After returning home, Xu Shiqi went straight to the store. He happened to meet the people from the Health Bureau. The leader was a gentle middle-aged man with black glasses, a director. The director said that the results of the inspection were out and there was no problem.
Because the certificate was obtained early in the morning, the Xu family did not expect the result to come out so quickly. Seeing that noon was approaching, Wang Yuan insisted on keeping the director and his group for a quick meal. The director refused in many ways, but finally agreed with a smile.
After eating and drinking, the director took off his glasses, squinted his eyes and smiled, saying that since you have such a way, you should have said hello earlier, and you would have saved a lot of worry. Xu Zhongda and Wang Yuan didn't understand, only Xu Shiqi understood what he meant. She smiled and lit a cigarette for him, and said that we would ask you to take care of our store in the future.
Before leaving, the director said suggestively that misfortunes do come from the sky, but where did the stone that hit the roof come from
After hearing this, Xu Shiqi immediately remembered the question raised by Wen Jialuo. She hurriedly asked her father, who was still waving at the departing car, "Is there anyone who wants to buy our store recently?"
Xu Zhongda scratched his head: "No."
"Then you haven't offended anyone?"
Father Xu began to recall hard.
Her mother was quick to react and immediately asked her daughter, "Are you saying that this incident in our store was framed by someone?"
Xu Shiqi nodded. Because her parents were both very honest people, they would not think of any crooked ideas on weekdays, so they never thought that others would think of crooked ideas. The stone hit them quickly, hard and fiercely, and caught everyone off guard, so they never thought of it. She herself only understood it after Wen Jialuo reminded her and the hint of the director of the glasses department.
It was at this moment that the whole family suddenly realized what was going on and they stood at the door of the store feeling deeply moved.
There is always a pair of cold eyes watching from behind, ready to throw another stone at you at any time. The three members of the Xu family shuddered at the same time, and then you looked at me and I looked at you.
After thinking for a long time, I asked everyone in the store, but no one had any such relevant memory. They really didn't know who threw the stone, which made everyone very distressed.
Xu Shiqi remembered what Wen Jialuo had said, so he called her.
"Hello, who is this?"
The voice on the other end was cold and stiff, and through the phone, it had a metallic texture.
Xu Shiqi paused for a second before saying, "I am Xu Shiqi."
The two had eaten together several times, talked beside an undeveloped or abandoned artificial lake, and stayed together under the same roof for a night, but they were still strangers in essence, so it was not surprising that Xu Shiqi did not hear a very enthusiastic response from the other party, not to mention that she herself was polite during the conversation.
Although the other party didn't want to hear it, Xu Shiqi still expressed his gratitude, and then told her the result of the questioning before she became impatient.
"Since that director said that, it proves that someone must be behind this. To achieve their goal, someone in the Health Bureau must have arranged it. But since my mother intervened, I guess no one would be so blind as to be an accomplice. But it will be difficult to find the culprit behind the scenes, since you don't have any clues or suspects. Otherwise, I'll come back this weekend and take a look around your area."
Wen Jialuo spoke at a steady pace, and was completely different from the pale and powerless girl suffering from stomachache. However, Xu Shiqi still heard the innate confidence in her words. This was something that such a family gave her, and it could not be called arrogance.
Xu Shiqi was on the phone outside the store. After hearing her last words, she subconsciously looked around the store. Then, she stared at a point not far away and walked slowly towards it. As she walked, she said to the phone, "I think I'm about to guess the answer, Wen Jialuo, let's talk later."
After hanging up the phone, Xu Shiqi stood in front of a store that was undergoing renovation.
Even though the decoration was not yet completed, a billboard had already been hung at the door of the store. It introduced some special dishes, and even the reservation for the New Year's Eve dinner was displayed below.
Although the place where "Xu's Food" is located is a street, it is actually a small indentation behind the hotel due to the terrain. This indentation is less than 50 meters long, but there are various entertainment projects on both sides of the road. People have to eat to have fun, right? There has always been only one restaurant here, "Xu's Food". Now if there is another one, it will inevitably take away a lot of customers - or maybe this is the reason why the stone was thrown down, it can be said that it is preparing for a rainy day.
