CH 69

Aug 05 2023

The Reason

Except for the young boy, the rest of the group were burly men, all strong and muscular. They were dressed in identical black shirts. As soon as they entered, they kicked the chairs and kicked the tables, cursing and looking even angrier than the previous group. They appeared to be intimidating and not easy to deal with.

The young boy behind them, probably around fifteen or sixteen years old, was already in tears. Like the previous two individuals, his face and neck were covered in red rashes. However, unlike them, his sleeves were rolled down, and his arms did not have any rashes.

His face, which should have been handsome, was now covered in clusters of red rashes, giving him a terrifying appearance.

“Someone else has been poisoned too? This doesn’t seem like a deliberate extortion for money anymore. It seems there is a real issue,” one customer remarked.

“This is a disaster! Could the other food we ate also be poisoned?” another customer worriedly expressed.

“It’s possible…”

The onlookers were all concerned about their own safety, while the group of men had already entered the room.

The leading man kicked over a table as soon as he entered, and upon seeing so many people in the room and two individuals in the same condition as his younger brother, he paused for a moment and then became even angrier.

“Who’s the boss? Come out!”

“Damn it, selling poisonous food! Is it you?!” the man angrily questioned, grabbing someone by the collar.

“N-No, it’s not me!” The person who was grabbed happened to be standing close to Boss Wang, mistakenly identified as the boss. He quickly waved his hands in denial.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

Upon hearing that he wasn’t the boss, the man loosened his grip, stared angrily, and demanded, “Who? Who is the boss?!”

The person who was released quickly walked away, keeping a safe distance, afraid of being grabbed by the man again. It was truly terrifying.

“Oh, they are from the Zhenwei Escort Agency,” a customer recognized the men as members of the local Zhenwei Escort Agency. They were all a bit fearful because these men were skilled fighters. Judging by their muscular bodies, it seemed they could easily break someone’s hand with a flick.

Upon hearing this, everyone took a step back, keeping their distance from them. Who knew when they might become violent? It was better to stay away from them.

“It’s… it’s that fat guy!” the young boy behind them pointed at Boss Wang, crying.

Boss Wang, upon hearing this, instinctively recoiled and took a step back. His wife also moved back in fear.

How could there be someone else accusing them? Could it be that the white ear soup really had a problem? Doubts began to arise in the couple’s previously confident minds.

As the leading man heard his brother’s words, his eyes scanned the area and immediately locked onto Boss Wang.

Step by step, he approached, his anger boiling.

Boss Wang trembled in fear, his legs shaking uncontrollably, as he continued to back away and stammered, “Y-You, you, you, don’t do anything reckless! I-I will report you to the authorities!”

“Report to the authorities? Fine, go ahead and report!” The man grabbed the back of Boss Wang’s collar, pulled him forward, and with a forceful shove, Boss Wang stumbled and fell flat on his face.

Boss Wang’s wife was initially shocked and frozen with fear, but when he snapped out of it, Boss Wang was already thrown to the ground. He rushed forward to pull Boss Wang and shouted at the man, “What are you doing! Let me tell you, my brother-in-law is the county magistrate’s registrar! If you dare to touch us, he’ll have you dragged to the government office!”

The man burst into laughter. He stepped on Boss Wang’s back, pressing him down, and when Boss Wang managed to raise himself slightly, he was immediately pushed back down.

“Ouch!” Boss Wang let out a miserable cry as his chin hit the ground, his teeth biting his lip, causing blood to flow into his mouth.

“Ah! What are you doing?! Let go of your foot! Let go of him!” Upon seeing this, Boss Wang’s wife rushed forward and tried to move the man’s leg. When he couldn’t budge it, he resorted to using his hands to hit him and even picked up a nearby chair, intending to smash it.

The man caught the chair with one hand, forcefully yanked it, and grabbed it. He casually threw it aside and said to the people behind him, “Tie him up.”

Two people came forward from behind and took out a rope to bind Boss Wang’s wife.

The man, while stepping on Boss Wang, said, “Let me tell you, you damn thing, my brother is getting married in two months. If his face doesn’t improve by then, you can forget about having a good life for the rest of yours!”

Hearing this, everyone sighed and sympathetically looked at the young boy. He was going to get married in two months, but his face was in such a state. They didn’t know if it could be cured. Moreover, even if it healed, would there be scars? If the husband’s family despised him, then what about the wedding…

It was truly pitiful.

