He'd rather run than be turned into a cannon fodder for the broken engagement.

"Selling wontons..."

"The finest fabric..."

"Fresh steamed buns..."

The city was still bustling with people, vendors crowded the streets, and shouts filled the air.

Leng Huan brushed her bangs aside and touched her face, which had become much rougher recently, before feeling relieved. She wore rough makeup every day, and apart from Granny Zhou, no one had yet discovered her identity.

The oxcart slowly pulled several buckets of live fish down the street. She and Manager Wang had left early in the morning, and it was about ten o'clock now. They were on their way to the restaurant.

"Xiao Huan, Li Ji Restaurant and the Lin family have been cooperating for several years. I'm familiar with the head chef, and we've already arranged for you to work as a general helper in the kitchen. What do you think?"

Leng Huan knew that Granny Zhou had spoken up for her, and she didn't know what kind of work she could do, but compared to others, this was already a pretty good job.

"Thank you, Uncle Wang, I will work hard!"

As they spoke, they arrived at the back door of Li's Restaurant, where the kitchen manager was already waiting. He was a middle-aged man with a short stature and a mustache. Manager Wang stepped forward to hand over the goods to him and introduced Leng Huan in the process.

"You're Leng Huan?" The kitchen manager, also surnamed Li and a relative of the owner, sized Leng Huan up and asked, "What can you do?"

Leng Huan inwardly wiped away sweat. Was this even an interview?

She thought for a moment and answered fluently: "Herding cattle and sheep, feeding pigs, chickens, ducks, and dogs..."

"..." Manager Li glanced at her for a moment, stroked his beard, and nodded: "Alright, will you come to work today or tomorrow?"

Leng Huan breathed a sigh of relief: "Thank you, manager. I'll come tomorrow." There are still some things I haven't prepared for today.

After settling the work agreement, Leng Huan followed Steward Wang to deliver fish to the next wealthy household.

After delivering the fish, she didn't go back with Steward Wang because she wanted to find out how the Liu family was doing and make sure there wouldn't be any unexpected problems before she could feel at ease.

Following the direction she remembered from that day, she confirmed the address with someone and went to look at the alley where the Liu family used to live.

Strangely, it was very quiet here, and there was no one moving around.

Her heart skipped a beat. Thinking of the strange look on the face of the person she had asked for directions earlier, she gasped inwardly. Had the fire not been saved that day?

She dared not stay any longer and quickly left the alley, going around to the Liu family's gate to look openly, only to find that the Liu family's gate was tightly closed.

After taking a quick look from afar, Leng Huan simply went to a small stall selling needles and thread on the street to pick out some, while chatting with the young owner.

"Boss, I haven't been to the city in a long time. I have a distant relative who works for the wealthy Liu family. I was planning to visit him today, but I don't know why the Liu family's gates are all closed. Do you know what's wrong with the Liu family?"

The stall owner, a warm-hearted man in his early twenties, immediately shook his head and sighed at Leng Huan upon hearing this, his expression a mixture of sympathy and relief.

"Young man, you don't know, the Liu family was burned down in a fire a little over a month ago," the shopkeeper whispered gossipingly. "That Liu family was used to being arrogant and domineering; they probably angered the gods..."

Leng Huan was taken aback. He had initially thought it was just a simple fire, but he hadn't expected...

"Hiss!" She feigned shock. "How could this be? Everything was fine just a while ago, this..."

The shopkeeper sighed softly, "I think it's the Liu family that's been so unjust. You don't know, that young master Liu has done a lot of bullying and harassing, and he even drove a good family's daughter to her death..."

It seems he's unpopular. Leng Huan picked up a black spool of thread and handed it to the shopkeeper. "That young master is dead...?"

"Yes, the entire Liu family is dead. Bah! They are no loss, but it's a pity for the innocent servants who died... The master's courtyard was burned to the ground."

innocent?

Leng Huan thought about the young master of the Liu family and his lackeys and servants, and realized that they were more like accomplices to evil.

Knowing that no one would bother him anymore, Leng Huan lost interest in listening to the shopkeeper's gossip. He selected the needles and thread that Granny Zhou wanted, paid the coins, and left.

