After another ear-piercing wail, Mr. Cao asked, âWhich disease was your husband suffering from? Which doctor did you find for medical treatment?â
The widow stopped crying, and said bluntly, âA severe cough, you werenât available the day he fell ill. I invited Dr. He from the west of town instead.â
Mo Feng came out from behind Ms. Liang and said, âYouâre talking nonsense. Mr. Cao has confirmed none of the dried fruit is poisonous. Who knows how your man died? Should my family be responsible for everyone who died?â
The woman probably didnât expect Mr. Cao to get to them first, and saw Wang Wang lying on the ground while panicking, âLook, this dead cat is the evidence!â
Mu Yan chuckled, âMaâam, this cat had never eaten candied fruit!â
The woman subconsciously glanced at the crowd before saying, âBeef jerky, my husband ate beef jerky. Didnât your cat die after eating beef jerky?â
How did she know that the cat died after eating beef jerky?
Mr. Cao said by the side, âHow could a person with a coughing problem eat something as dry as beef jerky?â
Ms. Liang also said, âThatâs right, I also have a bad cough. The weather is already dry in this season, and I wouldnât dare touch beef or mutton.â
Mo Yan asked, âSince you believe your husband was poisoned by us, what do you want?â
âIt was a mistake on your part. If you pay me a hundred silver taels, the matter will be over. Otherwise, Iâll sue you and send you to jail.â
Mo Feng stepped forward and said to the woman, âOne hundred silver taels! Thatâs highway robbery!â Then, he turned to Mo Yan, âAre you stupid? This is obviously full of holes, but you have to pay her money? We donât have nearly enough to pay her!â
If even Mo Feng could tell something wasnât right, how could the onlookers not be able to tell?
She bowed her head and kneeled to âadmit her mistakeâ, âEsteemed brother of mine, how should I deal with this situation?â
âLet the judges decide whoâs in the right!â
Mo Yan kowtowed and said, âAlright, I shall do that!â
Zhou Liangsheng said he was going to find the governing official. Lu Junming replied, âHeâs not a judge, and this involves a death. You should go to Yi City to report to the county magistrate, and ask him to send an officer to check. Chuzi, Get the horse ready!â
Xiao Chuzi agreed and ran away, but Manager Liang came out to stop him from the crowd and said, âWhy rush to report to the authorities? Her husband was terminally ill and just left a few days earlier. You only have to pay the funeral expenses.â
After finishing speaking, Manager Liang turned to the widow, âPlease ask less from them!â
This really had something to do with Manager Liang. Once they agreed to pay, it is tantamount to admitting their goods were poisonous, and itâd be impossible to argue otherwise.
Mo Yan said coldly, âManager Liang, you want to be a mediator, but this is human life, can you bear its weight?â
Lu Junming loudly urged Xiao Chuzi to get the horse, and Mo Yan struck while the iron was hot, âI heard that the coroners in the county government are very powerful, and can instantly find out how people died. If you spread slander, you will go to prison.â
The woman trembled in fright and nearly fell down. The people who came with her all looked flustered and retreated one after another.
Manager Liang winked at the woman and said, âWeâre all from the city. Your man just left this world a few days earlier, so forget about it!â
Seeing them about to flee, Mu Yan pointed to Wang Wang on the ground and said, âYou may be generous and willing to forget about it, but I refuse. My familyâs Wang Wang is also a life, how did it die? We must find out today!â
Manager Liang began to retreat slowly into the crowd. Mo Yan said to Xiao Chuzi, âBrother Chuzi, close the door. The murderer who killed Wang Wang is in this yard.â
The onlookers looked about excitedly. Two young men looked panic-stricken and wanted to flee through the door. Xiao Chuzi recognized that they were the two people from the back kitchen of the Shunlai Restaurant, so he closed the door, pressing his back against it tightly.
Manager Liang said calmly, âItâs just a cat, it might not have died from food poisoning.â
Just then the widow said the cat died eating beef jerky, but now heâs saying otherwise. Heâs too eager to cut ties with her, making him suspicious.
âWang Wang only eats what godmother feeds it.â
Manager Liang seemed to be grasping at straws. He snorted coldly, pointed at Ms. Hua and said, âLook, the murderer is right there.â
Zhaoâer argued, âMy mother is not the murderer. Someone deliberately threw poisonous beef jerky in my yard, and my mother fed Wang Wang without knowing it.â
âGodmother, have any outsiders entered your yard recently?â
Ms. Hua thought for a moment, then said with a glimmer in her eyes, âNo! The only person who came here recently was your father.â
Now, Manager Liang spoke again, âLook, the murderer is from their family. Iâve heard theyâd divorced, but I didnât expect Shopkeeper Mu to be so cruel. Iâve also heard that he also kidnapped his own daughter and wanted to marry her to a foolâ¦â
Mo Ling was so angry that her face was flushed. Just as she was about to speak, Mo Yan spoke up first, âEven we didnât know about this, how did you know?â
Ms. Liang scolded, âExactly! Stop talking nonsense to ruin my daughterâs reputation, sheâs already engaged.â
Mo Yan passed through the crowd and walked towards the gate. Manager Liang looked back, and the two workers in his back kitchen were standing there.
She walked up to those two people, âI think both of you are smart and capable. Our workshop has just opened and is recruiting workers. Male workers get a thousand dollars a month. You wonât be exposed to the elements in the factory, do you two want to go?â
One of them said, âWe tried to apply for a job, but Mr. Lu refused to accept us. He said that he had enough male workers.â
âThe workshop is looking to expand, and it needs more male workers. Do you want to go?â
The other replied, âOf course! Thatâs much better than earning two hundred dollars a month.â
Mo Yan turned to Lu Junming, âYoung master Lu, I think these two are smart and capable, and can be entrusted with buying goods from the Upper Valley in the future, what do you think?â
Lu Junming nodded and said, âSure.â
The two of them first whispered to each other, and then looked at each other and smiled. They must have felt like it was easy money.
The two said with joy on their faces, âSo, is it settled?â
Mi Yan said, âNaturally, but I have a small condition.â After she finished speaking, she looked at Manager Liang, who glared at the two, âDonât listen to their nonsense, theyâre lying to you.â
At this time, the two of them only had eyes for the easy money, and couldnât care less about Manager Liang. They kept asking Mu Yan what the conditions were. Mo Yan glanced at the Manager Liang from time to time, and slowly asked, âOn the eighth day of New Year, were the two of you in Yi City?â
The two immediately replied in the affirmative. Manager Liang immediately shouted at them, âIs there no work in the back kitchen? Get back in!â
Post-translation notes: This is going to get really spicy, really quick. The demise is imminent, although Iâm not sure if Iâve already said that. As always, thanks for reading!