Chapter 150: Forgive and Forget

Xu Mo frowned and looked at the mother and son for a good while before finally speaking, "I can choose not to report this to the authorities, but you must leave the village and never return!"

Upon hearing this, Shen Hao's mother nodded forcefully and without hesitation, "Okay, okay! Master Xu, rest assured, we will leave, we will leave immediately, and we will never return to the village."

Shen Hao was also nodding vigorously.

Xu Mo continued, "Also, go straight to the village chief and explain the whole matter clearly... Mutou, take the trouble to go with them and see the village chief."

"Understood, master," Qin Mutou replied.

Right after that, Xu Mo waved his hand and said, "You may leave now; I still need to eat my breakfast."

The moment the words fell, Shen Hao's mother pulled her son up, and the two expressed their utmost gratitude before leaving.

Qin Mutou had not finished his breakfast yet, so he quickly drained the porridge in his bowl, grabbed two steamed buns, and ran out after them.

As soon as the three of them left, Xu Hui asked with a puzzled look, "Cousin, are you just going to let them off like this?"

Xu Mo returned to the table, sat down again, picked up his bowl and chopsticks, and said, "Otherwise what? They are a lonely mother and son; should I really force them to a dead end?"

Xu Hui pouted and said unconvinced, "But letting them off just like this is letting them off too easily!"

Xu Mo sighed softly and said, "Huihui, her son is not a vicious and heinous person; he was just momentarily confused and misled by Li Sanshui into doing the wrong thing. We should be forgiving where we can and spare people when possible. There is no need to be so ruthless."

Chen Miaoyi also agreed with Xu Mo's view and immediately nodded, "That's right, Huihui. The one who truly deserves to die is that Li Sanshui. If it were him, my husband would definitely not show any mercy."

As she spoke, Chen Miaoyi looked over at Xu Mo.

Xu Mo nodded and continued eating his breakfast.

At this time, Chen Miaoyi added, "Besides, my husband hadn't even planned to investigate this matter in the first place. If Shen Hao's mother hadn't dragged her son over to confess his wrongdoing, who knows how long it would have taken us to discover the truth?"

Xu Hui thought about it carefully and realized it was true. If Shen Hao and his mother had kept hiding it, and Li Sanshui had never shown up, no one would ever have known the truth.

"Fine, fine. Since both of you say so, I'll let this mother and son go," Xu Hui said.

About the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Qin Mutou returned.

Qin Mutou told the three of them that the village chief was extremely angry upon learning about the matter. Not only did he scold the mother and son severely, but he also almost started hitting them, though fortunately, the village chief's wife stopped him.

As for Xu Mo's decision to merely banish them from the village and forbid them from returning, the village chief felt that the punishment was far too light.

The village chief's attitude was very resolute: they could leave, but Shen Hao himself must be paraded through the village so that everyone in the village would know what he had done; otherwise, the mother and son could forget about stepping out of the village.

Xu Mo understood the village chief's actions because Shen Hao had originally been among the first batch of workshop workers recommended by the village chief, who had trusted him immensely.

Yet now, Shen Hao had leaked the formula, which was a severe slap to the old village chief's face.

After a little while, the sound of gongs drifted over from the open space in the center of the village, as if something had happened.

Hearing this, Xu Hui immediately grabbed Chen Miaoyi and went to see the commotion.

Before long, the two of them returned.

Xu Hui told Xu Mo that the village chief and others were dragging Shen Hao around to parade him through the village.

Upon learning what Shen Hao and Li Sanshui had done, many villagers were filled with righteous indignation. Not only did they hurl fierce curses at him, but some even threw rotten eggs at him.

Shen Hao's mother followed closely beside them, continuously apologizing and pleading for mercy, but it was completely useless.

Chen Miaoyi said, "Husband, since we drove Shen Hao and his mother out of the village, how will they make a living from now on? And with so many refugees outside right now, might they encounter danger?"

Xu Hui immediately retorted, "Sister-in-law, your heart is far too soft. This is entirely his own fault! If he hadn't listened to Li Sanshui in the first place, none of this would have happened."

