Blissful Days After Widowhood

Gu Yin brought the poppy shells found in the Mala Tang residue in Wangyuelou, and also invited the old doctor who visits the family every day.

The old doctor has seen it in advance and confirmed that this is the poppy shell, which is now called poppy poppy and hibiscus.

The two came together to sue Wang Dafu for putting poppies in the food.

The county magistrate was from a serious imperial examination background, and when he was young, he also read a lot of books, he thought for a while and said, "This official vaguely remembers that this substance can be used as medicine, and various medical books say that it is non-toxic and astringent. The effect of the lung can be used to relieve cough and dysentery.”

'. In addition, "Materia Medica Shi Yi", "Materia Medica Yanyi", "Compendium of Materia Medica", etc., are classified as grains, such as "Grand View Materia Medica" said, 'and bamboo leek cooked as porridge, very beautiful' .So it doesn't seem to be a crime to put this in the food."

Speaking of medical books, the old doctor naturally knew more than the county magistrate, and said: "Although this thing has medicinal properties, if it is used improperly, it will cause endless troubles. In the cited medical book, Mr. Danxi's words were also quoted - 'Although his healing power is urgent, his murder is like a sword, and he should be deeply abstained from it!'".

The two discussed medical books based on the classics. Although the county magistrate still thought that medical books would not deceive people, he thought that his wife’s appearance was very abnormal. For a while, he didn’t know whether to believe Gu Yin and the old doctor. said.

Gu Yin heard one head and two big beside her. Seeing the space between them talking, she said, "Can the eldest master listen to the woman?"

The county magistrate nodded and asked her to speak, and Gu Yin said: "This thing will naturally not be poisoned on the spot. What the woman wants to sue is that this substance is addictive. Just imagine eating the same food, if it makes people addicted to it, if you can't eat it, you will be restless, you will not think about tea and rice, and if you can't eat it, is it another kind of 'poison'? "

The county magistrate said sternly: "If eating is addictive and you can't control yourself, it is naturally a 'poison'."

"This is easy to handle. The women don't understand medical books, they only tell the facts. The Mala Tang of Wangyuelou is addictive. experiment."

"How to do the 'experiment' as you say?"

Although many people in Hanshan Town are now addicted to the poppy mala in Wangyuelou, but if they go to those people as test subjects for withdrawal reactions, they will definitely leak the news and startle snakes. . As long as Wang Dafu destroys the poppy and does not add it later, it will become a dead end.

With the insight of the county magistrate, it is not a problem to eat poppies. Because of this, I am going to invite diners to come over, I am afraid that people will have to talk. Not to mention the fear that even Wang Dafu himself does not know which guests are the most addicted and can be the test subjects.

So Gu Yin continued: "The eldest master can choose the prisoners in the prison and let them eat the Mala Tang of Wangyuelou, eat them for a few days, and then cut off the food. Look. With their reaction, they can naturally know whether what the women said is true or false."

The county magistrate frowned, not because he thought this method was impossible.

Let him find a few people to do the experiment, it really doesn't have the capital.

Gu Yin saw him in a dilemma and guessed that she could afford the money now, but there were actually better candidates.

So she said, "Why don't you invite Master Bai from Hanxianglou?"

This amount of money is naturally nothing to Hanxianglou. Don't miss this opportunity to spread the word.

The county magistrate gave permission, and before he asked the arrester to look for it, he asked Gu Yin again, "Little lady, have you thought about it? , you are a false accusation."

Gu Yin nodded and said, "If you falsely accuse the staff of thirty, the women will save it."

…

In the Hanxiang Building, Master Bai was looking at the account books and was in a state of turmoil.

But I heard that the person who was in charge of Hanxianglou was only asked to ask questions, and there was no case involved. Master Bai was slightly relieved.

Although the person in the second room is not the main operator of Hanxiang House, the restaurant's income is divided into half of the second room. As the only son of the second room, he is naturally a person who can take care of things.

Zhu Kuai took Bai Zixi back to the yamen.

When Bai Zixi met the county magistrate, he naturally had to report to his family first.

"The Caomin Bai Zixi has seen the eldest master, and he wonders why the eldest master called Caomin here?"

The county magistrate ordered Gu Yin to tell him the ins and outs of the matter.

The two of them knew each other, but they didn't expect to meet again at the county office.

Although Gu Yin was surprised by his identity, she didn't show anything on her face, and explained to him the reason for inviting him to come here succinctly.

Bai Zixi's face was flushed. At first, he wanted to spy on the enemy's situation. Later, he taught his father a lesson, and then he realized that he was stupid. No face anymore.

