Chapter 671 - 673: Saving People on the Street, Poisonous Almond
After lunch, Bai Ruozhu saw that Jiang Yichun had not returned and her expression darkened. She left Dengdeng in her mother’s care, took her bodyguard with her, and went straight to the Commerce Association.
"Canceling the partnership won’t benefit you much, would it? He can continue to operate, but you won’t receive any dividends. You should reconsider carefully." An elder in the Commerce Association conscientiously explained the intricate implications to Bai Ruozhu.
"Thank you, sir. They took advantage of this partnership. I’ve let them embezzle my dividends in the past, but now they’re using it to blackmail me to take over my other secret recipes. Such a partnership lacks sincerity and peace, there’s no need to continue it." Bai Ruozhu replied.
The old man sighed after listening to her and said, "Alright, I will help you register here and notify them to sign. If they have no objections and sign the document, your partnership will be officially terminated. However, if they disagree and you insist, a lawsuit will be the only option."
Bai Ruozhu nodded, "Thank you, sir. They might not agree."
"You’re young and should prepare yourself so no one takes advantage of you." The kind-hearted elder reminded.
"Thank you," Bai Ruozhu thanked him again.
After leaving the Commerce Association, she asked Wa San to head towards the Jingkelai direction. She was contemplating whether or not to use Shen Lu’s influence. Shen Lu has the biggest restaurant in Beiyu City where many would covet but he remained standing tall. This meant he had powerful backing, though Bai Ruozhu had no idea how strong it really was.
All she remembered was Shen Lu mentioning that when his business was good, many wanted to buy shares but he refused to sell them. He only mentioned it when he pulled Bai Ruozhu in as a shareholder. This signified that his support was strong and could handle pressure.
The horse carriage headed towards Jingkelai. Halfway, she heard a woman crying on the street. The cries were heart-wrenching; she couldn’t help but peek through the curtain. The sight shocked her, she quickly spoke to Wa San, "Quickly go and see what happened over there. I know that person."
Wa San rushed the carriage to get closer upon hearing this.
Bai Ruozhu got out of the carriage and walked briskly forward. Wang Niangzi from Ronglang Pastry Shop was weeping in the street and holding onto her husband, she kept crying and shouting, "He’s your father, he can’t die. Please say something!"
"Auntie Wang, don’t panic. I’ll examine Brother Wang, I am a doctor." Bai Ruozhu quickly responded.
Like finding a lifesaver, Wang Niangzi gripped Bai Ruozhu’s arm and said, "Ruozhu, please save him. He was hit by a horse carriage."
Bai Ruozhu glanced around, there was no carriage in sight; obviously, the perpetrator had fled the scene.
Without further ado, she quickly examined Wang Niangzi’s husband Wang Shuan. Not only was his Qi Blood unstable from the carriage accident, but his body was also severely weak. She remembered seeing him a few days back when he was making dim sum, he was still hale and hearty then.
"Brother Wang has suffered a severe head injury and some internal injuries, but it’s not life-threatening. Don’t be agitated, think of how we can get him home." Bai Ruozhu said and took out a silver needle, she reassured Wang Niangzi, "I’ll use acupuncture to stabilize his condition before we send him home for further treatment."
"Thank you." Wang Niangzi looked relieved, her emotions seemed less rampant now.
Bai Ruozhu applied acupuncture on Wang Shuan. Even though he didn’t immediately regain consciousness, his breathing stabilized. There wasn’t any visible wound on his head, but the large bump from the impact was scary enough.
Then Bai Ruozhu requested Wa San and bodyguard Cui Fan to assist in moving Wang Shuan onto the carriage and to be as careful and steady as possible.
Done with that, she turned her head towards Wang Niangzi and asked, "To your shop’s backyard, correct?"
Wang Niangzi hesitated noticeably, her face slackened drastically as she reluctantly said, "There’s no need to go to the shop. I’m staying with a friend at the moment. Thank you for the trouble."
Bai Ruozhu gave her a suspicious look but didn’t probe further. Prioritizing saving Wang Shuan’s life was the pressing matter at hand.
Wang Shuan was soon lifted onto the horse carriage. Bai Ruozhu and Wang Niangzi followed suit. Wang Niangzi guided them towards the direction of her friend’s house.
After their horse carriage trudged for a long time, they finally reached their destination — a small alleyway far from the market. The houses there were all significantly aged, widely referred to as a slum. The alleyway was narrow, unfit for a carriage to pass through comfortably. Generally, the carriage drivers refused to enter such areas as turning the carriage around would be troublesome. However, Wa San, noting the patient on board, still drove into the alleyway, even though exiting would be a challenge.
Upon arrival, Wang Niangzi went to knock on the door. The door was opened by an old woman who was startled at the sight of the carriage. She asked, "Why did you bring the carriage in? Have you gotten your shop back?"
Wang Niangzi quickly interjected, "Tiger’s father had an accident, and godsend good samaritans sent us back home. Let’s get Tiger’s father to lie on the kang first. He’s still unconscious."
"Ah... come in quickly. Should I call the doctor?" The old woman asked anxiously, rubbing her hands together, evidently troubled by the thought of inviting a doctor.
"No need, Ruozhu is a doctor." Wang Niangzi mentioned.
Bai Ruozhu signaled to Wa San and Cui Fan, both of whom carried Wang Shuan into the house. She also followed in. The old woman looked at a loss. She wanted to serve the guests with some tea, but realized she didn’t have enough cups...
Bai Ruozhu quickly wrote a prescription and instructed Cui Fan to get the medicine on a horse, making sure he doesn’t go to the Du Family’s pharmacy.
"Okay, miss. I’ll be back as soon as possible."
After Cui Fan left, Wa San went to the entrance to deal with the carriage. Bai Ruozhu applied another round of acupuncture to Wang Shuan, then said, "That’s enough for now, let’s not disturb his rest. His unconsciousness now is a means of his body’s self-recovery, so cook some plain rice porridge. Wake him up to drink the medicine once it’s ready, and then feed him the porridge half an hour afterward."
"Ruozhu, thank you so much. Today, without you, I’m afraid..." Wang Niangzi’s voice trailed off into soft crying.
Bai Ruozhu gently patted her shoulder, asking, "What exactly happened? Brother Wang’s health deterioration is not just because of the accident. He’s extremely weak. What happened to you recently? And what about the shop?"
Wang Niangzi wiped her tears and said, "I didn’t plan to tell anyone. This is a disgrace for the Wang Family. The Ronglang Pastry Shop was opened since my husband’s grandfather’s time, and it thrived over three generations but ended up declining under our management."
Crying, Wang Niangzi continued, "A few days ago, my husband went to purchase supplies, unknowingly bought a batch of faulty almonds from a frequent supplier, without suspecting any foul play. We manufactured the dim sum but didn’t expect any problems. But then an incident occurred."
"Suddenly, an officer came to arrest my husband, claiming a five-year-old child had been poisoned after eating our dim sum and was nearly killed. After investigation, the government verified that the poisoning was linked to our almond crisps, so our shop was sealed."