The man in grey snorted coldly and said sternly, "We have witnesses, evidence, and the record books. Doesn't that prove anything?"
The customers queuing up wore expressions of shock, and murmurs spread amongst them.
"What unscrupulous merchants, selling moldy grain! We were almost fooled."
"Damn it! I've been queuing since before dawn, and I don't want to buy moldy grain. I won't buy it no matter how cheap!" A man in the queue turned and left.
"Let's take a closer look. We can't just believe one person's word."
"Look at what? Isn't it obvious?"
...
They spoke one after another, and the scene became chaotic.
Wen Zhimò's lips curved. He closed his fan, walked closer to the man in grey, and said unhurriedly, "You can drag anyone here and claim they got poisoned by my grain. How am I supposed to know if they really have food poisoning?"
The man in grey sneered, "You can invite a doctor to verify."
Wen Zhimò winked at a shop assistant behind him, "Go invite the doctor from next door."
The shop assistant immediately slipped out of the crowd.
Though indignant, the crowd was unwilling to leave immediately. They wanted to see for themselves how this unscrupulous grain shop would be exposed and forced to close down shamefully.
Such a spectacular drama was not to be missed.
A moment later, the doctor arrived and began examining the patient.
After the doctor finished taking the pulse, all eyes shifted to him.
The doctor stroked his beard and nodded, "It is indeed food poisoning."
"See? I wasn't wrong about them! I don't know this doctor, and he speaks very fairly!" The man in grey spread his hands to the crowd, looking extremely smug.
The crowd grew increasingly angry, wishing they could beat the well-dressed scoundrel fanning himself to death, then drink his blood and eat his flesh.
What kind of times were these, when life was already so difficult, and yet they were selling moldy grain!
At first, they thought it was a divine blessing that the grain was sold at such a low price, giving them a way to survive. Little did they know they had been tricked.
Truly devils with black hearts and livers, who devoured people without spitting out bones!
Wen Zhimò looked at the crowd, who seemed ready to devour him alive, but his expression remained calm, showing no sign of panic. Bai Shēng had told him not to worry, so he wouldn't.
With every flick of his fan, the people's hatred seemed to deepen.
He glanced back at Bai Shēng and Lu Ye, the curve of his lips widening involuntarily.
Bai Shēng beckoned to one of the shop assistants. The assistant approached her, and Bai Shēng whispered a few words to him. The shop assistant nodded repeatedly and hurried out of the crowd.
Lu Ye said a few words quietly to Bai Shēng and then also left the crowd.
Seeing the grain shop owner so composed, the man in grey couldn't help but feel puzzled. He subtly glanced at his accomplices, finding them equally bewildered.
He wondered what this fellow surnamed Wen was up to, but there was no need to panic. He would take things one step at a time. The man in grey regained his confident expression.
More and more onlookers gathered. Besides those buying grain, passersby were also drawn in, blocking the entire street.
Just as Wen Zhimò was about to say something else, two more families arrived, angrily carrying people who had suffered food poisoning.
One of the poisoned individuals was a child about eight or nine years old.
Their accounts were almost identical to the middle-aged man's, and their names were also found in the record books. They had also been examined by a doctor and diagnosed with food poisoning.
The crowd could no longer contain their rage. If they had rotten vegetables and rotten eggs in their hands, they would have hurled them without hesitation at the grain shop owner, who was a beast in human clothing!
Someone directly pointed at Wen Zhimò and cursed loudly, "You heartless brute, you black-hearted merchant! Close your grain store and get out of this county!"
Some spat at him, and others even started pushing him.
Only then did Wen Zhimò begin to feel a little nervous.
He hadn't expected three families to show up causing trouble at once. If only one family suffered food poisoning, people might not believe it. Two families, perhaps still not. But what about the third?
Whether they believed it or not, they had to now.
He couldn't help but grip his paper fan tightly.
Bai Shēng was right; it was indeed an unsettling day. Those people had used such vile means to slander his grain shop.
People who bought grain yesterday would certainly not come today. Those queuing this morning were people who hadn't managed to buy grain yesterday and thus knew nothing about the grain they were selling.
But with this commotion, the shop's reputation for selling moldy grain would spread.
Wen Zhimò frowned slightly and approached Bai Shēng, "What do we do? These people are all prepared."
Bai Shēng sneered, "Their methods are truly clever. One family wasn't enough to convince the masses, so they brought three at once."
"Then, are we really going to be ruined today?" Wen Zhimò looked somewhat dejected. The worst thing for a business was damage to its reputation.
Bai Shēng smiled calmly, "Brother Wen, there's no need to worry. I have a way."
Hearing Bai Shēng say this, he visibly relaxed. If Bai Shēng said she had a way, she certainly did. He might as well watch the show from the sidelines.
After speaking, Bai Shēng moved a stool to the center of the crowd and stood upon it with imposing dignity.
She surveyed the enraged crowd and called out loudly, "Everyone, please quiet down. If you want to know if our grain shop is truly unscrupulous and if we sell moldy grain, please quiet down. I will provide proof."
In the space, Hēng Hēng began its heartfelt live broadcast of its owner's heroic deeds. The onlookers voluntarily lined up, each face beaming with the excitement of gossip.
Seeing a dark-faced girl appear out of nowhere and tell them to quiet down, the crowd felt a bit indignant.
"Who are you, you dark-faced girl? What does this have to do with you!"
"Isn't she the owner's wife? She's too ugly!"
"An unscrupulous owner only deserves to marry such an ugly wife!"
Seeing the crowd's words becoming increasingly harsh, Wen Zhimò suddenly snapped his fan shut and immediately stood on the stool, explaining loudly, "This young lady is also one of the owners of our grain shop! What she says represents our grain shop!"
So she was also an owner. Let's see what she planned to do!
The crowd quieted down slightly.
At this moment, an old beggar-like woman leaning on a cane in the crowd spotted Bai Shēng. Her body trembled violently, and immense surprise appeared on her wrinkled face.
A tattered, emaciated youth beside her immediately supported her, "Master, what's wrong?"
The old woman trembled as she gripped the youth's hand and murmured, "Fēng, I... I've found her."
The youth's expression jolted, and he exclaimed in surprise, "Found her? Where?"
The old woman's fingers trembled as she pointed at Bai Shēng, who was standing on the high stool, "It's her!"
The youth looked at the girl with two dark spots on her cheeks, and his eyes also showed excitement, "It's her, it's really her."