Gu Yin brought the poppy husks found in the Mala Tang residues in Wangyuelou, and also invited the old doctor who visited the family on a daily basis.
The old doctor has seen it in advance and confirmed that this is the poppy shell, which is now called Poppy Poppy and A Furong.
The two came together to sue Wang Dafu for putting poppies in the food.
The county magistrate was born in a serious imperial examination, and when he was young, he also read a lot of books. Dysentery stopped."
After speaking, the county magistrate frowned and tried to recall: "As for putting it in food, it is said in "Ben Cao Hui Yan" that it can be used as a porridge, and it can be used as a carrion with mung bean flour, which is especially good. "Shift", "Materia Medica Yanyi", "Compendium of Materia Medica", etc., all classify them as grains, as in "Grand View Materia Medica", 'It is very beautiful to cook with bamboo leek as porridge and eat it'. So put this in eating, It doesn't seem to be a crime either."
When it comes to medical books, the old doctor naturally knows more than the county magistrate. He cupped his hands and said: "Although this substance has medicinal properties, if it is used improperly, it will cause endless troubles. Mr. Danxi's words - 'Although its healing power is urgent, murder is like a sword, and it should be deeply guarded!'."
The two discussed medical books based on the classics. Although the county magistrate still felt that medical books would not deceive people, he thought that the appearance of his own wife was very abnormal, and for a while he did not know whether to believe what Gu Yin and the old doctor said.
Gu Yin heard one head and two big from the side. Seeing the space between them talking, she said, "Can the eldest master listen to the woman?"
The county magistrate nodded and asked her to speak, and Gu Yin said: "This thing naturally won't let people get poisoned on the spot, its poison is as stated in the medical book, the toxicity is small and very slight. What the women want to sue is this thing. It is addictive. Just imagine eating the same food, if it makes people addicted to it, if you can’t eat it, you will be restless, you will not think about tea and rice, and if you can’t eat it, is it another kind of 'poison'?"
The county magistrate said sternly: "If food is addictive and you can't control yourself, it is naturally a 'drug'."
"It's easy to handle. Minwomen don't understand medical books, so they only tell the facts. The Mala Tang of Wangyuelou is addictive. Of course, there is no evidence to say it, we can do a withdrawal experiment."
"How to do what you call 'experiment'?"
Now, although many people in Hanshan Town have become addicted to the Poppy Mala Tang in Wangyuelou, but if they go to those people as test subjects for withdrawal reactions, they will definitely leak the news and startle the snakes. As long as Wang Dafu destroys the poppy and does not add it later, it will become a dead end.
And with the insight of the county magistrate, he felt that eating poppies was not a problem. Because of this, I am going to invite diners to come over, I am afraid that people will have to talk. Not to mention the fear that even Wang Dafu himself does not know which guests are the most addicted and can be the test subjects.
So Gu Yin continued: "The eldest master can choose the prisoners in the prison, let them eat the Mala Tang of Wangyuelou, eat them for a few days, and then cut off the food. You can naturally know by looking at their reactions. What the woman said is true or false."
The county magistrate frowned, not because he thought this method was infeasible.
It was the Mala Tang that was several tens of dollars in size, and the magistrate's wife Guangguang ate it alone, and he was about to empty out his meager family. Let him find a few people to do the experiment, it really doesn't have the capital.
Gu Yin looked at him in a dilemma, and guessed that she could afford the money now, but there were actually better candidates for funding.
So she said, "Why don't you invite Master Bai from Hanxianglou over here?"
As for who wants to hit Wangyuelou the most, it must be Hanxianglou, which is now deserted. This amount of money is naturally nothing to Hanxianglou. Don't miss this opportunity to spread the word.
The county magistrate agreed, and before he asked the arrest to go looking for it, he asked Gu Yin again, "Little lady, have you thought about it? If you start an experiment and the result is not as the little lady said, you are a false accusation."
Gu Yin nodded and said, "If you falsely accuse the staff of thirty, the women will save it."
…
In the Hanxiang Building, Mr. Bai was looking at the account book, and he was so devastated that when he heard that someone was coming from the yamen, his heart skipped a beat, and it was inevitable that he would say in his heart that misfortunes do not come singly.
