A carriage arrived quickly. Zhao Ling, who had managed the pastry shop for several years, was indeed resourceful. As soon as the carriage stopped at the entrance of the medical hall, Zhao Ling, along with several shop assistants, had already arrived. They brought not only grain but also provisions for the journey, and even three bolts of cloth.
"Old Master Zhao and Shopkeeper Zhao are truly benevolent people," the onlookers couldn't help but exclaim, their faces showing envy. The pile of goods was worth at least seven or eight taels of silver. Moreover, Old Master Zhao had also asked Doctor Hu to prescribe tonics, even sparing ginseng and lingzhi.
"However, the Tu family of three are also kind-hearted people." At first, they thought Tu Da Niu was extorting money. But seeing the elder Mrs. Tu firmly distancing herself, stating that her illness was due to her approaching end and had nothing to do with the pastries from Zhao's shop, the onlookers believed the Tu family were not swindlers, and this was merely a coincidence.
... Constable Miao was a native of Liu County. He had loved eating pastries from Zhao's shop since he was a child. Wealthy families bought fresh, new flavors, while the poor bought discounted pastries from the shop in the middle and at the end of each month.
Over the years, Constable Miao had never heard of Zhao's shop making ill-gotten gains by selling spoiled pastries.
So, after Old Master Zhao and the man finished speaking, Constable Miao did not rush to judge who was telling the truth. Instead, he walked towards the medical hall. "Doctor Hu, what is the old lady's condition?"
"She just drank half a bowl of medicine. The old lady is advanced in age..." Doctor Hu explained the old lady's condition in detail. It was indeed an illness caused by eating something unclean, but it was impossible to determine whether it was the pastries from Zhao's shop or something else.
After hearing this, Old Master Zhao's expression became even more grim. He could guarantee that the pastries in the shop were fresh, which meant that this man, or rather this family of three, was deliberately causing trouble, even going so far as to get sick to frame Zhao's pastry shop.
"Second Uncle, they mean trouble," Zhao Ling said in a low voice, warily watching the man questioning Doctor Hu. "This person first deliberately caused a scene at the shop entrance, and now he's causing trouble at the medical hall. It's clear they came prepared."
If it were simply about extorting money, this man would not have continued to cause trouble after making a scene at the shop entrance. Instead, he would have demanded money privately. Zhao Ling saw the man's demeanor and realized he wasn't after money, but something more significant.
Old Master Zhao nodded in agreement, his hushed voice carrying a hint of menace. "No matter their background, we Zhao's are not to be bullied."
"Officer, you must help this humble subject. My old mother was already frail and only wanted to eat a pastry. I, as her son, am useless..." The middle-aged man suddenly knelt on the ground, kowtowing to Constable Miao.
His hoarse voice immediately evoked sympathy and pity from the surrounding crowd. The man, with bloodshot eyes, continued, "The barefoot doctor in the village said my mother doesn't have much time left. I sold my family's acre of fertile land and brought my mother to Liu County to see a doctor. But the doctor said she was at the end of her rope. My mother said she wanted to eat mung bean cake, but after seeing the doctor, we only had one tael of silver left. We still have to prepare for the funeral when we return to the village..."
In the end, it was poverty that caused this. One tael of silver seemed like a lot, but it was not enough for a funeral. The burial clothes, the coffin, and the banquet to entertain relatives and neighbors all cost money.
Moreover, the three of them had to return to the village, take a bullock cart, and buy food along the way. This one tael of silver was simply not enough. The man had only learned from someone that Zhao's shop had cheap pastries, so he squeezed out a hundred coins to buy a few.
"Alright, you can get up first. Regardless, let Doctor Hu prescribe the medicine. Seeing the old lady is the most important thing," Constable Miao reached out to help the kneeling man up. "As for the money, you don't need to worry. Let Old Master Zhao cover it for now. If it's indeed Zhao's pastry shop's fault, the authorities will uphold justice for you."
The onlookers, who were already sympathetic to the man, nodded in agreement upon hearing Constable Miao's words. Who was right or wrong didn't matter; saving the patient was paramount.