Although this was her guess, Xu Shiqi naturally couldn't go to her house to question her without evidence. She returned to her store and told her parents about her suspicions, but she didn't expect that they were very calm at this moment.
"We have no evidence whatsoever, so we can't wrongly accuse others." This is what my dad said.
"I haven't even dealt with him yet, how could there be such a bad person?" This is what my mother said.
Xu Shiqi sighed. How could she feel at ease? If she was still working in another place, she would not expect them to tell her if something like this happened. If they did not find anyone to help, they would have to bear the consequences and suffer losses. If it was really as she guessed, the other party would definitely take advantage of the victory and continue to attack until her restaurant was closed down. Xu Shiqi knew that the two would say this, so she did not say anything else. She just thought about how to eradicate the disaster.
But at this time Xu Zhongda smiled and said: "It doesn't matter if it's really them. We should be more vigilant in the future, and then have a positive and just contest with them - let the facts speak for themselves and see whose food is better!"
Xu Shiqi was even more speechless. Seeing his father's high spirits, he seemed to be glittering. He was already fifty years old, but still very cute. Mom was indeed on his side. The two rolled up their sleeves and ran to the kitchen, shouting that they were going to organize some kind of activity today to get rid of the bad luck.
This is her happy family. In the eyes of her parents, the store is very important, but their only daughter is everything to them. They are now relaxed not only because the store's problems have been solved, but also because they can't hide their pride and satisfaction in seeing their daughter - no matter what happens, as long as she is by their side, it's fine.
In order to keep the smiles on their faces, Xu Shiqi silently told himself in his heart that yes, his choice was right. Even if he knew what kind of person he belonged to, he would resolutely resist the temptation of the taboo. Even if he could not get the dangerous apple, he would not lose the basic nutrients for survival. So, what was the difficulty? He just had to close his eyes, close his ears, and hold his breath.
It was just that simple, but Xu Shiqi still couldn't ignore the pain in her heart that was being torn apart. She sat there in a daze. There was no one around her, and it felt like she had been sitting there for a century.
"Oh, Shi Qi, I almost forgot..."
The voice suddenly sounded behind him. Xu Shiqi was slightly shocked. When he turned back, his face looked normal.
"Mom, what's going on?"
"You actually forgot the most important thing," Wang Yuan asked curiously, "Who did you ask for help? The director didn't seem to be here last time, so it seems like he was taken seriously."
Xu Shiqi smiled slightly: "Do you remember Baohua, Wen Baohua?"
"I remember," Wang Yuan said immediately, "It's your high school classmate who just got married. Look at him..."
In order to prevent the topic from uncontrollably shifting to the problem he was unwilling to face, Xu Shiqi hurriedly said, "I'll ask her for help."
"Oh, that's pretty impressive." Wang Yuan smiled, "I just discussed it with your dad. The people you hired helped us so much, it would be unreasonable not to thank them. Why don't you ask your classmate to invite the people who helped to come to the store and have a meal or something, so that we can thank them in person."
Xu Shiqi thought about Wen Jialuo's attitude. For them, this was indeed not worth mentioning, and her mother probably wouldn't condescend to come to this small shop for this reason: "No need, mom, I don't mind such a small favor."
"This is not good." Wang Yuan looked embarrassed. "Will I be accused of being too ignorant? I see that the director has such a good attitude, I'm afraid he is not an ordinary person who can show up, right?"
Xu Shiqi felt helpless. If he didn't handle this well, his parents would probably always feel uncomfortable, as if they owed them something.
"Otherwise I'll make a phone call and ask." Xu Shiqi had no choice but to call Wen Baohua.
Wen Baohua laughed after hearing this and said that there was really no need for that. Besides, her aunt had already gone to the province to visit her third uncle and would probably stay there for a while before coming back.
"Otherwise..." Xu Shiqi looked at his mother's expectant face, thought for a moment and said, "Otherwise, you and Wen Jialuo can come to the store and sit down together on the weekend."
"Okay, I'll call her and talk to her." Wen Baohua had no choice but to agree.
"I'll contact her." Xu Shiqi hung up the phone. "They will come to the restaurant for dinner this weekend. Is this okay?"
"Yeah," Wang Yuan nodded, blinked, and asked again, "Who is that Wen Jialuo?"
