I picked up skill fragments in the demon world.

Chapter 583: Seeing an Old Friend Again (Additional chapter for the leader Bamboo Leaf Seeds)

The days seemed to have calmed down. Ever since they met the old lady that day, Zhang Chen and his family settled down in Lixiang Garden.

From that day on, Zhang Chen never saw the old lady again, nor did he see Shen Zhen, the head of the Shen family.

In the small courtyard

The stove was emitting scorching heat, boiling the tea. Zhang picked up the tea and filled the cup for Zhang Chen, who was sitting opposite her. Then she asked tentatively, "Did you notice that?"

"What did you notice?" Zhang Chen moved his eyes away from the tea and looked at Zhang opposite him.

"You are the grandson of the old lady, but since you met the old lady that day, half a month has passed, and you have never had the chance to see the old lady again. The meaning of this is thought-provoking." Zhang was afraid that Zhang Chen was too young to know the ways of the world, so she spoke up and gave him some advice:
"As the grandson of the old lady, you have come from afar. Not to mention being summoned every day, you should have been there every now and then, right? Now, not only can't you see the old lady, but you can't even see the master of the Shen family. Except for Shen Xu who comes every now and then, the whole Shen family seems to have forgotten us." Zhang looked at Zhang Chen, her eyes full of seriousness. "I know what you mean. Compared with the old lady's biological son, I am an outsider after all. When my mother was alive, she might have been loved by the old lady, and even loved by the whole Shen family, but after all, people are gone and the old lady has different feelings for relatives and strangers." Zhang Chen said, "You don't need to tell me, I know everything."

Zhang took a deep breath when she heard this, but said no more.

Cheng Yu sat in the sun and meditated, while the two children were strengthening their muscles and honing their Qi and blood.

Just when the family was in a harmonious atmosphere, there was a knock on the door, and then a familiar figure appeared outside the door: "Cousin, Jiang Nan is here to visit."

At this moment, Jiang Nan was dressed in black, and he looked solemn and murderous.

"Ms. Jiang Nan, why are you here?" When Zhang saw Jiang Nan coming, she quickly stood up and greeted her with enthusiasm on her face.

"I have a close relationship with my eldest cousin, so I came to visit him and brought some household items with me." Behind Jiang Nan, the little maid Mi Gao was carrying two large packages on her back and following behind with a sad face.

Zhang Chen quickly stepped forward, took the package and placed it on the ground, then looked at Jiang Nan: "Ms. Jiang, please take a seat."

"I call you cousin, but you call me Miss Jiang. That's too distant." Jiang Nan muttered in dissatisfaction.

Zhang Chen quickly changed his tone upon hearing this: "Cousin Jiang Nan, please take a seat."

"That's better." Jiang Nan smiled when he heard that, bowed to Zhang, and then took a seat.

Zhang left, leaving Zhang Chen and Jiang Nan sitting in the courtyard. Zhang Chen filled Jiang Nan's cup with tea and asked, "How is your stay at the Shen family?"

Hearing this, Jiang Nan picked up the teacup and took a sip. "Although I am still comfortable here, it is not as comfortable as my own home. The food and clothing are much better than at home, but it doesn't have the same taste as home."

Zhang Chen did not laugh when he heard this, but asked, "How is Guangji Prefecture doing now?"

"No news." Jiang Nan's expression was somewhat solemn.

Zhang Chen fell silent after hearing this. This matter involved the struggle between the Salt Gang and the Shen family, especially behind the Salt Gang was the Cao Gang. The Cao Gang was the big trouble, and the other party was targeting the Shen family. Even within the Cao Gang, there were shadows of the White Lotus Sect and the Huang Tian Dao.

Guangjifu is the last wharf leading to the north and is considered one of the most important wharves in the world. If the Salt Gang seizes Guangjifu, it would be equivalent to biting off a huge piece of fat meat from the Shen family.

Jiang Nan's father, Jiang Zehai, is the son-in-law of the Shen family and an absolute confidant of the Shen family, so he was placed in such a key position.

Zhang Chen glanced at Jiang Nan when he heard that. He had no way to intervene or change this kind of overwhelming situation. He had even foreseen Jiang Zehai's fate a long time ago. He was afraid that Jiang Zehai would not have a good end. It was because Jiang Zehai's identity was extraordinary. He was a confidant of Emperor Dasheng who was promoted by him in the past. He was afraid that the one who had his head chopped off last time was not Shen Min, but Jiang Zehai.

But even so, if those big salt smugglers were really forced into a desperate situation, they would probably kill Jiang Zehai.

Jiang Nan took a sip of tea and said, "Guangji Prefecture is the last water transport node from Jiangnan to the Northland and the demon tribe. It is of great importance. I heard that illegal salt has been rampant in the inland recently. Many salt dealers transport illegal salt through Guangji Prefecture. My father cracked down on illegal salt and confiscated hundreds of thousands of tons of illegal salt. I don't know how many people's interests were affected, and the salt gang suffered heavy losses."

Hearing Jiang Nan's words, Zhang Chen's eyes flashed with murderous intent. When he was trying to cross the border in seven days, he was ambushed by the bandits from the Salt Gang. He still had a blood debt to settle with the Salt Gang.

