Ch 21: Guide to Feeding a Villainous Husband

Uprooting the Radish Brings Up the Mud

Food that causes stomach problems, especially when involving a child, gives the street patrol valid grounds to take action.

Seeing the discontent on Qin Xia and Yu Jiuque’s faces, the leading officer, maintaining his official demeanor, said, “We will take the food sold at your stall back for inspection and await the diagnosis from the medical clinic for the child. If it is determined that you are not at fault, your items will be returned.”

Given the circumstances, what more could Qin Xia do?

He responded with clear confidence, “I will cooperate fully and trust that the street patrol will be fair and clear our names.”

The stall’s items were quickly gathered, and Yu Jiuque, worried, came to stand beside Qin Xia.

Qin Xia gently squeezed his hand to comfort him.

Before leaving, the officers, thorough in their duties, also questioned the neighboring stall owners—You ge’er and the man selling pickled vegetables.

“Do you remember an old man with a young child coming by today to buy a sausage?” they asked.

You ge’er did remember and, after a moment, truthfully replied, “I do. The old man didn’t say much, just asked for a sausage without even asking the price. The child was quite dirty, looked like they were from a poor family. I even thought to myself that the old man must really care for his grandson to splurge on a sausage to make him happy.”

A clerk holding a record book seemed to consider this, jotting something down with his brush.

Seeing this, You ge’er couldn’t help but speak up for Qin Xia and Yu Jiuque.

“Officer, if you’re saying Qin Xia’s sausages are problematic, I’ll be the first to object. Look at my son, Little Suo; he ate one at noon and is perfectly fine, lively as ever with no signs of illness.”

The officer nodded slightly but said nothing further.

When they turned to the pickled vegetable stall, however, that vendor had plenty to say, hinting that Qin Xia’s food was unclean and claiming he had seen this or that, causing Yu Jiuque to frown deeply.

“Our stall’s ingredients are always covered to protect them from dust. The flour, eggs, tofu, and crispy toppings we use all come from reliable sources, and my husband and I wash our hands with soap countless times a day. We never touch food with dirty hands after handling money. You’re slandering us with baseless accusations—what’s your motive?”

The vendor hadn’t expected the usually quiet Yu Jiuque to be so sharp-tongued when provoked. Suddenly, he remembered the time Yu Jiuque had brandished a kitchen knife at Liu San’er, and a shiver ran down his spine.

The officers also frowned as they listened.

“You claim that Qin Xia’s ingredients are unclean—do you have any proof?”

The man stammered, “No proof, but I… I saw it myself. Isn’t that enough?”

“Oh, you saw it? Fine! Since the officers are here, let me tell them what I’ve seen too!”

Having witnessed the entire exchange, You ge’er couldn’t stand the jealousy-fueled slander any longer. After receiving so much help from Qin Xia, he was eager to defend them.

He raised his voice, “Officers! Please, take a look at this man’s pickling jars! The last time he sold moldy mustard greens and had to pay the customer back to avoid being reported to the street patrol. Who knows if there’s more moldy pickles now?”

This really was a case of “uprooting the radish and bringing up the mud.”

Since they were already here, and You ge’er’s account seemed credible, the officers immediately disregarded the vendor’s protests and began inspecting each jar.

What they found was shocking.

At the bottom of one of the salted egg jars, they found two eggs covered in green mold.

The Pagoda Vegetables smelled odd, likely because they weren’t selling well in the cold weather. One of the officers bravely tasted a bit, immediately spitting it out.

“With this much salt, it’s probably trying to cover up the spoiled taste of bad pickles.”

Whether the Pagoda Vegetables were actually spoiled or not didn’t matter; the fact that the salted eggs were moldy was undeniable.

So, what was supposed to be just Qin Xia and Yu Jiuque being taken away ended up with an additional “unlucky fellow” trailing behind with a dejected expression.

The Street Patrol Office in Qin County wasn’t an especially grand building; it looked modest from the outside, but inside, it had the solemn atmosphere expected of a government office.

Qin Xia and Yu Jiuque were taken to a room where a civil official, who appeared to be of a higher rank than the regular officers, was seated. The official spent some time reviewing the documents in front of him to confirm the identities of Qin Xia and Yu Jiuque, then instructed them to wait aside.

After a while, the familiar old man, the sickly-looking child, and a physician from a local medical clinic were all brought in by the officers.

What followed was a round of accusations.

The old man, with tears in his eyes, kept wiping them away as he spoke.

