northernbook Chapter 129: Taking Shape
Chapter 129: Taking Shape
Chapter 129: Taking Shape
Ye Qiu fell silent.
Lu Yu and Ji Meiqing exchanged a glance, knowing they were right. Lu Yu pressed further, "As for the truth of this matter, I think if you don't tell us, we can go to the government office to investigate. Money talks, don't you think?"
"I do know about this." He finally spoke, his lips trembling slightly before he changed the form of what he wanted to say before finally speaking, "I did look into it at the time, but the result was something we couldn't afford. We had no choice but to keep it to ourselves."
"What's wrong?" Lu Yu looked at him and guessed, "It's not that there's someone you can't afford to offend."
"Yes, there is. We don't know what happened, but we offended the third young master of the city lord's mansion, and that's how it's been ever since..."
"How could there be a city lord's mansion in such a small town?" Ji Meiqing couldn't help but ask. She had been here for quite some time, but she had never heard of a city lord here.
Ye Qiu glanced at her, but did not refute her. Instead, he continued, "This city lord's mansion does not belong to this place, but to the city lord of Wangduan City. Our Ye family does not know where we offended them. That restaurant was doing very well, but then something suddenly happened. We asked someone to inquire, and the result was that we should be careful not to go against Wangduan City."
"So you didn't tell us about this?" Lu Yu smiled, but his expression gradually turned cold.
Ye Qiu acted as if he hadn't seen anything, spreading his hands and saying shamelessly, "You didn't ask about this beforehand. Besides, you didn't even bother to inquire about my place when you bought it."
"I won't say anything more about this matter, but if it's handled properly, this restaurant will have nothing to do with you anymore. The previous cooperation is null and void."
Ye Qiu fell silent, seemingly considering the feasibility of the matter. Unfortunately, Lu Yu didn't give him much time to think and asked directly, "What do you think? If it doesn't work, then we'll just leave the restaurant like this. I'll fire everyone and close it down."
"I'm withdrawing." He said quietly, then turned his gaze back to him. "Once you've handled this matter, the restaurant will be yours to manage."
“Okay.” Lu Yu stood up, not saying anything more to him, then looked at Ji Meiqing, his expression immediately softening, “Let’s go first.”
Ji Meiqing followed him out, and Ye Qiu didn't see them off; they just left like that.
"This matter seems to be handled by someone with ulterior motives. I'll take care of the rest; please keep an eye on things."
"Why should we talk about whether it's troublesome or not?" he said with a smile. "Besides, it's a small matter."
"No matter what, this matter is still a bit tricky. After all, we don't know who is framing us, so we need to investigate further." She lowered her head and began to think.
Seeing her like this, Lu Yu couldn't help but chuckle.
"We just need to investigate our competitors. There are only a few restaurants in this city, so we can start our own."
Upon hearing this, Ji Meiqing became interested. "How so?"
"You just need to let them go to the kitchen to order, or offer some discounts."
That's true... Ji Meiqing smiled, because she already had other plans in mind because of Lu Yu's suggestion.
A smile involuntarily crept onto his lips.
The matter was easily resolved; she went directly to Rouge. It had been a long time since she'd seen her, and Rouge had become even more alluring, her nails painted with bright red nail polish, which accentuated her slender hands.
"You haven't come for so long, what's up?" After a while, she got tired of arguing with her and left the tea and pastries on the table for her to take.
Ji Meiqing said directly, "I need seven or eight girls. Can you find them for me?"
Rouge raised an eyebrow, her tone equally blunt, "Do you think this is a brothel?"
“You have a wide network of connections,” she said directly. “Are you going to do it or not?”
Rouge glared at her fiercely, but still gave in.
"When do you want it?"
"These next few days will be fine. Let me know in advance if you get any results." She smiled shamelessly, and then added, "Thanks."
To her reaction, Rouge could only roll her eyes at her.
"Coincidentally, I also have something to tell you." He toyed with his cup, his expression suddenly turning serious. Ji Meiqing didn't seem to notice, sipping her tea and casually asking, "What is it?"
The cup was placed on the table, and Rouge's expression turned serious.
"I'm getting married. My fiancé is Ji Tianzhuo."
"Pfft..." Ji Meiqing almost choked on her water. She looked at Yanzhi in disbelief, but seeing her serious expression, she didn't seem to be lying.
Rouge looked at her, her fingers unconsciously stroking the cup. She said, "I know this is hard for you to accept. But soon I will be a concubine in the Ji family."
She paused for a moment, then said softly, "I'm fine. Did you do this willingly?"
"Of course, as the eldest son of the Ji family, Ji Tianzhuo will become the head of the Ji family after the family patriarch is gone. As for me... you know that Xiao Cui now, her methods are not very good, and she is not as good-looking as me. More importantly, I come from a brothel and know best how to capture their hearts."
She drank the water in the cup until it was empty, and only when she drank again did she notice that the cup was completely empty.
She suppressed her surprise and calmed her expression.
"I hope you won't regret it."
"Why are you acting like you're giving someone away?" She rolled her eyes, a half-smile on her face. "I'm a woman of the night, how could I possibly fall for someone? You're overestimating my worth."
Ji Meiqing looked embarrassed, and the sank stone returned to its original position.
"That young lady from the Ji family is quite fierce. We need to teach her a lesson so she'll know what's really tough."
Ji Meiqing fell silent. She had nothing to say about Yanzhi's purpose, and couldn't say anything at all. She was somewhat puzzled by this matter; she wondered what Xiao Cui had done to offend her.
She finished her water and finished what she needed to say. It was time for her to leave, and as usual, Rouge didn't see her off.
She went back home and saw a reddish-brown horse as soon as she entered the gate. She stopped and looked at it for a while.
Lu Yu led Ji Tianci out from the side, and when he saw her return, he called her over.
"This is the horse I bought with Tianci. What do you think?"
She stared blankly at the horse in front of her, then reached out a trembling hand to stroke it. The horse's neck muscles were taut, and its coat was somewhat rough.
Ji Meiqing didn't seem to be looking at the horses; she was looking at the money.
"What's the name of this horse?" She hesitated for a moment.
Lu Yu, however, said rather happily, "We haven't named him yet. Are you going to name him?"