MOM, G.o.dFATHER’S RED APRICOT IS LEANING ON THE WALL**An idiom for an illicit affair.
Once Qin Wan’er heard of the panacea restaurant’s case, she took it upon herself to come over on her police motorcycle again. Then she very carefully investigated the scene, gathering the evidence in the area.
“QingShuang-jie, don’t worry. I definitely won’t let the thief go unpunished.” Qin Wan’er seemed very confident in her ability.
GuoGuo wiped her eyes and was finally able to calm down.
“Wan’er, I really don’t know how to thank you.” Ruan QingShuang softly said as she held onto Qin Wan’er’s hand.
“This all should be my duty, to protect the citizens’ personal safety and secure their property.” Qin Wan’er said with a high degree of principle. She turned her head to look at Xu Yun and said, “I guarantee I’ll make every effort to resolve this case within a week!”
Xu Yun couldn’t help but to cry out in alarm a bit. “Will this need 1 week? I’ll give you some clues. For this case, if it’s not the Four Wolves Gang members striking back for revenge, then it must be that one person who went to QingShuang and acted as her brother-in-law – Lu Bao’s doing! You only have to capture that person and ask. That’ll do.”
“Are you the police officer or am I the police officer?” Qin Wan’er of course wasn’t convinced. She, in the police academy had always been a cla.s.s leader – even now to the police station. “I have a sense of proper conduct on how to solve the case. You don’t have to teach me. You’re just guessing, your basic guess can’t withstand scrutiny.”
Xu Yun could see that Qin Wan’er was full of confidence, but he couldn’t help but to think about that one mission where in the middle they betrayed their superiors and alerted police, and he laughed softly yet scornfully. “A sense of proper conduct? Then for one day let me do the investigating.”
“Are you provoking me?” Qin Wan’er widened her eyes. “Xu Yun, if you have the ability to solve the case in one day, I wanna see it.”
“Okay, wanna have a little bet?” Xu Yun readily said. “If there’s no prize then there’s no point.”
“You say what it is and that’s what it is!” Qin Wan’er looked like a retired army, one phrase and she promised anything.
Xu Yun looked at Qin Wan’er again, and couldn’t help but to give her an opportunity one more time. “No regrets?”
“Whoever regrets, is a small doggie b.a.s.t.a.r.d!” Qin Wan’er, as before, was still full of confidence in herself. “If you lose, then I will make you work as a spy! Go undercover to help me do something. You cannot refuse!”
Qin Wan’er was quite curious why someone as talented as Xu Yun was working at a small restaurant as a chef, like a case of using a talented person in an insignificant position.
“If you lose, everyday you’ll do odd for jobs for me at the panacea restaurant. I’ll permit you to scrub the dishes, but you don’t get to wash the dishes!” Xu Yun raised his eyebrows in blatant provocation.
“Deal!” Qin Wan’er didn’t even hesitate.
Ruan QingShuang helplessly watched these two fellows. Why were they fighting like little kids… Wasn’t this like playing house?
“Mommy, this is bad.” GuoGuo said towards Ruan QingShuang dead seriously. “From what I can see, this looks like the red apricot is leaning over the wall.”
Uh…Ruan QingShuang decided it was better to not understand GuoGuo!
Qin Wan’er left the restaurant furiously, and Xu Yun also got up to go.
“You’re not really going to look for Lu Bao, right?” Ruan QingShuang couldn’t help but feel somewhat worried. Even if Lu Bao couldn’t endanger Xu Yun, if Lu Bao ganged up together with the Four Wolves Gang members, she was still worried that Xu Yun would get the worst of it.
“Xu Yun loosened his shoulders. “The kitchen is pretty much empty, at night we can’t usually serve customers simmer-fried air right? I’m worried you haven’t earned enough yet have no choice but to pay me. First I’ll go buy some groceries to use as an emergency for tonight.”
“Daddy, I’m going too!” GuoGuo said, already following him out.
