Chapter 72: The thief is still determined. You are lying.

Nothing much happened in the first two days, but after the shop had been open for more than half a month, the business of the small restaurant gradually stabilized. Qiu Xuan already knew how many dishes to prepare every day, which ones were more popular, and which ones were less popular.

By cutting and refining, she turned the original two-sided menu into a one-sided one.

Of course she still couldn't read, but she could remember most of the items on the menu.

"Drink some water to moisten your throat." Zong Xiao came to the table with the dried water. He sat next to her and looked at the menu with her.

Qiu Xuan moved to the side to give him more space.

She said, "I've removed all the dishes that customers haven't ordered much these days. It's not worth preparing so much just for one or two dishes."

Zong Xiao: "It's up to you to decide. I'll tell my third brother when the time comes."

The restaurant was rented by the couple, and the menu was also designed by them.

So everyone in the entire restaurant tacitly accepted that Qiu Xuan and Zong Xiao were the bosses, and everyone listened to them in everything.

Zong Anji was content and at ease, focusing solely on cooking and ignoring everything else. He would be paid in less than two weeks, and that was all he cared about. When he got the money, he could buy something for Yueyang.

Qiu Xuan put the checked menu on the table and then looked up at Zong Xiao.

She had been so busy these days that she had no time to give him medicine, so sometimes Zong Xiao had to go to the clinic.

She asked, "What did the doctor say? Should I apply the medicine for another half month?"

Zong Xiao: "It's already started to heal. It will be almost healed once the scab forms."

Qiu Xuan's eyes lit up and she asked excitedly, "Really?"

Zong Xiao nodded, "Really? I'm not lying to you."

The injury had been there for quite some time. Although the wound was deep, he was strong and the wound healed quickly.

Zong Xiao hadn't originally planned to tell her now. He was thinking of giving her a surprise when the time came.

But now, looking at the person with shining eyes, his heart warmed and he wanted to be closer to her.

Just then, a shout came from outside the door.

"The shopkeeper."

Sanshui rushed in from outside the shop, panting and saying, "We, we..."

Qiu Xuan frowned, "Take your time and talk slowly. There's no need to rush."

It was the first time that Qiu Xuan saw San Shui like this. She thought something had happened. Could it be that Tian San came again?

After Sanshui recovered from his stress, he quickly explained the reason, "Boss, this is my former mistress. She wants to order a few dishes from us and asked me to see if we can deliver them directly to her."

"That's fine, but we only have one food box in our shop, so it might be a little..." Qiu Xuan said carefully, "I can't show it off."

Sanshui smiled gratefully and said, "What are you talking about, boss? A food box is better than a bamboo basket."

Qiu Xuan always remembered the kindness of the original owner of this shop. If nothing else, she would always be grateful just for the price.

She later made inquiries and found out that although the courtyard at the back was small, she could rent one in the town for one or two taels of silver a month.

So they could rent the shop and the courtyard for only a few taels, which was really a bargain.

Qiu Xuan pushed the menu in front of Sanshui and said, "Take a look and see if there's anything your former mistress liked to eat here."

Sanshui ordered the most classic dishes. "Boss, these four will do. I'll send them over later."

After saying that, Sanshui put the silver and money on the table.

These are not difficult dishes to make and can be done by one person.

But in order to prevent the dishes from getting cold, Qiu Xuan and Zong Anji worked together, each making two dishes, and they were ready in a short time.

Qiu Xuan also specially put a plate of meat floss scraps in the lunch box, which can add flavor to the white porridge.

It was originally just a delivery, but I don’t know who noticed it.

In the following days, people always came to ask if they could order food from their restaurant and have it delivered to their homes.

Isn't this just running errands? Qiu Xuan actually doesn't want to do it. First, their shop is short-staffed. Second, if the hot dishes are bumpy all the way, not only will they get cold, but the appearance will also be messed up.

"I'll pay five copper coins more for one dish. Is that okay with you?" Seeing that he couldn't persuade the man, the waiter started to talk about money.

No one is not interested in money, and Qiu Xuan is no exception.

Qiu Xuan fingered the abacus and said to the waiter, "Five copper coins for one dish, that's not cheap. If you order more dishes, it's like charging an extra cent for each dish."

The waiter smiled and said, "Our master has plenty of money, so just send it."

It was the first time she saw someone rushing to give her money, so Qiu Yun didn't refuse, but at the same time she was more cautious.

She didn't ask Sanshui to deliver the dish, but asked Zong Xiao to do it, and asked him to find out who ordered it.

She is very cautious now, afraid that someone will deliberately cause trouble.

Zong Xiao went to deliver the food alone according to the address left by the waiter.

It was clearly agreed that it was the alley, entrance, and door, but when he got there he found that it was not the main entrance at all, but a side door to a small backyard.

He stood outside and could see nothing at all.

After delivering the food to the waiter, he finally had time to look around the courtyard. To his surprise, he actually found a problem.

The back door of this yard looks ordinary, but it is connected to the house in the most prosperous area of ​​the street in front.

If he was not mistaken, the person following the person who just got off the sedan chair should be someone from the brothel.

So the people who ordered the meal were from the brothel, so what exactly did they want to do?

A chill ran down Zong Xiao's spine. He'd done so much, but hadn't those people completely given up on the idea?

No, he wouldn't allow that to happen.

Thinking this, he turned and walked into an even narrower alley.

At this time, Madam Lian, who was being "thought about" by Zong Xiao, closed her eyes and leaned on the soft couch.

