You've already caught the embroidered ball, and you still say it's not my husband?

Then.

Magistrate Lou went into the noodle shop and ordered a bowl of beef noodles to try.

He slurped up a mouthful of meat and noodles, then immediately slammed his hand on the table and exclaimed, "Wonderful! Absolutely wonderful!"

"The noodles are chewy and smooth, the beef is stewed until it melts in your mouth without any gamey taste, and the broth is rich, savory, and flavorful without being greasy..."

After saying that, he wolfed down several more mouthfuls of noodles. Once the noodles were gone, his eyebrows relaxed, and he looked completely relaxed and blissfully intoxicated, as if he were floating on air and thoroughly enjoying himself!

After a long while, he slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, laughed heartily, gave Lu Qingqing a thumbs up, and praised her highly: "This noodle dish should only exist in heaven, how often can one taste it on earth... Manager Lu, your skills are truly superb! Hahaha."

Seeing this, the clerks and other attendants behind him rolled their eyes and quickly seized the opportunity to frantically echo what they had learned.

"This noodle should only exist in heaven! Lord Lou is absolutely right! Just one whiff of its aroma made me feel as if I were on a vast grassland, standing under the blue sky and white clouds, watching the wind blow the grass low to reveal cattle and sheep—it was incredibly pleasant!"

"After eating the noodles, the adults' complexions became more radiant, and they looked refreshed and full of energy. These noodles must have a miraculous calming and fatigue-relieving effect! This isn't just noodles; it's clearly a rare and precious medicinal dish!"

"Waaah... This reminds me of the bowl of noodles my mother cooked during the coldest winter months when I was a child... These noodles taste like home, like my mother's taste!"

"..."

The people in the government office are really good at acting; they're all masters of feigning ignorance and flattery.

Lu Qingqing stood to the side, listening in a daze, feeling a little embarrassed.

After finishing the noodles, Magistrate Lou even suggested writing an inscription for the noodle shop!

Lu Qingqing was taken aback again, and felt a dryness in her mouth.

Having an inscription written by a prominent figure is an extremely rare honor!

Magistrate Lou, a high-ranking official of the county, has never received a personal inscription for even the "Fugui Restaurant" run by his relative, Manager Pei. Yet now he is going to inscribe a name for Lu Qingqing's small noodle shop.

This is no joke!

of course not!

Immediately, Magistrate Lou instructed his yamen runners to carefully remove the noodle shop's signboard. Then, he asked someone to bring him pen and ink, and he wrote four characters in a flowing style on the lower right corner of the signboard: "Trust and Righteousness Endure."

The meaning is: Honest business practices lead to lasting prosperity!

The yamen runners re-hung the signboard of Yiwanxiangmian Restaurant.

"Not bad, not bad." Magistrate Lou looked up at the plaque and nodded in satisfaction. "Manager Lu runs his business with integrity, and the noodle shop has an excellent reputation. The business will surely prosper for a long time, haha."

With Magistrate Lou's inscription, the noodle shop's reputation will surely become even more renowned, and its business will undoubtedly flourish even more!

This also serves as a deterrent – ​​who would dare to cause trouble at a shop with an inscription by the county magistrate?

Lu Qingqing can now run the noodle shop with complete peace of mind!

Glug~ Glug~

Many of the onlookers were business owners, and they were so envious of the four characters "信义槆昌" (Xinyi Hengchang) on ​​the signboard of a noodle shop that they drooled with envy!

Unfortunately, there's no use in being envious or jealous. Out of hundreds of shops in the entire Qingyang County, only one restaurant, Wanxiangmian, has an inscription by the county magistrate!

"I still have some official business to attend to, so I won't disturb Manager Lu's continued business. If you encounter any difficulties in the future, please feel free to come to the yamen and let me know. I will do my best... cough cough, to handle it impartially! Hahaha."

After saying this, Magistrate Lou smiled and waved his hand, then got back into his sedan chair and left the noodle shop.

Lu Qingqing stared blankly at the departing figures of Magistrate Lou and his entourage until the official sedan chair completely disappeared at the end of the street before she gradually came back to her senses.

She took a deep breath, looked up at the four new characters "信义槆昌" (meaning "Integrity and Everlasting Prosperity") on the plaque, feeling both disbelief and overwhelming excitement!