However, upon further thought, they worried that they might have been poisoned themselves. They became increasingly anxious.

Someone asked the young boy, “Young man, did you also become like this after eating the white ear soup here?”

The young boy nodded, crying, and said, “Yes, yes, it was after eating the white ear soup here!”

Some of the customers who hadn’t eaten the soup let out a sigh of relief, but those who had eaten it felt like going crazy.

“What should we do? Should we hurry and go see a doctor?”

“Yes, yes, let’s go see a doctor! Maybe we can vomit it out. Let the doctor detoxify us.”

As they spoke, seven or eight people hurriedly rushed towards the door.

“Make way, make way! Let us through! We’ve been poisoned and need to see a doctor…” Most of these people were young gers, and some of them were already crying out of worry. If they ended up like those three individuals, what would they do? Would it be possible to recover from such a condition and avoid disfigurement?

By now, due to the commotion caused by these two groups of people entering, the entrance of Wang’s Noodle Shop was crowded with onlookers. Upon hearing their words, everyone quickly made way, allowing them to leave and seek medical attention.

At this moment, Wang’s son, Wang Ming, returned from the market. Seeing so many people surrounding their noodle shop, he knew something had happened. He immediately pushed through the crowd and saw a man stepping on his father, blood flowing from his father’s mouth, and his mother sitting on the ground crying.

“Father, mother, what happened?” Wang Ming was dumbfounded.

Boss Wang’s wife, upon seeing his son, quickly cried out, “Ah Ming, quickly go find your uncle! There are troublemakers here!”

“Oh, okay,” Wang Ming nodded absentmindedly, turned around to leave, but was stopped by two men from the escort agency grabbing his arms.

“Let him go!” the man from the escort agency said to the other two men.

Hearing this, the two men stepped aside, and Wang Ming immediately squeezed through and ran towards the county office.

The man from the escort agency turned to one of his companions and said, “Fifth Junior Brother, go back and find my father, tell him to go find my cousin! Say that his youngest brother has been disfigured by someone!”

“Yes, Big Brother!” the man turned around and left as well.

After giving the instructions, the man from the escort agency stepped on Boss Wang with one foot, reached out and patted his face, making a slapping sound, and said, “So the little nephew is a registrar? Hmm? That’s quite impressive! I’m so scared, terrifying!”

As he spoke, the man exerted force with his foot, causing a cracking sound.

“Ah!” Boss Wang’s screams pierced the sky.

Everyone heard the sound of the crack and shuddered.

The owner’s ribs were broken.

The man didn’t even flinch. He turned his head and looked at the group of people who arrived before them. They seemed somewhat familiar to him. After thinking for a moment, he asked, “From the Hu family in the west of the city?”

The leader of the previous group of men nodded and answered, “Yes.”

The man from the escort agency lifted his chin and nodded towards the two victims, asking, “Your wife and son?”

The leader of the Hu family nodded.

“Do you want a kick too?” the man from the escort agency lifted his chin towards Boss Wang and asked.

The leader of the Hu family silently shook his head and said, “We have gone to fetch a doctor. We’ll wait until the officials arrive.”

Upon hearing this, the man from the escort agency took a step, stepped on Boss Wang’s forearm, exerted force, and with a cracking sound, broke it again.

The Hu family members were all stunned.

They were in the fabric business and mostly conducted themselves in a civilized manner, usually resorting to presenting facts and reasoning to handle issues. Previously, their most aggressive actions were slamming tables, kicking chairs, and getting into fights. But now, witnessing the man from the escort agency effortlessly breaking someone’s ribs with a single stomp, they felt both fearful and a sense of relief in their hearts.

“Well stomped!” The elder brother spat and said harshly.

The others wore expressions of satisfaction.

The onlookers were all dumbfounded and dared not speak.

“The doctor is here, make way, make way!” Not long after, the Hu family members returned with a doctor, Dr. Li from the well-known Jiren Hall in the city. They had sought medical treatment from Dr. Li before.

The leader of the Hu family had someone bring out a pot of white ear fungus soup from the kitchen and explained the situation to Dr. Li. They asked him to examine the faces of the three victims and verify if the white ear fungus soup was poisoned.

“Is it from this?” Dr. Li looked at it and asked.

All three victims nodded.

Upon hearing this, Dr. Li said, “This white wood ear fungus, there have been cases in the past where people ate it and ended up poisoned, just like these three. They came seeking treatment. How did this thing end up being sold?”

