"Thank you, Miss Xu." Dong said with a smile.

She took the bowl of Tremella, Red Dates and Lotus Seed Soup and took a sip slowly. The syrup was thick and sweet but not greasy. The red dates had been peeled and pitted, so they tasted sweet and soft. She couldn't help it and drank half a bowl in a row before stopping. Her originally irritable mood calmed down a lot.

Not only did she not get a good rest in these ten days, she didn't even eat much. After she and Yue Weimin divorced, there were still many things to finish. Yue Weimin used to be the chef of Donglaiju, and he was in charge of Donglaiju's purchases. He must have embezzled a lot of money in this regard. Now he has to find someone new to be in charge of purchases, and he has to recalculate all the previous accounts. In addition, Donglaiju's menu has to be remade. Just like what Yue Weimin said, some of the dishes were made by him, and Donglaiju doesn't need them, so they have to be remade and use the dishes on the previous Dong family menu.

Fortunately, Donglai Ju still has two chefs and several assistants.

It was after this incident that Xu Qinyu asked Dongqian to go back to Donglaiju to help first, and then come to her place after Donglaiju was stable.

But Dong Qian could see that Xu Ji was also short of staff. Even without him, Donglai Ju still had Xi Ge'er and other assistant chefs, so they didn't need him. So he didn't go back to Donglai Ju, but stayed in Xu Ji. Dong Shi didn't let him go back either, because she felt that he had learned all the cooking skills of Xu Ji, so it would be wrong for him to go back to help Donglai Ju when something happened.

Fortunately, there is still Xi Ge'er in Donglaiju. Yue Xi hasn't spoken for several days since his parents divorced, but he has been working as a kitchen helper in Donglaiju these days. He is even responsible for the purchasing these days. Looking at the difference between the previous account and the account he is in charge of purchasing now, he can't deceive himself. His father really doesn't love them and has wanted to leave a long time ago.

After these ten days, Donglaiju gradually became stable.

Even though there are fewer customers, Dong knows that these things need to be dealt with slowly.

Dong came here today to find Dong Qian and ask him something.

Dongqian is still helping in the kitchen at the moment and will have to wait until he finishes before coming to the front.

Xu Qinyu could see how haggard Dong looked, so she served her a bowl of the red dates, white fungus and lotus seed soup that she had cooked today.

No matter what season it is, this red dates, white fungus and lotus seed soup is delicious and very nourishing.

Even Xu Qinyu didn't expect that the child Yue Weimin had outside was not his, but was born to Liu Niang and another man.

Of course, she didn't know exactly what happened; she just heard it from outside.

Dong had nothing to do at the moment, so she told Xu Qinyu what happened that day.

After she left that day, she didn't intend to take care of what happened next, but she still left a maid behind. She was also worried that other things would involve her, so she asked the maid to stay and see what would happen next.

The old woman quietly squeezed into the crowd.

Seeing Yue Weimin questioning Liu Niang, "Is Ji Ge'er my child?"

Liu Niang cried bitterly, "Why won't you believe me, Master? They are talking nonsense. Ji Ge'er is of course your child."

In fact, even Liu Niang herself didn't know whose child Ji Ge'er was, nor did she know whether the baby in her belly was Yue Laoye's or Chen Daqun's.

But she could only say that it belonged to her husband. She couldn't admit in front of so many people that she was a promiscuous woman and that she was unfaithful when she was a mistress and had an affair with another man.

Yue Weimin originally planned to stop there. He couldn't really force Liu Niang to admit in front of everyone that the child was not his. Although he had already determined in his heart that Ji Ge'er was really not his child, because he didn't look like him at all, whether it was Qian Ge'er, Xi Ge'er or the youngest daughter Yu Jie'er, at least their facial features were slightly similar to his.

But Ji Ge'er was nothing like him.

She doesn't even look like Liu Niang at all, but appearance can't lie.