"I wonder if there are any members of the Salt Gang in Jinling City." Zhang Chen thought to himself, and then shook his head secretly: "Jinling is the base of the Shen family, how could they allow the Salt Gang to extend its tentacles here?"

"By the way, what's going on between the Shen family and the Salt Gang? The Shen family controls 70% of the world's water transport, so how could the salt smugglers behead their legitimate daughter?" Zhang Chen was full of confusion. How dare the Salt Gang do that?

"There is no evidence to prove that it was the Salt Gang that did it. Behind the Salt Gang is the Cao Gang. The Cao Gang has received support from an unknown force and wants to compete with the Shen family for control of Heluo, so the situation is so complicated." Zhang Chen fell silent, and then Jiang Nan put down the teacup and looked at Zhang Chen: "What about you? What are your plans for the future?"

Zhang Chen was silent for a long time before he said, "Just go with the flow."

Jiang Nan was stunned when he heard this. Just as he was about to say something else, a sound came from outside the door. Three servants came into the courtyard with food boxes and lazily said to Zhang Chen and his group, "It's time to eat!"

The other person had a flabby body, looked lazy and very rude.

Jiang Nan frowned at this, but since she was an outsider, it was not easy for her to reprimand him. And Zhang Chen was also not easy to reprimand him, after all, he was also an outsider.

The three servants opened the box and revealed the food inside, which turned out to be a few coarse flour steamed buns and two plates of stir-fried vegetables. As for meat dishes, there was not a single one.

When Zhang Chen saw the food, his expression suddenly changed. His blood puppet had taken over Lai San's body, so he naturally knew the rules of the mansion very well. The food in front of him was the food of the second-class steward of the Shen family.

What is a steward? It is a servant!

Moreover, there is a first-class steward above you stewards. The first-class stewards have a meat dish for every meal. Above them is the chief steward Lai Changrong.

We have come to the Shen family and are considered guests of the Shen family. This food is definitely not for entertaining guests!
Jiang Nan naturally knew what Zhang Chen knew. He frowned and looked at the servant: "Wait a minute, did you guys take the wrong food?"

"Miss, this meal was specially ordered by the manager above. We who are doing the job would definitely not take the wrong one." Facing Jiang Nan's inquiry, the servant quickly put away his lazy attitude and replied respectfully.

"Which manager gave this order? There is no rules at all! Take away this food and replace it with new one." Jiang Nan scolded with a grim look on his face.

Several servants looked at each other and finally had no choice but to clear the plates. Just then, a red figure appeared outside the door and said, "Excuse me, cousin. Today, when the servants in the mansion bought meat and vegetables, they bought too little, resulting in insufficient meat and vegetables today. So, we can only inconvenience our cousin and ask him to eat some vegetarian dishes."

Shen Ling's voice was full of pride, it was obvious that she was the one behind all this.

Jiang Nan frowned and wanted to say something else, but was stopped by Zhang Chen. Then Zhang Chen turned his head and glanced at Shen Ling: "It's just some coarse grains. We have eaten grass roots and tree barks on the way to escape, let alone these coarse grain steamed buns?"

"Besides, there are also carefully cooked vegetables, which is a rare delicacy."

As Zhang Chen spoke, he picked up the steamed bun and called his younger brothers and sisters to come and eat.

Zhang Chen ate easily and naturally, not finding the coarse grains unpalatable at all. Zhang and the others were not fools either, and they had realized that the other party was trying to cause trouble. In order not to cause trouble for Zhang Chen, they picked up the steamed buns one by one, put them to their mouths and started eating in small bites.

"Humph! From now on, we'll have steamed corn bread and pickles every day. Take away the green vegetables too. Since our eldest cousin likes green vegetables, let's not even let him eat green vegetables. Let him eat pickles instead." Shen Ling's voice was full of sarcasm. She said to Jiang Nan, "Cousin, why are you with this country bumpkin? Let's go quickly, so as not to be contaminated by his country bumpkin's rusticity."

As he spoke, he pulled Jiang Nan up and walked out the door.

Jiang Nan smiled bitterly and looked at Zhang Chen apologetically, then could only follow Shen Ling out the door.

"He is the old lady's grandson after all. Isn't it a bit too much to ask him to eat the servants' food? If the old lady hears about it, won't he be punished?" Jiang Nan persuaded Shen Ling.

Shen Ling didn't take it seriously: "Who would care about them? How could such news reach the ears of the old lady? Who would say anything?"

"They are a bunch of criminals who want to suck blood from our Shen family and put our Shen family in danger. I am already doing a good job of feeding them coarse grains. You know, once their identities are exposed, I am afraid that the court will be furious and the Shen family will be implicated." Shen Ling's voice was full of disdain: "If it were up to me, I would just drive them out. Why waste food?"

"He is your fiancé after all. When you marry him in the future, how will you two get along?" Jiang Nan advised.

"I won't marry him! Not even if I die!" Shen Ling said firmly, "I will only marry Brother Zhang Gaoqiu!"

At this point, Shen Ling turned her head and looked at Jiang Nan with suspicion: "Why are you with him? When did you have any contact with him?"

ps: This is the second update for the big brother "Bamboo Leaf Seed Crisp" franchise.

(End of this chapter)