However, I heard that he just called the person who was in charge of Hanxianglou to ask questions, and he was not involved in any case, so Mr. Bai breathed a sigh of relief.
But now his restaurant is in a troubled time. He is discussing with the shopkeeper and the steward how to turn losses into profits.
Although the person in the second room is not the main operator of Hanxiang House, the restaurant's income is divided into half of the second room. As the only son of the second room, he is naturally a person who can take care of things.
Zhu Kuai took Bai Zixi back to the yamen.
When Bai Zixi met the county magistrate, he naturally had to report to his family first.
"Caomin Bai Zixi has seen the eldest master, but he doesn't know why the eldest master called Caomin here?"
The county magistrate ordered Gu Yin to talk to him about the ins and outs of the matter.
The two of them knew each other, but they didn't expect to meet again with the county government.
Although Gu Yin was surprised by his identity, she didn't show anything on her face, and explained to him the reason for inviting him here in a succinct manner.
Bai Zixi's face was flushed. At first, he wanted to spy on the enemy's situation. Later, he taught his father a lesson, and only then did he realize that his approach was stupid, and he had no face to go back.
I thought that it would be fine if it was revealed. Even if I accidentally went to eat and drink a bowl of Laba porridge that day, Bai Zixi still thought that as long as Gu Yin didn't know his identity, he would not be embarrassed.
Now, when I see you in court, doesn't it make him so embarrassed that he wants to dig a hole in place and bury himself
But after hearing Gu Yin's words, Bai Zixi didn't care about being embarrassed or embarrassed, and said angrily: "I have bought the Mala Tang in Wangyuelou no less than ten times, and I have tasted it repeatedly, I really don't understand why this thing is delicious. What! I didn't expect it to be addictive!"
Although the experiment has not been done yet, it is clear that Bai Zixi has believed Gu Yin's statement.
Without hesitation, he donated his fifty-two silver notes, willing to support this experiment.
Gu Yin doesn't have to worry about the next thing.
The county magistrate acted resolutely, and immediately selected some prisoners in the prison who had committed crimes and committed serious crimes.
Of course, the experiment is not in vain, and those who participate can also receive an additional two taels of silver to subsidize their household. The prisoners have families outside, and this experiment will not cost their lives, of course they are willing.
Then it is to let these people eat the Mala Tang of Wangyuelou three times a day.
Those with poorer physiques, after eating it once, immediately appeared strange, and before the next meal, they were already thinking about it.
Those with a better physique will become addicted later, but they will become addicted after a few meals.
Ten days later, the county magistrate removed everyone's Mala Tang and replaced them with other delicious meals.
These dozen people are the same, and they can't take another bite of other meals. The prisoner with a weaker physique was not only restless and restless, but also had the madness of sobs!
…
The business of Wangyuelou is really booming, and there are hundreds of taels more in a month.
After Wang Dafu finished the account in the past few days, he was so happy that he couldn't even close his mouth.
But he also knows that this is not a long-term solution, and he is already planning to wait until the end of the New Year, put away the seasoning, and sell it for only one winter every year, without knowing it.
Just thinking to myself, the guy said that the soup base in the back kitchen is not enough.
Wang Dafu was in charge of the soup base alone. He nodded to show that he understood, rolled up his sleeves and went to the back kitchen.
After dismissing all the cooks, Wang Dafu took out a small bag from the bottom of the stove and shook it all into the pot.
A pot of soup has to be boiled for an hour, and Wang Dafu dare not leave it until he confirms that the taste of the soup is enough. flavored seasoning.
At this time, suddenly, a voice came from behind him: "What are you adding?"
Wang Dafu was furious and said, "Didn't I say that no one is allowed to come in while I'm making the soup base?"
After he finished speaking, he turned around and saw Li Zhaotou, who was hugging the saber and looking at him with all his spare time.
He was startled, his hands trembled, and the colander fell directly into the pot.
At the same time, the shackles were also put on Wang Dafu's hands.
A team of arresters filed out from Wangyuelou. It was such a big battle, and it was Wang Dafu who was handcuffed.
The people in the town have little entertainment, but they haven't forgotten what happened before!
Before Wang Dafu arrived at the county office, word of mouth spread that the people who came to watch the lively blocked the office again.