But even if Yue Weimin and Liu Niang did not intend to continue arguing in the crowd, Yue Weimin wanted to wait until everyone left before questioning Liu Niang.

Someone in the crowd started to murmur, "I remember that Miss Liu didn't live in Shijing Lane before. She lived in Shitai Lane in front. Oh, I think she lived next door to the Chen family? Do you have any impression?"

"Now that you mention it, it seems that I do have some impression of her. When she first moved here, she said that she moved from Shitai Lane and asked us all to take good care of her."

Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment.

Yue Weimin glared at Liu Niang fiercely.

When Yue Weimin started to chase people away, someone suddenly saw a tall man walking towards the alley entrance and immediately exclaimed: "Isn't that Chen Daqun? He's coming to Shijing Alley."

Upon hearing this, Yue Weimin pushed through the crowd and saw a tall man walking towards them.

He did have an impression of this man. The yard he had rented for Liu Niang was in the alley in front, next door to this man. He had run into him once. He knocked on Liu Niang's yard door. Now that he thought about it, this man was not surprised at all when he saw him. It was obvious that he had known that Liu Niang was his mistress.

Now there is nothing unclear.

Chen Daqun did come to look for Liu Niang.

He entered the alley and didn't notice that there were many people at the door of Liu Niang. When he looked up, he saw something wrong. He found that Liu Niang's husband was standing in the crowd, glaring at him fiercely. Chen Daqun was shocked and turned around and ran away subconsciously. He didn't expect Yue Weimin to come to Liu Niang at this time. He remembered that Liu Niang said that after Yue Weimin left on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, he would be very busy when he returned to Yuanbao Town. Sometimes he would not come to see her for more than a month, so he felt at ease to come to Liu Niang.

As soon as he ran away, Yue Weimin lost his mind and immediately chased after him.

When he chased him to Shitai Lane and arrived at the door of Chen's house, he went to knock on the door like a madman. Chen Daqun still didn't let his wife open the door, but his wife couldn't remain indifferent when she heard the noise outside. She went to open the door, but didn't recognize Yue Weimin and asked him what was going on.

Yue Weimin went up and punched Chen Daqun without saying a word, and the two started to fight.

Chen Daqun's wife was still pulling Yue Weimin, asking him why he started beating people as soon as he came in.

Many neighbors from Shijing Lane came over, and Chen Daqun's wife asked what was going on.

These neighbors were very enthusiastic and told Chen Daqun's wife about Yue Weimin's identity and his relationship with Liu Niang. They also let everyone know that Liu Niang's child was not Yue Weimin's, but seemed to be Chen Daqun's.

When the woman heard this, her face turned pale and she thought about it carefully.

Liu Niang had been her neighbor for several years and had a son. She said that the son looked a little familiar to her. Wasn't he a little like her husband? Especially the eyes and nose.

The woman never expected that Liu Niang, who she often helped with, would hook up with her man behind her back and even give birth to a child.

The woman cried out and rushed forward to grab Chen Daqun.

The three men fought for a while, and the crowd couldn't bear to watch it anymore, so they went up to persuade them to leave.

Chen Daqun was a bodyguard and had some martial arts skills. Even if two people attacked him, he could easily subdue them. However, he was guilty and did not dare to fight back, so he was the most seriously injured at the moment, and his face was scratched by his wife.

The woman was still crying, "Chen Daqun, how can you be so mean? I gave birth to your children, but you hooked up with that vixen next door. Why don't you just die? How have I ever let you down? You didn't give me or the children any money these years. I worked to support the children. Tell me, did you use the money to support that vixen and that bastard?"

Chen Daqun was so angry that he said, "What nonsense are you talking about!"

Yue Weimin asked, "Did you take the money I left with Liu Niang?"

He already knew that Liu Niang was unfaithful and Ji Ge'er was not his child. No matter whose child was in Liu Niang's belly now, he had no intention of caring anymore.