Xu Yun shook his finger, whispering to GuoGuo, “GuoGuo, you stay at the restaurant and accompany mommy. G.o.dfather has to first look for someone who works with colored gla.s.s to come and give us gla.s.s panes, else at night air will leak out. Once the gla.s.s worker comes, I’ll depend on GuoGuo to constantly monitor him for G.o.dfather.”
Once GuoGuo heard it, it made sense. Right now mom wasn’t too happy, definitely not in the mood to do anything. “Guarantee you will finish your tasks!”
Only now was Xu Yun a.s.sured and left, looking for someone to fix the gla.s.s, then going to the grocery market and buying enough fresh vegetables and meat. The freezer was definitely going to be filled again. Also, he had to go to a herbal drugstore to buy some ‘female ginseng*’, Chinese artichoke, orchid etc. etc. since they were already running out. He also bought a bit of poria powder, in preparation for a free soup for customers made of poria powder and mung bean that resists heat for the drinker.
TN:* Angelica Sinensis, orchid = Dendrobium n.o.bile, Poria = type of fungus
Aftering buying everything, Xu Yun then went back to the restaurant. The store’s window panes had already been installed, costing 300 Yuan extra for expedited service. The worker worked fast for the expedited rate, and even worked exceptionally carefully.
“Daddy, why did you buy so much stuff?!” The sharp-eyed GuoGuo seeing Xu Yun, quickly came out to welcome him.
“From now on the panacea restaurant’s business will get better and better… More preparations is always better.” Xu Yun said, then fished out a small, cute hairclip. “Gift for you GuoGuo.”
GuoGuo was overjoyed, this afternoon the gloom from the robbery was swept away. “Daddy is the best! I will definitely help you say good things in front of mommy, don’t worry, I will help pick up mommy!”
Xu Yun really wanted to kneel to this girl, afraid she would say more shocking words. Xu Yun speedily went to the kitchen and prepared. Dinner time was fast approaching.
“Mommy.” GuoGuo wasn’t the type to take things and not deliver, since she took Xu Yun’s gift of a hairpin, then she had to help him with that issue. “Do you think G.o.dfather is any good? Can you let him have full membership?”
Ruan QingShuang looked at Xu Yun’s busy back in the kitchen – her heartfelt grat.i.tude, could it be described in words? This was the only one she acknowledged among all men.
Of course, there were also a lot of men who gave her attentive looks, but Ruan QingShuang knew that those kinds of people’s objectives were to get her to sleep with them. She was the child of clean folks, so of course she would become a clean woman. Many men helped Ruan QingShuang who weren’t even given a glance and refused.
And Xu Yun was not the same. From the time he helped get rid of Lu Bao, Ruan QingShuang determined Xu Yun as the type of person who gave a sense of security. Although he looked like a sloppy person who neglected their duties, in his eyes there were no distracting thoughts, being very pure.
Not knowing why, a bit of complex but difficult to describe feeling inside Ruan QingShuang had floated up from the bottom of her heart. A dark red surprisingly spread noiselessly from the back of her ear radiating outwards slowly.
GuoGuo only now discovered mama hadn’t heard her say anything, instead she was looking in a daze at Xu Yun’s figure inside the kitchen, but also a blushing daze.
“Ah, once a woman falls into a trap, it’s always hard to free herself.” GuoGuo like a little adult sighed, afterwards shaking her head she went to the reception desk.
Not long after, guests started coming one after another, the panacea restaurant ‘s business was like before with the explosive popularity. Although not as crazy as the afternoon’s long dragon of a line, it still was densely packed. Ruan QingShuang also slowly came out of the gloom of the robbery event, seeking shelter by putting her heart and soul into her work.
The night had 3 hours of bustle. This time, GuoGuo didn’t dare to be careless. Taking the money paid, she put all of it in her pocket, and was especially alert at the people looking at her pocket.
