The innkeeper and owner were still at the yamen and hadn't returned, but the service at the inn wasn't affected at all; on the contrary, it was even more attentive and welcoming than before.

The waiter deliberately went upstairs to ask about the approximate lunch time, saying that he noticed the breakfast was a bit late, so he came to inquire whether the afternoon lunch time should be postponed a little.

After asking around, Hong Xiaoduo decided that lunch would be postponed by half an hour.

We had lunch downstairs; the waiter had already set up the tables for us.

Stewed chicken, braised beef, stir-fried pork kidneys, braised pork ribs, fish bone tofu soup, fish balls, and several vegetarian dishes—a whole table full of food.

"Young man, the meal standards we discussed before, isn't this a bit much?" Hong Xiaoduo asked the waiter, looking at the sumptuous dishes on the table.

Even though I have plenty of money, I can't eat like this.

"Miss Hong, please eat as much as you like. This was prepared by the kitchen at the master's instruction, and there will be no extra charge. Furthermore, you don't need to worry about the food supply being cut off during heavy rain. Even if it rains knives, we can guarantee that you will have fresh meat and vegetables every day," the waiter said with a smile before running off.

Tian Shu and the others all looked at Hong Xiaoduo, waiting for her to speak.

“Since we’ve already done it, let’s eat. I’ll tell their boss when he gets back that they want to thank us. This meal should be enough,” Hong Xiaoduo quickly said.

Only then did everyone pick up their chopsticks and start eating. It has to be said that the chef in this inn was even better at cooking than the chefs in those big restaurants.

Hong Xiaoduo felt that it was a waste of talent for the chef to work in an inn instead of a famous restaurant.

While we were eating, the rain outside started to fall intermittently, stopping briefly before starting again.

Anyway, everyone inside was very calm. They knew in advance that it would rain continuously, and they had a place to stay and good food. They just needed to wait patiently for someone to say that they could continue their journey.

Around noon, the innkeeper and owner returned and deliberately invited Hong Xiaoduo and the others downstairs for tea.

Feiyan sat at a nearby table with her seven children, eating dried fruit and snacks. Quan Jinghuai sat with Hong Xiaoduo, the innkeeper, and the owner.

The old innkeeper stood up shakily, very excited. As soon as he spoke, tears welled up in his old eyes: "I am so grateful to you two for what happened today. I thank you with tea instead of wine. Otherwise, I don't know how much longer I could have kept this inn from him."

Seeing the old man like this, Quan Jinghuai and the other man could no longer sit and quickly got up. Quan Jinghuai then looked at Hong Xiaoduo.

"You can respond too?" Hong Xiaoduo glanced at Quan Jinghuai, then picked up her teacup and replied, "Master, there's no need for that. They just happened to come across us, it was just a convenient thing."

Furthermore, you don't need to treat us as benefactors, and don't rush to thank us. We have people we don't get along with when we travel, and we might even implicate you."

After hearing this, Hou Dongjia and Manager He looked at each other and realized that she was not joking. Hou Dongjia said, "When you're in business, you'll encounter all sorts of things. Just relax and stay here."

We can't help with other things, but there's something we can do, so please don't hesitate to ask.

"We don't need your help. If a fight really breaks out, just pretend you didn't hear anything and don't come out," Hong Xiaoduo reminded them.

If a fight damages property, you can compensate the perpetrators, but it's not good if someone gets hurt.

"Alright, I will pass on the instructions." Master Hou replied very seriously.

"As for the three meals a day, there's no need to add extra dishes for us. Business has been slow for the past two years, and it's really not easy for your inn to stay afloat. Besides, the manager said that you've been doing good deeds all these years, so you should save the money to help those who really need it."

We admire the host's kindness and offer this as a token of our respect." After saying this, Hong Xiaoduo drank the tea in her hand in one gulp.

Judging from her posture, anyone who didn't know better would think she had just been drinking alcohol!

Her words deeply touched Hou Dongjia and his shopkeeper. Both were straightforward people, so they didn't say anything more and raised their teacups to drink it all in one gulp.

Hong Xiaoduo remembered to ask how things were progressing.

Manager He explained that because of Lou Wu's cooperation, Meng Jinxin had no choice but to admit it.

The prefect ordered the man surnamed Meng to compensate the inn for two years' worth of losses and instructed the owner, Hou, to return and review the previous accounts. He was to go to the yamen the next day to provide a specific amount as the standard for compensation.

The verdicts for Meng and Lou Wu will be announced in three days.

Both of them will be imprisoned, but it's uncertain how long their sentences will be.

Hong Xiaoduo thought the result was acceptable.

Although the other party's behavior was egregious, it was not serious enough to warrant a sentence of immediate execution or execution in the autumn.

After the serious topic, the atmosphere immediately became relaxed when Hong Xiaoduo brought up the chef's cooking skills.

Outside the inn, as the rain lessened, more people hurried out to run errands and make purchases. A man wearing a raincoat and a straw hat paused slightly upon hearing the bursts of laughter from inside the inn before continuing on his way.

In the following days, although it wasn't the same torrential rain and strong winds as before, the rain stopped at night and continued during the day.

The case involving the inn has also been decided. Lou Wu was sentenced to one hundred strokes of the cane and one year in prison.

Meng Jinxin was originally the mastermind, but because of his good attitude in compensating, he was sentenced to 100 strokes of the cane and one year in prison, plus compensation for two years' income of Feng'an Inn. However, almost all the families whose shops he had previously acquired at low prices using the same methods heard about Meng Jinxin's arrest and went to the yamen to beat the drum and appeal for justice, accusing Meng Jinxin of using intimidation to force them to buy their properties.

Therefore, Meng Jinxin's case will have to be tried again, and each conviction and sentencing will be determined separately.

Hong Xiaoduo was no longer curious about how many years Meng Jinxin would ultimately be sentenced to in prison; her mind was preoccupied with waiting for Black Impermanence to appear. However, even on the eighth day before they set off to leave Fengzhou City, that bastard still hadn't shown up.

This time, Hong Xiaoduo let Feiyan sit in the carriage as well, since the carriage was lined with copper.

Then, she ushered Tian Shu into the carriage and sat on the carriage shaft herself, looking as if she were driving the carriage.

If the Black Impermanence really had his eye on someone, there would be no need to leave any child outside as bait.

The black ox pulling the cart didn't need to rush at all. Hong Xiaoduo sat on the cart shaft, with a heavy, bulging leather bag around her waist.

Feiyan sewed this bag for her, and it was still filled with pebbles. Originally, she wanted to buy some nails instead of pebbles, but Quan Jinghuai told her sincerely that she didn't need to change it, saying that pebbles would be more powerful than nails if she were to use them.

After considering the penetrating power of her own stones thrown at the tree trunk, Hong Xiaoduo felt that what he said made sense, so she gave up her plan to use iron nails.

Twenty miles outside Fengzhou City, glancing at the trees lining the road ahead, Hong Xiaoduo looked at the person on horseback. Quan Jinghuai, of course, understood what she meant…