411 Kidnapped (Part One)
“Can we really use the one we got from spinning the wheel in the restaurant?”
“You two families aren’t working together to cheat us of our silver, are you?”
When Li Xiangjun was in Huai County, she had always been the manager of the Hundred Flavours Restaurant. Later, when they fought against Shang, Yue Jiaojiao didn’t appear. She had always led Yang Dashan and the others to do it.
Even if they were in a different place, the situation in front of her was not a big matter to her.
“Whether I’m lying to you or not, you won’t believe me even if I tell you more.” Li Xiangjun tasted the soft cake that had been cut into small cubes. “You can try it first before you decide if you want to buy it. In addition, as long as you get a voucher from that restaurant for these few days, you can use it directly after we check it.”
It was Zhao Zhan’s idea, and Yue Jiaojiao had helped him perfect it.
It was important to stamp the vouchers with the seal and print the patterns on them, but Yue Jiaojiao had also recorded the serial number on each voucher in two volumes. She and Zhao Zhan each held one volume.
For all vouchers, in addition to identifying the authenticity of the vouchers themselves, the code also had to match. This was to maintain order and to prevent people who counterfeited the same code from repeatedly verifying them.
Li Xiangjun was in charge of the matters in the shop, and Yue Jiaojiao and Zhao Zhan would only occasionally help them when they were too busy.
They would first make soft cake famous, then they would introduce the expensive custom-made cake.
They were busy until noon.
The baked and fresh soft cakes simply couldn’t keep up with the speed of sales.
Even the experienced and knowledgeable Yue Jiaojiao had no choice but to acknowledge Shangjing’s spending power. The prices she set were not cheap, and each item was sold for more than one silver.
Although some people complained about the price, they didn’t hesitate to buy it.
Zhao Zhan felt sorry for his lover who had been helping out in the shop, but he also noticed that she did not have much food for the day. “Jiaojiao, I asked Chang Ning to prepare some food for you in the restaurant. The shop is so busy, why don’t I ask him to put the food in a lunchbox and bring it over instead?”
“Bring them over. Everyone should be hungry by now. I’ll go to the backyard to check on Zhao Nian and Luoning.”
Although the backyard was not locked, she had not seen anyone for a long time, and Yue Jiaojiao missed him a little.
“Zhao Nian?”
No one paid any attention to her when she called out from the backyard.
Yue Jiaojiao picked up her pace, and even her voice was raised. “Zhao Nian!”
Still, no one answered her.
Zhao Zhan, who was just about to leave the shop, sharply caught the uneasiness in her voice. He immediately stopped and turned to the backyard. “What’s going on?”
“Zhao Zhan, the children in the backyard are gone.”
Zhao Zhan’s eyes narrowed. He immediately put his arm around Yue Jiaojiao’s shoulder and consoled her gently, “Don’t be afraid. I’ll go to the restaurant and get someone to look for them. Other than Zhao Nian and Luoning, Shitou is missing too. Shitou is older. Maybe he took the two little guys out to play.”
Shitou was Lady Yun’s son.
Yue Jiaojiao’s heart was burning with anxiety, but she knew that she couldn’t afford to panic. Her hands trembled as she held onto Zhao Zhan’s arm. “Zhao Nian can’t walk far with those legs of his. Luoning can only crawl. Shitou is a child himself. He won’t be able to hold on for long even if he’s fighting two people at once.”
Zhao Nian and Luoning looked like they were from a well-off family. Even Shitou had dressed up well for the opening of the store.
If they were to encounter some bad people…
“There’s no back door in the backyard that leads to the main street. Let’s ask the people in the shop if they’ve seen the children go out.”
“Zhao Zhan, quickly go and tell the people you can trust in the restaurant about the three children’s clothing and appearance. Have them quickly go and find them.”
“I’ll go right now.”
Zhao Zhan kept thinking about Yue Jiaojiao’s anxiousness, but the safety of the three children was even more pressing.
Li Xiangjun saw that he was in a hurry and his expression didn’t look right. She turned her head and saw that even the usually gentle Yue Jiaojiao’s expression had changed as well. She suddenly felt that something was wrong and held the tray tightly. “Jiaojiao, did something happen?”
She spoke softly, not daring to let anyone hear her.
Yue Jiaojiao held her hand and walked to Lady Yun. She was clearly more anxious than anyone else, but she managed to keep her calm.
“I just went to the backyard to check on the three children, and then I realized that they were gone.
“Don’t worry. Maybe the two children were too noisy and Shitou didn’t know how to comfort them, so he took them out to play. The most important thing now is to find the three children.”
When Li Xiangjun heard the first sentence, her legs turned to jelly and she wanted to fall to the ground. Fortunately, Lady Yun, who was beside her, immediately supported her steadily. However, her hands were also trembling.
“B-boss…” Lady Yun’s face was pale. “I’m sorry. I apologize on behalf of Shitou.”
Yue Jiaojiao looked up at her and asked, “Lady Yun, did you see Shitou take the two children out?”
Lady Yun was stunned and her body trembled slightly. “I’ve been keeping an eye on the shop. If Shitou takes the two children out, I would have definitely seen it. But I…”
Li Xiangjun couldn’t hold on any longer and slipped down the counter.
“Xiangjun!”
“Zhao Zhan has already sent people to the restaurant to look for them. All we can do now is to wait in the shop.”
Li Xiangjun’s tears were already streaming down her face. “I’ve discussed this with Lady Yun. Even if the shop is busy, I’ll watch the backyard while she watches the shop.”
“It’s my fault. I didn’t realize that the children were missing earlier.”
“Now is not the time to talk about responsibility.” Yue Jiaojiao was the backbone of their hearts. No matter how worried she was, she could only swallow her words. “If we really have to point fingers, even I, as Zhao Nian’s mother, have neglected them for the entire morning. Now, think about it carefully. When was the last time you saw the three little fellows?”
“About ten minutes ago, I saw Shitou standing at the back door and looking into the shop for a while.”
“A few minutes ago, I saw Shitou watching Luoning sleep. Zhao Nian was beside him, laughing at his antics.”
“You guys stay in the shop and don’t move. Try not to show any strange behavior. If someone with ill intentions finds out, the children will be in a more dangerous situation. I’ll go find Zhao Zhan and talk to him now.”
If the two children had gone missing 10 minutes ago, Shitou would have told Lady Yun.
The children had disappeared for the time it took to finish a cup of tea. Based on their speed, they shouldn’t have gone too far. Apart from that, Yue Jiaojiao had Zhao Zhan send a few men to guard the city gates to prevent them from being taken away by the potential traffickers.
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