I thought it would be okay to reveal this matter. Even if I accidentally went to eat and drink a bowl of Laba porridge that day, Bai Zixi still thought that as long as Gu Yin didn't know his identity, he would not would be embarrassing.

Now that I see you in court, doesn't it make him so embarrassed that he wants to dig a hole and bury himself?

But when Gu Yin finished speaking, Bai Zixi didn't care about being embarrassed or embarrassed, and said angrily: "I have bought the Mala Tang in Wangyuelou no less than ten times, and tasted it repeatedly. I don't understand how delicious this thing is! I can't believe it's addictive!"

Although the experiment has not been done, it is clear that Bai Zixi has believed Gu Yin's statement.

He donated his fifty-two silver notes without hesitation, willing to support this experiment.

Gu Yin doesn't need to worry about the follow-up.

The county magistrate acted resolutely, and immediately selected some prisoners in the prison who had committed crimes and committed serious crimes.

Of course, the experiment is not for nothing, and those who participate can also receive 22 taels of silver to subsidize their household. The prisoners have families outside, and this experiment will not cost their lives, of course they are willing.

Then let these people eat Wangyuelou's Mala Tang three times a day.

If you have a better physique, the addiction will come later, but you will become addicted after a few meals.

Ten days later, the county magistrate removed everyone's Mala Tang and replaced it with other delicious meals.

These dozens of people are the same, and they can't eat another meal. The prisoner with a weaker physique was not only restless and restless, but also had the madness of sobs!

…

The business of Wangyuelou is really booming, and there are hundreds of taels more in a month.

Wang Dafu was so happy after finishing his account in the past few days.

I was thinking to myself, the guy said that the soup base in the back kitchen is not enough.

The soup base is in charge of Wang Dafu alone, he nodded to show that he understood, rolled up his sleeves and went to the back kitchen.

After dismissing all the cooks, Wang Dafu took out a small bag from the bottom of the stove and shook it all into the pot.

A pot of soup base needs to boil for an hour, Wang Dafu dare not leave, until he confirms that the taste of the soup base is enough, he picks up the filter spoon, ready to fish out the contents Add spicy seasonings such as peppercorns and bell peppers.

At this time, suddenly, a voice came from behind him: "What are you adding?"

Wang Dafu was furious: "Didn't I say that no one is allowed to come in when I'm making soup base?"

After he finished speaking, he turned around and saw Li Zhaotou, who was hugging the saber and looking at him with his spare time.

He was startled, his hands trembled, and the colander fell directly into the pot.

At the same time, the shackles were also put on Wang Dafu's hands.

A team of arresters filed out from Wangyuelou. It was such a big battle, and it was Wang Dafu who was handcuffed.

The people in the town have little entertainment, but they haven't forgotten what happened before!

The county magistrate went to court for interrogation. The witness was Li Zhaotou, and the physical evidence was the soup base brought back from the scene.

Wang Dafu was not ready to deny it at all, and he also began to recite medical books, citing scriptures, saying that this poppy can be used as medicine, where is it that it cannot be eaten?

The county magistrate laughed at his rhetoric, "Is it a good intention to put this poppy into the food at the price of selling food?"

Wang Dafu hurriedly said "don't dare", and added: "It's just that this thing is extremely delicious as a seasoning, and the medical book also says that it can be eaten in porridge.

He bought the poppy from the state capital for a lot of money. I knew before I bought it. This dynasty did not prohibit this thing from being used as medicine or food, so he dared to add it to his own food on a large scale. As for the seller who told him that eating too much of this stuff would make it addictive, in Wang Dafu's view, it was not a big problem - drinking and alcohol addiction, why didn't the imperial court list alcohol as a prohibited product? Anyway, as long as it is not sold to people all year round, there will definitely be no problem!

If there is no experiment proposed by Gu Yin, this lawsuit is really difficult to judge.

The county magistrate did not talk much to him, so he let people bring those prisoners up in court.

They haven't eaten Wangyuelou's Mala Tang for two or three days. It's tasteless and tasteless.

After being brought to the hall, several people smelled the familiar smell, and when they looked at the spicy soup base as evidence, their eyes glowed green like a hungry wolf.

The prisoner with the most severe symptoms even broke free from the arrest and rushed to the porridge bucket with the soup base to drink.

Drinking several sips in a row, the man slumped to the ground, his face full of relief.

The county magistrate then announced the process of the experiment and the public, and the public was so frightened that their faces turned white.

"Damn Wangyuelou, who is doing such a black thing again!"

"That's right! I persuaded our bosses, saying that the people in Wangyuelou were black-hearted, and the food they made could not be eaten! My boss insisted that the previous thing was done by the people under him, and now those The people are still closed in the yamen, and the signboard that Wangyuelou has been operating for many years can still be trusted. He has been eating Malatang for several days. If he eats it again, he will turn into the prisoner in the hall..."

