Carefree Farmwife: Training the Husband, Raising the Bun - Chapter 128

Hearing Ying Su’s words, Li Zhi immediately broke into a wide grin. Feng Qiufang praised, “Cuihua, you really are such a good girl! Next time I’ll help you find a fine match…”

As she said this, Li Zhi’s eyes suddenly lit up. He glanced at Ying Su up and down, the little abacus in his mind starting to turn.

“Why isn’t the food here yet!” Seeing Ying Su steal the spotlight again, Li Yunyao shouted irritably at the waiter.

The waiter hurriedly said, “Right away, I’ll go report it to the kitchen.” With that, he dashed off.

Once the dishes were served, Feng Qiufang and Li Zhi dug in greedily, with no trace of manners. They picked through everything, scooping all the meat into the bowls of their family of four. Li Yunyao at least tried to put on a ladylike act, but her bowl was piled high like a small mountain.

Li Yin, helpless, gave Ying Su a small smile from the side, hoping she would be understanding.

Ying Su gave no response. She only picked at the two plates of vegetables in front of her. Since there were signature meat dishes on the table, no one touched the vegetables near her anyway.

She ate quickly. By the time her bowl was empty, Feng Qiufang and the others were still stuffing food into their mouths. Li Zhi even called for two more bowls of rice.

The corners of Ying Su’s lips curled into a fleeting smile before she waved over a waiter. “Where’s the restroom?”

The waiter smiled. “Through that door, go straight into the back courtyard, and you’ll see it.”

Ying Su stood up. Feng Qiufang and the others assumed she was going to relieve herself and didn’t even look up, still busily cramming food down their throats.

But after leaving, she didn’t return. Half an hour passed, and Feng Qiufang’s group exchanged puzzled looks. The dishes on the table were completely empty, and the waiter was standing by, staring at the four of them.

“Why isn’t she back yet? Could she have fallen in?” Li Yunyao complained impatiently. They had finished eating long ago, yet Shen Cuihua still hadn’t come back. Without her, no one had paid the bill, so they couldn’t leave either!

“Maybe… I should go check the outhouse?” Feng Qiufang suggested.

Li Zhi nodded. Feng Qiufang stood up, but just as she was about to head off, the waiter blocked her path. “Hey now, where are you going?”

“I’m going to look for someone,” Feng Qiufang said quickly.

“Looking for someone is fine! But first, settle the bill!” The waiter’s face still carried a smile, but his arm firmly barred her way.

“She went to find someone to pay! The young lady with us went to the restroom, once she’s back, we’ll settle up,” Li Zhi explained.

“What young lady? You mean the one in the light blue dress who came in with you?” The waiter asked.

Today Ying Su was indeed dressed in light blue. Feng Qiufang quickly nodded. “Yes, that’s her! I’ll just fetch her, then we’ll pay!”

But the waiter’s smile turned stiff. He stared coldly at Feng Qiufang. “What, trying to dine and dash? Do you even know what kind of place this is? How dare you try tricks here! That young lady already paid and left! She only happened to share a table with you, she’s not with you!”

This waiter remembered Ying Su clearly. Last time she came, a young miss had personally come to accompany her, even telling him to take extra care whenever she visited. So he had paid closer attention and remembered her face. Later, that same young lady had even gone downstairs to help Master Ba fight. The waiters had all seen clearly, Ying Su’s ties with Master Ba were strong.

So when Ying Su paid and left today, the waiter didn’t doubt it for a second. He even escorted her to the door himself.

“What?” Hearing this, Feng Qiufang and the others went pale. Li Yunyao cried out, “She left? Impossible! She hasn’t paid yet!”

“Of course she settled her bill! It’s your share that’s left. Pay up, one tael, two coins!” The waiter held out his hand with open disdain.

“One tael, two coins? That expensive?” Feng Qiufang exclaimed.

Their faces darkened with anger and frustration.

“No wonder she acted so generous! She was setting us up!” Li Zhi ground his teeth.

Li Yin couldn’t help but say, “She already paid for her own share. These dishes were ordered by us, how can you blame her?”

“Brother, what’s wrong with you? Why are you always speaking up for her? Has that vixen bewitched you?” Li Yunyao snapped.

Even Feng Qiufang eyed Li Yin suspiciously. His face tightened, and he quickly changed the subject. “Let’s just pay and leave.”

The waiter snorted, lifting his chin. “Pay up quick! Or else… I’ll give you another taste of dining without paying!” He clapped his hands, and two burly men appeared at the staircase, scowling fiercely with clubs in their hands, clearly the inn’s hired thugs.

The sight drained the color from Li Zhi’s face. Trembling, Feng Qiufang dug out a shabby purse, pouring out all the money inside. Silver scraps and copper coins added up to only one tael and one coin!

The waiter glared coldly.

Li Yin pulled out a few dozen coins, Li Zhi fished out a handful as well, then all eyes turned to Li Yunyao.

Unwillingly, she pouted, pulled out her purse, and counted out the rest, finally scraping together one tael, two coins.

The waiter took the money, shoved them out the door, and spat at their feet. “Beggar scum! You dare come eat here again? Next time, I’ll serve you a proper feast of fists!”

Dejected, the group shuffled along the street. Li Zhi’s face was dark with rage. “That wretched woman! How dare she trick us like that! Next time I see her, I’ll beat her good!”

“Shen Cuihua is too much! She asked us to eat with her, then paid her own bill and walked off. That’s just mocking us!” Feng Qiufang fumed.

Li Yunyao was seething, her teeth itching with anger. “She definitely did it on purpose!”

Only Li Yin stayed quiet, trailing behind them. He looked up at the sky and sighed softly.

He knew it must’ve been something said or done by his parents outside Master Zhang’s home that upset her. With her temperament, she would never let such things slide.

At that moment, Ying Su was already sitting in Weixuan’s shop, the corners of her lips curling at the thought of Feng Qiufang’s family being cornered by the waiter. Her rule was simple, If people respect me a foot, I’ll return it tenfold. If they wrong me even a little, I’ll pay them back in full.

Soon, a Zhang family servant returned with news, spilling everything out like beans from a bamboo tube.

“The yamen folk said it was a young lady named Cuihua who saved Young Master Bai’s daughter and revealed the human traffickers on Beishan. Young Master Bai even went in person to thank her. That same Cuihua runs a furniture shop in town, the one that burned down recently but has now reopened. Young Master Bai even sent a congratulatory gift, a gilded toad!”

Master Zhang’s face paled. “That Cuihua, was it the same young lady who came to our door today?”

The servant quickly nodded. “Yes, I checked. It was her! Her husband’s family is directly related to Li Zhi.”

Master Zhang’s brows furrowed tightly. If she was really Young Master Bai’s benefactor, this matter had just gotten complicated! No wonder a country woman could have such rare flowers as the Jianyang Butterfly, it must’ve been a gift from Young Master Bai!

Realizing this, Master Zhang’s face twisted in alarm. He slapped his thigh three times in a row. “This is bad!”