"Besides, cousin has already been merciful enough to their mother and son. If it were me, I wouldn't be nearly so easy to talk to!" Xu Hui said.

At this moment, Xu Mo also spoke up, "Miaoyi, one cannot simply be blindly soft-hearted. He made a mistake of his own accord, and he must take responsibility for it himself. No one can help him!"

Chen Miaoyi certainly understood this principle, but she simply could not bear to watch others suffer and look pitiful.

Subsequently, Chen Miaoyi shook her head with a sigh and said no more.

------------------------

In Heyang County, an estate named "Pearl Workshop" located just outside the city.

This was the property of Jiang Zhaoming's family.

After obtaining the soap formula, Jiang Zhaoming immediately converted this place into a soap workshop and named it the Pearl Workshop, which corresponded directly to Pearl Brand soap.

As soon as it opened, Jiang Zhaoming hired nearly a hundred workers, stepped up soap production, and quickly sold the products to the surrounding counties.

At first, Jiang Zhaoming's Pearl Brand soap sold quite well because his prices were lower, and its cleaning efficacy was the same as Peony Brand, giving it decent market competitiveness.

However, such days did not last long.

After the Fragrant Skin Specialty Store launched its value-packed gift sets, the sales volume of Pearl Brand soap experienced a steep decline.

At present, a large quantity of soap had already accumulated in the warehouse of Jiang Zhaoming's workshop.

At this very moment, Jiang Zhaoming was reading account books in the room, which detailed the sales figures across various counties over the recent period.

Looking at the sales figures that dropped lower day by day, Jiang Zhaoming's brows were already furrowed deeply.

Finally, Jiang Zhaoming could not bear to look any further. With a sharp "thud," he slammed the account book shut, raised his head, and shouted outside, "Someone come here! Go and summon Manager Li!"

Before long, a middle-aged man walked in and asked, "Master, did you call for me?"

Jiang Zhaoming lifted the account book, shook it, and asked with a dark face, "Manager Li, why are the sales figures getting lower day by day during this period? Give me an explanation!"

Manager Li said helplessly, "Master, you haven't come over recently, so you don't know. Peony Brand is now locking horns with us. No matter what price our Pearl Brand soap sells for, they will always price theirs one hundred wen cheaper!"

"What?"

Jiang Zhaoming truly was unaware of this matter. Despite being the master, he rarely visited the workshop, and daily affairs were all handled by Manager Li—he was a completely hands-off master.

In Jiang Zhaoming's understanding, doing business was an extremely simple matter; he believed that as long as his goods were cheaper than other people's, they would naturally be more popular.

Furthermore, he naively thought that it would not be long before he could replace Peony Brand and become the largest and best soap merchant!

Manager Li continued, "And Master, the value-packed gift set they launched has become overwhelmingly popular. Nowadays, many people are much more willing to buy their products."

Jiang Zhaoming shouted questioningly, "Do you have any brains? Since they can launch some sort of gift set, can't we launch one too?"

"We did launch one, Master! Our gift set is identical to theirs, and our price is even one guan cheaper, but we still can't outsell them," Manager Li said with a bitter expression.

"Why? Could it be that our Pearl Brand soap is inferior to their Peony Brand?" Jiang Zhaoming did not understand.

Manager Li sighed helplessly, "Master, the soap is certainly not inferior; the inferiority lies in the scented soap!"

Seven days ago, the scented soap from Pearl Workshop had hit the market, but the market feedback was rather mediocre.

"What is wrong with the scented soap? Where is it inferior?" Jiang Zhaoming asked in surprise.

Gritting his teeth, Manager Li spoke the truth, "Master, many customers reported after using it that the fragrance of our scented soap is far too strong and cloying, and the scent does not linger pleasantly at all. It simply cannot compare to Peony Brand..."

Jiang Zhaoming flew into a sudden rage, raised his hand, and hurled the account book right at Manager Li, shouting, "Nonsense!"