Void Jigsaw Puzzle

Guo Ling only stepped on the accelerator twice and drove the car to Xiandele's door.

This is a small shop with a very inconspicuous facade.

The entire store is only about 20 square meters in size, with only two small tables inside. The rolling shutter door at the entrance is pulled up high, and three crooked words are hung on the wall next to it: Xiandele.

The ground outside the door and the walls on both sides were a little black, obviously caused by long-term smoke and fire.

Although it is said that it is hard to get a seat here during breakfast and the queue can be up to dozens of meters long, but since it is almost noon now, there are not many people at the door of the store. Looking through the car window, Guo Ling saw a small middle-aged couple chatting in the store with their heads down.

I guess it’s the boss and the boss’s wife.

Before getting off the bus, Guo Ling asked Zhu Tong, "Have you been to this store before?"

"I've been here before. My parents brought me here."

"So...are they both the bosses?"

Zhu Tong carefully identified it and nodded: "Yes."

"it is good!"

Guo Ling asked Fan Ting to stay in the car to look after Zhu Tong, while he and Old Man Liu got out of the car and walked towards the store.

When they arrived at the door of the store, they stopped and looked carefully at the situation inside. They saw that the floor was paved with simple cement, which was a bit bumpy and uneven, obviously in disrepair. The small table was also a worn earthy yellow color and dirty, as if it had never been wiped clean.

"Boss, we only sell breakfast."

The owner of the store noticed the two of them, looked up and said casually.

He was indeed not tall, probably a whole head shorter than Guo Ling. His hair was already gray and his face was full of wrinkles, but judging from his eyes, the boss should not be very old, probably less than 40 years old.

Old Man Liu asked, "How long has your store been open? I've lived in this area for decades, but I've never heard of you."

In fact, he knew Xiandele, but he had never been there. He was blackmailing the boss to test whether he was the real boss.

After hearing this, the boss's wife became unhappy before she could even say anything.

The proprietress also looked over, her eyes full of disdain: "Old man, are you blind because of your age? Or are you deaf? Who in this area doesn't know about our Xian De Le?"

She has a mean face and looks like someone who is not easy to mess with.

"..."

Old Liu felt that he had offended the wrong person.

Seeing this, Guo Ling knew that Old Man Liu had messed up, so he could only put on a smile and try to get closer: "My uncle was just joking. Who in Wuming City doesn't know about your Xian De Le? I live in Shanshui Impression and I used to come here early in the morning to buy your breakfast."

The lady boss's expression softened slightly after hearing this, but she still looked at Guo Ling warily, "You lie without thinking. You look very unfamiliar. You don't look like you've ever bought breakfast from us before."

Guo Ling was so excited after hearing this that he ignored the doubt in the boss lady's voice and said, "Boss lady, you have such a good memory? You remember all the guests who came to eat breakfast?"

"Of course! Otherwise, how could we have been able to stay open until now?" The proprietress was very proud.

"Then... have you seen these two people? They may have just been here two days ago." Guo Ling immediately took out the photos of Zhu Tong's parents and faced them in front of the proprietress.

The boss also came over at this time. The two of them first looked carefully at the portrait in the photo, and then looked at each other, as if to confirm each other's judgment.

Finally, they all nodded: "I remember that I was here this morning."

"What?!" Old Man Liu and Guo Ling were both shocked.

Old Man Liu didn't care about being scolded by the boss lady just now and asked, "Are you sure?"

The proprietress rolled her eyes at him and said, "You old man... it's fine if you don't believe me. I haven't even asked you what you're up to. Inquiring about someone's whereabouts."

"..."

Guo Ling winked at Old Man Liu, then smiled at the proprietress, "Ignore him... I trust your judgment. Around what time did they arrive this morning? Can you tell us what happened? They're our friends, and we haven't been able to contact them all day. We're all a little anxious, and I hope you can understand."

The proprietress felt much better when she saw Guo Ling's pleasing face. She replied, "They've been here before, sometimes bringing a little girl with them, probably their daughter... But this morning, there were only two of them. They seemed to be in a hurry. They lined up to buy our pancakes and soy milk, then took the rest and left. In the past, they would have waited a bit for a seat. Although we have few tables, we turn over quickly, so there's usually a vacant seat in about five minutes."

Hearing this, Guo Ling and Old Man Liu became even more excited. They were almost certain that the two people the proprietress saw were Zhu Tong's parents.

But why don't they go look for their daughter?

Guo Ling's face flushed red as he grabbed the lady boss's hand and said, "Thank you so much. So, I'll give you my number. If you see them later, please help me hold them back for a while, and feel free to contact me!"

The proprietress felt a little embarrassed, pulled her hand away, and glanced at her husband beside her.

The boss said expressionlessly, "Give me the phone."

Guo Ling finally came to his senses and nodded quickly, writing down his phone number to his boss. "Thank you, boss. You don't need to use any tricks to hold them back. Just tell them that their friends and daughter are looking for them and ask them to wait a few minutes."

Before the two left, Old Man Liu wanted to redeem himself from the bad image he had left in the eyes of the landlady, so he said, "Thank you so much! I'll take care of all your breakfast tomorrow morning! I'll buy as much as you make!"

"You're the only one with money, right? We won't sell it to you..." the proprietress said angrily, her hands on her hips.

I just had a chance to get Guo Ling's phone number, but my husband intercepted it. Now I'm angry with this old man again.

Guo Ling quickly grabbed Old Man Liu and walked out: "You'll die if you keep quiet!"

The two returned to the car and told Fan Ting about the situation in the store. Fan Ting was very happy because at least they had a clue.

However, Zhu Tong fell into deep confusion and sorrow.

"Why didn't my parents look for me when they clearly weren't missing? Why didn't they come home? Where do they live? What happened?"

Fan Ting comforted him, "Don't be sad, little boy. At least we've made some good progress. If they came to buy breakfast this morning, they could come back any day in the future. We'll keep a close eye on them for you and we'll definitely find your parents soon!"

Zhu Tong threw himself into Fan Ting's arms and started crying.

Guo Ling stepped on the accelerator without saying a word and the car drove forward.

Old man Liu sat in the passenger seat, staring out the window with lifeless eyes, as if he was doubting himself.