Seedling

The night was peaceful.

Jiang You woke up early. As soon as she went downstairs, she found the long wooden table in the dining room filled with all sorts of breakfast items.

Fried dough sticks, steamed dumplings, soy milk, siu mai, scallion oil pancakes, lean meat congee, as well as corn steamed buns, fried sauce, braised sauce, braised beef, hand-pulled noodles, and some stir-fried dishes.

Even though she was the City Lord of Tingfeng City, Jiang You's eating habits hadn't changed much.

Basically, every morning, it was either buns and steamed buns with congee, or various kinds of noodles.

The last time such a lavish breakfast appeared was during the New Year.

There was still a clanging sound from the kitchen.

Zhang Shuhui poked her head out of the kitchen, wearing an apron covered in white flour.

"Cult Master, I'm still simmering chicken ginseng soup, which can be used to make chicken soup dumplings. It'll be ready soon! Please eat first!"

Jiang You: "..."

It wasn't the New Year today.

Yan Chi came downstairs and looked at the table full of delicious-looking food, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly.

It seemed this little glasses had a conscience, knowing that everyone hadn't eaten well last night and making up for it today.

Bai Yin also stared blankly at the table full of dishes, curiously poked his head towards the kitchen, then quickly stuffed a steamed dumpling into his satchel to feed the little spider.

They hadn't expected lunch to follow the breakfast onslaught.

Zhang Shuhui spent almost the entire day in the kitchen, spinning around like a little top.

Jiang You estimated that she might not be back for a while, so she handed over the matter of cooperating with Wang Qichuan on the isolation layer to Xu Rizhao.

She instructed him to just agree to Wang Qichuan's conditions, exchanging money for the formula.

When it was time to leave in the afternoon, just as she was about to go down the mountain, she heard Zhang Shuhui's voice from afar.

"Lord, Lord, wait for me, just a moment!!"

She ran out of the house, panting, holding a large basket.

The Rotting Corpse Captain also ran over.

The Captain was also carrying two large baskets, filled with various pre-portioned dishes.

The large basket in Zhang Shuhui's arms looked exceptionally small in the Rotting Corpse Captain's hands, like a child's toy.

"Cult Master, I made you a lot of meat buns overnight, and your favorite beef buns, as well as sesame flatbreads. Here are roast chickens and pig trotters!

I also mixed some dried meat; you can take these out as snacks when you have nothing to do.

Below are the dishes, all your favorite ones. I've divided them into portions, so you can just take them out when you want to eat. The rice is also portioned.

And this, this is the herbal tea I brewed; remember to drink it.

The weather is hot, and it's easy to get internal heat."

The three large baskets piled up like a mountain. One could imagine that Zhang Shuhui had to rush to make all these things overnight, probably not closing her eyes the entire night.

Behind her glasses, a pair of dark circles hung like panda eyes.

Gu Mingshi, observing all this, suddenly understood why Jiang You was so lenient with this little glasses.

Jiang You put the items into her spatial storage and patted Zhang Shuhui's head. "You take good care of the man-eating tree and wait for me. Don't be jumpy; you're the oldest, so you should be the most stable."

Zhang Shuhui pursed her lips, her eyes red-rimmed, and nodded. Her voice was already tearful as she spoke.

"Cult Master, you must be careful and stay safe. Don't worry about us."

Yan Chi covered her face with his palm and pushed her back, saying to Jiang You, "Jiang Jiang, I will take good care of Tingfeng City. You be careful on your journey."

Compared to Zhang Shuhui, he was clearly much calmer.

The "grown-up" Yan Chi had learned to hide his emotions.

He never dragged down what Jiang You wanted to do; he only supported her with all his might.

On the other side, Little Grey was reluctantly clinging to Da Zhuang's tail, squeaking non-stop.

Da Zhuang impatiently used his paw to push the sticky mouse away, kicked it aside, and walked to Jiang You with his head held high.

"Meow!"

If you don't leave now, it'll be dark soon!

I am truly different. Boss doesn't take anyone but me. Doesn't this prove my status in Boss's heart?

Its golden vertical pupils swept proudly over the tearful Zhang Shuhui and the emotion-suppressing Yan Chi, feeling an almost bursting sense of satisfaction.

