The restaurant was open for business, but it was called an unscrupulous restaurant in public, which damaged its business. The restaurant would definitely not accept it. The waiter who was serving must have asked for an explanation in front of the meeting.
"Sir, how can you say that? Our humble restaurant has always been honest and fair in our business. We don't force anyone to buy or sell. Why is it a scam in your mouth?"
The young man raised the corner of his eyes and pointed at the two bowls of soup on Yu Shu's table next door. He said, "How much is an egg? How much is a corn cob? How much is this soup that's cooked with such little ingredients? You actually have the nerve to charge people two taels for it? Don't think that we don't know that there are a lot of dishes in this restaurant that are scamming people. You purposely pick out dishes from outsiders. When the dishes are served and people fall for it, do you not want to charge them?"
As he spoke, he cupped his fists towards Yu Shu and the other two, acting as if he was defending the injustice. "Brothers, I, Zhao Xiaozhu, was being a busybody today. This table of food and wine is on me."
Seeing that Yu Shu and the others were treating them for free, the surrounding guests looked at the dishes and wine on the table and began to discuss.
However, the young man named Zhao Xiaozhu had something else to say. He immediately asked the waiter to return the two bowls of soup that were selling dog meat and sheep's head.
"If you don't return these two dishes, don't even think about getting any money for your meal today. Hmph."
With that, the waiter looked at Zhao Xiaozhu, as well as Yu Shu and the other two, as if he was looking at a group of people who were "eating and dashing". He immediately ran downstairs to look for the innkeeper to stand up for them.
The customers upstairs stopped eating. They put down their chopsticks and waited quietly to watch the show.
Taking advantage of this, Zhao Xiaozhu took the initiative to sit down and called out to Yu Shu and the others as if they were close friends. "Eat your food. Don't be afraid. If anything happens, I'll take care of it."
Yu Shu watched him singing a one-man show alone for a long time. Jing Chen and Xue Rui had no intention of continuing. Fearing that he would be left out, she kindly said,
"Young Master Zhao, thank you for your kindness just now. However, we can still afford this meal. After all, it's better to avoid trouble when we're outside. I won't trouble you."
Everyone could hear the reluctance in her words, but Zhao Xiaozhu acted as if she was missing a chord. She smiled at Yu Shu and waved her hand, saying, "Don't worry.
"It doesn't matter. I don't find it troublesome. When the shopkeeper comes later, I'll explain it to him."
As soon as he finished speaking, the waiter who went to the shop just now came back with the shopkeeper. Behind him were a few tall and burly men, all of them with fierce expressions.
"Which ones want to eat for free?" The shopkeeper did not stand on ceremony. As he sized up Zhao Xiaozhu, Yu Shu, and the others who were dressed in coarse clothes, he said, "Why don't you ask around and find out what this place is!"
Zhao Xiaozhu replied loudly, "It's me. What can I do?"
The shopkeeper laughed angrily. "Our little shop is open for business. Those who come are customers, and those who pay are the bosses. You're poor and have no money to spend, yet you come looking for trouble. Don't blame me for not treating you well. Ah Hu and Ah Xiong, 'invite' these customers to the back and talk to them!"
With that, the men who were obviously hired thugs responded and rolled up their sleeves, ready to take them away.
Jing Chen put down his bowl and chopsticks. He was about to stand up when Yu Shu held his arm. In that split second, Zhao Xiaozhu, who was sitting at the same table as him, had already stood up and kicked one of the men in the waist, sending him tumbling.
"Ouch!"
"How dare you hit me!"
"Beat him up!"
The innkeeper shouted, and the remaining waiters rushed forward. Punches and kicks had no eyes, so these people assumed that Yu Shu and Zhao Xiaozhu were in cahoots with each other. Without any explanation, they threw punches at them. Xue Rui pulled Yu Shu away from the table and took a few steps back. In the next moment, Zhao Xiaozhu flipped the table, and the soup splashed out, causing the surrounding customers to scream.
A fight broke out.
Yu Shu hid behind Xue Rui, while Jing Chen stood in front. If anyone dared to approach, he would sweep them away with a palm. No one could get close.
Zhao Xiaozhu's punches and kicks were not weak. Fighting one against five, he managed to defeat all of them in a short while. Even the arrogant shopkeeper, who ran away with his head in his hands, was not spared. He was lying on the ground, howling.
The restaurant was in a mess. More than half of the customers had run away. Only Yu Shu and the other two were left.
