Only Zhou Jianjun stepped forward to speak a fair word: “Aunt Dahua, I eat Qiao’er’s pancakes every day, and I’ve never had any problems.”
Upon hearing this, Li Dahua rolled up her sleeves and raised her voice even louder: “You’re always making eyes at her, of course you’d speak up for her.”
After saying that, she plopped down on the ground, slapped her thigh, and shouted to the onlookers: “Everyone, judge for yourselves! She sells unclean food. I ate it and got diarrhea—it kept me up all night, and I couldn’t even go to work today. She has to compensate me for my lost wages and medical expenses.”
The crowd of onlookers grew larger and larger.
Lin Qiao’er’s palms were sweaty, and her heart was pounding fiercely.
She couldn’t panic now.
She took a deep breath, stepped forward, and reached out to help Li Dahua up, speaking earnestly: “Aunt Dahua, please get up first.
All the neighbors are here, so let’s lay this matter out in the open.
I’ve been selling pancakes here for seven or eight days, and you’re the first to say you got diarrhea from eating them.
Here’s what we’ll do: I’ll take you to the clinic for a check-up and have the doctor issue a certificate.
If it really was my savory pancakes that caused the problem, I’ll cover all your medical expenses and compensate you for your lost wages.”
Her words were straightforward, with no hint of evasion.
Many in the crowd nodded slightly upon hearing this.
This girl had a good attitude—she seemed like a responsible person.
At the back of the crowd, Zhao Moting happened to be passing by, pushing his bicycle.
He hadn’t intended to stop, but upon hearing Lin Qiao’er’s voice, his footsteps suddenly halted.
He tilted his head and looked over, his gaze passing through the crowd to land on that slender yet upright figure.
Her voice was gentle, yet calm and composed, her logic clear.
A flicker of surprise flashed in Zhao Moting’s eyes before they returned to their usual indifference.
Sun Yang also squeezed over, craning his neck to see inside, frowning as he said: “I eat those savory pancakes every day, and I’ve never had any problems. Could this aunt be trying to scam her?
Tsk tsk, I should go help Miss Qiao’er.”
He rolled up his sleeves and was about to push his way into the crowd.
Zhao Moting grabbed him by the collar and pulled him back: “Don’t cause trouble yet. Let’s assess the situation first.”
Sun Yang stumbled from the pull and glared back at him: “Why did you pull me? Look at how fierce that aunt is—can Miss Qiao’er, a gentle and delicate girl, handle it alone?”
“Heartless man,” Sun Yang muttered, criticizing Zhao Moting.
Zhao Moting was rather speechless. “If you really want to help her, don’t act impulsively. Charging in now would only cause trouble.”
He lifted his chin, signaling for Sun Yang to keep watching.
Li Dahua, helped up by Lin Qiao’er, shifted her gaze uncomfortably.
She shook off Lin Qiao’er’s hand and said stubbornly: “I had diarrhea yesterday, and it’s all cleared up by this morning. What would a check-up show now? I think you’re just trying to shirk responsibility!”
Lin Qiao’er noted Li Dahua’s evasive eyes and already had an idea of what was going on.
But she didn’t show it on her face, still speaking kindly: “Aunt Dahua, don’t worry.
If we go to the clinic and see a doctor, you’ll feel more at ease, right?”
Her words were flawless.
Li Dahua was momentarily speechless. Her eyes darted around, and she suddenly pulled out a neatly folded piece of paper from her pocket, waving it in front of the crowd: “No need for your fake kindness. I already went to the doctor yesterday and got a diagnosis slip. It clearly states that the diarrhea was caused by unclean food.”
She held up the paper like a flag.
Lin Qiao’er frowned and reached out to take it.
Before she could finish her sentence, Li Dahua had already snatched the paper back, clutching it tightly in her hand, her face full of defensiveness. “Don’t even think about destroying the evidence! Let me tell you, compensation for lost work plus medical fees—ten yuan in total. Not a single cent less!”
Ten yuan.
Lin Qiao’er gasped.
She had been setting up her stall for seven days, working from dawn till dusk, and after deducting costs, she had only earned a little over ten yuan.
With one demand, Li Dahua wanted her to cough up all her savings.
Her heart ached terribly, as if someone were cutting into her flesh with a knife.
Li Dahua was clearly here to swindle her.
Her business had been good these past few days, attracting envy.
Lin Qiao’er bit her lip, forcing down the surge of bitterness welling up inside her, and plastered a smile back on her face. After all, one doesn’t strike a smiling face.
“Aunt Dahua, could you let me take a closer look at your medical report? I didn’t see it clearly just now.”
Li Dahua became even more unreasonable, her voice sharp and shrill. “What’s there to look at? Hurry up and pay! Stop wasting time!”
“Yeah, pay up!”
“She’s already got the medical report. What more is there to say?”
The onlookers chimed in one after another, and the tide of opinion began to turn against her.
Surrounded and stared at like a monkey, Lin Qiao’er’s face flushed bright red, her ears burning with embarrassment.
Her hand holding the spatula trembled, and her toes curled painfully inside her shoes. “It’s not that I don’t want to pay, but I need to at least take a look at the medical report…”
“I’ll serve as a witness.”
A deep voice came from above her.
Lin Qiao’er looked up sharply. The sunlight was blocked by a tall figure, leaving only a shadow in her vision and that cold, expressionless face.
Zhao Moting.
Her pupils contracted sharply.
Why was it him again?
Every time she was in a humiliating situation, he was there.
Lin Qiao’er turned her face away, not wanting him to see her reddened eyes.
Zhao Moting’s hawk-like eyes fixed on Li Dahua. His tone was unhurried but carried an undeniable pressure:
“Auntie, you just said you were afraid she’d destroy the evidence. I’ll be your witness. Let me take a look at the medical report. Whether it’s real or fake, we’ll know at a glance.”
Li Dahua instinctively covered her pocket, like a mother hen protecting her chicks. “Why should I trust you? Who knows if you two are in cahoots!”
Zhao Moting’s gaze remained unchanged, his tone still calm. “I’m the chief engineer at the automobile factory. Your commotion here is already disrupting the factory’s normal operations. I assume you’d like to get your compensation as soon as possible, right?”
His voice wasn’t loud, but every word was deliberate and carried immense authority.
Li Dahua felt a chill run down her spine under his gaze. Her lips trembled, but she couldn’t muster a rebuttal.
Zhou Jianjun chimed in at this point. “Aunt Dahua, if you don’t show it, it means you have something to hide.”
The surrounding crowd’s opinion began to shift.
“Yeah, it’s just a medical report. What’s there to hide?”
“Just show it, and we’ll know for sure.”
“Maybe she really is here to swindle…”
Li Dahua’s face flushed red and then paled, as if she were being roasted over a fire.
Gritting her teeth, she pulled the paper out of her pocket and slapped it into Zhao Moting’s hand. “Look! It’s written in black and white. How could it be fake?”