He definitely couldn't go back to the Dong family, as his affairs would be known throughout the southwest. Even if he regretted it and wanted to beg for forgiveness from the Dong family, he couldn't stay in Yuanbao Town. If he wanted to go somewhere else, the Dong family would not sell the Dong family's business and go to another state capital with him. Even if he stayed in Yuanbao Town, the Dong family would not reconcile with him. He knew that the Dong family was a person who could not tolerate any sand in their eyes, so he planned to get back the money that Liu Niang had taken away, otherwise he would have no money on him and it would be very difficult to make a comeback.

Liu Niang has no shortage of money on a daily basis, so it is impossible for her to touch the 50,000 taels of silver.

So it could only be that Liu Niang gave it to someone else.

Needless to say, this person must be Chen Daqun.

He must get back the more than 20,000 taels of silver.

Chen Daqun's expression changed from one to another. "What silver? What Liu Niang? I don't know what you are talking about at all."

Yue Weimin's face flushed, "Give me back the money, and the matter will end here. I won't pursue anything further, or I'll sue you and Liu Niang at the government."

Before he could go and report to the authorities, the yamen runners came over from a distance. It turned out that the neighbors saw how fiercely they were fighting, so they went to report to the authorities, and the yamen runners naturally came over.

Yue Weimin saw the yamen runner and panted, "Sir, I want to sue Chen Daqun and Liu Niang from Shijing Lane for embezzling 23,000 taels of silver from me."

Now it is no longer a simple family matter. It involves stealing money and you have to go to the government office.

The bailiff led a few people to the yamen, and another bailiff went to Shijing Lane to look for Liu Niang.

Along the way, the people of Raozhou City were very curious.

Those neighbors who went to join in the fun naturally told the people about this bizarre and tortuous story.

When the people of Raozhou City heard this, they all thought it was outrageous. How could he not want his own child? As a son-in-law, he even raised a concubine and a child outside? In the end, the child was not his own. Isn't this pure retribution?

"If you ask me, the chef of Donglaiju deserves it."

"What chef of Donglaiju? He has already divorced the owner of Donglaiju and has nothing to do with Donglaiju. The lady came over just now and took away more than 20,000 taels of silver. But there is still more than 20,000 taels that cannot be recovered."

"My God, did he get so much money from the Dong family?"

"The shopkeeper at Donglaiju is really miserable."

"The shopkeeper doesn't want to get involved in this at all."

"So where did the missing 20,000 taels of silver go? Did Liu Niang really spend it all? Or did she give it to Chen Daqun?"

"I don't know. We are going to the government office for this matter. Let's go and take a look."

An old lady in the crowd asked the people around her in surprise, "The woman you are talking about is called Liu Niang? What's her last name?"

"I don't know. They say she lives in Shijing Lane. Some people who knew her in the early years said that she was about to be sold to Xiangmanlou by her aunt, but was spotted by Old Master Yue on the road and bought. At that time, everyone felt sorry for her and thought her aunt was too vicious... Hey, it seems someone is coming. Did you look behind? The woman that the yamen runners are holding is Liu Niang. She is indeed very pretty."

The old lady looked behind her, dumbfounded, "Isn't this Liu Niang? Isn't this my niece?"

The people around asked, "What, is it your niece, old lady?"

The old lady spat on the ground and said, "Yes, I am the evil-hearted aunt you are talking about. God has a good heart. When Master Yue bought my niece away, I told him that my niece was not a good person. She lived in my house after her parents passed away and even hooked up with my son-in-law, which made me very angry. I wanted to sell her to Xiang Man Lou in a fit of rage. In fact, I didn't really plan to sell her to Xiang Man Lou. I just wanted to scare her, but I didn't plan to let her stay in my house any longer."

