56 Give him some knockout drug
"Why are you here? Are you here just to see me?"
In the early morning, the streets are already bustling with activity, with the cries of vendors rising one after another. From time to time, a luxurious horse-drawn carriage comes riding in, the bells on the eaves swaying with the wind, and the clatter of horse hooves growing farther and farther away.
Chen Jingshan tossed and turned and couldn't sleep. When he thought of his elder brother, he sat up with a long sigh.
Yesterday, he learned from the shopkeeper that his eldest brother had not appeared for three to five days, so he hurried back to look for him. What was the point of looking for him again after the shopkeeper had already sent someone there? Naturally, he found nothing.
Chen Jingshan sighed inwardly, his face still showing his usual aloof and cold expression. The servant brought a basin of warm water, and after he simply washed up, he stepped out of the room.
The Chen brothers, having prospered early, bought a large courtyard. A winding corridor winds through the garden, creating a uniquely captivating experience of changing scenery. Although autumn has already arrived, the gardener's meticulous care for the pavilions, terraces, rockery, and flowing water in the courtyard still exudes a touch of vitality.
He took the fish food from the servant and scattered it into the pond with his slender fingers. Soon, more than a dozen plump goldfish revealed their presence, crowding around and jumping up to eat. "Tell Butler Zhang to send two notices for me."
The servant didn't understand what was going on and looked up at him in confusion: "Boss..."
Chen Jingshan looked at the fish swimming before him and said in a flat voice, "To the owners of the two tofu shops."
The servant responded, and as he was about to leave, he remembered what Butler Zhang had told him: "Master, breakfast is already served."
Chen Jingshan made his fortune in the food business. When he was young, his family was poor and he often went hungry. Although life was difficult, he developed a good habit of never wasting food after all the hardships.
He had been feeling a bit worried these past few days, and had told the kitchen not to prepare breakfast for three days in a row. Butler Zhang, an old man who had been with him for a long time, naturally couldn't stand it. So, early in the morning, he had deliberately ordered the kitchen to set out a table full of dishes, just waiting for Chen Jingshan to enjoy them.
Chen Jingshan had no appetite and hurriedly finished his breakfast before going out. In order to go into the mountains today, he specially wore an indigo-colored riding suit with a black waist belt that fit tightly against his slender waist, making his figure look taller and more heroic.
He walked quickly to the gate, and as he walked, he warned: "Butler Zhang, if my brother comes back... immediately order someone to tie him up."
Steward Zhang secretly wiped the sweat from his forehead and said hesitantly, "Boss, you're making things difficult for me... With Second Boss's martial arts skills, who can possibly tie him up..."
"Who told you to tie him up? Use your brain and give him some knockout punch..."
Butler Zhang was listening carefully. When he saw that the host had fallen silent, he immediately looked up and saw the woman who had just come to "visit" him standing outside the door. He took a step forward and frowned, saying, "Young lady, why are you going on and on?"
He glanced at the gatekeeper and said, "If you can't even do this little thing, I think you guys don't need to work in the house anymore. Just sell them out..."
Every day, many people come to Chen’s house to “look for” Chen Jingshan and Chen Yuechuan, but they are not just “looking” for them. Most of them come to see them on their own initiative.
However, this cannot be blamed on others. After all, the two are of the right age, have not yet married, and run the largest restaurant in Yuezhou City. Naturally, there are countless matchmakers who want to propose marriage.
At first, Housekeeper Zhang didn't know the visitors' intentions and unintentionally let a few in, but they later caused a lot of trouble in the mansion. Therefore, to keep these idlers out, Chen Jingshan specially established a rule: only those with visiting cards could enter, and all others were kicked out.
Even if there had been cases where someone had been chased away but not driven away, it was mostly when Chen Jingshan was not at home. Then, whether by persuasion with kind words or threats with harsh words, the person was always sent away before Chen Jingshan returned home.
But today he actually ran into him red-handed. Butler Zhang was afraid that he would be unhappy, so he raised his hand to chase him away while talking.
But before he could raise his arm, Chen Jingshan grabbed it and gave him a sidelong glance: "No rules."