As long as I'm alive, you'll always be concubines!

╭(╯^╰)╮

Hmph!

Jiang You leaped off the cliff edge, holding her black umbrella.

The mutated calico cat also impatiently swooped down the stone path leading down the mountain. Gu Mingshi and September exchanged a look and quickly followed.

September no longer intended to return to Dawn Tower, nor could she.

Four heads with dark circles under their eyes were neatly lined up outside the floor-to-ceiling window of the kitchen, staring outside.

Potato yawned.

"We worked all night with Manager Zhang, so why did she tell us all to stay in the kitchen to watch the fire when it was time to get rewarded?"

Bird's Nest Master grumbled in agreement.

"Does one stove really need four people to watch it? I think Manager Zhang just wants all the credit for herself!"

Square Face said, "Sima Zhao's intentions are known to everyone."

Chicken Duke chimed in, "Manager Zhang has reached the top step by step, she's got a bit of cunning, hehehe, this old servant also climbed up step by step like this back in the day."

The more the four discussed it, the more indignant they became, feeling deceived.

They prepared to gang up and beat her when she returned, but as soon as Zhang Shuhui came back, she was already holding a colorful candy jar.

Potato grabbed the Bird's Nest Master, who had already clenched his iron fist, and said with a smile, "Manager Zhang, this is..."

"These are the lollipops I've saved up. Of course, I'm giving them to my best friends. Friends can share anything. If I have something good, I'll naturally share it with you!"

She smiled with exceptional sincerity.

"Those petty people don't understand our bond at all, right, Your Majesty Potato?"

Potato kicked away the restless Square Face and simultaneously grabbed Chicken Duke's iron claws.

"Of course, I'm not someone who gets hung up on gains and losses. If you need help next time, just call on me! I won't refuse!"

Meanwhile.

Gu Mingshi quickly reunited with Jiang You and the Gu family members.

He had settled the rest of the Gu family in the depths of a cave.

Jiang You waited at the cave entrance while Gu Mingshi and September went into the cave to bring out the others.

Most of the Gu family members had been executed back then, and the remaining people numbered less than thirty.

Moreover, most of them were women and children.

The women had their tongues cut out, and the men had their hands severed. Everyone stood quietly to the side.

There was no joy in being alive, nor anger, only fear and unease.

Gu Mingshi said, "The elders and others died protecting these children back then. They are the seedlings of the Gu family. My only hope now is that they can survive."

He pulled a man who looked about sixty to seventy percent similar to him. "This is City Lord Jiang. She is willing to extend a helping hand to us this time. You must remember to repay her when you have the chance."

"City Lord Jiang, this is my unworthy younger brother, Gu Mingfeng."

Jiang You didn't take these pleasantries to heart.

"There's no need for thanks. It's just a transaction between us. You don't need to thank me, and I don't wish to accept your gratitude."

Her gaze fell on Gu Mingfeng's wrists. Like the other men, his palms had been cut off, leaving only a round stump at the severed end.

Even the children were the same.

It looked tragic, but Jiang You didn't have any superfluous sympathy. Seeing this scene didn't evoke pity in her.

There were plenty of pitiable people in this world. In the Four Seasons Valley, those experimental subjects dragging their elongated egg sacs – weren't they all more shocking to behold than these people?

A little girl, about seven or eight years old, led a little boy over and opened her arms in an embrace.

Jiang You immediately took a step back, avoiding their gesture of goodwill.

The brother and sister instantly had tears welling up in their eyes, looking at her with a hint of grievance.

Like wounded cubs.

Jiang You coldly said to Gu Mingshi, "Gu family master, control your people. I don't put on emotional performances here."

Gu Mingshi pulled the two children back and then apologized in a low voice, scolding the two of them.

He recognized Bai Yin the moment he saw her in Tingfeng City.

That emotionless monster girl had become round and cute, still with a blank expression on her face.

She was wearing a clean white dress and pretty little shoes.

It seemed she had been well taken care of.

He thought Jiang You liked children.

After all, many people were wary of adults, but they would always feel a sense of compassion for children.

Therefore, he hadn't stopped the two siblings when they made their gesture.

If Jiang You could truly show compassion to the children, it would be a good thing for the Gu family.

But he never expected her to refuse so decisively.