In the years of famine, I led a comfortable life with my husband

"Since you don't want to accept my toast and would rather drink the penalty wine, then don't blame me." The shopkeeper said with a hint of gloom in his eyes.

The time for Su Zhizhi and Shen Wenjun to work and save money for a month as agreed upon has come, and the two immediately packed up and prepared to continue their journey to the capital.

On the way, Shen Wenjun took good care of Su Zhizhi as always. Shen Wenjun's meticulous care made Su Zhizhi feel a little embarrassed.

Just when Su Zhizhi was about to express her gratitude, something unexpected happened.

The horse, which was originally moving normally, suddenly stopped as if frightened. Su Zhizhi and Shen Wenjun looked at each other, and both instinctively had a bad premonition.

What you fear will come true. Shen Wenjun subconsciously lifted the curtain and found that there was a group of men with black scarves in front of the carriage, who were surrounding Su Zhizhi and her friends' carriage with knives.

"Is it them?" The leading man pointed at Su Zhizhi and Shen Wenjun and asked.

"Yes, they are the ones the boss asked us to find." The younger brother behind took a look at Su Zhizhi and quickly pointed them out.

The leading man smiled with satisfaction upon hearing this and quickly ordered everyone, "Alright, then quickly capture them and bring them back to me."

Just like that, a group of men in black tied Su Zhizhi and Shen Wenjun up and took them away.

The men in black were numerous and powerful, so Su Zhizhi and Shen Wenjun were naturally no match for them, so they could only be taken away obediently.

On the way, Su Zhizhi, blindfolded, kept wondering who the kidnapper could be. Could it be Chen Xuli?

Just when Su Zhizhi was still struggling to come to a conclusion, she was taken to a house, and then the black cloth covering her eyes was torn off. Su Zhizhi, who suddenly saw the light again, felt a little uncomfortable and quickly closed her eyes.

When she opened her eyes again, she found that an old acquaintance was standing in front of her - the owner of Manxinglou.

"It's you? You kidnapped us?" Su Zhizhi struggled excitedly.

The shopkeeper nodded with satisfaction and said, "Yes, it's me. What's wrong? Are you surprised?"

Su Zhizhi nodded, but she couldn't help but ask the question in her heart, "Why did you kidnap me? I haven't offended you in any way."

As she spoke, Su Zhizhi felt a little angry.

Looking at Su Zhizhi's puzzled yet innocent eyes, the shopkeeper smiled meaningfully, "You really haven't offended me, but I want your recipe."

The shopkeeper stretched out his voice.

As soon as these words were spoken, Su Zhizhi immediately understood. It turned out that the other party saw that her dishes were very popular and was reluctant to part with her, his cash cow.

Seeing this, Su Zhizhi immediately looked around, ready to find an opportunity to borrow the weapons in the universal capsule to escape. However, her actions were seen by the shopkeeper, so the shopkeeper quickly opened his mouth and scolded Su Zhizhi, "I advise you to put less thought into escaping!"

"Put aside those messed up thoughts of yours. Have you forgotten? Your good friend is still in my hands. As long as you hand over the recipe to me obediently, I will ensure that your friend is safe. Otherwise, I don't know which hand or foot he will be missing."

The shopkeeper looked at Su Zhizhi threateningly.

When Su Zhizhi heard that Shen Wenjun was also in the other party's hands, she immediately wilted like a frosted eggplant.

Seeing Su Zhizhi's well-behaved appearance, the owner of Manxinglou was very satisfied.

In this way, Su Zhizhi was forced to stay in Manxinglou and be the shopkeeper's money-making machine.

For several days in a row, Su Zhizhi was locked up alone in the woodshed to cook, and then other people served the food to customers.

At the same time, Xie Chengjin and his men also arrived in Lejun County on horseback.

Seeing that it was getting late, the men couldn't help but persuade Xie Chengjin, "Master, it's getting late now. We've all been traveling for such a long time and are all tired. Why don't we go to the restaurant ahead to have something to eat and recover our strength before continuing on our journey?"

The men looked at Xie Chengjin cautiously and spoke.

Xie Chengjin nodded and said, "Okay, then let's do as you say."

The subordinate's face lit up immediately, and he pointed to the Manxing Building in front and said, "Master, there is a restaurant in front. Why don't we go there to eat?"

"Okay, let's go eat there." Xie Chengjin nodded.

In this way, Xie Chengjin and his men accidentally came to Manxinglou for dinner.

As soon as Xie Chengjin stepped into the restaurant, the owner immediately came to greet him, "Please come in, gentlemen. What would you like to eat?"

The shopkeeper asked Xie Chengjin enthusiastically.

"Let's have all your signature dishes." Xie Chengjin said without hesitation.

As soon as these words came out, the shopkeeper was instantly delighted. "Okay, okay, sir, please wait a moment. We will be ready soon. It will be ready soon."

At this moment, in the eyes of the shopkeeper, Xie Chengjin was simply a living God of Wealth.

Xie Chengjin, who sat down at this time, noticed the menu on the table. He looked at the familiar names on the menu and was stunned.

Aren’t these names something Su Zhizhi would come up with? Things like Candied Sweet Potato, Dry Pot Stir-fried Pork, Stir-fried Tripe, etc…

Could she be here? Xie Chengjin's heart was suddenly filled with hope.

Thinking of this, Xie Chengjin hurriedly took his men to search the Manxing Building, but unfortunately he did not see Su Zhizhi after searching the entire Manxing Building.

Xie Chengjin couldn't help but have doubts in his heart about this. Could it be that all this was just a coincidence?

Thinking of this, Xie Chengjin's excitement had completely disappeared.

Feeling disheartened, Xie Chengjin returned to the table and prepared to continue eating, but as soon as he picked up the chopsticks to pick up the dish and took a bite, his eyes immediately widened and he stood there in a daze as if he had been struck by lightning.

Because he tasted it right away and knew that this was definitely Su Zhizhi's craftsmanship. She was definitely working here, but why didn't he find her just now? Xie Chengjin was also puzzled by this.

In order to clear up the doubts in his heart, Xie Chengjin specially sent his men to stake out the gate of Manxing Building to investigate Su Zhizhi's whereabouts. Unfortunately, his men did not see Su Zhizhi for several days.

Xie Chengjin immediately saw the clue of this matter. Since Su Zhizhi did not come out, it meant that she had been staying in Manxing Tower, and it was most likely that she was forced to do so.

The shopkeeper forced Su Zhizhi to stay in the restaurant either for money or for Su Zhizhi's cooking skills. The former is obviously impossible because Su Zhizhi had no money on her when she was kidnapped by the bandits. It must be because Su Zhizhi had good cooking skills that could bring profits to the restaurant, so she was locked up by the shopkeeper.