Chapter 25: Chapter 025: Never Dare Again
Translator: 549690339
Li Fang was upset about those two coins, but if this matter got out of hand, not to mention two coins, heâd lose a dayâs wages. Given Chef Zhang s temperament, it was quite possible heâd convince the shop manager to kick him out. Hence, he reluctantly took out the two coins.
âHere. Are you happy with those two coins now?â Li Fangâs face flushed red as he returned the money to Zhuang Qingning.
Zhuang Qingning accepted the two coins, but still held out her hand: âYou still owe me one coin. Thatâs the price for a pound of tofu.â
âTake it!â Li Fang forced the word through gritted teeth, throwing the coin into Zhuang Qingningâs hand.
Having collected back her money without giving up a single coin, Zhuang Qingning didnât wish to engage any further with this dishonest man. She simply turned and walked away.
Fearing how much trouble this incident could cause him, Li Fang didnât dare make a fuss, simply gritting his teeth and staring at Zhuang Qingningâs retreating figure. Only after she left did he angrily spit on the ground.
âDamn it! What kind of person is that? A mere girl, pleading for help but still acting so sanctimoniously! I must have been really unlucky to get duped by you.â
Youâre the one who started by being dishonest, not delivering what was paid for but instead trying to deceive again. You are wicked and unashamed, not fearing heavenly retribution. 1 hope you get struck by lightning!
Ma Tong, who was standing on the side, merely smirked, choosing not to say anything out loud.
Feng Yongkang, who had been watching silently, finally stood up with a stern face: âItâs high time someone did something about it.â
âSh⌠Shop manager.â Li Fang recognized Feng Yongkang. His neck shrivelled, producing a small tremor in his voice.
âI used to think you were honest and industrious, attentive and active a good worker. 1 never thought you would stoop to such deceit.
Feng Yongkang rebuked: âYou dare cheat a young tofu seller like this. 1 wonder how many lies youâve told and how much money youâve swindled in the past?â
âManager, 1 am wrongly accused! I have never taken an extra coin from the customers before, and I have never done anything bad. This time⌠this time⌠this time was just a moment of blindnessâŚâ
Li Fang, who was both frightened and anxious, was close to tears: âManager, I swear this is the first and the last time. I have always been honest. You know me, 1 am not the kind of person who takes unfair advantageâŚâ
Pleading for his sincerity, Li Fang sank to his knees.
Li Fang had been working underneath him for a while, and Yongkang was quite satisfied with him till now. Seeing him regretful, Yongkang didnât pursue the matter further and just coldly said, âWell, I donât think youâll dare to do something like this again. Get up.â
âThank you, manager.â Li Fang quickly got up, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
âEven though 1 told you to rise, you must be punished for tarnishing the reputation of Fushun Tower. If people saw what happened, they might think weâre a bunch of swindlers. There has to be a penalty.â
Feng Yongkang said: âConsidering that itâs your first offense and that you seem remorseful, youâll be fined five daysâ wages. This should serve as a lesson to you and also a warning to others about what can and cannot be done.â
Five daysâ wages, thirty coins in total, can buy half a bag of rice!
Hearing this, Li Fang was extremely upset. However, upon reflecting, losing thirty coins was far better than being unemployed, and thus he quickly agreed, âYes, I understand, manager. 1 promise, it wonât happen again.â
âHmm.â Seeing this, Feng Yongkang didnât say anything more. He turned and walked back to the backyard.
Li Fang watched him lift the curtain and disappear from view before he finally relaxed.
But soon enough, his stomach filled with resentment.
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Those thirty coins!
From early morning, Iâve just lost thirty coins for nothing! When itâs time to hand over the wages to the family, 1 will inevitably be reprimanded for my foolishness and irresponsibility,â thought Li Fang.
Thinking of this gave Li Fang a headache, and whenever he saw the tofu stall in the distance, he saw red.
You little wretch! Youâve made me suffer so much, just you wait, 1 will show you how one learns to be humble!
Li Fang spat heavily on the ground.
After Zhuang Qingsui had finished serving the tofu to the customers, she looked at the returning Zhuang Qingning, who, out of concern, had a grim expression on her face: âSister, are you ok? Was there a problem with selling tofu in Fushun Tower?â
âYes.â Zhuang Qingning nodded, then related the whole incident to Zhuang Qingsui.
âWhat a shop attendant with such a black heart! Not only does he take the money and refuse to do the job, but he also plans to cheat people?â Mrs. Liu, upon hearing about it, became enormously aggrieved by the incident: âFushun l ower is really insufferable, even allowing its employees to act like this.â
âFrom now on, we need to tell everyone, no one should eat at Fushun Tower anymore, otherwise they might lose their money!â
âOld lady, you shouldnât lose your temper.â Zhuang Qingning hurriedly tried to pacify Mrs. Liu: âThe blame should lie with that one shop attendant and not the entire tower. If we go around saying this, people will think we re exaggerating.â
âBesides, the incident occurred when no one was around. Fushun Tower has a longstanding reputation and connections within the town. If they want to take sides, they already know what to do. If a dispute were to arise, people might accuse us of deliberately trying to smear the reputation of Fushun Tower. Even though we may have countless words, we might not be able to clear our names.â
The most important factor was that she didnât want Mrs. Liu to get embroiled in this mess. It would inevitably affect her fried chop rice cake business in town. Zhuang Qingning didnât want to place such troubles on the alway supportive Mrs. Liuâs shoulders.
âFurthermore, Iâve taken my money and tofu back, so thereâs no loss. Letâs just take this mishap as an extra effort to sell a pound of tofu.â
âYouâre rightâŚâ After hearing Zhuang Qingningâs explanation, Mrs. Liu agreed: âMaybe youâre right about this. Letâs just leave things as is.â
In any case, whether they told anyone or not, their family would certainly not eat at Fushun Tower anymore from now on.
Zhuang Qingning laughed, then continued to sell her tofu.
The unpleasant event was like a stone falling into a calm lake, creating ripples. But soon the ripples faded, and the surface of the lake became calm again.
Everyone busily resumed what they were doing, having already forgotten about the previous incident.
However, Zhuang Qingsui still had a worried expression and a furrowed brow.
âWhatâs wrong with you?â1 Seeing her like this, Zhuang Qingning reached out to gently pat her on the head..
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