"Jinglian, my dear sister!" She suddenly turned to Shen Jinglian beside her and asked, "Do you think the reason Magistrate Lou is being so...polite is because of Xiao Xuanzi?"

Shen Jinglian was taken aback. Could it be that Lu Qingqing already knew Lu Xuan's identity?

Call ~

Well, it seems like it can't be hidden anymore!

"Yes."

She simply nodded in agreement.

"Haha, I knew it!" Lu Qingqing put her hands on her hips and laughed happily. "Xiao Xuanzi's medical skills are superb. He successfully treated Lord Zhao's sister yesterday. Magistrate Lou is quite old, and I heard he pays attention to maintaining his health. Who knows, he might need to consult Xiao Xuanzi in the future..."

Lu Qingqing was no fool. She was just a commoner, and her husband, Li Du, only had so few skills. How could she possibly get Magistrate Lou to both come to her door to apologize and write an inscription?

All of this must be because of... Lu Xuan's superb medical skills!

"Haha, Xiao Xuanzi is really something! Thanks to him, the noodle shop has also benefited from this misfortune!"

"Uh..." Shen Jinglian turned her face away, feeling both amused and exasperated.

This Sister Lu isn't exactly stupid, but she's not exactly smart either...

the other side.

Lu Xuan rode a donkey to the watery village.

This is a water town with a black river that stretches for dozens of miles. The locals make a living by fishing.

The Blackwater River is deep and dark, and many reeds grow on its banks and in the river, forming several "reed clumps".

A gentle breeze often blows from the river, causing the reeds to bend and rustle, making one feel the crisp autumn air.

Lu Xuan rode a donkey along the riverbank, holding a communication talisman in his hand.

A clear, ethereal female voice, like that of a nightingale, emanated from the talisman...

Last night, Shen Jinglian used excuses such as "Commander Nangong asked me to assist you," "From now on, I will be your subordinate," and "I need to report to you frequently" to pester Lu Xuan for ten communication talismans.

At that moment, she secretly used a communication talisman to inform Lu Xuan of what had just happened at the noodle shop.

"Okay, I understand."

Lu Xuan nodded, his face showing little surprise.

After all, he had anticipated that running a business would involve some twists and turns, and his older sister was bound to encounter some pitfalls and setbacks as it was her first time opening a shop...

Now that the matter has been properly resolved, there is no need for him to keep this small matter in mind.

"Hang up."

He shrugged and hung up the communication talisman.

The donkey beneath him immediately brayed.

"Awooo~ Those despicable scumbags dared to cause trouble at Sister Qingqing's shop while I was away! If I were here, I would have whipped them so badly they wouldn't even recognize their own parents!"

Bao Bu snorted, as if he were filled with anger.

Lu Xuan could hear its true thoughts: "Sister Qingqing didn't sell donkey meat noodles, hehe, so happy! I'm so protective of Sister Qingqing, Master will definitely think I'm incredibly loyal, right? Praise me, Master, praise me!"

Bao Bulu's righteous indignation was feigned; his true intention was to flatter and fawn!

Stupid donkey, speechless!

Just then, a sound suddenly rang in Lu Xuan's mind.

【Ding! 】

An order has arrived!

[Saved the Order: Slay the Blackwater River Monster (Purple)]

[Order details: A monster in the Blackwater River is devouring people; dozens have already died. Host, please kill it as soon as possible to save the fishermen and local people.]

This is a rather challenging purple order!

Finding the monster in this deep, reed-covered Blackwater River, which stretches for dozens of miles, is indeed no easy task...

Even Lu Xuan felt a bit of a headache.

"Let's try our luck first."

Lu Xuan couldn't think of a good solution for the time being, so he walked up the riverbank while trying to come up with a plan.

After walking for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, I suddenly heard a commotion ahead.

At the ferry crossing ahead, dozens of villagers were watching something.

"Even the yamen couldn't catch this man-eating beast, but Ah Wei managed to catch him! Ah Wei is really amazing!"

"This beast is a man-eating monster! Kill it! Kill it!"

……

What?

Lu Xuan was surprised.

Has the lake monster been captured?