Xia Baozhu's lunch consisted of salt and pepper potatoes, plus egg noodles.

The three men outside, who were busy working and hungry, tossed out two yuan and asked Xia Baozhu to make them three bowls of egg noodles.

They really don't treat her like an outsider, ordering noodles at a fried chicken shop.

"Are my chicken feet ready yet?" Sun Xingyan walked into the kitchen, looking around for his boneless chicken feet.

"Okay, but it needs to marinate for a while longer to absorb the flavors and taste better."

"Give me a pound first." Sun Xingyan couldn't keep up with the hunger, and now that he heard it was ready, he wanted to eat.

Xia Baozhu cleared out the low table where she had put her things and told them to take it to the front hall for dinner.

The door opened, and two policemen came in. Xia Baozhu stopped and walked back to the front hall.

One of the policemen was Shen Shanlou, who had just returned from out of town. He recognized Xia Baozhu at a glance.

"What a coincidence, Xia, you work here?"

"What a coincidence, this is the shop I own, but it hasn't officially opened for business yet."

"We're not here for a meal; we're here to investigate last night's case."

"Please sit down." Xia Baozhu invited them to sit on the bench.

"No need, we'll just ask a few questions and then leave," Chen Shanlou said in a businesslike manner.

Sun Xingyan walked out of the kitchen with his chicken feet in a carefree manner.

Seeing that the man was a fairly good-looking young man, Chen Shanlou raised his thick, sword-like eyebrows unhappily, feeling as if his toy had been snatched away.

"Didn't the police come to question us about last night's case this morning?"

Sun Xingyan looked at the more conspicuous Chen Shanlou and felt that this man was not a good person. He looked serious, but in fact he was deep in thought.

He guessed right. As soon as Chen Shanlou returned, he heard that more than 20 people had fought last night and many were injured. He asked someone to bring him the case file and found Xia Zhaodi's name in the investigation report.

Xia Zhaodi's profession has changed this time, from a nanny to a self-employed business owner.

The rapid change piqued Chen Shanlou's curiosity, prompting him to make this special trip.

He was incredibly adept at abusing his power for personal gain, and he even specially called a police officer to come along, ostensibly to conduct an in-depth investigation.

Who are you?

“I am Sun Xingyan, the landlord here.”

The landlord, Chen Shanlou thought, becoming more vigilant.

The landlord and tenant live close by and have frequent contact, making it easy for them to take advantage of each other.

"That's perfect, it saves us one trip. The record says the suspect ran out from the backyard of the video screening room. Xia Zhaodi, did you hear anything at the time?"

"All I heard was a lot of noise outside."

Can I see your backyard?

"sure."

Chen Shanlou followed Xia Baozhu through the kitchen and found a man and a woman guarding a pot of noodles.

Meeting the imposing gaze of Shen Shanlou, San Gou and Guo Zhenzhen forced out polite smiles, almost bowing and scraping.

Chen Shanlou surveyed the entire kitchen. From top to bottom, everything was arranged in an orderly and clean manner, which was pleasing to the eye. This showed that Xia Zhaodi was indeed a capable young wife.

Reaching the back door, he pointed to the wooden sticks on either side of the door and said, "These wooden sticks aren't enough to hold the door steady; it would be best to add a lock. Also, these bolts aren't very useful; a strong person could kick them open with one foot."

Sun Xingyan felt something was amiss. Were the police really this kind of people-loving now?

“I’ll have a locksmith come and change it tomorrow,” Xia Baozhu readily agreed.

Chen Shanlou opened the door and went out, examining the footprints left the previous night on both sides of the wall.

"This guy is really skilled. What can you tell, Xiao Chen?" Chen Shanlou pointed to the messy footprints on the wall dust.

"The clear footprint was probably made by the suspect jumping up in one go, while the other blurry footprints must have been made with more effort."

"Yes, this wall is two meters high, and it's very difficult to climb it without external help. This person must have received professional training and is very likely a former soldier."

Shen Shanlou and the other person went to the screening room next door, and Sun Xingyan reluctantly followed.

Xia Baozhu saw them off with a smile.

It seems that Chen Shanlou came on official business; it's just unknown whether he will come often in the future.

Xia Baozhu clenched her fist. She had no problem dealing with ordinary people, but she had never tried fighting someone like Chen Shanlou before, so she couldn't judge whether she could beat him.

When Sun Xingyan returned, San Gou and Guo Zhenzhen had finished their noodles, and half of his chicken feet had been stolen.

Guo Zhenzhen wiped her mouth, quickly swallowed the boneless chicken foot in her mouth, and stood up with a smile: "Brother Sun, sit down and eat quickly, the noodles are getting soggy."

"Eat, all you know is eating! Where are my chicken feet?" Sun Xingyan was furious to see that half of the chicken feet were missing. He pointed at Guo Zhenzhen and said, "You'll have to pay for the film yourself this time."

"Oh, it's just two of your chicken feet. Brother Sun, have you been eating too many chicken feet? You've become stingy."

Although Guo Zhenzhen liked Sun Xingyan, she couldn't bear to spend so much money on film.

"You're not stingy, if you're not stingy, give me your black cotton-padded coat." Sun Xingyan sat down, first pulling the plate of boneless chicken feet in front of him, and began to eat noodles in large mouthfuls.

"That black cotton-padded coat cost me a month's salary, so I can't give it to you."

Guo Zhenzhen's favorite piece is her embroidered thin black cotton-padded jacket. It has a small square collar and is a rare fitted waist style, which makes her waist look much slimmer.

In the bulky winter, such clothes are a rare treat; otherwise, she wouldn't have spent a month's salary to buy them.

"Would you like some chili oil?" Xia Baozhu placed a small bowl of chili oil on the low table.

This chili oil is something she made herself when making boneless chicken feet; it's very fragrant and spicy, perfect for making oil-splashed noodles.

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