Dressed as a young lady, she became rich by relying on Pinxixi

He wanted to end the matter quickly, so he paid money to the yamen runners to arrest the man and beat him with a stick to convict him. Even if his boss came to him in the future, he could say that it was the county magistrate who made the judgment, and he knew nothing else.

Depending on the circumstances, he could even slander that the pastries he had bought were bought privately from Xu Siyu.

Guo Si didn't expect that the village girl had already sold the recipe to the second young master, and now it was the second young master's people who were making the pastries.

He also didn't expect that the second young master would condescend to attend the trial with the village girl.

"Come on, bring Guo Wu and Madam to the hall together."

The gavel banged again, and Guo Si's heart sank to the bottom of fear.

Those who were just trying to deceive others had no intention of struggling anymore after being exposed.

Lin Yiqing is more concerned about the cause of the diners' poisoning, as this is related to the reputation and future of Xiangmanlou.

"Do you know what caused Mr. Li and Mr. Zhang's family to suffer from vomiting and diarrhea?"

The Guo couple lowered their heads and pretended to be ignorant.

The doctor hired by the Li and Zhang families said that it was because of the intake of unclean things, but there was no rotten food in the kitchen inside or outside Xiangmanlou.

Guo Si had a guilty conscience, so he thought the pastries were the cause of the trouble.

But in fact, several tables had pastries that day, and nothing happened to anyone else.

Now he thought that he might have panicked. If he had argued for his position earlier and Xiangmanlou had been open and honest, nothing would have happened.

Lin Yiqing knew that it was not convenient to discuss this matter in court, so he asked the Nanping County Magistrate to close the case quickly. He was willing to compensate the two victims on behalf of Xiangmanlou to make a big deal out of a small matter.

"Boss, boss..." Guo Si wanted to beg for mercy.

However, Lin Yiqing no longer gave a good look, "Guo Si, you are a traitor, selling inferior goods as good ones, not only ruining my Xiangmanlou's business, but you also intend to frame others, and..." Lin Yiqing looked at the magistrate sitting on the throne, without saying the word bribery.

"...you are deceiving the magistrate. I think the court is clear and transparent, and it is entirely up to the magistrate to decide what to do." Lin Yiqing's words, to put it bluntly, excluded Guo Si from the protection of the Lin family.

In the Nanping County Government Office, everyone's expressions changed a thousand times. Those who had accepted money from Guo Si were all thinking about how to get rid of anything to do with him.

The poisoning case seemed to be groundless, and Guo Si's crime became betrayal and slander. The magistrate of Nanping sentenced Guo Si and his wife to 15 strokes of the cane, confiscation of the stolen money, compensation for the loss of Xiangmanlou, and compensation of two taels of silver in cash for Xu's loss of reputation.

After the court is adjourned, all innocent people can leave.

When Lin Yiqing went to the diner's house to apologize, Xu Siyu followed the shopkeeper Yu to Nanping Xiangmanlou.

Shopkeeper Yu understood that he would probably be arranged by his boss to take over Xiangmanlou in Nanping County. He checked the account book and first scolded Guo Si for occupying a good place but not running the business well. Then he sorted out everything one by one, determined to resume operations as quickly as possible.

These things had nothing to do with Xu Siyu, so she stayed in the backyard and observed the pastries made by Guo Wu.

"Did you see anything?" Lin Yiqing quickly rushed back to Xiangmanlou.

Mr. Li and Mr. Zhang, who had recovered, were very willing to personally visit the young master of the Lin family to give him face. They also knew that the matter might be a misunderstanding, and the two sides quickly reconciled.

"Well done." Xu Siyu still had to praise the craftsmen of this era. They didn't have many ideas, but their workmanship was really good.

Lin Yiqing picked up the pastry, took a bite, and then spat it out.

"These are completely different flavors, how can they be 60% or 70% similar?" Lin Yiqing became more and more angry the more he thought about it. His subordinates forged the products, and they could cheat him, their boss, even if the products were so fake.

"This incident reminds the Lin family that it's time to clean up the mess."

