Chapter 19 The Third Card
Tang Xiaowan felt like she had scored a big win, hugging the box containing the large kitchen knife and giggling all the way home.
She secretly planned to come back in a few days.
Under Li Zihan's persistent questioning, Tang Xiaowan skillfully dodged the important questions and lightly responded, "This knife isn't bad, giving it to Uncle Cai for chopping bones is just perfect."
"How come you only think about food?"
"People have to eat, what's wrong with that?" the girl retorted with a roll of her eyes.
Li Zihan helplessly shook his head, unable to understand why his brother was so infatuated with a little foodie.
If it were for beauty, considering the Leng Family's wealth, they could find anyone they wanted. If it were about cuteness, Tang Xiaowan did possess a bit, but that still shouldn't be the criteria for a successful person's partner!
The final conclusion, Li Zishen had a unique taste.
But then again, he seemed to have a bit of that himself!
Oh well, it probably ran in the family genes.
Thinking this, he suddenly realized that he hadn't seen Lin Ping at dinner yesterday and fixed his gaze on Bai Long, "Hey, Little Black Dragon, what's Lin Ping Sister been busy with lately?"
The air in the car froze instantly.
"Eighty percent chance she's researching some poison somewhere!"
Tang Xiaowan's sudden interjection thoroughly depressed Li Zihan.
"Nonsense! I'm telling you, don't ever spout such nonsense again. If a reporter hears this, who knows what mess they'll write?"
"No worries, Brother Chen is here. He can smooth things over in a few minutes."
As her voice fell, laughter followed.
Li Zihan couldn't be bothered to argue with a young girl and continued to question Bai Long, "Hey, driver, I'm talking to you. What's Lin Ping been up to lately? How come I called her this morning and got a wrong number, did she change her number?"
Bai Long's lips curved slightly, "Not sure."
"Oh, forgot, you've just returned. Forget it, she's probably hiding away researching some cure-all again. It was the same last time, vanished for half a year."
The questioning finally came to a halt.
The sedan continued on its way, aimlessly wandering the streets like a lost housefly.
"Lady Tang, where to next?"
Bai Long interjected during a lull.
Tang Xiaowan lazily gazed out the window, saw a little girl munching on corn, and immediately felt an emptiness in her stomach from hunger.
"How about we three go for some soy sauce pork ribs?"
"Sounds good, I know a place that tastes great."
"Wow, Little Black Dragon!"
Bai Long: "..."
"I didn't expect you to be a know-it-all, I've really hit the jackpot, hahaha."
It was the first time a girl had complimented him.
Actually, it wasn't that surprising, who would dare get close to Bai Long, who always had a cold demeanor?
Bai Long nodded and changed direction in response.
Perhaps, even he hadn't noticed that just as Tang Xiaowan had complimented him, a long-absent slight smile had flicked across his resolute lips.
Amidst the conversation, Tang Xiaowan deliberately turned her head to look at Li Zishen, whom she jokingly called her ATM.
She was broke and had to rely on him.
"Alright then, you go ahead."
"Wow, great, Little Black Dragon, let's speed up and get going!"
Tang Xiaowan made a victory sign.
Li Zishen: "..."
Bai Long: "..."
Thus, the three of them headed towards the city center.
...
After lunch, in the Li Garden kitchen.
A group of people were watching Uncle Cai.
No, to be precise, they were ogling the big kitchen knife that Tang Xiaowan had picked.
Uncle Cai held it, looking it over from the left, then the right, simply unable to put it down.
```
The gift was exactly to his liking.
Laying it on the knife rack risked it falling off, keeping it on the table made it too easy for someone to walk off with.
"Master, may I touch it?"
"Don't mess with it, the edge is sharp enough to cut through bone like it's mud."
The young apprentice immediately expressed his admiration, "Lady Tang really has quite the presence, I heard this knife is Old Man Cui's shop treasure, having hung on the wall for decades."
"Mm, that's correct, I've heard about it too," the crowd nodded in agreement.
Little did they know, Uncle Cai suddenly blurted out, "It's only because of Young Master Zishen's face that she has it. Lady Tang is new around here, how could she possibly know Old Man Cui?"
The crowd felt there was sense in this and nodded once again.
"How do you know Lady Tang doesn't know him?"
A deep male voice sounded.
Uncle Cai saw it was Bai Long, picked up his dry pipe and kitchen knife, and went straight out the back door without another word.
As the crowd saw this, they dispersed with a sense of propriety.
Bai Long had come to pick up a radish.
Tang Xiaowan had a habit of eating radishes from a young age, one a day.
Even now with her memory lost, her taste remained unchanged.
In the morning, a few of them had taken a simple stroll around Jin City Center, tasting lots of delicious food and buying quite a few things.
Upon returning to Li Garden, Tang Xiaowan had Nanny Chen take the kitchen knife to Uncle Cai.
Little did she know that as soon as Nanny Chen had walked out, she began clamoring to eat a radish, insisting that Bai Long make a trip to get it for her, saying she wouldn't eat any brought by others.
Although Bai Long was now Tang Xiaowan's driver, his intimidation was no less diminished.
That voice just now, no one dared to counter, nor did anyone dare to stay and chat with him, except for Uncle Cai's young apprentice Li Shiqi.
"Brother Long, are you here on business?"
Li Shiqi smiled warmly while offering an apple, but Bai Long didn't take it, waving his hand and going straight to the point.
"Is there any of Qingcheng's special supply radish left?"
"Yes, Brother Long, wait a moment, I'll get it for you."
"Hurry, Lady Tang is waiting."
"Alright, alright, right away."
During the conversation, Bai Long's lips curved slightly, his gaze drifting aside.
He saw Uncle Cai squatting at the back door of the kitchen alone, smoking his dry pipe and glancing at the kitchen knife, as if the words he had just uttered were cast into the clouds.
Bai Long was an extremely intelligent man.
Since Uncle Cai wanted to play dumb, there was no need for him to continue probing.
...
On the second floor master bedroom.
After munching on the radish, Tang Xiaowan felt great and slept until three-thirty in the afternoon.
Upon waking up, the first thing she did was to run to the door.
Just as she expected, she found a light gray card close to the door crack.
"Books are the path to knowledge; the sea of learning has no end but with perseverance, one can sail through."
Pretty erudite, huh? It's always ancient poetry, could it be a Chinese teacher?
Not necessarily, it might be a cover!
That way, even if it's discovered, it's just a poem, which doesn't prove anything.
She just didn't know whether this person was a friend or foe.
However, judging by the current situation, at least they wouldn't take her life, it seemed more like they were guiding her towards a certain direction, like going to school.
She started to check each person in Li Garden one by one.
Nanny Chen and Uncle Cai, Chen Xin and Bai Long, Lin Ping's whereabouts unknown, Li William was there to treat her...
It seemed like everyone was a suspect, and for the moment, it was impossible to determine who was behind it all, let alone their purpose.
"I grew up in Mei Garden, had a grandmother who is no longer alive and wasn't even my biological one, Wanhua Jewelry has a Peony logo, and so does the stamp on the card, even..."
Thinking and thinking, Tang Xiaowan began to feel a headache.
She pounded her temples forcefully, the pain was like being pricked with needles, very agonizing.
```