"When I saw that Master Yue wanted to buy her, I told him the truth about what my niece had done. He didn't believe me and scolded me. He stuffed money into my pocket and said he wanted to buy my niece. Later, I scolded him, saying that if he got involved with my niece, he would end up with his family ruined. This, this really came true..."

The people around looked at each other in bewilderment.

"It's just that your family is broken up and you're leaving your happy home behind. Tsk tsk, this is retribution."

Everyone followed him to the government office, and the officials there investigated and found out that Chen Daqun only earned about ten taels of silver each time he went on business, and estimated to make only thirty to fifty taels a year. However, he was a frequent visitor to the casino in Raozhou City, and he often lost money gambling. He had lost at least twenty to thirty thousand taels of silver in the casino.

Only then did Chen Daqun admit that he had been hanging out with Liu Niang when she had just moved to Shitai Lane, and he also knew that Liu Niang was Yue Weimin's mistress.

Liu Niang said that she didn't like Yue Weimin and was with him just for the money and a stable life.

Later, Liu Niang often used silver to subsidize Chen Daqun. In the past few years, Yue Weimin put more and more silver in Liu Niang's account. By this year, he had subsidized Chen Daqun with nearly 30,000 taels of silver.

There should also be the monthly allowance that Yue Weimin gave to Liu Niang, as well as the silks, satins, and jewelry that she bought for her, which she also used to subsidize Chen Daqun.

The truth of the matter was clear, and the official ordered Chen Daqun to return the money to Yue Weimin.

Chen Daqun knelt in front of Yue Weimin and cried bitterly, saying that he simply could not come up with so much money.

Yue Weimin directly kicked the person away and wanted to hold Chen Daqun accountable.

This is also considered as not paying back the money owed, and the penalty is beating and imprisonment.

Chen Daqun was beaten with a stick and then locked up in prison.

Yue Weimin also went to the market to pack up his things. He had nothing left. He knew very well in his heart that he could not get back the 30,000 taels of silver that Liu Niang spent on Chen Daqun. The 30 or 50 taels of silver that Chen Daqun paid him a year was enough for him to pay it back for a lifetime. He could not stay in Yuanbao Town for the rest of his life and let Chen Daqun pay him 30 or 50 taels of silver every month.

When Yue Weimin returned to Shijing Lane, Ji Ge'er had already returned from school. When he got home, there were only the old woman and the maid. He asked where his mother had gone.

The maid and mother-in-law hesitated and dared not tell him the truth. When Ji Ge'er saw his father coming back in the evening, he was surprised and said, "Dad, didn't you leave on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month to join the caravan? How come you're back today?"

Yue Weimin looked at Ji Ge'er coldly. Even though he had loved Ji Ge'er sincerely for thirteen years, now that he knew he was not his son and had no blood relationship with him, his feelings for him were gone. He said calmly, "I'm not your father. As for who your father is, ask your mother in person when she comes back."

Ignoring Ji Ge'er's stunned state, he stepped into the house to pack his things.

Although the maids and old women were all Liu Niang's people, they did not dare to stop Yue Weimin. They watched helplessly as Yue Weimin took away all of Liu Niang's silks, satins, gold, silver and jewelry, and even the house deed.

Yue Weimin first lived in an inn in Raozhou City.

Liu Niang didn't have the face to look for him, so she just sat at home sadly. Ji Ge'er kept crying and asking him who his father was.

The next day, Yue Weimin sold all the silks, satins, gold, silver, and jewelry that he had taken from Liu Niang. He also planned to sell the two-story house in Shijing Lane, but the house was difficult to sell, so he lowered the price. Four or five days later, a property agent bought the house. The total amount of silver was no more than two or three thousand taels.

With the two or three thousand taels of silver, Yue Weimin returned to Yuanbao Town...

…

Xu Qinyu couldn't help but frown when she heard this, "How can he have the nerve to return to Yuanbao Town?" Suddenly she thought of something and asked with bright eyes, "He, he didn't return to Yuanbao Town to reconcile with his wife, or to take the second young master away, did he?"