After fighting, Zhao Xiaozhu jumped down from a table and called out to them while panting, "Pack your things and come with me. We can't stay here anymore. The shopkeeper of this restaurant is the brother-in-law of the third concubine of the Magistrate. We'll be at a disadvantage if we bring him to the yamen. Let's go, let's go!"
Jing Chen frowned slightly. Yu Shu turned to Xue Rui and said, "Big Brother, Second Brother and I will go to the back to get our luggage."
After he finished speaking, he dragged Jing Chen and ran towards the backyard, leaving Xue Rui to deal with that young man who saw injustice on the road.
The two of them walked to the back stairs. Jing Chen slowed down and called out to Yu Shu, who was running away excitedly.
"Are we really going with him?" Just now, based on Yu Shu's reaction, he was certain that there was something wrong with the young man named Zhao. He was probably after them. Otherwise, with her temper, she would not let others stand up for her when she was being blackmailed. In the end, she would have to run away in a panic.
Moreover, when he was fighting just now, he observed the surroundings. Other than them, there were two other tables of customers who were tricked and ordered the egg soup and corn soup. Why did the young man choose their table to act chivalrously?
"Of course we have to go with him." Yu Shu turned her head and revealed a sly expression. "Who knows, we might be able to see the person you want to see in a while."
Jing Chen's expression froze. He could not help but grab her sleeve and said hoarsely, "You mean, this person is me —"
"Shh." Yu Shu raised her finger to her lips and gestured. She could not hide the excitement in her eyes. Jing Chen heard her lowering her voice and said,
"You and Brother Xue both practice inner martial arts. Not to mention my brother, if there was anyone following behind our carriage and stalking us, they would definitely be discovered by you. You might not have noticed, but we waited for a long time for the dishes we ordered to be served. At that time, the hot dishes on Zhao Xiaozhu's table were already cold. This means that he arrived here before us. "
There was no stalking, but he could wait one step ahead in the restaurant. What did this mean?
Yu Shu's heart was burning. She could almost foresee that there was a person who could predict the future behind Zhao Xiaozhu!
Along the way, she had been thinking about several possibilities of finding Yun Hua's whereabouts, but she almost forgot that they had left the heavily guarded Anling City. Yun Hua might take the initiative to approach them!
He was a living and breathing Yi Zi. Who could predict things better than him?
Yu Shu did not finish her sentence, but she understood when she saw Jing Chen's eyes light up. She urged him to go back to his room to get his luggage. She slung the two bags on her shoulders and led the horses to meet up with them. She left the mute coachman behind.
.....
"Brother Xue, Brother Yu, go this way. Do you see that small river in front? My house will be across the river. I have a lot of empty rooms, enough for each of you to stay in."
On the small road in the suburbs, Zhao Xiaozhu led the way. Yu Shu, Xue Rui, and Jing Chen followed closely behind. Half an hour ago, they ran away from the restaurant in An County and followed Zhao Xiaozhu out of the city.
Xue Rui struck up a conversation with Zhao Xiaozhu, and he easily found out about Zhao Xiaozhu's background. This fifteen year old young man claimed to be an orphan. When he was five years old, he encountered a famine. His parents brought him along to flee to the capital region, but they were beaten to death by villains. Fortunately, his foster father passed by and saved his life when he was on the verge of death, and he raised him until he grew up.
Yu Shu interrupted, "So, your adoptive father is a hero? I just don't know his name. I might have heard of him before. "
Zhao Xiaozhu's face relaxed when he mentioned the sad past. He laughed and replied, "You guessed wrong. My adoptive father doesn't know martial arts. He can't even carry a bucket of water."
Yu Shu had already subconsciously substituted Zhao Xiaozhu, her adoptive father, with Yun Hua himself. When she heard his teasing, she could not help but imagine a frail middle-aged scholar with fluttering sleeves.
"I'm confused. If he doesn't know martial arts, how could he save you from the hands of the evil people?"
Zhao Xiaozhu grinned at her. "I still have a brother!"
Yu Shu was puzzled. She was about to ask again when they reached the river. Zhao Xiaozhu dismounted and wrapped the reins around his hand. He shouted at them, "We're going to cross the river.
Follow me closely. Don't take the wrong path. Be careful not to fall down and not be able to climb back up. "
Yu Shu looked up. There was a river in front of her. It flowed east-west and was no more than thirty feet wide. The water was clear, and there were rocks floating on the surface for people to cross. It did not look deep. Even if there were ditches at the bottom, it would not cause people to drown. Zhao Xiaozhu's words sounded more like a bluff.
She lifted her foot to follow. Xue Rui pulled her gently and said, "I'll walk in front."
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