CH 71

Tian Liang Wang Po

The arrival of Madam Zhao and the revealed relationship between Zhao Family and Zhenwei Escort Agency surprised everyone in the room, especially the registrar and Boss Wang. They were already sweating coldly.

If it was just the Hu Family and the Escort Agency, they might have had a chance to steer the situation in their favor. But they never expected that the two brothers from the Escort Agency would address Madam Zhao as ‘uncle’!

In Tongshan City, even the county magistrate would have to show deference to the Zhao Family. And in recent years, with the declining health of the head of the Zhao Family, who has been resting at home, it is Madam Zhao who now makes all major decisions within the family and assists his son in managing external affairs.

This is something that almost everyone in Tongshan City knows.

Now, this situation has brought Madam Zhao and his son here. The registrar’s heart sank immediately, knowing that today’s matter was probably irreparable. Boss Wang was also in a bad state, feeling like he had kicked an iron plate, feeling anxious in his heart.

After Madam Zhao greeted the brothers from the Escort Agency and learned about the situation, he patted the younger brother’s hand to comfort him, then glanced at his son, indicating for him to handle it.

Zhao Yu, Madam Zhao’s son, nodded and glanced at his cousin’s face. He walked up to the county magistrate and the registrar and said, “County Magistrate, Registrar, our family doesn’t lack the money for medical fees and medicine. We just want fairness.”

The county magistrate felt a twinge of unease. How did a small case of food poisoning end up involving people from the Zhao Family? He asked, “What does Young Master Zhao mean?”

Zhao Yu glanced at Boss Wang without hiding the coldness in his eyes and said in a deep voice, “Since we seek fairness, we naturally need to go to court to discuss it properly. County Magistrate, Registrar, what do you say?”

“No, I don’t want to go to the yamen. I don’t want to go to the yamen. Younger brother, tell him that we don’t want to go to the yamen, let’s settle it privately.” Previously scared by the registrar’s mention of being punished, Boss Wang huddled behind his wife, insisting on not going to the yamen.

The county magistrate glanced at the registrar. In this case where the victim does not wish to settle privately, they had no choice but to bring it back to the yamen for processing.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

The registrar sighed and looked up at Zhao Yu. He said, “Young Master Zhao, the county magistrate is busy with official matters. It would be better to settle this privately if possible, considering the situation. You can discuss the compensation with the masters from the Hu Family and the two Master Yang. You can agree on any terms you want.” The two brothers from the Escort Agency had the surname Yang.

The man from the Escort Agency immediately stood on the same side as his cousin and said, “We don’t want to settle privately. We want to go to court. Whatever judgment the county magistrate gives, we won’t say a word.”

“That’s right.” The younger brother from the Hu Family also nodded and turned to the people from the Hu Family, asking, “Does the elder brother from the Hu Family also want to seek justice for himself?”

The people from the Hu Family also nodded in agreement to go to the yamen.

“We won’t go, we won’t go.” Boss Wang shouted.

Zhao Yu looked around and said, “Gentlemen, folks, we all came to this establishment with trust and the intention to enjoy good food. But now, the owner of this restaurant used poisonous white fungus without proper treatment to make and sell food, causing my cousin, who is about to get married, to be poisoned and have his face ruined like this. There are two other children affected as well. Look at this young boy, at such a young age, suffering like this. Shouldn’t we go to court to demand an explanation?”

Upon hearing this, the onlookers started discussing and echoing his words.

“And also,” Zhao Yu continued, “this owner, he doesn’t even know what he made himself. He can’t confirm whether the food is poisonous or safe before selling it. Now that such an incident has occurred, would you still dare to eat food made by such an establishment in the future?”

“Anyway, I will never eat here again.”

“Sigh, I’ve been eating noodles here all the time, maybe I should switch to another place. What if I get poisoned one day?”

“Yes, that’s right. There are several other noodle shops. Liu’s Noodle House is pretty good. They say the noodles they recently introduced are delicious.”

“Oh, Liu’s Noodle House? I’ve tried their fried noodles, and they really taste great.”

“…”

Boss Wang’s wife listened to Zhao Yu’s words and the comments from the crowd, becoming desperate and wanting to bang his head against the wall.

“You’re talking nonsense! There’s nothing wrong with our noodles. It was just a small incident with the white ear fungus soup. Don’t make a mountain out of a molehill!” Boss Wang gritted his teeth in pain as he spoke.

Zhao Yu glanced at him and coldly said, “By the time you have a problem, it will be too late. Who knows what kind of poisoning it will be next time? Accidentally adding a bit of arsenic or Cinnabar?”

Boss Wang’s face turned red, and he pointed at Zhao Yu but couldn’t utter a word.