-

Li Ji Restaurant is thriving, especially during mealtimes, when the kitchen is constantly busy.

After working for a few days, Leng Huan felt that it wasn't as comfortable as herding cattle.

She didn't know how to start a fire, and when the chef found bugs in the vegetables she washed, she never touched vegetables again.

She was tending the fire, and she got herself covered in soot. When the master said to keep the fire low, she added more firewood. When he said to keep the fire high, she returned the firewood. The master was so angry that he cursed and told her to go wash the dishes.

You can't blame her. The weather was already so hot it was dizzying, and then she had to add firewood amidst the smoke and fire. There was more than one stove, and she was getting dizzy from all the spinning!

From then on, Leng Huan's only responsibility was washing dishes.

Fortunately, she had practiced with Granny Zhou, so washing dishes and plates by hand was no problem for her. However, when Leng Huan finished work late at night and looked at her fingers, which were soaked in water and peeling and painful, she missed home even more.

Leng Huan stopped complaining that his sister always made him do chores!

Young Master Leng misses the dishwasher very much right now.

He never imagined he would suffer like this one day.

Uh...

Gan!

-

Helping out in the kitchen earns eighty copper coins a day, which is equivalent to two taels of silver and four hundred coins a month. They work themselves to the bone every day without a break. After a month of this, Leng Huan was already thinking of running away with his bucket.

Taking advantage of his day off, Leng Huan planned to buy some things to go back and visit Granny Zhou and Sang Biao.

I'd also like to look for other jobs to switch to.

-

"Let go! You little bastard, do you know who I am? You dare to chase me? Taking your jade pendant is doing you a favor. A beggar like you must have stolen something like this! If you don't let go, I'll beat you to death!"

In a secluded alley, a burly man with a fierce face was cursing incessantly while kicking a half-grown child. When he saw a jade pendant peeking out from the child's neck, he rudely snatched it away.

The child at his feet bit his lip tightly and clung to the big man's legs relentlessly, refusing to let him go.

Seeing the burly man snatch the jade pendant, the child's eyes flashed with ferocity. Suddenly, he bit the man's wrist, which was holding the jade pendant, like a wolf cub, biting hard until blood seeped between his lips and teeth.

"Ouch! You little bastard, let go! You dare bite me, I'll beat you to death!" The big man immediately cried out in pain.

At the same time, he kicked the child harder, but the child still bit his hand and wouldn't let go, blood dripping from his mouth, his eyes as fierce as a wild beast.

The burly man felt a chill run down his spine as the child stared intently at him. His wrist throbbed with pain; if he didn't let go, the child might bite off a piece of his flesh!

"Tch!" The big man spat out a curse, his hand loosened, and the jade pendant fell straight to the ground, but the child caught it with quick reflexes.

"I don't want the jade pendant anymore, so hurry up and let go!" The big man gasped in pain.

Just as he was about to kick the child again, he suddenly heard a loud shout from behind: "The patrol is coming! The patrol is coming..."

The patrol team is an organization in the city specifically responsible for maintaining order, and it is under the jurisdiction of the city lord's mansion.

The burly man was startled. If he hadn't been discovered, fine; if he had, he'd definitely be bleeding. Remembering he'd already stolen the child's purse, he immediately slapped the child across the face, making a sharp "smack!"

Caught off guard, the child was dizzy from the blow and unconsciously released his mouth. The burly man, not caring about anything else, covered his bloodied hand and ran away.

Upon hearing the shout, the child quickly hid the jade pendant inside his clothes.

-

When Leng Huan saw someone bullying a child in broad daylight, he was about to roll up his sleeves and step in to help, but when he saw his weak wrists, he immediately abandoned the idea.

But they couldn't just stand by and watch the child be beaten to death by the big man, so in desperation they shouted that the patrol team was coming. Unexpectedly, this had the same effect as calling the police!

Seeing the big man run away in a hurry, she rushed over. The child was lying motionless on the ground, and she was a little worried that he had been beaten to death.

"Hey!"

Are you still alive?

-