Chapter 212: Rice Bowl Meeting
If Mother Dong had not been with them every day, everyone would have thought that the young master had visited her alone. But then again, Mother Dong was old after all, and it should be easier for the young master to take her back to Weizhou.
As an elder of the Su family and a founding member of Su’s breakfast restaurant, everyone has always regarded Mother Dong as their backbone. It’s hard to get used to her leaving.
Whether it was Dashi, Ershi, or Xianggui, they all remained silent.
Su Ji's shop is divided into two parts, one for breakfast and the other for dinner. The morning part sells breakfast, while the evening part sells grilled sausages, barbecue, etc. After Dong's mother left, the breakfast part became the main business of Ershi and his wife, while the evening part is run by Dashi and his wife and Xianggui and Shi Xiaoliu and their couple.
There will always be people buying breakfast no matter what time it is, but barbecue depends on the weather and the market. It is not always busy every day, so the turnover is relatively not so stable.
Although Dashi and Xianggui are cousins and relatives, as they each got married and had children, they depended on the Su family but also needed to make a relatively independent living.
It's time to separate the Dashi and Xianggui families.
Su Ruojin glanced at everyone and spoke slowly, "Su Ji's breakfast will remain the same. We will also be open for lunch and barbecue in the evening. This way, Su Ji will not let customers go home empty-handed for three meals a day."
Ershi has always been in charge of breakfast, so when he heard that the business would be open at noon, he immediately understood what the young boss meant.
As expected, the young boss said, "Brother Dashi will be in charge of providing noodles and rice at noon, and Aunt Gui's family will be in charge of barbecue at night. From now on, each of you will go to get the goods and settle the bills. The three families will split the profits with me 50-50. Do you have any objection?"
"No...no..." Ershi was the first to raise his hand in agreement.
Dashi has been in the barbecue business and is not sure about the lunch business.
For Xianggui, the barbecue business is something she is familiar with. Most importantly, she can make skewers and grill skewers while sitting down, which is suitable for Shi Liu who has a leg disease. Xianggui is grateful to the young boss for the arrangement, but she feels a little sorry for her cousin. For a moment, she can only hide her joy in her heart.
Su Ruojin knew that this arrangement was not fair to Dashi. She looked at him, "Brother Dashi..."
"Little Master, I understand, I understand everything... I accept Little Master's arrangement."
"Okay." Su Ruojin said, "I will personally teach you how to make noodles and rice with toppings."
"Thank you, little master."
After a long journey of hard work, they were already starving, so Su Ruojin decided to get started right away. They took advantage of the leftovers from lunch and, after some thought, decided to make the braised pork rice the signature rice bowl of Su's lunch. Other types of rice bowls were paired with seasonal dishes to create corresponding rice bowls.
"Standard dishes include fried egg rice and pork ribs rice, and seasonal dishes include three fresh vegetables and pickled beans. Anything you can think of can be used as a topping. It's simple and unique. Brother Dashi, isn't it easy?"
"It's not difficult... It's not difficult..." Daishi, who had been a little worried that he would not be able to get the afternoon lunch business, was completely relieved.
Su Ruojin, Ye Huaizhen and others filled their stomachs with rice with gravy.
After the business in the shop was integrated and planned, Su Ruojin wanted to go home and have a long sleep. Seeing Ye Huaizhen with anxious eyes, she said, "How about, Manager Ye, you go find..." She glanced at Manager Huang at the counter.
They are all from the Exploration Department, so there should be no problem for them to go to the secret base.
Ye Huaizhen originally wanted Su Ruojin to go to the secret base with her, but she didn't expect that the little boss would not go, "Little boss..." You really don't want to go?
Although Ye Huaizhen was cold and indifferent, she was not blind. She estimated that her master, Prince Zhao, had feelings for the Su family, in addition to the teacher-student relationship, for more than 60% of his youthful affection for Madam Su. She thought the young master would feel something, but she didn't expect the young lady to go home and sleep directly.
Su Ruojin shook her head. "I have helped you in every way I can. The rest depends on you to investigate and uncover the secrets. I really can't help, so I won't make things worse."
Adding to the chaos? How could it be possible? The young master was too modest. Hearing this, Ye Huai really understood that the young master really didn't want to go with her, so she nodded, packed her bag, left Su's shop, and disappeared into the dusk filled with sunset glow.
Huang Shun sighed.
Mangzhong burped, went out to harness the carriage, and waited for the young master to come out and return to Su's house.
Mother Dong packed up her daily necessities and got on the carriage with her young master.
The Feng brothers, Xianggui and others stood at the door and watched the young master's carriage disappear around the corner of the street.
Dashi said sadly, "I'm afraid I won't be able to see the little boss for a year or so from now on." He was like a child who suddenly learned to walk without anyone to support him. He was excited but also nervous, and full of reluctance to leave.
Xianggui held her son and kept looking at the street. If it weren't for the young boss, she wouldn't have the life she has now. She must do her business well and live up to the young boss's kindness.
