Dawn came unusually early in the fishing village.
Li Ying was in a hazy sleep and was too lazy to get up. Suddenly, she felt a heavy weight on her chest, which almost made her heart stop for a moment.
She forced herself to open her eyes and saw that it was Mao Mao. The cat was sitting on her, leisurely raising one paw and pressing it right on her face.
The little sick cat seemed much more energetic. Li Ying tentatively touched its hind leg, and Mao Mao didn't seem to resist.
Li Ying wasn't sure how well it had recovered. Since there was no pet hospital around, she hesitated for a while. Then she picked Mao Mao up and put it in a basket. She thought that when she went to Deji Hall today, she would ask the doctor on duty to take a look.
As soon as she arrived at the pharmacy, she saw a group of applicants for the assistant positions already gathered together, making a lot of noise.
"Madam Li, these assistants will be involved in the core process of making Penfu Glue in the future. I must carefully select them myself. I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you more today," Du Zhong greeted her as soon as he saw her.
Li Ying nodded. She felt even more appreciative of the big shopkeeper of Deji Hall.
This man was very cautious and was indeed a good partner.
She entrusted Mao Mao to an idle doctor. Just as she was about to go to the backyard to instruct the other assistants to continue processing the donkey hides, Huang Lian ran in dejectedly. He panicked and knelt down with a "thud" in front of Shopkeeper Du.
"Master, it's bad! An old lady came and said that after eating our Penfu Glue Gu Yuan Paste, she had problems with her body. She's making a scene outside the shop and has attracted a lot of customers. Please go and have a look!"
What?
How could this happen?
Du Zhong's expression suddenly turned ugly.
Li Ying, however, remained calm and composed.
"Shopkeeper, I gave you the prescription. Since something has happened, I'll surely go with you."
The two of them walked out of the courtyard gate one after another. Sure enough, there were already a lot of people gathered in front of the shop.
Most of them were the female relatives of the wealthy families in the town. They had taken a fancy to the nourishing and beauty - enhancing effects of the Gu Yuan Paste. But they never expected to hear so soon that the paste had made someone sick. They all came in a hurry, afraid and curious to find out what was going on.
"What kind of pharmacy is this? I think it's a black shop that only cares about making money and doesn't care about people's lives!"
In the crowd, Old Lady Qin was sitting on the ground, throwing a tantrum. Seeing more and more people gathering around, she got even more energetic. She beat her chest and stamped her feet, wailing.
"I ate two pieces of this Gu Yuan Paste. Less than half an hour later, I suddenly lost feeling in the lower half of my body! Am I going to be paralyzed for the rest of my life? You must give me an explanation today!"
Shopkeeper Du quickly pushed through the crowd. "Madam, the Gu Yuan Paste in our shop is all made from the finest Penfu Glue. Its medicinal properties are mild and long - lasting. It's absolutely impossible to make people sick... Please don't be anxious. Why don't you come with me for a pulse diagnosis first to find out the root cause?"
He said loudly, "If it's really a problem with our medicine, I swear on my head that I will surely give everyone an explanation! Please calm down and don't just follow others' opinions blindly!"
After all, he had dealt with medicinal materials for most of his life. Although he didn't dare to claim to be a great doctor, he was by no means an incompetent person.
The Penfu Glue brewed by Li Ying was clearly of the highest quality, and there were no conflicts in the medicinal properties of the Gu Yuan Paste prescription. It shouldn't have any problems.
Li Ying recognized Old Lady Qin at a glance. She knew that the old lady must have come on purpose to cause trouble. Now, hearing Du Zhong's words that were clearly defending her, she felt a little relieved. Then she took a deep breath and walked forward gracefully.
"Old Lady Qin, I divorced your eldest son. You still hold a grudge and want to take revenge. Just come at me. But why are you slandering Deji Hall's business?"
As soon as she revealed Old Lady Qin's identity, many onlookers came to their senses.
Old Lady Qin blushed, then stubbornly retorted, "Bah, you slut who spits out lies! It was clearly you who tampered with the Gu Yuan Paste! It's not enough for you to take revenge on me. You even want to drag all the women in the town to their graves. How cruel you are!"
Old Lady Qin's indignant accusation made all the female customers change their expressions.
