After a rather pointless conversation, Cheng Ruyi left the third-floor room and returned to the second floor. In the end, she still didn't understand why they had called her over.

The dishes at Baizhenlou truly lived up to its name, with a wide variety of delicacies that broadened the horizons of the Cheng family. However, the excessive focus on the rarity of the ingredients and the overly complicated cooking methods made it seem a bit like the main attraction, turning the dinner into more of a lavish food performance.

Perhaps ordinary people like them simply lack sophisticated taste; for them, food is more important in terms of taste than appearance.

However, Cheng Ruyi had originally chosen to eat at Baizhenlou because she wanted to broaden her horizons, and now that she had indeed achieved her goal, and even without spending any money, she left with her family with great joy.

The talented Wen had arranged dinner for them without asking her opinion beforehand. Cheng Ruyi understood that this was nothing to them and that he had no ill intentions; he simply wanted to express his hospitality.

However, as the saying goes, one should not accept rewards without merit.

Although she couldn't refuse the meal, she could express her gratitude by offering to pay for anything sent to the Wen family in the coming months, or by giving them double the amount.

Since you can't change other people's thoughts, you can only change your own actions.

There is no curfew in the city, so the banks of the Luoyang River seem to be more lively at night than during the day. In addition to the shops along the street, there are many temporary stalls with all kinds of snacks and drinks. Cheng Ruyi even had the illusion that she had returned to the modern world and was strolling through a night market.

The Cheng family members had already eaten their fill, but they couldn't help lingering among the various stalls. In the blink of an eye, each of them had several items in their hands and were having a great time.

Suddenly, Cheng Ruyi felt something hug her legs and even felt something wet.

Startled, she immediately looked down and exclaimed, "Good heavens! Where did this round little thing come from?" She thought her youngest daughter and grandson were already quite chubby, but she never expected there to be a baby even chubbier than them!

"Milk~~~ Waaaaaah~~~ Milk~~~ Waaaaah~~~"

The chubby baby looked to be about two or three years old, with two sparse little pigtails and a light pink cotton dress embroidered with adorable rabbit patterns. It was clear that the baby had been pampered and spoiled by her family.

Cheng Ruyi took out a handkerchief and wiped her round, tear-streaked face clean. After weighing her in her hand for a moment, she picked her up and asked gently, "Little one, don't cry. What's your name? Where are your parents?"

Although Qionglin's night market is bustling, it's not a holiday today, so the streets aren't particularly crowded. You can see the end of the street at a glance, so there shouldn't be any chance of getting lost.

The rest of the Cheng family finally noticed this place and gathered around curiously.

"Oh my! This baby is so chubby, so round! And quite cute, look at that face, look at those arms, oh my! So funny!"

Xu Cui's eyes lit up when she saw the chubby baby, and she couldn't help but tease him by touching him, "Little baby, do you want some candied hawthorn? Call me 'Auntie' and I'll give you a bite!"

To everyone's surprise, although the little one's eyes were fixed on the candied hawthorn, she said in a childish voice, "Grandma said I can't... I can't eat it! It's from someone I don't know!"

The little boy's innocent and childlike words successfully made everyone laugh.

"Alright, stop fooling around. Her parents are probably worried sick." After laughing, Cheng Ruyi immediately asked seriously again, "Little one, what's your name? Do you know where your home is? Shall we take you home?"

"Grandma~~ It's me, Xiuxiu! Grandma~~ Don't you recognize me? Grandma~~~ Waaaaah~~~"

Cheng Ruyi couldn't help but frown. So this child had mistaken her for her grandmother? What was she going to do?

Since it was their first time visiting the prefectural city, they had no idea where to start, so they could only ask around in all the nearby shops while holding the doll, but still came up empty-handed.

Everyone stood by the roadside, feeling somewhat distressed.

The area of ​​the prefectural city is several times larger than that of Huai Shan County, so it's impossible for them to search house by house!

Looking at the round, chubby child who was already fast asleep in her arms, clutching the candied hawthorn tightly, Cheng Ruyi suddenly felt at a loss. Should she go to the government office to report to the authorities?

"Xiuxiu!"

"Xiuxiu, where are you~~~"

Just then, a man came from the end of the street, looking flustered and shouting around. Upon closer listening, it seemed that the man was calling out the baby's name.

The Cheng family members exchanged glances and then walked together toward the man.

"Hello, may I ask who you are looking for...?" Before Cheng Ruyi could finish speaking, the middle-aged man rushed over as soon as he saw the little girl and reached out to take the child.

The other party seemed to have some martial arts skills, but in terms of agility, Cheng Ruyi was still superior.

She deftly dodged the man's hands, leaving him looking completely bewildered.

"Brother, let's talk this out. Why are you trying to snatch someone away?"

To be honest, although the other party seemed quite honest and kind, and even knew the doll's name, she still didn't dare to just hand the doll over to him. She felt uneasy until she asked him clearly.

When the middle-aged man saw Cheng Ruyi's large family behind her, including the elderly and children, he realized that he had been somewhat impolite. He scratched his head, his face slightly red, and said apologetically with his head down, "Madam, I'm really sorry. The baby in your arms is my youngest daughter. She's usually very mischievous. Just now, she disappeared in an instant when I wasn't paying attention. I... I was so frightened that I offended her by accident. Please don't mind."

"It's alright. If you're telling the truth, it's normal to be anxious." The Cheng family understood this deeply; the Lantern Festival incident seemed as vivid as if they were still in their minds.

"But this child kept calling me 'Grandma,' so I should take responsibility and help her find her real family. You say she's your youngest daughter, but what proof do you have?"

The middle-aged man was startled by what he heard. He then carefully examined the woman in front of him. He was shocked again when he saw her, and instinctively called out to Cheng Ruyi, "Mother?"

Huh? What the heck!

Cheng Ruyi was so angry that she almost jumped up and hit someone!

Hey buddy, don't you know your age? How can you even bring yourself to call someone "Mom"?!

Perhaps it was because Cheng Ruyi's expression was too obviously angry, or perhaps the middle-aged man finally regained his temper, because he immediately apologized before Cheng Ruyi could speak: "No, no! That's not what I meant. I didn't mean to offend this lady. Oh dear! It's just that... this lady, you look very much like my mother!"

Cheng Ruyi: "..."

Is this a new type of scam in Fucheng? Have you Qionglin gotten this far ahead of the curve?

If Cheng Ruyi hadn't been holding the heavy doll in both hands, she would have definitely freed one hand to hold her forehead at this moment.

She sighed, "It's no use saying any of this. How about this, let's wake up Yuan Gun Gun... no, let's wake up Xiu Xiu and ask her directly to find out the truth."

"No! Xiuxiu is usually the hardest to coax to sleep. Now that she's finally asleep, don't wake her up!"

The middle-aged man quickly waved his hand to refuse, and after thinking for a moment, he said, "How about this, my home is not far from here. It is fate that you all helped me find my daughter. If it is convenient, you can come to my home to take a look, so that you can know if it is true or not."

At first glance, this seemed reasonable, but for some reason, Cheng Ruyi felt that it was very similar to modern scams. However, there was no reason to deceive their whole family.

She hesitated for a moment.

“That works too, Ruyi. Why don’t we go and take a look?” Unexpectedly, Cheng Yan took the initiative to agree.

Although Cheng Ruyi was somewhat puzzled, her father was always quite reliable, so he must have his reasons for saying that.

Since that's the case, then let's go.