The following evening, Wen Cen arrived, looking travel-worn.
“Brother-in-law, you’ve just returned?” Qi Zhenzhen invited him into the shop and served him a bowl of hot tea.
Wen Cen accepted without ceremony, drank it down in one gulp, and nodded. “Just returned. After hearing about your situation from Li Jiang, I rushed over. Er Niu beat Li Shan, and it’s not like he needs to go to jail for that. They’re using Bai Xuelian’s pregnancy to make a fuss, claiming your noodle shop is run with malice, using unsanitary ingredients. Now there are even rumors that you use meat from diseased pigs. Zhenzhen, has your noodle shop offended anyone?”
Diseased pig meat, they were truly ruthless.
With such a rumor, regardless of whether anyone actually fell ill, this alone was enough to turn people away from Mianmian Ju Dao.
Qi Zhenzhen recounted Zhang Xiaoniu’s shadowing, saying, “But I don’t recall offending Fu Man Lou anywhere. They are a grand restaurant, and we are just a small noodle shop, miles apart. I truly cannot understand. Furthermore, it was Li Shan who reported Brother Zhang Er to the yamen. Could it be that he’s colluding with Fu Man Lou?”
Wen Cen nodded. “It’s not impossible. How about this, I’ll have someone keep an eye on Li Shan and that Bai Xuelian to see if anything turns up. As for Zhang Er Niu, don’t worry. This isn’t a major offense, and the jailers won’t torture him. He’ll have to endure some hardship with food and drink, as prison food is just that.”
“Thank you for your trouble, brother-in-law.”
“Hey, why say that? You’ve been a great help to our family. Besides, I’m not bending the law to help you, just trying to figure out what happened as quickly as possible,” Wen Cen chuckled.
After Wen Cen left, Qi Zhenzhen breathed a sigh of relief. Zhang Er Niu was now confirmed to be alright. All they had to do was wait for Li Shan or Fu Man Lou to make their next move. As long as they had an agenda, clues could be followed.
Qi Zhenzhen comforted Lin Ruixue, blew out the lamp, and prepared to rest.
As soon as she closed her eyes, there was a frantic knocking at the door.
Lin Ruixue got up and lit a lamp. Qi Zhenzhen put on her clothes and came out. Zhang Xiaoniu had already opened the door and let people in.
It was Da Jiang and Xiao He.
Both were dressed thinly, their faces blue and purple from the cold, their speech trembling.
Qi Zhenzhen hurried to the kitchen, filled two hand warmers for them, and boiled ginger soup for them to drink. It took a while for them to recover.
“In this cold weather, why aren’t you wearing cotton clothes? Didn’t I get you both cotton clothes last time?”
Da Jiang chuckled. “If we were dressed neatly, we’d stand out too much. Wearing thin, ragged clothes makes us look like little beggars in others’ eyes. Who would pay attention to what beggars are doing?”
Qi Zhenzhen was touched. “Are you still hungry?”
Da Jiang and Xiao He’s stomachs rumbled in perfect agreement.
Qi Zhenzhen turned back to the kitchen. The white flour flatbreads were ready. The griddle just needed a bit of fire to heat up. Placing them on top and heating them was all it took.
The old braising pot had been simmering since it was opened. The braised meat inside was still warm. In less than fifteen minutes, Qi Zhenzhen had made eight Rou Jia Mo. In addition, she heated two bowls of bone broth.
“Eat first, and talk after you’ve eaten,” Qi Zhenzhen said, bringing the food to them.
Da Jiang waved his hand. “Miss Qi, let’s talk first before we eat. We’ve been watching those two. During the day, a doctor entered and exited the inn; it was that man who brought him out. We didn’t see them come out. At night, there were hardly any people on the street. That man came out of the inn, and we followed him from a distance. He went to Fu Man Lou. He stayed for about half an hour before coming out, and then returned to the inn.”
The people who had incited the crowd were clearly from Fu Man Lou. Li Shan leaving Bai Xuelian at the inn late at night to go to Fu Man Lou… it couldn’t have been just for a meal, could it?
She just didn’t know how Li Shan and Fu Man Lou had gotten involved. Li Shan’s motive was likely money, but what about Fu Man Lou? Qi Zhenzhen had a guess, but she wasn’t entirely sure. This matter was still on the surface; only when Li Shan and the others revealed their intentions would things become clear.
“Thank you for your hard work. Eat quickly. After you’ve eaten, don’t go back. Xiaoniu, tidy up a room for them. There’s hot water in the water vat in the kitchen. Soak your feet before sleeping.” Qi Zhenzhen said.
Da Jiang and Xiao He nodded and thanked Qi Zhenzhen.
After giving instructions, Qi Zhenzhen returned to her room.
“Brother Xiaoniu, you don’t need to tidy up for us. We can do it ourselves,” Da Jiang said with a smile.
Zhang Xiaoniu stopped. “Your Uncle Er Niu is my second brother, so you should call me Uncle Xiaoniu, understand?”
Da Jiang and Xiao He nodded blankly. “Uncle Xiaoniu.”
Zhang Xiaoniu nodded with a stern face. “The bedding is in the cabinet by the kang in the room. Make it up yourselves.”
Xiao He soaked his feet first, while Da Jiang dusted off his clothes and climbed onto the kang to arrange the bedding.
“Brother, soaking my feet in this hot water is so comfortable. It would be great if we could do this every day,” Xiao He said with a satisfied expression.
“Look at you, what ambition! What, only soaking your feet is comfortable? Isn’t sleeping in a room with heated floors comfortable? Aren’t the brand-new, warm, and soft quilts comfortable? Just wait, we’ll be enjoying all of this soon,” Da Jiang said.
“Don’t try to fool me. How can we two little beggars enjoy these things?” Xiao He pouted. “Today, we just helped Miss Qi with her business, so she’s letting us stay the night.”
“So, we have to strive to help her with her business in the future. That way, all the things I mentioned will be within reach,” Da Jiang said, having finished arranging the bedding and sitting on the edge of the kang.
“Brother, do you mean we should stay at the restaurant from now on?” Xiao He asked.
Da Jiang shook his head. “No, it’s about following Miss Qi and doing things for her. You know this restaurant; Miss Qi isn’t always here. By staying by her side, there will be more opportunities to do things. I just feel that she’s quite extraordinary. Following her, at least we won’t be beggars anymore, and we’ll have enough to eat, drink, and wear. Isn’t that great?”
“But will Miss Qi want us?” Xiao He hesitated.
“If we try hard, she probably will,” Da Jiang said, patting Xiao He on the shoulder.
Xiao He nodded. In any case, wherever Da Jiang went, he would follow, and whatever Da Jiang did, he would do.
The next morning, Da Jiang and Xiao He woke up quite early. After folding the bedding, they began chopping firewood in the shed.
When Qi Zhenzhen and the others woke up, the two had already chopped a pile of wood.
“Take a break, wipe off the sweat, and then we’ll eat,” Qi Zhenzhen said with a smile. “After eating, continue watching those two.”
Da Jiang and Xiao He nodded. “Okay.”
Aunt Lu, Yingzi, and Zhao Fenglin went to set up their stalls and wouldn’t return until the tenth hour. Including Grandpa Lu’s meal in the house, they only needed to prepare meals for six people. Qi Zhenzhen and Lin Ruixue busied themselves in the kitchen for a while, and then it was time to eat.