In the carriage, calm Mother Dong showed reluctance and couldn't help sighing.
Su Ruojin's eyelids were drooping from sleepiness, but she still heard Mother Dong's sigh. She smiled and opened her eyelids, "Mom, I brought you back to Weizhou not to let you retire, but to help me open a new Su's breakfast shop in Weizhou.
Mother Dong: …She stopped in the middle of sighing. It turned out that she didn’t think she was too old and useless. She immediately became happy.
Su Ruojin smiled and closed her eyes again. She was in a hurry to travel last night and didn't sleep much. After entering the capital, she had been running since morning and just now she had just eaten. It was easy to feel sleepy when she was full. She couldn't help it, so she tilted her head and rested it on Chunxiao's shoulder to have a good time.
“Gee…Gee…”
On the busy street, several tall horses galloped quickly, passing by people like arrows.
"Whose young master is this? The late emperor and the crown prince have just been buried, and he dares to ride a horse in the street?"
"Don't you see these nobles are wearing official robes? They are doing this for official business."
Well, without official business, who would dare to run fast?
It was clearly less than a month, but Zhao Lan acted as if he hadn't seen the young lady for a year. He pulled the reins and spurred his horse, rushing as fast as the wind, straight to a certain house.
It was getting dark when Ye Huaizhen arrived at the secret base. Mr. Shen was having dinner. It was another oil-free stew cooked by Old Du. He was really full and couldn't help but sigh, "I'm afraid I won't be able to eat the food cooked by Madam Su Er in the next few years."
He was filled with emotion and finally prepared himself mentally. He picked up his chopsticks and just as he reached the boiled vegetables, suddenly, a fragrant smell went straight into his nostrils. He was so happy that he quickly put down his chopsticks, got off the couch, and walked out towards the aroma.
Ye Huaizhen carried the lunch box and went up the stairs to the corridor.
"Miss Ye——"
Ye Huaizhen smiled slightly and bowed: "Sir."
Mr. Shen told her not to be polite and asked with a smile, "Is the food box in your hand from Su Ji?"
She nodded.
"Madam Su Er made it herself?"
"Yes, sir." Ye Huaizhen asked with a smile, "Sir, you don't plan to let Huaizhen in?"
"Oh oh." Mr. Shen was dizzy from the aroma of the food. He quickly moved aside and let Ye Huaizhen enter the room. "When did you enter Beijing?"
"This morning."
"Why are you here now?"
Ye Huaizhen glanced at the food on the small table on the couch and smiled gently. No wonder Mr. Shen came out because he smelled the aroma of food. "The young master first sent Yang Si Niang home, and then went to the shop to make some arrangements."
It turns out that the young prince is ranked so last!
Mr. Shen shook his head. When the young prince heard someone coming, he immediately went to meet them.
"Didn't you meet the young prince when you came here?"
Ye Huaizhen shook his head and glanced into the side room. Apart from a servant tidying up the desk, he did not see Hua Ping and others. He turned around and asked, "Sir, where is Hua Shicha?"
"I went with the young prince to look for Su Erniang."
Ye Huaizhen: ...
She was still thinking that the young master was unaware of the young prince's feelings for her, but she didn't expect that the young prince had already run towards her.
She laughed, helped the gentleman set the table, sat aside, and waited for him to finish eating and the servant to clear the table before she asked, "Sir, did you hear what Hua Sicha said about Yang Yushi?"
Mr. Shen, who was originally quite satisfied with the meal, was covering his mouth with his sleeves and picking his teeth with a bamboo stick. The braised pork with rice was so delicious, with rich meat flavor and juice mixed with the rice. It was full in one bite and very satisfying.
Upon hearing this, his face changed and he suddenly let down his sleeves to hang over the edge of the couch.
Seeing that he didn't speak for a long time, Ye Huai's heart sank. Could it be that he didn't catch this old thief and let him slip away?
"gentlemen……"
Mr. Shen kept a sullen face and said nothing for a long time.
Ye Huaizhen couldn't help but ask, "Sir, did the man surnamed Yang escape?"
"No!" Mr. Shen suddenly looked up, "On the contrary, he got promoted and became rich."
What? Ye Huaizhen stood up angrily, "How could this happen? Are our speculations all wrong?"
Su Ruojin was awakened by the urge to urinate. She did not open her eyes, but she felt that it was the middle of the night. Her eyeballs rolled several times under her eyelids, as if she had finally adapted to the darkness, and then she slowly opened her eyes.
Hey! There's a light on in the room.
Su Ruojin didn't like to leave any lights on when she slept, no matter if it was a candle or an oil lamp. Even the smallest fire would produce a lot of smoke after burning all night. By dawn, her nostrils would be full of black smoke. She didn't want to breathe black smoke all night.
He yawned and turned to look at the light.
Suddenly, someone appeared in her clear eyes.
Su Ruojin was so frightened that she sat up reflexively, "Young Prince..." Why was he in her bedroom?