“It was tough for you.” Ruan QingShuang already viewed Xu Yun with great favor and didn’t say thanks. Perhaps Xu Yun didn’t know, if he didn’t buy the medicine ingredients and foodstuffs, she already didn’t have the money to buy medicinal herbs and groceries in bulk.
Xu Yun took off his ap.r.o.n. “Today I’m little tired, going home first. You two rest early too.”
“Daddy, just live here.” GuoGuo said, holding a little box of yogurt, eating it messily. “Today there was even someone who smashed our windows. Me and mommy will both be scared.”
“Um… About that….” Xu Yun really wanted to stay, but tonight he really had something to do.
Ruan QingShuang took the yogurt in GuoGuo’s hand. “While eating you still can’t stop your mouth? Do you want mommy to seal it?”
“Then I won’t say anything.” GuoGuo quickly shut up, taking her yogurt with a thump thump she ran upstairs.
Ruan QingShuang was blushing a bit, “Xu Yun, how about you just….”
“Mmm, then I’ll get going.” Xu Yun was worried Ruan QingShuang would be embara.s.sed, and without saying much, he directly left the panacea restaurant.
Ruan QingShuang watched Xu Yun’s figure getting distant, disappearing into the darkness of the night. She couldn’t help feeling a bit of sourness in her heart. Just now, she wanted to say “How about you just stay”, but Xu Yun never gave her the chance to say it all.
It wasn’t easy to muster the courage and she was disappointed. Ruan QingShuang really didn’t know if next time she would have the courage to again try to say it.
Xu Yun could completely relax about leaving, since he believed as long as GuoGuo was at the panacea restaurant, Qiu Yan would never leave the panacea restaurant’s vicinity.
If at night there really was an attack by the Four Wolves Gang, Qiu Yan could easily sweep it away. Even with serious internal injuries, she was the Venerated Violent Fox!
Xu Yun phoned a meet up with QiangZi at the barbecue night market. No way would QiangZi dare to refuse. Directly after leaving KTV* he went straight to the barbecue night market. A few people were seated at a barbecue stall called “Authentic”. Xu Yun ordered 5 lbs of roast lamb. Other than weird stuff like lamb kidneys, lamb fries** or horse fish, he ordered 100+ kebabs of everything.
*KTV or karaoke. Not a bunch of guys singing together, always bring the chix ;)
**You don’t want to know what this is xD
“Yun-ge, the business at the panacea restaurant was amazing enough yeah?” QiangZi smiled his eyes squinty. With the advertising he did, of course he would also send scouts.
Xu Yun nodded, “It was pretty amazing, that’s why I’m inviting you and your brothers out to eat. And that other thing, did you hear anything?”
“I did!” QiangZi did a thumbs up, his face full of respect and worship. “The Four Wolves’ bald Wei brought 30+ people to go f’ck up the panacea restaurant, but Xu Yun, you alone dealt with them!”
“Do you know about anything else?” Xu Yun concisely pointed out. “This afternoon the panacea restaurant had its windows shattered, and was robbed of its money. Do you know who did it?”
QiangZi and his brothers looked at each other. QiangZi sighed and asked, “Then you’re saying…. The Four Wolves Gang retaliated that fast?”
“That’s right!” Among QiangZi’s brothers, the sharpest among them suddenly yelled out, “At past 3pm I saw Lu Bao that fellow was always nearby the panacea restaurant shaking. That dude used to always bully the hot boss of the panacea restaurant. This time, could it be him?”
“You mean that, that little punk broke the windows and stole the money?” QiangZi was startled, then thinking to himself he nodded. “Right, that little punk owed the Four Wolves Gang a gambling debt. It really could be him that did it!”
Xu Yun was now pretty much 100% certain that this was done by Lu Bao. “Normally, where would Lu Bao, that little ant, be around this time?
“Most definitely at the Sky Wolf Casino man!” QiangZi and his brothers all said it simultaneously – seems like they all were very clear about how much Lu Bao loved to gamble.
After finishing saying it, QiangZi’s face color changed. “Yun-ge, you aren’t thinking about….”