Chapter 151: Bai Family General Store
“What would you two customers like to eat?” As soon as the brother and sister sat down, the shop assistant eagerly greeted them and wiped the table again with the cloth over his shoulder.
“Two bowls of boiled dumplings, and two portions of steamed dumplings.” Lu Ying seriously instructed: “The boiled dumplings should be plain, the steamed dumplings should be meat-filled!”
“Anything else?” the shop assistant asked. Seeing the two shake their heads, he shouted ‘Got it!’ at the top of his lungs to the woman cooking: “Two bowls of boiled dumplings, plain ones. Two bowls of steamed dumplings, meat-filled!”
The woman immediately got busy upon hearing this. Lu Ying watched eagerly as she picked up a rolled-out facial mask with one hand, inserted a bit of filling with a bamboo strip with the other, placed it in the middle of the facial mask, and deftly flipped both hands, wrapping the filling inside the facial mask to form a white tender crescent-shaped dumpling.
The woman made her living from this year-round, her hands extremely deft. In the blink of an eye, she wrapped two rows of dumplings, put them into the big pot nearby, blanched them in boiling water, and the dumplings floated to the surface one by one. She ladled a bit of cold water into the pot, then continued wrapping the meat-filled dumplings. Once the two rows were wrapped and neatly placed in the steamer, the water in the soup pot had boiled three times. The woman then ladled out the cooked dumplings into two bowls, added fresh soup, sprinkled with chopped green onion and garlic, drizzled with sesame oil, and the two bowls of fragrant dumplings were ready.
The shop assistant brought the two bowls of dumplings to the brother and sister’s table and smiled: “Please enjoy slowly, customers. The steamed dumplings will take a bit longer.”
Lu Ying had been drooling already. She nodded, picked up two soup spoons, wiped them clean with a handkerchief, handed one to Lu Yun, then impatiently ladled a spoonful of soup, carefully tasted it, stuck out her tongue from the heat, but still blissfully said: “So fresh!”
“This young lady is right. Ours is a unique secret recipe—you won’t find it anywhere else!” The woman by the pot smiled proudly at Lu Ying while busy working.
Lu Ying nodded repeatedly, then focused on tackling the dumplings in her bowl. Seeing her intoxicated expression, Lu Yun couldn’t help revising his view—sure enough, for Elder Sister, eating was more important.
He too ladled a spoonful of dumplings, gently blew on the steam, and ate slowly and methodically. While eating, he suddenly stopped.
“What’s wrong?” Lu Ying struggled to swallow a hot dumpling and looked at Lu Yun strangely.
“Eat yours, don’t look up.” Lu Yun said softly. He lowered his head, pretending to drink soup, but his sharp gaze pierced through the food stall to the street, where a familiar profile stopped at the doorway of the White family general store, looked around, and then stepped inside.
“It’s him?” Lu Yun pondered briefly, then remembered the face—he had seen it once while supervising Lu Feng. It seemed to be Lu Jian’s steward, surnamed Zhang.
Lu Yun couldn’t help frowning slightly. While guessing whether Steward Zhang’s visit to the White family general store had anything to do with him, he saw another familiar figure appear in front of the food stall. The shop assistant went up to greet him, but the man’s eyes stayed fixed on the general store’s doorway while responding.
Once he saw Steward Zhang go inside and not come out for a while, the man temporarily looked away and glanced at the food stall. Lu Yun raised his head and met his gaze; a flash of surprise appeared in the man’s eyes. Lu Yun gave an imperceptible nod, and the man understandingly walked to the table next to Lu Yun’s and sat back-to-back with him.
After the man casually ordered a bowl of dumplings and sent the shop assistant away, he said softly: “Young Master, you’re here too.” It turned out he was one of Uncle Bao’s prized disciples, named Jiang Hanzong, the best at stakeouts and tracking among the group of dead men, and had been ordered to supervise Steward Zhang for some time.
“Ran into it by chance.” Lu Yun said softly: “The one who just went in was Steward Zhang?”
“Yes.” Jiang Hanzong confirmed Lu Yun’s judgment and reported: “Yesterday he left the city to investigate Lu Feng’s whereabouts, found the clues Master deliberately left, and reached that grove. Then he returned overnight and headed straight to Lu Ward as soon as the city gates opened.”