On the way, he caught up with the young lady and climbed into her carriage, but she was sleeping like a pig. Even when he picked her up when getting off the carriage, she didn't wake up. He put her on the bed again, and she rolled into the bed and continued to sleep soundly.
Young Prince Zhao:...Well, he feels relieved to see that everyone is safe and sound.
Mother Dong and Mao Ya cooked for Zhao Lan. After eating, they thought he would go back first, but he went to the young lady's room again, which was not according to the rules.
Mother Dong was old and dared to persuade, so she stopped people in the corridor. As a result, Zhao Lan’s face sank, “I will sell you if I want to.”
"Even if you sell me, I still think it's inappropriate for you to do this." The master and his wife are not here, and Mother Dong is the elder, so she can't help but consider the young lady's reputation.
Zhao Lan lowered his eyes, his face expressionless.
Shuangrui had to play the bad guy. He sneered and shouted, "Dong, the Su family lived a peaceful life. Your breakfast shop was able to remain safe and sound in the turmoil. Do you really think that God is blessing you?"
Of course, Mother Dong knew that the Su family’s main backer was the Prince of Jin’s Mansion and the young Prince Zhao, but it was inappropriate to just carry her in and out, and he even entered the young lady’s room at will. How could the young lady get married in the future?
Shuangrui's eyes were staring frighteningly.
Mother Dong took two steps back in fear, her calves shaking unconsciously. Mao Ya hurried forward to support her, and she stepped forward herself, "You..."
Shuang Rui immediately interrupted her, "Say another word and I'll sell you out immediately."
"Our indenture..."
"The Imperial City Bureau has plenty of ways to sell you out." Shuang Rui said, "Do you want to continue serving Madam Su Er, or do you want to be sold out? Think carefully."
Mother Dong: …The shadow of being almost sold by her ex-husband still scares her awake in the middle of the night after all these years. Mother Dong dared not to stop him and quietly stepped back.
Mao Ya: ...After leaving Xiao Dongjia, she didn’t know what the meaning of living was. She stared at Shuangrui hatefully, as if she wanted to eat him.
Shuang Rui turned a blind eye and led the way for the young prince, "Sir, this way please——"
Zhao Lan glanced at the two servants, then started walking. After a few steps, he reached the door of the young lady's room. Shuangrui pushed the door open very quietly. There was really no sound at all, and the young Prince Zhao walked in as if he was entering his own room.
Mother Dong stammered a few times but ultimately did not shout out.
Mao Ya pursed her lips, looking as if she wanted to tear to pieces Shuangrui who was standing at the door guarding against the wind. She would definitely find a chance to take revenge.
She rubbed her eyes, not knowing at all what the two loyal servants had been through. The young lady, who had just woken up, was shrouded in an extremely unreal halo under the dim oil lamp. Her long eyelashes, like crow feathers, were dense and curled, and her bright eyes were watery and reflected the light, so full and lively that people could not help but be fascinated.
Zhao Lan looked towards the light, his tall nose bridge highlighted with a little light, his gaze fixed on the young lady, his black eyes clear.
With her head slightly lowered and her jawline a little taut, she looks inexplicably sexy.
Her sight seemed to be burned. Su Ruojin quickly withdrew her gaze and deliberately looked outside. "What time is it?"
Before going to bed, Chunxiao helped her to let her hair down. As she turned her head, half of her face was exposed, her eyes were bright, her teeth were white, her eyebrows were picturesque, and her eyes were full of radiance.
Zhao Lan's eyes lit up, his heart throbbing, and he didn't even notice why the young lady asked about the time, and continued, "The end of the hour of Hai."
"It's so late?" The atmosphere was weird, and Su Ruojin deliberately exaggerated, "I'm sorry to disturb the young prince's rest." As she spoke, she got up and went downstairs.
A person is very busy.
Zhao Lan sat calmly, looking at the flustered young lady without any expression, with the corners of his lips raised.
Su Ruojin opened the door of the room. Actually, she wanted to call Chunxiao and Maoya, but she only saw Shuangrui not far away in the corridor. If it wasn't the home where she had lived for three years, she would have suspected that this was where Zhao Lan lived.
The ancients knew that a man should not sit with his wife at the age of seven! They should also know that it is inappropriate for a man to go to a woman’s bedroom at night!
Su Ruojin frowned, and when she turned around to face Zhao Lan, she regained her innocent girlish look, "Young Prince..." It's time to go back!
The latter was leaning on the bedside with a lazy posture, long legs crossed, looking like he was having a long conversation.
Su Ruojin: ...Do you really treat this as your own home?
She secretly rolled her eyes, but still smiled at Zhao Dashen, who was protecting the Su family. "Little Prince, how is your investigation with Uncle Hua going?"
Ye Huaizhen was anxious for revenge. Su Ruojin had the opportunity to meet him and asked about the situation for her. Unexpectedly, the expression of Prince Zhao, who had been nonchalant just now, suddenly changed.
Why this expression? Did Yang Jingzi escape?
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