Chapter 594: Hidden Away

On a mountain in the suburbs of the Imperial Capital.

The guard who had just finished tidying up and was preparing for the shift change looked at the time—there were still ten minutes left, just enough for him to catch up on an update.

However, upon opening the app, he discovered that none of the three books he was following showed any updates in his bookshelf... Was the internet connection bad?

His heart was filled with trepidation, and he subconsciously clicked into them, only to discover in despair: these three books truly hadn't updated!

——How could this be?!

Today wasn't a holiday or a festival, and there were no events; these authors hadn't even posted leave notes and just skipped out like this? Was this reasonable? This simply didn't put them, the readers, in their eyes!

He scrolled through the comment section again, and sure enough, it was filled with complaints and cursing:

【You dog thieves! You skipped out, and you didn't even ask for leave.】

【@QieqieQieqie, you never missed a daily update, how come there's no movement today either?】

【I knew it, once the copyright for Qing Yun was sold, the person wouldn't be diligent anymore.】

How hateful!

The sad reader cursed each of the three books in turn, and only then did he heart-wrenchingly go to change shifts with someone.

And just at the moment he exited the app, all three books simultaneously posted new chapters:

"Sorry, I was drunk yesterday."

…

And at this low-key guard post, the guard stood tall and straight with a solemn expression, but his soul hadn't yet recovered from the emotional turmoil when he saw the familiar delivery courier drive the vehicle over again, and finally neatly unload several packages.

After the young guard checked them one by one, his heart couldn't help but skip a beat.

For no other reason than that one of the packages for Old Master Zhu had been sent from Qingxi Town, Yuncheng.

Good heavens!

He quickly cast his gaze towards the residential area, and sure enough, he saw the familiar face of Xiao Du rushing over, asking him from far away:

"Is there a package for our Old Master? He's been staring at it since early morning, seeing that it was signed for."

What it was for went without saying.

Sure enough, after Xiao Du rummaged through that pile of packages and saw the delivery box from Qingxi Town, Yuncheng, the other party didn't say a word, hugged it in his arms, and ran wildly all the way.

And the guard looked at his receding figure, turned his head, and also swiftly dialed phone calls one by one:

"Old Master Zhou, there's another package from Qingxi Town today..."

……

Old Master Zhu had now learned to be patient.

After all, bloody experience had told him that he was old and couldn't run fast; if he were intercepted halfway by others, after a round of fighting, the contents in his arms would inevitably be short of weight.

It was better to rely on Xiao Du and wait at home.

But waiting didn't make him feel at ease—because if those old fellows got the news in advance and shamelessly intercepted him halfway, Xiao Du wouldn't dare to go head-to-head with them either!

At this moment, he paced back and forth in the courtyard, feeling extremely troubled.

Fortunately, before long, Xiao Du had already run in, panting, and then stood straight solemnly, placing that delivery box into Old Master Zhu's excited palms.

The next moment, the old man and the young man looked at each other and swiftly entered the house—

"Clack!" Closing the door and locking it, all in one go.

Old Master Zhu skillfully unpacked the box, only to see twenty bags of marinade ingredients wrapped inside, as well as a mineral water bottle wrapped in the center.

Although the outer packaging was simple, he didn't mind it in the slightest. Seeing the transparent liquid inside, he shook it slightly, recalled a possibility, and his heart instantly trembled with excitement!

Could it be...

He didn't say a word and unscrewed the cap.

In an instant, a strong, rich aroma rushed into his nose, stimulating the wine worm that had been enduring for a long time in his stomach to roll over and over, rolling until every cell in his body said:

【Let's have a sip first.】

There was no one else in the room. Old Master Zhu, facing Xiao Du's burning gaze, said guiltily:

"I'll just taste a tiny sip, don't tell the doctor; what could they possibly know?"

Afterwards, without waiting for Xiao Du to refute, he swiftly fished out his small wine cup from the cabinet and carefully poured more than half a cup.

How could an old drunkard resist the mellow aroma of that wine?

Holding the wine cup at this moment, he endured his eagerness and only then took a careful sip.

"Good wine!"

After one sip, his heart and liver seemed to tremble; that kind of cold yet mellow stimulation...

"Whoosh," Old Master Zhu's eyes lit up!

He hurriedly put down the wine cup in his hand, then tightened the mineral water bottle, and began to pace around the room:

"Xiao Du! Hurry, hurry, hurry, find a place where no one can find it and hide it."

Xiao Du paused, then picked up the wine bottle and went into the inner room.

Not long after, he came out, which made Old Master Zhu pause, his heart filled with vigilance: "Where did you hide it? You aren't planning to never let me drink it again, are you?"

Xiao Du smiled: "Old Master, the doctor said you really can't drink. Your family also gave repeated instructions..."

"I don't believe it!" Old Master Zhu said loudly: "I never heard the doctor say that!"

However, just as his voice fell, he heard familiar noisy sounds coming from outside the courtyard.

His heart trembled. Thinking of his precious tobacco, he didn't say a word, downed the wine in his cup in one gulp, and then swiftly ordered:

"Hurry up, wash it clean and put it away, I'm going to open the door."

These old fellows were now like sticky candy and couldn't be stopped. It was better for him to open the door early, making it look like he was just receiving some marinade bags, so he wouldn't feel guilty.

Sigh, his granddaughter was still the most considerate. She sent twenty of these marinade bags, clearly a feint to the east while attacking in the west, fearing that others would snatch his wine, and using this to distribute to everyone to divert their attention...

What a good granddaughter!

He was thinking such wild thoughts while his hands didn't stop moving. When he opened the door, sure enough, it was that group of robbers again.

The leader, Old Master Zhou, had a kind smile: "Old Zhu, we've been brothers for so many years, surely you don't need me to say it out loud, right?"

Old Master Zhu then hummed, looking very much the part: "You all run faster than rabbits whenever there's something—what, my granddaughter's filial piety? Can't I eat it all by myself?"

While speaking, he angrily took the delivery box, revealing the twenty bags of marinade ingredients simply wrapped inside.

"They're for marinating tea eggs, everyone take two. If you cook a pot and put it in the fridge, you can eat it for quite a few meals."

Everyone looked at him with subtle expressions, and then silently stuffed the marinade bags into their own pockets.

When only a mere two bags of marinade ingredients were left in the box, Old Master Zhu, although heartbroken, suddenly let out a sigh of relief.

However, the next moment, he saw Old Zhou in front of him smiling like a fox:

"Old Zhu, next time you lie to people, go rinse your mouth first; your mouth is reeking of alcohol!"

"And that wine aroma in this room, I couldn't pretend to be ignorant even if I wanted to—where's Xiao Du? Xiao Du, hurry and tell me where he hid the wine!"

Old Master Zhu's vision went black.

His granddaughter only sent one bottle this time. With their drinking capacity, how many sips could one bottle of wine last?

Therefore, Old Master Zhu would rather die than surrender, firmly protecting his secret, to the point that everyone entangled for a long time and finally could only disperse unhappily.

And when the people left, Old Master Zhu then fiercely patted Xiao Du on the shoulder:

"Well done! I guessed they wouldn't be honest; with someone entangling me on this side, someone must have wanted to be a robber on that side..."

"Alright, alright, the people are gone, hurry and get the wine down for me, I need to change it into a better bottle."

However, after his voice fell, he didn't see Xiao Du in front of him move. Old Master Zhu looked over suspiciously, only to see a look of apology on the young man's simple face:

"Old Master, the doctor really said you can't drink. So I really hid it... Why don't you find it yourself?"

Old Master Zhu:... ===== CHAPTER 595 =====