books44 Chapter 132: Scheme
Chapter 132: Scheme
Chapter 132: Schemes
These days, money makes things easy. Ji Meiqing gave each of the beggars on the street a silver ingot, and then went home to sleep peacefully.
Lu Yu and Ji Tianci returned the next day. Ji Mei had left early in the morning and was no longer at home. At this moment, she was in the pharmacy. Although the control over drugs in this era was not very strict, it had its own system.
Ji Meiqing read through the entire list of banned drugs and then made up her mind. The most common one here was Five-Stone Powder, which had similar effects to the others, but was rarely used.
Right now, the only things we can use are other things. For example, some other things like croton oil, which aren't very harmful to people, but can be used to treat diarrhea.
Croton seeds aren't hard to find; most households have them, and buying some isn't expensive. He bought a bag and took it home to grind them into croton seed powder.
Having solved the problem of the surveillance, Ji Meiqing didn't hesitate and simply put the money in her pocket before heading off. She followed the little beggar to the back of the Dragon and Phoenix Restaurant. The cook wasn't walking fast, and Ji Meiqing and the others quickly caught up.
When she arrived, he was just entering the gate. Ji Meiqing followed him. The back gate wasn't heavily guarded, and there weren't many people around. Using the artificial rockery as cover, Ji Meiqing concealed herself.
The cook went straight into the building, and she quickly followed him. Luckily, there were many people there, so she pretended to be there for a meal and slipped into the building.
The little beggar followed her upstairs, one staring at the person and the other at the food filling the room. Neither of them noticed the waiter's strange and slightly disdainful gaze.
"What would you two like to eat?" The waiter wiped the table and chairs, and after they sat down, he busied himself serving them tea and water.
Without a second thought, Ji Meiqing said directly, "One portion each of chicken, duck, and fish."
"Okay, all done." The waiter draped the towel over his shoulder and walked out quietly. Ji Meiqing quickly followed and locked the door from the inside, then ran to the corner to listen.
I could hear what sounded like they were discussing something inside. It was just a wall, not soundproof at all, so their voices were practically right next to my ear.
"Sir, I've done everything you asked, but now I've lost my job... This..."
The cook was somewhat dejected.
"Take this first. Consider it a subsidy. I don't have much else to give you. You know that after what happened, I'm afraid no one will dare to ask you to do anything again."
"This...this..." He was somewhat surprised. "How am I supposed to go on like this? You can't treat me like this. I've done so much for you, you can't be so ungrateful as to just throw me away like this!"
The man seemed to have grown angry as well, and he spoke harshly to the cook's insatiable greed, "Let me tell you, even if I can keep you here today, what about tomorrow? If the authorities come knocking, none of us will escape! You'd be better off taking the money, leaving here as soon as possible, and finding a job to start over."
"I've been doing this for over a decade, and this is all you're giving me? You didn't say this when you asked me to frame the Ye family!"
"What do you want?"
"Five hundred taels, or this isn't over! If I go to jail, you won't fare any better." The cook became more assertive, but his greed grew even stronger.
There was a moment of silence on the other end, so silence that Ji Meiqing almost thought no one was there. She waited anxiously for a while before the door on this side finally opened.
Ji Meiqing shuddered and quickly ran over.
As soon as the door opened, the waiter greeted her with a fawning smile, "Madam, your dishes are ready."
"Oh, come in." She stepped aside, watching as dish after dish of food was brought out, and then followed and sat down.
The table was quickly piled high. Ji Meiqing thought it was about enough, so she asked, "If there are any more dishes, you don't need to bring them up."
"Alright, please enjoy your meal." The waiter was quite sensible and led the others out.
Before Ji Meiqing could speak, the little beggar reached out to take it, and she scolded him.
The little beggar looked at her and slowly withdrew his hand.
"Use chopsticks to eat, don't use your hands. If you use your hands like this, how are others supposed to eat?"
"Oh." He was a little reluctant, but he still picked up his chopsticks.
She ran to the corner of the wall again, but there was no sound from there. She listened for a while longer, and there really was no sound from there, so she came up to eat.
Unfortunately, there wasn't much food left on the table. The two of them finished all the food on the table, and then let out a satisfied burp.
After rubbing her stomach for a while, Ji Meiqing finally took out her money pouch. It only contained a few loose silver coins; she had completely forgotten to put any silver in it.
“We…” She hesitated, and the little beggar immediately understood, his eyes showing a hint of disdain.
She was a little embarrassed, "Why don't you go first, I'll take care of the rest."
The beggar didn't bother to have a heart-to-heart talk with her and simply walked out. Ji Meiqing sighed and went to open the window.
Below was the lake. After estimating the height, he jumped in one breath. Someone outside was about to come and settle the bill, but when they entered, he was nowhere to be found.
The waiter was so frightened that he immediately went to call his boss, and many people came over to watch.
"Do you remember what that person looked like?" the shopkeeper asked, and the waiter quickly nodded.
"A woman and a beggar."
The shopkeeper, somewhat exasperated, rubbed his forehead and asked, "That's not what I meant."
"I don't know whose family that woman is, but I do remember her face. I can have someone draw her."
The waiter spoke in a fawning tone, adding, "They shouldn't have gone far. If we chase after them, we might still be able to find them."
"No need, this is fine." The shop owner looked at the plates on the table and added, "He'll probably be here soon."
"boss?"
Without saying much, he simply ordered someone to tidy up the table and then left. The remaining people looked at each other, puzzled by his meaning.
The boss didn't bother to say anything more. The remaining people cleared the table and then dispersed.
Ji Meiqing came out of the water, squatted under the shade of a tree to wring out the water from her clothes, and then slowly went home.
When Granny Mei saw that Ji Meiqing was soaking wet, she was startled and quickly went to the kitchen to bring out the freshly boiled water and then took it to Ji Meiqing's room.
Fortunately, Lu Yu and the others weren't home, and neither were the red dates; they were probably taken away for training.
Ji Meiqing took a comfortable hot bath and drank ginger soup before her body gradually warmed up.
After changing her clothes, she leisurely moved a chair to the yard and sat down. Ji Meiqing lay on it, reading a book.
When they returned in the evening, Grandma Mei anxiously recounted everything that had happened to Ji Meiqing during the day.