"Isn't rescuing your husband the most important thing now?" asked Qi Huan.
She took out a small cloth bag from her waist, prepared long ago. Opening it, a row of slender silver needles shone out.
Ever since Shopkeeper Chen had issued his harsh threat, she had been prepared at all times.
She and Nuan Dong had their hair covered with cotton cloth, so there couldn't be any hair in the bowl of noodles.
Mo County was too cold to have cockroaches or other insects, and rats were too big to sneak into the bowl easily.
So, it was very likely that Shopkeeper Chen had bribed someone to poison the noodles or induce diarrhea.
But she didn't expect him to fake death...
Qi Huan pinched a long needle and compared it against the light, softly saying, "This is an heirloom from my late father. Originally, I was not skilled enough to use it."
"But now, with a life at stake, let me attempt this 'dead horse treatment'!"
Everyone's gaze focused on her hand, no one noticing the middle-aged man lying on the ground, whose fingers twitched slightly.
The woman panicked and immediately intervened, "You said you're not skilled enough, how can you randomly use needles? I won't allow it!"
"How is this randomly using needles?" Qi Huan calmly countered, "Didn't you say I poisoned your husband?"
"Since he's not completely dead yet, let me try needling him. Maybe I can save his life."
"However, the acupuncture point I need to needle is quite dangerous. After reviving him, he may not be as agile as before."
"But, isn't it better to be alive and disabled than dead? Wouldn't you agree with this reasoning, sister?"
Intimidated by her, the woman stubbornly refused to let Qi Huan needle him, angrily shouting, "Don't you dare needle him, get lost!"
Unable to reason with her, Qi Huan turned to the observing customers for help, "Ladies and gentlemen, please help me restrain this sister. Her husband still has a chance to live, and I cannot ignore someone in need of rescue."
"Yes, yes."
"Saving a life is more meritorious than building a seven-level monastery. Everyone help me restrain Mrs. Qin so we can save a life."
The enthusiastic crowd firmly held Mrs. Qin down.
With this problem solved, Qi Huan smiled and instructed Tao Su to light a candle and heat the silver needles.
As she heated the needles, she thoughtfully reminisced, "My father once said that pinching the Renzhong point has miraculous effects on reviving someone who has fainted. Maybe I should try needling the Renzhong point first?"
The crowd fell silent, thinking that pinching the Renzhong was already painful enough, let alone needling it.
Seeing no objections, Qi Huan raised the silver needle and slowly approached the middle-aged man on the ground.
The customers held their breath and watched her movements intently.
The middle-aged man on the ground couldn't stay calm any longer.
He was afraid of the pain and becoming disabled.
He suddenly opened his eyes, panting heavily, with beads of sweat the size of soybeans forming on his forehead.
When he saw the slender silver needle in Qi Huan's hand, he patted his chest in relief.
Luckily he got up in time!
Seeing that he was no longer pretending to be dead, Qi Huan feigned surprise, "I haven't even needled you yet, how did you come back to life?"
"If you had needled me, I would've really died!" Mr. Qin's husband began cursing loudly.
His lively appearance showed no signs of being poisoned.
Qi Huan's expression turned cold as she turned to question Mrs. Qin, "Sister, weren't you insisting that I poisoned your husband to death? Then who is this living person in front of us?"
Glaring at her husband with disappointment, Mrs. Qin stubbornly argued, "It seems my husband has a strong life force and revived himself."
Seeing her insistence on lying, Qi Huan smiled slightly, "Then let's report this to the authorities!"
"They can test whether the noodles were poisoned or not."
"If there was no poison, you and your husband will be punished for making false accusations!"
Her firm attitude made the couple panic.
Finally, Mrs. Qin admitted defeat.
"I'm sorry, Miss Qi. We were blinded by greed, seeing your prosperous business and wanting to extort some money. Please forgive us this time!"
Hearing this, the crowd immediately turned against the couple, condemning their actions.
"Envy is a sickness that needs to be cured!"
"Miss Qi, you can't let them off so easily. They must be punished, or they'll go extort others!"
The crowd was outraged by the couple's despicable behavior.
Qi Huan smiled and said, "Since you've admitted your crime, it's simpler now. We don't need the authorities to investigate further. All the customers here are witnesses. Let's take them to the officials!"
Upon hearing this, the woman panicked, "I'm not extorting you anymore, why do you still want to send me to the officials?"
"You may not be extorting me, but you've severely disrupted my noodle shop's business. You need to compensate us for lost income."
"Your husband's fake blood and death gave us quite a scare. You need to pay us for emotional distress."
Qi Huan counted on her fingers as she listed the charges.
"If I don't make you pay a price, others will keep copying your behavior, and I won't be able to run my business anymore."
Her reasoning made perfect sense, intimidating Mr. Qin and his wife.
Mrs. Qin quickly calculated in her mind. Since the scheme had failed, Shopkeeper Chen's promised payment was definitely off the table.
The initial deposit she received might not even cover the compensation and potential punishment.
No matter how she looked at it, it was not worth it. She decided to drag Shopkeeper Chen into this mess.
It was his idea in the first place. If something went wrong, who else should take the blame?
In a split second, Mrs. Qin made up her mind not to protect Shopkeeper Chen anymore.
"Miss Qi, let me tell you the truth! This was all Shopkeeper Chen's idea. He wanted to go against you, so he paid us money to cause trouble. You should seek compensation from him. We don't have a single penny..."
"Nonsense!" came a shout from outside the crowd.
Shopkeeper Chen, who had been secretly observing, was furious when this untrustworthy woman dragged him out. He had spent a lot of money, but the scheme failed, and now his reputation was being tarnished.
The two began arguing across the crowd, trading insults and curses at each other's ancestors.
Listening to them expose each other's misdeeds, the crowd finally learned that Shopkeeper Chen was the mastermind behind the scenes, and they began pointing fingers at him.
This was a perfect opportunity for payback, and Qi Huan wouldn't miss it.
"Shopkeeper Chen, it was you..." she feigned disbelief and pretended to be saddened, "Even if I refused to raise noodle prices, you didn't have to resort to such shameless tactics to frame me!"
"I earn honest money, offering the best meals at the most affordable prices for our fellow villagers through small profits and high sales volume."
"I never expected such a drama to unfold..."
Recalling the "green tea rhetoric" she learned from her previous life's TikTok, she immediately put it into practice.
"Everyone, please don't blame Shopkeeper Chen too much. He just thinks our noodle prices are too low..."
"Since Shopkeeper Chen thinks I should raise prices, then... let me consider raising them a bit?"
Upon hearing this, the crowd immediately advised against it.
Then, they turned their angry gazes towards Shopkeeper Chen.
