Chapter 73: Drawing fire from the bottom of the cauldron
The next morning, as expected by Liu Yun, there was a lot of news about Mu's Rice Shop. Many people gathered around the door of the shop. However, Mu's Rice Shop, which usually opens early, was always closed. No matter how noisy the people were, no one came to open the door.
.
"What the hell is going on? It's already late, why haven't you opened the door yet? Is there any business left?"
"They must be afraid to open the door. It seems that the story about Mu's Rice Shop selling shoddy goods is true, otherwise it wouldn't be open now."
"I didn't expect that a business as big as Mu's would do something like this. It's really too much, you're a profiteer."
"Hmph, I have long heard that the Mu family makes money from us ordinary people and then goes to honor the court officials. It is really shameless."
The originally deserted street suddenly became lively. The bustling crowd pointed at the rice shops with closed wooden doors and began to curse.
"Are you here waiting for the door to open? This store is closed today and a notice was posted early in the morning." The person who spoke was the owner of this shopping street. I asked, my husband's family sells fish on the street, everyone calls her "'
Dou Po', in fact, she is not very old, but she is a nagging woman. There is nothing on this street that she does not know.
"What notice? Where is the notice?" someone in the crowd asked curiously.
"It's right there." Dou Po pointed to the door, with confusion on her face, "Strange, I saw the notice when I passed by here in the morning, why is it gone now?"
"What does the notice say?" someone asked again.
When asked about what she knew, Dou Po immediately put her hands on her hips and looked like she was asking questions, "You don't know, right? Yesterday someone said that Mu's Rice Shop was shoddy. I heard that even the Mu family master was alarmed.
We ordered people to investigate overnight, so this rice shop will be closed today."
"It turns out it's true. It's actually a shoddy product." The crowd murmured, and someone else asked, "How did you know?"
Dou Po hummed proudly: "Who doesn't know that I, Dou Po, have the widest connections on this street? Why don't I know anything? I also know that Mu's Rice Shop is going to donate food on Zhengrong Street today.
You don’t know this, right?”
"Giving porridge? Is it true or not? Why did Mrs. Mu suddenly think of giving rice? Could it be that she deceived us with shoddy goods and felt guilty?"
Dou Po pouted: "Humph, you don't know this? Do you think the Mu family is just a simple businessman? They have a close relationship with Beijing. The Mu family has been the first to bear the brunt of the previous disaster relief efforts. If they were just businessmen, would they be so enthusiastic?
? People like you just don’t know how high the sky is, so you are talking nonsense here. Master Mu and the magistrate are close friends."
"I have heard about this. My uncle is on duty in the capital, and he said before that the Mu family has donated a lot of money."
When someone supported her words, Dou Po became even more proud: "How did I say it? There is no lie in what Dou Po said. If you don't believe it, just go to Zhengrong Street and have a look. Anyway, it's here."
Stay still, this rice shop won't open either."
The troublemaker was so busy that he actually followed Dou Po to Zhengrong Street.
Linyang City is the most affluent city after Beijing, but no matter how wealthy the city is, there will always be poor people and half-dressed beggars. Zhengrong Street is the northernmost long street in Linyang City.
It is remote and deserted, and most of the people living here are very poor, so the government will come to Zhengrong Street to provide food.
In addition, last year's harvest was not as good as in previous years. This year's harvest has not yet matured. The wealthy farmers still have some surplus grain, but those who were already living a tight life really have no surplus at all. At this time, Shi
Grain just right alleviates the problems of many people.
Looking from a distance, you can see the signboard of Mu's Rice Cereals hanging high. A simple long table is filled with bags of divided rice. The crowd is divided into two teams, one is for registration and the other is for food.
We were waiting to get food, and several of the waiters were very busy. There was a queue at the end, but there were not many people. Most of the people in the queue were old people and children. I guess a queue was specially opened for them.
"Come on, come on, first come here to register your name and the number of people in your family, and then go to the queue next to get food. There is something for everyone, don't be anxious." The person in charge stood at the front of the line and yelled.
"Master Mu is really a kind man. Our family really can't open the door. Master Mu is really a living Bodhisattva."
"Yes, Master Mu is really a great benefactor to our family."
"Master Mu, good people will be rewarded."
Dou Po narrowed her eyes and laughed loudly: "Did you see that I, Dou Po, never tell lies? Isn't it that the Mu family is donating food?"
"Even if the Mu family donates food, it doesn't negate their family's shoddy work." There are always two people in the crowd who are particularly worried about the world being in chaos.
"Yes, yes, maybe they want to deceive others. Otherwise, why were they said yesterday that they were shoddy, and today they came to donate food? They must have a guilty conscience." Someone else agreed.
"Most of our families in Linyang City eat rice from their Mu family. If their family really sells off inferior quality, do you think those wealthy families will be so content? It's just you brainless people.
Being used as a weapon, I guess it was the rice shop in the south of the city that caused the commotion on purpose. Just the rice that the Mu family gave out today is worth so much money, why should it be used as a shoddy product?" Dou
Po rolled his eyes, with disdain on his face, "Young people, don't say Dou Po doesn't teach you. If you want to cause trouble, go ahead and pick some small families to cause trouble. If you really make those big families angry, do you think they can treat you well?"
Eat fruit?"
Although Dou Po is nagging, what she says really makes sense, which is why everyone believes in her inquisitive reasoning.
Except for the two people who made trouble at first, everyone else dispersed one after another. There were also a few freeloaders who ran to collect food. Dou Po watched there for a while before leaving Zhengrong Street.
"How's it going?" A man's voice sounded somewhat calm.
"It should be the people from the newly opened rice shop in the south of the city who are deliberately causing trouble. I watched them heading south and sent people to follow them." Another man's voice was obviously much clearer.
"Well, the lady must have guessed right." The man groaned, but he was a little confused, "But, how did the lady convince Dou Po?"
Another person also seemed a little confused: "I don't know, the lady went to find Dou Po early in the morning and left me guarding outside the door."
"Zi Qian..."
"What's wrong?"
"Do you still remember what you said that day in the late Qing Dynasty?"
They know what the lady wants them to know, and they don't need to know what she doesn't want them to know.
"I see."
The two black shadows disappeared suddenly and rushed towards Mu Mansion.