Border Cook

Chapter 220 Not following the routine
But all of Xia Ji's franchisees remain calm and continue to do business as usual.

Business is going smoothly and customers are naturally not panicking as such. They just buy food as usual. Moreover, since provocations and disturbances are quite common in recent days, customers are used to it.

Some even think that it is a good deal to watch a good show while having a meal, so they come every day to see what new and exciting things there are to see today.

When watching the fun, I occasionally join in the fun...

The government offices were also busy and exhausted, but secretly happy.

With the order and hint from the county lieutenant, all the yamen runners were full of energy. As soon as they heard someone say there was any movement at Xia Ji's place, they all ran like rabbits.

After all, catching one more ruffian can solve a labor quota, and one less ordinary honest citizen will have to suffer. We must be proactive in doing such good things!

As a result, a competition secretly began in the yamen, vying to see which team of yamen runners completed more tasks and had greater honors.

As the days passed, it was already the middle of the month, and Zou Fuquan could no longer sit still.

The ruffians who were sent to cause trouble were arrested one after another and taken to the yamen, and without exception, there was no sign of them being released.

The government seemed to be addicted to catching people and would not let anyone go, regardless of whether those people had successfully caused trouble or not. They would just catch them and interrogate them thoroughly.

In the past two days, I even heard vaguely that the government seemed to be sending all these people to do forced labor.

As soon as the news got out, those ruffians who had accepted the money from Gensheng and agreed to go to Xia Ji to cause trouble the next day all gave up their plans and refused to do it again no matter what.

Yes, money is indeed a good thing, and they are willing to make more money, but they are ok with suffering some physical pain, but they absolutely cannot exchange it for their lives.

Otherwise, you will be living a life of earning money but not spending it.

Seeing that no one was taking the job anymore, Gensheng became anxious and gloomy, "They are all fence-sitters!"

Fall wherever the wind blows!
"Boss, what shall we do next?"

Zou Fuquan did not respond, but paced around the room thoughtfully for two circles, raised his eyelids, and said, "Prepare something for me."

"Boss, are you going to the county government office?" Gensheng asked.

"It's not me who wants to go, but the county magistrate is waiting for me to go." Zou Fuquan sneered.

"So many people have been arrested. They must have given your name out long ago. The government must also know that all these things were done by Yueran Restaurant, but the government has not made any move. Isn't it just waiting for me to go?"

"It would be a good idea to go there and ask Pei Chenghe what he is thinking. Is there something wrong with his brain?"

How dare you go against Yueran Restaurant.

"Yes." Gensheng understood and immediately went to prepare things.

Two brocade boxes were ready in the evening, one containing a wild ginseng of excellent quality, and the other containing a painting of some reputation.

These two things are enough to give to a county magistrate.

Taking advantage of the starry sky, the sedan chair that Zou Fuquan was riding in landed at the gate of the back house of the county government office.

After some notification, Zou Fuquan entered the backyard of the county government office and saw Pei Chenghe sitting in the main hall. "Pei County Magistrate." Zou Fuquan bowed and calmly placed the things in his hand on the coffee table between the two chairs next to him.

As a commoner, Zou Fuquan should have kneeled down and saluted when he met the county magistrate Pei Chenghe. It was really against the rules for him to bow like this.

Such outrageous...

Pei Chenghe saw it all, but he didn't get angry. He just narrowed his eyes and said, "I wonder why Manager Zou has come here?"

"As the saying goes, one never comes to see a monk for no reason, so I'll get straight to the point." Zou Fuquan said, "Regarding the affairs of Yueran Restaurant and Xia's, I hope County Magistrate Pei won't interfere."

Pei Chenghe laughed, and after a while he said, "I don't understand what you said."

"In the past few days, I have heard from my subordinates that many people were causing trouble at Xia Ji's food stall. They were arrested and taken back to the county government office and thrown into prison. After careful interrogation, I found that many of these people had committed crimes before. So I followed the laws of the court and sent them to do hard labor."

"Shopkeeper Zou came to talk about this matter? If so, I am very confused. Does Shopkeeper Zou think that I should not handle the case impartially according to the laws of this dynasty?"

"Listen to what Shopkeeper Zou has to say. The reason behind the incident of Xia's restaurant being provoked is the grudge between Yueran Restaurant and Xia's restaurant. Could it be that you, Shopkeeper Zou, are the mastermind behind this?"

"If that is the case, according to the laws of this dynasty, I must also put Manager Zou in jail and conduct a thorough trial."

Zou Fuquan, "..."

This doesn't sound right, but if you think about it carefully, there seems to be nothing wrong with it.

But why not play by the rules?

Shouldn't he ask the reason, then bring up his master's identity to scare him, and then make Pei Chenghe afraid and send him out properly, and then quickly stop asking about the affairs of Yueran Restaurant?
But now Pei Chenghe's words made him unable to respond!

Zou Fuquan gritted his teeth and could only speak, "Pei County Magistrate is too serious, it's just a small dispute between businessmen..."

"Minor dispute?" Pei Chenghe interrupted Zou Fuquan. "Going there every day to provoke trouble can be said to be premeditated and planned. It is clear that they want to put the entire Xia family to death."

"Xia Ji was doing business uprightly and had never interfered with anyone else, but it was suddenly innocently hit by a disaster. Manager Zou said this was a minor dispute?"

"I can tell you right now that this is not just a minor dispute, but a serious matter of an extremely bad nature! Such bad behavior, at the very least, is malicious troublemaking. At the most serious level, it is a violation of the law, disrupting the lives of the people. It shows that they do not take the laws of the dynasty and the government seriously, and they must be severely punished!"

"Manager Zou is making light of this. Are you also planning to defy the law and the government and not take me seriously?"

Such a deep question made Zou Fuquan feel nervous.

But after adjusting his mindset for a moment, Zou Fuquan still calmed down and said, "County Magistrate Pei has not been in Jinqiu County for a long time, so he probably doesn't know the owner of our Yueran Restaurant..."

"The current emperor once said that if the emperor breaks the law, he will be punished just like the common people." Pei Chenghe interrupted again, saying, "The emperor is like this, is there anyone who is more respected than the emperor, who can ignore these things?"

"If there really is one, then I really need to see it. No, not only I need to see it, I'm afraid I need to send a memorial to the governor, the judicial department, and even the current emperor to see it!"

Upon hearing this, Zou Fuquan frowned immediately.

This Pei Chenghe is really a stubborn person!

(End of this chapter)