Lu Yun nodded slightly. Killing Lu Feng was just one part of his plan; the ultimate goal was to thoroughly enrage Lu Jian and force him to act desperately. So of course Uncle Bao had to leave some clues—enough to make Lu Jian suspect him and his son, but without solid evidence to prove who the killer was.
Lu Feng’s privately collected bedroom items were the perfect choice.
Clearly, Steward Zhang had already reported Lu Feng’s death to Lu Jian. His appearance at the White family general store now could only mean he was buying revenge for Lu Jian!
‘Looks like even becoming Lu Xian’s disciple doesn’t guarantee safety…’ Lu Yun couldn’t help a bitter smile. Fortunately, he had never pinned his own safety on others.
.
Meanwhile, Steward Zhang entered the White family general store and saw a few customers still shopping inside. A shop assistant sat lazily at the counter, not bothering to stand and greet him.
He stood quietly to the side, his gaze searching through the dazzling array of goods.
By the time those customers paid and left, Steward Zhang still hadn’t found what he wanted. He went to the counter and asked the shop assistant: “Do you have a White Porcelain Monkey?”
The shop assistant lazily replied: “We have it, but I’m afraid the customer can’t afford it.”
“Hmph!” Steward Zhang didn’t waste words and tossed a shiny gold ingot onto the counter in front of the shop assistant.
The shop assistant weighed the ingot—it was exactly ten taels, not more not less. He pulled open a drawer, put the gold ingot inside, took out a palm-sized, cute White Porcelain Monkey, placed it in front of Steward Zhang, and lazily said: “Goods sold are non-returnable.”
Steward Zhang toyed with it briefly, then slipped the White Porcelain Monkey into his sleeve. Ignoring the shop assistant, he left directly.
At the food stall, seeing Steward Zhang come out, Jiang Hanzong reported to Lu Yun, tossed down a few copper coins, and hurriedly followed.
Once Jiang Hanzong left, Lu Ying finally spoke softly: “Younger Brother, if you have business, go handle it first.”
Lu Yun shook his head and smiled: “Nothing today—just accompanying Elder Sister shopping on the street.”
“Really?” Lu Ying blinked her big eyes, somewhat disbelieving.
“Truer than real gold.” Lu Yun smiled as he took the plate the shop assistant brought: “Steamed dumplings, Elder Sister’s favorite!”
“Mm-hmm.” Lu Ying nodded happily, her mouth corners curving up: “Dumplings taste better steamed!”
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After buying the White Porcelain Monkey, Steward Zhang left East Market. At the East Market doorway, a carriage waited for him. After getting in, Steward Zhang asked the house servant by the carriage: “No one following me, right?”
The house servant stared at the East Market doorway, then shook his head after a moment: “Didn’t see anyone.”
“Mm, to West Market.” Steward Zhang closed the carriage window and caught a quick nap. From yesterday afternoon until now, he hadn’t slept a wink—it had worn him out.
In the time it takes to eat a meal, the carriage reached West Market doorway. Steward Zhang got out, instructed the house servant to stay alert, and entered West Market alone. Inside West Market were mostly brokerages selling livestock and people; naturally, pawnshops were not absent.
After circling the street, Steward Zhang entered a small pawnshop with a plaque reading ‘Sihai’.
The pawnshop was dimly lit. An old pawnbroker with graying hair sat behind the railing, expressionlessly watching Steward Zhang approach.
Steward Zhang placed the White Porcelain Monkey on the counter. The pawnbroker picked it up, toyed with it, and slowly asked: “Where did this come from? What’s its purpose?”
“Purchased from White family general store in East Market, cost ten taels of gold.” Steward Zhang said expressionlessly.
“Not worth that much.” The pawnbroker shook his head, his words identical to those at Sihai Pawnshop in Yuhang.
“Whether it’s worth it or not depends entirely on your word?” Steward Zhang said coldly.
“…” The pawnbroker pondered a moment and asked: “Live pawn or dead pawn?”
“Dead pawn.” Steward Zhang said in a deep voice.
“Dead pawn only gets one copper coin.” The pawnbroker said coldly.
“Deal.” Steward Zhang agreed immediately.
“Customer, please come inside to sign the deed.” The pawnbroker put away the white porcelain monkey, then opened the counter gate and ushered Steward Zhang into the back hall.
