It was noon when they went out. They had made sure to find out more beforehand, so the three of them headed straight for their destination: a shop that sold five kinds of dishes.

This way of eating originated in Suzhou and was introduced to Lin'an. The gui is a large, round bowl made of bronze.

The Five Dishes consist of five dishes: a bowl of eight-treasure rice, a bowl of braised assorted vegetables, a bowl of meat, a bowl of chicken, and a bowl of fish.

Buy a cup of Jiang tea and a plate of steamed buns filled with syrup, and a few of you can enjoy this Lin'an delicacy.

Wang Yan gave a thumbs up after eating, and Wang Ying and Aunt Wang also had a big appetite. In the end, the group finished the whole plate of steamed buns filled with syrup.

But the portion of food was too large, and almost half of it was left over. Aunt Wang asked the restaurant to bring some oil paper and hemp rope to wrap up the remaining food.

They would eat it for dinner when they returned to the inn that evening. Wang Yan nodded; she wanted to go back and eat the eight-treasure rice again.

The group of people went shopping leisurely, and Wang Yan's trip this time was not in vain.

She wanted to come here to buy some ham wholesale, as the price was about half the price of what she could get in the capital.

Of course, the most important thing is to travel and bring some ham back with me. You could say I'm here to take care of some business too.

However, I won't be buying anything these next two days. I'll buy it when I'm about to leave. Besides, today is the first day I've been here, so naturally I need to take some time to tidy up.

Aunt Wang was very interested in the houses and buildings in the area, and led the two of them around to see the houses.

The roof ridges, tiles, and brick walls here are all different from those over there.

Moreover, the roof tiles here are also mainly carved with various flowers, but they are wider, with wider grooves and deeper channels than those in other places. Aunt Wang really likes this architectural feature.

Aunt Wang asked the two of them, "Hey, tell me, these tiles must hold up really well in the rain, and they must drain water really fast, right?"

“That’s right.” Wang Ying chimed in, playing the straight man.

After examining the tiles, Aunt Wang went to look at the wall. It seemed the wall was constructed with a layer of stone at the bottom, topped with bricks and earth.

She looked at it and asked the two women about the structure of the wall, but after waiting for a long time, they didn't respond.

What's going on? What happened? Why aren't you saying anything?

Turning my head, I saw the two of them staring dumbfounded at a haphazard corner in front of me, a pile of tattered straw mats and broken wheelbarrows.

Just as I was about to ask a question, a thin man with a fierce glint in his eyes walked over carrying a butcher's knife.

"Did you see a woman walk by here? She was wearing all dark-colored clothes!"

Before Aunt Wang could reply that there was no, Wang Yan quickly spoke up before her, looking completely oblivious to the situation.

"I saw her!" Then he pointed in a direction, "She walked that way. She seemed to be holding her shoulder, and it was making it difficult for her to move around?"

The man glared at them fiercely again. Wang Ying looked timid, but she nodded nonetheless.

After hesitating for a moment, the man, carrying a butcher's knife, quickly ran in the direction Wang Yan pointed.

“Little sister…” Wang Ying said in horror.

"Shh! Don't ask. Let's change the subject." The two of them then pulled Wang Da Niang aside to discuss southern architecture.

Aunt Wang sensed something was wrong, but she cooperated with Wang Yan, suppressing her curiosity, and showed them how the brick walls on this side were made.

Sure enough, just as they started discussing, Wang Yan heard footsteps outside the alley.

The man didn't leave at all; he was just pretending to leave to deceive people.

But she pretended not to know and continued to discuss with Granny Wang what the differences were between other people's architecture and capital cities.

"Mother, sister, let's go back. Father and brother are still waiting for us at the inn!"

Don't be curious about how other people's houses are built on the street. If you get home late, your brother will scold you because he has a bad temper!

After saying that, she touched the leftovers that had been packed up and were now cold. "Oh dear, what should I do? The food is all cold. I'll go to the food street later and buy some hot soup and rice."

Aunt Wang suppressed her horrified expression. "That's right, you two little rascals have been staying here all this time and you're so excited about seeing a new roof tile!"

If you delay your brother's meal, I'll skin you alive! Get out of here!

After the three finished speaking, they came out of the alley and saw the man with the knife standing against the wall.

After checking that there were indeed three of them, she turned around and prepared to go back into the alley.

Wang Ying fearfully grasped Wang Yan's hand, and Wang Yan steeled herself, "Uncle! Which street is your food street on?"

My sister and I got some food to go, but it's cold now, and we don't know where we can buy hot porridge or soup.

The man stopped, looked at them, and smiled. He had a scar running from the corner of his eye to the bridge of his nose, which made him look somewhat ferocious.

"Turn two blocks to the left and you'll find it."

"Thank you, sir!"

After asking the questions, the three people quickly left with the paper bag. In a state of extreme fear, a person's senses are amplified infinitely.

Hearing footsteps behind her, Wang Yan knew that the man with the butcher knife had followed her.

