Worry-Free Inn.

According to Zhu Ha, this used to be the largest and most prosperous restaurant in the town, but now it seems that only the "large" remains.

Looking inside from the outside, the huge inn was completely empty, with only two or three servants dawdling over wiping the tables and chairs.

Click!

Bang!

A gentle breeze blew by, and the plaque hanging on the door fell to the ground.

"Zhu Ha, are you sure this is the place you're talking about?"

Da Mei asked, her delicate eyebrows furrowed.

"Sister Da Mei, I promise, this is the place! Their golden pastries and 'ants climbing a tree' (a Sichuan dish) are absolutely delicious!"

The Fiery Toad patted its chest and solemnly guaranteed.

"Sister Yicheng, we'll go try it first and see if it's any good."

The three bears immediately rushed into the inn.

Creak!

The door was wide, but three large brown bears were the same width, and they fit perfectly into the door frame.

"Ya-hey~"

Seeing this, Yi Cheng took two steps forward with her big belly, and with a gentle nudge, the three big brown bears immediately pounced in.

Then Yi Cheng, with her big belly, swaggered in, followed closely by Xiao Pang and Hei Tu, one on each side, their little bellies sticking out, and then the rest of the group filed in.

"Sigh, business is bad again this year. It seems this family-run inn is really going to go out of business."

Inside the inn, at the counter, the old innkeeper was flipping through the ledger, turning over and over that one page of accounts, sighing repeatedly. Just then, a loud crash was heard from the inn's main door, and several burly men who looked like bear spirits flew in, crashing into the ground and causing it to shake violently.

"Shopkeeper, someone's causing trouble!"

Upon seeing this, the innkeepers quickly raised tables, chairs, and benches, ready to fight.

But when they saw those burly men, each over two meters tall and as strong as a water vat, they immediately cowered, swallowing hard in fear, and silently put down the stools they were holding.

Mom, what did you eat to grow so big? If you didn't know better, you'd think it was a bear that came from the deep mountains and forests.

"Haha, Lao Zhang, where's Lao Zhang? I, Zhu Ha, am here for dinner!"

The Flaming Toad squeezed out from the back of the group, looking around.

Then, leaning over the counter, he looked the old shopkeeper up and down, his brows furrowed deeply, and asked tentatively, "Old Zhang? Are you Old Zhang? You look a bit like him, but you don't quite look like the one I remember."

"You...you...it's you!!!!"

The old shopkeeper shakily raised his finger and pointed at the toad.

"Ha, it's me, Old Zhang. Do you recognize me?"

The Fiery Toad said happily, "Old Zhang, I'm so happy you still remember me."

Upon hearing this, the old shopkeeper's lips twitched.

How could I not remember? You were my childhood nightmare.

I still remember it was a bright spring day. I was going out with my father to fly kites when I saw a man who was a little taller than me walk in carrying a package. He said he wanted to apply for a job as a shop assistant.

But his appearance... well... in his father's words, was "refreshingly unconventional," which was bad for the inn's good fortune. So his grandfather gave him countless delicious treats and kindly advised him to find a way to make a living elsewhere.

The moment she first saw him, his face sent chills down her spine in countless nightmares. Many times she cried and asked her father, "Dad, how can there be such an ugly child in this world! It's terrifying!"

But the father said, “Being ugly is not his fault. It’s unfair to him. We shouldn’t discriminate against him. In the end, he is also a pitiful child. He will probably suffer abandonment and many hardships in his life because of his face.”

I asked again, "Then Dad, why don't we keep him as a helper?"

My father continued, “Even if we can get used to his face, the customers won’t. They come to eat, and if they see such an ugly face, they’ll lose their appetite, which will affect our restaurant’s business. We have families, we need to live, and we need the restaurant to stay afloat… And we are not saints after all.”

It was at that moment that I vaguely understood a lot. I used to be very naughty and always picking on this and that, but since I learned that there are such pitiful people in the world, I suddenly became more sensible.

"I'm not Lao Zhang."

The old shopkeeper started to speak, then quickly shook his head, saying, "No, I am Old Zhang, but I'm not the Old Zhang you're talking about. That Old Zhang was my grandfather, but he has passed away. I'm Old Zhang's grandson, but I'm old now, so I'm also called Old Zhang."

"Ah! Old Zhang is dead!"

The fiery toad stared wide-eyed.

Back when he was in the mortal realm, everyone he encountered disliked him. Only a little girl and Old Zhang didn't look down on him; they even gave him good food. At that time, Zhu Ha thought the immortal was right: "At birth, human nature is inherently good."

"How did Old Zhang die?"

The fiery toad pressed for an answer.

Although he didn't have a deep affection for Lao Zhang, he still felt a sense of emptiness upon hearing of Lao Zhang's death.

My father died of old age.

The old shopkeeper explained.

"Died of old age."

The Flaming Toad murmured.

"Oh, yes, you are human. Humans who cannot cultivate immortality have very short lifespans."

When was the last time I came here by myself?

It seems to have been forty or fifty years ago.

"Sigh... why did Old Zhang die?"

The Fiery Toad sighed, "Old Zhang used to say I had the air of a king or general, and he was absolutely right. I almost became emperor, but I just didn't."

"Hey, don't reminisce yet, let's eat first."

Yi Cheng walked up and waved to the old shopkeeper, saying, "Grandson, hurry up and serve the food, I'm starving."

Grandson, ptooey, old shopkeeper:............If it weren't for the fact that this little fat girl looks rather fierce, and the group of strange-looking people behind her all look menacing, I might have taught this little fat girl a lesson too.

"Are you deaf when your sister Cheng tells you to serve food?"

Xiong Da looked at the old shopkeeper standing there dumbfounded, and suddenly shouted in a deep voice.

Seeing this, Xiong Er and Xiong San echoed their elder brother's scolding, "Are you deaf? Are you deaf? Are you deaf...?"

"Alright, Big Bear, Little Bear, Little Bear, the old man is getting on in years; he's still just a mortal. Don't frighten him."

Da Mei spoke up.

Xiong Da and the others immediately bowed respectfully and said, "Yes, Sister Da Mei."

Then he quickly retreated behind Da Mei.

"Innkeeper, we'd like to have a meal here. Is your inn still open?"

The old shopkeeper glanced at Da Mei and her group, a total of about twenty people. Business was on their side, hehe.

"Open it! Open it! Open it!"

"Quickly, notify the kitchen! Get things moving and serve the customers as quickly as possible!"

"Oh, by the way, what would you like to eat, sir?"

The old shopkeeper bowed and asked.

"That's fine, one of everything, we have a lot of people here."

The beautiful woman smiled, her eyes crinkling, then thought for a moment and added:

"Wait a minute, shopkeeper, please bring several portions of each item, as many as you can."