More and more people gathered in front of the Tian Xia Liang Cang. Under the deliberate instigation of the thin and the fat men, the scene became noisy and chaotic.
However, Xiao Yi was still squatting in front of the old man, the instigator of the fall, tending to his injured hand and leg, and instructing his young assistant behind him to fetch a doctor.
"I, I won't see a doctor. I don't have money, I can't afford it. You, you don't try to cheat me out of my money.
Now, now you just properly tell me and all these fellow villagers how this rice came about."
The old man was also at a loss for what to do with Xiao Yi. Upon receiving a signal from the dark-skinned thin man, he immediately steered the conversation back.
Xiao Yi leaned in close and whispered, "Do you know your leg is broken? This will affect how much compensation you can ask them for."
"Ah… you, you, what nonsense are you talking about? You…" The old man looked at Xiao Yi with a frightened expression.
This young man was so young, with no facial hair, how could he have figured out their scheme so quickly?
The pain in his leg spread, and the old man began to waver.
For a hundred coins, this fall wasn't worth it.
He wasn't even sure if his leg was truly broken as this young man claimed.
His ankle hurt a lot.
His eyes flickered, and seeing the dark-skinned thin man staring at him from not far away, he quickly made up his mind. The deed was done, and there was no turning back.
He declared that he didn't need to worry about his leg injury and that they should resolve the matter of the moldy rice first.
"So many fellow villagers bought rice from you, and you sold them moldy rice. No wonder it was cheaper than other grain stores."
"So you couldn't compete on price, and you came to cause trouble for me, to ruin my grain store's business?" Xiao Yi naturally picked up the conversation.
The old man was about to nod when he suddenly realized the statement was incorrect and quickly denied it three times: "No, impossible, definitely not…"
Xiao Yi had only played this trick on him twice before, and both times he had been spot on. He had already guessed most of the situation.
It seemed their grain store's business was too good, arousing the jealousy of competitors, which led to today's stunt.
He suddenly stood up and scanned the crowd. Suddenly, he spotted Su Xiaoqi hidden among the onlookers.
His eyes lit up, and he was about to go greet her, when Su Xiaoqi motioned for him to "hush" and gave him a thumbs-up, praising him for handling it well and signaling him to resolve the issue.
Xiao Yi suddenly had a clear objective and knew what to do.
He cleared his throat. His voice, honed from begging in the marketplace, was put to good use now.
"Fellow villagers, please, if anyone is willing, call the authorities for me.
I want to accuse these three people of conspiring to frame me and my employer's grain store.
They want to bring down Tian Xia Liang Cang so that you all have to buy grain from those expensive grain stores like before."
"Ah, are they acting? Then, what about that moldy rice?" someone asked doubtfully, voicing their confusion.
"A good question. This moldy rice is not from my grain store at all." Xiao Yi went back into the store and took out a sealed bag of rice, opening it in front of everyone.
A fragrant aroma of rice spread.
Everyone craned their necks to see.
The rice in the cotton bag was white, with full grains, nothing like the broken, moldy grains on the ground.
Everyone's eyes were sharp enough, and having witnessed it themselves, they naturally formed their own opinions.
"I knew it, this is Tian Xia Liang Cang, how could they sell moldy rice?"
"Hey, don't say that. The young shopkeeper specifically brought that out. It must be fine. Maybe the problematic ones are all hidden away."
This point seemed valid.
The murmurs of the crowd grew louder.
Xiao Yi wasn't anxious, glancing occasionally towards Su Xiaoqi. He saw that the legitimate owner of the grain store was calmly observing him from within the crowd of onlookers.
This meant she was giving him complete freedom to handle the situation and expressing her complete trust in his methods.
Xiao Yi's heart swelled. This feeling of being unconditionally trusted was wonderful.
He decided not to beat around the bush anymore. He picked up the rice bag from the ground and, holding it alongside the bag he had just retrieved, addressed the crowd: "Everyone, please look. Do you see any difference between these two rice bags?"
"Differences? Oh, I didn't notice until you mentioned it. Yes, there are differences. Look, this bag is made of cotton, and that one is made of coarse cloth.
Oh, oh, here, here, there's an imprint here, a red one, and it seems to have a character on it."
"What character is it?"
"I don't know, I'm illiterate."
As this was said, many people leaned closer to look, but no one could make out what it was.
Su Xiaoqi nudged Shen Yun, indicating that it was time for the top scholar to step in.
Shen Yun glared at Su Xiaoqi. He had wanted to step forward and help her out, but she had desperately held his hand.
Now that he had decided to just watch the show, she was pushing him forward.
"Good husband, they don't recognize your handwriting. Please go and help them," Su Xiaoqi cooed.
Shen Yun, with a helpless sigh, took a couple of steps forward and said softly, "Let me see."
Someone spotted him. Seeing his tall stature, handsome features, and extraordinary demeanor, people involuntarily took a couple of steps back.
Others, recognizing him, immediately whispered to their neighbors, "This person looks like the top scholar from this year's grand examination."
"Ah…" someone exclaimed. The crowd that had been pressed together immediately parted, creating a path.
Shen Yun picked up both cloth bags and examined them. From the inner side of the cotton bag, he revealed a red imprint and read aloud: "Tian Xia Liang Cang."
He glanced around and explained, "This is Tian Xia Liang Cang's unique anti-counterfeiting mark."
With his reminder, someone immediately went to check the coarse cloth bag containing the moldy rice.
Naturally, there was no such mark.
The onlookers enjoyed the spectacle, but not everyone was foolish. By this point, what was there not to understand?
A discerning person pointed at the old man and accused, "Why would you harm Tian Xia Liang Cang? Aren't you afraid of retribution?"
"Exactly. Look at you, your heart is truly black.
Don't you know Su Ji Rice Shop sells rice for eight wen per liter? That's eighty wen for a dou, a difference of thirty wen from here.
Only a fool would think of buying there."
"Tsk, this old man looks pitiful, but turns out he's not a good person."
Everyone quickly turned their attention to the old man.
His leg hurt, his head hurt, and his face felt like it had been slapped.
"You, you're talking nonsense! You're bullying an old man because you're rich and powerful!" The dark-skinned thin man was unwilling for his meticulously planned scheme to be ruined and wanted to salvage something.
Meanwhile, the fat man, seeing that the situation was beyond saving, quietly began to retreat, attempting to slip away.
Su Xiaoqi couldn't stand it any longer. Feigning an accidental stumble, she tripped the fleeing fat man with a raised leg.
He sprawled forward, landing next to the old man, his backside in the air, looking like he had face-planted.
While everyone's attention was drawn to the appearance of the fat man.
Su Xiaoqi stepped forward, grabbed the old man's wrist, and began to feel his pulse.
She also bent down and gently kneaded his ankle.
Soon, she had a clear understanding of the situation.
She looked down at the old man, who was anxiously staring at her, her smile gentle, but her voice chillingly cold:
"Your leg bone is broken, and your hand is also about to be broken. Quickly confess your wicked schemes with them in front of everyone, otherwise, your leg will be beyond saving, and your hand will be crippled.
Think about it, how much compensation are they giving you? Is it worth risking a leg and a hand?"
The old man was startled. His leg, his leg was broken, ah, it was truly broken, and his hand would be broken too?
Could it be that there was immediate retribution for evil deeds? As soon as he committed one, he was punished?