Although they hadn't witnessed the confrontation between the two women in court, they had heard about it. If Li Ying really had the intention to take revenge... then this Gu Yuan Paste might really not be edible!
"Shopkeeper, we want to return the goods!"
Shopkeeper Du was busy dealing with these excited female customers. He was so bothered by the noise that his head ached. Just then, Huang Lian came over to report, "Master, when will you come to select the new assistants? They've been waiting impatiently. They said that if you don't come soon, they'll leave!"
Du Zhong was stretched too thin. He angrily said, "Huang Lian, you first select twenty hard - working ones and let them stay!"
Huang Lian left after answering.
Hearing this, Old Lady Qin, who was lying on the ground playing the rascal, relaxed her nervous expression. Then she put on an arrogant look and reached out to grab Li Ying's sleeve.
She originally wanted to take advantage of the chaos to pinch Li Ying hard to vent her anger. But unexpectedly, a white shadow flashed before her eyes. Instead, her hand started to hurt.
"Meow!"
Mao Mao had jumped out of the basket at some point. It showed its ten sharp little claws and puffed itself up into a shaggy ball. Standing in Li Ying's arms, its little cat eyes stared warily at Old Lady Qin.
"You! You! I'm at least your elder. How could you let that mongrel hurt me?"
Blood slowly oozed from the place where Old Lady Qin was scratched by Mao Mao. She grimaced in pain. If she hadn't remembered her two sons' instructions and had to continue pretending to be lame, she would have liked to stand up right away and give Li Ying a hard slap.
Mao Mao showed its four little sharp teeth and hissed menacingly at her.
The meows, women's screams, and chaotic quarrels intertwined. It was a complete mess in front of Deji Hall.
"Hey? What's that?"
Someone with sharp eyes seemed to see something rushing towards them. They couldn't help asking curiously.
"Ah! It's the mad dogs from the outskirts! How did the mad dogs get here!"
The female customers were startled. They didn't care about dragging Shopkeeper Du and Li Ying to the authorities anymore. They quickly rushed into Deji Hall to take shelter.
Several mad dogs ran amok and rushed straight towards Old Lady Qin, barking wildly and showing their fangs.
Old Lady Qin shivered in fear. If she was really bitten, it wouldn't be as easy as being scratched by a cat!
She didn't care about pretending to be lame anymore. She stood up with a jerk and rushed into Deji Hall in a hurry.
"Hey? Old Lady Qin, weren't you paralyzed after eating our Gu Yuan Paste? Why do you seem to be walking even more briskly than before?"
Li Ying stood in the crowd and asked calmly.
As soon as she said this, everyone turned their curious gazes to Old Lady Qin's face.
"So she was deliberately trying to extort money..."
Seeing the mad dogs rushing towards her, showing their white fangs, Old Lady Qin was scared out of her wits. She shivered, and a warm current trickled down between her legs.
She blushed deeply and couldn't pretend anymore. She covered her clothes tightly and fled in a hurry.
Strangely enough, the wild dogs, which had been so fierce just now, stopped approaching after seeing Old Lady Qin run away. They each grunted a few times and then reluctantly went to lie in the corners to bask in the sun.
The female customers were still in shock. Li Ying gently stroked Mao Mao's ears and asked in a low voice, "Did you call these helpers? I never thought our little sick cat was so capable."
Mao Mao closed its eyes, licked its paws, and lazily meowed once, looking like it was saying "I've accomplished my mission and shall remain anonymous."
Li Ying couldn't help laughing.
At this moment, Shopkeeper Du cleared his throat and said loudly, "Dear customers, today's incident is clearly someone deliberately slandering us. Now that the truth is out, if any of you are still worried, you can come and return the goods. Deji Hall will have no objections."
Forcing customers to buy was not a good idea. Instead of being suspected every day, it was better to handle this matter cleanly today.
The female customers present looked at each other, seemingly unable to make up their minds.
Many of them really felt that after eating the Gu Yuan Paste, their hands, feet, and internal organs felt warm and comfortable.
But some of them still had lingering fears about Old Lady Qin's limp appearance. After much hesitation, they finally made up their minds and returned the goods.
"Shopkeeper... shall we continue selling this Gu Yuan Paste?"
After the crowd finally dispersed, an assistant looked at the Gu Yuan Paste lying haphazardly on the counter and couldn't help feeling worried.