Seeing the fierce look in the girl's eyes, Huayi hurriedly begged for mercy, "Miss, spare my life! Huayi swears that as long as you give me another chance, I will definitely do my best to accomplish your task."
This servant has learned that the master thief is currently in Tangshan Prefecture. Since Su Erhu is not swayed by soft words and is not attracted to beautiful women, then we can resort to force!
The Su family are all peasants; they're no match for a master thief!
Liu Yuxian's anger subsided slightly. "What does being a master thief have to do with me needing a hot pot recipe? Just say what you want, don't beat around the bush with me."
"Yes." Huayi nodded quickly. "Every time Su Erhu delivers those hot pot ingredients to Su's Restaurant, he locks them up in the main kitchen. The restaurant is full of burly men who don't know martial arts."
We can have the master thief steal it directly.
"With this hot pot base that hasn't been cooked yet, and by hiring a few skilled chefs to study it, how could we not crack the recipe?"
Liu Yuxian thought for a moment, but was still a little worried. "Although the waiters at Su's Restaurant are a bunch of roughnecks, Xiao Jinhan, who is next to Su Hua, is quite skilled in martial arts. If he catches her, won't it implicate me?"
Hua Yi smiled and said, "Don't worry, Miss. When I came back, I found out that Xiao Jinhan has not been in Qingshui County recently. Now is the perfect opportunity to let the master thief make his move."
"If he's not in Qingshui County, then where did he go?" Liu Yuxian frowned slightly.
My brother sent someone to inquire about Xiao Jinhan's background a few days ago, but they returned empty-handed. After asking around, they found out that he was just a lowly soldier from the army camp.
"This, this servant does not know." Huayi shook her head.
Upon hearing this, Liu Yuxian pondered for a while, then said, "Alright, you should quickly find the master thief to handle this matter, but remember, don't do it in the name of our Liu family."
"If you mess this up again, I'll send you to Old Manor to keep Huaping company, understand?"
"Yes, I understand." Huayi's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly replied.
The days passed by at a leisurely pace.
That day, the Su family was having dinner when they saw Su Erhu ride his horse to the end of the village.
Su Hua greeted him with a smile, "Second Brother, you've come at the perfect time today. We happen to have your favorite crucian carp soup. Come down and have some!"
These days it's so hot, the Su family eats directly at a table outside the courtyard. Su Erhu stopped his horse in the front yard and glanced at the table, which was full of fish: braised fish, boiled fish, fish head with chopped peppers, whole roasted fish, and crucian carp soup.
The aroma of fish is so enticing that it makes your mouth water.
Su Erhu couldn't help but swallow, but waved his hand, "I've already eaten..."
Su Bai looked up and saw the man's expression. "Why be so polite among family? These are fish that Hua'er and the others caught in the river. Try them."
The two younger brothers, Da Lang and Er Lang, simply handed the bowls and chopsticks to Su Erhu and filled his bowl with crucian carp soup. "The fish in this river are so fragrant, especially the crucian carp soup. It's so delicious and flavorful. Second Uncle, have a taste."
Su Erhu looked at the milky white fish soup and finally couldn't resist. He sipped more than half a bowl in one gulp. Before he finished the soup, he picked up a piece of chopped fish with chili and stuffed it into his mouth.
It felt like a lifetime ago that I last ate these dishes.
Watching the man wolf down his food, Su Bai felt a pang of sadness and pushed the crucian carp soup towards him, saying, "Eat slowly, there are many bones in this fish, be careful not to choke!"
"Okay!" Su Erhu nodded, but his actions of drinking soup and eating meat did not slow down at all. He drank three bowls of fish soup, ate a bowl of rice and half a braised fish before he finally let out a satisfied burp.
These dishes are worlds apart from what we eat at home. I felt comfortable and relaxed right after eating them.
Seeing this, Su Hua smiled and then asked Danfeng to serve some fruit after the meal. "These are apples that the brothers planted earlier. They're ready to eat now. Second brother, try some and see if you like the sweet and sour taste?"
"The aroma alone is so comforting." Su Erhu picked up an apple and took a deep breath of its fragrance. "I came today to ask Hua'er if she has any non-toxic rat poison?"
"Rat poison?" Su Hua raised an eyebrow, taking a bite of her green apple. "Does Second Brother's house have rats?"
"No, it's not that there are rats in the house, it's that the restaurant has started having rat infestations these past few days," Su Erhu sighed.
For three consecutive days, the hot pot seasonings that the waiter put on the kitchen stove were stolen by rats, leaving only a tattered empty bag.
He sent his assistant to the pharmacy to get rat poison.
But because it was used in the kitchen, and we dared not use toxic rat poison, the rats were never completely eradicated.
Su Hua frowned slightly upon hearing this. "The hot pot seasoning was stolen by a rat? That shouldn't be the case. Rats never like greasy and spicy stuff like this. Why would they steal the seasoning?"
Su Bai nodded in agreement, "Not long ago, we had a fish hot pot at home. I forgot to put the leftover hot pot seasoning on the stove. When I went to check the next day, it was just as it had been, without a trace of rats."
"Could it be that there are no rats in the house, so it hasn't been harmed?" Su Erhu scratched his head. "When I first heard about this from my friend, I also found it unbelievable, since rats are afraid of spicy food."
However, on the outer seal of the hot pot ingredients package, there were two rows of glaringly obvious rat teeth marks.
"How could there be no rats in the house?" Su Baishi rolled her eyes at him. "You probably forgot that we used to make traps for rats all the time in the neighboring yard. There are a lot of rats in the countryside, especially in our family who live near the mountain."
There are countless rats: house rats, mountain rats, field rats.
When they first started digging the foundation for this new house, Da Mai's father and the villagers dug up a huge rat's nest. It was only because Hua'er planted rat-repelling herbs that no rats dared to come into the house.
Su Erhu was so distraught after being scolded that he only dared to glance at the girl. "Hua'er, why don't we plant some rat-repelling herbs in the restaurant?"
"No rush," Su Hua shook her head. "Aside from the rats stealing hot pot seasonings, has anything unusual happened at the restaurant these past few days?"
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