Seeing that it was taking too long to resolve the situation, Madam Zhao spoke with a stern face. “County Magistrate Lin, Registrar Wu, the evidence in this matter is conclusive and the facts are clear. The victims’ families are demanding justice in court. Is there any problem with that? Can we expect a resolution here? Are you disregarding the victims and instead trying to protect this unscrupulous owner?!”

Hearing this, the registrar and the county Magistrate were startled. Defending the wrongdoer in public like this, if news of it spread, their positions would be at stake.

“Registrar Wu,” Madam Zhao looked at the registrar and continued, “I heard that Boss Wang and Boss Wang’s wife are your relatives, right? Are you here to support them?”

The registrar trembled and hurriedly said, “Madam Zhao, you’re mistaken. I only heard that something happened here and came to take a look. I thought it was a fight, but I didn’t expect it to be like this.”

Madam Zhao nodded and didn’t say anything further to him.

The registrar dared not speak up for his brother and the others. The county Magistrate quickly waved his hand and said, “Take the Wang family of three back to the yamen. The victims, their families, and Dr. Li, please come along.”

Upon hearing this, the bailiffs stepped forward and grabbed the arms of the Wang family of three to take them away.

“No, I won’t go to the yamen! Little brother, please help me…” Boss Wang struggled and shouted.

But his younger brother didn’t dare to openly defend them. He could only shake his head with a sigh and watch as the bailiffs took them away.

The victims, their families, Dr. Li, and those who wanted to watch the excitement all went along. The bailiffs also took the pot of white fungus soup, which served as evidence.

Yu Qingze walked out of Wang and glanced back at the noodle shop before heading to his own shop.

“Boss Yu, please wait.”

Yu Qingze turned around and saw Madam Zhao. He asked in confusion, “Madam Zhao, aren’t you going to the county yamen to take a look?”

Madam Zhao shook his head and said, “I’ll go later. There’s no major issue over there.”

Yu Qingze nodded with a hint of regret and said, “I didn’t expect your nephew to be poisoned as well.”

“It’s a lesson for him. I told him not to eat there, but he still went. There’s nothing I can do.” Madam Zhao shook his head and added, “I heard that you and Dr. Li are going to try making white fungus soup tomorrow. Do you need any help from us?”

Yu Qingze smiled and said, “No need, you’ve already been troubled enough.”

“It’s no problem. If you need anything, just let us know. Don’t hesitate,” Madam Zhao replied.

“Okay. Thank you, Madam Zhao.”

Yu Qingze returned to his snack shop. Many customers had left in the middle of their meal to watch the commotion next door, so the shop was much quieter now.

Brother Le and the others knew that something had happened at the neighboring Wang, but they were all busy with their own matters, so they only glanced at the door without going to see. Now that they saw Yu Qingze coming back, they asked him how things went.

Yu Qingze told them that they went to the county yamen’s court.

The others sighed in sympathy.

In the afternoon, some customers who had gone to the county yamen to observe came to the snack shop to have some dim sum. They discussed the final outcome of the Wang white fungus soup incident.

According to them, even the Zhao family’s head went to the county yamen and was furious when he saw his beloved nephew’s disfigured face.

The county magistrate, considering the Zhao family’s influence, investigated the cause, clarified the facts, and ordered Wang to compensate for all the medical expenses of the three victims. Additionally, each victim was to receive fifty taels of silver as compensation.

Finally, due to Wang’s negligence in selling poisonous food without proper verification, each of the three individuals involved in Wang was also given thirty heavy beatings and ordered to close down for rectification. As for the matter of Wang’s broken bones that could have been compensated by the Yang family, it was left unresolved.

When the customer shared this story, Boss Liu happened to be in the snack shop. He snorted and said, “Evil begets evil. They deserve it!”

Yu Qingze was in a good mood. The fire that was originally aimed at him, with Wang being the first to release the white fungus soup, suddenly disappeared. It felt particularly refreshing!

NOTE:

The phrase “天凉王破” (tiān liáng wáng pò) is a play on words that combines two separate idioms: “天凉了” (tiān liáng le) and “王破了” (wáng pò le).

1. “天凉了” (tiān liáng le) means “the weather has turned cold.” It is often used to indicate the arrival of autumn or cooler temperatures.

2. “王破了” (wáng pò le) literally means “the king is broken” or “the king has fallen.” It is a figurative expression used to describe the downfall or failure of someone or something that was previously powerful or dominant.

When combined, “天凉王破” (tiān liáng wáng pò) can be interpreted as a humorous wordplay suggesting that with the arrival of colder weather, the once powerful or prominent entity represented by “王” (Wang) has fallen or met their demise. It is a playful way of indicating that it’s time for Wang’s Noodle House to close down due to its misconduct.)

Thandar: OK, I kinda feel bad for the Wang family. Is anyone else like me or I’m the only one? (⸝⸝ᵕᴗᵕ⸝⸝)