When all the daily dishes were sold out, the apprentices in the pharmacy had almost finished preparing the donkey hides. They set up the cauldrons and were ready to start boiling.
Du Zhong remembered Li Ying's instructions. Silently, he quietly observed the apprentices coming and going, being discreet so as not to arouse suspicion.
However, he couldn't help but feel a faint sense of unease in his heart.
The donkey hides were about to be put into the cauldron. But were those donkey hides with bristles left on them by the mole who had mixed in really okay?
The boss clearly attached great importance to the "Nine - Dynasty Tribute Gelatin". So much manpower and resources had been spent. If something went wrong this time, all their efforts would be in vain...
He didn't dare to imagine the consequences.
Li Ying just gave him a confident smile.
"Shopkeeper Du, there's not much that can go wrong on the first day of making the gelatin. I've been out for quite a while. I'm afraid my daughter at home will start crying. I'll take my leave first."
She was eager to get home. But just as she reached the dock, she was stopped by a group of fisherwomen.
"A Ying, you're really... so disappointing to us..."
"Yes, we took pity on you, a widow with a child, having no one to rely on. We treated you like a younger sister from our hometown, but you've been so heartless to us..."
Li Ying was stunned for a moment. Then she saw Yang Er in the crowd, gesturing angrily and shouting.
"Boss Li is now a small shopkeeper in the town. Our poor fishing village is beneath her notice. Even her poor relatives who are related by blood aren't welcome, let alone us!"
As soon as he said this, everyone's expressions became even uglier. It was the Li couple, the basket - weavers, who stepped forward angrily.
"Shut your stinking mouth! You're good for nothing but eating, but you're quite good at fanning the flames!"
"A Ying has such great skills. She's bound to make a fortune wherever she goes. Besides, if it weren't for A Ying's help, would we still have to sell our seafood at the dock under the scorching sun? And how could we have the chance to treat our gout? One should never be ungrateful!"
Several fisherwomen who were good friends with Mrs. Li nodded in agreement. Those who had led the blame against Li Ying earlier hung their heads in shame.
"Sister A Ying, I'm really happy for you that you can live a better life in the town. You've arranged everything for us, from selling seafood to treating gout. You've been more than kind. The whole village is grateful to you!"
Li Ying held Mrs. Li's hand, her face showing gratitude. Looking at Yang Er in the crowd, she instantly understood.
This scoundrel had been humiliated by her at Deji Hall today. The more he thought about it, the more unwilling he became. So he returned to the village early to spread rumors, saying that now that she had made it in the town, she would abandon the villagers in the fishing village like useless trash and ignore their well - being.
People's hearts are hard to fathom. Her decisive actions during the confrontation with Old Lady Qin in court were bound to make people wary. The women in the fishing village were simple and easy to deceive. Hearing that she was moving to the town, they naturally thought that their kindness had been repaid with ingratitude. It was only natural for them to feel disappointed.
"Folks, I'm an orphan. I was harassed by the Qin family and had no way out. Thanks to your support, my life finally took a turn for the better. In my heart, this fishing village is my hometown."
"I'm going to open a shop in the town today. In the future, I may go to the prefectural city, the county seat, or even the capital. I can't guarantee that I'll stay in this small fishing village forever. But I, Li Ying, am not an ungrateful person. As long as I have something to eat, I'll never let you all go hungry!"
Her words were firm. The fisherwomen were still a bit hesitant when suddenly a commotion came from not far away.
"We don't dare to eat your food!"
A group of people rushed over, surrounding her in the middle. The leading strong men just glanced at her and showed expressions of nausea.
"Look at this! This woman has a dirty heart. No wonder her dishes are so cheap!"
They threw several bones in front of Li Ying. "Do you all remember the day when Old Lady Qin returned the goods at Deji Hall? A bunch of stray dogs suddenly rushed out from somewhere!"
"After eating her spiced bones, on my way back, all the cats and dogs I met looked at me like I was a monster! I don't need to say more about what her spiced meat was made of, right?"
As soon as these words were said, the people who had been watching the commotion at the dock covered their mouths. Several women almost vomited.
"Heartless wretch! Pay us back and get out of our town!"
The strong men brandished their clubs and stepped menacingly towards Li Ying.
Mianmian was so frightened by the scene that she burst into tears. The heart - rending cries of the little baby were distressing.
Grandma Sun quickly picked up the child and took a few cautious steps back.
The Li couple, the basket - weavers, each held a firewood knife and stood in front of Li Ying.
"You can't slander A Ying! She's not that kind of person!"
A few villagers also chimed in sparsely. But they had just been incited by Yang Er and thought that Li Ying had looked down on them after getting rich. They still had some doubts in their hearts. Now, after hearing the slander from these strong men, the fishermen looked at each other, and suspicion appeared in their eyes.
"Where's Brother Lu? Isn't he usually at the dock?"
Mrs. Li looked around and whispered anxiously to her husband.
"He went to deliver goods early this morning! I heard he went to a manor in the north of the town and won't be back until after 3 p.m.!"
Li Ying just sneered coldly.
She had been suspicious of the continuous troubles in the past few days.
Now, this well - laid trap against her finally emerged in its entirety.
Outside Deji Hall, Old Lady Qin staged a fake accident. The shopkeeper was forced to deal with it, giving the mole an opportunity. Without much effort, the mole managed to sneak into the team making the basin - covering gelatin.
The mole mixed in donkey hides with the bristles not properly removed, aiming to contaminate the whole pot of gelatin so that the pure basin - covering gelatin couldn't be made as scheduled. Shopkeeper Du would surely suspect her.
Seeing that she had opened a shop in the town, they sent Yang Er back to incite the fishermen against her, portraying her as an ungrateful person who had forgotten her roots after getting rich, making the villagers disappointed and reluctant to help her.
Finally, they slandered her by saying that her dishes were made of dog meat pretending to be pork spines, and they deliberately chose the dock, the place where she had started from scratch, to break the news, clearly intending to completely destroy her foundation.
The person behind this well - thought - out plan really thought highly of her. Such a carefully crafted trap was designed to completely crush her. Every step was closely linked, and they even deliberately sent Lu Xunguang away. It was truly a huge and elaborate scheme.
Grandma Sun said in a panic, "A Ying, what... what should we do?"
If she couldn't prove her innocence today, she might lose her livelihood. These strong men clearly wanted to drive A Ying and her daughter to despair!