Chapter 16 The County Magistrate Must Taste the Dishes
Soon, the news that "the county magistrate was smoked by stinky tofu" reached Zhang Cuihua's ears.
Zhang Cuihua also notified Su Xian and Liu Huixiang.
"Mingfu lives in the county government office, which is in the center of the county, several miles away from our 'Corner Tower Street'. How could we alarm him?"
Su Xian was puzzled, so he also leaned against the wall and turned his head to look at Liu Huixiang, whose face was still blushing.
It was just stinky tofu, but I didn't expect the county magistrate would be smoked here. This matter was too big, and the ambiguity just now had been completely dispelled.
The blush on Liu Huixiang's pretty face gradually faded, returning to a skin as white as snow and as tender as thin tofu.
She looked much calmer. She thought for a moment and said, "Don't worry, sir. The governor is wise and will not embarrass us. At worst, we can just not make stinky tofu."
If I don’t make stinky tofu…wouldn’t Su Xian’s plan be ruined?
He frowned slightly and sighed softly, lamenting the difficulty of making a living...
Liu Huixiang suddenly remembered that stinky tofu was very important to Su Xian. All the food, clothing and other expenses for his studies were spent on this stinky tofu.
She opened her rosy little mouth and almost said, "I can support you."
But in the end, I didn’t say it…
At this time, voices such as "Ming Fu" and "Greetings, Ming Fu" were heard from the street outside.
It was getting closer, which meant the county magistrate was about to arrive.
Zhang Cuihua stood guard in front of the stall and immediately saw the county magistrate striding towards her in a round-collared official robe.
Behind him was a large group of clerks, yamen runners, militiamen, etc., Wolala, a huge group of people!
Oops!
When Zhang Cuihua saw this, she felt disappointed.
She subconsciously thought that the county magistrate brought so many people to kill her in order to drive away her young lady.
Liu Huixiang has a bad reputation and is not welcome wherever she goes.
Before settling down in Leshou County, the master and servant had stayed in many places, but were always scolded and driven away.
Those difficult years were deeply engraved in her memory.
She even imagined in her mind the scene of him holding a kitchen knife in both hands and carrying his young lady on his back to fight his way out of the encirclement...
The magistrate came closer.
In addition to the runners and clerks , there were also neighbors who came along, such as Shopkeeper Luo, Uncle Liu, etc.
At the critical moment, Zhang Cuihua suddenly remembered——
Mr. Ming came for the stinky tofu, so the "main culprit" should be Su Xian!
When I thought of this, I couldn't help but blame Su Xian in my heart for messing around with stinky tofu.
Now that's better.
Not only did the stinky tofu fail to bring in good business, it also brought bad luck to the county magistrate.
She just thought that Su Xian was no longer a nerd and had the idea of entrusting the young lady to him...
As she was complaining in her heart, she suddenly saw Su Xian coming over, standing in front of the stall, standing shoulder to shoulder with her.
Zhang Cuihua was stunned and asked, "Why did you come out?"
"Stinky tofu was my idea. This matter was caused by me, so naturally I have to come out and face Mr. Ming." Su Xian was still calm.
“This…” Zhang Cuihua was stunned for a moment, and thought to herself: “Not bad, you are quite responsible… But I still can’t entrust my young lady to you…”
The other side.
Shopkeeper Luo , Uncle Liu and other neighbors followed the county magistrate silently, at a loss as to what to do.
Although they were not optimistic about stinky tofu, they did not want Su Xian to be punished by the Ming government for this matter.
After all, they are neighbors, and Su Xian can be said to have grown up in their eyes.
However, they were just merchants after all, their positions were low and their words had no influence... Suddenly at a certain moment, the two looked at each other and nodded slowly.
Even though they are of humble status, they intend to plead for Su Xian at the right time!
As for whether it will succeed or not, we'll just leave it to fate.
