Rebirth: Not Being a Waste - Chapter 119

That day, Zhang Shu brought several jars of brackens to the shop.

The side dishes in the store were all good, especially the brackens, which were out of season. Everyone wanted to have it once before it disappeared from the market, so nearly every customer ordered a plate.

Zhang Shu noticed the store was very busy, so he stayed to help serve food. He either delivered two bowls of porridge to Table One or served tea eggs to Table Two.

Other vendors also sold tea eggs, but Zhang Family Store’s tea eggs were the best, and no one could sell them cheaper. Even if they tried, they wouldn’t cover their costs, so the tea egg business remained the most profitable for the Zhang family.

San Cunding, who had been nearby, turned around and left. His face remained pale. Originally, the other three asked him to go to Zhang Family Store for a meal that day and pretend to have a stomachache to cause a scene.

However, Zhang Shu was at the store that day, and San Cunding feared Zhang Shu might recognize him, so he decided to leave instead.

The pirate leader, Wu Laoda, frowned when he saw San Cunding return. No matter how powerful Zhang Shu was, he wouldn’t have recognized San Cunding. At that time, the boat was far behind, and there was no reason for Zhang Shu to remember him. But he still didn’t want to risk showing his face and being caught.

San Cunding felt a little scared when he saw Wu Laoda’s expression but quickly pushed the feeling aside. There were others to do the dirty work, after all. He rowed the boat, killed people, and now, it seemed, also caused trouble. He allowed a bit of displeasure to show on his face.

Wu Laoda noticed and his anger turned to calm. He didn’t say anything more and simply told San Cunding to rest. But as San Cunding walked further into the room, his expression changed.

Thinking back, no one dared defy him. Those who did were dragged out to feed the sharks. Now that he was in a weakened position, even someone like San Cunding dared to give him a cold look.

Ding Si walked in, noticing Wu Laoda’s angry face. He immediately went over and asked, “Boss, who made you angry? I’ll take care of him.”

Wu Laoda’s face softened considerably. Ding Si was his most trusted confidant—sly and ruthless. As long as Ding Si was around, the other two river bandits dared not make any rash moves.

Wu Laoda whispered something in Ding Si’s ear before watching him leave, a faint smile on his lips as Ding Si disappeared.

The next day two guests arrived at the Zhang Family Store. One was short, pale, and looked slightly arrogant. The other had narrow eyes and a fierce look, but he was always smiling.

As soon as they sat down, they ordered everything on the menu. The second aunt, worried they might not be able to finish everything, tried to persuade them to order less, but they insisted. There was nothing she could do.

Wu Jiang picked up a large tray of food and sent it to their table before standing by the counter with Wu Hai, watching them eat.

The shorter man ate like a hungry ghost, his head down and food disappearing nonstop. The fiercer-looking one seemed unsatisfied, touching all the dishes with his hands but not eating much himself. He gave the food he touched to the dwarf and ate only a little.

After a while, the table was cleared. The other guests were impressed, seeing that the two guests could actually eat so much.

San Cunding stood up, waiting for Ding Si to pay the bill. Suddenly, a sharp pain gripped his stomach, almost tearing his insides apart. He leaned on the table, gasping for air, sweat pouring down his face, veins bulging from the agony.

He looked at Ding Si, who was standing nearby, and caught a glimpse of his bloodthirsty smile. In that moment, he understood everything and pointed at Ding Si, his voice weak, “You… you… are so cruel…”

Before he could say more, he collapsed.

A commotion broke out in the restaurant. The guests, alarmed, immediately surrounded him, trying to figure out what happened.

Ding Si rushed over from the counter, pushing his way through the crowd. He kneeled beside San Cunding’s body and began to cry, “My brother! Why did you have to die? You’re leaving me all alone in this world!”

“Dead?” The guests took a step back. How could he be dead? He seemed perfectly healthy. Could it be epilepsy? But he hadn’t been convulsing.

The second aunt and the others watched from the side, a terrible feeling rising in their hearts. They sensed that this incident would have serious consequences.

Sure enough, after crying for a while, Ding Si suddenly turned around, his expression turning vicious. He shouted to the people in the Zhang Family Store, “Your food killed my brother! What do you plan to do about it?”

Wu Hai retorted, “How can you say that our food killed him? You ate it too, and everyone else did as well. Why didn’t it happen to anyone else? Your brother must have had a hidden illness, which caused his sudden death.”

The crowd looked at Wu Hai with disapproval. They’d always been taught that death was the greatest misfortune. If someone died, it was best not to speak ill of them. However, they didn’t completely reject Wu Hai’s explanation. After all, they were regular customers at Zhang Family Store. If the food had been poisoned, wouldn’t they have known?

“Then report it to the authorities!” Ding Si snapped. “Let the government investigate. If my brother really died from a hidden illness, I’ll apologize. But if my brother died because of the food in your store, don’t blame me for burying you with him!”

