"It's so delicious!" Lu Dahai exclaimed, picking up a piece of food.

Madam Lu served Li Qingshan a bowl of hot and sour fish soup and said, "Of course! I was in the kitchen just now, and Seventh Sister asked me to taste the dishes. I almost wanted to swallow my tongue!"

Lu's speech had a unique charm that made everyone laugh.

Lu Qiqi placed a few pieces of fish into Lu Yao's bowl and said, "Eat carefully. This fish has few bones, but that doesn't mean it has none. Don't eat too fast and get a fish bone stuck in your throat, okay?"

Lu Yao glanced at Xi Bao, who was shoveling rice into her mouth beside her, and thought to herself, 'She can't possibly eat as fast as Xi Bao, can she?'

This was the first time the six Zhou brothers had ever tasted such delicious fish. They used to be able to eat fish even once a year, but now not only could they eat it, Lu Qiqi also promised them that they could just tell her whenever they wanted to eat it and she would make it for them.

As Wednesday chewed on the fish, he felt like he was living in a dream, a dream created for him by Lu Qiqi, a dream he never wanted to wake up from.

...

The next day, Madam Hao arrived as promised. This time, she walked there by herself without being helped by anyone.

Lu Qiqi received fifty taels of silver from the Hao family that morning and started thinking about how to make the money grow.

As soon as Madam Hao entered the door, Lu Qiqi stepped forward to invite her to sit down, saying, "Madam, you look quite well today!"

Her complexion was rosy and healthy, unlike yesterday when her complexion was slightly bluish.

Madam Hao was in a great mood and ate well. She pulled Lu Qiqi to sit down with her and then called out, "Yu Ru."

Lu Qiqi saw Granny Yuru place a small wooden box on the table.

When Madam Hao opened the wooden box, it was full of gold and silver jewelry, including jade bracelets, jasper, and agate.

Lu Qiqi couldn't understand what Old Madam Hao was going to do, so she could only wait and see what the old lady would do next.

Madam Hao pushed the wooden box in front of Lu Qiqi and said, "Take a look and see which one you like, then pick that one."

Lu Qiqi waved her hands repeatedly in refusal, saying that these things were priceless and could not be worth fifty taels of silver.

Lu Qiqi was a little puzzled. It was said that Magistrate Hao was an honest and upright person, but Madam Hao was so generous. She could bring out a whole box of things. It was not something an honest official could do!

Old Madam Hao's eyes crinkled with a cunning smile, making Lu Qiqi feel as if she were a fox.

The old lady said, "I won't give it to you for nothing. I'll only give you one thing at a time, and not every day. As long as you cook delicious food for me every day, it won't matter if I give you this whole box of things. Do you understand?"

When Lu Qiqi learned that Old Madam Hao had such a plan, she chuckled and said, "Old Madam, I'm running a business here. You can come and eat whatever you want. Everything in your trunk is enough to last you for several years. Why bother giving it all to me?"

Madam Hao turned her head to look at Granny Yu, but pointed at Lu Qiqi's nose and scolded, "This girl is actually not greedy for money. She wouldn't even take it if it were given to her for free."

Granny Yu nodded and smiled slightly, "Miss Lu is a person of great insight, unlike ordinary women."

As Lu Qiqi listened to the two old people singing in unison, her tone unconsciously took on a hint of coquettishness, "It's not that I'm not greedy; I want mountains of gold and silver. Otherwise, I wouldn't have wanted to open a shop and become a female shopkeeper."

Seeing Lu Qiqi like this, Madam Hao felt that she was lovable. She said, "Then this time we will send you a few more items to reward you for your courage in taking the exam. It is not easy for a young lady to go out and practice medicine. You are truly a role model for us women."

"I dare not accept such praise."

Lu Qiqi kept saying she didn't dare to accept the honor, but in reality she didn't dare to move. The reason was simple: Old Madam Hao was about to stick gold and silver hairpins into her hair.

Lu Qiqi was terrified that if she moved even slightly, the old lady would slip her hand and take her life.

After being persuaded by Old Madam Hao, Lu Qiqi accepted six pieces of jewelry. Afterwards, she went to make a bowl of sour soup noodles with shredded pork for the old lady.

Before leaving, Lu Qiqi handed a bamboo tube to Granny Yu and said, "This contains sour plum drink. When the old lady has a poor appetite, she can drink a few sips to relieve the greasiness. It is best to finish this jar within two days."

Granny Yu took the bamboo tube and said, "Thank you, Miss Lu."

Lu Qiqi handed over another note, "This is the recipe for sour soup with shredded pork noodles. I'll trouble you to make noodles for the old lady from now on. The old lady isn't actually sick, she's just been inactive for too long. If you let her take a walk from time to time, she won't have bloating."

Granny Yu took the prescription and said, "Miss Lu, you've given me this secret recipe. Aren't you afraid I'll use it to open a shop and compete with you?"

Hearing Granny Yu's teasing words, Lu Qiqi couldn't help but laugh. She said, "I'll be closing down soon, so you certainly won't be able to compete with me if you want to open a shop."

Granny Yu wanted to ask something more, but seeing that Old Madam Hao was almost gone, she didn't bother to ask Lu Qiqi why she had to close the shop. She quickly thanked her and went to catch up with Old Madam Hao.

As Lu Qiqi stepped outside, watching the group of attendants following Old Madam Hao gradually disappear from sight, the choking feeling in her throat finally dissipated.

Lu Qiqi's motives for taking down the medical advertisement were not pure; she wanted to find a powerful patron to rely on.

Therefore, one reason she deliberately led Old Madam Hao to the spicy noodle shop was to encourage her to get some exercise.

Most importantly, she wanted to use Madam Hao's influence to make that shameless scoundrel Zhang Shiqiang back down.

But as Madam Hao put piece after piece of jewelry on Lu Qiqi today, she felt utterly contempt for her own despicable thoughts—that she actually wanted to stand beside Madam Hao and take advantage of her power.

In her previous life, Lu Qiqi was an orphan who was taken in by her master on Mount Emei. After growing up, she was always accompanied by a group of junior brothers and sisters.

Aside from her master teaching her how to conduct herself and sending her down the mountain to school, no elderly person had ever been so kind to her for no apparent reason.

Lu Qiqi completely abandoned her idea of ​​using the soldiers around Madam Hao to scare Zhang Shiqiang away.

She couldn't do such a thing; it would frighten Old Madam Hao.

Lu Qiqi knew she had the ability to save her, but the old lady would also suffer a lot of nerve damage, and she couldn't do such a thing.

As soon as Madam Hao returned to the mansion, Granny Yu handed her the prescription and recounted Lu Qiqi's words verbatim.

Upon hearing this, Madam Hao tore the recipe to shreds without even looking at it, threw it on the table, and said, "Come eat noodles at the same time tomorrow, and remember to bring a few more attendants."

The noodle shop closed for the day, and Lu Qiqi did not return to the veterans' village. She had told Li about it before leaving home.

Li assumed the noodle shop was busy and didn't say much, only telling her to be careful.

Lu Qiqi closed the noodle shop door, climbed onto the crossbeam, turned around and walked to Liu Tong and his two apprentices, saying, "Uncle Liu, I'm going to close the spicy noodle shop."

Liu Tong and his apprentice immediately stopped joking and stared at Lu Qiqi. The noodle shop was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.