In short, she described herself as extremely miserable, and at the same time whe sought help from the crowd, and kowtowed her head a lot, trying to use the pity of public opinion to indirectly put pressure on the shopkeeper.
The man did the same, agreeing with the woman, hoping to muddy the waters by gaining sympathy. There were indeed some people who were easily influenced by others. Seeing them kowtow and kneel and cry miserably, they felt pity for them.
The shopkeeper's words made them shut up decisively.
"If you feel sorry for them, you can help them pay the money. As long as they pay, i will not make things difficult for them."
As soon as the shopkeeper say this, the little sympathy some people had in their hearts instantly disappeared. No one was willing to pay even seven copper coins, let alone seventy-eight taels.
"Boss, we really have no money." The man repeated this sentence again and again, then signaled the woman to continue with a hidden look. Since playing the victim doesn't work, then I'll just throw a tantrum. There's no way I can compensate such a huge amount of money.
After hearing the man's meaning, the woman burst into tears loudly, crying about her miserable life, the old and young in her family, and how the shopkeeper was going to force her whole family to death. She cried and pretended to hit her head against the pillar of the tavern, but was stopped by two soft-hearted women. The crying and the voices of dissuasion made the lobby of the tavern noisy, and the patience of the tavern shopkeeper was completely exhausted.
"That's enough. Throwing a tantrum won't work with me. It's only natural to pay for damaged items. Even if the government comes, you have to pay. If you don't want to pay, just hand it over to the government. I'm sure the county magistrate will see through it."
As soon as the words "send to the authorities" came out, the woman who was about to commit suicide by banging her head against the pillar immediately stopped her suicidal actions, and a trace of fear flashed in her eyes. If the two ladies who were pulling the woman with great effort couldn't tell that she was acting, then they were really stupid.
They immediately let go of they hand, glared at the woman with dissatisfaction, and ignored her immediately.
Because the two ladies let go of her hands, the woman suddenly lost her balance and stumbled to the ground, but she didn't try to commit suicide and looked at the man.
"You should think carefully. There is no point in making a fuss. I am only the shopkeeper of the tavern, not the owner. Not to mention how many years this money can support me, I have no right to pay for it. Even if I do, I cannot pay for it because of someone else's mistake. As I said just now, if you don't pay, I will hand you over to the government and let the government decide."
The shopkeeper bowed to everyone in the hall and said, "I would like to ask you to testify on that the two are the parents of the child."
"Don't worry, Mr. Liu (shopkeeper name). We are willing to provide proof."
"Yes, we all do."
Not all people in the crowd were slow to react. Some of the quick-witted ones had already noticed that something was wrong with this two people.
As soon as Shopkeeper Liu mentioned the two people being sent to the officials, they seemed particularly nervous. Considering that the child had previously denied being their son, it seemed likely that these two were really up to something. Thinking of this, many people remembered to check on the child, only to find that the hall was full of adults and the child was missing.
"In that case, Mr. Liu thanks you all." Shopkeeper Liu bowed again, then looked at the man and woman, "Then let's meet the official."
Obviously he had lost his patience and didn't want to argue with them anymore, so Mr. Liu no longer mentioned the matter of compensation.
Everyone knows their own business. Hearing that Mr. Liu really wanted to send them to the government, the couple became anxious. How could they enter the government? They were afraid that once they entered, they would never be able to get out.
Then he shouted, "We will pay, we will pay in silver."
The woman also nodded quickly, looking even more nervous.
Now even a dull person could see that there was something wrong between this couple.
"Don't you just say don'y have money?" Mr. Liu looked at the couple with contempt.
"Don't worry, boss. Even if we have to sell everything we have, our house and our children, we will be able to collect the money," the man said, gritting his teeth.
Looking at the man, Mr. Liu's eyes darkened and he smiled, "Okay, since you are willing to compensate, then I won't send you to the authorities. We also value peace in doing business. As long as you pay the money, I will let you go immediately."
"We will pay, but we really don't have that much silver on us. The shopkeeper must allow us to go back and raise money."
"Of course. You stay here and let your wife go back and get it." Then he motioned for the two servants to follow her so that they could see where the two lived.
Mr. Liu had already made up his mind that as long as they paid compensation, he would immediately hand the two over to the authorities. As soon as he heard the official, they became extremely flustered. He would never believe that nothing was wrong with them.
As for revenge, Manager Liu is not afraid. To be able to open such a big tavern in North City, he must have some background and connections.
The two had no choice, so the man whispered a few words in the woman's ear, and the woman left the tavern followed by two waiters. It seems like he has forgotten the naughty kid who caused this incident. It's not that they have forgotten, but they have already discovered that the child who tricked them has disappeared long ago, and it is useless to be angry. They could only think angrily that it would be better if they didn't meet this kid again, otherwise... murderous intent flashed in the man's eyes.
A quarter of an hour later, the woman and two waiters appeared in the tavern. She handed the purse to the shopkeeper and said,
"There are ninety taels in it. Is that enough?" The woman looked very unhappy. They had worked in vain for several years.
Shopkeeper Liu didn't say anything. He opened the box and asked the waiter to count the number. He took out the remaining amount and gave it to the diners as compensation. Then he looked at the two of them and said the two words "Enough" calmly.
"That's enough. We can leave now." The man looked at the shopkeeper with an unpleasant expression, a vicious look flashing in his eyes.
"Leave, haha..." Shopkeeper Liu laughed,
"Of course" and then signaled the waiter to catch the two men, "It's just that I will personally send you away."
When asking the two for compensation, he had already offended them. Although Mr. Liu was not afraid, the little devils were difficult to deal with. It would be quite annoying if these two people made some small moves from time to time.
The two people who were tightly held by the waiter were stunned. The man shouted angrily: "What are you doing? Aren't you going to let us go?"
"I did say that, but your actions really make me suspicious?"
"Where are your children?" Shopkeeper Liu suddenly asked.
Hearing this, both of them suddenly felt guilty. How would they know where the dead kid had run off to?
"I now believe that the child is not yours. When I asked about the child, you don't felt guilty and had no worries at all. Which parent would be like this?"
"You admit it, right? And you say you're not blackmailing us. You can see that the child is not ours, so why are you still detaining us and demanding compensation?" the man was angry.
"Why? That's a good question. Let me tell you why. If you hadn't been chasing that kid, how could that kid have come into my tavern? If you hadn't had bad intentions, how could that kid have smashed things up in the tavern to protect himself? In the final analysis, you are the cause. There must be an effect for every cause, and the effect must be caused by the cause. Is it wrong to ask you to pay compensation?"
"The shopkeeper is right, they should be made to compensate. These two people deliberately misled others that they were the boy's parents when they were outside just now. It turns out that what the boy said was true. These two people really deceived the child. Fortunately, the child was smart, otherwise..." Someone in the crowd shouted soberly.
Although the rest of the words were not spoken, everyone understood them. Almost at the same time, their hearts trembled and a sense of guilt came over them. They almost became accomplices.