Chapter 1606: Chapter 1613: An Encounter in Qing County (3)
“Oh, here it is!”
Juhua’s round, bright eyes lit up the moment she saw the noodles. She hurried over, took the big sea bowl from the old woman’s hands with a blissful expression, returned to her seat, and started wolfing it down with chopsticks.
No manners whatsoever!
“Sir, have you finished picking your food?”
At the counter, the old man saw Mo Zili staring at Juhua in a trance and couldn’t help but remind him aloud. He had already noticed Mo Zili’s attention on Miss Shen, and a hint of wariness rose in his heart. Miss Shen was a good person—amiable, generous, approachable, without a trace of the airs typically associated with a county magistrate’s daughter. She had always shown great care for their little shop. So, the old man would absolutely not stand idly by if anyone intended to make Miss Shen their target.
At the reminder, Mo Zili quickly snapped back to reality, haphazardly picked out some food, placed it in the basket, and handed it to the counter, saying, “Boil me a big sea bowl of noodles, add extra chili and pepper, and just a little bit of sesame sauce…”
These eating preferences had just been mentioned by Shen Juhua. He wanted to try them out to see if her tastes were similar to the person he had in mind.
Xiao Kui’s noodles were also ready, delivered by a little girl around ten years old. Xiao Kui picked up her chopsticks and started eating in a very refined and gentlemanly manner, completely different from Juhua’s ravenous style. If not for their clothing, one might mistakenly think Xiao Kui was the master and Shen Juhua was the maid!
As Xiao Kui ate delicately, she quietly urged, “Miss, slow down when you eat. Be careful not to choke…”
Shen Juhua didn’t even lift her head as she retorted, “No way—I’ve got to eat quickly. After I finish, I’m snatching yours to eat too!”
Hearing this, Xiao Kui panicked, and disregarding her own table manners, she lowered her head and began gobbling up her noodles.
Seeing this scene, Mo Zili suddenly curled his lips into a smile. Ever since he lost him, for an entire year, this was the first time he’d smiled, a genuine smile from the bottom of his heart.
“Sir, your noodles are ready!”
The elderly woman came out holding Mo Zili’s big sea bowl and handed it to him. Mo Zili took the bowl, sat down at a table across from Juhua, and began eating while subconsciously observing the activity across from him.
Juhua ate with complete focus, as though eating was an extremely important matter. He had never seen anyone eat with such seriousness and couldn’t help but glance at her again and again.
This Miss Shen truly had an appetite. Within a short time, the enormous sea bowl of noodles had been reduced to the bottom of the bowl. Xiao Kui, noticing that her noodles were nearly finished and fearing her own would be snatched next, hastily sped up her eating pace. The two women devoured their food like wolves, utterly lacking the dignity and reserve expected of a girl’s family, drawing glances from the other patrons of the shop. Yet, in Mo Zili’s eyes, this scene felt profoundly familiar—as though he’d seen it before!
While they were eating, the shop’s door suddenly swung open. Two burly men dressed in Liaodan fashion walked in. Both were tall and stocky, yet carried a faint scent of perfume on them. Without needing to ask, one whiff made it clear they had just come from fooling around at a brothel.
The two men approached the counter, each loaded a basket with food, pushed them toward the counter, and barked gruffly, “Old man, cook us each a big sea bowl of ramen! Extra pepper, lots of chili! And bring us two catties of white liquor!”
The elderly man behind the counter promptly took their baskets and went into the inner room to boil the noodles.
After receiving their noodles, the two Liaodan men looked around the shop and found all the seats occupied—there wasn’t a single empty table available. Without hesitation, the two boldly approached Juhua’s table and sat down directly across from her.