What Should You Do When Your Competitor Plays Dirty?
Early in the morning, Fu Xin Restaurant opened its doors to customers as usual, while the kitchen fires had already been lit, ready to “go all out today.”
Fresh fish and shrimp were continuously taken from the ponds, cleaned and prepared, and eventually served at the dining tables.
“This restaurant’s cooking is getting better and better. I’m afraid it won’t be long before it becomes the best restaurant in town,” Customer A praised.
Customer B nodded in agreement. “The cooking really is excellent. Just look at how fresh this fish is. I doubt you could find cooking this good anywhere else in town.”
The entire dining hall was peaceful, with everyone praising the restaurant’s improving cuisine and the quality of its ingredients.
Suddenly, in a corner of the dining hall, a customer who had only eaten a few bites began convulsing. Foam spilled from his mouth, and then he fell straight backward onto the floor.
The sound of his body hitting the ground was loud enough to immediately draw everyone’s attention.
“What happened?”
“Why is he lying on the floor?”
“Why is he still convulsing? Could he have been poisoned?”
The waiter immediately rushed over and called out to the customer several times, but there was no response. Foam continued spilling from his mouth, while his convulsions grew increasingly violent.
The accountant at the cashier’s counter immediately ordered one of the waiters to find someone quick on his feet to fetch a physician. He also instructed someone to go and get Jiang Wan.
“Wait, what’s going on here? Could the ingredients you’re using be contaminated?”
“How are we supposed to eat here now?”
“From the looks of him, he seems to have been poisoned, right?”
“…”
Every customer stopped eating. Some even hurriedly spat out the food that was already in their mouths.
The accountant immediately stood up and tried to calm everyone down.
“Everyone, please remain calm. Whether he has actually been poisoned or not, we’ll have to wait for the physician to arrive before we can determine that. The ingredients used by our restaurant are all fresh, prepared and cooked immediately after being taken from the source. We cannot rule out the possibility that this customer ate something that reacted badly with another food. Please wait a moment…”
Before the accountant could finish speaking, the customers in front of him suddenly clutched their stomachs.
“Ow! My stomach! It hurts so much! There must be something wrong with your food!”
“Ow! I’m going to report you to the authorities!”
Before long, all the customers in the dining hall were clutching their stomachs and rolling on the floor in pain. Some, like the first customer, began convulsing and foaming at the mouth.
Others clung to the tables for support, vomiting as they cursed.
When Jiang Wan arrived, this was the scene that greeted her eyes. For a moment, she felt as though the sky itself had collapsed.
She immediately rushed to the accountant and anxiously asked, “What happened? How did so many people end up like this?”
The accountant was equally confused. “Shopkeeper, please rest assured. Someone has already gone to find a physician. He should be here soon.”
“I… I don’t know what happened either. Almost all of these customers developed these symptoms—convulsions, vomiting, and stomach pain—after eating at roughly the same time.”
Jiang Wan immediately thought of the batch of ingredients that Cang Man Lou had sent over.
She immediately instructed the accountant, “First, guard that new batch of ingredients in the backyard. No one is allowed to approach or use them. Also, no one is allowed to leave the restaurant right now.”
The accountant didn’t dare delay and quickly ran toward the kitchen.
Inside the kitchen, everyone had been busy chopping vegetables, washing ingredients, and tending to the fires.
“Everyone, stop what you’re doing for now. Something has happened.”
He briefly explained the situation to them. Everyone in the kitchen was stunned.
If something really happened, the restaurant’s reputation would be ruined.
Jiang Wan did not have to wait long before someone brought the physician before her.
“Shopkeeper, the physician is here!”
She nodded. “Doctor, please hurry and see what’s wrong with these people.”
The physician quickly put down his medicine chest, grabbed the wrist of one of the people lying on the floor, and placed his fingers against the man’s pulse.
The physician appeared to be middle-aged, with a somewhat weathered face. His hair was already streaked with gray, though not much, and he had a short beard mixed with black and white hairs.
After taking the man’s pulse, the physician’s brows furrowed deeply. He then looked at the wine and dishes placed nearby and picked them up to smell them.
He was able to determine the cause with certainty.
“There is strychnine mixed into the food. And besides the strychnine, there is another medicinal ingredient that enhances its toxicity—corydalis.”
Jiang Wan’s brows drew together. “Can it be cured?”
The physician looked around at the people affected.
