CH 9

Wen Mingtang, who faced the howling Liu Shi, was taken aback for a moment. Then she asked a table of diners in the corner by the window of the lobby of Zhao Ji Restaurant to look over here.

Even though Liu Yuan rubbed his hands excitedly, he put down the new dish called “Egg Fried Noodles” and looked here.

The aroma that filled the restaurant yesterday had kept him longing all night. He had originally thought that when Lin Shaoqing said, “Try it in a few days,” it would take at least a week or so. But little did he know that Lin Shaoqing was not only efficient in handling cases but also sparing in delaying meals.

Only one day later, during lunch today, Lin Shaoqing came to invite them to dinner.

So, the plate of “egg fried noodles” that he had been thinking about all night was placed in front of them one by one.

However… today’s “egg fried noodles” not only lacked the aroma from yesterday but also appeared as a clumpy mess. It was unappetizing to see the noodles all stuck together in a big lump.

The noodles were sticky and lumpy, the fried onions were burnt black, the green vegetables were not so good, and even the fried eggs inside were black and yellow, which was really hard to swallow.

Reluctantly took a bite, the bitter salt almost made him spit it out.

After eating in various restaurants in Chang’an City for so long, it was the first time for him to eat restaurant dishes that were worse than those prepared by their own chef in Dali Temple.

But it was his own superior, Shangfeng who invited him to dinner. Liu Yuan secretly glanced at Shangfeng who was directly opposite.

The people who looked like exiled immortals in the past were pulled down to the mortal world, and they were frowning and holding chopsticks to shake the dough like them.

Even the “immortal” Shangfeng didn’t put down his chopsticks, which subordinate would dare to waste the food invited by Shangfeng?

He had already been kicked several times on his feet, and he didn’t need to look to know that those kicks came from Bai Zhu and Wei Fu on both sides.

If it weren’t for Liu Yuan’s nonsense, why would they bite the bullet and eat the plate of noodles in front of them?

Before Wen Mingtang came in, a table of people was struggling with the lump of noodles in front of them in pain. Seeing that there was a case, oh no, something happened, it eased their pain for the time being, and they all looked this way at the same time.

Blocked at the entrance of the restaurant was a thirteen or fourteen-year-old girl, standing there, with a pretty and clever look, looking at the proprietress who rushed over and accused her of being a “little thief.” There was no trace of fear on her face; instead, there was a subtle hint of something intriguing.

She looked at the bluffing proprietress with a smile, blinked her eyes, and asked, “Auntie, what are you talking about? I can’t understand it!”

This half-smile look reminded Liu again of the drawing “^-^” on the egg yesterday. This made her even more aggrieved, and immediately sneered, and shouted: “The signature sauerkraut that has made our restaurant famous, is gone!”

It seems that Liu Shi reached out and pinched her arm, squeezed out tears, and cried: “Who in the neighborhood doesn’t know that the sauerkraut in my restaurant is a signature? The shopkeeper of the Dongfeng Building wanted to buy it for a hundred taels of silver. I bought my signature secret recipe and I never sold it! The jar of sauerkraut was always been placed in the kitchen, and I haven’t lost it for more than ten years. It took less than a day for you to come, and my jar of sauerkraut is gone! You didn’t steal it, so could it be me who stole it myself?”

Wen Mingtang wanted to laugh when she heard that, but when she looked at Liu Shi who was howling without tears, she suppressed her laughter and said, “So Ah Auntie wants to say that my hands and feet are not clean and that I stole your sauerkraut worth a hundred taels, right?”

Hearing this sentence, Liu’s howling stopped for a while. At first, I thought that this girl would have to deny something when she encountered such a thing, but she didn’t expect her to cooperate so much. The slanderous words that she had prepared had nowhere to go in an instant, and she was a little panicked.

But this girl had already said what she wanted to say first, Liu had no choice but to stop howling. While secretly looking at her with her mung bean eyes, she said: “You also admit that you stole my one hundred taels worth Sauerkraut! For my sister-in-law’s sake, I don’t care about you, so hurry up and pack it up! I can’t keep anyone with dirty hands and feet here!”

Liu Shi felt that there was nothing wrong with what she said in front of everyone. It not only “demonstrated” her magnanimity, but also “pointed out” the identity of this girl – she was brought by my sister-in-law Zhao Sishan, and she was a person with unclean hands and feet.

In the future, by taking advantage of this mistake, I will ask her to operate well and make the neighbors “feel” that her sister-in-law is also dishonest, coveting this Zhao Ji restaurant. At that time, she and Zhao Dalang will marry Zhao Sishan because she was too old to marry, and no one else can find anything wrong with her.

This was a good idea that she thought of all night! Liu thought proudly: Not only does she want to drive people away, but she also wants to let the driven one go away with dirty water all over her body!

This wishful thinking was not bad! Unexpectedly, the next moment, Wen Mingtang’s voice sounded. “Since it’s sauerkraut worth a hundred taels, how can you not care about it?” The girl said righteously, “Report to the official! You must report to the official!”

Liu Shi, who was deep in thought, suddenly stiffened, his expression filled with disbelief as he looked at the girl standing still in her place.

Was this girl crazy? If you really want to report to the officials, you will be put in prison if you steal something worth a hundred taels. Wasn’t she afraid?

While hesitating, Zhao Lian lifted the curtain and ran out from the back, wiped the sweat from her forehead, and said to Liu Shi: “Mom! I found it! The sauerkraut was under my bed! I remembered that I wanted to eat it in the middle of the night, so I moved it into the house on purpose. It has nothing to do with Sister Wen!”

Zhao Lian looked at Wen Mingtang guiltily as she spoke, and gave her an awkward smile: “I forgot to say, it’s nothing to do with Sister Wen!”

Didn’t she still know who her mother was? How could the sauerkraut be taken by elder sister Wen?

Therefore, seeing Liu’s attack, Zhao Lian hurriedly ran back to her room to search for things, and then, she saw the jar of sauerkraut hidden under the bed, and hurriedly brought out the sauerkraut.

Looking at Zhao Lian who came out to smooth things over, Wen Mingtang couldn’t help but shake her head: Zhao Dalang is useless, Liu Shi is domineering, Zhao Lian is good, but Liu Shi can’t be suppressed! What’s more, Liu Shi is her mother no matter what, so being caught in the middle can only smooth things over.

But…the thing was, this smoothing things over that she was willing to fight, Liu Shi was willing to accept, but some people were not willing.

Liu Yuan dropped his chopsticks and walked near several people. Hearing this, he quickly said, “How can it be considered when something worth a hundred taels of silver was stolen?”

“If you’re planning to report to the authorities,” Liu Yuan said as he unfastened the waist token from his waist and waved it in front of everyone, “I am Liu Yuan, the Deputy Chief of the Dali Temple!”

“Stealing a hundred taels of silver and expecting to walk away unscathed?” Liu Yuan thumped his chest and declared, “I am the first one to disagree with that!”