were a little shocked. Li couldn't help but mutter, "How could she do such a thing? When the rumors were spread, she accidentally said the wrong thing. You should admit your mistake directly to the owner."

Li felt that the owner was good enough, and if she directly admitted her mistake at that time, the owner would definitely forgive her.

She didn't say anything, and she didn't know what she was afraid of.

"Okay, let's work first. The two aunts have worked hard for the past two days. I will pay you 20 cents more per day for the wages of the past few days."

Li waved his hand, "No, no, the boss treats us well enough on weekdays."

Xu Qinyu still pays them 20 cents more per day.

An hour later, there were bursts of fragrance from Xu Ji's restaurant.

And the diners who got up early to forage also found that the Ping An Restaurant in the restaurants and restaurants on the West Street Market was not open.

However, there were not many diners at the Ping An Restaurant, and they didn't pay much attention to it. They thought it was closed for business.

In the summer, after eating the morning and evening food, the sky is not completely dark, and a little tail of rays of light is still sprinkled in the sky.

Xu Qinyu prepared several dishes after receiving the guests of Mu Shi.

She made steamed pork with soda water, squirrel mandarin fish, braised pork ribs, three fresh soup and stuffed eggplant. She also reserved some japonica rice for Mu Shi.

When it was a little old, Brother Gong led a few dirty children in.

After a few children entered the restaurant, they were very restrained, standing behind Brother Gong, daring not to speak.

Xu Qinyu smiled and thanked them, but the children didn't dare to say anything, and finally the one-eyed child stammered and said no thanks.

In fact, her body is only a few years older than several children.

But when I talk to them, I unconsciously treat myself as adults and treat them as children.

Brother Gong accompanied a few children to eat the evening meal, and the children devoured it, and quickly ate a table of food cleanly.

After eating the evening meal, several children also brought the empty dishes to the back kitchen to clean up.

The one-eyed child hesitated for a while, then suddenly came to Xu Qinyu and knelt down with a thud.