The county magistrate went to court for interrogation. The witness was Li Zhaotou, and the physical evidence was the soup base brought back from the scene. They were all there, and Wang Dafu could not deny it at all.
Wang Dafu was not ready to deny it at all. He also began to recite medical books, citing the scriptures and saying that this poppy can be used as medicine, so where is it that cannot be eaten
The county magistrate laughed at his rhetoric, "Is it a good intention for you to put this poppy into the food at the price of selling food?"
Wang Dafu hurriedly said, "I don't dare," and added: "It's just that this thing is extremely delicious as a seasoning, and the medical book also says that it can be eaten in porridge.
This poppy was bought from the state capital at a great price. I knew before I bought it. This dynasty did not prohibit this thing from being used as medicine or food, so he dared to add it to his own food on a large scale. As for the seller who told him that eating too much of this food would make it addictive, in Wang Dafu's view, it was not a big problem - drinking and alcohol addiction, why didn't the imperial court list alcohol as a prohibited product? Anyway, as long as it is not sold to people all year round, there will definitely be no problem!
If there is no experiment proposed by Gu Yin, this lawsuit is really not easy to judge.
The county magistrate didn't talk to him too much, so he had the prisoners brought up in court.
They hadn't eaten the Mala Tang from Wangyuelou for two or three days, and it was tasteless and tasteless.
After being brought to the hall, several people smelled the familiar smell, and when they looked at the spicy soup base as evidence, their eyes glowed green like hungry wolves.
The prisoner with the most severe symptoms even broke free from the arrest in court and rushed to the porridge bucket with the soup base to bury his head and drink.
After drinking several sips in a row, the man slumped to the ground with a soothing expression on his face.
The county magistrate then announced the process of the experiment to the people, and the people were so frightened that their faces turned pale.
"Damn Wangyuelou, actually doing such a black thing again!"
"That's right! I persuaded our boss, saying that the people in Wangyuelou were black-hearted, and they couldn't eat the food they made! My boss insisted that the things in front of us were the ghosts of the people below, and now those people are still locked in the yamen, The signboard that Wangyuelou has been operating for many years is still trustworthy. He has been eating that Mala Tang for several days. If he eats it again, he will turn into the prisoner in the hall..."
"If you want to die, if you really want to be like that, wouldn't you be a person and a ghost if you don't eat a meal?"
The people were excited, and the county magistrate took a shot of the gavel and shouted "silence", and then he asked for witnesses to testify in court.
Now we all know that eating too much poppy will turn into the madness of the prisoner in the hall, and no one cares about losing face, and just wants to let the county magistrate decide.
As Gu Yin had expected before, the majority of people with mild symptoms were just like Song Shiliu before, they didn't want to eat, they just wanted to eat the Mala Tang from Wangyuelou. But the symptoms are not without them. There is a wealthy family, and the young master of his family has poor physique.
That little young master started to eat the Mala Tang of Mochizuki Tower after entering the winter. After eating, people would sometimes become manic and sometimes depressed. Many doctors at home had not been able to diagnose it, nor did he suspect that it was on the top of Mochizuki Tower— So many people eat it, I have never heard of anyone eating this bad food.
It was not until the symptoms of the prisoner who did the experiment were matched that the family knew that they were following the way of Wangyuelou, and carried the young master to the hall to testify against Wang Dafu together.
This situation is more serious than selling kitchen waste before, especially when the magistrate of Houtou County interrogated that the poppy was bought by Wang Dafu from Fucheng, and he dared not take it lightly.
Within two days, people came from the palace city. Needless to say, it was natural to take credit.
The county magistrate and Guan arrestou put Wang Dafu on the prison car again, preparing to send him to trial.
As soon as he heard that he was going to Fucheng again, Wang Dafu was stunned that day. He didn't see his eloquent manner in the court that day. He knew that even if he didn't die this time, he would have to lose his skin. He was as honest as a quail. Started to recite the confession spontaneously and consciously.
Before they set off, Gu Yin became a tiger mother once and chained Gu Ye to the store, for fear that he would go to Fucheng again without knowing it.
Gu Ye was helpless and assured: "I've been to Fucheng, it's not fun, I really won't go."
Gu Yincai didn't care what he said, anyway, she wanted to tie him to her waistband for two days.
