“Other than Su Wan’ning, no one else would call me Uncle!”
Once he confirmed her identity, Lin Mao felt his heart sink.
Su Wan’ning had already arrived, yet there was still no word from Zhao Escort Leader.
Something must have happened along the way!
Lin Mao was anxious, but he still put on an excited expression as though he had just been reunited with a beloved relative.
“Wan’ning! You finally came to save your uncle! Quick, take me home!”
“Uncle, look at my right hand…”
Su Wan’ning stopped and slowly raised her right arm.
Her voice gradually became choked with emotion.
“After leaving the palace and returning home, the journey was so difficult. I barely managed to make it back alive, and I haven’t even had a chance to rest before coming here to save you.”
“You’re usually such a careful person. How could you have caused such a huge disaster? I… I really…”
Just a few sentences were enough to convey her exhaustion, helplessness, and disappointment in her uncle.
The surrounding onlookers immediately began pointing at Lin Mao and whispering among themselves.
Lin Mao’s face flushed bright red.
But inwardly, he was no longer worried.
Her hands had been crippled, so her silver notes must have been taken.
Madam Li would bring the money to ransom him!
Let this stinking girl say whatever she wanted.
Once he got home, he would have plenty of ways to deal with her!
Cui Niu had been so anxious to save Lin Mao earlier that he had not thought anything was wrong with bringing Su Wan’ning here.
But now that he knew she had traveled all this way without rest, while Lin Mao and his wife were demanding her money and expecting her to save him, he found their behavior rather shameless.
He began to dislike the couple.
After reconsidering what he was about to say, he finally spoke.
“Madam Su, those hams are badly moldy. They won’t be easy to deal with. Don’t force yourself just because you want to save your uncle.”
“He’s still in his prime. Even if they send him to the mines, he won’t die that easily.”
Lin Mao: “…”
Wait.
Aren’t we supposed to be good brothers?
Feng Shi, the warehouse manager leading the group, frowned when he heard this.
“I told you to deliver a message. Why did you bring a young woman here?”
“Manager Feng, Madam Su used to work in the Imperial Food Bureau. So let’s… let a desperate situation be a last resort and see if she can help.”
Cui Niu deliberately changed his wording from “she’s seen a lot” because he did not want Su Wan’ning to bear responsibility.
“Come, Madam Su. Follow me.”
Feng Shi’s eyes lit up as he quickly led the way.
“All the moldy hams are here.”
He lifted the curtain.
A ham that had already been cut open lay on the floor.
The white salt crystals on the surface had melted away, while grayish-white patches had grown over the damp marks.
On the cut surface, the meat beneath the skin had already begun turning gray and dark.
Su Wan’ning crouched down and pressed it several times.
The foul, sour smell became even stronger.
At this stage, the ham had been damp for at least two or three days.
Normally, such expensive ingredients should have been inspected every day. Even if mold appeared, it should have been discovered quickly enough for emergency treatment.
Yet it had somehow been allowed to reach this condition.
She looked around the room.
There were indeed quite a few more hams, each covered in patches of grayish-white mold of varying severity.
But none of the uncut ones were as badly affected as the one on the ground.
“They’re all the same. Madam, don’t go any farther in. Be careful not to breathe in the mold.”
Two young servants stopped her when they saw her trying to approach.
They themselves were covering their noses and mouths with damp cloths.
“All right.”
Su Wan’ning stepped back.
She had already confirmed that there was something wrong with the hams.
But it was not simply a matter of mold.
There was more to this than met the eye.
She could not allow herself to get dragged into it.
Once she achieved what she wanted, she would leave immediately.
“How is it?”
Feng Shi was anxious.
“Are any of them still usable?”
“Manager Feng, the mold on these hams is indeed quite serious. They’ll be difficult to salvage.”
Su Wan’ning secretly watched his expression.
“However, I know a method. It will take time, effort, and quite a bit of water, but most of the lightly moldy hams can be preserved without affecting whether they’re safe to eat.”
“Tell me.”
Feng Shi immediately pressed her for details.
In fact, for lightly moldy ham, she could repeatedly scrub it with hot water infused with licorice and honeysuckle, then coat it with coarse salt and air-dry it for three days.
If it had already begun to stink, at least half an inch of meat would have to be cut away.
Even then, it could only be used for making soup.
Everyone clicked their tongues in surprise.
