Chapter 13: Town Incident
The next morning, after getting up, Gu Yu didn’t need to go to the village to inquire; his gossip-loving younger brother-in-law had already gathered the information.
Even without Gu Yu speaking, Gu Qingheng couldn’t help but start talking.
“Brother-in-law, I went to the village this morning and heard some big news!”
“Did Wu Changlin run away?”
“Huh? Brother-in-law, how did you know? You look like you just woke up, you definitely didn’t go out!”
“It’s easy to figure out if you just use your brain a little. Wu Changlin might have erased the traces of murder, but he must have been very uneasy. If he stayed in the village, and his deeds were exposed, it would be like catching a turtle in a jar. If he didn’t run now, was he planning to stay in the village for the Lunar New Year?”
Gu Yu said lazily from his bed. After washing and dressing, his idea of going back to sleep had vanished. Hearing Gu Qingheng’s words, a flicker of disappointment crossed his eyes.
Originally, Gu Yu had held great expectations for apprehending Wu Changlin and reporting him to the authorities, as it would have reduced a significant problem.
However, as soon as he heard Gu Qingheng’s first sentence, he knew this matter wouldn’t happen.
The reason Gu Yu could guess this was based on the expression on Gu Qingheng’s face.
Yesterday, Gu Qingheng already knew that Yang Cao had been strangled to death by Wu Changlin and had not hanged herself. Therefore, even if the news of Yang Cao’s murder spread in the village, Gu Qingheng wouldn’t have been as surprised as he was now.
With a little thought, one could guess that something unexpected happened during the arrest of Wu Changlin.
However, Wu Changlin was blind and lame. It was fortunate that he could still move around like this…
“Brother-in-law, you’re amazing! I wish I hadn’t gone to the village to inquire, it would have saved me a trip.”
“Oh, come on! I’m not omniscient, I just deduced it from your first sentence… Besides, even if I had said it earlier, you probably would have still gone to the village for the excitement.”
“Hehe, brother-in-law really understands me.”
Gu Yu chuckled and patted Gu Qingheng’s head. Then, when Gu Mengyao called for breakfast, the two of them immediately moved tables and served dishes. After a busy interval, they began to eat breakfast.
At the dinner table, Gu Qingheng recounted the events again. After hearing it, Gu Mengyao’s face showed shock and anger. She felt that it was truly unjust that Wu Changlin, such a harmful person, had escaped.
Before, when Gu Mengyao went hunting with Wu Changlin, apart from his occasional irritating glances, she hadn’t realized how cruel Wu Changlin was, killing Yang Cao without a word.
Gu Yu, however, felt nothing about it. Wu Changlin, being crippled, posed no threat. If he ran, he ran.
Gu Yu had lived in modern times for so many years and had even seen news of criminals escaping from prison. Compared to that, Wu Changlin simply running away after killing someone was too weak.
If he had the guts, he should try escaping from prison.
“Mengyao, I’m going to the town later. Do you want to come with me?”
Wu Changlin’s matter was temporarily over, and Gu Yu didn’t want to dwell on unpleasant things that might trouble Gu Mengyao and her brother. So, he changed the topic and asked Gu Mengyao if she wanted to go to town with him.
This way, she could relax and also buy some things she liked, making her happy.
As for his younger brother-in-law, a small toy would suffice. It was more important for him to stay home and study, so he shouldn’t be a bright, shining third wheel.
“Brother-in-law, I’ll go with you!”
“No, Little Hua and the others have asked me to play together. You go by yourself! And Qingheng, you need to stay home and study, no going out to play.”
However, upon hearing Gu Yu’s words, Gu Mengyao did not immediately agree. Instead, she looked troubled and said that she already had plans.
Because Gu Mengyao had been hunting in the mountains in recent years, she didn’t have much free time, so her relationships with her old playmates had faded. Fortunately, now that Gu Yu was making money, Gu Mengyao no longer had to go hunting every day, which gave her time to gather with her former companions.
However, Gu Mengyao felt a little guilty at this moment, thinking that she couldn’t do this often in the future!
After all, she was already married and couldn’t be as playful as other girls. Managing this household well was the most important thing.
If Gu Yu knew Gu Mengyao’s thoughts at this moment, he would probably burst out laughing. Gu Mengyao was still so young; she didn’t need to be so mature and worry about everything. He actually hoped his little wife would interact more with others and become more lively.
The burden of supporting the family for the past few years had forced Gu Mengyao to mature, almost eroding her girlish innocence.
While this wasn’t necessarily bad, Gu Yu still hoped Gu Mengyao could be happier in the future. The responsibility of the household rested on his shoulders!
“It’s fine. I originally thought I could go shopping with you. Since you already have plans, I’ll go by myself! Qingheng, you study hard at home. I’ll buy you the small toys I promised you this time.”
“Yay! Brother-in-law is the best!”
As Gu Yu replied, he comforted his younger brother-in-law, who was pouting and angry about not being able to go to town. Gu Qingheng immediately became happy and no longer looked resentful about having to stay home and study.
