After the Scholar Rejected Me, I Married the Rogue and Got Rich - Chapter 55

He smashed a teacup and paced back and forth in the empty shop, his face so gloomy it seemed to drip water.

“No! We can’t let them get away with this!” He gritted his teeth, and a sinister idea popped into his head—report them for illegal operations!

In his view, the Lin family, a roadside stall from the countryside, certainly wouldn’t know to register with the government and wouldn’t have any city registration certificate!

Thinking this, he could no longer restrain himself. He stuffed a few strings of copper coins into his pocket and, taking advantage of the slow business in the afternoon, sneaked into the yamen.

There are usually minor officials on duty at the side gate of the yamen, who are responsible for handling trivial matters for the people. Yang Laowu found the familiar clerk surnamed Qian, who was dozing off in his chair.

“Secretary Qian! Secretary Qian!” Old Yang lowered his voice, a fawning smile mixed with indignation plastered on his face.

Qian Shuban opened his eyes and saw that it was Yang Laowu. He lazily yawned and said, “It’s Lao Yang. What’s up? What news are you asking about now?”

Yang Laowu looked around, moved closer, and first subtly stuffed the strings of copper coins into the clerk’s loosely clenched hand. Then, with a bitter face, he said in a tone as if he had suffered a great injustice, “Clerk Qian, you must do me justice!”

“Oh? What’s wrong? Someone ate noodles but didn’t pay?” The money clerk weighed the copper coins in his hand, his tone becoming slightly more serious.

“No! It’s that Lin family’s stall over at the dock!” Old Yang began to embellish the story. “They’re absolutely lawless! They set up a shabby stall there, blocking the road, making the place greasy and filthy! Not to mention, who knows if their mutton offal soup and mutton spine dishes are clean? If someone gets sick from eating them, it could be a serious problem!”

Qian Shuban frowned: “There are plenty of stalls at the dock, what they sell is none of your business.”

“The key point is!” Yang Laowu raised his voice slightly, with the “sense of justice” unique to whistleblowers, “I suspect they’ve never even registered with the government! They don’t have city registration certificates! This is illegal operation, Qian Shuban! How are we honest merchants who open shops and pay taxes on time supposed to survive if they do this? Isn’t this disrupting market order? If this continues, who will follow the rules?”

He deliberately emphasized “illegal business operations” and “market disruption” in an attempt to draw the attention of the government.

Upon hearing this, Qian Shuban stroked his chin.

Having accepted the bribe, he naturally had to do the job, and cracking down on unlicensed vendors was indeed within their jurisdiction. “The Lin family’s stall…no permit? Are you sure?”

“Absolutely true!” Old Yang patted his chest to assure him. Although he had never seen the Lin family’s credentials, he instinctively felt that a roadside stall from a farm couldn’t possibly have them. “What rules would a country bumpkin with a run-down stall know? He’s definitely doing it secretly! Clerk Qian, send two officers to investigate. They’ll find out everything! We absolutely cannot tolerate this kind of malpractice!”

Qian Shuban pondered for a moment and decided that this matter was not difficult to handle and that it would be worthwhile to investigate.

If he truly has no license, then the fines will be confiscated, and he can still get a share of the profits; if he has a license, then he won’t suffer any loss.

“Alright, I understand. Tomorrow I’ll have Constable Wang and the others go over and see. If it’s really as you say, we’ll definitely handle it according to the rules.”

Upon hearing this, Yang Laowu was overjoyed and repeatedly bowed, saying, “Thank you so much, Secretary Qian! Thank you so much, Secretary Qian! You are truly a just and upright official! You have rid the people of a scourge!”

He left the yamen with a satisfied expression, as if he could already see the Lin family’s stall being shut down and the Lin family members looking like stray dogs. A sinister and triumphant smile appeared on his face.

Little did he know that his scheme was about to run into an unexpected obstacle.

The following morning, just as the Lin family’s stall was bustling with activity, two constables dressed in black robes walked over with stern faces.

The lead constable tapped on the rim of the Lin family’s soup pot and asked loudly, “Who is the stall owner? Someone reported you for operating without a license here. Come with us!”

The surroundings fell silent instantly. The diners looked over with concern. Yang Laowu hid behind his shop door, secretly watching with a smug smirk on his face.

Wang and Lin felt a sudden tightness in their chests and a sense of panic.

Lin Sang put down the spoon in his hand, walked forward calmly, bowed to the official, and took out a small book carefully wrapped in oiled paper from his pocket. He handed it over with both hands: “Officer, you have worked hard. This is our family’s city registration certificate issued by the yamen. It is stamped with the official seal. Please take a look.”

The official was somewhat surprised. He took the receipt, opened it, and saw that it clearly stated the stall owner’s name, type of business, and location of the stall. At the end, it was stamped with a bright red official seal, and the date was clear, indicating that it was not a forgery.

The official’s expression immediately softened. He handed the receipt back to Lin Sang and his tone became much more polite: “Hmm, the receipt is complete, it’s a legal business. Just be careful to keep the area around the stall clean in the future. It seems they made a mistake.”

Hiding not far away, Yang Laowu could hardly believe his eyes when he saw this! They… they, a run-down operation, actually went to the government office, got official permission, and obtained the necessary permits?!

His plan fell apart instantly, and the smug smile on his face froze, turning deathly pale, as if he had been slapped in the face in public.

The officer clearly understood what was going on. He turned towards Yang’s Noodle Shop, raised his voice, and pointedly admonished, “Operate legally and compete fairly! Don’t try anything crooked or falsely accuse others; you’ll get punished for that!”

Yang Laowu blushed with embarrassment at these words and quickly shrank back, feeling both shocked and angry, as if he could hear the low snickers of the diners around him.

After suffering repeated setbacks, Yang Laowu felt a surge of anger rising to his head, almost burning away his reason.

He could no longer contain himself and rushed to the Lin family’s stall, pointing his finger at Lin Sang’s nose and shouting angrily:

“You Lin family! You’ve got some serious tricks up your sleeve! Is getting a certificate all that matters? Do you think you’re so great? You think you’re so capable by making these fancy pots and pans? I bet you’re deliberately trying to mess with me, Yang Laowu! Stealing my business and cutting off my source of income!”

Lin Sang looked at his face, which was contorted with anger, but her expression remained calm, though her eyes turned cold: “Manager Yang, you can’t say that. In the docks, everyone does business based on their own abilities. You have a shop, and I have my own specialties. It’s up to the customers to choose where they want to eat. We operate legally and make our food with care. How can you say that we’re deliberately making things difficult for you?”

“You…you’re so glib!” Yang Laowu was speechless, and his anger flared even more. Seeing that he couldn’t win the argument, he became emboldened and raised his hand to slap Lin Sang. “I’ll teach you a lesson for your sharp tongue!”

“Sister!” Lin Bai and Lin Song exclaimed in fright.

The surrounding diners were also in an uproar.