When everyone heard what Ding Si said, their expressions changed again. In the past, when people tried to extort others, they would usually ask for a private settlement, where a little money would suffice to resolve the issue. But now, Ding Si openly called for an official investigation, with such determination. Could it really be that his brother was poisoned by the food?

Some people started feeling uneasy. “Maybe there’s something wrong with today’s food. My stomach hurts terribly!”

“I feel a little off too. No, I think I’ll go home first. Let me know if anything happens.”

A few troublemakers slipped out of the crowd and disappeared, while the rest of the people were stirred by Ding Si’s words. If the victim isn’t afraid of reporting to the authorities, then we shouldn’t just ignore it either.

“Wu Laoda, make sure to bury the man properly and pay some compensation if your food caused his death. If not, the government will prove your innocence.”

Ding Si suddenly stood up again. “Isn’t this store called Zhang Family Store? Why is the boss named Wu? Call the boss named Zhang to come out!”

Second Aunt stood up and said, “There’s no boss named Zhang. I am the boss! If you want to report it to the government, I’ll go with you!”

She wore a dark apron and a headscarf, still appearing lively and cheerful as always, but now she had a more resolute air about her.

Her eldest aunt rushed in, “I’m her sister-in-law. This store isn’t hers. I’ll go with you.”

Second Aunt flung her apron off and tossed it onto Big Aunt. “Go back to the kitchen and wash the dishes. Everyone knows I stand here to collect the money every day. If I’m not going, then who will?”

With that, she strode off confidently.

Ding Si ground his teeth in frustration. It seemed he had no choice but to stick with the claim that the food from that Zhang guy caused the death.

Wu Jiang and Wu Hai did nothing but get a cart to put San Cunding’s body on. They pushed it toward the government office to ensure no one tampered with the body.

The crowd followed the cart to the county government office. Inside the Zhang Family Store, Wu Hai’s brother and sister-in-law anxiously closed the door, then hurried to find Zhang Shu for a solution.

“Dong Dong Dong!” Someone knocked on the big drum at the door. A yamen runner rushed over, saw the dead body on the cart, and immediately ran inside to inform the county magistrate. The magistrate, hearing that the imperial envoy would soon arrive for an inspection, was concerned that a public disturbance would create a negative impression.

The county magistrate quickly listened to the yamen runner’s questioning and immediately called for a court session.

At the County Government Office the crowd was ushered into the government office and stood trembling before the hall. Second Aunt Shen, who held her anger in check, began to tremble once she entered the official space. For a humble village woman, the county magistrate’s presence was imposing enough to make her nervous.

Ding Si kneeled at the front of the hall, feigning sadness. His eyes scanned the room casually, hoping to avoid being recognized by anyone familiar.

“Who is kneeling in the hall? Where is the plaintiff?”

The sound of the gavel echoed as the county magistrate began the trial.

“Report to the county magistrate, I am the plaintiff,” Ding Si kowtowed. “Today, my brother and I went to the Zhang family’s store to eat. The food was so delicious that we ended up ordering more than we normally would. But when I went to pay the bill, my brother suddenly collapsed and lost consciousness. He died without warning! It must have been the owner of Zhang Family Store who poisoned him. Please investigate.”

The county magistrate motioned for Ding Si to be quiet, then signaled for the defendant, Second Aunt Shen, to speak.

Second Aunt Shen knelt on the ground and tried to stay composed. “County Magistrate, I’ve been running this store for over a year. Anyone who has eaten here knows that my food is clean. No one ever reported a stomachache after eating my food. Today was no different. We ate everything ourselves, and the customers ate as well. How come everyone else is fine, but only he died? Perhaps he had some underlying illness, and that’s why he died so suddenly.”

After Second Aunt finished speaking, Ding Si glared at her. “Nonsense! My brother was healthy! He wasn’t sick! Since the other guests ate without issue, something’s not right. You deliberately poisoned my brother!”

Second Aunt cried out in protest. “If we wanted to kill him, why would we still be here?”

Ding Si shouted, “It’s because Heaven spared me to expose your crimes! If I hadn’t overeaten yesterday and felt some discomfort, I would’ve eaten the same amount as my brother today, and it would’ve been me who died instead! My brother and I are orphans. Who knows, we might have died without anyone even collecting our bodies!”

He spoke so passionately that nearly all the onlookers began to sympathize with him. Some even murmured, “I’m lucky I didn’t eat too much today; otherwise, I might have been poisoned too. This is definitely the hatred of the rich playing a role.”

Meanwhile, Wu Yang and his wife drove a bullock cart to the Zhang family’s courtyard to inform Zhang Shu of what happened, hoping to figure out a way to resolve the situation.

When Zhang Shu saw they came alone, he initially thought they came to help move things, but after they explained the situation, he realized the gravity of the matter.

In theory, this could go either way—if the evidence was strong, a peaceful resolution could still be reached, and the court would act accordingly. But if the other party remained obstinate, there would still be other ways to handle it.