They whispered to each other and sent people to take something so that they could swagger into Jiuzhen Store and start purchasing pastries.
Jiang Chengyuan frowned, feeling a little disgusted by the Liao Family's low-class tactics.
But for a pastry shop, food safety was indeed the simplest and most vicious way of sabotage. Even if they won in court, it would be easy to lose their reputation.
He was determined not to let the Liao Family have their way. He called Jiang Chengfeng to quietly get ready.
The two walked crouching, when Jiang Chengyu finally came back to her senses. She grabbed her elder brother's clothes and mumbled, "Brother, am I really your sister?"
"Yes you are, don't worry," Jiang Chengfeng rubbed his sister's head. "I just want you to learn to put yourself in other's shoes more and watch what you say."
Only then did Jiang Chengyu heave a big sigh of relief, and her fear of loss dissipated.
Xiao Qiang had already walked far away. The family doctor did give Jiang Chenghui pulse readings and prescribed medicines several times, so his illness was most likely real.
But she still didn't know about the Liao Family's malicious bait and switch that caused him to get so sick.
What would she do if she found out the truth one day?
Jiang Chengyu couldn't say if she was curious or wishing them ill fortune, but she pouted as she followed her brothers.
But soon she had no time to think about these things.
Because the burly man who bought pastries walked out carrying bags of jujube cakes. To everyone's surprise, he opened and tasted them right outside the entrance of Jiuzhen Store.
He took a bite first and seemed to find them tastier than expected. He swallowed half a cake and only then remembered his task. Reluctantly, he spit it out.
He threw the remaining jujube cakes on the ground carelessly. The seven-foot-tall burly man grabbed his stomach and fell down yelling “Ow, ow!”
With countless shops and pedestrians on Tian Street's four bustling avenues, traffic jams could easily happen by the entrance of Jiuzhen Store, which always had long lines for candied chestnuts.
With the burly man writhing in pain on the ground and scattered pastries around him, it was easy for people to get the wrong idea.
If they let him babble a few more words, Jiuzhen Store’s business would likely drop by at least half.
Just when things were going south, two shadows flashed by. They carried the man on the ground and ran off swiftly like birds of prey.
A little girl followed closely behind and nimbly picked up the fallen jujube cakes before disappearing in the blink of an eye.
Even the burly man’s companions who eyed them like tigers outside were caught unprepared.
Inside the store, Jiang Sheng, who was arranging pastries, was confused. "Second brother, did you hear some sound?"
"I didn't hear anything,” Zheng Ruqian said after taking a turn outside. Everything seemed normal. “Were you just hearing things?”
They did often mishear Director Fang Heng's voice.
"Maybe I was." Jiang Sheng had no more doubts and continued working busily.
In the alley.
Jiang Chengyuan and Jiang Chengfeng threw the burly man on the ground effortlessly, not even short of breath.
They came from military families and, although they switched to civil service exams midway, never neglected any martial arts training. As a result, their physique was top notch.
The burly man they threw on the ground, however, cried out in pain, “Who are you? What do you want? Let me go!”
Jiang Chengyuan stepped on his face condescendingly yet coldly and arrogantly.
“Who are we? We’re just good Samaritans who help the disadvantaged.” Jiang Chengfeng flicked his fan open and smiled cunningly.
The burly man tried to struggle. “Let me go! If you don’t release me now, you’ll be dead! Please, I beg you, let me go!”
His cries turned into pleas by the end.
Jiang Chengyuan looked grimmer. He exchanged glances with Jiang Chengfeng, about to interrogate him further.
Just then, Jiang Chengyu, who had disposed of the jujube cakes, caught up to them and asked in confusion, “Eldest brother, second brother, do you smell anything?”
“What is there to smell, you must be craving desserts,” Jiang Chengfeng joked as usual, but his smile soon disappeared.
Jiang Chengyuan also smelled the pungent stench rushing into his nostrils, assailing not just his sense of smell but also his soul.
Jiang Chengyu, whose sense of smell was most acute, had already started to retch. "Ugh... Ugh..."
He suddenly recalled something and looked down only to see the burly man's face resigned to his fate. One stream after another of liquid gushed out but was stopped by the fabric, lingering in place and eventually permeating into yellow floral patterns.
A few breaths later, three heads suddenly popped out from the alley entrance, each more upset than the last, each gasping for air desperately.
Good heavens! They were just trying to do a good deed. There was no need to suffer such torment!
Jiang Chengfeng's eyes even teared up as he pinched his thigh and said, "He must have eaten some top-quality beans. The speed and intensity were swift and strong, and the smell punched you right in the face."
From buying pastries until now, it had barely been half a pot of tea, but the entrance of Jiuzhen Store would have been hard to clear up if not for them.
Jiang Chengyuan's face darkened further as he tore his underwear lining to cover his nose and mouth before going back to the scene, "Tell the Liao Family that if they use such despicable tricks again, the Jiang Family will show no mercy."
The burly man rolled his eyes weakly, seeming to want to say something. His throat throbbed as he threw up the jujube cakes he just ate.
Wonderful, now there was vomit on top of urine and excrement.
The three Jiang siblings couldn’t stand it anymore and fled the crime scene.
As for being seen by passersby, well, that’s another story.
Inside Jiuzhen Store.
Jiang Sheng finally finished arranging the pastries when a commotion erupted from the clinic next door. Hordes of commoners poured out looking as if they had seen a ghost.
Worried, she hurried over and saw a burly man covered in excrement and other bodily fluids, along with little Dr. Wen looking serious and solemn.
The other female doctors and even the patients had all retreated three rooms away, except for Wang Xiaozhu who was fetching water.
"Fourth brother," Jiang Sheng lifted her foot. "Let me help you."
"Don't come over!" The usually timid Wen Zhiyun bellowed, "Stay back!"
Jiang Sheng froze in place. Zheng Ruqian came to pull her behind him, "The doctor can’t handle this situation. What are you rubbernecking for? Go on, shoo!"
So she could only stand outside the clinic watching fourth brother touch those bodily fluids with his bare hands, take the man's pulse, and question him. She watched as he fed the burly man medicine.
Only when the man was all cleaned up and Wen’s Clinic returned to normal, with commoners daring to come in for medicine again, did Wen Zhiyun relent in his repeated hand washing. He almost scrubbed his skin off before stopping.
He turned back and saw Jiang Sheng's and Zheng Ruqian’s worried faces. He quickly explained softly, "I was just too anxious earlier. Don’t be mad at me, sister."
Little Dr. Wen became the timid Wen fourth brother again, always gentle and fragile.
Jiang Sheng walked up to him, baring her teeth in a smile. "Fourth brother yelled to keep me away for my own good. How could your sister fail to appreciate your kindness?"
That roar did frighten her a bit, but it was understandable in the heat of the moment.
Wen Zhiyun smiled shyly and hid both hands behind his back again. "It really was a little dirty, but I'm used to it now. Don't worry about me."
"Not dirty at all," Jiang Sheng grabbed his hands, pride written all over her face. "Fourth brother cures illnesses and heals patients. He is the cleanest person in this world."
A good doctor values compassion. Sages have praised it, saying such kindness surpasses even heaven's efforts. What matters most is aiding those in danger and saving lives.
They did not fear filth but braved on courageously to treat illnesses and save people. Who then could despise them?
It’s just that the cleanup was truly difficult work. They'd have to charge more consultation fees later to match fourth brother’s sacrifice.
Jiang Sheng thought to herself.