Old Master Zhao immediately expressed his agreement, taking out a silver note from his sleeve and handing it to Doctor Hu. "Here is fifty taels of silver. Doctor, please prescribe freely and use good medicinal ingredients. If it's not enough, I will send more money later."
Fifty taels of silver? The crowd was stunned by Old Master Zhao's generosity. This was fifty taels of silver, enough for a family of four or five working in a workshop to save up in a year.
Normally, when someone fell ill, they would endure it themselves, and only then ask a doctor for a prescription and medicine, using the most common ingredients. Unless they were high officials or nobles, who could afford expensive medicines like ginseng and lingzhi?
Constable Miao understood that Old Master Zhao was trying to resolve the situation with money. He chimed in, "Tu Da Niu, don't be too upset. Let's wait until your mother recovers."
"Old Master Zhao is generous," the onlookers' eyes gleamed as they stared at the silver note in Doctor Hu's hand. "Tu Da Niu also said his mother was at the end of her rope. Even if she didn't eat these pastries, she probably wouldn't have lived much longer. Old Master Zhao is actually willing to spend fifty taels of silver."
"Yes, two years ago, my maternal uncle was also dying. Fortunately, my nephew got a piece of ginseng, which helped him hang on for two more years before he passed away," a middle-aged man standing nearby added. Ginseng was truly a miraculous item for prolonging life.
However, a woman with a long face couldn't help but speak sarcastically, "I think Tu Da Niu knew Old Master Zhao was kind-hearted, so he deliberately extorted money. His own mother is dying, and he still wants her to eat pastries? Isn't that harming her?"
Everyone present had elderly parents, or at least had seen similar situations. When people get old, their bodies can't keep up. Let alone sticky rice, they can't even drink a bowl of rice porridge. Tu Da Niu giving the old lady pastries was clearly making her uncomfortable, so he could then go to the pastry shop to cause trouble and extort fifty taels of silver.
"They're putting on a whole act. I bet the old lady will come out soon too," Zhan Feiyu said from the steps, surprising He Nuan.
"Miss, you think they're scammers?" He Nuan had observed the entire situation. She really couldn't see any flaws, especially since Tu Da Niu and his son were not martial artists, and their fighting relied on brute force.
Zhan Feiyu smiled, looking at Old Master Zhao who was apologizing again from a distance. "Things are valuable when they leave home, and people are cheap when they leave home. If the Tu father and son were truly honest country folk, would they dare to cause trouble repeatedly?"
Zhan Feiyu remembered when they were in Jinlin Village. Although the village was close to Shangsi County, when the villagers went to the county town, they were timid and didn't dare to say much.
Tu Da Niu's family was poor, and he sold an acre of land to have the money to bring his mother to Liu County to see a doctor. This showed he was not a shrewd person. Otherwise, in this peaceful and prosperous Daqing Dynasty, anyone with a bit of sense would not be so poor.
A country bumpkin who was too poor to even afford to see a doctor dared to cause trouble at Zhao's pastry shop and even dared to assault Old Master Zhao and his nephew. Wasn't this a contradiction?
He Nuan blurted out, "Perhaps he's just rash and rough."
He Nuan had encountered people like that before. They had brute strength but were impulsive and easily angered. When impulsive, they wouldn't hesitate to hit people, and if given a knife, they might even kill.
"Ah Nuan, have you forgotten that he knelt down as soon as he saw Constable Miao?" As Zhan Feiyu finished speaking, an old lady with white hair and trembling steps, supported by a young medical assistant, walked out of the medical hall.
"Da Niu, you must not make trouble!" The old lady, gasping for breath, leaned against the doorframe and looked weakly at Tu Da Niu. "My body can't hold on... this is fate, Da Niu, you cannot do anything ungrateful..."
"Mother!" Tu Da Niu shouted hoarsely, rushing forward to support the old lady who couldn't stand. His eyes were even more bloodshot. "Mother, why did you come out? Quickly go back inside and lie down."
Leaning on her son, the old lady panted a few times. When her breathing finally stabilized, she spoke again. "Mother is old and wants to die at home. Da Niu, take Mother home..."
If some people had initially suspected Tu Da Niu of extorting money from Old Master Zhao, they were now looking at the old lady, who was barely breathing.