Baozi Xishi's Struggle

Chapter 140 Pork Rib Noodles and Tai Ping Egg

As Yu Cheng said this, he was about to rush over and pull Shen Yu's sleeve.

Shen Yu thought about how she had spent a night leaning against the wall in the women's prison and how dirty she was, so she couldn't help but want to hide away.

Unexpectedly, Li grabbed Yucheng and ordered, "You little brat, you only know how to cry. Go and get the brazier that mother prepared."

Yucheng then remembered his mother's instructions. He said "Oh", turned around and ran home again, and bumped into Yutao who was carefully holding a burning brazier.

Yutao was holding a large clay pot in her hand, with burning firewood in it. The fire was not big, but it was burning vigorously.

Next to him, Dun Dun was also holding a large clay basin filled with kumquat peels floating on it, and Yu Cheng had already trotted back with a branch with green leaves.

Yutao was in front and Dundun was behind, and they both put the basins at the door.

Li stood beside the brazier, took the branch from Yucheng's hand, dipped it in the kumquat water basin, and picked it up.

Li held a branch dripping with kumquat juice, motioned Shen Yu to step over the brazier, and began to mutter seriously.

"A gentleman has been framed and suffered misfortune, and today he is finally able to return home.

Crossing the fire basin brings prosperity, and everything goes smoothly.

Kumquats are fragrant and can remove bad luck and bring good luck.

Everything is going well around you, with a basin full of gold and a basin full of silver."

Although Shen Yu didn't believe this, he followed the local customs and did as he was told.

As Li was muttering, she strode over the brazier and let Li sprinkle the kumquat water all over her body.

Li heaved a sigh of relief, stepped aside and said, "Okay, bad luck is gone and good luck is here, everyone, please go in."

Yutao and Dundun carried the bath water that had been prepared long ago into the room and poured it into the bathtub. Clean clothes were placed on the bed next to them.

Shen Yu took a nice hot bath, changed into clean clothes, and sat at the table waiting for dinner. Li stood behind Shen Yu, dried her hair with a towel, and braided it into a loose pigtail.

Jiang skillfully cooked a large bowl of pork chop noodles, brought it up with a smile, and said with concern: "Miss Yuzhi, please eat quickly. You must be starving from yesterday. This soup has been simmering for most of the night, it is rich and fragrant. Also, you must eat the Taiping egg in the soup."

The evenly thick and thin soup noodles contain not only ribs that have been stewed until the bones are gone, but also refreshing small green vegetables, soybeans with a rich sauce flavor, and two large duck eggs.

Shen Yu was indeed hungry. Smelling the aroma of the soup, he couldn't help but smile and said, "It smells so good. Yesterday, Madam Chen only gave me a dry biscuit. I was so hungry at night that I took a bite. It was harder than a rock and almost broke my teeth."

The whole family surrounded Shen Yu and watched her eat with big mouthfuls of relish.

Li's eyes were red, and she said bitterly: "This damned old woman Hu, if she hadn't lost her conscience, Yuzhi wouldn't have been in jail."

Jiang sighed and said, "Luckily, Miss Yuzhi is blessed by heaven and has the help of noble people. Otherwise, if that woman Hu really succeeded in her unreasonable accusation, Miss Yuzhi would have suffered a lot."

Shen Yu ate a duck egg, two pieces of pork ribs, and finished more than half of a large bowl of noodles. His stomach finally felt comfortable and he ate more slowly.

Shen Yu put down his chopsticks and asked, "Mom, please tell me quickly, how did you find out that Mrs. Hu was lying? I didn't have a chance to ask her clearly in front of everyone in the government office."

Seeing that she had stopped, Li urged, "Don't worry, eat first. We won't deliver food today anyway, so we have plenty of time to explain it to you in detail."

Shen Yu was shocked when he heard this. Could it be that the small business he had worked hard for for so many days was ruined by Mrs. Hu's false accusation?

She couldn't care about asking anything else, and asked anxiously: "Mom, is there no one who is sure about our buns?"

Jiang quickly explained: "Don't worry, Miss Yuzhi, it's not what you think. The people in the surrounding markets are not stupid people. They all say that it was Mrs. Hu who was making trouble and they don't believe you would poison her."

"We were busy gathering information yesterday, and we were afraid that we wouldn't be able to take care of steaming buns today. In addition, today is August 14th, and tomorrow is Mid-Autumn Festival, so all shops have to close for the festival. Sister Li simply told all shops that they would not do business in the next two days. The merchants also said that they would continue to order buns after Mid-Autumn Festival."

Li also comforted her, "Today, the county magistrate is punishing Mrs. Hu and her husband at the gate of the yamen, and he has specially notified many people to watch. Don't worry, everyone knows that Mrs. Hu falsely accused you, and it will not affect our business. These two days are a good opportunity to take a good rest, and we will continue to work after the festival."

Shen Yu finally breathed a sigh of relief, and the expression on his face relaxed.

Li urged, "Eat all the Taiping eggs quickly. Aunt Jiang cooked them especially for you. You will be very peaceful from now on. I will tell you more after you finish eating."

Shen Yu knew that this matter had nothing to do with his business, so he felt relieved. He also wanted to know the truth, so he quickly concentrated on eating. After a short while, he had finished the big bowl of noodles.

Shen Yu put down his chopsticks and smiled contentedly: "It's still more comfortable at home, with enough food to eat and warm clothes to wear, and I feel at ease."

Yucheng and Dundun went to wash the dishes together, and Li began to talk about what happened yesterday.

After Shen Yu left yesterday, Li packed up his stall in a hurry. The family drove the car back home, but they were like headless flies, not knowing what to do.

Because the lunch had been ordered yesterday and had to be prepared, Jiang and Yutao stayed behind to steam the buns, while Li and Yucheng went to the yamen to find Shen Yu.

Li and Yucheng hired a mule cart on the street and rushed to the gate of the yamen. They saw Dundun sitting on the steps at the entrance and realized that the county magistrate had asked them to go to Mrs. Hu's house to investigate, and the whole room was waiting for the result.

Li, Dun Dun and Yu Cheng hurried back, but heard people on the street talking about how Mrs. Hu and her family had gone back again, led by the yamen runners, and they looked very smug and as if they were very confident.

Li and her group missed their group because they came back in a mule cart.

Li was now panicked. How could such a false thing become true again? She was so anxious that she was walking around in circles in the yard.

Jiang reminded that this matter could only be dealt with by Captain Xing. He was the captain of the police in the yamen and had seen a lot of criminals and thieves. He would definitely be able to find out whether what Mrs. Hu said was true or false.

Li scolded herself for being so anxious and confused, and then turned back to He's house, only to find out that the captain of the police was not at home that day. That's when He took Li to arrange for the guards and visit the women's prison.

When Li returned home, she went to Mrs. Liu's house next door as Shen Yu had said.

Several ladies that Mrs. Liu was familiar with also gathered together and were discussing Shen Yu's affairs.

When they saw Li coming, they all surrounded her with concern.

Li didn't even bother to exchange pleasantries and went straight to inquire about Mrs. Hu's family affairs.

The ladies told each other all the past events they knew, and Li finally understood the reason.