There is a god in the sky

Chapter 60 Lord Xiao's Doubts 4

Shen Lan carried the snacks back to her residence.

On the way, I thought about many things. I vaguely remembered that in my nightmare, soldiers rushed into the Shen family mansion, tortured the family members, and demanded to know the whereabouts of something.

But she always thought it was a dream, since she was outside the town when the incident happened.

She couldn't possibly have seen that scene.

But why does she keep having this dream?

Shen Lan was so engrossed in her thoughts that she bumped into someone's chest.

She instinctively took a step back and said, "Sorry."

"What are you thinking about so seriously?" A voice with a smile reached Shen Lan's ears.

She looked up and saw Xiao Ji, with Sui Feng and Sui Ying following behind him.

"Lord Xiao." She bowed respectfully.

"Let's take a walk together, and I'll take you to eat the most famous fish ball soup in Jianzhou City later."

Shen Lan readily agreed.

The two walked side by side.

Xiao Ji looked down at the pastries she was carrying and asked with a smile, "These pastries from Yongchun Restaurant aren't cheap. I remember you're penniless."

Shen Lan replied awkwardly, "Yes, I borrowed some money from Young Master Fu."

Xiao Ji touched his purse and asked her, "Your godfather deposited fifty taels of silver with me before. He was afraid you wouldn't accept it, so he asked me to give it to you after I left. Do you want me to return part of it to you first?"

Shen Lan was surprised that Old Master Wei had still managed to give her the money in a roundabout way.

She felt a warm feeling in her heart, and the annoyance she had just felt vanished.

"No need, just leave it with Lord Xiao."

Xiao Ji joked, "Okay, I'll give you some interest every month, and use it as your dowry when you get married."

Shen Lan recalled the old clerk's words, and her ears felt hot.

"The government pays salaries on the fifteenth of each month. Although today is not the fifteenth, you are someone I hired separately, so I will give you your monthly salary on the first day of each month from now on."

As soon as he finished speaking, Sui Feng tactfully handed over the money.

One tael and two mace—that's Shen Lan's monthly wage.

To be honest, that's quite a lot. Many men who work away from home don't even earn a tael of silver a month.

However, in addition to money, officials also received benefits such as rice, grain, and cloth.

Shen Lan accepted it with both hands, feeling grateful to Xiao Ji.

For a single woman to survive in this society, it's truly difficult to walk alone without anyone protecting her.

If Xiao Ji wanted to exploit her, he had far too many ways to do so.

"Thank you, Lord Xiao."

Xiao Ji said, "Miss Shen's skills are outstanding. This salary is actually not fair to your reward. Take it slow. You are new to officialdom. If you take too high a salary, you will inevitably be criticized."

Shen Lan expressed her understanding.

She's already being treated well; if she continues to receive wages that don't match her status, she might never be able to shake off the label of "Xiao Ji's mistress" for the rest of her life.

"We've arrived, this is the place."

Shen Lan saw a small stall set up on the street corner, with a row of stoves and five tables and chairs. It was a very small stall.

However, there were many customers, and some people even sat on the curb by the roadside to eat.

Sui Feng went to a nearby shop and brought out a table and four chairs, setting up a separate table for them.

Not only was Shen Lan stunned, but the other guests were also envious.

"Boss, didn't you just say you didn't have any tables and chairs? How come they have them?"

The owner, busy slicing fish, replied without looking up, "That's what they bring themselves. If you come often, you can have some prepared too."

I've never heard of having to bring your own table and chairs when eating a meal.

Shen Lan suppressed a laugh; it seemed Xiao Ji often ate at this restaurant.

I went over to order, and before long, the steaming hot food was served.

Each person receives a seafood hot pot, a bowl of fish ball soup, and several side dishes.

"Try it, can you get used to seafood?"

Shen Lan nodded; she not only found the food palatable, but also enjoyed it very much.

"The advantage of this place is the freshness of its ingredients; it's nice to come here occasionally for a change of pace."

"Why didn't Lord Xiao bring Young Master Fu with him?"

Xiao Ji didn't answer, but Sui Feng said with a mischievous smile, "My master thinks that the young master is too noisy."

Xiao Ji was quite helpless. He liked peace and quiet, but with Fu Qingyan around, there was no peace and quiet.

The seafood hot pot was quite large; Shen Lan was already quite full after eating half of it.

She noticed that other diners were taking their leftovers home, so she decided to take the remaining half home for a late-night snack.

After all, this stuff is digested quickly.

In their past lives, many people struggled with obesity, fearing they might eat too much.

Even officials like Xiao Ji rarely practice dieting here.

Just as she was about to get up, she heard a diner at the next table suddenly collapse to the ground.

A man nearby rushed over, shouting, "Dad, Dad... what's wrong?"

"What's going on?" People gathered around to see what was happening.

The owners, a middle-aged couple, quickly washed their hands and ran over to check on the situation.

After all, this is a food stall. If a customer gets sick after eating his food, his business will be ruined.

Shen Lan first went to the next table to take a look at the food they had ordered.

Besides fish ball soup, they probably also ordered fish slice soup and hot pot fritters.

It's all soupy stuff, so the only possibility is that I got a fish bone stuck in my throat.

"My dad must have been poisoned by your food, you unscrupulous merchant!"

Many diners who were still eating hurriedly put down their bowls and chopsticks.

The owner looked flustered. "Guests can't talk nonsense. Everything in my house is clean. We eat it every day. How could it be poisonous?"

"Look at my dad, his face is all red, what else could it be but poisoning? You'd better pay up!"

"Child, hurry and carry your father to the clinic." The owner was kind and didn't refuse to compensate.

"At this hour, which clinic is still open? I don't care, you need to pay up!"

Shen Lan squeezed through the crowd, grabbed the young man by the back of his collar and pushed him aside, then knelt down on one knee to check on the old man's condition.

It was dark, and she was surrounded by people, so she couldn't see clearly.

"Please move aside, you're blocking the light," Shen Lan said unhappily.

"Where did this little girl come from? What are you trying to do, touching me like that? Get away from me!" the young man yelled, trying to push Shen Lan away.

A chopstick was tossed by the wind and hit the young man's hand.

He covered his hand and yelled, "Who hit me?"

They went with the wind to protect Shen Lan.

He crossed his arms, blocking the young man's path, and asked, "Is he really your father?"

"Of course, could it be your father?"

"But why don't you seem nervous or worried at all?"

The surrounding diners chimed in, "That's right, that's right. What kind of father falls down and the son is busy demanding compensation?"

"They might be digging their own grave to extort money."

"These two look unfamiliar. Are they from out of town?"

"Manager Zhuang, I think you should report this to the authorities as soon as possible," someone kindly advised the owner.

The old man on the ground was still convulsing, clutching his throat with both hands.

Shen Lan initially thought he had a fishbone stuck in his throat, but now it seems that he even has trouble breathing, so the thing stuck in his throat is probably quite large.

She hurriedly tried to pick him up, but Suiying beat her to it.

The girl said, "I'll do it."

Shen Lan nodded. She had been so focused on saving people that she hadn't considered the differences between men and women.