Chapter 2859

Late night at Qixia Temple.

In a private Zen room with a courtyard not open to the public, a beautiful lady sat in a wicker chair in the courtyard, looking up at the autumn night sky.

A bald old woman came out, spread a blanket over the lady's legs, and said respectfully: "Madam, the young master's plane has taken off."

"Taken off?" Upon hearing this, the lady hurriedly looked toward the airport direction in the sky.

Seeing distant flashing lights in the air, she couldn't help but sigh: "I don't know which of these twinkling lights is the plane Chen'er is on."

After saying that, she asked the old woman: "Did Chen'er go with Ah Zhong?"

This lady is Ye Chen's mother, An Chengxi.

And the old woman beside An Chengxi is the nun impostor.

The old woman's surname is Sun, her name is Sun Jinyu, she has followed An Chengxi for many years, and her role is equivalent to that of a head steward.

At this moment, Sun Jinyu said to An Chengxi: "Madam, the young master indeed took the plane with Chen Zhao Zhong; their plane is fast, and they are expected to arrive in New York around eight o'clock New York time."

"Good." An Chengxi nodded slightly and smiled: "Peter has been troubled these past few years, and I cannot easily intervene to help him; if Chen'er can find him, I believe he will surely help him overcome the crisis, and he, in turn, might help Chen'er find a way to open the Niwan Palace."

……

New York time, eight-thirty in the evening.

The plane carrying Ye Chen and Chen Zhao Zhong landed smoothly at Kennedy Airport.

Since it was already late, Ye Chen did not plan to go directly to the antique shop in Queens tonight.

He knew that Chen Zhao Zhong had come to New York with him this time and certainly also wanted to see the strong lad he had adopted; now, the strong lad had taken over the roast goose shop he had run for half his life, and Chen Zhao Zhong must have deep feelings for both the lad and the shop; thus, after the plane landed, Ye Chen said to Chen Zhao Zhong: "Uncle Zhong, let's first go to Chinatown tonight; your roast goose shop usually operates until what time?"

Chen Zhao Zhong did not expect Ye Chen's first stop to be Chinatown, and hastily said: "Young master, I should still accompany you to handle official business first; after finishing the business, I can find time to see the strong lad."

Ye Chen smiled and said: "Uncle Zhong, it's so late now; two dusty travelers getting off the plane and going straight to the antique shop would indeed seem implausible; if someone with ill intent notices these are abnormal activities worth attention, we might be mistaken for spies and arrested; therefore, tonight we will do nothing regarding the antique shop, first go to Chinatown for a meal, you can also see the strong lad, and then we will stay at Buckingham Palace in New York for one night, and go to Queens tomorrow."

Chen Zhao Zhong knew Ye Chen's words made sense, but he also understood that Ye Chen was doing this for his own consideration.

However, he did not stand on ceremony with Ye Chen and said: "Young master, our roast goose shop generally operates until two o'clock in the morning."

Ye Chen asked curiously: "That late?"

Chen Zhao Zhong nodded and said: "Mainly because consumption is cheap, the customers who come to eat are mostly workers, many of whom are also undocumented immigrants without legal status; they usually only have time to rest after work in the early morning, so our business hours are also later; after they finish eating, we then close up."

Ye Chen laughed and said: "Alright, since the business hours are relatively late, if we arrive in time we can still have a meal."

Chen Zhao Zhong said: "Then I'll call the strong lad to let him prepare in advance."

Ye Chen asked: "Uncle Zhong, did you tell the strong lad about your trip to the United States this time?"

"Not yet." Chen Zhao Zhong said: "This time I was in a hurry, so I didn't tell him, because I was also worried that if I didn't have time to see him, telling him would be pointless."

Ye Chen laughed and said: "If that's the case, then you don't need to call him; we can go directly and give him a surprise."

"Alright!" Chen Zhao Zhong readily agreed, his expression already showing clear anticipation, and he couldn't help but say to Ye Chen: "Young master, don't blame me for saying this, I have always treated the strong lad as my own son; it's been days since I last saw him, and I really miss him in my heart."

Ye Chen understood this very well.

Chen Zhao Zhong's life in the United States has been very hard; in the past few years it was somewhat better, with Fang Jiajin accompanying him, which was like finding solace in water when thirsty.

But after Fang Jiajin left, he alone bore the identity of an undocumented immigrant while supporting a roast goose stall; that life was indeed hard and desperate.

The strong lad, to him, is not merely an adopted orphan and a helper, but much more, a reliance in life.

……

After leaving the airport, Ye Chen directly rented an inconspicuous Chevrolet sedan and drove to Chinatown together with Chen Zhao Zhong.

This time coming to the United States, Ye Chen did not let anyone in the United States make any preparations, nor did he tell Fei Keyin, aiming to keep a low profile for both safety and ease of finding clues buried in the mundane world.

Driving to the familiar Chinatown, Chen Zhao Zhong's former roast goose shop was indeed still in operation.

Ye Chen parked the car steadily, and Chen Zhao Zhong could not wait to push open the car door.

As the two stepped into the roast goose shop, the shop was unusually deserted; only one person sat at one of the several dining tables; the strong lad was preparing in the back kitchen, and upon hearing someone enter, he shouted from inside: "Sit anywhere, I'll be right out!"

After saying that, he came out from the back kitchen holding a plate of roast goose rice after a dozen or so seconds.

Seeing the visitors were Chen Zhao Zhong and Ye Chen, he was momentarily stunned, astonished, and muttered: "Uncle Zhong, Mr. Ye…… How did you come?!"

Chen Zhao Zhong's face was full of smiles as he was about to greet him, but seeing his face covered in bruises and purple marks, with a split corner of the mouth already scabbed black, he exclaimed in shock: "Strong lad, what happened to your face?!"

The strong lad instinctively turned half his face away, while serving the customer, he stammered: "It's nothing, Uncle Zhong…… I just tried to act cool by riding a motorcycle like others did a few days ago, and accidentally fell……"

Chen Zhao Zhong immediately said: "Impossible! Your injury is definitely not from falling off a motorcycle! Look at your panda eyes in the mirror—clearly caused by someone punching you; and the injury at the corner of your mouth couldn't be from a light slap; it takes great force to tear the mouth corner like that—you say! What exactly happened?"

The strong lad evasively said: "Uncle Zhong…… this injury really…… really wasn't from being beaten……"

Saying this, he quickly glanced at the clock, saw it was already past nine, and hurriedly said: "Oh dear, Uncle Zhong, you said you came but didn't give me a heads-up so I could go pick you up at the airport; now it's not early either—should I first close the shop and take you and Mr. Ye to find a place to stay?"

After saying that, he didn't wait for Chen Zhao Zhong's reply, but hurriedly told the customer: "Sorry, sir, I have something today and need to close early; I'll pack this meal for you to take away—would it be alright if I don't charge you?"

Upon hearing this, the customer quickly nodded in agreement, while Chen Zhao Zhong nearby frowned tightly and asked him: "Strong lad, tell me the truth—are you in some trouble?"

Just as he was speaking, a low rumble of motorcycle engines suddenly came from outside; the sound grew closer and louder.

The strong lad's expression instantly became extremely tense, and he hurriedly said: "Uncle Zhong, Mr. Ye, I have something to attend to; please you two go upstairs to avoid it for now!"