"Ah?" Xu Shiqi was stunned. Seeing that his mother's eyes were blinking in an ambiguous way, he could not help but say, "It's her cousin. Actually, it was her family who helped."
"I thought it was a man." Wang Yuan was a little disappointed. "Didn't you go on a date last night?"
Although the truth was not like this and it was completely unreliable, Xu Shiqi still couldn't control the slight heat in his blood and his face turned slightly red. But on the surface, it looked like it was all caused by impatience: "Mom, what are you talking about? Didn't you say you won't ask about it anymore?"
"Okay, okay, okay," Wang Yuan quickly shook her head and waved her hands, and began to retreat to the kitchen. "You can notify us when they arrive."
Xu Shiqi sighed deeply, her shoulders drooped slightly, and she fiddled with the phone in her hand, feeling confused for a moment.
Such conversations may occur many times in the future, like a series of battles. Even if the wall in her heart is so high that she cannot see the sky, it will still be broken down inch by inch, revealing the dazzling sunlight. By that time, what will she have left to resist the burning heat
She didn't want to be burned like this, but what could she use to make bricks to build a wall after the emptiness became deeper and deeper day by day
Shaking her head, Xu Shiqi drove away the haze. She had long been accustomed to this kind of daze and self-collection. However, she was not as determined as that girl and always felt a little tired.
I called Wen Jialuo again and told him about the treat. Although I didn't explain the reason, he still understood and finally agreed.
It was already past two in the afternoon, and the voice on the phone sounded weak, as if the metal was molten. Xu Shiqi couldn't help but ask her, "What's wrong with you?"
"What?" The response from the other end was nonchalant.
"Did you not eat lunch again?" Xu Shiqi blurted out instinctively.
"…" There was silence on the other end, "Where are you spying on me?"
Xu Shiqi was furious: "You can think of it with your toes, okay?"
The girl's voice was already lazy and low, with a slight complaint: "Auntie called this morning and said something happened at home, so I have no food to eat today."
"Can't you do it yourself?" Xu Shiqi looked up at the sky after he finished speaking, thinking that it was useless to ask.
Sure enough, the girl became more and more indifferent: "It doesn't matter if I don't eat it. I can eat it tomorrow anyway."
"No, you had a stomachache yesterday. If you don't go find something to eat, I'll tell Baohua that you have a stomachache again."
"...Xu, Shi, Qi!" The girl's voice immediately turned cold, and she called her name stiffly, her anger seeming to be transmitted through the air.
Well, Xu Shiqi smiled secretly in his heart. When it came to other topics, the two of them were quite polite. But the strange thing was that once they talked about eating, they didn't seem like strangers anymore.
"Okay, I'll go eat." The girl's breathing finally seemed to calm down, and she actually listened to him obediently. Then she hung up the phone without saying anything.
Xu Shiqi looked at the phone in surprise. Is this trick really effective
However, Xu Shiqi's doubts were soon resolved. About half an hour later, she received a call from Wen Jialuo.
"I'm already eating, but the food is terrible and the soup is terrible."
Xu Shiqi was helpless: "What should I do?"
"Find a book and read to me. I'll eat while you listen."
"Ah?" Xu Shiqi almost spit out the tea she was drinking. She coughed twice and said, "What did you say?"
The girl's voice seemed a little proud, yet full of malice: "Aren't you going to supervise me while I eat? Then be responsible to the end."
"But why should I read something to you?" Xu Shiqi stood up, then sat down again, still feeling confused.
"Hmm..." The girl seemed to think seriously, "You can barely hear the sound."
Xu Shiqi glared, but unfortunately the girl was not across from him: "You really... do you really want to listen?"
"Hurry up."
Xu Shiqi walked to the counter in frustration, took out a newspaper, flipped it left and right, and suddenly raised his eyebrows and smiled: "What are you eating now?"
“…How about soup?”
"Oh, listen, I'm going to read it." Xu Shiqi cleared his throat and began to read it in a gentle and soft voice: "Hemorrhoids are not a disease, but the pain is really terrible..."
"Puff..."
When Xu Shiqi heard the sound coming from the phone, he finally couldn't help laughing and buried his face in the newspaper, and the phone fell to the ground.