Lin Jing, who was standing guard by the cargo wagon, was startled by the commotion outside. He carefully poked half his body out, and spotted Lin Wu surrounded by the crowd at a glance, his little face tensing up with fright right away.
His mind went a little blank, but he pushed past his fear immediately. He climbed to the edge of the wagon bed and carefully hopped down to the ground.
The fellow workers around also noticed something amiss and started whispering to each other.
"What's going on?"
"Looks like someone's causing trouble. Brother Zhao led people straight to find Manager Zhang."
"Whoa, who's bold enough to stir up trouble right here at the Jincheng Trading Company?"
"Ouch, isn't that Cook Lin over there?" Auntie Pockmark tugged Zhao Sanniang to push through the crowd, her tone brimming with the excitement of gawking at a spectacle, "Look at this scene, could it be that she did something wrong and is going to get called out by the manager?"
Zhao Sanniang, holding her child's hand, sighed at the words. "That can't be right? Cook Lin is the most rule-abiding person I know. Last time I tried to trade a fine wheat flatbread for one of her baked buns, she wouldn't even agree." As she spoke, she unconsciously squeezed the child's hand so tight that the little one flinched.
Auntie Pockmark huffed. "Maybe she just thought your tiny little favor wasn't worth her time, she's got big ambitions, that one!"
Zhao Sanniang glanced over at Lin Jing, who had climbed down from the cargo wagon and was now pacing around in obvious anxiety. "I don't think Cook Lin is that kind of person. Let's go take a look too, maybe I can step in and say a few good words for her."
Lin Jing was so worried that he kept turning his head back and forth, hesitating for a moment between the belongings stored in the wagon, then darting his gaze back over to the crowded spot where Lin Wu was surrounded.
When he spotted the familiar assistant cook walking over towards the back kitchen carrying things, he could no longer hold back. He trotted over to meet him quickly, his voice trembling a little but he tried his best to sound steady. "Uncle, where's my mom? What happened to her?"
"Ah, it's you, little lass," the assistant cook looked down and saw his small face trying hard to hold back panic, and softened his tone. "Don't be scared, your mom went with Brother Zhao over to Manager Zhang's place to sort out a little thing, she'll be back soon, nothing bad's happening."
"Uncle, can you watch the wagon for me for a little while? I want to go find my mom," Lin Jing asked, tilting his head up.
The assistant cook was amused by his little act of forcing calm, and laughed heartily. "Sure thing, go on then, I'll keep an eye on it for you. Hurry along to find your mom."
With his permission granted, Lin Jing quickly trotted off in the direction of the crowd.
Right after he left, Zhao Sanniang, who happened to be standing next to the cargo wagon, suddenly raised her voice. "Oh you silly child, what tantrum are you throwing now?" She said as she patted the little girl clinging tightly to her thighs, refusing to take another step forward.
"What's wrong?" Auntie Pockmark's eyes were still glued to the crowd not far away, she didn't even turn her head as she asked.
"This child is shy around strangers, she doesn't dare go into the crowd. Look at her, being so useless like this," Zhao Sanniang said, her tone laced with feigned exasperation.
"Those guards are all big and broad-shouldered, it's normal that they scare the kid. You should stop meddling in Cook Lin's business you can't help with, just rest a while," Auntie Pockmark said, not waiting for a reply before pushing her way forward into the crowd on her own.
Zhao Sanniang didn't follow. She squatted down to soothe her child. "It's okay, sweetie, don't be scared, mom's right here."
The mother and daughter's figures faded into the shadow cast by the cargo wagon.
Over there, the bustling crowd had all drifted over to Manager Zhang's carriage. Manager Zhang heard the noise outside, frowned, and lifted the carriage curtain.
"What is it? Did you all eat so much you're crowding over here to walk off your food?" His gaze fell on Xiao Zhao at the front, his tone sharp. "Xiao Zhao, you little rascal, are you starting trouble again?"
"Uncle Zhang, you're wronging me so bad!" Xiao Zhao immediately protested his innocence, stepping aside to reveal Lin Wu and the young couple behind him. "These two insisted on seeing you urgently, they blocked Sister Lin by the stream while she was washing dishes, she couldn't even finish her work in peace. They said Sister Lin's on familiar terms with you and could pull some strings for them."
The crowd surrounded Lin Wu and the couple, dozens of eyes all fixed on them. No one spoke for a moment, the air growing thick and still.
Just then, a small figure squeezed through the gaps between the onlookers, it was Lin Jing. He kept a serious little face, walked straight over to Lin Wu's side, pressed up against her leg, and reached up with his small hand to firmly wrap his fingers around Lin Wu's cool hand.