But Gu Ye didn't go, and the other people who were deeply affected by poppies went to Fucheng to listen to the letter.
In just two days, the news came back to Hanshan Town—this time, the prefect's trial style was as rude as ever. He put Wang Dafu in a prison in Fucheng, confiscated all his property, and then sold all the people who sold him the spices. , and also reported this matter to the court, bluntly saying that eating poppies will make people addicted and harmful to people's health. As for Wang Dafu's follow-up, we have to look at the orders from above.
Although this case does not seem to be large, it actually pushes the issue that poppies cannot be eaten to the public.
Of course, the credit will also go to the prefect, and the county magistrate is not injustice. I just think that if the whole country can know that eating poppies is extremely harmful, it will be a great thing that will benefit future generations.
The county magistrate is not greedy for credit, but this time he specifically asked for credit for Gu Yin.
The prefect has been immersed in the officialdom for many years. Although he is happy to grab the credit, he also knows that he can't just eat meat and not give others soup. The county magistrate gave him the credit twice, and he also accepted his favor and agreed.
Hearing the news ahead, Mrs. Wang was screaming at home. Wang Dafu's property had been confiscated, and she still had 150 taels of silver to return!
One hundred and fifty two! Even if there is a shop at home now, the Wang family is distressed that he has not slept for several nights.
However, this situation did not last for a few days, because on the 20th of the twelfth lunar month, the county magistrate and Guan Huotou returned to the town.
They brought back a plaque, which was written by the prefect himself, "Chivalrous and courageous", to commend Gu Yin for making suggestions again and for others.
Gu Yin offered advice in front of her because her family was involved in the case. This time, her help was purely because of injustice, and she really hated Wang Dafu's harmful behavior.
The plaque alone does not count, and the prefect also gave Gu Yin the old house of the Wang family.
The old house was previously jointly owned by the Wang family's eldest room and the second room, but something like that happened to Wang Dagui and the Zou family later, and the second room's property was also looted by the officials of Fucheng. The people in the second room had no face to stay in Hanshan Town any longer, so they simply sold their half of the property to Wang Dafu. They exchanged some money and went to other places to make a living.
Therefore, the old house was already the property of Wang Dafu before. The county magistrate helped Gu Yin to ask for credit, and the prefect wrote a plaque himself, but he was not willing to give other valuables. The Wang family's old house is big, but it is too old and can't be moved. It is useless for him to copy it into the public school, so he just gives it to Gu Yin.
This is really great news for the Wang family. It was her family's ancestral home. It was happier than picking up money for nothing!
The grandfather of Houtou County asked Gu Yin and Wang Shi to go to the yamen for a contract. Gu Yin was busy with the business in the store—the Wangyue Building was gone. The diners knew that she was brave to report this time, and they were grateful to her. Tian's business was unprecedentedly good, and he couldn't tell the two at once, so he let Wang go by himself.
It didn't take long for Wang to come back and hand over the title deed to Gu Yin and let her put it up.
Gu Yin didn't take a closer look at the time. When she got home at night, she washed and undressed, and then she remembered that the deed was still on her body.
When she opened it this time, she found that something was wrong—the owner of the old house on this deed was not the Wang family, but herself!
She immediately went to the next door to look for Mrs. Wang. Mrs. Wang was doing housework with Song Shiliu. As the new year was approaching, she had to clean the house carefully.
Seeing Gu Yin coming to look for her, before she could speak, Wang's subordinates kept saying: "Although this house is the property of my mother's family, but it was confiscated to the official mansion, and the master of the official family gave it to you, naturally it is you. Besides, what are we talking about as a family? Could it be that the owner of the house is changed to you, will you still be able to keep me from living in the future?"
"Of course not." Gu Yin took Wang's hand and shook it gently, "I just think this house is more meaningful to my mother than me."
"It does make sense, after all, it's where I grew up. But I still say that, what's the difference between yours and mine?"
As she said that, she suddenly laughed again, "Also, I have already seen it today. The house has been separated from the big room and the second room, and the partition has not been demolished. You said that you will start a family in the future, and we will close the door. , it doesn't affect each other, and it's still a family, how good? Mother promised to buy you a shop, and now there is no shop yet, let's have a big mansion first, I think who would dare to underestimate you!"
