novelhk Chapter 111 Almost Got Robbed
Chapter 111 Almost Got Robbed
However, these matters were ultimately beyond the control of Gu Lin and Zheng Hao, especially in such a time of widespread anxiety. Neither Prefect Zhen nor other officials in the prefectural government could tolerate such negative comments.
Gu Lin and Zheng Hao discussed these matters privately and then stopped talking about them, so as not to worry Zhao's wife and the others.
However, even if they didn't say anything, Zhao's wife and the others interacted with people every day and soon learned about the situation of the refugee camp outside the city from others.
Even they, slow to realize, gradually sensed the turbulent undercurrents beneath the city's calm exterior.
At the same time, Good Luck Restaurant was caught in a media storm. In recent days, there has been praise and criticism for Good Luck Restaurant's practice of grinding up the leftover food that its customers did not finish and sending it to disaster victims. Some people even tried to imitate Good Luck Restaurant's actions after seeing them.
These families who ran soup kitchens outside the city were already distressed about the money they were spending, but because of Prefect Zhen, they dared not close their soup kitchens directly.
Upon learning that the owner of Good Luck Restaurant had sent food porridge to the refugee camp without being ostracized by the disaster victims, and had even gained a good reputation, they all followed Gu Lin's example and ground up the leftover food from their homes or shops to send to the porridge shed.
Unexpectedly, the same action of sending food porridge to Good Luck Restaurant was more praised than criticized in the refugee camp. After they sent out their own food porridge, the refugee camp's soup kitchen was overturned by the refugees.
Immediately, the families who had given them the swill were furious. They felt that the disaster victims outside the city were ungrateful. They thought that Gu Lin was their savior just because they had given him swill to eat and he said a few nice words to them.
As a result, the same act of sending swill to the refugee camp resulted in vastly different treatment. These families no longer cared about Prefect Zhen and simply closed the soup kitchen.
Some people, envious of Good Fortune Restaurant's success in both making money and gaining fame, began to attack the restaurant over the issue of its food paste.
They said that Good Fortune Restaurant was all pretense; if they really wanted to help refugees, why would they use swill to appease the victims? They accused the owner of Good Fortune Restaurant of inciting people and buying off the refugee camp victims with just a few words.
While shopping for groceries, Sister Zhao overheard similar remarks and immediately confronted the other party. Although she eventually won the argument, she was still seething with anger and stormed home.
Seeing Zhao's wife, her face full of anger, step into the lobby, Gu Lin looked puzzled and asked, "Sister-in-law, what happened to you outside? You were fine before you left, but you came back with a lot of anger?"
Unable to hold back her words, Zhao's sister-in-law told the other party what she had overheard outside about the criticisms leveled against Good Fortune Restaurant and Gu Lin.
Then, she spat on the ground and cursed, "Those heartless bastards saw us sending food porridge to the soup kitchens and started imitating us. Imitating is one thing, but we carefully grind and sterilize the vegetables and meat before sending them out. What they do is use rotten vegetable leaves and bad meat and bones. The disaster victims got sick after eating it and, in their anger, overturned their soup kitchens. Instead of looking at their own mistakes, they even dared to accuse Good Luck Building and you!"
At this point, Sister Zhao said heavily, "They think everyone is as wicked as them!"
So that's how it is. Gu Lin had heard some of the praise and insults directed at Haoyunlou and himself from Lin Xiaoyao.
This is why he had Yu Ge'er keep an eye on the cook who was making the food porridge. He was afraid that the cook might use spoiled food to make the porridge for his own selfish reasons. If the disaster victims got sick from eating it, Gu Lin would have no way to explain himself.
Gu Lin turned his gaze to Zhao's wife and comforted her, "Justice will prevail. If they just make a few mild criticisms, we don't need to care. But if they go too far and damage the reputation of Good Luck Restaurant, I'm not someone they can easily bully."
Seeing that Lin Ge'er had a plan, Zhao Saozi felt relieved and nodded to indicate that she would listen to him.
In the afternoon, Gu Lin stayed at home and did not go out, but Niu Qiang came to the door.
Because Sister-in-law Zhao was taking care of the children of Brother Yu and his wife, Brother Zhao went out to transport goods with the workers of Haoyunlou. So, when Gu Lin heard the knocking, he came out of his bedroom, went to the courtyard, and opened the gate.
This time, Niu Qiang came not alone; he was followed by six tall men. Gu Lin didn't know how to describe these people. Although they didn't look as fierce as Niu Qiang, they were clearly not people to be trifled with.
Gu Lin said to Niu Qiang, "It's windy outside, Brother Niu, would you like to come in and have some hot water?"
Niu Qiang didn't go in, saying, "No need to trouble Boss Gu."
