bookrandom Chapter 118: Even if you sell your house and land, and break everything you own, you still can'
Chapter 118: Even if you sell your house and land, and break everything you own, you still can'
The whole family was dumbfounded!
They couldn't believe what they were hearing.
Especially Sun, who was still immersed in the dream of getting rich, picked her ear and said righteously.
"These braised pig trotters are all made the same way and taste the same. How can you say that customers who ate them demanded refunds and compensation, damaging the restaurant's reputation? When the receipt was signed, it was clearly your manager and supervisor who tasted and confirmed it. Since you confirmed it, there is nothing wrong with the food we made. How can you blame us entirely for the trouble caused by the restaurant's customers?"
Mr. Shen nodded vigorously, fully supporting his wife's rebuttal.
The main problem is that their family doesn't have six hundred taels of silver. Let alone six hundred taels, they can't even come up with six taels.
Two days ago, I took some money to buy raw pig's trotters and half a month's worth of seasonings. My wife said that we were about to get rich and could no longer hoard the money. So she used the remaining money to buy everyone a set of clothes, bought better writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstones for the children, and gave my cousin half a tael of silver. We agreed to rent their oxcart for a while.
He only had five taels of silver left, and he planned to buy raw pig trotters today to braise and supply to Juxian Restaurant.
Well, that's bad. Judging from their attitude, not only has the deal fallen through, but they've also detained the son and are threatening to make them pay compensation.
Manager Li sneered and said coldly, "Stop making trouble. If you don't pay up, I'll send your sons to jail right now and let them spend the rest of their lives there. I'll see whether your sons or your money are more important!"
Sun let out a wail, slapped her thigh, squatted down on the ground, and started crying.
"This is outrageous! We agreed on a deal and signed a contract, and now you want to back out and blame us? You're bullying us, a small business..."
The second son's wife, Song, picked up the wooden basin, threw it down along with the water, and rushed over to slap her mother-in-law across the face.
"Snapped--"
"It's all your fault, you idiot! It was your terrible idea that caused Jiang Chuan to be detained in town. If you keep making a scene and anger them, what if Jiang Chuan gets sent to jail?"
Ms. Sun was suddenly slapped across the face, and she was shocked.
From childhood to adulthood, even when her husband was extremely angry, he had never been able to bring himself to hit her more than a few times. Today was the first time she had ever been slapped by her daughter-in-law.
She realized what was happening, scrambled to her feet with a "whoop," and went to grab her second daughter-in-law.
The third son's wife, Zhao, was so angry that her eyes turned red. She immediately joined in and helped her sister-in-law and mother-in-law fight.
"You old fool, you've caused our husbands to go to jail! Six hundred taels of silver—even if we sold our whole family, we still couldn't pay it back! If you dare to make us live as widows at such a young age, I'll skin you alive..."
After all, both daughters-in-law were young, and Sun Shi was no match for them on her own. She was quickly outmatched, with several bloody scratches on her face, her hair a mess like a bird's nest, and her new clothes torn.
Mr. Shen felt a pang of pain in his chest upon seeing this and immediately roared in anger.
"Stop it all!"
"The situation is urgent, yet you still have the mind to fight. You should save your strength and think of a way to bring the second and third sons back."
The three women, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, were startled and then awkwardly let go.
As soon as she was free, Sun hid behind her husband, touching the bloodstains on her face and the strands of hair that had been pulled out. She grimaced in pain and glared fiercely at her two daughters-in-law.
Both daughters-in-law spat at her in unison!
The second daughter-in-law said with red eyes, "Six hundred taels, not sixty taels. Even if we don't eat or drink for several lifetimes, we still can't pay it back. What other way can we think of?"
Tears streamed down Zhao's face; she even felt like dying.
When the mother-in-law saw that her eldest son and his wife had made money, she became envious and came up with a wicked plan. She secretly went to the pepper shop to ask the eldest son and his wife about the seasonings they had bought in the past. Now, things have gone very wrong, and it's a disaster.
"It's over, it's completely over, waaaaaah..."
Seeing his two daughters-in-law so heartbroken, Mr. Shen glared at his wife with venomous eyes.
"Look what you've done! Now look what you've done, six hundred taels, where are you going to find that?"
Sun knew she was in the wrong, but she still appeared confident and self-righteous.
"This isn't just my fault. You all agreed to participate, but when we were making money, not a single person thanked me. Now that things have gone wrong, everyone blames me. What kind of logic is that?"
Mr. Shen's vision went black, and he almost fell over. He closed his eyes, forced himself to steady himself, and stopped arguing with his wife.
He looked at Manager Li, softened his tone, and tried to salvage the situation, saying, "Manager Li, could you please explain more clearly what's wrong with the taste of our braised pig's trotters? Why did such a big problem occur?"
"Alright, since you don't seem to be pretending to be stupid, I'll tell you everything so you can die knowing why!"
Manager Li, with his hands behind his back, continued, "Yunlai Restaurant has been selling two new dishes, braised pig's trotters and boneless chicken feet. Your braised pig's trotters have been mixed with the flavors of both dishes. Many customers in town have been to Yunlai Restaurant and found the taste strange, causing a stir. Today, not only are our customers demanding refunds, but we also haven't been charged for several tables' worth of food. This amount of money is nothing compared to the fact that you've damaged our reputation. A mere six hundred taels of silver is already a bargain for you. Do you understand now?"
Mr. Shen was so shocked that he took two steps back.
So that's what happened. No wonder the people from Juxian Restaurant came knocking on our door.
The old woman smashed the restaurant's signboard, damaging its reputation. It would be strange if they didn't demand compensation.
But where are they going to get six hundred taels?
Even if we sell our houses and land, and go through all the trouble of scraping together a single cent!
After listening to Manager Li's explanation, Madam Sun finally understood.
She muttered to herself, "No wonder they kept saying that the braised pig's trotters we made tasted different. It turns out those two ingrates made two dishes. I went to the pepper shop and bought the seasonings they usually buy, and sure enough, I got the seasonings for both dishes."
"Snapped--"
Her husband slapped her hard across the face, the sound crisp and loud, leaving her completely stunned.
Several men silently covered their faces, feeling sorry for Sun Shi as they listened.
Sun was slapped so hard she saw stars, her eyes red and swollen, and she asked in a daze, "Are you crazy? Why did you suddenly hit me?"
Mr. Shen was furious. “I’m hitting you! It’s all your dirty tricks. You couldn’t bear to spend money to buy a single pepper to try, so you went to the pepper shop behind the boss’s back and asked the shopkeeper to buy some seasonings too. You never imagined that the boss bought seasonings for two dishes, and you mixed them all together. No wonder there was a problem!”
Now things are really messed up. We can't afford to pay compensation, and the second and third sons will both be ruined.
Manager Li coughed lightly and said, "Alright, we've come all this way, we don't have time to listen to your family affairs. Now there are only two options: either you compensate the restaurant with six hundred taels, or you sign a contract of servitude for your son to stay and work at the restaurant, paying off the debt slowly through his work."
What?
Signing a contract of servitude?
Debt settlement through labor?
Mr. Shen's expression changed drastically, and he immediately refused, saying, "No, no, no, it won't do. My second and third sons still have to take the provincial examinations. If they sign a contract of servitude, their lives will be over."