Jiang Bai was stunned; she hadn't expected to be kidnapped.
She frowned and asked, "Who hired you?"
"I can't say that." Among the thugs, there was clearly a leader who smiled crookedly and replied.
Another person chuckled foolishly, "Boss, I think this young lady still doesn't understand the current situation!"
As he spoke, he turned to face Jiang Bai, pointed his finger at her nose, and threatened, "You've been kidnapped by us. We could kill you at any time, do you understand?"
"Behave yourself. If you know what's good for you, hand over the secret recipe now, and we'll spare your life. If you don't, hmph..."
He didn't continue speaking, but everyone present understood.
Jiang Bai had no choice but to cooperate. She was facing two opponents, and she was tied up tightly, making it impossible for her to break free. As the ancients said, "Those who understand the times are wise."
However, she couldn't fully cooperate. The most important ingredient in the secret recipe was the spiritual liquid. She couldn't just dissect her and take out the spiritual spring to give to others, could she?
All she could do was stall for time until Zhao Yi discovered she was missing and came looking for her.
Thinking of this, she took a breath and said, "I understand your difficulties, since you were entrusted with this task, but the secret recipe is not something I can give away just because I want to."
The moment those words were spoken, the boss held a knife to Jiang Bai's neck.
Jiang Bai feigned fear and stammered, "You...you should know who I am, right?"
"Stop talking nonsense." The boss's face darkened.
“This is obvious,” Jiang Bai said sincerely, her eyes lowered to conceal her darting pupils. “If you know my identity, you must also know who my husband is.”
"To be honest, he was the one who suggested opening this medicinal cuisine restaurant and milk tea shop for me. He also provided the connections for the most crucial techniques. The secret recipes are in his hands, and I can't give them to you even if I wanted to!"
“I think what she said is possible,” someone chimed in, nodding in agreement. “She’s such a young woman, with no prior fame, and suddenly she opened two such big stores. It’s impossible without her man controlling her from behind.”
"I suspect she's a puppet controlled by Zhao Yi."
Upon hearing this, the boss's expression darkened considerably.
He removed the knife from Jiang Bai's neck, glared at the person next to him, and turned to walk out the door.
The person next to him was glared at for no reason and subconsciously followed behind the leader. After walking four or five steps, he remembered Jiang Bai, turned around and pointed at her fiercely, threatening, "You better behave yourself. If I see you doing anything unnecessary, I'll cut off your arm and send it to Zhao Yi."
Jiang Bai glanced at him timidly, her eyes filled with tears, and the man left satisfied.
After the two left, Jiang Bai carefully analyzed the current situation.
First of all, these two people must be locals. They know her to some extent, but not that much. If they were outsiders, they wouldn't know her life story or who Zhao Yi was.
However, the mastermind behind this was not very close to her. If someone nearby heard this explanation, they would know for sure that Jiang Bai was lying.
Putting aside everything else, when Jiang Bai opened her medicinal cuisine restaurant, Zhao Yi hadn't returned yet, and she had saved up the rent money to pay for Wang Linlin's medical treatment.
Besides, where would Zhao Yi possibly have any capable people who possess the secret formula? His own business doesn't involve this aspect at all.
So these people know a little about Zhao Yi, but not that much.
She was completely bound to the load-bearing pillar in the middle of the dilapidated temple, unable to move at all. She moved the rope in her hand, which was tied very tightly, like a sailor's knot.
Her chances of escaping on her own were slim.
After an unknown amount of time, the leader returned and stared intently at Jiang Bai for a while. Seeing her timid and hesitant appearance, he realized she was genuinely frightened and finally said, "You really don't remember any of the ingredients of that secret recipe?"
Jiang Bai's voice was very soft. She hadn't had water for a long time and was anxious and stressed, so her voice was hoarse. Hearing this, she whispered, "Remember a little."
“I knew you’d been working on this for so long, you couldn’t have been oblivious to everything.” The boss’s eyes lit up. “Tell me quickly, tell me as much as you remember.”
Jiang Bai said, "I'm out of strength. Could you loosen your grip a little? I'm also very hungry and thirsty. I want to eat and drink..."
The eldest clicked his tongue and said, "Why do you have so many demands?"
After saying that, he called out, "Sixth Brother, go and get a bowl of water."
The "sixth brother" he mentioned was the second person to kidnap Jiang Bai. Upon hearing the voice, this person quickly poked his head out from outside the door and loudly proclaimed, "Yes!"
It turned out that someone had been guarding outside the temple all along, and Jiang Bai was glad that he hadn't acted on his own.
The sixth brother took a bowl of water, and the eldest brother took it, intending to feed Jiang Bai.
Jiang Bai turned her head away, dodging the attack. She recalled the expressions of feudal women in movies and TV dramas who would rather die than submit, and gently showed weakness: "I'm already married. Don't take advantage of me like this. I want to drink it myself."
"With two grown men here, are you afraid I'll run away? At worst, just untie one of my hands and tie my feet too, is that enough?"
"I'm serving you water, and you're still not happy?" The eldest brother immediately retorted angrily, "Drink it or don't, I'll let you die of thirst."
Jiang Bai turned his head away from him and remained silent.
The two remained deadlocked for more than half an hour. When the eldest brother saw that Jiang Bai's face was getting paler and paler and his lips were cracked, he finally surrendered.
He then asked Lao Liu to bring a bowl of water and personally untied the rope from Jiang Bai's hands.
Jiang Bai took the bowl and drank it all in big gulps, clearly he was really thirsty.
After finishing her drink, she wiped her mouth and said, "I can tell you the secret recipe I know, but that's only part of it, not the whole thing, so it's still useless."
Upon hearing this, the sixth brother said, "We have already asked your husband for the secret recipe. The reason we asked you to write down part of it is just to verify whether the one he gave us is genuine."
The boss glared at him: "Shut up."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Bai realized that Zhao Yi already knew he had been kidnapped, and he immediately felt relieved.
She casually mentioned a few medicinal herbs, and seeing the two of them standing still, just repeating them to themselves, she asked, "Can you read? Why don't you take notes?"
"I can't read," the sixth brother shook his head.
If they could read, who would want to be a kidnapper? In their entire village, there are very few literate people.
Jiang Bai pondered for a moment and said, "Go and get some paper and pens, I'll write it for you."
"No need, I can remember it," the eldest brother said sternly, his eyes deep in thought.
“Many medicinal herbs have similar names. If you mispronounce even one word, the results will be completely different,” Jiang Bai said, trying to buy time.
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