The moon was bright and the stars were few that night, and the next day was another clear and fine day.
On such a nice day, desserts should sell very well, but after two days, the dessert stall was running out of ingredients to make both red bean pastries and desserts, and could only last for half a day.
So, after selling their goods in the morning, Zhou Chenyu and Baoyu closed their stall early and went into the city. They had saved up several hundred coins, which was much more than before.
When the siblings went to the market, in addition to buying ingredients for making sweet soup, they also bought two pounds of pork, two pieces of soft tofu, and two jars of lamp oil from the butcher.
When I came back from shopping, the empty dustpan was filled with things again.
Zhou Chenyu took out two boxes of red bean pastries, clapped her hands, and prepared to leave. She said to Baoyu, "I've bought everything. You can go back to the village first. I still have things to do."
Baoyu leaned over and asked meaningfully, "Sister, are you going to see Headmaster Yang again?"
Zhou Chenyu was in a good mood, but glanced at him sideways and asked, "What? You're not going to give it to me?"
"How could that be?" Baoyu chuckled. "Sister, if you find your ideal husband soon, I'll have your husband back me up whenever you bully me again."
"screw you!"
Zhou Chenyu scolded him angrily, took two boxes of precious red bean pastries, and rushed to the front of the government office. Across the street, she saw the man guarding the gate. She remembered that Yang Xi had been accompanied by him several times, so he must be some kind of helper or assistant.
Xiao Qi saw Zhou Chenyu approaching from afar, stopped her half-finished yawn, and became fully awake. She rushed over to greet her: "Miss Zhou, you've come to the government office again?"
"Miss Zhou?" Zhou Chenyu slowly raised her eyes and looked at him gently. "Young man, do you know my name?"
Xiao Qi blinked and stared at Zhou Chenyu, then clenched her fists and saluted: "Miss Zhou, I was very impressed by your public beating of Qian Rushan last time, so I remembered your name immediately."
Is she that famous?
"Oh, I see." Zhou Chenyu looked at his genuinely admiring expression and gave him a harmless smile. "My name is Zhou Chenyu. May I ask what your name is, young man?"
Xiao Qi smiled broadly. "Miss Zhou, you can just call me Xiao Qi." He then widened his eyes and asked, "Oh, by the way, Miss Zhou, are you here to see my master?"
Who is your master?
Xiao Qi raised her chest, her words brimming with pride, "Yang Bantou is indeed my master! Miss Zhou, am I right?"
Zhou Chenyu watched as Xiao Qi, who was clearly curious and wanted to hear the gossip, pretended to be serious. It seemed that the news of her entanglement with Yang Xi had already spread among these people.
Was she that proactive?
No, I need to be reserved...
Zhou Chenyu smiled and said, "Yes, Chief Yang ordered a box of red bean pastries from my shop before, and I came here today specifically to deliver them. I wonder if Chief Yang is here?"
Xiao Qi beamed with joy, "Yes, yes, yes! Please wait here for a moment, I'll be right back."
"Oh, no need!" Zhou Chenyu called out to him, presenting the box with both hands and saying sincerely, "Xiao Qi, I know that Chief Yang is usually very busy with official duties and probably can't get away right now. I'm just here to deliver something, so I won't disturb his work. Please help me deliver these to him personally. Thank you very much."
Zhou Chenyu calmly left amidst Xiao Qi's incredulous expression.
Xiao Qi held the pastry box, watching the departing figure, and frowned in puzzlement, "Miss Zhou is leaving already? Could it be that I've misunderstood?"
Xiao Qi sighed regretfully, took the things and went deep into the dungeon. The people imprisoned here were all vicious criminals, who were either murderers, arsonists, or rapists.
Outside, the sky was clear and bright, but inside, it was gloomy and eerie.
Whenever Xiao Qi came here, he would walk through the dark corridor, where torches flickered on both sides of the passage. The prisoners trapped in the cells on both sides would stare at him like evil spirits, and the hairs on the back of his neck would always stand on end.
He doesn't usually like coming to this place, but if he needs to find his master, this is the place to go.
Under the menacing gaze of those evil spirits, Xiao Qi quickened her pace until she saw her calm and composed master sitting at a table at the far end of the path, and only then did her unease subside.
No matter how terrifying evil spirits are, they are not as terrifying as the anger of a master.
The stern reprimand from her master for letting the prisoner escape a few days ago was still fresh in her mind. Xiao Qi quietly stepped forward and said, "Master, you've been staying here looking at case files for several days. It's time to go out and get some fresh air."
Yang Xi glanced at him, immediately seeing through his scheme: "Speak your mind."
Xiao Qi nervously took out the item, "Master, I just ran into Miss Zhou at the entrance of the government office. She came to deliver something to you."
Sending something?
Yang Xi frowned subconsciously. "Tell her I don't have time to see her." After he finished speaking, he suddenly remembered the conversation he had with her before leaving yesterday, and became more talkative: "Where is she?"
Seeing that things had taken a turn for the better, Xiao Qi anxiously replied, "Master, Miss Zhou just left not long ago. If we go out to chase after her now, we should be able to catch up."
Yang Xi glanced at Xiao Qi's inexplicably nervous expression, then looked back at the old case file, his expression extremely calm: "Since the things have been delivered, it's good that you're leaving. I'll thank her when I see her another day."
We left the government office; it was still early.
Zhou Chenyu wandered around the market a couple more times, and just as she was about to give up, she finally met the person she was looking for.
She laughed, "So this is where it is."
Zhang the Deaf got a bowl of leftover rice from a family. He carefully held the dirty, broken bowl, but a group of naughty children rushed up and surrounded him.
The lead child snatched the broken bowl from the old man's hand, shouting, "You stinking beggar, you treasure a broken bowl like that? It stinks! Come and take it from me, and I'll give it back to you if you can!"
Several children were playing tricks on the old man, passing his broken bowl around. The old man cried out in desperation, "Give me back my bowl! Give me back my bowl!"
Zhou Chenyu strode over and snatched the broken bowl.
The child looked up angrily, "Why did you take my things?"
"If you can take things from an old man, why can't I take them back?"
"This is mine! I didn't steal it, give it back to me!"
The child reached out and pounced on her with a sense of entitlement.
Zhou Chenyu dodged backward, landing on his back in a doggy-style position, getting a mouthful of mud, then stomping his feet and wailing loudly.
"You can still cry?! Pshaw!"
Zhou Chenyu ignored him and led the old man to another quiet place. "Here, take it back."
The old man seemed to remember her; his tears turned to laughter, and he stopped being possessive of the food, saying, "You eat."
Zhou Chenyu shook her head with a smile, as if coaxing an old child, "I'm already full, I'm not hungry, you can have some."
"Then I'll eat, hehe." The old man took the broken bowl and started eating. Zhou Chenyu watched for a while, then got up and bought a few meat buns. The old man smelled the aroma and immediately lost interest in the food. He looked over longingly and said, "It smells so good."
Zhou Chenyu smiled faintly and replaced the bowl of rice with a steamed bun, "Here, have some."
The old man opened his eyes in surprise, pointed at himself, and asked, "For me?"
Zhou Chenyu nodded. "After you finish eating, could you take me home? I'd like to visit your house, okay?"
The old man took a bite of the meat bun, but stared blankly at her, unable to hear what she was saying.
“Go home, take me to your house, okay?” Zhou Chenyu made a gesture of putting her hands together and resting them on her face. The old man immediately smiled, hurriedly picked up the steamed buns, and got up to lead the way.
Looking at the old man's warm-hearted appearance, Zhou Chenyu smiled and said, "Yang Xi cares about you so much, he should go see you too, right?"
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