Bai Sheng paid no mind to the others' harsh curses. She turned to the families who had come to cause trouble and said with a sneer, "Anyone else poisoned? If so, hurry up and urge them on. Once everyone is here, I'll be happy to talk."
A flicker of panic crossed the eyes of those families, but they quickly concealed it.
The gray-clothed man at the front asked, "What do you mean by that? We don't know them."
Bai Sheng snorted, "You might not know each other, but you surely know the person behind the scenes who incited you to do wicked deeds!"
"Pah! You ugly girl, don't try to twist things around. If your grain shop doesn't compensate us for our losses today, we'll report you to the authorities!" the gray-clothed man shouted sternly.
Bai Sheng chuckled slyly, "Oh, look at this posturing! Such a good performance, it's a shame you're not acting in storybooks! You're the guilty ones, acting all shifty. Dare you put your hand on your heart and say your hearts aren't pounding like drums right now?"
The gray-clothed man's face contorted with embarrassment for a moment. This ugly girl had hit the nail on the head. His heart was indeed pounding like a drum, but the act was halfway through, and he had to continue, or those people wouldn't let them off the hook.
"Stop your incessant blabbering! Return the money for the grain we bought immediately, and also compensate us with 50 taels for medical treatment! Otherwise, we'll go to the authorities right now!"
"That's right! My son is still sick, I don't have time to waste with you all day! If you don't compensate us, we'll go to the authorities!" a man with a mustache added in agreement.
Bai Sheng's smile vanished, and her eyes radiated a sharp gleam. "You are the real extortionists! You keep claiming the moldy grain was bought from our shop, so let's compare it. We'll see if the moldy grain you brought is indeed from our grain shop. Please, Third Uncle, go get a sample!"
Third Uncle immediately turned and went into the shop, carrying out half a sack of grain. He scooped half a ladleful of grain and then took another ladle to scoop half a ladleful from the moldy grain.
Bai Sheng announced loudly, "The grain from my shop is this year's new harvest, with plump kernels and large grains. Everyone, please take a close look and tell me if these moldy grains and our grains are of the same variety!"
Bai Sheng didn't believe it for a moment. The grain produced from her spatial dimension, irrigated by spiritual spring water, was already far superior in both size and quality to any grain from anywhere in Great Xia Kingdom. Anyone with eyes could see the obvious difference between the two!
After Bai Sheng finished speaking, Third Uncle took two ladles and walked towards the crowd.
The families exchanged glances but didn't seem particularly panicked. One woman in colorful clothing pouted and said contemptuously, "Aren't they all wheat? What's the difference?"
The gray-clothed man sneered, "It's no help, they insist on finding something special in wheat."
Many of the onlookers grabbed a handful from each ladle to compare.
"Oh, these are clearly two different types of wheat."
"Huh, it's true, the difference is too big."
"Mo Sheng Grain Shop's grains are large and plump. The moldy grains are small. They are indeed two different types of wheat."
"In all my life, this is the first time I've seen wheat grains this large and plump!"
Everyone who held both types of wheat had the same feeling – these were entirely different kinds of wheat.
The gray-clothed man and the other two families began to feel uneasy. They walked over and each grabbed a handful to compare.
It was indeed true; the difference was significant.
But how was this possible? Could there be such a big difference between wheat and wheat?
However, the gray-clothed man quickly suppressed his panic and pointed at Bai Sheng, saying, "Clearly, you deliberately brought out a different variety than what was sold yesterday. If you have nothing to hide, let me go in and find a bag myself."
Wen Zhi Mo shot him a disdainful look. "My shop only has one variety of wheat, how could I bring out another kind?"
Bai Sheng glanced at him and smiled, "Let this brave sir go in and pick freely. If he can pick out a different variety of wheat, I will crawl on the ground and bark like a dog five times, and then compensate each of them with 50 taels of silver! If he cannot find any, then this brother must crawl on the ground and bark like a dog five times. He won't need to pay the 50 taels, how about that?"
"Good!" the surrounding crowd cheered in unison, clapping their hands.
The matter was becoming increasingly mysterious, and their hearts hung in suspense. They desperately wanted to know who was right and who was wrong.
The gray-clothed man grinned smugly, "It's a deal!"
After speaking, Third Uncle led the gray-clothed man into the shop.
The gray-clothed man's gaze quickly swept over the grain sacks, finally stopping at one tied with a black rope with a special knot. He walked to the sack, and without hesitation, he hoisted it onto his shoulder and carried it out.
"This is the bag!" he declared confidently, pointing at the sack.
Bai Sheng glanced at the black rope and knot on the sack's opening and chuckled coldly, "Please, brave sir, open the grain sack yourself."
With a triumphant smile of certainty, the gray-clothed man opened the grain sack. However, when he scooped out the grain with a ladle, it was exactly the same as the wheat previously taken from the shop.
"This... this..." What was going on? Didn't Shopkeeper Jin tell him that everything was arranged properly? What kind of nonsense was this "properly arranged"? This was outright trickery!
Bai Sheng watched the gray-clothed man's changing expressions and exchanged a triumphant glance with Wen Zhi Mo.
If Bai Sheng hadn't warned him in advance last night, he would have been caught off guard, and the grain shop would have been ambushed this morning.
Wen Zhi Mo smiled faintly at Bai Sheng, suddenly feeling that she wasn't ugly at all. Her eyes were exceptionally clear, unlike most women in the world. Her bright black pupils were like ink-colored pearls rolling in a clear spring, shining with wisdom, cunning, yet also with sincere and forthright light.
"Bark like a dog! Bark like a dog!" shouts erupted from the crowd.
Bai Sheng looked at the gray-clothed man, her contempt evident. "Brave sir, it's your turn to get on the ground and bark like a dog five times."
The gray-clothed man glanced back at the two families behind him and then scanned the crowd. He simply couldn't bend his knees.
Everyone quieted down, anticipating the dog barks, afraid they might miss them.
But after a long while, the gray-clothed man refused to kneel or even open his mouth. He stood there with a stiff face, like a dead pig indifferent to boiling water.
Bai Sheng looked at the onlookers and raised her voice, "This brave sir refuses to honor his promise, which shows he is not trustworthy in his dealings!
Fellow neighbors, our Mo Sheng Grain Shop absolutely does not sell moldy grain. It is because someone fears our low-priced grain will steal their business, so they deliberately sent these people with some moldy grain to frame us!"
"Undoubtedly, they are here to frame us!" Wen Zhi Mo declared loudly, pointing at them with his fan.
The crowd seemed to grasp some of the truth and began to doubt their initial judgment.
"Don't play the innocent victim when you're the guilty one! Who would deliberately harm their own family just to frame you?" the woman in colorful clothing shouted, hands on her hips.
"Exactly! My son is only nine years old, and he's our only child! How could we bear to do this!" the mustache man also yelled.
The crowd looked at the three people lying on the ground. They indeed showed signs of poisoning. This was something they hadn't lied about. No one would harm their own family just to extort money.