After transmigrating, I became a stepmother.

She naturally didn't know that this was a tacit understanding within the family. Not to mention that Yu-ge'er already knew about his background, so there was no need to worry about anyone bringing it up. Just look at how Lin Hao treated Yu-ge'er, her stepson and nephew—everyone had witnessed it. Even her biological mother might not have done any better!

Right now, her words are not going to make a ripple at all.

After thinking for a moment, Qian Youran asked, "Where are my second cousin and the others?"

"They've moved out." The old lady didn't really want to mention the second wife's family.

Qian Youran was taken aback. She knew something about the second wife's situation, but she hadn't expected her to be dismissed so easily. However, this was for the best; it would reduce her worries when she took over the Gu family!

It seems she can't act rashly anymore. She shouldn't have asked those questions just now; it was a mistake! She should find out more about the situation before acting in the future.

Thinking of this, she smiled slightly and fell silent.

"By the way, Mother, there's something you'll be very happy to hear." Lin Hao said excitedly, seeing that someone had finally stopped jumping around, and remembering the news she had heard today.

"Oh, what is it?" The old lady's curiosity was piqued, and she looked at her and asked.

"You remember Zhu Gui, the one who caused trouble for our restaurant before!"

"Of course I remember. What happened to him?" The old lady remembered this person.

"That's right, today when I went to the restaurant, Manager Li told me that Zhu Gui is in legal trouble!" Lin Hao said with a smile.

She didn't keep him in suspense and continued, "Ever since our restaurant reopened, all the customers have come to us, so his business has naturally been slow. Helpless, he resorted to dishonest means, thinking of using inferior ingredients to reduce costs."

"As a result, a few days ago a wealthy merchant from out of town went out to dine with his concubine and got food poisoning. It wouldn't have been a big deal, just send some medicine and pay compensation. But the concubine happened to be pregnant, and the pregnancy was already unstable, so she miscarried."

"This is truly a tragedy!" the old lady exclaimed.

"That's right. The wealthy merchant was over forty years old and had no children. The child he had been longing for was gone just like that, so naturally he was unwilling to let it go. Therefore, he filed a lawsuit against Zhu Gui in court."

"Alas, it is right to sue, but this is also because the concubine is unwell, so I'm afraid we can't do anything to Zhu Gui." The old lady felt sorry for the child, but she also knew that it would be difficult for Zhu Gui to be convicted because of this matter.

"Logically, that's correct, but at the crucial moment, Zhu Gui's subordinates revealed that he had been selling inferior goods as superior ones, and even made rotten meat and vegetables into heavily seasoned dishes for the customers. This immediately confirmed that the concubine had miscarried due to unclean food."

"Oh, is Zhu Gui really that foolish? How could he do such a shameful thing!" The old lady thought that Zhu Gui had really lost his conscience. How could someone who runs a food business tamper with food?

"Our restaurant?" The thought made her heart skip a beat.

Before she could finish speaking, Lin Hao understood her meaning and said, "Mother, don't worry, our restaurant has always been clean, and after this incident, I immediately arranged for Manager Li to assign someone to supervise the hygiene of the dishes!"

"That's good." The old lady breathed a sigh of relief, then smiled and said, "It was my fault for meddling. You are naturally reliable when it comes to handling things."

“Mother’s concerns are valid. If I haven’t thought of something, I’ll need Mother to give me some pointers! As the saying goes, ‘Among three people walking together, there must be one who can teach me.’” Lin Hao said affectionately.

"Haha, you're so sweet-talking!" The old lady was delighted by Lin Hao's flattery.

"Mother, this isn't over yet, please continue listening." Lin Hao was eager to share her joy with someone.

"Alright, alright, please continue." The old lady looked at her with affection.

"This Zhu Gui, you say he did something stupid, right? But he's also somewhat clever. He knows that people of status are not to be trifled with, so he sells his unclean dishes to ordinary customers, while the dishes for those of high status are clean and without any problems."

Seeing the doubt in the old lady's eyes, Lin Hao continued, "I know you must be wondering why that wealthy merchant's attire clearly didn't belong to an ordinary customer. The coincidence is that, to avoid being watched on the street, the wealthy merchant deliberately traveled light and dressed simply. Who would have thought that he would be taken advantage of because of this!"

"Oh dear! This..." The old lady didn't know what to say for a moment. What a coincidence!

"The wealthy merchant was unwilling to accept this loss so easily, so he sent people to investigate. Sure enough, he found that many people had been harmed by this matter before, but they were all forced by Zhu Gui and had no evidence, so they could only suffer in silence. The wealthy merchant then gathered all these people together and filed a lawsuit against Zhu Gui."

"He's really done a lot of bad things. I'm afraid his restaurant won't be able to stay open anytime soon!" the old lady sighed.

"Mother, it's not just that he can't open a restaurant anymore; he might have to spend the rest of his life in jail, and he might even lose his life!" Lin Hao kept him in suspense.

"What do you mean?" The old lady was now truly curious. Logically speaking, such a crime shouldn't warrant the death penalty! Could it be...?

Sure enough, Lin Hao continued, "The wealthy businessman discovered after investigating that among the previous victims, there was one person whose condition was not simply a matter of food poisoning!"

"It's a tragic story, really!" Lin Hao said with a touch of sadness.

"There was a scholar in the southern city who earned money by writing calligraphy. He saved up for a whole month before he had enough. He went to Zhu Gui's restaurant and bought a plate of braised pork for his elderly grandfather. But after eating it, the old man started vomiting and having diarrhea. By the time the doctor was called, it was too late to save him!"

She paused here, her expression sorrowful.

"The poor scholar had relied on his grandfather since childhood. He had finally managed to give the old man some good food, but this misfortune had occurred. With the old man gone, the scholar was also half-dead!"

"Alas, what a miserable life!" the old lady sighed upon hearing this.

"That's right. This scholar had tried to seek justice while he was ill, but unfortunately he was outnumbered and outmatched. Not only did he fail to get justice, but Zhu Gui also sent people to beat him up under the pretext of causing trouble, which only made his injuries worse and almost killed him!"

"Oh, is that person alright now?" the old lady exclaimed, even putting down her bowl and chopsticks.

"Thanks to the care of my neighbors, I gradually got better and was able to spare the energy to go to court with the wealthy businessman," Lin Hao explained.

"That's truly fortunate!" the old lady murmured.