"I'm going to die, I really want to be like that, wouldn't I be a human and a ghost if I don't eat a meal?"

The people were excited, and the county magistrate took a shot of the gavel and shouted "silence", and then asked a witness to testify in court.

Now we all know that eating too much poppy will turn into the insane look of the prisoner in the hall, and no one cares about losing face. I just want to let the county magistrate decide.

As Gu Yin expected, the majority of people with mild symptoms are still on the side of Song Shiliu. But the symptoms are not without them. There is a wealthy family, and the young master of his family has poor physique.

I didn't suspect that it went to the Mochizuki Tower - so many people eat it, I haven't heard of anyone eating this bad food.

It was not until the prisoner who did the experiment had the same symptoms that the family knew that they were following the way of Wangyuelou, and carried the young master to the hall to testify against Wang Dafu together.

Pass up.

In two days, people came from the palace. Needless to say, it was natural to take credit.

The county magistrate and Guan Jutou put Wang Dafu on the prison car again, preparing to send him to trial.

As soon as he heard that he was going to Fucheng again, Wang Dafu was frightened and stunned. Like a quail, he had already started to recite his confession spontaneously on the way.

Before they set off, Gu Yin became a tiger mother and chained Gu Ye to the store, for fear that he would go to Fucheng again without knowing it.

Gu Ye was helpless and assured: "I've been to Fucheng, it's not fun, I really won't go."

Gu Yincai didn't care what he said, anyway, she wanted to tie him to her waistband for two days.

But Gu Ye didn't go, and the other people who were suffering from poppy went to Fucheng to listen to the letter.

In just two days, the news came back to Hanshan Town - this time, the prefect's trial style was as rough as ever. The whole group of spices waited for a pot, and also reported the matter to the court, bluntly saying that eating poppies would be addictive and harmful to people's health. As for Wang Dafu's follow-up, we have to look at the orders from above.

Although this case looks small, it actually pushes the issue of the inedibility of poppies to the surface.

The credit will of course also go to the prefect, and the county magistrate is not injustice. I just think that if the whole country can know that poppy eating is very harmful, it will benefit future generations. A great thing.

The county magistrate is not greedy for credit, but this time he specifically asked for credit for Gu Yin.

The prefect has been immersed in the officialdom for many years. Although he grabs the credit for the joy, he also knows that he can't just eat meat and not give others soup. The county magistrate gave him the credit twice, and he also accepted his favor and agreed.

When Mrs Wang heard the news, she was screaming at home. Wang Dafu's property was confiscated, and she still had 150 taels of silver to return!

One hundred and fifty taels! Even if there is a shop at home now, the Wang family is distressed that he has not slept for several nights.

However, this situation did not last for a few days, because on the twentieth of the twelfth lunar month, the county magistrate and Guan Huotou returned to the town.

They brought back a plaque, which was written by the prefect himself, "Chivalry and courageousness", to commend Gu Yin who once again gave advice and complained for others.

In front of her, Gu Yin offered advice because her family was involved in the case. This time, her help was purely because of injustice.

The plaque alone does not count, and the prefect also gave Gu Yin the old house of the Wang family.

The old house was previously jointly owned by the Wang family's eldest house and the second house. Later, something happened to Wang Dagui and the Zou family. The people in the second room had no face to stay in Hanshan Town anymore, so they simply sold their half of the property to Wang Dafu. They exchanged some money and went to other places to make a living.

So the old house was already the property of Wang Dafu before, the county magistrate helped Gu Yin to ask for credit, and the prefect wrote a plaque himself, but he was not willing to give other valuables. The Wang family's old house is big, but it is too old and can't be moved. It is useless for him to copy it into the public school, so he just gives it to Gu Yin.

This is really great news for the Wang family, it is the ancestral house of her parents' family, and it is really happier than picking up silver coins in vain!

The Master of Houtou County asked Gu Yin and Wang Shi to go to the yamen for a contract. Gu Yin was busy with the business in the store - the Wangyue Building was gone, the diners knew that she was the one who reported this time, and they all told her With gratitude, Shiweitian's business was unprecedentedly good, and he couldn't separate the two at once, so he let Wang go by himself.

Not long after, Mrs. Wang came back and handed over the title deed to Gu Yin and asked her to put it up.

Gu Yin didn't take a closer look at the time. When she got home at night, she washed and undressed, and then she remembered that the deed was still on her body.

This time she opened it, and she found something wrong—the owner of the old house on this deed is not Wang, but herself!

She immediately went to the next door to find Mrs. Wang. Mrs. Wang was doing housework with Song Shiliu.

