"Thank you for bringing me here to get my wound bandaged. May I ask your name?"

Ling Yun blushed when she was called "little brother." This girl seemed particularly lively; who calls someone "little brother" as soon as they meet them?

"My name is Ling Yun, what's yours?"

"My name is Ran Dong."

A moment later, Ling Yun discovered that this girl, who seemed out of place in every way, appeared to have a mysterious origin and was very enigmatic.

He felt a deep reluctance to part with Ran Dong, and after learning that she had nowhere to stay, Ling Yun decided to take her back to the Yang family.

After tidying her up, she looked even more like a boy, and Lingyun took her back to the Yang family.

“Ah Li, this is my cousin. I recognized him by chance on the street today. He came to stay with me.”

Ling Yun's excuse was the same as in her previous life. Xiao Li raised an eyebrow, thinking, "Does he think I'm blind?"

"He's clearly a girl, and you're saying he's your cousin? Ling Yun, are you blind, or have you been fooled?"

Ling Yun was taken aback. He hadn't expected Xiao Li to have such sharp eyesight, recognizing Ran Dong's disguise as a man so quickly.

"Oh, I misspoke. This is my cousin. Things haven't been peaceful along the way, which is why she's dressed as a man. I just said the wrong thing."

Xiao Li circled Ran Dong twice, "Then tell me where you're from? Which village and town do you live in? Show me your travel permit."

Ran Dong was bewildered. She had just arrived and had no idea what villages or towns were nearby. Moreover, she and Ling Yun hadn't even rehearsed their story. She also didn't have any travel permits or anything like that.

Ling Yun got angry. "Ali, why are you asking so many questions? Ran Dong is already very tired. Let her rest for a while."

Xiao Li laughed angrily, "This is the Yang family, not your Ling family. If you want to take her in, then let her live in your Ling family."

Ling Yun's eyes widened immediately. Since Yang's father had no son, he had long considered the Yang family as his own. Now, hearing Xiao Li say that this was the Yang family, he suddenly felt embarrassed.

"Is this how your master taught you? He just passed away, and this is how you treat your senior brother?"

Xiao Li retorted without backing down, "Is this how you treat your benefactor's daughter? Your father just passed away, and this is how you treat his daughter, your fiancée? Aren't you afraid that if he knew in the afterlife, he would come back to settle accounts with you?"

People in ancient times were quite superstitious. Hearing Xiao Li say this, Ling Yun felt a chill run down his spine for no apparent reason.

Ran Dong didn't believe in these things, but it was a fact that she herself had traveled through time, so both of them were a little scared when Xiao Li said this.

Ling Yun softened his tone, "Ali, it's too dangerous for Ran Dong, a little girl, to be out there. Why don't we let her stay at the Yang family's house?"

Xiao Li ignored him, but he continued to coax her.

"Ah Li, you are usually the kindest person, so you probably wouldn't want to see a woman wandering the streets, right?"

Xiao Li snorted, "I don't know if she's good or bad, I only know that her background is unknown, so I can't take her in."

When Ran Dong saw that Xiao Li was unmoved by reason and that her crush was trying to coax her gently, she got angry and turned to leave.

Lingyun hurriedly chased after her, and Xiaoli quickly locked the door, telling her not to come back once she was out.

"Ran Dong, what's wrong? It's dangerous for you to be out here like this. Come back with me."

Ling Yun coaxed Ran Dong for a long time before she finally turned around. When the two of them returned, they found the door tightly closed and wouldn't open no matter how much they called.

Both of them were stunned. They had no choice but to go to the inn. Ling Yun had booked the room. Ran Dong didn't have a travel permit, so he had to sneak into the room.

"Brother Ling, that lady is so fierce! Is she really your fiancée?"

Ran Dong felt a little wronged. Was the guy she had finally set her sights on already taken?

Ling Yun was taken aback. He had promised his master that he would marry his junior sister, but in his heart, he regarded Ali as his younger sister.

"I only see her as a younger sister."

Ran Dong was overjoyed to hear this. What's so special about being engaged? Divorce is all too common in modern times.

"I knew you two weren't that kind of relationship. Ling-gege is so good, how could she be good enough for you?"

Ling Yun felt a little embarrassed. He was just a homeless child who was adopted by his master from a young age because of good luck. He was the one who was not good enough for Ali.

Ran Dong's starry-eyed look made Ling Yun feel extremely satisfied.

"Then tell me, what kind of person is worthy of me?"

Seeing Ran Dong's cute pout, Ling Yun also felt like teasing her.

"Of course, only a fairy like me is worthy of you."

Ran Dong looked so confident and self-assured that Ling Yun was certain she was his little fairy.

When the restaurant opened the next day, Ling Yun had not yet returned. He held the keys to the restaurant and was always the one who locked and closed the doors.

"Junior sister, where did Senior Brother Ling go? Why didn't he come to work?"

Xiao Li seemed devastated. "He left. He left with a girl named Ran Dong."

"How could that be? He promised his master that he would marry you and bring glory to the Yang Family Restaurant."

Ma Jin anxiously pressed, "Where did he go? Will he come back?"

Xiao Li shook her head. "I don't know either. He brought a girl home last night and she's staying out. She probably won't be coming back."

Xiao Li thought that since Ran Dong had a kitchen, she probably wouldn't come back to be tormented.

Unfortunately, she guessed wrong, because Ling Yun had already brought Ran Dong over, who was still dressed as a boy.

"Ah Li, how could you lock us out last night? Do you know we almost got caught by the curfew officers?"

Xiao Li shrugged. "I don't know, and I don't care."

Ma Jin looked at Ran Dong, "Senior Brother, what is this...?"

Ling Yun quickly introduced, "This is my cousin. She had nowhere to go, so I brought her back and let her work as an apprentice at the restaurant."

Xiao Li frowned as she looked at the obedient employees. It seemed that these people could not be allowed to continue.

Xiao Li didn't say anything. She went straight home and found the house and land deeds that Yang's father had given to the original owner before his death, as well as the indentures of the restaurant staff.

The master-apprentice relationship in this era was not so simple; it was comparable to that between father and son. Not only did one have to perform a formal apprenticeship ceremony, but one also had to sign a contract of servitude, working under the master for at least twenty years. This was to protect the interests of the craftsmen.

Looking at all the indentures, including Ling Yun's, Xiao Li sighed inwardly, thinking how kind the original owner of this body truly was.

When Ling Yun wanted to leave, she let him go. When the restaurant went bankrupt, she also released the waiters, without mentioning the existence of these indentures.

Those people didn't take it to heart, and even demanded it back with a sense of entitlement when they left.

The original owner must have been heartbroken, so she didn't care anymore. She just wanted to live a peaceful life and continue the Yang family line. Unfortunately, this world was still too harsh on women.

Xiao Li wasn't that kind-hearted. Since these people had learned Yang family cuisine and received favors from the Yang family, they had to repay them.