So she doesn't dare go back to the inn now, but the crowds on the street have given her a lot of courage.

The three of them actually went to the food street and got a hot porridge and a savory soup to go.

"It's all your fault, you two little brats! If your brother and father complain when we get back, I'll slap you both to death!"

As he spoke, he pushed Wang Yan, who immediately took advantage of the situation, pretending to lose her balance. She tilted her body and bumped her head against the wall next to her.

Wang Ying was startled, but then Wang Yan secretly and gently squeezed her sister's hand, and she realized that Wang Yan was faking it.

Then Wang Ying looked up and called out to Aunt Wang, "Come and see your sister right away! Brother, brother! You only know your brother. If your sister gets hurt, Dad will be angry with you too."

When Aunt Wang pushed Wang Yan, it was very light; she knew Wang Yan was faking it.

But he pretended to be extremely flustered and went to help Wang Yan up. He asked an old lady for directions, and the kind old lady took them to the pharmacy.

After waiting there for a while, Wang Yan caught a glimpse of the man leaving out of the corner of her eye.

But I wasn't sure if they had really left, so I sat in the pharmacy for half a day.

The doctor was puzzled, "You're fine, there's no external injury or internal damage."

"Oh dear, I don't feel well, my heart is pounding and I'm feeling anxious!"

The doctor took his pulse again and said, "It's nothing serious. Your palpitations are probably just from being startled. I'll prescribe you a calming soup; just brew it and drink it."

Wang Yan and the others sat in the shop for a long time, brewed some medicine, drank it, and then went home.

After confirming that no one was following them, the group quickened their pace, almost running, and soon returned to the inn.

As soon as they arrived at the inn, Aunt Wang threw down what she was carrying and started hitting Wang Yan.

"What's wrong with you? Huh! Why did you have to provoke this kind of vicious-looking desperado?"

Wang Yan remained silent, instinctively! She and Wang Ying had just seen the young woman who might be being chased.

At the time, I had a very strong instinct to save her! Of course, looking back now, I feel a little scared that I acted on my instincts to save her.

Aunt Wang patted the two girls a few times to calm their fear. "What did you two just see?"

Wang Ying's fear hadn't subsided yet, "A little girl with blood on one shoulder. She was hiding in that corner of clutter."

When you were looking at the brick wall, my sister and I saw her; she was hiding in the corner of the clutter.

When we came out, my sister and I saw out of the corner of our eye that she was running into the alley on the left.

The younger sister only stopped the scarred man from speaking because she saw that she hadn't run away yet.

"Are you two so careless! There are so many people coming and going on the street, and you didn't ask anyone else but went to ask him! How could he not be suspicious? No wonder he followed us all the way!"

And what if he's chasing after a vicious thug? Like a thief who stole something? I think he's carrying a butcher's knife.

Wang Ying shook her head at this question, thinking it didn't seem like it at all.

She recognized the fabric of the woman's clothes as Song brocade. She also wore a pearl and gold necklace and a gold armlet around her arm.

After confirming that no one was following them and scolding the two women, Aunt Wang didn't care about what had happened, since it had nothing to do with them anyway.

…………………………………………………………

The next day, the inn they stayed at was next to a residential alley.

There are many vendors selling porridge, rice, and steamed buns in the morning, so Wang Yan went downstairs to buy breakfast for Aunt Wang and the others.

The old woman opened the window and saw that after Wang Yan went out, she could see the street where breakfast was sold from the window.

So I felt relieved and let her go buy food, since it was only a street away.

Wang Yan walked along but couldn't find anything she wanted to eat. There was soy milk for sale here, but it was served with glutinous rice cakes in the morning.

I simply took three cups of soy milk and a serving of glutinous rice cakes to take home.

I forgot to bring my bamboo cup on the way here, so I'll buy one here. I'll fill it with water and drink from it when I run out.

Just as we were about to leave the alley, there was a narrow alley to the left at the alley entrance.

This alleyway is located on one side of the hotel and is close to this alley; it is very narrow and dark.

Suddenly, a hand reached out and grabbed her. Wang Yan looked down and couldn't help but feel extremely frightened.

Wait a minute, I was supposed to be in a food-themed story, how did it turn into a martial arts story?

This young lady is incredibly lucky. She bled so much, and her wounds weren't even properly bandaged, yet she still managed to stay alive.

It was still holding onto Wang Yan's trouser leg tightly. Wang Yan was really scared. She tried to pull her leg away but couldn't.

"Help me, help me," the young woman whispered weakly before fainting.

Wang Yan glanced at her, pulled her leg out, took the soy milk and went back upstairs to prepare for dinner.

She stomped her foot again, exclaimed "Ouch!" and hurried downstairs, running to the corner of the alley.

When he arrived, he looked at her again, still unsure of what to do. He grabbed a straw mat from the wheelbarrow that delivered vegetables to the inn and stole it.

He ran over again and gently pulled the young lady to the very end of the alley to cover her with a straw mat.

Then he went back to find Aunt Wang and asked her to help him come up with an idea.