Gu Mengyao, after hearing Gu Yu’s words, had a hint of disappointment flash across her face. She thought that if she hadn’t promised Little Hua and the others in advance, she could have gone shopping in town with her husband!
Next time, she definitely wouldn’t agree to them in advance!
After breakfast, the three members of the Gu family each had their own things to do, so they didn’t interfere with each other.
When Gu Yu arrived in town, he looked at the unusually deserted and bleak streets and suddenly felt something was wrong.
Normally, when he came to town, it was bustling with people. Why were there now so many fewer pedestrians on the street today?
“Uncle, what’s going on in town today? I see so many fewer people!”
Since he had noticed something different, he needed to find out quickly.
Gu Yu stopped an old man passing by, sweetly called him uncle, and immediately asked for the reason.
“Alas! You should hurry home! Several girls and children have gone missing in town, and the yamen’s investigators can’t find anything. Families with children are not allowing them to come out and play, for fear that their own children will also go missing.”
Upon hearing Gu Yu’s question, the old man was not angered by being suddenly stopped. He just shook his head helplessly and, as soon as he started speaking, advised Gu Yu to go home quickly to avoid trouble.
After saying this, the old man did not linger and left, shaking his head, leaving Gu Yu standing alone, beginning to think quickly.
From the old man’s words, it wasn’t just people missing from the village, but now people were missing from the town as well!
This made Gu Yu furrow his brows, and a sense of unease suddenly filled his heart.
Originally, when Gu Mengyao mentioned the matter of the village girl disappearing in town, Gu Yu had only treated it as an ordinary kidnapping case. However… now that he heard about many children going missing in town, he immediately sensed something was wrong.
This matter might not be over yet…
Thinking of this, Gu Yu suddenly began to worry about the two at home… It seemed better to rush back as soon as possible to avoid any unpleasant incidents.
“Isn’t this little brother Gu? Why didn’t you let me know when you came to town! If I hadn’t bumped into you by chance, I would have been so rude.”
“It’s nothing, I just came for a casual stroll.”
“If you have nothing going on, would you like to go to the restaurant with me for a meal? Your words when you gave me the white sugar were like a sudden enlightenment, and I’ve prepared quite a few dishes made with white sugar.”
Just as Gu Yu was about to leave town, Shan Chengfeng appeared from somewhere.
Today, he was wearing a white robe and a purple sandalwood fan in his hand, fanning himself continuously with a stylish air that made Gu Yu almost chuckle.
The temperature wasn’t high today, and Gu Yu had even deliberately worn thicker clothes, but he didn’t expect Shan Chengfeng to prioritize appearance over warmth, still using a fan to strike a romantic scholar pose.
Gu Yu naturally wouldn’t refuse Shan Chengfeng’s invitation.
In Gu Yu’s eyes, Shan Chengfeng was the epitome of being foolish and rich. If he developed any money-making ventures in the future, he would have to interact with Shan Chengfeng frequently.
Even if not, building a good relationship with Shan Chengfeng, from an imperial merchant family, was a beneficial and harmless thing.
As for the method of cooking with sugar, it was Gu Yu who had suggested it after seeing Shan Chengfeng spend a large sum to buy the white sugar recipe. Thinking that he shouldn’t let him suffer too much, otherwise it would become a one-time deal, so he briefly mentioned a few dishes made with sugar in modern times.
However, Gu Yu had never stir-fried before. He had only watched chefs stir-fry in restaurants a few times and barely remembered some of it.
As for Gu Mengyao learning to stir-fry with sugar, Gu Yu would never be foolish enough to let Shan Chengfeng order Gu Mengyao to help!
And now that he met Shan Chengfeng inviting him over, it was likely to taste the dishes.
Although Gu Yu was worried about Gu Mengyao and her brother left at home, he thought that with one having innate divine strength and the other staying honestly at home, nothing should go wrong. For now, he should resolve Shan Chengfeng’s matter first.
Then, with Shan Chengfeng leading the way, upon arriving at their destination, Gu Yu looked at the ‘Chunlai Restaurant’ sign in front of him, thinking what a coincidence it was that everything had a connection after all.
He just didn’t know what Shan Chengfeng’s relationship was with Chunlai Restaurant…
“This is?”
“This is a restaurant opened by a good friend of mine. But his family doesn’t allow him to come out often, so they asked me to look after it more. After hearing the cooking methods you mentioned, I asked his chef to try and see if he could make them.”
After hearing Shan Chengfeng’s words, Gu Yu nodded and didn’t say anything more.
As expected, there were some connections, but they were not enough to be feared… Even if the fat chef suddenly appeared and said that Gu Yu was the one who sold wild game before, Gu Yu was not too worried.
He had neither stolen nor robbed. At most, the way he hunted the game was difficult to explain, but it was not an unforgivable offense.
Perhaps, it might even make Shan Chengfeng look up to him, defining him as someone not to be trifled with.
After all, being able to develop a white sugar recipe was not something an ordinary person could do. Even if there were some unusual aspects about him, others would only find him mysterious.