“The person who poisoned them still has some conscience. They clearly did not intend to take their lives. However, I don’t have enough medicine here to treat everyone present.”
“Doctor, do you have that much medicine in your medicine chest?”
“I’m afraid not. How about this? I’ll write out a prescription. You can send someone to obtain the medicine first. In the meantime, I’ll use acupuncture to temporarily suppress the poison’s effects.”
Jiang Wan immediately began clearing the tables, stacking all the food together to make a large open space.
Without another word, the physician took out paper and a brush from his medicine chest and quickly wrote down the required herbs, along with the approximate quantities needed in liang and grams.
Once he finished, Jiang Wan handed the prescription to the same waiter who had brought the physician in.
Inside the waistband at her waist, Jiang Wan kept a small silk purse, while a concealed cloth pocket sewn into the inner lining of her robe held some loose silver coins. She always kept them on hand for emergencies.
The waiter took the prescription and immediately sprinted off to obtain the medicine, running faster than a rabbit.
The physician took silver needles from his medicine chest and began treating those with the most severe symptoms first. After each needle was removed, it was soaked in alcohol and then wiped clean.
Jiang Wan assisted him from the side, washing and wiping the needles clean, making their movements much faster.
Meanwhile, the servant who had poured something into the fish ponds in the backyard the previous day took advantage of the fact that the guards had not yet arrived.
He secretly opened the backyard gate a crack.
Through the narrow gap, he could see someone standing outside.
The servant whispered something to him.
“How did it go?”
The servant gave him a reassuring gesture. “Don’t worry. I personally saw those people start showing symptoms of poisoning. They’re probably in complete chaos up front right now.”
The man warned him to be more careful. “Make sure you don’t expose yourself. The boss said that once we bring them down this time, you’ll get plenty of benefits. We shouldn’t stay here any longer. I’ll leave first.”
The servant immediately bowed obsequiously as he saw him off.
Because a large quantity of medicinal ingredients was needed, it was fortunate that the physician was a consulting doctor at a major medicine hall, which had a large stock of herbs. He first had some of the medicine sent to the restaurant to solve the immediate crisis, while the rest was quickly transported over once it had been loaded onto a cart.
Not long after the person who had been speaking with the servant left, the restaurant’s guards arrived to secure the area.
As soon as the medicinal ingredients arrived, they were immediately taken to the kitchen. A large pot was brought out, and all the herbs were poured inside. The physician watched as water was added and called for them to stop at the appropriate amount. He then instructed them to cover the pot and start the fire, telling them to make it as strong as possible.
Before the medicine had even finished simmering, people from the government office arrived.
When Jiang Wan saw the officials enter, she immediately stepped forward.
“May I ask why you gentlemen have come?”
The leading officer answered coldly, “Someone has accused Fu Xin Restaurant of using spoiled and inferior ingredients.”
The officer swept his gaze around the room before immediately issuing an order.
“The evidence is conclusive. Take them away for questioning.”
Sheng Zixu had just finished putting out the fire in the kitchen when the accountant also came over. He went over to listen and naturally learned what was happening out front.
At first, he had no intention of getting involved. But then he thought about it.
If this matter was proven true, he would be implicated as well. He might even end up in prison.
By the time he arrived, Jiang Wan was already surrounded by the officers and being escorted outside.
He immediately stepped forward to stop them.
“No! You can’t take her away!”
Several officers immediately ordered him to leave.
“Get out of the way. Don’t interfere with official business.”
Sheng Zixu refused to budge, continuing to pester them.
“She hasn’t even paid me my wages yet. You can’t leave with her!”
Seeing how persistently he was clinging to the matter, the leading officer ordered his men to restrain him and take him away as well.
Seeing that his plan had succeeded, Sheng Zixu raised his eyebrows at Jiang Wan as if saying, Well? Aren’t I loyal? We’ll share the hardship together.
Jiang Wan could only think that he was an idiot.
She said nothing as she was escorted away.
The officials left several officers behind at the restaurant. By the time all the poisoned customers had drunk the antidote and were able to walk again, it was already evening.
Everyone in the restaurant was also driven out, and seals were placed across the doors, front and back.
Taking advantage of the moment when no one was paying attention, the servant ran to Cang Man Lou and reported the situation to the second shopkeeper.
“Second Shopkeeper, good news! The shopkeeper of Fu Xin Restaurant has been taken away by the government officials.”