He didn't say a word. His dark, deep eyes glanced at the flustered young couple, then shifted over to look at Manager Zhang.
Manager Zhang knitted his brows tight, his gaze sweeping over the panicking young husband and wife, then across all the gawking onlookers. His voice sank low. "My Jincheng Trading Company feeds you all well and lets you rest properly so you have the strength to travel, not so you can stir up trouble and fool around! Now, what is all this about?"
Xiao Zhao quickly summed up the whole story in a few short sentences.
When Manager Zhang finished listening, his expression grew even grimmer.
He looked at the couple. "Jincheng Trading Company hires people according to our own set of rules. If you two are looking to apply as embroiderers, you should go to the Jincheng Embroidery Workshop in every city we pass. If you're looking to be a wagon driver, you wait for the caravan to post its public notice and apply properly, following the correct procedures. The caravan is the caravan, the embroidery shops are the embroidery shops, I don't have the authority to handle hiring for the shops."
Then his tone shifted, turning sharply stern. "What's more, when my Jincheng Trading Company takes on new staff, we value good character far more than fine skills. Anyone who spreads baseless rumors, gossips nonsense, and ruins the good order of our caravan, no matter how talented they are, will never be tolerated here."
The couple flinched the moment his eyes landed on them. The husband quickly pulled his wife to bow, his voice trembling. "Sir Manager, please calm down, we're the foolish ones, we were desperate and believed stupid rumors, we never meant to cause trouble for the caravan."
Manager Zhang didn't even look at them anymore. His gaze slowly swept across the entire crowd, his voice loud and clear in the hush that fell over everyone. "Cook Lin came to apply for the job following the public notice the caravan put out. After that, we signed a formal contract, and discussed all the meal arrangement details in front of a third witness. Everything was done openly and above board, there was never any such thing as a 'private, separate discussion'. This kind of rumor not only damages my reputation, it also smears an innocent person's name, and breaks all the rules of our Jincheng Trading Company."
He paused for a moment, then continued. "Spreading malicious rumors and slandering others is punishable by caning under the imperial law."
The moment they heard that, the couple's faces went deathly pale, their legs went weak, and they nearly collapsed onto the ground right then and there. Embroiderer Wang started stammering incoherently. "Sir Manager, please have mercy, we know we were wrong, we truly know we were wrong..."
Manager Zhang stared at them in silence, his gaze heavy as a physical weight pressing down on the two of them, making it nearly impossible for them to breathe.
After a long while, he glanced at Xiao Zhao before speaking again, his tone even more serious. "Today, since it's your first offense, and you were misled by others, I'll let you off without severe punishment. The two of you must publicly apologize to Mrs. Lin, and go clarify the full truth to everyone traveling in the caravan. If anyone ever dares to run their mouth again, making up nonsense stories, don't blame me for following the rules and having you tied up and sent directly to the county magistrate's office up ahead."
The couple felt as if they had been granted a huge pardon, bowing over and over again. "Thank you sir for your mercy! Thank you sir for your mercy!"
Then they hurriedly turned to Lin Wu, bowing deeply together, their voices shaking. "Mrs. Lin, we are so sorry, truly sorry. We were too foolish to tell right from wrong, we listened to lies and ruined your good name... We'll go tell every single person in the caravan the full truth right now, we won't say a single false word ever again."
Lin Wu looked at them, raised her sleeve to wipe her reddened eyes, and said in a slightly choked voice, "I do hope the two of you will be more careful from now on, and never believe groundless rumors so easily. It's already hard enough for me to scrape by with my child, and our days are tough as it is. I simply can't afford to be dragged through the mud by such baseless gossip."
Her words were earnest and brimming with bitterness. The little child clung tightly to her hand, the mother and child standing close and quiet, their figures looking exceptionally thin and fragile in the twilight. No one who laid eyes on the sight could help but feel a surge of sympathy.
The couple was even more overwhelmed with shame. "We—we were foolish. We will never do this again!"
"Since this was all a misunderstanding, it's well and truly settled now," Lin Wu said softly, though her voice carried clear signs of exhaustion.
"Thank you so much for being so forgiving, Mrs. Lin!"
After the couple finished their apology, they were hunching their shoulders and about to slip back out of the crowd. Everyone assumed the ruckus was finally over, and small groups of bystanders were getting ready to head home.
But then, Xiao Zhao's sharp gaze swept across the crowd, and he barked sharply, "Who was it that fed you that nonsense? If whoever spread the rumors is from our Jincheng Trading House, step forward and own up to it now!"
The moment his words rang out, everyone froze in their tracks, exchanged confused glances, and then turned their eyes back to the couple. The husband, who had just started to relax, felt his heart leap back up into his throat, and beads of sweat began to trickle down his temple.