He tilted his head again, his tone slightly softer than usual, "Why are you here? Did you come to see me specifically?"
Ye Yunzhao on the opposite side smiled, a faint dimple appearing on his side face: "Exactly."
Looking at the scene before him, Butler Zhang was somewhat confused: No rules? Who has no rules? Aren't these rules set by the boss? How can I be the one breaking the rules?
Seeing his face flush, Ye Yunzhao belatedly realized that Chen Jingshan's attire today was very different from usual. He spoke with disappointment, "You...you guys have something to do today?"
Chen Jingshan looked in the direction of her finger and saw that he was wearing a unique outfit today. He immediately said, "Nothing, I have a lot of free time today."
Hearing this, Butler Zhang's mind raced. Although he keenly sensed something, he still couldn't stop himself from speaking quickly: "Boss, didn't you say that today you want to... uh huh..."
Ye Yunzhao looked at the two people in front of him in disbelief. Chen Jingshan had lost his usual composure. He put one hand around Butler Zhang's neck and covered his mouth with the other. Butler Zhang was restrained and was struggling hard by instinct.
She was stunned and said, "Are you really fine?"
Chen Jingshan showed a harmless smile on his face: "If he is really fine, ask him if you don't believe me."
After saying that, he tilted his head before letting go. Butler Zhang listened to the barely perceptible whisper of "Talk nicely." He looked at Ye Yunzhao with a bit of curiosity and immediately agreed, "The boss needs to go to the shop to check the account books as usual today. There is nothing else."
Chen Jingshan was very satisfied with this answer. He nodded slightly and said to Ye Yunzhao with a smile: "Let's go, we will talk while we walk."
Ye Yunzhao followed beside him and recalled the reason why he rushed to Yuezhou City early this morning.
Today was the first day of school after the ten-day holiday. Because of Master Wanjun's affairs, Ye Yunzhao had no other interests, so he asked Sun Ning to teach them bamboo weaving two days in advance. He then made his way to Yuezhou City, a place he had visited several times, with ease.
Although he already knew that Master Wanjun had married an official in Yuezhou City, Ye Yunzhao didn't know how to inquire about the family's private affairs. Since she was an official, she must be living in a house in the east of the city.
The courtyards in the east of the city were scattered and the scenery was pleasant. The families who could live here were either wealthy or noble. However, the servants and maids in these families were either carefully trained or were born in the family. How could the master's private affairs be easily disclosed to others?
Ye Yunzhao patiently asked several maids who went out to buy things. Although he had a kind smile on his face, when he heard them asking about private matters, he just said a few words about how a servant would know about the master's affairs and sent her away.
He had thought he would return empty-handed today, but unexpectedly he saw the fat lady who was selling crystal cakes, whom he met when he first came to the city with Zhuang Xue to sell things. Ye Yunzhao followed his memory of escaping at that time and actually found Chen Jingshan's private residence.
But he hadn't expected his house to be so impregnable that he couldn't even enter without a post. Ye Yunzhao tried to persuade the housekeeper and servants, even revealing his identity as the Lingnan County Magistrate, but they remained unmoved. Determined to find Master Wanjun, Ye Yunzhao sat on the stone steps at the entrance for the better part of an hour, waiting for him to leave.
Seeing that she seemed to be thinking about something, Chen Jingshan asked considerately, "Is there something wrong?"
Ye Yunzhao looked up at him and said in a roundabout way, "Let me treat you to breakfast. Have you eaten yet?"
Chen Jingshan touched his belly inadvertently, secretly scolding Butler Zhang in his heart, and looked up at the sky. It was only two quarters past noon, and the mountain road from Lingnan County to Yuezhou City was rugged.
Even the dumbest person could guess that she had left home before dawn, so how could she have had the chance to eat breakfast?
So, he forced himself to smile and said, "How do you know I didn't eat it?"
Ye Yunzhao smiled and agreed immediately: "That's perfect! I haven't eaten either. Come on, I'll treat you to breakfast."
Butler Zhang, who was eavesdropping from the narrow crack of the mansion's gate, asked suspiciously, "Didn't the master have breakfast? You, go to the kitchen and see what's going on. Could it be that the master is ill? Why does he seem to have no appetite these past few days..."
