By the time we got back to the food stall, it was completely dark.

In order to earn more money, the food stalls not only operated during the day but also ran a business at night.

There is no curfew in Pingnan City, and quite a few people come out to stroll around the market at night.

To ensure the freshness of the ingredients, the food stall sells its food at 70% of the original price after sunset every day. Some people who want to get a bargain will come back after dark.

Therefore, business is particularly good after dark.

"Ninth Aunt, how's business today?" Sun Miao'er walked into the kitchen. Ninth Aunt was introduced by Mei Niang. She became a widow two years ago and has no children. Because she is hardworking and can endure hardship, she is currently in charge of all the food preparation in the kitchen of the food shop.

Aunt Jiu was still busy with her work, but she glanced outside and said, "Look, the shopkeeper can tell by how many people are queuing outside."

Sun Miao'er glanced around and estimated there were about fifty or sixty people left.

She was very satisfied with the result. According to this calculation, another branch could be opened soon. "Ninth Aunt, let the sisters in the shop suffer a little today. Tomorrow morning I will take eighty prepared meals to the outskirts of the city."

"What are you going outside the city for?" Aunt Jiu asked, puzzled. The shop was already too busy to handle the business. Could it be that the shopkeeper wanted to expand the business to the outside world so soon?

Sun Miao'er sighed, her tone slightly heavy, "To provide relief to refugees."

"What? There are refugees outside Pingnan City too?" Aunt Jiu's hand trembled, and she immediately became nervous. "Oh dear, does that mean we can't leave the city for a while?"

People like them who live in villages outside the city usually have to travel back and forth between the village and the city every day. But once there are refugees outside the city, it is not so easy to leave the city. There are strict regulations on the time and number of times the city gates are opened each day. People in the city who want to leave must write an application and get permission from the government.

Sun Miao'er made a shushing gesture, "Shh, Ninth Aunt, don't spread this around yet."

After all, there are quite a few villagers working in the city. With the Lunar New Year approaching, if news of the refugees leaks out, many people will probably rush back before the city is locked down.

“Magistrate Zhang is also thinking of a solution,” Sun Miao’er reassured. “Tomorrow, we’ll have some government officials go with me to help the refugees, to find out the situation first, and then see if we should let them into the city.”

Aunt Jiu nodded with some relief. "Alright, shopkeeper, I trust you. But I've heard those refugees are quite barbaric. Be very careful when you go to contact them."

"kindness."

The oil lamp in the food stall stayed lit all night, and by the time dawn broke the next day, they had finally finished preparing all eighty meals. Sun Miao'er was supervising the work in the shop, and she also had two dark circles under her eyes in the morning.

Before Chenshi arrived, Shan Qiuchen and his men met them at the back door of the restaurant. Because Sun Miao'er was a woman, they specially lent out Lord Zhang's private carriage, and the oxcart following behind was used to haul goods.

There were some quilts, cotton clothes, and dry food on top, plus Sun Miao'er's eighty meals.

"Officer Shan, it's cold outside. Why don't we ride in the carriage together?" Sun Miao'er said, winking at Shan Qiu as she sat in the carriage, as if afraid he wouldn't understand her meaning.

Fortunately, this time her signal was clear enough that Shan Qiu understood immediately and jumped into the carriage.

After he came in, Sun Miao'er said, "Let the oxcart go out of the city first. The canal is under construction ahead and it's difficult to travel. The horse-drawn carriage will have to go around through Yan Hui Lane."

"Road construction?" Shan Qiu was about to ask why he didn't know about the road construction ahead, but then he quickly realized what was going on and nodded.

As the carriage passed through Yan Hui Lane, the sky was filled with the colorful light of the morning glow, and the wind lifted the curtain, letting in dazzling light.

Yan Hui Lane is the alley behind Du Huan Lou.

As the carriage entered the alley, Sun Miao'er said to Shan Qiu, "Officer Shan, come down and take a look."

Danqiu alighted from the carriage; this meeting was indeed quite difficult.

He looked up, but unfortunately the window was tightly closed.

Sun Miao'er didn't hear any noise outside for a while, so she lifted the carriage curtain and peeked out. Dongli smiled and said, "He broke his promise."

When Shan Qiu didn't see the person he wanted to see, a sense of desolation welled up in his heart. He had never experienced such a desolation before. It was not like the resentment he felt when he was demoted to Yingzhou with his superior, nor the frustration he felt when he racked his brains to investigate a case but to no avail.

This feeling of desolation was so bittersweet that it made him feel uneasy and guilty.

"Alright, Manager Sun, let's go." Shan Qiu sighed almost imperceptibly, then continued walking forward.

The carriage moved forward a few steps when suddenly a man ran out. The coachman cursed, "Where did this brat come from? This is an official carriage!"

The man fell to the ground, frantically raising his head, nearly getting trampled by a horse's hoof.

"Officer Shan!" Dongli smiled and patted her chest. She had gone to great lengths to sneak out, how could just one meeting be enough?

This rare opportunity came from Shan Qiu himself; he wanted to see her, so let him see her as much as he wanted!

Danqiu suddenly came to his senses and saw the horse's hooves on the ground, which were almost within reach. Without even having time to think, he leaped forward and pulled the person on the ground into his arms.

"Xiaoxiao, Miss Xiaoxiao..."

Only after holding the girl in his arms did he recover, and his speech became incoherent.

Dongli Xiaoxiao somehow got hold of servant's clothes and disguised herself as a man before running out, since her face was too conspicuous and it was hard to hide her identity anywhere.

Unless she dressed up as plainly as possible, and even more plainly, she had to smear incense ash on her face to barely conceal her original beauty in order to avoid being noticed.

But his features are truly outstanding, especially his pair of clear, innocent, doe-like eyes.

"Come in quickly!" Sun Miao'er was relieved to see Dongli smiling and gestured for Shan Qiu not to stand there dumbfounded.

Dongli Xiaoxiao got into the carriage, and Sun Miao'er took out a handkerchief from her pocket and gave it to her. "Xiaoxiao, wipe your face. This ash is worse than not wiping it at all!"

He poured some water from the sheepskin pot and rubbed it on his face for a long time before finally cleaning off the incense ash.

Indeed, even when dressed as a man, he doesn't appear low-key.

Fortunately, he was wearing a servant's clothes, which provided some cover-up.

"Xiaoxiao, you ran out, are you really alright? What if Manager Hu finds out?" Sun Miao'er asked cautiously, after all, she had witnessed firsthand how much Hu Tingzhi doted on his sister.

If Hu Tingzhi knew that he was the one who instigated his sister to run away, even if it was for the sake of his master, he certainly wouldn't let him off easily.

Dongli smiled and shrugged, pretending to be relaxed. "It's nothing. My brother has been very busy lately and is rarely in the building, so he can't control me."

Indeed, 300,000 taels of silver a month is certainly not enough to keep him busy. Furthermore, with the war approaching and his mentors having returned to Kezhou, Hu Tingzhi, as the Prince of Wei's reserve treasury, is unlikely to have an easy time either.