Chapter 93: Money Is a Really Good Thing

Chapter 93: Chapter 93: Money Is a Really Good Thing

The restaurant owner was also tugging his son, urging him to point her out.

The young man felt he had no choice. He quickly glanced up at Ji Huan, but just as he was about to look down again, he froze.

Ji Huan asked with a smirk, "Did you get a good look? Was I the one who sold you things that day?"

Before anyone else could speak, she added, "I suggest you think carefully before you answer. I don’t recall visiting any restaurant lately, but I have been to the county seat. I know where the county government is, and I certainly know how to get through its doors. If you have the audacity to slander me, I’ll be the one dragging you to see the magistrate, even if you don’t."

Seeing how firm her words were and how utterly confident she appeared, the restaurant owner started to have second thoughts.

He kicked his son again. "Well, speak up! Was it her?"

Once the young man got a clear look at Ji Huan’s face, he knew they had the wrong person.

’For a moment, he actually considered letting the mistake stand. After all, ten taels was no small sum. If he couldn’t find a scapegoat, wouldn’t his father beat him to death when he got home?’

But Ji Huan’s casually delivered threat immediately made him abandon the thought.

’This woman looked like trouble. The last thing he wanted was to be dragged before the magistrate. What if he ended up in jail?’

The young man hesitated, then finally squeezed out a few words.

The restaurant owner couldn’t hear him and told him to speak louder.

"I-It wasn’t her..."

This time, everyone present heard him.

Ji Huan smiled, said nothing, and turned to go into her courtyard.

The restaurant owner snapped out of it. Forgetting about his son, he scrambled to block Ji Huan’s path.

"Hold on! My son’s had bad eyes since he was a kid; it’s normal for him to misidentify people. In any case, the person who came to our restaurant gave the name Ji Huan from Dafeng Village. You’re Ji Huan, and you know about dehydrated vegetables, so who else could it be? You probably put someone else up to it. You’re going to compensate us for this!"

’Wow, so they’re really going to try and extort me.’

Ji Huan crossed her arms and looked at him. "By that logic, if someone robs a house and gives your name, does that mean you have to just roll over and die?"

"Y-You’re just twisting my words! Either way, you’re paying for this, one way or another. If you don’t, my son and I will move into your house and refuse to leave! If you aren’t afraid of your reputation being dragged through the mud, then..."

The restaurant owner steeled himself. ’Someone has to cover our losses!’

Ji Huan held up a hand to stop him. "Before you start making threats, you should go ask around the village. My reputation is already rotten. I’m not afraid of you making it any worse."

The restaurant owner froze. Most young women were terrified of having their reputations ruined, yet he’d run into an exception.

"You think I’ll believe you just because you said that? Hmph! You’d better just be smart and pay up. Don’t try to pull any tricks!"

Ji Huan’s smile vanished completely.

"I consider myself a good-tempered person, and I always try to be amicable. But that doesn’t mean I’m a pushover, understand? Not long ago, Manager Wang from Jishi Hall and Steward Gu from the silk workshop came here looking for trouble, and both left in disgrace. Are you sure you’re a bigger deal than they are?"

How could anyone who lived in town not know of Jishi Hall and the silk workshop?

The restaurant owner was seized by doubt. One moment, he thought Ji Huan was bluffing; the next, he felt her demeanor was far from it.

Just then, the young man sidled over and whispered in his father’s ear, "A while back, I did see Wang Shun and his uncle heading toward Dafeng Village..."

’He, for one, believed Ji Huan. His father needed to think about it. He’d only ever seen village girls who were good at hurling insults, but never one who was so sharp-tongued.’

The restaurant owner’s heart sank. He no longer dared to press his luck and drag her into this. He could only accept his misfortune, and taking the mule’s lead, he turned to leave.

"Wait," Ji Huan called out.

The restaurant owner and his son exchanged a look. They stopped reluctantly, assuming Ji Huan was about to get even.

The restaurant owner was about to put on an apologetic smile, but Ji Huan waved him off and turned to his son. "Describe the person who sold you the vegetables. Since she used my name, I might know her. Perhaps I can help you."

"That’s right!" The restaurant owner clapped his hands, thanking Ji Huan profusely as he urged his son to hurry up and speak.

"She’s about your age, wears her hair like a married woman, and she’s... she’s very pretty." The young man suddenly stammered. "Um... she has a soft, gentle voice, and she... she smiles at people a lot..."

The restaurant owner saw his son’s bright red face and, without waiting for him to finish, grabbed his ear. "So that’s why you bought them without even testing them! Turns out you were just smitten..."

Ji Huan paid no mind as the father and son bickered. She already knew who had impersonated her.

’I’d originally suspected it was one of the workers who’d come to help, but I never imagined it would be Tian Jiao.’

’How did she know about the dehydrated vegetables? Don’t tell me she’s been watching my every move.’

A shiver ran down Ji Huan’s spine.

’The saying is true: It’s not the thief you fear, but being targeted by one. It would be one thing if she just copied my idea for dehydrated vegetables. But to sell her failures under my name? Is she an idiot?!’

’How could I tolerate someone being so disgusting to me? Absolutely not.’

So, Ji Huan decided to play the part of a living Bodhisattva for the day.

She turned and instructed Hu Ximei to watch the house, then beckoned the father and son to follow her. "Every grievance has a source, and every debt a debtor. I’m taking you to collect."

Ji Huan was the talk of the town. Her just walking through the village was enough to stir up gossip, let alone today, when she was accompanied by two men with a mule cart in tow.

She had been selling vegetables and building a house recently. On the day of her new house’s roof-beam raising ceremony, almost no one had left empty-handed. Now, having accepted her hospitality, the villagers no longer avoided her as they once had. They greeted her, a bit awkwardly, with some asking if she had eaten and others where she was going.

Ji Huan just pointed in a general direction, not saying exactly where.

But one look in that direction and the others understood immediately. ’Isn’t that the lane where the Jiang family lives?!’

It was no exaggeration to say that the feud between Ji Huan and Tian Jiao was common knowledge in the village. ’What’s this? Is she going for a direct confrontation?’

That got everyone excited, men and women alike. They started calling to their neighbors to come watch the spectacle.

The Jiang family, still oblivious to the approaching trouble, was preparing an early lunch.

White flour buns were steaming in the pot, a long slab of pork belly lay on the cutting board, and chicken, duck, fish, and eggs were waiting to be used. It looked like a New Year’s feast.

Mrs. Mao’s wrinkled face was wreathed in smiles as she doted on her daughter-in-law, calling out "Jiaojiao, Jiaojiao."

"Jiaojiao, just leave that be. Don’t you go tiring yourself out. I’ll wash the vegetables in a minute... And don’t you tend the stove, either. I’ll have Jiang Wu do it. Go on, sit down and rest."

Tian Jiao put on a show of polite refusal until Mrs. Mao practically forced her to sit on a low stool by the doorway.

Watching Mrs. Mao, apron on, bustling between the cutting board and the stove, the frustration coiling in Tian Jiao’s chest finally eased a bit.

’As I thought, only Silver can make Mrs. Mao change her tune. She doesn’t even mention me cooking anymore. She’s practically worshiping me like the Queen Mother.’

Although Tian Jiao secretly despised the old hag, she couldn’t help but enjoy the change in attitude.

’Money really is a wonderful thing.’

’With money, my status in the Jiang family has skyrocketed.’

’Jiang Wu already dotes on me completely, and now even Mrs. Mao hangs on my every word. In the future, won’t this whole family be mine to command?’