*
"Wontons, wontons, a bite of wontons is like heaven! Wontons, wontons, a bite..."
"Aunt, do you have any watercress and pork wontons now?" Ye Yunzhao asked through the thick mist in the soup pot.
The woman who was scooping wontons into a ceramic bowl looked up at this and said with a smile, "Madam, we're out of the amaranth and pork stuffing. Would you like to try the mushroom and pork stuffing?"
The woman couldn't see the two people's faces clearly because of the smell of the pot. She only knew that they were a man and a woman, who seemed to be of similar age. She then tried to sell the man, "You look like a newlywed couple. Why don't you try our wontons? They are really delicious..."
Hearing this, Ye Yunzhao quickly waved his hands: "No, no, no, Auntie, you misunderstood. We are not husband and wife."
The woman realized that she had made a fool of herself and said, "Oh, it was a misunderstanding, it was a misunderstanding, please don't blame me, my lady."
Ye Yunzhao, who had worked hard in modern society in his previous life, had naturally seen this kind of sales tactics many times. Therefore, he turned his head and looked at Chen Jingshan without paying any attention. Seeing him nod slightly, he smiled and said, "Auntie, two bowls of wontons, please."
"Okay! Wait a moment, ma'am."
Chen Jingshan took out a blue-gray handkerchief from somewhere, pulled out two chopsticks from the bamboo tube, wiped them carefully and handed them to Ye Yunzhao.
In a matter of seconds, the woman brought the fresh, translucent wontons to the table in a ceramic bowl. "Here are the wontons... Ah! Shopkeeper Chen?"
Chen Jingshan was originally the shopkeeper at Ruyilou, personally doing the shopping and accounting. In the past two years, as the business grew, he resigned and trained several suitable shopkeepers. However, in the eyes of ordinary vendors, whether they were owners or shopkeepers, there was no difference.
Without the steaming mist, Chen Jingshan's face was revealed to the woman. She felt a little nervous at first, because she had just said something wrong and was a little uneasy. When she put down the ceramic bowl, she accidentally splashed some soup.
"oops……"
The woman couldn't help but exclaimed, and was about to wipe it with a rag, but she saw Chen Jingshan, who was always cold and distant, wipe the table with his own towel and said to the beautiful lady:
"It's okay, why don't you try it?"
Ye Yunzhao didn't realize anything and just said, "It smells good."
As he spoke, he picked up a round and translucent wonton with bamboo chopsticks. With just a little force, the thin outer skin revealed the mysterious inside.
The chopped fresh mushrooms mixed with the oily pork filling give off a subtle fragrance through the heat.
Ye Yunzhao blew on it twice quickly, and then hurriedly put it into his mouth. His body, which had been frozen for nearly two hours, gradually warmed up.
Seeing Chen Jingshan boasting for a long time, she said, "You should try it too. No wonder people go to the mountains to pick mushrooms every day. They are so delicious when made into meat fillings."
Facing her strong recommendation, Chen Jingshan gritted his teeth and put it in his mouth, smiling and saying, "It's really good."
Seeing that he was in a good mood, Ye Yunzhao took advantage of the situation and showed a slightly cunning smile on his face. He said embarrassedly: "Shopkeeper Chen, actually... I need your help with something..."
Chen Jingshan's eyes fell on the dimple on her right cheek that appeared and disappeared from time to time, and he said with understanding: "There is no need for further words between you and me. What is it?"
As soon as he finished speaking, a pair of dexterous and slender hands rested on his right wrist. Chen Jingshan's right hand curled up unconsciously, his eyes darkened, and he looked up at Ye Yunzhao.
However, the owner of these hands hadn't realized anything was wrong yet. He was looking around. As if to make sure no one was eavesdropping, he exerted some strength with both hands and moved along the bench twice towards Chen Jingshan's side.
"Have you ever heard of... Master Wanjun?"
Chen Jingshan was stunned and blurted out: "Ming Wanjun?"
Ye Yunzhao looked up suddenly and asked in surprise: "You recognize her?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