Gu Yin: …
Well, now I know what to do, first hit the partition wall of Wang's old house!
The next day, Gu Yin took the shopkeeper last week to the old house.
The official messenger from Fucheng has already come again, and all the valuable things in the house have been searched, except for the basic tables, chairs and benches.
After Gu Yin and Shopkeeper Zhou checked it out, they asked Shopkeeper Zhou to contact someone to help repair it.
In the afternoon of the same day, the county magistrate invited Gu Yin to the county government again, and said that he wanted to reward her.
Gu Yin declined and said, "I have already acquired the card of the prefect, and I have acquired a huge house. I really don't dare to ask for another person."
The county magistrate clenched his fists and coughed, and said, "Those are all given to you by the city, and this official has yet to say anything."
What leaked out of the prefect's fingers was a large mansion with a market price of several hundred taels. The county magistrate was poor and poor. In terms of wealth, it was not as good as the current Gu Yin, so naturally he couldn't compare with the prefect.
He thought for a while and said, "If not, how about the competition between your family and the Bai family of Hanxianglou in the next year's official restaurant?"
After saying that, the county magistrate was a little embarrassed, there really is no other reward that can be taken on the table.
Gu Yin was puzzled after hearing this, and Guan Zhaotou explained to her next to him. The so-called official restaurant is equivalent to a restaurant designated by the official family in cooperation with the imperial court. If other people from the imperial court come over, the county magistrate will go to this house to entertain them.
There are not many big people in Hanshan Town, so in fact, there are not many such hospitality. But there is another great benefit. Restaurants that cooperate with the imperial court and entertain officials can pay less tax!
Of course everyone wants this kind of good thing, but there are also restrictions. It must have been in business for many years, have an excellent reputation, and have quality assurance. In previous years, the official restaurant in Hanshan Town has always been selected by Hanxianglou and Wangyuelou.
This year, Wangyuelou was gone, and the county magistrate gave Shiweitian and Hanxianglou a chance to compete for this spot.
Gu Yin's eyes lit up after hearing this. When she first opened the store, the imperial court's tax revenue was still within her acceptable range. In the past six months, she heard that the war was tight outside. Twenty-five taels, according to the new regulations of the imperial court, I have to pay 10 taels of tax!
When she thought of this in private with Shopkeeper Zhou, she sighed. The county magistrate's proposal is really drowsy and someone handed him a pillow, which is more pleasing than giving dozens of taels of silver directly!
The day of the cooking competition was just a few years ago, when the county magistrate would invite all the rich and squires of the county to do the tasting.
After returning to Shiweitian, Gu Yin immediately announced the good news. Although the county magistrate only gave him a chance, but with him in the Shiweitian Bai case and Zhou’s shopkeeper in the Hong case, it was almost impossible to lose.
The rest to worry about is what they're going to cook.
Shopkeeper Zhou had his own specialty, and he also helped Wangyuelou compete for this spot, but Gu Yin suddenly didn't think about what to do. Of course, she is best at cooking porridge and soup, but if she really wants to talk about a certain skill, she really can't think of it for a while.
At the end of her evening market that day, Gu Yinzheng and her buddies were cleaning up the tables and chairs. Suddenly, she saw a familiar figure through the window.
Bai Zixi hesitated for a quarter of an hour at the entrance of Shiweitian, and there was a battle between heaven and man. In the end, he put a paper bag on the window sill, and left as if he was afraid that he would regret it.
Gu Yin was very surprised, took a look at the paper bag, and saw the words "Special Seasoning for VIPs in Hanxianglou" written on it.
I had heard that Hanxianglou was also tinkering with some overseas seasonings, and that there was a poppy placement in Wangyuelou before, so she and Shopkeeper Zhou naturally paid attention to it.
"This young master of the Bai family, I'm afraid he also suspects that his seasoning is not right, and he won't be honored if he wins, so he just sent a copy of this seasoning to let us know. But even if he doesn't come, I'm going to get a copy for him. owner."
Gu Yin nodded solemnly when she heard the shopkeeper Zhou's words.
The two opened the paper package as if facing a major enemy, and they saw crystal particles as white as snow inside.
Gu Yin tasted a little bit—Damn it, MSG!