After saying that, he turned to the side and pointed to the six men behind him, then turned to Gu Lin and introduced them to him, saying, "The city has been quite unsettled lately. These bodyguards were hired by Scholar Zheng to protect you and Sister-in-law Zhao."
Gu Lin blinked his bright eyes. Zheng Hao had told him about this a few days ago when he returned home. At the time, he thought that the other party would at most hire two bodyguards, but he did not expect that they would hire six bodyguards at once.
Gu Lin said to Niu Qiang, "Xiao Hao told me about this matter. We've troubled you, Brother Niu, to go to the trouble for us. We have some simple food at home. Brother Niu and the other bodyguards have been traveling for so long, please come in and have some simple food to fill your stomachs."
Gu Lin said that they had been traveling for a long time and were not wrong. Niu Qiang first selected a few reliable people from the escort agency and took them to Zheng Hao for inspection. After obtaining the other party's consent, he brought the group to Gu Lin.
They ran back and forth. Although they had eaten lunch, they were all men with large appetites, and the food in their stomachs had long been digested.
Therefore, Niu Qiang did not refuse when Gu Lin said this.
Gu Lin went into the kitchen and picked out the steamed buns and dumplings that Zhao's wife had made that morning, put them on a plate, and then took them out. The bodyguards first clasped their hands in thanks to Gu Lin, and then ate the dumplings and steamed buns with gusto.
After eating a steamed bun, Niu Qiang said to Gu Lin, "These people's food, clothing, and lodging are taken care of by special people, so Boss Gu doesn't need to worry about it. Zheng Xiucai advised that Boss Gu should take two people with him when he goes out in the future, and the rest will guard outside the Gu family."
Gu Lin nodded slightly to indicate that he understood, then, as if thinking of something, asked with difficulty, "Isn't it a bit too conspicuous for them to stand outside the door?"
Niu Qiang explained, "These bodyguards are all skilled martial artists, and they are all good at hiding themselves. Boss Gu doesn't need to worry about them attracting attention. They will hide themselves well and be scattered around the Gu family's residence."
As soon as Niu Qiang finished speaking, Gu Lin realized that he had misunderstood.
Seeing that everyone had almost finished their steamed buns and mantou, but still seemed unsatisfied, he went to the kitchen and brought out the mixed grain porridge he had just cooked.
After finishing a pot of hot mixed grain porridge, everyone felt full and couldn't help but admire the kindness and generosity of their employer.
Niu Qiang and his bodyguards left the Gu family and quickly disappeared from sight.
Gu Lin didn't turn around and go inside immediately. Instead, he stood outside the door for a while, looking around to see where the bodyguards had disappeared, trying to find where they were hiding, but he failed in the end.
So Gu Lin stopped looking for the bodyguards, closed the gate, and went home.
Ten days later, Gu Lin counted the days; Zheng Hao was going home today.
He got up, washed up, and walked out of the bedroom. He stopped Sister Zhao, who was about to leave, and said, "I'm going to buy groceries. Sister Zhao, you rest for a while."
Seeing the young man who had gotten up early, Sister Zhao subconsciously looked up at the sun on the horizon.
That's right, the sun doesn't rise from the west, it rises from the east.
Sister-in-law Zhao turned her gaze to Gu Lin and said, "What wind blew you out of bed today?"
His words were clearly meant to tease Gu Lin.
Gu Lin didn't take it seriously. He looked at Zhao's wife with a slightly helpless expression and said, "Sister-in-law, you're making me so embarrassed. From now on, I'll get up early every day and go out to buy groceries with you, okay?"
Sister-in-law Zhao couldn't see any sign of the young man's embarrassment. She saw right through him and said, "Come on, you're being silly."
Sister-in-law Zhao: "If it weren't for Zheng boy coming back today, I doubt you would even bother to get up for breakfast, let alone go grocery shopping."
Gu Lin didn't refute, and then teased Zhao's wife a few times with a grin. Before she could curse him, he quickly grabbed his vegetable basket and ran out of the house.
Because there was a vegetable market nearby, Gu Lin did not go to the market in the distance. When the bodyguards walked up to him, he waved his hand and said he didn't need them to follow him.
After walking several dozen steps, Gu Lin arrived at the vegetable market. He didn't buy any melons or vegetables, as Zhao's wife had bought a lot yesterday and hadn't finished eating them yet. He went straight to the butcher shop.
The butcher shouted, "Beef for sale! Beef for sale! A rare find—fresh beef! From a strong ox that was just slaughtered today! Everyone come and take a look!"
Upon hearing this, Gu Lin paused, then turned and walked towards the butcher shop selling beef.
