Chapter 44 The Villain's Fate
Zhang Lixian had his eye on the "lychee steamed bun," and wasn't particularly interested in the other items, so he pointed there and said...
"Give me one of these steamed buns to try first, and then a bowl of soy milk."
Jiang Zhi felt a slight sense of surprise and delight upon seeing this new customer.
She never expected that her breakfast stall would attract new customers! Although the customers were a bit blunt, saying they were "just trying it out," Jiang Zhi was still confident that what she made, while not guaranteed to attract customers, would definitely be good!
She thought about it all in her mind, but her hands moved quickly. She picked up a long wooden tong and lifted the steamer basket that was placed to the side. A wave of hot steam rushed out, mixed with the aroma of noodles.
She quickly picked up a steaming hot lychee bun and, along with a bowl of soy milk she had just made, handed it to the customer with a smile, a sweet smile on her face.
"Sir, you can find a seat over there and then enjoy your breakfast. If there's anything else you'd like to eat, you can come and join the queue when it gets shorter, or you can ask my little one to bring it to you!"
As she spoke, Jiang Zhi glanced at Zuo Tianyuan, who was utterly bored, and casually assigned him some tasks.
Zuo Tianyuan lived up to expectations. When he met Jiang Zhi's glance, he instinctively stood up straight and shouted loudly.
"Yes!"
The sight instantly brought a smile to the faces of those queuing behind them.
*
Looking at what Zhang Li had bought, and after considering what he wanted to eat, Lao Zhou finally decided:
"Ahem, give me a vegetable soup, a rice cake, and a steamed bun."
He coughed twice to draw attention away from Zuo Tianyuan's earlier distraction, and then said.
Jiang Zhi felt a little embarrassed. She had been so focused on making the little rascal laugh that she had neglected the customer in front of her.
Perhaps feeling a little guilty, she served the middle-aged man in front of her a little extra vegetable soup, and then, as usual, used tongs to pick up a piece of snow-white rice cake and a piece of reddish-brown steamed bun, and handed them over.
She repeated what she had just said with a smile.
Zuo Tianyuan continued to act cute and playful on the sidelines, making fun of everyone.
Hmm, Jiang Zhishen thought that this kid probably had the talent to be a comedian in her dynasty!
*
After receiving their purchases, Zhang and Zhou followed Jiang Zhi's directions and found an empty table. After confirming that the table and chairs were relatively clean, they sat down.
Zhang Li was probably a little hungry, so he smiled at Lao Zhou, who was sitting opposite him, and prepared to start eating.
Perhaps influenced by the man in front of him, the first thing he touched was the lychee bun!
He grabbed the steamed bun and tentatively kneaded it.
*
The steamed bun still retained a touch of warmth from just coming out of the steamer, and if you held it in your hands for a while, you would transfer that warmth directly to your hands.
Zhang Li held the steamed bun to his nose and sniffed it, revealing an expression of genuine curiosity: this red steamed bun was indeed quite different from the snow-white steamed buns he usually ate. Just by sniffing its surface, a faint yet lingering fruity fragrance would sweep away the fatigue of waking up in the morning.
Even after smelling it for a while, it doesn't become cloying. On the contrary, the fermented wheat aroma finally emerges from the fruity scent. In short,
It smells delicious!
If this was the case for Zhang Li, then it was even more true for everyone else. Zhang Li glanced around and estimated that many people probably just thought, "Wow, this smells so good," and then wolfed it down without hesitation.
*
After Zhang Li examined the lychee bun from all angles, he finally opened his mouth and prepared to savor it.
The red outer layer felt soft to the touch. The dough had risen just right, neither too sticky nor too fluffy.
After chewing a couple of times, in addition to the fruity aroma that instantly spreads on the tip of the tongue, the wheat aroma of the noodles also spreads as you chew, and the sweetness also spreads as you chew.
Zhang Li couldn't quite recall what fruit was causing the fruity aroma wafting through the steamed bun, but that didn't stop him from smacking his lips in satisfaction as he ate.
As you chew, the brownish-red outer layer of the steamed bun is completely eaten. Suddenly, the walnut pieces stuffed inside and the sugar sprinkled on top are steamed into a pool of syrup, which flows out the moment you bite into the bun.
The heat made Zhang Li hiss, and he instinctively stuck out his tongue to try and cool his lips down.
This temperature drop was quite something; the sweet taste of crushed walnuts mixed with syrup was instantly perceived by the tongue, and the sweet flavor instantly relieved the scalding sensation.
