Wanjin Lady

Chapter 408 I Don't Move, the Enemy Does

The excitement at Chunri Tower soon spread to the Wen family residence. There were not many guests in the morning, and Wen Wan could hardly squeeze out time to accompany her two children. However, Zhang Chunhua hurried from the Red Mansion to the Wen residence, bringing the news that someone was causing trouble at Chunri Tower.

"More than a dozen people blocked the entrance to Chunrilou, preventing anyone from entering or leaving. They said they were vomiting and having diarrhea because of drinking their milk tea, and they were clamoring for compensation from Chunrilou. Madam Wang was so angry that her face turned green."

"Haruhi Lou refused to admit that it was milk tea that caused the argument, and the two sides were arguing fiercely, almost coming to blows! Residents from the entire street gathered to watch the fun!"

"Chunri Lou has already put up a closing sign. I sent someone to inquire and they heard they were using milk from overnight to make milk tea. Business was booming yesterday afternoon, and many people were affected. Chunri Lou is now completely closed, and I don't know how the government will handle this."

Zhang Chunhua looked at Wen Wan expectantly: "Boss, what should we do?"

His eyes glanced at the two little kids in the stroller.

The child born to the Dong family is also good-looking. As good-looking as the Dong family.

I just don’t know whether the boss’s man is good-looking or not.

Wen Wan was holding Hun Ge'er in her arms, and her expression remained unchanged upon hearing this. "What happened to Chunri Tower has nothing to do with us. We will just open the door and do business as usual."

This was really beyond Wen Wan's expectations. She deliberately asked Zhang Chunhua to make milk tea in front of everyone at the sugar and wine exchange meeting that day. Anyone who is interested can naturally piece together the recipe by themselves.

The recipe is worthless, but the price of raw materials will rise sharply. I wanted to let Jia recover his losses, but I never expected... before my fist hit the opponent, Jia gave away a head first.

In ancient times, milk was not pasteurized, so it was already contaminated with pathogens. Furthermore, with the cool autumn weather, the temperature is not too low. If milk is left out in the open, bacteria will multiply, making it particularly vulnerable to infection for those with weak constitutions.

When Jia heard that Wen Wan had spread the milk tea recipe, she thought she had predicted the price increase of raw materials in advance, so she rushed to buy a large amount of milk as a backup. However, she never expected that her cleverness would backfire.

Wen Wan carried Hun'er to find Master Tu. The young lady was holding the baby, smiling brightly. No one could tell she was harboring evil intentions. "Master, you heard it! Something happened at Chunri Tower. Let's add some more firewood to make it burn brighter."

The door of Chunri Tower was closed, but the rumors were like burning weeds and could not be blown away. Miss Wang was anxious to find Jia to discuss countermeasures, but Jia was not willing to make such a decision. She took her cousin to find the elder lady for advice.

Miss Wang had never experienced such a scene before, and her face turned pale with fear. She was still terrified when she recalled what had happened at Chunri Tower. "Madam, I'm truly wronged. These people got sick themselves, and they're blaming us at Chunri Tower! We can't admit this, no matter what. If we do, Chunri Tower's reputation will be ruined!"

Jia, looking panicked, hugged her niece and tried to comfort her, "But what if she refuses to admit it? These unruly people have no regard for the seriousness of the matter. If someone hadn't called the police, they would have nearly destroyed Chunri Tower! I only sold a cup of milk tea for twenty coins, and they're trying to extort dozens of taels of silver from me. This is pure extortion!"

The elder lady folded her Buddhist beads, her expression gloomy. "If this is really extortion, why would more than a dozen people show up at the same time? Bribing one person to give false testimony is easy, but bribing more than a dozen is foolish!"

Seeing Wang Xiaoniangzi's expression change, the Old Madam Yuan's gaze slowly fell on her face. It wasn't harsh, but it made her dare not hide anything. "There's someone named Sister Chen Er who reminded me yesterday... that Wen Wan requested that the Red Mansion not use overnight milk. She said overnight milk would cause diarrhea..." Seeing the two women's reproachful looks, Wang Xiaoniangzi felt very wronged. "But I saw that the milk hadn't changed color or smelled bad, so why can't it be used? Besides, the price of milk has gone up these past few days. Are we just throwing money away?"

The elder lady trusted Wen Wan. "There are many rules in the Red Mansion. There are more than a dozen rules regarding ingredients alone. Now that I think about it, she wouldn't make these requirements for no reason. Since she said overnight milk can't be used, then it really can't be used!"

"This..." Jia Shi didn't expect that after she cried out for injustice for a long time, she never thought that the final reason was really the management problem of the kitchen in Chunri Building. She was speechless.

The elder lady didn't blame them. She prayed to the Buddha and closed her eyes slightly. "Now that things have come to this, instead of arguing with these people about right and wrong, I'd rather spend money to avoid disaster."

Jia gritted her teeth, obviously unwilling to accept it.

Miss Wang advised her, "Aunt, forget it. If a lawsuit really breaks out, we'll be the ones who suffer. Chunri Tower can't afford their constant harassment! The compensation is only a couple of hundred taels of silver, but if it damages Chunri Tower's business and reputation, it will be more trouble than it's worth."

"Look! Your niece is smarter than you!" The elder lady looked down on Jia and placed the Buddhist beads on the table. "Alright! Pay them and settle the matter! Shut them up! Don't let this matter spread like wildfire!"

Unfortunately, the truth cannot be hidden.

As Miss Wang and Jia left the Elder Madam's residence, Steward Dong, who had been sent from Jia's family to provide support, came in with a quivering goatee, announcing, "The Red Mansion just hung a wooden sign at the door detailing the dangers of overnight milk. It also states that to ensure quality, they're implementing quality control from the source, and starting today, they're limiting the supply of milk tea."

Jia was so frustrated by this that she collapsed in anger. "Despicable! Cunning! She's clearly limiting the supply because of the recent rise in milk prices! And she even said it was to ensure quality. She's really good at flattering herself!"

Young Lady Wang's face darkened. She tugged at Jia's sleeve and asked, "Aunt, wasn't this all a trap set by Wen Wan from the beginning? Think about it, from the day she gathered the shopkeepers and deliberately revealed the recipe, to the milk price hike—this milk poisoning incident...wasn't she also behind it?"

But Chen Erjie had already warned her about the milk poisoning, but she ignored the advice and insisted on doing it... It seemed that Wen Wan had nothing to do with it.

"Wen Wan is a human being, not a monster. How can she plan ten steps ahead?" Jia's chest heaved, and she was obviously very angry. She felt that the money she had worked so hard to save was wasting away every day. She couldn't hear any sound, and the money just flowed away!
The shopkeeper shook his graying beard, wanting to say something but holding back. Jia's heart sank as she heard the old housekeeper's voice, "The news of the poisoning of Chunri Tower's milk tea has spread throughout Bozhou City. Some say it killed people, while others say someone poisoned the place... Auntie..."

The housekeeper hesitantly persuaded, "How about we close Chunri Tower for a few days to avoid the limelight?"

"Close the door?" Jia's face froze, clutching her aching chest. "Absolutely not!"

"Wen Wan has been forced into a desperate situation by me. In just one month, I can make her lose everything!" Jia's eyes flashed coldly. "Now is the most critical moment. Whether you want people or money, I will not hesitate!"

As long as Wen Wan leaves Bozhou, the emperor is far away, can Wei Zheng still send people to protect this young widow?

When you are on the road, if you encounter bandits, fall into the water, or get seriously ill, who can say for sure and who can find out?