Seeing Gu Yin coming to look for her, before she could speak, Wang's subordinates kept saying: "Although this house is the property of my mother's family, but it was confiscated to the official mansion, the master of the official family. The reward given to you is naturally yours. Besides, what are we talking about as a family? Could it be that the owner of the house is changed to you, will you still be able to keep me from living in the future?"

"Of course not." Gu Yin took Wang's hand and shook it gently, "I just think this house is more meaningful to my mother than me."

"It does make sense, after all, it's where I grew up. But I still say that, what's the difference between yours and mine?"

As she said that, she suddenly laughed again, "Also, I have already seen it today, the house has been separated from the former big room and the second room, and the partition has not been demolished. You said that in the future If you get married again, we will close the door, not affecting each other, but still a family, how good? My mother promised to buy you a shop, and now there is no shop yet, let’s have a big house first, I see who would dare to buy it You underestimate it!"

Gu Yin:…

Well, now I know what to do, first hit the partition wall of the Wang family's old house!

The next day, Gu Yin took the shopkeeper last week to the old house.

Gu Yin and Shopkeeper Zhou checked it, and asked Shopkeeper Zhou to contact someone to help repair it.

In the afternoon of the same day, the county magistrate invited Gu Yin to the county government again and said that he would reward her.

Gu Yin declined and said, "I have already acquired the card of the prefect, and I have acquired a huge house. I really don't dare to ask for another."

The county magistrate clenched his fists and coughed, and said, "Those are all given to you by the city, and I haven't said anything yet."

What leaked out of the prefect's fingers was a big mansion with a market price of several hundred taels.

The county magistrate is also a little embarrassed after saying that, there is really no other reward that can be brought to the table.

Gu Yin was puzzled after hearing this, and Guan Huotou explained to her. The so-called official restaurant is equivalent to a restaurant designated by the official family in cooperation with the imperial court. If other people from the imperial court come over, the county magistrate will go to this house to entertain them.

There are not many big people in Hanshan Town, so there are not many such hospitality. But there is another great benefit. Restaurants that cooperate with the imperial court and entertain officials can pay less tax!

In previous years, the official restaurants in Hanshan Town have always been selected by Hanxianglou and Wangyuelou.

This year, Wangyuelou is gone, so the county magistrate gave Shiweitian and Hanxianglou a chance to compete for this spot.

Gu Yin's eyes lit up after hearing this. When she first opened the store, the taxation of the imperial court was still within her acceptable range. In the past six months, she heard that the war was tight outside. As for the profit of 25 taels from the lunar eclipse last year, according to the new regulations of the imperial court, 10 taels of taxes have to be paid!

She and Shopkeeper Zhou thought of this in private and sighed. The county magistrate's proposal is really drowsy and someone handed him a pillow, which is more pleasing than giving dozens of taels of silver directly!

The day of the cooking competition was just a few years ago. At that time, the county magistrate will invite all the rich and squires of the county to do the tasting.

After returning to Shiweitian, Gu Yin announced the good news immediately. Although the county magistrate only gave him a chance, with him in the Shiweitian Bai case and Zhou’s shopkeeper in the Hong case, it is almost impossible to lose .

The rest to worry about is what they are going to cook.

Treasurer Zhou has his own specialty, and also helped Wangyuelou compete for this spot, but Gu Yin suddenly thought about what to do. Of course, she is best at cooking porridge and soup, but if she really wants to talk about a certain skill, she really can't think of it for a while.

The evening market ended that day, Gu Yinzheng and her buddies were cleaning up the tables and chairs, and suddenly, she saw a familiar figure through the window.

Bai Zixi hesitated for a quarter of an hour at the gate of Shiweitian, and there was a battle between heaven and man in his mind. Sometimes he was about to enter the store, and sometimes he was about to leave, but after walking a few steps, he turned back again. In the end, he put a paper bag on the window sill, and left as if he was afraid that he would regret it.

Gu Yin was very surprised, took a look at the paper bag, and saw the words "Hanxianglou VIP Special Seasoning" written on it.

I heard that Hanxianglou was also tinkering with some overseas seasonings, and there was a poppy placement in Wangyuelou, so she and Shopkeeper Zhou naturally paid attention to it.

"This young master of the Bai family, I'm afraid he also suspects that his seasoning is not right, and he won't be honored when he wins, so he just sent a copy of this seasoning to let us know. But even if he doesn't come, I will I am also preparing to get a copy for the owner."

Gu Yin nodded solemnly when she heard what the shopkeeper said.

The two of them opened the paper bag as if facing an enemy, and they saw crystal particles as white as snow inside.

Gu Yin tasted a little bit—Damn it, MSG!