"So," Zhao Xile said, seeing that Jiang Bai was in good spirits during dinner, she regained her composure, "Mother, are you really going to do business?"
"Of course." Jiang Bai picked up a bowl of abalone congee and sipped it slowly.
As she drank, she blinked innocently, "Because of an emergency at the shop, I didn't go home. Didn't your father explain that to you? Don't you believe him?"
Upon hearing this, Zhao Xile looked at Zhao Yi with guilt and then argued, "Mother, I did not distrust Father."
Her voice trailed off: "It's because yesterday a lot of older brothers and sisters in black clothes came and went from the house, and Dad's face looked really bad."
“I asked my dad to take me to the store to find you, but he yelled at me and told me to go back to my room.”
Zhao Yi was so anxious and upset at the time that he didn't care whether his tone of voice would have an impact on a four-year-old child.
Upon hearing this, he said guiltily, "Dad didn't mean it. I'll take you to buy candied hawthorns tomorrow."
A few days ago, one of Zhao Xile's baby teeth became slightly loose.
Jiang Bai remembers that he started losing his baby teeth when he was in elementary school, and he thinks that Zhao Xile started losing them a little early.
She didn't have any parenting books, and after taking Zhao Xile to see the doctor twice, both doctors said it was a normal phenomenon.
But it's early nonetheless. Zhao Xile is small, only about one meter tall, and because she loves snacks and meals, she's quite chubby.
Jiang Bai began to suspect that she might have eaten too many snacks.
From then on, she began to consciously or unconsciously control the amount of snacks Zhao Xile ate.
Putting aside everything else, how unsightly would it be if you got cavities after your permanent teeth came in?
Furthermore, if they eat too much and become too fat, it might affect their development and prevent them from growing tall.
Jiang Bai felt that as an elderly mother, she was really worried sick, but unfortunately, the elderly couple beside her were a drag on her.
Basically, if Zhao Xile wanted to eat something, she just had to go to him with tears in her eyes, and he would definitely give it to her.
The last time the two of them drank the new milk tea with milk foam at a milk tea shop, she caught them red-handed.
Jiang Bai always gave Zhao Yi, the biological father, plenty of face in front of the children.
Upon hearing this, she quickly said, "The shop was too busy yesterday, so I didn't want you to come. If you had come, my older brothers and sisters would have had to entertain you, and I would have been distracted."
The older brothers and sisters she mentioned were the group of hired helpers who liked Zhao Xile and would always secretly give her food.
Zhao Xile nodded upon hearing this: "That's true. Even if I don't want to distract you, you like me so much that you can't help it."
After explaining herself, she turned to Zhao Yi and said, "Dad, I forgive you."
Zhao Yi cleared his throat and placed a piece of stir-fried dish on the chopsticks of the two people in front of him, one big and one small.
That was the end of it.
Jiang Bai slept too much during the day and couldn't sleep at night.
When she saw Tan Ji enter Zhao Yi's bedroom, she knew that the two of them were talking about her kidnapping. After thinking for a moment, she went to the kitchen, fried some chicken nuggets, and sent them over.
Tanji hadn't eaten yet, but when she smelled the aroma, her eyes widened.
He quickly reached out, grabbed a few pieces, and put them in his mouth, whimpering from the heat, but refused to spit them out.
Seeing him like this, Zhao Yi sighed helplessly and pushed the plate towards him: "It's all yours, don't rush."
He's still on a diet, so he can't eat such oily food so late at night.
Jiang Bai sat down and asked, "What exactly happened?"
Tan Ji swallowed what was in his mouth and wiped his mouth: "Just as you predicted, boss lady, several clinics have joined forces to try and get your secret formula."
"The leader of the kidnappers had a mother who was seriously ill and was being treated at one of the clinics. Later, he couldn't afford the medical bills, and the clinic staff, who were on holiday, saw that he was tall and strong, so they used his mother to threaten him into kidnapping you."
"The eldest brother went to find his fellow villager, Lao Liu. While the two were still hesitating about their plans, Lao Liu's sister came to find him, but she was also detained by the clinic."
"This was something that two desperate people had no choice but to do."
After he finished speaking, he shrugged and continued eating his McNuggets.
Zhao Yi tapped his hand on the table, making a rhythmic "tap tap tap" sound.
He knew Jiang Bai didn't consider these two people the culprits, and therefore was inclined to let them off easily. But that wasn't what he was thinking.
No matter how miserable these two are, it's not a reason to commit a crime. Jiang Bai has done nothing to wrong them and shouldn't have been tied up for two days and tortured for so long.
He thought for a moment, then said carefully, "A mistake is a mistake, and it cannot be glossed over."
Jiang Bai nodded, then said, "Isn't it a bad idea to report this to the authorities?"
After all, she had been kidnapped by two grown men for two days. Although she herself knew that nothing had happened, outsiders would not think so.
Losing one's virginity is a serious crime for a woman, punishable by being drowned in a pig cage.
With a sigh, Jiang Bai asked, "How do you want to punish him?"
Tan Ji said, "There are ways to just send them to jail for a few years."
Jiang Bai subconsciously felt that we are still a society governed by the rule of law, but Zhao Yi and Tan Ji did not share this understanding.
In their view, there's no need to give any reason; they can just get people in there easily.
In particular, Zhao Yi has a very close relationship with General Lin Yong, who is currently the prefect of the area, and his wife Wang Linlin became pregnant thanks to Jiang Bai's medicinal cuisine. This matter could be arranged with just a word.
Jiang Bai lowered his eyes and thought for a moment: "If they go to jail, I'll pay for the eldest brother's mother's medical expenses, and I'll also cover the tuition for the sixth brother's sister, who is said to be very intelligent."
Zhao Yi nodded in approval.
Jiang Bai then asked, "So what do you plan to do about the real mastermind? I reckon the evidence has already been destroyed."
Are you going to throw them in jail too?
Speaking of these people, Zhao Yi sneered and shook his head: "I have my own ways of dealing with them."
Tanji interjected, "We won't let them in; that would be too easy on them."
These people were no pushovers, and Jiang Bai was too lazy to ask Zhao Yi what he wanted to do; whatever they did, they deserved it.
She had no more doubts. She took a deep breath, stood up, and saw that Tanji had finished his chicken nuggets. She picked up the plate and asked him, "Are you full? Do you want me to make you some more?"
Under Zhao Yi's piercing gaze, Tan Ji quickly shook her head: "No need, madam, you should go and rest."
Jiang Bai was too lazy to argue with him. When he said it wasn't necessary, he simply nodded and walked out.
She walked to the door, then turned back to the two of them and said, "You two should get some rest too. You probably haven't slept in a long time. Now that I'm back safely, we can talk about it tomorrow."
After saying that, she stared at Zhao Yi for a few seconds, then said with a look of disgust, "Your dark circles are practically hanging down to your chin."
Ignoring Zhao Yi's immediate shock as he touched his eyes, she turned and left.
Zhao Yi felt a mix of emotions and asked Tan Ji, "Is what he said true or false?"
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