Lu Qiqi was led into the inner hall by Boss Zhu. Lu Qiqi did not look around at the surroundings; she just glanced at them briefly.

"Please sit down," Boss Zhu said, taking his seat in the main seat, while Lu Qiqi sat in the guest seat below.

Not long after, a woman brought up two cups of tea, one for Lu Qiqi and one for Boss Zhu.

Lu Qiqi thanked her but did not drink.

Mr. Zhu's usual smiling face changed, and he asked seriously, "Miss Lu, where did you get this bowl of meat from?"

Instead of answering, Lu Qiqi asked, "Is there something wrong with this bowl of meat?"

Boss Zhu sneered, "If there were nothing wrong with this bowl of meat, you wouldn't have come here. But I can guarantee that the meat in this bowl definitely didn't come from my meat stall!"

Lu Qiqi stopped probing and went straight to the point, saying, "This is definitely not the meat you sent to my shop."

Mr. Zhu asked, puzzled, "Then why did you bring this diseased pork to my stall?"

Lu Qiqi said, "I took this from Zhang's spicy noodle stall. Boss Zhang had a problem with his noodles and was beaten on the ground. He escaped, but I found that there was something wrong with the pork in his bowl."

“Last time, Mr. Zhu, you told me that most of the pork on this meat stall comes from Chen’s pig farm, and a small number of people buy it from farmers.”

Boss Zhu nodded, acknowledging that what he said was true, but he didn't know why Lu Qiqi was so certain that he would help her find the person selling the diseased pork.

Lu Qiqi added, "There are a fair number of pork stalls in Nanshi, and with Boss Zhu having been here for so many years, he should know them all."

"It's only a matter of time before customers who have had problems with spicy noodles realize that the pork is the problem. And when that happens, it will affect more than just one meat stall's business."

Upon hearing Lu Qiqi's words, Boss Zhu said, "After hearing what you said, it would be difficult for me to refuse. The kind of people I hate most in my life are those who don't care about the lives of ordinary people and only think about putting money into their own pockets."

Yes, Boss Zhu wouldn't refuse. Lu Qiqi was quite certain that Boss Zhu knew the principle of shared prosperity and shared loss.

Take spicy noodle shops for example. Didn't Fatty's Spicy Noodle Shop also suffer from its business being negatively impacted by these unscrupulous people who use inferior ingredients?

Boss Zhu then asked, "What do you intend for me to do?"

Lu Qiqi told Boss Zhu about the solution she had come up with.

After hearing this, Boss Zhu gave Lu Qiqi an approving look and said, "Just do as you say, and wait for my good news."

After Lu Qiqi finished her discussion with Boss Zhu, it was almost noon, so Boss Zhu invited Lu Qiqi to stay for lunch.

Lu Qiqi refused. It was too much of a shame for her to come to their house for a meal on her first visit without bringing anything.

After leaving the meat stall, Lu Qiqi headed home. She hadn't eaten anything all morning, only drank a small cup of spiritual spring water, and then went out.

She was starving, her stomach rumbling as she touched it. Thankfully, her stomach hadn't growled when she refused Boss Zhu.

Otherwise, Lu Qiqi would feel that she had lost face terribly.

Lu Qiqi walked back to the noodle shop and took a special look at the spot where Zhang Ji's noodle stall usually set up its stall, but it was already empty.

Lu Qiqi knew it was taken down early this morning, since she had seen Zhang Ji Noodle Shop's banner hanging outside when she went to Zhu Ji Meat Stall that morning.

When Lu Qiqi returned to the noodle shop, she asked Liu Tong to make her a bowl of pork bone and shredded pork noodles and handed two large coins to Zhou San.

Wednesday was already used to this, so he calmly accepted the money and personally handed the bamboo token to Liu Tong, as a way of giving Lu Qiqi, the shopkeeper, face and letting her cut in line.

In no time, Lu Qiqi finished the whole bowl of pork bone and shredded pork noodles.

She wiped her mouth with a handkerchief and went back to her room to sleep. Whether it was because she had changed beds or because she was dreaming about the diseased pork, it's unclear.

Lu Qiqi didn't sleep well last night. It felt like she hadn't slept at all, and now she could barely keep her eyes open.

Feeling tired, Lu Qiqi changed her clothes and went to bed to catch up on sleep.

No matter how noisy and chaotic it was outside or downstairs, it couldn't disturb her; it was as if this was the best lullaby.

...

Two days later, Lu Qiqi was teaching Zhou San how to do the accounts at the noodle shop's cashier when Hu Jinfei strode in.

Lu Qiqi recognized the person and called out, "Uncle Hu."

Lu Qiqi noticed the dark circles under Hu Jinfei's eyes and asked, "Are you alright, Auntie?"

Hu Jinfei placed a small wooden box on the cashier's counter and said with a smile, "Hui Niang has woken up. We really have to thank you for that! If it weren't for you, my husband and I might not be alive!"

"This is a small gift from Hui Niang and me to you."

Lu Qiqi refused to accept it.

Hu Jinfei added, "This is the tea that Hui Niang likes to drink, but she's pregnant now and can't drink it. I'm a rough man and don't like this stuff either, so I'm giving it to you as a small token of my appreciation."

Lu Qiqi knew perfectly well how precious tea was in this era, but seeing Hu Jinfei's determined look, which seemed to suggest that he wouldn't leave until she accepted it, she smiled and nodded to accept it.

Lu Qiqi asked, "Uncle Hu, what are your plans for the future?"

When Hu Jinfei saw that Lu Qiqi had accepted the tea bricks he had given her, he smiled and said, "I'm a businessman. Over the years, Huiniang has followed me all over the country and has never had a peaceful day."

“Now that she is pregnant, I plan to settle here and make further plans after the baby is born.”

Lu Qiqi felt that it would be better for Zeng Shi and the children if they could settle down here and leave after the birth of their child. Zeng Shi's current health condition was really not suitable for any more long journeys.

After accepting the gift, Lu Qiqi treated Hu Jinfei to spicy noodles.

Hu Jinfei waved his hands repeatedly. He was afraid of this thing. If it weren't for this thing, his wife and child wouldn't have had to suffer so much.

Hu Jinfei felt a burning hatred whenever he thought of Zhang's noodle stall.

Lu Qiqi repeatedly assured that her family's noodles would never have the same problems as Zhang's noodle stall.

Lu Qiqi said, "Just try it, and give me a chance to prove the worth of spicy noodles."

And so, Hu Jinfei, unable to refuse Lu Qiqi's earnest invitation, ordered a bowl of spicy noodles.

Lu Qiqi personally served Hu Jinfei the noodles and said, "Please enjoy your meal."

Hu Jinfei pulled two chopsticks from the chopstick holder and mentally prepared himself before starting to eat.

Hu Jinfei took a bite of the spicy noodles. The fragrant and spicy noodles hit his taste buds directly, and were many times tastier than the spicy noodles he used to eat for five coins a bowl!

Hu Jinfei thought to himself, if he had brought Hui Niang to Lu Qiqi's noodle shop back then, perhaps none of what happened afterward would have occurred.

Just thinking about Zhang Ji's boss's face made Hu Jinfei want to dig up his family's ancestral graves!

Lu Qiqi had no idea that Hu Jinfei could think of so many things in the time it took to eat a bite of noodles. She sat down opposite Hu Jinfei and asked, "Is it good?"