Tao Zhi had made an agreement with the owners of those restaurants. Only then did he feel relieved. Then he went straight into the alley to find Yang Er, who was just loafing around, and gave him a hard kick.
He disdainfully threw a small piece of silver at Yang Er. Immediately, Yang Er did a somersault and got up. He then grinned and came up to Tao Zhi.
"Master Tao, whatever you order, I guarantee I'll get it done!"
Tao Zhi whispered a few words in his ear. Yang Er patted his chest and kept assuring him, "Leave it all to me! I might find other things a bit difficult, but causing a ruckus and being a nuisance is clearly my specialty! Master, just wait and see!"
He carefully put the silver into his pocket and then confidently headed straight for the night market at the dock.
"Where's your person in charge? Come and take a look quickly! What on earth is mixed in this black - pepper chicken steak? It's all black and dirty. Eating it will surely upset your stomach!"
Yang Er shouted loudly. In his hand, there was clearly a tentacle. When the diners standing around saw that it was actually a sea roach mixed in the black - pepper sauce, they were all shocked.
It was said that sea roaches fed on the carcasses of dead fish and shrimp in the sea. Maybe they even had...
Just thinking about it for a bit, a few timid women couldn't help covering their mouths and noses, on the verge of vomiting.
The fishmonger women selling black - pepper chicken steaks were an honest mother - daughter pair. The daughter stood at the bow of the boat to greet customers, while the mother guarded the wok in the cabin.
Their man was out fishing and hadn't returned. Even though they knew that Yang Er, this hooligan, was deliberately causing trouble, when the little daughter retorted, "You're lying. You clearly put this sea roach in it yourself!", Yang Er cut her off unreasonably.
"Me? Put it in? You little girl. I have no grudges against you. I came to the night market to have fun. Who wants to give themselves a headache? Everyone, tell me, am I right!"
He shouted and made a racket. The mother and daughter were so angry and anxious that big tears rolled down their faces. They were speechless, which made many diners who didn't know the truth start to doubt.
"No grudges? Yang Er, you're an old troublemaker! Come on, what good did Tao Zhi give you this time to make you so eager to bite people like a mad dog?"
Li Ying pushed through the crowd of onlookers and pulled the girl selling black - pepper chicken steaks behind her. She said it so calmly.
She glanced at the half - chicken bone wrapped in oil paper in Yang Er's hand and wondered, "Huh? All the snacks in our dock night market are uniformly packed in bamboo tubes. Moreover, black - pepper chicken steaks are made from boneless chicken thighs. Where did you get this chicken bone from? It's probably not from our business, right?"
Before Yang Er could react, she simply clapped her hands lightly and said loudly, "Night - market merchants, stop your business for a while! Open your boat awnings and let the guests take a good look!"
This water - borne night market was actually made up of small fishing boats connected in a row. Now, upon hearing Li Ying's order, they all neatly lifted the warm curtains outside the boat awnings, revealing the fishmonger women inside, all wearing white robes and aprons and white hats.
"Li's Restaurant has an open kitchen. Naturally, the snacks in the night market should also make the guests feel at ease when eating."
"Before opening, all the merchants signed an agreement with me. Except for the waiters standing at the bow of the boat to greet and serve customers, all the other people who come into contact with the ingredients must be neatly dressed. We must not even let a single hair fall into the snacks!"
"Moreover, during the cooking process of black - pepper chicken steaks, there is no step that requires contact with aquatic products at all. You saying there's a sea roach mixed in the sauce is clearly nonsense!"
Li Ying was righteous. The spotlessly clean cabin and the clean fingernails of the fishmonger women were more convincing than any excuse.
"So he's just a hooligan..."
The diners scoffed at Yang Er one by one. Knowing he had lost face, he was afraid that Li Ying would arrest him and take him to the authorities. So he crouched down and slipped away at the right moment.
This little disturbance didn't cause much trouble for the dock night market. Except for the Zhang mother and daughter from the chicken - steak stall, who were frightened and went back to the village early, the other stalls were all normal. When they closed the stalls, everyone couldn't help but praise Li Ying.
"Fortunately, A Ying was foresighted! We thought it was troublesome when she told us we must wear chef hats before. Who would have thought it would really come in handy today!"
A group of people slowly walked back to the fishing village. Everyone's pockets were bulging a lot. The women excitedly discussed that when their husbands came back from fishing this time, they would buy a pot of wine for them and prepare some good food and wine to celebrate!
Unexpectedly, not long after they entered the village, they heard a heart - rending scream.
"I'm scared! I'll never do it again! Husband, it's all because I was temporarily blinded by greed and made my own decision. Please forgive me this time!"
The woman's cries and pleas for mercy sounded extremely terrifying in the silent night. Li Ying couldn't help but frown tightly. If she heard correctly, this voice was clearly that of the Zhang woman who had just returned to the village.
The fishmonger women walking with her all had strange expressions. Finally, it was Mrs. Li who spoke first, "It seems the fishermen are back. Could it be that the fishing wasn't good this time?"
Before Li Ying came to the village, every family made a living by selling the fish caught by the fishing boats to the restaurants. They barely managed to get by with the meager income. The fishermen endured the wind and dew, drifting on the sea for several days, exhausted. If the catch was poor, it was understandable that they would be irritable.
Most of the fishing couples were natives of the village. The men were tough, and the women were not easy to bully either. Arguing and even fighting were common occurrences.
However, there were also many women like the Zhang woman, who had married into the village from other places. Their natal families were far away, and they had no one to rely on. If their husbands drank alcohol, they would inevitably suffer beatings after a few drinks.
Li Ying felt something was wrong, but after all, this was someone else's family matter. As an outsider, it was really not appropriate for her to interfere. She could only stand by the window with a heart full of worries.
Lu Xunguang didn't know when he came out of the wood - shed and silently stood behind her.
Listening to the curses of the Zhang man and the woman's cries in the distance gradually turn into murmurs and sobs, he suddenly said out of the blue, "A Ying, if you're worried, I'll go with you to that family to check the situation tomorrow."
She didn't expect Lu Xunguang to say such a thing. She was stunned for a moment and then asked, "Don't you think I'm meddling?"
The cold moonlight cast a bright glow on her delicate side face, just like when they first met.
Lu Xunguang stared fixedly at the light and shadow on her face and said in a deep voice, "If you hadn't meddled, I would have been a wandering ghost long ago. How could I still be standing side by side with you, enjoying the moon?"
His voice was deep and powerful. Hearing it, Li Ying somehow felt a bit more at ease.
Early the next morning, after she simply washed up, before she could go out, trouble came to her on its own.
At the front was the Zhang woman from the chicken - steak stall they had seen yesterday. She had her head down meekly, and there was a bruise on her face. Behind her were a few strange, dark - skinned faces. Presumably, they were fishermen from the village.