Many shopkeepers from all walks of life have been with the Lin family for 10 to 20 years. Unless a particular business is doing so poorly that the boss has to step in to resolve the issue, the Lin family trusts their employees and lets them do their work.

The results of it?

After a long time, you can no longer keep your heart.

"It seems that doing business is quite difficult. It's not enough to manage things well, you also have to hire the right people." The Xiangmanlou in the county is taller and bigger than the one in Yunyang County. The Lin family has more than 20 floors and a huge family business. Xu Siyu couldn't help but sigh.

"That's right. I only take 30% profit, but it's hard work." Lin Yiqing took the opportunity to make Xu Siyu pity him.

Xu Siyu rolled her eyes at him and said, "Lululu, you deserve it."

After thinking about the grievance of kneeling in the hall just now, Xu Siyu suddenly asked: "Why did you give up literature and go into business?"

"Why? Did you feel that the magistrate was so powerful after meeting him today?"

Class is the issue that Xu Siyu must face here.

Lin Yiqing was born into a scholar family and was able to speak while standing, while Xu Siyu, who was only called in for questioning, was kneeling the whole time.

After kneeling on the bluestone slab for an hour, her knees still ached slightly.

If there was any way, she would like to become an official, at least she wouldn't have to kneel when she saw an official.

As for someone like Lin Yiqing who had the opportunity to change his class, Xu Siyu didn't quite understand why he didn't fight for it?

Seeing that she was just looking at him without saying anything, Lin Yiqing asked, "Do you like being an official?"

"Yeah. It's so good to be an official. You can stand when you want to stand, and sit when you want to sit."

After understanding Xu Siyu's reason, Lin Yiqing couldn't help but smile. Compared to bringing honor to the family, the reason of not wanting to kneel was so practical.

"When meeting a royal relative, even the most powerful official must kneel."

"That's something we'll have to wait until we meet again."

"Do you really want me to be an official?"

Xu Siyu rolled her eyes again, but still nodded honestly, "If you were a juren, maybe the government would be more respectful and just go through the motions, and I wouldn't have to kneel for so long."

The little girl was wronged. As she listened, Lin Yiqing felt a little distressed. For some reason, she agreed: "Okay, I'll try my best."

At the Lin family's southern residence, Mr. Lin was overjoyed when he heard that Lin Yiqing was planning to take the provincial examination next year.

"Dad, let's talk about business?"

Business? Why business again?

"When I pass the exam, you and my mother will go and ask for my hand in marriage."

"what?"

"Ah!" After being stunned, Mr. Lin immediately reacted.

Is it possible that the unfilial son is getting married? Oh my, it turns out this guy actually likes girls?

Without giving it much thought, Master Lin slammed the table and agreed: "Okay!"

Lin Yiqing took out a piece of white paper and wanted to sign the contract as proof.

Mr. Lin's excitement was shattered by his actions.

"I'm your father, and you're making a covenant with me?"

"It's a business deal, and trust and integrity are the most important thing. I'm afraid you won't admit it." Lin Yiqing quickly wrote it and handed it to Mr. Lin for signature.

"Xu Siyu of Yunyang Town, a good middle-class peasant, seventeen years old..."

Seeing how carefully he wrote, Master Lin stopped and asked, "Can your mother and I meet this girl?"

No wonder the son wanted to make a contract. The legitimate son and his wife have such poor backgrounds.

If Mr. and Mrs. Lin forbade him to do so, he would not be able to violate filial piety and force the marriage.

Although the Lin family is a merchant family, they have a long tradition of scholarship.

Madam Zhou's family was a royal merchant registered by the emperor. They held the mining rights for the southwest stone mines and paid tribute with gems, minerals, exotic flowers and plants, rare birds and animals. They had close relations with the superiors in the Ministry of Revenue and the Imperial Household Department.

Given his son's intelligence and family background, there is a great possibility that he will enter the officialdom.

If a village girl is chosen as the official's wife, it seems...

And there was also the cousin from the Zhou family who was worried about him...