Arriving at the butcher shop, Gu Lin looked at the bright red and glossy beef hanging there. Then, he heard someone ask the butcher, "Why would you kill a healthy ox? Was it sick?"
In ancient times, oxen were very important production tools. There were clear laws that prohibited people from killing oxen at will. Even if their own oxen died of old age, people had to report to the government and get a definite answer before they could kill and sell the dead ox.
Under such circumstances, butcher shops would not sell healthy cattle. Most of the cattle circulating in the market were old and had died, and some unscrupulous people would even sell cattle that had died of disease for money.
The butcher immediately clarified, "You can't just say things like that. Our family has an honest and clean business, and we've been in the butcher shop business for over ten years. This ox accidentally broke its leg while plowing the field. The owner called a doctor, but the ox couldn't stand up, so it was useless. The owner was just an ordinary farming family; how could they afford to keep an injured ox? So, before the ox got too thin, they quickly sold it to get money."
After hearing the butcher's explanation, Gu Lin carefully examined the beef on the stall and confirmed that it was indeed fresh.
Beef is a rare treat, and even though Gu Lin is rich, he can't afford to eat it often. He pointed to the beef on the butcher's plate and said to the butcher, "Boss, give me ten pounds of steak, six pounds of beef, and some beef bones..."
Gu Lin listed the items one by one, and the butcher knew immediately that the young man in front of him was a big customer. He readily agreed and quickly weighed out the beef for him.
Gu Lin took out his purse and was about to open it when a figure attacked. Gu Lin couldn't help but take a few steps back. Then, feeling the pain in his wrist, he looked up at the person in front of him who was tightly gripping his purse.
Gu Lin struggled to get up, but the person in front of him, though short, was exceptionally strong. Gu Lin's eyes hardened, and he swept his leg across the body. With a "thud," the person in front of him immediately fell to the ground.
Gu Lin took a few steps back and stood up straight. After looking closely, he realized that the person who had snatched his purse was a teenager. The boy was thin and sallow, but his eyes were very sharp. When he realized that he had failed to snatch the purse and that more and more people were gathering around, he quickly stood up and used his short stature to slip out of the crowd.
Having almost had his purse stolen, Gu Lin lost interest in continuing to browse the market and went home after buying the beef.
Back home, as he entered the kitchen and saw the fresh, glossy beef before him, Gu Lin immediately forgot his earlier unease.
He thought this kind of weather was perfect for hot pot. Gu Lin first made a broth with beef bones, white radish, ginger slices, etc., and then he and Sister Zhao cut the beef into thin slices. Then he asked Brother Zhao to go to Haoyunlou to get some ready-made hot pot ingredients.
When Zheng Hao returned home, he saw Uncle Gu and Sister-in-law Zhao sitting around the table, with a hot pot constantly bubbling in the middle of the table.
Gu Lin saw him, raised his hand and waved, and Zheng Hao walked over and sat down next to him.
Gu Lin ladled a bowl of beef bone soup and placed it in front of Zheng Hao, then said with a smile, "I went to buy groceries this morning and happened to come across someone selling beef, and it was even from a strong cow, so I thought it would be perfect for hot pot."
"I also had some beef balls made. Try them later and see if they're good."
Since fresh beef and beef balls are used for hot pot, the broth is naturally clear. Although Zheng Hao often eats other broths, he can accept clear broth.
Seeing that the beef balls in the pot had floated to the surface, Zheng Hao picked up a spoon and scooped out two, but instead of putting them in his own bowl, he put them in Gu Lin's bowl.
Zheng Hao: "Thank you for your hard work in preparing this meal, Uncle Gu."
Gu Lin smiled and said, "As long as everyone enjoys the food."
Suddenly, Zheng Hao lowered his gaze and his eyes fell on the red scar on Gu Lin's fair and slender wrist.
Zheng Hao lowered his eyes slightly and asked, "Uncle Gu, where did this scar come from?"
Following the other person's gaze to the scars on his wrist, Gu Lin hesitated for a long time before finally telling them about how his purse had almost been stolen that morning.
Gu Lin: "When I take a purse, I always like to wrap the thin string around my wrist, so the child didn't snatch the purse. However, he was too strong, and the scars were probably left at that time."
Although it hurt a little, Gu Lin didn't take it to heart and said, "It's just a minor injury, there's no bleeding, it's nothing serious."
Zheng Hao lowered his eyes and said, "I see the wound is a bit swollen. It might get even more red and swollen tomorrow. Uncle Gu, you should apply some ointment later."
Gu Lin didn't even notice the minor injury; he nodded dismissively.
Zheng Hao didn't say anything, but after everyone finished eating hotpot and returned to their respective dormitories, Zheng Hao took a box of ointment and knocked on Gu Lin's door.