To divorce his wife, the top scholar preferred being cuckolded to wearing a red hat.

The old lady at the entrance of the Mu family shop, who else could she be but Ms. Qian?

She went out with a few maids and stood arrogantly at someone's door. There was a lot of furniture placed at the door, which she had ordered to be returned.

“Everyone, come and see this. The workmanship and the materials are terrible. When I asked you to come and make it, I wanted you to make it according to the styles that were popular in Beijing. Look at what you’ve done. These styles are so outdated that even people in the countryside would find them ugly.”

Qianqian stood at the door and immediately started spewing out a torrent of energy.

The furniture maker who came to Qian's house to make furniture wasn't here today; his wife was home.

Because Madam Qian was the wife of an official and dressed respectably, and wanting to avoid offending anyone, she explained in a gentle tone: "Madam, it is true that my husband made the furniture for your house, but the requirements were agreed upon by you beforehand, and the price was also based on your requirements. You only gave us twenty taels of silver, but you expect us to make the same effect as someone who makes two hundred taels of silver. That is definitely not possible."

When she first entered the house, she haggled with her husband for quite a while. Her husband heard that it was the residence of a top scholar, and although the price was a bit low, the family's demands weren't high, so he wanted to share in their good fortune and went to their house to make the purchase.

Just a few days later, the other party said that her husband was not doing a good job and wanted to return the goods and refund the money.

They call themselves the residence of a top scholar, yet they act so petty and stingy.

"What's wrong with twenty taels of silver? Isn't twenty taels of silver money? You promised to come and fix it for me, so you definitely have to fix it for me. Now my daughter-in-law is not satisfied with these pieces of furniture and has replaced them all. These pieces of furniture are just sitting around at home and are useless, so of course I have to return them. I don't care about anything else. I paid you twenty taels of silver for the materials and labor, and now I even had them carried back, so that's also worth the money. Give me thirty taels of silver back, and I won't pursue this matter anymore. Let it go."

The carpenter's wife was almost speechless at the unreasonable words of Old Mrs. Fu.

When I came to her to have furniture custom-made, this is what she said: She said the style didn't matter, as long as it worked. She wanted the lowest possible price, and the materials didn't need to be too good, just average would be fine.

The old lady gave a total of twenty taels of silver, but Lao Fu, knowing that the other party was from a family that had produced a top scholar, gave her an extra pair of stools and refused to accept her silver.

They just wanted to share in the joy and the glory of the top scholar's residence.

Now it seems that instead of benefiting from the good fortune, they've gotten themselves into a lot of trouble.

"The mother of the top scholar"? She's a disgrace to the top scholar.

"Madam, when Lao Fu comes to do our work, we always pay a deposit first, and then the balance is paid if we are satisfied. You paid Lao Fu the remaining amount when he finished the work. By paying, you meant that you approved of Lao Fu's previous work and appearance. Now you're going back on your word. Nobody does things like that."

In short, we will not accept returns, nor will we compensate you with any money. Even if you take this to the authorities, that's what we'll say. You made the request yourself; now that your daughter-in-law is dissatisfied, it's because you didn't understand her preferences beforehand. What does that have to do with us?

We can't expect you to pay twenty taels of silver and get the effect of two hundred taels. If you want something better, you'll have to spend more. You get what you pay for; surely you understand that?

A crowd of customers had gathered at the entrance, and everyone understood what was going on.

The old lady had given the craftsman twenty taels of silver, asking him to make several sets of furniture. She didn't have many requirements; she just wanted something practical.

The foreman did as instructed and completed the task.

An old woman married a new woman. The new woman was dissatisfied with the furniture, so the old woman brought the furniture back to return it, and even demanded compensation for her losses.

“This was a perfectly fair transaction. They didn’t cheat you or run away. Besides, this furniture was made in your house. You weren’t satisfied, but you didn’t make any demands on the spot. Now you’re causing trouble. Do you think they’ll listen to you?”

“Why can’t I return it? I ordered it from him, and I can return it to him anywhere. If you don’t give me a refund, I will take it to the authorities and say that you are bullying the mother of the newly appointed top scholar, and that your store will have to go out of business.”

Many people were somewhat afraid to go to the residence of the newly appointed top scholar.

Officials protect each other. If things really escalate to the yamen (government office), the officials will definitely protect the top scholar in the imperial examination. Do you think they would protect a mere carpenter?

Old Fu's wife also got angry after hearing what the old lady said.

She's been in business for so long and has never encountered an old lady like this. You follow the bare minimum standards, and when something goes wrong, you say they didn't do a good job and demand compensation.

“Alright, then let’s make a scene at the yamen. I also want to ask the current top scholar, his mother spent twenty taels of silver to have several sets of furniture made in order to save money, and now that his new wife dislikes her, she blames us. Is this the top scholar’s ​​own idea?”

"Do you know who my daughter-in-law is?" The old lady raised her voice considerably when she saw that she was not afraid and even wanted to take her to court: "She is the daughter of the current Grand Secretary Su. If you dare to go against us, go ahead if you are not afraid of death."

“Old Fu’s family, she’s the mother of a top scholar, and her new bride is the daughter of Lord Su. Why don’t we just let it go and give her some money to settle things peacefully? You’re in business, so it’s better to avoid trouble. There’s no need to keep making a scene with her like this; it doesn’t look good.”

Since ancient times, the common people have never been able to defeat the officials.

With the title of top scholar and the name of Lord Su, there are probably few people in the capital who would dare to offend him.

This lady Fu dares to challenge the top scholar's wife; her business will likely suffer, and she'll probably face difficulties from others.

Ms. Qian felt quite pleased with herself after hearing everyone's advice.

His son was the top scholar in the imperial examination, and his daughter-in-law was the daughter of Lord Su.

Who dares to offend her?

Anyone who dares to offend her will be made unable to do business in the future.

Madam Fu hesitated for a few seconds: "Madam, you are an official's wife, I can agree to your request..."

"It's already too late to promise me compensation now." Madam Qian became even more arrogant: "It was thirty taels just now, and now you've made me wait for so long. I'm not leaving until I get fifty taels."

The crowd shook their heads.

How could the top scholar's mother be so unreasonable? I couldn't help but feel sorry for Madam Fu and her family.

Making furniture for the top scholar's family not only failed to earn any money, but also brought back a lot of trouble.

Madam Fu did not expect the old lady to raise the price on the spot. Seeing that she dared not cause trouble, she added more silver.

"Everyone, did you see that? This is the mother of our newly appointed top scholar. She's demanding exorbitant prices and acting completely unreasonable. You all need to see this clearly. Don't do business with top scholars' families in the future, or you'll end up like me."

“Since you didn’t follow my instructions and my daughter-in-law is not satisfied, I’m naturally here to refund you.” Madam Qian said smugly, “Hurry up and give me the money, or I’ll report you to the authorities.”

"Anyone who needs to report to the authorities? I happen to be on official business nearby and just passing by, so I'll take care of it all at once." An official in robes stepped out from the crowd.

Madam Fu looked at the official with unease in her eyes.

Qian instinctively took a step back.