Upon hearing this, the smile on Li Deru’s face deepened.
“That has nothing to do with our restaurant. They brought this upon themselves.”
The servant understood the meaning behind his words and quickly echoed him.
“Exactly, Second Shopkeeper. They must have become too arrogant, which is why they came up with such a scheme.”
“Go find the accountant. He’ll give you what you want.”
Li Deru dismissed him.
“Thank you, Second Shopkeeper, for remembering this humble servant. I’ll go through fire and water for you!”
The servant hurried away, his footsteps quick.
Meanwhile, the two people locked up in the prison had started arguing again.
They were being held in separate cells directly opposite each other.
“Jiang Wan, how could you let someone trick you like that? Didn’t you used to be much more cunning?”
Jiang Wan: “…Yes. You’re smarter than a bird.”
Seeing that an even bigger quarrel was about to erupt, the prison guard stepped forward and threatened them.
“Quiet down! You two have been brought before the authorities, and you’re still refusing to behave? Do you want to have additional charges added to your crimes?”
Neither of them said anything. In tacit agreement, they both kept their mouths shut.
Jiang Wan went over everything that had happened, feeling that there was still hope of getting out of this. She began thinking about how she could prove her innocence during tomorrow’s interrogation.
Sheng Zixu, meanwhile, idly tugged at the dry grass beneath him, his eyes occasionally drifting toward Jiang Wan across from him.
Jiang Wan remained leaning against the wall, her head lowered as she pondered. Unlike him, she had no intention of doing nothing but wander aimlessly around the cell.
The next morning, only Jiang Wan was brought before the court for questioning, while Sheng Zixu was still fast asleep.
The yamen runners quickly lined up on both sides, standing at attention with their wooden staffs in hand. The magistrate’s aide and clerks each took their appointed positions.
The county magistrate, dressed in his black official hat and robes, slowly entered from the rear hall and took his seat behind the desk in the warm pavilion.
The yamen runners on both sides shouted in unison:
“Mighty—! Fierce—!”
The staffs struck the ground with a dull thud, making everyone’s heart tremble.
The county magistrate raised a hand, and the shouting immediately ceased.
“Is the woman kneeling before me Jiang Wan, the proprietor of Fuxin Restaurant?”
Jiang Wan knelt on the ground. “Yes, Your Honor.”
“Someone has accused you of using inferior ingredients, resulting in multiple people suffering from diarrhea, vomiting, and convulsions. What do you have to say in your defense?”
“Your Honor, they were poisoned. The physician I summoned from the medicine hall yesterday can testify to that.”
The county magistrate gestured for the people outside to be brought in. There were already many people gathered outside the yamen, including the restaurant’s staff.
The physician soon arrived, and the county magistrate asked him, “Were the guests at Fuxin Restaurant poisoned yesterday?”
The physician dared not lie. “Yes, Your Honor. They were poisoned with nux vomica and corydalis.”
The county magistrate nodded knowingly and looked at Jiang Wan. “What do you have to say?”
Jiang Wan answered calmly, “This commoner did not poison them. Surely, Your Honor can see that I had absolutely no reason to do such a thing. It would ruin my own restaurant’s reputation, and I would also be punished by the law.”
The clerk recorded both sides of the exchange. The county magistrate nodded.
“Your words may be reasonable. However, someone submitted a piece of evidence yesterday. It stated that because you and Cangman Restaurant are competitors, they deliberately provoked you, so you wanted revenge. Since the fish and shrimp your restaurants use are the same, you bribed someone at the fish market to poison the batch of fish and shrimp being delivered to them.”
“But unexpectedly, they wanted to reconcile with you. That poisoned batch of fish and shrimp somehow made its way back into your hands, resulting in what happened yesterday.”
After hearing this, Jiang Wan couldn’t help but marvel inwardly.
What a clever scheme. What ruthless methods.
“Your Honor, you can go to our restaurant and retrieve the account books to see whether there was ever such an expense. Furthermore, as far as I know, these highly poisonous substances are strictly regulated and aren’t something that can be obtained easily. I believe a thorough investigation will reveal where they came from.”
Hearing this, the county magistrate ordered his men to retrieve the physical evidence and other relevant items. He then had Jiang Wan temporarily taken back to the cell.
“Once the evidence has been verified, if you are found innocent, you and your companion will certainly be released.”