If food spoiled at home, people certainly hated throwing it away.
But they also wouldn’t want to waste so much water, salt, and medicinal herbs.
They would probably just wash it and eat it.
Feng Shi hesitated briefly before waving his hand.
“Forget it. We don’t mind the trouble, but we’re afraid someone might get sick and ruin the birthday banquet. It’s safer to destroy them all.”
“You’re right.”
Su Wan’ning smiled and walked over to Lin Mao.
“Then what do you intend to do with my uncle?”
Everyone was startled.
What nerve this young woman had!
Was she trying to plead for Lin Mao?
Cui Niu hurriedly lowered his voice and advised her.
“Madam Su, your uncle did make a mistake. He has to accept the punishment.”
“Either pay the compensation or go to the mines to earn it. Which do you choose?”
Feng Shi’s expression also darkened.
“You’ve misunderstood me. I never said he shouldn’t compensate you.”
Su Wan’ning calmly continued.
“It’s just that one hundred and fifty taels is far too much.”
“I inspected them just now. Four hams are severely rotten and must be destroyed. Seven have only half the meat salvageable after treatment. The remaining nineteen have only mild mold.”
“Based on that, the total loss from the hams shouldn’t exceed fifty taels.”
“Heh. Madam Su certainly calculates everything carefully.”
Feng Shi gave a humorless smile.
“But you’ve forgotten that treating those hams will also cost money.”
“Manager Feng, don’t be in such a hurry.”
Su Wan’ning remained composed.
“To treat the lightly moldy hams, water, herbs, and coarse salt will cost two hundred copper coins. Labor will cost another hundred.”
“Adding the miscellaneous expenses, the cost is approximately five hundred copper coins per ham. For nineteen hams, that’s less than ten taels. Let’s count it as ten taels.”
“Add another ten taels as compensation for my uncle’s negligence. That makes seventy taels in total. Not a single coin more.”
Su Wan’ning had calculated everything clearly and refused to yield an inch.
“You’re the one who decided not to treat the hams and destroy them all. The resulting loss should be borne by you, not used to make my uncle the scapegoat.”
Feng Shi’s heart tightened.
His eyes turned frighteningly cold.
The others had initially thought Su Wan’ning was being reckless.
But now, they felt that her calculations made sense.
Some of the hams could have been salvaged. If Feng Shi insisted on destroying them all, why should Lin Mao have to pay for everything?
They had forgotten one thing.
If Lin Mao had not neglected his duty, none of this would have happened.
“I’ll pay!”
Lin Mao hurriedly promised.
“I can definitely gather seventy taels!”
“Gather it before tonight. Otherwise, I’ll sell you to the mines.”
Feng Shi finally spoke.
Only seventy taels!
Lin Mao was secretly delighted.
He craned his neck toward the entrance.
“My wife will definitely bring the money!”
As long as Madam Li met Zhao Escort Leader, she would get Su Wan’ning’s silver.
Then he would be safe.
He had never expected this girl to save eighty taels with just a few words.
What he hadn’t expected even more was that Su Wan’ning spoke again.
She looked as though she had finally breathed a sigh of relief, her voice filled with concern for her uncle.
“But Manager Feng, the mines are practically a death sentence. Before my uncle can earn the money back, he might already be dead!”
“If he can’t gather the seventy taels, could you perhaps make an exception and give him a few extra days? Or let him make up for it with another punishment?”
The anger in Feng Shi’s heart finally became impossible to suppress.
She had already cut his demand in half, and now she still dared to ask him to make an exception?
She really treated this uncle like her own father, going this far to protect him?
Another punishment, was it?
Fine.
He would give her exactly what she asked for!
“All right. I’ll give him twenty lashes first. That’s for his negligence in guarding the storeroom.”
“If he still can’t come up with the seventy taels afterward, I’ll add another lash for every tael he falls short.”
“No! Don’t!”
Lin Mao felt as though the sky had collapsed.
Just moments ago, he had only been made to kneel.
How had things suddenly turned into being whipped?
“I’ll be beaten to death! Wan’ning, hurry and beg Manager Feng! Hurry! I already agreed to pay ten taels for my negligence! Why are you still going to beat me?”
Su Wan’ning ignored him.
She simply bowed respectfully to Feng Shi.
“As long as I don’t have to go to the mines…”
“You may punish him however you see fit. We have no objections.”