She looked unwell and not as pretty as she had been a few years ago.

"Madam, the food is here." Cuihong took the food box and brought it in.

The Lotus Woman slowly opened her eyes upon hearing the sound, and when she saw the dishes on the table clearly, she sneered.

Cuihong was startled and immediately knelt on the ground, "But Madam doesn't like these foods. If you don't like them, I will take them away."

"Get up, don't kneel all the time." Madam Lian got down from the couch. She walked straight through the gauze curtain to the table without wearing any shoes or socks.

"Are they all made at that Jinwei restaurant?" Mrs. Lian picked up a piece of vegetable leaf with bamboo chopsticks.

Cuihong stood up, still with her head lowered. "To answer Madam, these are all new dishes from the Jinwei Restaurant."

Madam Lian took a bite and stopped eating. "I thought she could make something new, but it turned out to be some food you can find in other shops. I really overestimated her."

Cuihong naturally knew who the "she" her wife was talking about.

But it’s been so long, hasn’t the lady let it go yet?

Cuihong said, "If you want, Madam, I will bring her here tonight."

Once a girl comes here, she will never leave in one piece.

Madam Lian picked up a soft handkerchief and wiped the corner of her mouth. "Why would you tie her up? I just heard she opened a shop recently, and I'm a little curious."

Now, when she saw the dishes in her shop, she instantly lost interest. These were not as novel as the ones Qiu Xuan had used when she set up a stall on the street that day.

"What does the lady mean?"

"Keep watching, and tell me if you come up with anything new."

-

At night, Qiu Xuan lay comfortably on the soft quilt.

These days, Zong Xiao always massaged her, and she naturally didn't feel tired once her body relaxed.

Qiu Xuan turned around and grabbed Zong Xiao's hand, "Stop pinching it. Your arm isn't fully healed yet."

"It's okay." Zong Xiao was about to pinch her again when he saw Qiu Yu pull the quilt over her body.

She said, "No more pinching, come and talk."

Zong Xiao had no choice but to lie down after hearing her.

In the past, the two of them would calculate how much money they had earned in the shop that day as soon as they took a break.

But today, Qiu Xuan didn't mention it, and Zong Xiao didn't ask. The two of them just lay there quietly, neither of them saying a word.

Qiu Xuan had noticed something was wrong a long time ago, ever since Zong Xiao brought her lunch at noon.

But the shop was busy at that time, and she thought Zong Xiao didn't have time to talk to her.

But now they were both on the kang, alone in the room, and Zong Xiao hadn't taken the initiative to talk to her. This showed that something was not normal.

Qiu Xuan leaned towards Zong Xiao's pillow and put her hand on his waist like she did a few days ago.

"There's a lot going on in the shop today. I'm just at the back. Is there anything interesting happening up front?"

Zong Xiao thought about it and realized that there really wasn't one.

"Is there anything interesting happening on the street?"

Zong Xiao hadn't really noticed it. He glanced sideways and said, "I haven't heard anything interesting today."

"Well, since there's nothing interesting, let's talk about something else."

Through her underwear, Qiu Xuan's hand moved upwards little by little, "So, are you hiding something from me today?"

"No." Zong Xiao said without thinking.

"Really?" Qiu Xuan patted his chest twice. "I don't believe it. Your heart was beating so fast just now. It's obvious you were lying."

Seeing that he couldn't hide it from her, Zong Xiao had no choice but to tell the truth.

Qiu Xuan listened quietly. If Zong Xiao hadn't mentioned it today, she would have almost forgotten those people.

Those who kidnap and sell good girls and do all kinds of bad things.

Zong Xiao turned sideways with difficulty, and looked at Qiu Yun with his eyes lowered, fearing that she would be angry with him.

"I wanted to find out more about this before I told you."

Qiu Xuan was not as panicked as he thought. Her face looked much calmer, with only her brows furrowed.

Zong Xiao rubbed her brows and said, "Don't worry, I'll go find out tomorrow. Nothing will happen with me around."

Qiu Xuan held his hand and said, "Actually, I think there is another possibility."

"Um?"

Qiu Xuan told him her opinion.

"The work you spent so much time and energy on last time must have been effective. I think those people will definitely not do anything." Qiu Yu didn't think that a girl from a humble family like her was worth those people's trouble.

In order to kidnap her and take her to a brothel, he would rather offend the prince of the capital city.

Although the prince was in the capital, he might have forgotten this little thing long ago. But if the prince had forgotten, could the magistrate of Yuanxiang Town have forgotten it?

Qiu Xuan: "Maybe it's because we haven't been down the mountain for a long time, and now we've suddenly come down and opened a shop, so those people are curious."

This makes sense, but Zong Xiao still feels uneasy.

Qiu Xuan: "When we were selling noodles, we used to come up with a lot of new things to make more money. But now that we have opened a shop, we don't have to worry about it as much. The dishes in the shop are all ordinary things."

Since there is nothing special about it, there is certainly nothing attractive about it.

That brothel only kidnaps pretty girls and useful men, so she should have lost her "advantage" now.

Zong Xiao: "I'll ask around tomorrow. Regardless, they've been keeping an eye on us, which means they haven't given up yet."

Qiu Xuan agreed with this statement.

She said, "But there's no rush. Let's wait a few days and see if those people still come to order food. If not, then there shouldn't be any problems."

After she finished speaking, she said with a hint of regret, "If I had known that those dishes were ordered by them, I should have asked for more money. Five more coins for each dish is really too little. I should have added ten or twenty coins."