Chapter 153 The Clown Became Herself

Seeing that her plan to embarrass Liu Ye had failed again, Zhao Xinbao was so angry that she glared at the dishes on the table, looking for something that Liu Ye might not eat.

As the saying goes, perseverance pays off, and she finally found it. She placed a plate of razor clams in front of Liu Ye and said, "Miss Liu knows how to eat crabs, so I'm sure you can also eat this dish. Please try it."

Liu Ye was really about to laugh. Besides mantis shrimp, she also loved razor clams, especially the spicy stir-fried kind. The taste was absolutely amazing. She saw that there was plenty of chili in the plate, and even the broth was red. She couldn't wait to pick up a razor clam, suck the meat into her mouth, and throw the shell on the table. After finishing one, she picked up another, one after another.

Seeing this, Zhao Xinbao rolled her eyes in despair, obediently ate her food, and dared not cause any more trouble. Now everyone in the room was laughing at her, even her mother was secretly laughing. It really made her furious. Originally, she wanted to embarrass Liu Ye, but now she had become the clown!

Liu Ye was enjoying her meal when Qin Qiaoyun walked over with a wine glass and stood right next to her. Qin Qiaoyun wasn't tall, probably only 1.45 meters, and even standing, she wasn't as tall as Liu Ye when she was sitting.

Qin Qiaoyun glanced at Liu Ye with disdain, then looked at Zhao Xinbao with a fawning expression: "Miss Zhao, it's been a long time since I've seen you shopping. How about we get together with a few girlfriends and go shopping together sometime? I know a newly opened gold shop with nice designs. I heard they got a batch of pearl jewelry yesterday. Let's go check it out together."

Miss Zhao glanced at Qin Qiaoyun with disdain. Who was she anyway, trying to get close to her? They hadn't gone shopping together in ages. When had she ever gone shopping with her? They'd only bumped into each other once at a fabric store. She'd come up to her to curry favor, and Qin Qiaoyun had given her a nice look, acting like they were old friends!

"I'm in a bad mood and don't want to go!"

Qin Qiaoyun didn't realize that Miss Zhao was too lazy to pay attention to her. She looked at Liu Ye with an arrogant expression and said sarcastically, "It's not your fault you're in a bad mood. I'm in a bad mood too. If it weren't for the fact that it's almost New Year's, I wouldn't want to go out either. Our Xiangshan Town is now filled with those impoverished outsiders, poor beggars, peasants, and beggars from the north. They make it stink. You can run into them everywhere you go. They're disgusting!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xinbao immediately perked up. She looked at Liu Ye with a mocking gaze and said sarcastically, "That's right, that's why I didn't go shopping. I find it strange that those disaster victims from the north, now that food is cheap and it's snowing in winter, why don't they go back to their hometowns? They insist on staying in our Xiangshan Town and making our town a mess."

“I heard from my dad that ever since these disaster victims came to our Xiancheng, there have been more thieves, more murderers and arsonists, and more robberies in broad daylight. It’s all done by those disaster victims from other places. There aren’t any of our locals doing it. It’s really annoying!”

Liu Ye put down her chopsticks and looked at Zhao Xinbao with a smile in her eyes, thinking about how to retort. Old Madam Zhao really couldn't stand it anymore. There were too many people around, so she couldn't scold Zhao Xinbao. She could only change the subject. She looked at Liu Ye and casually asked, "What do you usually like to do, Miss Liu?"

Liu Ye smiled and turned to Qin Qiaoyun: "Reporting to the old lady, I usually like to watch excitement, especially bandits robbing people, that's really interesting..."

Upon hearing this, the ladies and young women at the table immediately began to whisper among themselves. Madam Zhao and Old Madam Zhao also looked puzzled. Qin Qiaoyun turned pale after hearing this, and she glared at Liu Ye with a warning look in her eyes, forbidding her to say anything more!

Would Liu Ye listen to her? Old Madam Zhao, like the straight man in a crosstalk performance, asked curiously, "You like watching bandits rob people, have you ever seen bandits rob people?"

Unfazed by Qin Qiaoyun's warning, Liu Ye smiled and said, "Yes, I ran into him on my way to Xiancheng. Young Master Zhao happened to be with us then, and that's when we met."

Upon hearing this, Madam Zhao hurriedly asked, "Really? Oh dear, Hua'er didn't tell us! Miss Liu, please tell us quickly, what happened next?"

The ladies and young women at the table all listened intently, and those who were far away came over out of curiosity. In no time, the main table was surrounded by people in three concentric circles, and even Qin Qiaoyun's mother came over.

Qin Qiaoyun immediately became anxious. She pointed at Liu Ye and shouted angrily, "Liu Ye, shut up! I won't allow you to say another word! Try saying it again!"

Old Madam Zhao slammed her hand on the table, her face darkening. "Shut up! If you don't like it, get out! You ill-mannered brat!"

Madam Qin quickly nudged Qin Qiaoyun from behind, telling her to shut up!

Madam Zhao smiled kindly again: "Miss Liu, please continue. I love listening to stories."

Liu Ye smiled and nodded, then continued, "It was a very dangerous time. That morning, just as we were about to set off, we were surrounded by hundreds of bandits. They started robbing us of silver and food. When they saw well-dressed gentlemen and beautifully dressed young ladies, they even stripped them naked and took their clothes. As for that young lady... I won't go into details."

The lady and young lady's faces changed upon hearing this. They patted their chests in fear and began to whisper among themselves, "Oh dear, tsk tsk tsk, the young lady's clothes have been stripped off. How will she ever get married?"

"That's right. But I bet the young lady whose clothes were ripped off can't say anything. If she doesn't say anything, how will her husband's family know? They won't even know who it is. We have to keep an eye on things. My son is looking for a girl, so I have to find out the details."

Liu Ye continued, "Brother Bai saw that there were many bandits, and a wise man doesn't fight a losing battle, so he gave all the grain to the bandits. I also gave them silver. The bandits saw that we were sensible and didn't make things difficult for us. In the end, they let us go."

Qin Qiaoyun saw that Liu Ye hadn't mentioned her name, and assumed that Liu Ye was afraid of her warning. She snorted coldly and didn't dare to provoke her anymore.

Madam Zhao and her daughter exchanged a glance, both understanding the worry in each other's eyes. Madam Zhao looked at Liu Ye and asked, "I wonder, is the young lady you mentioned who was stripped of her clothes by bandits from our Xiancheng, or from our Xiangshan Town?"

Zhao Xinbao also looked at Liu Ye with great curiosity. She also wanted to know who the woman who was stripping was and whether she was a prostitute she knew.

Liu Ye feigned a troubled expression: "Well... I'm afraid it wouldn't be good for me to say this, since she's not married yet and doesn't seem to have a fiancé..."

Upon hearing that he was unmarried and had no fiancé, Madam Zhao asked even more questions: "Oh, Miss Liu, it's like this. I'm not being nosy, but my son is already 21 this year, which is the age for marriage. My husband came back this time not only to celebrate my mother's birthday, but also to arrange a marriage for my son. When I heard you say that..."

“Miss Liu, if that girl isn’t from our Xiangshan Town or Xiancheng, you can speak freely. We don’t know who she is anyway. Tell us so that those of us with sons can avoid being scammed and avoid marrying that stripper. Oh dear, that would be incredibly embarrassing.”