In the late morning, a man arrived at the noodle shop. He looked to be in his thirties, with a small mustache. His eyes were not large, but they darted around with a sharp, cunning intelligence, suggesting a man of deep schemes.
“Are you the owner of this noodle shop?” the mustachioed man asked Qi Zhenzhen directly.
“And you are?” Qi Zhenzhen replied, puzzled by his abruptness.
“I am the head manager of the Full House Restaurant, and I’ve come to discuss a business deal with you,” the man said with an air of arrogance.
From the Full House Restaurant? Qi Zhenzhen sneered. It seemed her guess was mostly correct. She hadn’t expected them to show up so soon. Did they not take them seriously at all?
“I have no business to discuss with you,” Qi Zhenzhen said coldly.
“A young girl shouldn’t be so absolute in her words. I am very sincere. Your noodle shop has no customers now, right? It’s not a solution to just hold on like this. Labor and materials, aren’t they all money? Just keeping the doors open without business, let alone making money, you’re losing it. I’ve also asked around. You bought this shop and house for two hundred and eighty taels of silver. How about this: I’ll give you three hundred and fifty taels, and the shop and house remain yours. You just give me all your noodle recipes.” The man looked as if she was getting a great deal and should agree immediately.
Qi Zhenzhen finally understood why the Full House Restaurant was involved. It turned out they had taken a liking to their noodle-making skills.
Three hundred and fifty taels sounded like a lot, but it was merely half a year’s profit.
“As I said, I have nothing to discuss with you. You’re welcome to eat noodles, but for anything else, the door is over there. Please leave.” Qi Zhenzhen calmly pointed towards the door.
The man’s expression changed, and a sinister glint appeared in his small eyes. “Don’t refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit. A bunch of villagers, you should think carefully before you act.”
“You’re actually right. I do enjoy drinking a forfeit. What about it?” Qi Zhenzhen retorted impolitely.
“Very well, very well. You just wait,” the man said, leaving in a huff.
Qi Zhenzhen wrote a letter and handed it to Zhang Xiaoniu. “Go to the yamen and deliver this to Constable Wen.”
Soon, Wen Cen arrived personally.
“Brother-in-law, are you not busy? Regarding the Full House Restaurant, I can’t guarantee if they’ll make a move today,” Qi Zhenzhen said.
Wen Cen smiled. “Since they are so impatient, they probably won’t wait until tomorrow. Let’s just watch.”
At noon, Tang Duo arrived again. He ordered the signature noodles and ate them with great satisfaction.
A moment later, several more people came in. They all ordered noodles and ate while chatting.
Qi Zhenzhen observed them secretly. Seeing that they were all eating their noodles obediently and showing no unusual behavior, she wondered if she had overthought it.
After finishing his noodles, Tang Duo did not leave immediately. He struck up a conversation with Zhang Xiaoniu.
The other customers who had finished their meals left together. However, before they could even exit the doorway, they all collapsed to the ground simultaneously.
Four people falling at once was quite a spectacle.
Qi Zhenzhen sneered. They truly couldn’t wait.
It was broad daylight, and there were many people outside. The commotion in the noodle shop quickly attracted a crowd.
“Black-hearted noodle shop has harmed people! Black-hearted noodle shop has harmed people!” someone shouted. “Quick, go invite a doctor! And also, quickly report it to the authorities!”
This incident happened right before everyone’s eyes. The crowd was outraged, and they began to curse loudly.
Qi Zhenzhen feigned panic. “No, no, it can’t be. The noodles we make are clean. How could there be a problem? It must be someone framing us. Dear villagers, you mustn’t speak carelessly.”
“A few days ago, a pregnant young woman, after eating their noodles, almost lost her child. Because of this, the owner of the noodle shop was arrested by the authorities and hasn’t been released yet. I didn’t expect them to still be so unrestrained and continue selling noodles!”
“I don’t know how these four people are doing. They are so pitiful.”
“The doctor is here! The doctor is here! Please make way.”
An old man with a white beard, carrying a medicine box, appeared before the crowd.
“Where are the patients?”
“It’s them,” someone pointed to the people on the ground.
The doctor crouched down and examined each person one by one. Stroking his beard, he said slowly, “From their pulses, it looks like poisoning. It’s not fatal, though. Did they eat anything just now?”
“They ate noodles. They just ate noodles at this noodle shop. Doctor, look, those four noodle bowls haven’t been cleared yet,” someone in the crowd shouted. “Doctor, quickly check if there’s poison in the noodle bowls! This noodle shop is black-hearted, actually putting poison in the noodles.”
Qi Zhenzhen shook her head and waved her hands in distress. “No, no, we didn’t poison them.” Inwardly, she sneered, wondering who came up with such a terrible idea. They were running a business, with no grievances against their customers, so why would they poison them? It would be more normal for them to get stomach aches or diarrhea from unclean ingredients.
The doctor took out silver needles and touched them to the noodle bowls. Under everyone’s gaze, the silver needles changed color, indicating that there was indeed poison.
“Black-hearted noodle shop, they actually poisoned them.”
“We can’t let such a noodle shop continue to exist! Everyone, go! Smash the noodle shop!”
“Yes, and we must send these people to the yamen!”
The crowd was incensed, and the scene became chaotic.
“What are you shouting about? What are you shouting about? Gathering to cause trouble? What, do you all want a trip to the yamen?” Four yamen runners said as they pushed through the crowd. “Those involved in this matter, stay. Those who are not involved and are just making a scene, don’t blame us for not showing mercy.”
The onlookers took a few steps back, afraid of getting entangled in the matter.
“My son! What happened to you? Don’t scare your mother! You’re our only child!” a woman rushed forward, crying.
This act was quite thorough, even bringing out a grieving mother.
“Speak, what happened?” the leading yamen runner asked.
The doctor then explained the poisoning, and with the help of the onlookers’ voluble contributions, the yamen runners quickly understood the situation.
“So, you’re saying your noodle shop poisoned people?”
“Your Honor, please investigate. Our noodle shop has no enmity with these people, so why would we do such a thing?” Qi Zhenzhen said anxiously.
The yamen runner nodded. “That does make sense. Doctor, did you examine them carefully? Are they truly poisoned? Or do they have some underlying illness?”
The doctor showed the silver needles to the yamen runner. “I found poison in the noodle bowls.”
“Your Honor, the shopkeeper is just making excuses. How could it be such a coincidence that all four have underlying illnesses?” someone in the crowd shouted.
“We have no enmity, why would we poison them?” Qi Zhenzhen clung to this point.
“I’ve heard that some people are naturally vicious and don’t need a reason to harm others,” someone yelled.
The yamen runner seemed to find this reasonable and nodded. “Indeed, many people do bad things for no reason.”