Yes, one of these reports simply can’t prove there’s anything wrong with the Century-old Cake Shop’s products!
Immediately, someone filled with righteous indignation shouted loudly, "No, we must see for ourselves whether the Century-old Cake Shop has Five Stones Powder or not. This is about food, after all. I just bought cakes from the Century-old Cake Shop for my child yesterday! I don’t even know if there’s anything wrong with the cakes at home!"
"Right, we need to go to the Century-old Cake Shop and check it out! We must inspect it thoroughly!"
"Doctor Hu, here in Zhuma Town, you are the most respected doctor; we need you to take charge of this matter," a woman tearfully implored Doctor Hu.
Lin Yuan also persuaded, "Doctor Hu, this matter is no small issue; we must ask you to make another trip."
Doctor Hu sighed, bearing a sense of responsibility toward the common people, as well as toward the Century-old Cake Shop, and he agreed.
Since ancient times, the will of the people has been the most undeniable thing. The crowd marched mightily towards the Century-old Cake Shop.
In the midst of the crowd, Lin Yuan saw Shunzi, grinning with his door-like gapped front teeth, excitedly smiling at her.
Xia Zheng saw it too and couldn’t help but chuckle.
Liuzi, however, had a bitter face and discontentedly pursed his lips, wondering how this guy managed to get things done so quickly when he hadn’t even had time to prepare the "antidote."
Of course, they couldn’t give the antidote right away. Having Loudmouth take Shunzi to the storeroom to continue being watched by the guards, Lin Yuan went along with Xia Zheng to the Century-old Cake Shop to verify the results. Before leaving, she didn’t forget to send Liuzi to inform the Yamen.
At the Century-old Cake Shop, Shopkeeper Chen was still holding the account book, calculating this quarter’s income on the abacus, looking at all that silver, which made him incredibly happy. He gaped, revealing yellow teeth.
While he was busy calculating, the door of the counting room was suddenly kicked open, and Mr. Steward rushed in, panting and gasping, "Shopkeeper, shopkeeper, it’s, it’s..."
Shopkeeper Chen squinted his eyes, and seeing Mr. Steward’s discomposed appearance, his eyebrows furrowed, "Speak properly, can you not be so hasty? It’s not as if someone is causing a disturbance."
The Century-old Cake Shop had been open for over a decade, and only in the beginning did some short-sighted people cause trouble, but as his business grew, there were fewer and fewer such incidents.
Mr. Steward swallowed his spit, struggling to squeeze out a few words from his throat, "It’s, it’s a disturbance."
When Shopkeeper Chen reached the hall, the citizens had already surrounded the Century-old Cake Shop so tightly that no water could leak through. Since the reputation and history of the Century-old Cake Shop were greater and longer than that of Rice Flower Fragrance, when people heard there might be problems with the Century-old Cake Shop’s cakes, nearly everyone on the street had followed along.
As soon as Shopkeeper Chen appeared, someone straight away cried out, "Shopkeeper Chen, your shop’s cakes have been found to contain Five Stones Powder! You need to explain this to us!"
"Exactly, give us an explanation! Why would you put Five Stones Powder in them?"
"Why? It’s for silver, of course! Haven’t you heard? Eating something with Five Stones Powder in it can cause addiction. No wonder my child nags me every day to buy him cakes. He won’t eat from any other shop, only from the Century-old Cake Shop. It turns out it was all because of this harmful substance!"
"My child too! And after eating the cakes, he seemed especially happy, especially excited, just, just different."
Mingling in the crowd, Lin Yuan listened to their heated discussions, one after another, and couldn’t help but find it somewhat amusing. The Five Stones Powder had only just been added by her; how could it possibly have been in the cakes before? Their claims were indeed exaggerated.
After hearing everyone’s comments, Shopkeeper Chen’s face turned white, then green, like a dye workshop, his complexion unpredictably shifting.