Then I saw the neatly written words on the letter: "Ah Yue, I don't want to see you not looking at me when we part."
"If I saw those eyes, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to leave. Please forgive my selfishness; I'll be leaving tonight."
"If you blame me, punish me when I return."
Upon seeing this, Xu Yuehuai's eyes welled up with tears. She quickly wiped them away, carefully folded the letter, put it back in the envelope, and then put it away peacefully.
After doing all this, Xu Yuehuai immediately returned to her original state, as if nothing had happened, seemingly forgetting that Qi Guze had already left.
After calming herself down, Xu Yuehuai immediately got to work. She had promised the young man from the Liu family that she would teach him how to make nuts and other chores.
Now that Xu Yuehuai has learned how to make hand-pulled mutton from Manager Liu, she naturally has to fulfill her promise.
Afterwards, Xu Yuehuai prepared a plate of hand-pulled mutton in the kitchen of the Tianxianglou branch, following the method that Manager Liu had previously taught her, before running to East Street to find Manager Liu.
When Xu Yuehuai arrived at Liu's shop on East Street, she found that the shop was not open for business at all. Outside the shop, there were many rotten fruits and vegetables smashed and scattered everywhere, and the stench was overwhelming. People who walked by quickly turned away after smelling the unpleasant odor.
Upon seeing this, Xu Yuehuai couldn't help but wonder. Had Manager Ding's men come to bully Manager Liu and his group again?
Why is the exterior of Manager Liu's shop being vandalized like this?
Despite having many questions, Xu Yuehuai couldn't find Manager Liu and the others to ask. So she approached someone nearby and casually asked a passerby.
"How did Manager Liu's shop end up like this? Who on earth disliked his shop and dumped all this stuff here?"
But after Xu Yuehuai inquired, the man heard that the people Xu Yuehuai was talking about were actually Manager Liu's family. He immediately reacted as if he had heard of a plague and hurriedly got rid of Xu Yuehuai and ran away into the distance.
Seeing this, Xu Yuehuai became even more puzzled and quickly asked several passersby, but none of them answered.
"What on earth happened? Where are Manager Liu and his family now? Don't you all know?"
"Does anyone know what happened? Can you tell me? I can give you silver as a reward!"
Unfortunately, no matter how Xu Yuehuai questioned those people, they did not respond to her, pretending not to hear her, and quickly left.
Seeing this, Xu Yuehuai decided not to press the passersby for answers. Something must have happened that frightened them, which was why they were afraid to reply.
Afterwards, Xu Yuehuai went to ask the people Qi Guze had left for her. "Which clinic did you take Manager Liu to yesterday? I want to go find him now."
Xu Yuehuai thought that since they couldn't find the shopkeeper Liu's shop, maybe the people were in the clinic right now?
Then, Xu Yuehuai followed the people and headed towards the clinic. After about two incense sticks' worth of time, they finally arrived at the entrance of a clinic.
Although that clinic couldn't compare to the largest clinic in the city, it was bustling with people and seemed to have a good reputation. Sending Manager Liu to this place was a good option.
After carefully examining the clinic's signboard, Xu Yuehuai stepped inside, intending to ask the people there if they knew where Manager Liu and the others were.
As soon as she entered, a young apprentice came to greet Xu Yuehuai. He asked very respectfully, "Miss, are you here for a medical consultation or to get medicine?"
Xu Yuehuai immediately said to the young apprentice, "No, I'm here to find someone."
"Young lady, who are you looking for? I can go and find out for you," the young apprentice said to Xu Yuehuai.
Upon hearing this, Xu Yuehuai immediately made a gesture to the medicine boy, drawing out the height and appearance of Manager Liu and the others.
"I'm looking for the owner of the dried fruit shop on East Street, Mr. Liu, and his son! Do you know where they are now? They came here for a medical checkup yesterday!"
However, after hearing the two people Xu Yuehuai mentioned, the young apprentice's face immediately darkened, and he beckoned the person next to him over.
Immediately, the group started shooing Xu Yuehuai away, shouting, "Get out of here! We don't care if you're welcome! Just leave! Don't come back! The person you're looking for isn't here, so don't drag our pharmacy down with you!"
Xu Yuehuai did not expect the other party's attitude to be so bad. They were driven out after only hearing the names of Manager Liu and his group.
She quickly asked again, "We just want to know where Manager Liu and his son are right now. Just tell me, and I promise I won't bother you anymore."
The young apprentice didn't explain the situation, but instead kept urging Xu Yuehuai and the others on. The guards beside Xu Yuehuai protected her, leading her out of the clinic.
Since these apprentice doctors wouldn't tell her anything about the Liu family's manager, she saw no reason to stay any longer.
So Xu Yuehuai decided to turn around and leave with her people. Just as she was about to leave, an old woman suddenly grabbed the hem of her clothes.
The guards next to Xu Yuehuai immediately became alert and tried to stop the old lady from leaving.
But Xu Yuehuai immediately raised her hand to stop her, and instead politely asked the old lady, "What brings you here?"
The old woman said, "Young lady, you're not looking for Manager Liu and the others, are you?"
When Xu Yuehuai saw that the old lady actually knew about the Liu family manager, he immediately stopped and had someone lead the old lady to a corner.
After the group reached the corner, Xu Yuehuai continued to ask the old lady questions.
"Do you know where Manager Liu and the others are right now?"
The old woman wiped her eyes before saying to Xu Yuehuai, "The Liu family manager and the others are all good people! But last night, they were suddenly arrested by the government officials in the clinic!"
"We're all from the same village, and we were all watching from the sidelines! Anyone who tried to help the Liu family's manager was arrested by the government officials!"
"The government has also issued an order: anyone who dares to mention Manager Liu and his group is going against the entire government! They'll arrest everyone!"
After hearing this, Xu Yuehuai finally understood why none of the people she had asked along the way dared to mention the Liu family manager.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com