…
Finally, County Magistrate Tang Ju stopped in front of the stinky tofu stall.
His expression was calm.
The county magistrate, chief clerk and others behind him had very stern expressions, some even covering their noses. They almost all thought that the county magistrate was here to cause trouble.
Beside Tang Ju stood a beautiful girl with a white dress and a melon-shaped face. She waved her sleeves to cover her nose and tilted her beautiful eyes, as if she couldn't stand the stench.
"I am Su Xian, your student, and I am honored to meet you, Governor." Su Xian bowed to greet him, neither humble nor arrogant.
"Is that stinky tofu?" Tang Ju nodded and pointed casually.
"yes."
“Why is the smell so unique?”
"Reporting to the Lord, this is the characteristic of stinky tofu. It may smell bad, but it tastes wonderful!"
“…”
The development of the matter was beyond Su Xian's expectations.
Logically speaking, shouldn't the county magistrate, who was intimidated by the stench, have ordered people to seal off the place directly?
Why are you asking so many questions?
Looking at his facial expression, he doesn't seem to have any expression of disgust...wait!
Su Xian's heart moved. Could it be that the county magistrate did not come here to cause trouble?
Just now, everyone on the street was saying that "the county magistrate was attracted by the stinky tofu", which led to preconceived notions...
Not only Su Xian was puzzled, but the clerks, yamen runners, neighbors and others present were all stunned, wondering why the Ming government wasted so much time talking?
"Did you make this stinky tofu?" Tang Ju asked again in a flat tone.
Su Xian calmed himself down and took out "Qimin Yaoshu" again.
Neighbors like Shopkeeper Luo had already heard this rhetoric a long time ago, but it turned out to be nonsense just to scare people.
But I didn't expect that at this time, Su Xian was still using this nonsense to fool Ming Fu!
You are asking for death!
They kept shaking their heads and sighing, all thinking that Tang Ju would not believe it.
“So there is such a connection.”
Tang Ju nodded, "Since it is a delicacy recorded in ancient books, it must have its own unique features. I heard that I can try it for free, right?"
“That’s right!”
Su Xian was overjoyed. The county magistrate really didn't come here to cause trouble!
He was confident that as long as the county magistrate tasted it, he would fall in love with it.
Then, after the county magistrate Jinkou publicized it...
I don’t know what wind brought the county magistrate here.
However, Zhang Cuihua on the side was in a daze and did not move at all.
"Sister Zhang." Su Xian nudged her with his elbow and looked at her blankly. Su Xian smiled and said, "I'll fry one now. Mr. Ming wants to taste it!"
"oh oh!"
Zhang Cuihua reacted immediately, suppressed the ecstasy in her heart, and started frying stinky tofu.
She never expected that Mingfu came here just to try stinky tofu.
Although the county magistrate was only a minor official of the seventh rank, ever since Liu Huixiang was driven out of her home, the two of them, master and servant, had been living on the streets, and a single yamen runner or village head could drive them away at will...
Like today, it is the first time that the county magistrate has come in person and had close contact with the county's parent official.
Zhang Cuihua was so excited that her hands were shaking as she fried the stinky tofu...
She had eaten stinky tofu before, and she knew that as long as the county magistrate tasted it, the situation would be resolved!
Shopkeeper Luo and other neighbors exchanged glances with each other, and took a step back at the same time, their faces solemn.
In their opinion, once the stinky tofu enters Mingfu's mouth, it will be spit out immediately...by then, Su Xian's sin will be great.
Just now, they were thinking about taking the risk to plead for Su Xian, after all, they had been neighbors for more than ten years.
But now, the county magistrate has arrived in person, and not only did Su Xian not take the initiative to remove the stinky tofu stall, he also tempted Ming Fu to try it. He was simply courting death!
Misfortunes sent by heaven can still be forgiven.
You reap what you sow!
They all took a step back, indicating that they would no longer get involved in this matter, and only shook their heads secretly...