“Please, sir, seek justice for us! My family is poor, and today was my grandson’s birthday. I gritted my teeth and bought a sausage from the famous Qin Xia’s stall on Liubao Street as a treat. But soon after eating it, my grandson started complaining of stomach pain and then vomited all over the place. This must be because of the sausage from Qin Xia’s stall!”

The official at the head of the room remained expressionless as he looked up and asked, “Why are you so sure it was the sausage? Did your grandson not eat anything else beforehand?”

The old man dropped to his knees, his tone desperate.

“He did eat something else, but it was just some coarse grain porridge. How could that upset his stomach? As for why I’m certain it’s the sausage, think about it, sir. The sausage smells so good, there must be meat in it. But how can meat be sold for only three coins? They must have used bad meat and lied, claiming the sausage has no meat just to fool simpletons!”

At this, Qin Xia nearly burst out laughing.

It was clear now that this old man, whether acting on his own or under someone’s direction, was trying to extort them. Unfortunately, he was too inexperienced to figure out how flour could be made to taste like meat, so he came up with this absurd story.

Qin Xia and Yu Jiuque exchanged glances, both feeling reassured.

The official didn’t comment on the old man’s accusations but instead asked the physician, “What was your diagnosis for the child? Can you determine if his stomach problems were caused by something he ate?”

The physician immediately replied, “Sir, the child’s symptoms are consistent with food poisoning, likely from something he ate. Judging by the vomit, it appears to be the sausage, as there was nothing else of note.”

On the surface, this seemed reasonable, but a closer look revealed inconsistencies.

When it was Qin Xia’s turn to defend himself, he bowed and said, “Sir, I believe the truth lies in the remaining sausage at our stall. This man insists that the child’s illness was caused by bad meat in the sausage, but I must tell you, there isn’t a single piece of meat in the sausage. If you don’t believe me, please feel free to investigate.”

This statement caused quite a stir.

“How could there be no meat? Then what do you use to make it?” The old man’s voice was hoarse, and two veins bulged on his forehead.

Qin Xia calmly responded, “Sir, your words are unreasonable. Every item on my stall is the foundation of my livelihood; how could I casually reveal the recipe?”

The old man was left speechless, unable to find a retort.

An officer on the side shouted, “No shouting!” The official above them then waved his hand, signaling for them to continue.

“Hu Lao Si, go to the kitchen at the yamen and bring Chef Cheng here.”

The man named Cheng Da was evidently the cook for the Street Patrol Office, as he arrived with a coarse cloth apron still tied around his waist. Cheng Da carefully examined the starch sausage, turning it over repeatedly before boldly taking a bite. He then confidently declared, “Sir, this sausage is clearly made of flour. You can see for yourself that there’s no trace of meat fibers. It’s just that the person who made it is a skilled cook, seasoning it so well that some people mistakenly think it contains meat.”

At the same time, a younger officer entered the room with an elderly man in tow. By a stroke of luck, it was none other than Xu, the old physician from Chengyi Hall.

After entering, Old Doctor Xu paid his respects, and with permission, stepped forward to take the child’s pulse. In just a few moments, he arrived at a conclusion entirely different from the previous physician.

“The tongue is yellow and greasy, and the pulse is soft and rapid. This is not the pulse of someone with food poisoning due to unclean food; it clearly indicates the consumption of a strong, spicy toxin, which has attacked the stomach, causing severe abdominal pain, vomiting, and uncontrollable diarrhea.”

Old Doctor Xu’s reputation and medical skill were evidently far superior to the previous physician, who, upon being exposed, knelt in the hall, too afraid to raise his head.

The official presiding over the case asked, “Can you determine what type of spicy toxin it was?”

Old Doctor Xu bowed and replied, “Sir, I suspect it was croton seeds.”

Everyone present immediately understood.

If it was croton seeds, everything would make sense.

The accuser had insisted that the sausage contained bad meat, only to find out it contained no meat at all. The physician had claimed that the child’s symptoms were due to unclean food, pointing the blame directly at the sausage sold by the Qin family. But the true culprit turned out to be croton seeds.

How could such a young child have accidentally ingested croton seeds? After all, croton seeds aren’t just some wild herb you might accidentally pick up.

Hu Lao Si stepped forward and grabbed the filthy old man by the collar. “Who put you up to this? Speak the truth!”

After some intimidation, both the old man and the physician confessed everything, and Qin Xia and Yu Jiuque soon heard a familiar name—Liu San’er.