"There's an inn!" Zhou's voice was filled with tired joy. "We don't have to sleep outdoors anymore!"

The four entered the inn.

The lobby was empty, with only a dim oil lamp lit, its light barely illuminating the counter.

A thin, middle-aged man with a slightly worn silk shirt and a mustache immediately came out from behind the counter, his face beaming with an exaggerated smile.

"Oh my! Distinguished guests! Please come in, please come in! In this chaotic world, it's fate that you've come to our humble shop!" His voice was high-pitched, and his eyes quickly swept over the four people, especially lingering on Jiang Chan and Xiao Tao for a moment.

"How much does it cost to stay at a hotel?" Chen Yan asked.

"Cheap! Twenty coins per person! Clean bedding!" The shopkeeper rubbed his hands together, beaming. "Food is extra, we have porridge and bread, and the prices are fair!"

Twenty coins per person is not expensive at this time of year.

“We…we can just find a sheltered spot outside and sleep on the floor,” Jiang Chan said immediately, her voice indifferent.

She just wanted to get away from people and didn't want to waste money.

"That won't do!" Chen Yan frowned and looked at Jiang Chan. "It's not safe to be out in the wilderness. Let's stay at an inn. I'll pay for it." He was clearly worried about the two women sleeping outdoors.

“Yes, Miss Jiang,” Zhou also advised, “Stay for the night, so that everyone can look out for each other.”

The innkeeper's eyes fell on Jiang Chan and Xiao Tao, and his smile widened. "Oh! This young man is right! How can we let the women and children suffer in the middle of nowhere? How about this, the four of you stay together, and it'll only cost fifty coins, consider it making friends! How about it?"

“No need!” Jiang Chan refused.

"Hey! Don't be so polite, young lady!" The shopkeeper's smile remained unchanged, but he leaned forward slightly, unintentionally blocking some of the way. "It's not easy being away from home, consider this a small shop doing good deeds! Young man, what do you think? Let the two ladies stay here, it's safe!" He turned to Chen Yan, his tone urging him on.

Chen Yan was taken aback, clearly surprised and somewhat doubtful by this "discount".

He glanced at Jiang Chan's tense profile and cold, wary eyes, then at the kind-looking boss, and remained silent for a moment.

Zhou was somewhat tempted and whispered to Jiang Chan, "Miss Jiang... they meant well... you see..."

Xiao Tao held Jiang Chan's hand tightly.

Jiang Chan looked at Zhou's friendly eyes, then at Xiao Tao's tired and pale face, and then glanced at the boss's enthusiastic face.

She took a deep breath and forcefully suppressed the urge to immediately pull Xiao Tao away.

"Okay, thank you for your kindness, boss. We'll use the kitchen later to make something to eat ourselves."

"Alright, alright! No problem!" The boss's smile widened. "Waiter! Take our distinguished guests upstairs! Rooms number one and two!" he called out to the back room.

A similarly thin young man emerged from behind, head bowed, "Gentlemen... please follow me..."

Jiang Chan pulled Xiao Tao along and followed the waiter upstairs.

Chen Yan helped Zhou Shi follow closely behind.

As Jiang Chan turned the corner of the stairs, she glanced back at the smiling boss in the lobby.

The boss met her gaze, his smile froze for a moment, then he nodded and bowed even more enthusiastically.

...

Jiang Chan followed the young waiter to the kitchen.

The kitchen was quite large, but unusually quiet.

There was a large pot steaming, cooking a thin porridge with almost no visible rice grains.

In the corner were some withered radish greens and wilted wild vegetables; apart from that, there was no other decent food in sight.

The oil jar was empty, and the salt jar was almost empty too. This was no kitchen for a restaurant; it was worse than an ordinary farmhouse!

The young man pointed to another stove and said, "Miss, you can use this one. The firewood is over there in the corner." Then he left.

Jiang Chan deftly started a fire, poured mineral water into the pot, added rice to cook porridge, and when the porridge was almost thick, she put in thinly sliced ​​pork. The boiling porridge instantly cooked the pork slices, and the rich aroma of the meat spread domineeringly, instantly overpowering the thin porridge in the pot next door.

Jiang Chan quickly stirred the meat slices a few times to spread them evenly, then grabbed a handful of the wild vegetables she had prepared earlier and threw them in to cook.

Looking at the bubbling meat porridge in the pot, and then at the empty, lifeless kitchen, Jiang Chan wondered, "Am I being too sensitive?" "Does everyone seem like a bad person to me?"

The shadow of Wengjia Village was so deep that she was almost a frightened bird.

The porridge is ready.

Jiang Chan served four bowls.

She carried two bowls of porridge and knocked on the door of Chen Yan and Zhou's room next door.

"Miss Jiang? Please come in!" When Madam Zhou opened the door and saw the steaming, fragrant meat porridge, her eyes lit up.

Chen Yan also stood up, his gaze falling on the tempting porridge, then looking at Jiang Chan with deep curiosity and a hint of gratitude.

"Thank you, Miss Jiang."

"It's nothing to eat, don't be shy." Jiang Chan handed them the bowls, her tone calm. "Eat it while it's hot."

She didn't explain where the meat and rice came from, turned around and left, closing the door behind her.

I went back to my room.

"Wow! It smells so good!" Xiao Tao couldn't wait any longer. She took the bowl and blew on it to warm it up.

Jiang Chan picked up her bowl and ate slowly.

The aroma of rice mingled with the fragrance of meat, and the warm meal dispelled the body's fatigue.

But she was not at peace.

The space was weighed down by ten thousand catties of rice and ten thousand catties of meat.

Following Chen Yan is too risky.

She could leave... Looking at Xiao Tao, who was sipping her porridge with a satisfied expression, and then glancing at Chen Yan, the "jinx" male lead, in the direction next door... she put down her bowl in frustration.

With a slight thought, the detector landed in the palm of the hand.

The detector silently slipped out of the window crack and disappeared into the night.

This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!