According to Yue Weimin's personality, he even felt ashamed to be the son-in-law of the Dong family. After such a scandal, he would not stay in the southwest and would definitely leave. However, he would definitely regret divorcing the Dong family, or come back to reconcile with the Dong family and persuade them to sell their property and leave the southwest with him. However, Yue Weimin himself knew that this idea was wishful thinking, so he should not have any hope in his heart.

And Ji Ge'er, born to Liu Niang, is not his child. This man attaches so much importance to his bloodline that it is more likely that he will take the second young master of the Dong family away. After all, that is his bloodline and he has his surname.

Dong sighed, "He did apologize to me when he came back, saying that he knew he was wrong and hoped to get back together with me. He also said that he would listen to me in the future, but he hoped to sell the Dong family's property and go to the capital to make a living."

When Dong heard this, she was not angry at all, but rather calm in her heart, because she already knew what kind of person he was.

She refused coldly, and Yue Weimin's face changed, but he didn't dare to make a fuss. He came back knowing that Xiaodong would not agree, and he came back just for Xi Ge'er.

His blood flows in Xi Ge'er's body. Since Ji Ge'er is not his child, it doesn't matter whether the baby in Liu Niang's belly is his. Liu Niang is unfaithful and even more despicable than Dong Shi. Even if the baby in Liu Niang's belly is his, he would feel ashamed and would not acknowledge it, so the only one he has left is Xi Ge'er.

Yue Weimin wanted to take Yue Xi away.

Dong hesitated for a moment, but finally let Xi Ge'er meet Yue Weimin, because even if she didn't let him meet, if Xi Ge'er really wanted to go with his father, she couldn't stop him. She was also afraid that Xi Ge'er would blame her in the future, so she let Xi Ge'er make his own choice.

When Xi Ge'er saw Yue Weimin, Yue Weimin smiled, called him Xi Ge'er, and said that he was wrong a few days ago and that he still loved him the most in his heart. Now he wanted to leave Yuanbao Town and go to the capital to hang out, and wanted Xi Ge'er to go with him.

Xi Ge'er said coldly, "No, I don't want to leave Yuanbao Town with you. It's not because I despise poverty and love wealth. I don't want to go with you because I know you don't have much money. It's because you have never truly loved me, my brother, sister, and mother. You have never treated us as relatives. Even though I have your last name, I still love mother, brother, and sister in my heart."

Xi Ge'er is already twenty years old. Even though he took Yue Weimin's surname, it was Dong who took care of him since he was a child. Dong taught him how to be a good person. He is the second son and is spoiled by Yue Weimin. His temperament is not as calm as his eldest brother, but he is not really unable to distinguish right from wrong. Dong taught him loyalty, sincerity, perseverance and courage over the years.

He has a fiancée here. If he leaves, what will happen to his fiancée? Wouldn't it be like making her unable to live a normal life? He would never do such a stupid thing.

Seeing that Xi Ge'er was unwilling to go with him, Yue Weimin finally couldn't help but burst into scolding, and left with a red face and thick neck.

Only then did Xu Qinyu know the twists and turns of the story. She was stunned when she heard it, but she felt very refreshed. She also felt that the second young master of the Dong family was a good person and that Dong was very good at teaching children.

Dong added, "He has been gone for several days. He must have gone to the capital. Liu Niang seems to be still in Raozhou City. She went to the Chen family. She is about to give birth. Yue Weimin sold the house where she lived. She has no money, so she can only ask Chen Daqun's wife for help. But Chen Daqun's wife hates her so much that she won't let her stay. She has been living in the guesthouse for the past few days."

She also knew that Yue Weimin still had two or three thousand taels of silver on him.

