The Starfield Farming Sovereign (Elizabeth Schofield) novel Chapter 43

Chapter 43 Exposed

Panic and suspicion spread through the crowd like a plague.

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Finished

The people who had just been thrilled about snagging “premium” potatoes now looked frightened and uneasy. They crowded around Elizabeth’s stall, firing questions at her all at once.

“Ma’am, what’s going on? Are your potatoes safe or not?”

“Refund us. Hurry up and refund us. I don’t dare keep these potatoes.”

“Yeah, refund us. If something happens after we eat them, can you even take responsibility?”

Seeing the chaos, Milo grew even more pleased. He rushed up to Elizabeth and pointed at her face as he shouted, “You crooked seller. My brother ate your potatoes and now he’s vomiting and has diarrhea. His stomach hurts so bad he’s rolling on the ground. You’d better give us an explanation today. Pay up. Ten times compensation. Or we’re not letting this go.”

Derek groaned louder in response, his acting exaggerated.

Facing the sudden slander and the furious customers, Elizabeth showed no trace of panic.

She had expected something like this, though she had not thought it would come so quickly or be handled so clumsily.

She stood up calmly. Her steady gaze swept across the agitated crowd before settling on the supposedly dying Derek. Her voice cut clearly through the noise. “Everyone, please calm down. Since this gentleman claims he got sick after eating my potatoes, of course I will take responsibility.”

Her words quieted the crowd somewhat. People wanted to see how she would handle it.

Elizabeth continued, “Words alone don’t prove anything. To be fair, I suggest we immediately take this gentleman to the best hospital on Centria Planet for a full medical examination. I will cover all the testing costs myself. If the results prove that his condition was caused by eating my potatoes, I will not only pay 10 times the cost of his potatoes as promised, but also cover all of his medical bills and recovery expenses.”

She paused and looked sharply at Milo. “But if the test results show that he is perfectly fine, or that his condition has nothing to do with my potatoes, then this will be considered malicious extortion and damage to my business reputation. I will pursue legal action.”

Her words were reasonable and direct. She did not try to avoid responsibility. Instead, she offered to pay for expensive hospital testing herself. Many of the customers who had been demanding refunds began to calm down. The seller seemed confident.

When Derek heard about going to the hospital for a full examination, panic surged inside him.

He had been faking it. If he went to the hospital, everything would be exposed. He struggled to lift his head and said weakly, “No… No need to make it such a big deal. Tests are painful. I just have a stomachache. Just give us the 10 times compensation. Seven thousand two hundred stellar coins. We’ll go to a clinic ourselves.”

As soon as he said that, several sharp–eyed people noticed the flaw.

1:09 pm P P P

Chapter 43 Exposed

Finished

If someone were truly seriously ill, who would refuse a free top–tier hospital and insist on taking money to visit a small clinic instead?

Elizabeth sneered inwardly but spoke even more firmly. “That won’t do. Health comes first. What if the condition gets worse? We’re going to a top–rated hospital for a full examination. I already said I will cover the cost. Please be witnesses.”

“A full–body exam at a top hospital costs at least 10,000 stellar coins,” someone in the crowd muttered.

“Ten thousand?” Derek almost jumped up. Was this woman crazy?

Two potatoes at 360 stellar coins each meant 720 stellar coins. Ten times that was 7,200. She would rather spend 10,000 stellar coins just to prove her innocence?

For a moment, he was stuck. Under the suspicious stares of the crowd, he had no choice but to go along with Milo. With a few enthusiastic customers pushing them along, they were half–escorted to the nearby Kingdom Central Hospital.

After all, everyone wanted to know whether the potatoes were truly safe.

The farce temporarily moved to a new location.

Most customers chose to wait and see. They stopped buying for the moment, but the demands for refunds quieted down. Everyone waited for the hospital’s results.

The examination went quickly. After Elizabeth prepaid the fees, the hospital opened a fast–track channel.

Precision scans, blood analysis, toxin screening. The full process was completed efficiently, and the results came out soon after.

The attending doctor walked over with the report in hand and addressed the anxious crowd. “The test results are complete. Patient Derek Jenning has stable vital signs. No significant gastrointestinal abnormalities were found. No known toxins or pathogenic microorganisms were detected in his blood or body. In summary, there is no evidence of acute illness caused by food poisoning or contamination.”

The truth was revealed.

The crowd erupted.

“So he was faking it.”

“These two scammers. They almost fooled us.”

“I knew it. We all ate the potatoes and nothing happened.”

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