Upon hearing this, someone asked, “Dr. Li, is this thing really poisonous?”

Dr. Li nodded and said, “Yes, this is called white wood ear fungus. People in the city are not very familiar with it since it grows in many mountainous areas. Some villagers who are unaware of its toxicity would pick and consume it. In my over thirty years of practicing medicine, I have treated many patients who were poisoned after eating this.”

“Since Dr. Li says so, then it must be true.” People started discussing among themselves. Dr. Li was the most respected doctor in the city, and if he said it was poisonous, then it must be.

Boss Wang, enduring the pain throughout his body, looked at the silver needle and shook his head, saying, “It’s impossible. Ahem, we have been selling it for the past few days, and nothing like this happened! You all must have conspired to harm me!”

“That’s right! It’s you who harmed us!” Boss Wang’s wife shouted loudly.

Despite Dr. Li’s statement, this unscrupulous couple refused to admit their wrongdoing, further infuriating the Hu family and the members of the escort agency.

“The evidence is right before our eyes! How dare you try to argue!”

“You bastard! Your conscience has been eaten by dogs! You’ve harmed my brother!” The man flew up and kicked forcefully, causing Boss Wang to scream in pain.

The man didn’t let him go and grabbed his collar, saying, “You claim it’s not poisoned, right? Then you drink this pot of soup!”

Boss Wang refused vehemently, struggling with all his might, but with a broken bone and excruciating pain, he had no strength left.

Seeing that the man was about to force-feed Boss Wang the white ear fungus soup, Dr. Li quickly said to the man from the escort agency, “Stop it now, don’t cause a tragedy!”

Upon hearing this, the man from the escort agency kicked once more before stopping. Then he anxiously turned to Dr. Li and asked, “Doctor, is there an antidote for this poison? Can my brother’s face be cured? The previous doctor applied medicine to him, but couldn’t give a definite answer. My brother is about to get married soon. Look at his face, how can we handle this?”

Dr. Li examined the younger brother’s pulse and carefully inspected the injury, confirming that it exhibited the same symptoms as the previous two victims. He said, “Their condition resembles being affected by a toxic heat, similar to sunburn. As long as they don’t scratch the blisters and break the skin, it can be healed. They should drink some detoxifying herbal soup, avoid excessive sunlight for a while, drink plenty of water, and consume light meals. In about two weeks, they should recover.”

Upon hearing this, the men from the escort agency felt somewhat relieved, and the younger brother finally let out a sigh of relief.

Dr. Li then turned to the Hu family members and said, “The situation of this younger brother is a bit more severe and may take a bit longer. Be careful not to let him scratch the blisters; otherwise, scarring could occur, which would be problematic.”

The Hu family members nodded promptly upon hearing this.

After giving instructions, Dr. Li turned to the white ear fungus soup on the table, looked at it, and asked Wang, “This thing is known to be poisonous even in rural areas. Villagers wouldn’t bring it for consumption anymore. How did you manage to sell something toxic?”

Boss Wang, huddled on the floor and in pain, struggled to answer, “We didn’t have any problems selling it the past few days.”

Dr. Li was puzzled and asked, “Oh? No problems the past few days? Then why did it become a problem today? Wasn’t it the same product?”

Boss Wang shook his head and said, “It was all white wood ear fungus. How could there be any difference? Moreover, today’s batch was freshly picked, just harvested…”

As he said this, Boss Wang suddenly paused and muttered, “No, something’s not right. The previous batch was dried, and my son went to the village to fetch it. Today’s batch was fresh, just picked…”

Dr. Li, hearing this, looked at the white wood ear fungus with a pensive expression.

At that moment, a voice came from the crowd, saying, “Fresh white wood ear fungus contains toxins. After being exposed to direct sunlight and dried, it should be soaked in water for one to two hours. The toxins will dissolve in the water, and the longer it is soaked, the less toxic the white wood ear fungus will be. At this point, it can be safely consumed.”

Upon hearing this, the crowd turned their heads to see a person stepping forward from the crowd.

Surprisingly, it was Boss Yu, the owner of the neighboring Yu’s Delicious Delights!

Boss Wang, upon hearing the explanation, instantly regretted his actions. When he realized that the person speaking was Yu Qingze, he was so infuriated that he spat out a mouthful of blood and fell into unconsciousness.