But two or three thousand taels of silver were nothing in the capital. It was not even enough to open a restaurant in a better place. Let alone a restaurant where ordinary people lived. The ingredients of the dishes that Yue Weimin created based on the Dong family recipe were very expensive. Any dish would cost at least five hundred coins. Ordinary restaurants could not afford such expensive dishes, and ordinary people could not afford them. So she knew that even if Yue Weimin really went to the capital, he would probably have a hard time making a living.

After listening to this, Xu Qinyu couldn't help but frown.

The most unfortunate person is Chen Daqun's wife. She has been unlucky for eight lifetimes.

Seeing that Dong was still worried, she advised, "Madam, why are you still sad? You should be happy."

Dong couldn't help but smile, "What's there to be happy about?"

Xu Qinyu smiled and said, "Over the years, he has indeed helped Donglaiju to accumulate a lot of diners. Now you have money and children, and they are all grown up. They are on your side, understand you, and love you. In the future, they will take over the recipes of Donglaiju and Dong's. Besides, you have grandchildren, so you can just enjoy family happiness. Isn't that great?"

It makes me happy just thinking about it, I don’t have a man, but I have money and children, and the children are obedient. In the future, many people will envy me for this.

She was quite jealous...

Dong was slowly stunned.

What Yu Niang said seemed to make sense. She had everything she needed. Although she was divorced, she had money and granddaughters, and her children were on her side. As for Yue Weimin, although she had some feelings for him, it was just a habit after so many years. If you really say it was very deep, it was just that.

Dong suddenly smiled and said, "Thank you for your comfort, Miss Xu."

Xu Qinyu's words persuaded Dong Shi to calm down. The depression in her heart dissipated. When Dong Qian came out from the kitchen, he saw his mother smiling. It was not a forced smile, but a smile from the heart. He couldn't help but smile, "Why are you here, mother?"

Dong Shi came to see Dong Qian because of some matters related to Donglaiju’s procurement. Xi Ge’er didn’t quite understand something, so she came over to ask her eldest son.

The mother and son were talking beside them. Xu Qinyu smiled and went to the kitchen.

…

Although the affairs of the Dong family spread in the southwest, a month later, the novelty wore off and no one continued to talk about it. Donglaiju also returned to normal. There were fewer diners, but the profit was still considerable every month. Dong was not short of money and did not care much about the profit of Donglaiju. She managed Donglaiju and some other industries of the Dong family in this way. Xi Ge'er also got married two months later and invited Xu Qinyu to the banquet. The bride was a girl with delicate and peaceful eyebrows and eyes, a cute round face, curved eyebrows, and a pair of big almond eyes. She was very cute.

It was almost summer when Xi Ge'er got married, and Xu Qinyu began to prepare some fresh food. In another half a month, the winery would also resume work.

As for Liu Niang, Xu Qinyu also heard later that she gave birth to another daughter, but Chen Daqun's wife refused to accept her, so she sold the maids and servants around her and disappeared with her two children.

While Xu Qinyu was preparing fresh food, Wen Lingling's Xiangrui Restaurant was completely closed and the restaurant sign was removed. She did not plan to continue making a living in the catering business as she was not suitable for this line of work.

Wen Lingling gave some severance pay to the employees of Xiangrui Restaurant, and also gave one hundred taels of silver to the chef Wang of Xiangrui Restaurant.

Chef Wang was already fifty years old, and it was no exaggeration to say that he had half a foot in the ground. He was not short of money, so he refused to accept the severance pay of one hundred taels of silver. He just said to Wen Lingling embarrassedly, "Actually, I want to go to Xu's restaurant to be an assistant chef and learn from Miss Xu's superb cooking skills. I admire Miss Xu's cooking skills very much. I hope Miss Wen will not be offended."

He had everything he needed and just wanted to perfect his cooking skills. The owner of Xu's was a very nice person, so he wanted to work as an assistant chef at Xu's and learn cooking skills from Miss Xu at the same time.

Wen Lingling was stunned for a moment, pursed her lips and said, "Of course I don't mind."