Liu Tong was the first to react, and the smile on his face gradually faded. He said, "Seventh girl, you're not joking, are you? You can't joke like that."

Lu Qiqi shook her head and told Liu Tong and his apprentice what Zhang Shiqiang had done that day. She couldn't wait until Zhang Shiqiang came knocking on their door and then keep it from Liu Tong and his apprentice. That wouldn't be protecting them, but rather pushing them into a dangerous situation without them even realizing it.

Zhu Zi clenched his fists, his face grim, and said indignantly, "Is there no law at all?"

Lu Qiqi didn't reply. In her opinion, the law was set by the emperor. This Luzhou Prefecture was thousands of miles away from the emperor's capital, so it was still up to these powerful people to decide. In their territory, they were the law.

These principles didn't need to be explained by Lu Qiqi; Liu Tong and his disciples understood them perfectly well. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been deterred from their plan to seek refuge with their relatives by the fifty taels of silver.

Lu Qiqi pursed her lips and remained silent. Dunzi grew anxious and asked, "Is there any way to keep the noodle shop open while also fighting off those thugs?"

"Dunzi!" Liu Tong called out softly.

Liu Tong noticed that Lu Qiqi's expression was also not good. She had known about the situation earlier than the men, but she hadn't said a word and forced a smile, not letting him notice anything unusual. Did he really expect a little girl like Lu Qiqi to come up with a solution?

Liu Tong glared at Dunzi, who immediately realized he had said the wrong thing and shrank back a step.

Liu Tong forced a smile and comforted Lu Qiqi, saying, "If it's closed, it's closed. It's good that we go back to the old soldiers' village to farm. That way, we can still enjoy Qiqi's cooking every day. I'm also craving your spicy and sour fish."

Lu Qiqi knew perfectly well how reluctant Liu Tong was to part with the noodle shop, but she had no other options. She would just have to wait and see how she dealt with Zhang Shiqiang when he came to visit tomorrow.

There are three rooms upstairs. One room is for Liu Tong, one room is for Zhu and Dun, and the remaining room, the largest one, is left by Liu Tong for Lu Qiqi, so that she will have a place to rest if she can't make it back to the veterans' village on a rainy day.

Tonight is destined to be a sleepless night; three rooms, four people, and not one of them will get a good night's sleep.

...

The next day, just past noon, Zhang Shiqiang arrived at the noodle shop with his men.

When the customers queuing up and eating noodles saw Zhang Shiqiang's men standing menacingly at the door with long wooden sticks in their hands, they threw down their chopsticks and ran outside.

Seeing that all the noodle customers had left, Zhang Shiqiang turned around and walked towards Lu Qiqi's cashier.

Liu Tong and his apprentice were prepared. They went to the table and grabbed a kitchen knife, a rolling pin, and bricks, ready to smash Zhang Shiqiang's head open if he dared to make a move.

Lu Qiqi stood up and coldly watched Zhang Shiqiang walk towards her step by step.

Zhang Shiqiang licked his cheek with his tongue and grinned roguishly, "So, have you thought it over? Are you going to come with me, or hand over the formula and get out of Qingshui Town!"

Lu Qiqi strode out from behind the cashier, swallowing her words of advice, and said sternly, "I'm not choosing any of these! I'm going to keep this shop open, and you can forget about the recipe. If you're so capable, try taking it from me!"

Zhang Shiqiang's face instantly turned ashen. He had never seen a woman like Lu Qiqi, who, despite being confronted with a stick, was completely unfazed and cursed, "You filthy bitch, you won't listen to reason, so beat her up!"

Seeing that the situation was not good, Liu Tong and his apprentice immediately grabbed their tools and rushed out from behind the table.

As soon as Zhang Shiqiang finished speaking, his entourage raised their sticks and struck Lu Qiqi fiercely.

"Let's see who dares!" A powerful voice rang out from behind.

Immediately afterwards, a group of blue-clad guards carrying swords rushed in.

Zhang Shiqiang's men were stunned by the sudden turn of events.

An elderly woman in fine clothes was being helped into the noodle shop by a white-haired old nanny.

Lu Qiqi frowned as she recognized the person who had arrived, and bypassed Zhang Shiqiang and the others to greet Old Madam Hao.

Lu Qiqi supported Old Madam Hao's other free hand and said, "Old Madam, didn't I give Granny Yu the recipe for sour soup pork? Why did you come in person again?"

If something were to happen to Madam Hao in her shop, not only would she be unable to deal with Zhang Shiqiang, but Magistrate Hao would also have to send her to jail.

Madam Hao's smiling face changed from the previous two days, and she had a stern expression. Lu Qiqi was a little scared. In her previous life, whenever her master looked like this, she would suffer a lot. She was either punished by copying calligraphy or by being forced to do horse stance.

As Madam Hao entered the noodle shop, her sharp gaze fixed on Zhang Shiqiang, she asked, "Do you know who I am?"

Zhang Shiqiang had no idea who this old woman was. If you asked him which girl in the brothel had the most flexible waist and the biggest breasts, he could probably tell you a thing or two.

Seeing so many blue-clad servants carrying knives, Zhang Shiqiang felt a little uneasy. In this town of Qingshui, he had never heard of an old lady carrying a knife when she went out.

“Young master, this old lady seems to be Magistrate Hao’s mother. I’ve seen the tallest servant behind her before, when she was with Magistrate Hao.” Zhang San leaned forward and whispered in Zhang Shiqiang’s ear.

Zhang Shiqiang stared at Zhang San in astonishment and whispered, "Authentic?"

"Absolutely true, I wouldn't dare lie!" Zhang San was also sweating profusely. If they offended Magistrate Hao, his young lady would only be a concubine in Magistrate Zhu's mansion. No matter how lustful Magistrate Zhu was, he would never stand up for his young master. In that case, it would be them, these little minions, who would suffer the consequences.

Zhang Shiqiang gritted his teeth. He had no idea that Lu Qiqi, this little bean sprout, actually had Magistrate Hao's mother backing her up. No wonder she dared to disregard him.

Seeing Zhang Shiqiang's face turn from green to red, then from red to purple, looking extremely unpleasant, Granny Yu guessed that this young man already knew the old lady's identity. She said firmly, "This is the old lady's goddaughter. If you dare to come here to cause trouble again, you should first consider how much you can handle! Can your family withstand such trouble!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Shiqiang's face turned as black as coal just dug out of a cellar, and he said angrily, "Let's go."

As Lu Qiqi watched Zhang Shiqiang wave his sleeve and leave, she knew that the matter was over and that he would not dare to cause trouble again for a while.

"Please sit down quickly," Lu Qiqi helped Old Madam Hao sit down, feeling very grateful for the old lady's kindness.

"Uncle Liu, make a bowl of spicy noodles for the old lady," Lu Qiqi called out to Liu Tong, who was standing there holding a kitchen knife, looking lost.

Zhu Zi glanced at Liu Tong's stunned expression and said, "I'll go cook." He then took a rolling pin and went into the kitchen.

The pillar's voice was quite loud, startling Liu Tong so much that he realized the fight was over before it even started.

Madam Hao patted Lu Qiqi's little hand and laughed, "Were you frightened just now? Didn't you take on the challenge because you wanted someone to protect you? Why didn't you just tell me? And you even gave me your secret to survival at the end!!"

Lu Qiqi was stunned for a moment, but did not pull her hand away from Old Madam Hao's palm. She said, "Nothing can escape your discerning eyes, Old Madam."

Madam Hao smiled and said, "Don't flatter me. I'm so old, do you think I could escape you, a little kid?"