In short, although it was only a few bites, Zhang Li was extremely satisfied with the meal.
By the time he came to his senses, his hands were empty. The steamed bun had quietly disappeared into his mouth.
He looked up, unusually dazed, and met the gaze of Old Zhou sitting opposite him. He was subconsciously feeling a pang of regret.
Why didn't you buy more earlier?
Old Zhou, who was staring at him, also looked extremely satisfied with his meal. Seeing the predatory look in the other man's eyes, he instinctively pulled back the rice cake he was still holding, wary of the guy opposite him…
*
When Zhang Li finally stood in front of Jiang Zhi again, he was unusually embarrassed.
He glanced back at the line, which was noticeably shorter than before, and coughed lightly twice before speaking.
"Boss, these steamed buns are really good!"
Jiang Zhi knew, of course, how valuable was this guy's willingness to buy a second time, but she was still overjoyed to hear such praise. However, she just covered her mouth and smiled lightly, saying...
"Thank you for your kind words, sir! Would you like anything else?"
"Ahem, how about another bowl of vegetable soup and two pieces of rice cake..."
Before he could finish speaking, a servant who had come with him earlier squeezed in from behind, pulled him aside, and said something to him.
Jiang Zhi only vaguely heard things like "extortion and imprisonment," "voyeurism," and "plan to 'ram her head against a pillar.'" She didn't hear anything particularly intimate, but even with only that much, she didn't dare to listen any further.
She only secretly guessed the identity of the person standing in front of her, and was somewhat shocked:
Holy crap, he's actually a government official!
*
Over there, Zhang Li was listening to the servant's report with a headache on his face.
That's right, right in his jurisdiction, the mother and son from Xinghua Village started causing trouble again.
With his back to the enthusiastic and cheerful female boss in front of him, he muttered a curse under his breath that no one could hear, then took a deep breath and said to the female boss.
"Sorry, boss, I have a little errand to run. I don't need those anymore. Just give me a bamboo basket with ten steamed buns to take home for my family to try!"
Jiang Zhi didn't say anything; this was a big client, so she quickly packed it up. However, as she handed it over, she tilted her head and asked with a hint of gossip.
"Sir, what kind of work are you doing? It sounds like there's trouble again."
Zhang Li sighed, looked around, and, taking advantage of the fact that no one recognized him, began to complain in a low voice.
"Boss, you're lucky you're not from our town, otherwise you would definitely know that woman and her son. It's one thing for her to always try to take advantage of others, but her son also likes to peep on respectable women!"
"When it was first exposed, some people didn't believe it. But once the evidence was conclusive, he was beaten with a sack over his head every day. His mother didn't teach him properly, but she couldn't bear to see him being beaten, so she had to complain to the authorities every day. But the authorities didn't know who was beating him."
After venting for a while, he spoke even more softly for the next sentence.
"Besides, you know he did something wrong in the first place. Even if he didn't know anything, let alone..."
He hesitated, unable to finish his sentence. But then he saw the female boss across from him laugh, a relaxed laugh as if she had unloaded a huge burden.
Jiang Zhi already knew who the person in front of her was from the first few sentences of the description. Hearing this outcome, she could only say that half of the burden in her heart was lifted instantly, and she felt much more relaxed.
When she first started setting up her stall, Jiang Zhi was actually quite afraid that the mother and son would come knocking on her door and smash up the place. After all, you can't compare to a fool.
This outcome is well-deserved.
She said it softly, almost unconsciously.
"This kind of person deserves to be beaten; it's truly a case of reaping what you sow!"
"That's right!"
The old ladies who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, listening to gossip, all chimed in.
-----------------------
Author's Note: When writing this chapter, I was actually thinking about whether or not to write it, because I always felt that I was a sweet author, and the food stories I wrote were the kind that didn't have any family drama or mean relatives, just happy eating and drinking, playing with friends, and some of the storylines involved children.
After thinking about it, I decided to give the villains from the very beginning a proper ending, and then there won't be any more scenes with them. The female lead can continue happily cooking and having sweet romances! [Heart eyes][Heart eyes][Heart eyes]
P.S.: I suddenly realized this better one is stuck at chapter 44. It wasn't something I intentionally got stuck on, but I still got stuck there. [Cat emoji][Cat emoji]
This week's update schedule: Thursday (this chapter), Saturday, Monday, and most days without rankings will likely be on these three dates. I will update every day at 4 PM. I think I'll be busy from now on, but I have some drafts saved up, so don't worry.
As usual, let's urge him to add this to his favorites.
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