Abandoned Woman Busy Farming

Chapter 2226: Chapter 2225: So It Was an Old Acquaintance

Little Dengdeng rubbed his eyes and said, ”When you were up on stage at the competition, he told people you looked like rich folks, and capturing me could get a lot of silver from you. He also said grabbing me would definitely be worth more than the six kids in the yard. I thought there were six kids who got caught, so I pretended to be captured to save them.”

Bai Ruozhu and Jiang Yichun exchanged a look.

”They have an accomplice!” they said in unison.

Bai Ruozhu wanted to ask why her son hadn’t mentioned this to the officer before, but then she thought, he’s just a child and it’s normal if he doesn’t remember everything. What he’s done so far is already great.

”Do you remember what that person looked like?” Bai Ruozhu asked Dengdeng.

Dengdeng shook his head, ”There were a lot of people at the time, I heard their conversation but didn’t see them.”

Jiang Yichun took Bai Ruozhu’s hand and said, ”Never mind, let’s just be more careful, come on, since we’ve got a reward, our family of three should go and have a good meal.”

”Sure, I was just thinking of meeting the restaurant owner.” Bai Ruozhu said with a smile.

The family of three returned to the restaurant, and only then did Bai Ruozhu notice that the restaurant was called Fengya’s Residence, a newly opened restaurant trying to attract customers by hosting events.

The shopkeeper saw the three of them walk in and immediately greeted them with a cheerful smile, saying, ”Honored guests, please come up to the private room.”

Bai Ruozhu and Jiang Yichun went up to the second floor. She pointed to a private room and said, ”Here will be fine.”

The shopkeeper, however, said, ”Please this way, our Dong Family has instructed us, if you come again, they’d like to meet you.”

Bai Ruozhu had planned to mention it to the shopkeeper after their meal, but this was even better, saving her from guessing.

The family of three followed the shopkeeper to the innermost room. Upon entering, they saw the back of a woman, and beside her stood a man with a cloth crown covering his white hair.

Bai Ruozhu revealed a look of surprise, ”Your Maj...”

Catching the Empress Dowager’s eye, Bai Ruozhu stopped mid-sentence.

”You go ahead and attend to your duties.” The Empress Dowager said with a smile to the shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper immediately bowed and exited.

”How did you end up here? I really didn’t expect that the participants in the competition would be you!” the Empress Dowager said happily, looking very excited.

”I didn’t expect this restaurant would be opened by you and Mr. Yao!” Bai Ruozhu went over to hold the Empress Dowager’s hand, ”How are you both doing? Are you planning to keep a low profile in the city?”

The Empress Dowager chuckled, ”Yes, we think this is also quite nice. Otherwise, going into the wilds wouldn’t suit Yuxuan and me. And we want to make the restaurant successful, also to arrange people to gather news about Diao Bin and the others.”

Thinking of Diao Bin and Ning Yu was indeed something weighing on everyone’s minds.

Fortunately, the Empress Dowager was optimistic and quickly diverted the topic to something else.

Jiang Yichun also hurriedly stepped forward to bow, ”Yichun greets godfather and godmother.”

Back then, Bai Ruozhu had agreed, allowing him to take Yao Yuxuan as his godfather, now making the Empress Dowager his godmother.

”Now we go by Master Qi and Lady Qi, make sure not to call us wrong.” She said with a smile, ”But I seldom go out, for fear of being recognized, and constantly using disguises is uncomfortable. As for opening this restaurant, we owe it to you.”

Jiang Yichun looked puzzled, unaware that his wife had been in contact with the Empress Dowager recently.

It was Yao Yuxuan’s words that cleared his confusion, ”Originally, we talked about dabbling in small trades, but none of us are skilled in business, so we thought the best we know is hospitality, so why not open another restaurant? It’s all thanks to Ruozhu who used to love discussing business strategies when she visited the palace.”

”So it’s now put to use, is this considered learning from you?” The Empress Dowager laughed, looking very relaxed.

”How could it be? You did a fantastic job, we enjoyed the event today.” Bai Ruozhu said.

The Empress Dowager laughed heartily, ”Yes, it also shows how well you know and care for each other.”

Bai Ruozhu felt a bit embarrassed, chuckling softly in response.

”Grandma, you’ve become younger and even more beautiful.” Little Dengdeng said sweetly.

The Empress Dowager pulled him onto her lap, ”Oh, our Little Dengdeng has grown up, I can hardly hold you anymore.”

”Yes, Empress Dowager Grandma, I’m an adult now, and today I even captured two bad guys.” Little Dengdeng said proudly, then recounted his heroic deeds. His innocent and soft voice made such a dangerous event amusing to the listeners.

However, the Empress Dowager soon knit her brows and said, ”Next time, don’t do something so dangerous. What if they were very skillful and you got hurt?”

Little Dengdeng bowed his head, ”Just now, my mother already scolded me, I won’t do it again.”

Hearing this, the Empress Dowager’s smile returned, ”Our Dengdeng is truly sensible.”

”You haven’t eaten yet, have you? I was so busy talking to you. Let’s order some food and chat over it, and you can also give us some feedback on the dishes.” The Empress Dowager said, shaking a bell to call someone in, quickly ordering some signature dishes.

Just hearing the names made Bai Ruozhu think they were delicious, knowing the Empress Dowager was raised with luxury in the palace, she was particularly discerning about food and clothing, so the dishes she ordered wouldn’t be bad, many were rare in the civilian world.

They chatted for a while, and the dishes were soon served, filling the table.

”Try this, the fermented bean curd steamed phoenix claws are especially tender, Little Dengdeng will surely like it.” The Empress Dowager said, serving some to Little Dengdeng with practiced ease, something she never did in the palace, even if she wanted to, palace maids and female officials would compete to do it for her.

Bai Ruozhu felt emotional, seeing how well the Empress Dowager adapted to life outside, much better than she imagined.

As they ate and chatted, the meal was an enjoyable one, and once the dishes were cleared, the Empress Dowager summoned for tea, just as the shopkeeper rushed in to report, ”Master Dong, someone is causing trouble downstairs, saying they found a cockroach and want compensation.”

Bai Ruozhu immediately realized this was a common ploy by extortionists, or perhaps a local gang asking for protection money, or even competitors trying to undermine them.

”Godfather, let me take a look.” Bai Zepei said as he stood up, but Yao Yuxuan stopped him.

”There’s no need, you can intervene once, but you can’t always be here. I’ll handle it, you all just rest.”

The Empress Dowager also smiled and said, ”Don’t worry, Yuxuan can handle it.”

Yao Yuxuan left the room, Little Dengdeng curiously stretched his little head to watch, and Bai Ruozhu also got up saying, ”We’ll just watch from the entrance.”

”Alright, you young folks love gathering where the action is.” The Empress Dowager said with a cheerful laugh.

Yao Yuxuan went downstairs to see a man in his twenties, with a face full of arrogant flesh, currently holding a big cockroach, scaring off the surrounding customers who hurried away, leaving the restaurant noticeably less crowded.