Chapter 16 Black Kirin

"After his son was imprisoned, his daughter-in-law also fell ill and could only rely on taking medicine to stay alive. She drank more medicine every day than she ate. He also had a little granddaughter who was a few years old at home. In order to support his family and buy medicine for his daughter-in-law, the old man did a lot of hard work, but he was old after all and his physical strength was not enough. Many people did not dare to hire him because of his age. The family could only live a life of hunger and starvation, and everyone was skinny and pale."

"After I finished my apprenticeship, I went around performing with a few brothers. However, the response was not good. Before long, I spent all my savings and was in debt. I had to go home to avoid the creditors, and lived in fear every day. Later, I met the old man by chance and talked about our experience as a performer. The old man suddenly became interested and specially prepared a kind of fire-breathing oil according to what I said. The flames of this fire-breathing oil are extremely strong, nearly two meters long, almost twice as long as those of other products. Moreover, the smell after burning is not only not pungent, but also fragrant and pleasant."

"It was with the flamethrower oil that the old man gave me that I was able to revive my business. Not only did I pay off my debts, but my business also became more and more prosperous. Not only did we become famous in the area around our village, but even other villages and towns far away heard of our reputation. They would invite us to perform at every festival or temple fair. Without the old man, I wouldn't be where I am today. He can be said to be my second parent."

"But every time I wanted to give him more money, he always refused. Later, I secretly left the money at his house. As a result, the old man rushed to my house at night and insisted on giving me the money. If I didn't accept it, he would get furious and threaten that he would never make flamethrower oil for me again. Alas, after that, the old man only took the amount of money he thought he should take, and didn't want a penny more."

"I usually try my best to help his family, but their life is getting harder and harder every day."

"Little brother, if you can help the old man sell the oil and help his family get out of this hard life, I, Ah Qi, will listen to you from now on. If you say east, I will never dare to go west."

Ah Qi patted his chest and said confidently.

Seeing Ah Qi's appearance, Xu Qing became even more worried.

It's not that he doubted Ah Qi's words. On the contrary, he trusted Ah Qi's character. The cheerful man in front of him was straightforward and kind-hearted. It was obvious that he was not someone who would lie to a child.

However, if everything Ah Qi said was true, it would be even worse.

The old gentleman and his family had offended the Governor of Sichuan, the local tyrant in Sichuan. If a small person like Ju Xialou dared to go against the Governor of Sichuan, his fate would be worse than an egg hitting a stone.

He couldn't risk the lives and property of Master Abei and everyone in Juxialou just because of his momentary curiosity and a little sympathy.

It's better to avoid this kind of thing if you can.

Seeing Xu Qing's embarrassed expression, Ah Qi's face immediately changed. He grabbed Xu Qing's shoulder with one hand, looked straight into his eyes, and said in a dangerous tone: "Boy, you don't want to regret it, do you? You said before that you are Ju Xia Lou's top disciple, and the purchase volume of Ju Xia Lou alone can make the old man worry-free. A man's promise is worth a thousand gold!"

So you've changed from a little brother to a little boy? You change your face too quickly.

Xu Qing was speechless.

Besides, he didn't know there was such a big thing hidden behind it.

Judging from Ah Qi's look, he was obviously sure of his defeat. In this situation, there was only one way for him to escape.

Xu Qing blinked his eyes, acted cute, and said pitifully, "Uncle Qi, please don't embarrass me. I just turned twelve this year. Who will listen to me? Master Abei is in charge of Juxialou. I am just an ordinary apprentice. How can I decide the business of Juxialou? The most I can do is to help you go back and ask Master Abei."

Although Xu Qing said this, she had already made up her mind not to mention a word to Master Abei. After all, according to Master Abei's character, if she knew about this matter, she would definitely intervene to help, and then she would inevitably have to confront the Governor of Sichuan, and the consequences would be unpredictable.

Xu Qing's words were very convincing, and his childish appearance instantly doubled his persuasiveness.

Xu Qing always displays a calmness and confidence beyond his age, which often makes people who come into contact with him subconsciously ignore his actual age.

After hearing what Xu Qing said, Ah Qi realized that the person standing in front of him was a twelve-year-old kid, only a few years older than his son.

At his age, he was still rolling around in the mud and catching loaches. What could Xu Qing do? Nothing.

Ah Qi's face suddenly fell, he felt cheated, but when he thought about it carefully, Xu Qing didn't lie to him, he just expected too much from Xu Qing.

Ah Qi sighed dejectedly, "If I had no other choice, I wouldn't have come to you. You are the most capable person I can meet, and you have the best chance of helping the old man. The old man's family is really suffering. If they continue like this, they really won't be able to hold on for a few more years."

Xu Qing said, "Uncle Qi, after all, it was the old gentleman's son who committed the crime first. There is nothing they can do about it."

Xu Qing knew that what he said was a bit cold, but it was the truth. The old man's family was indeed pitiful, but they were not the only pitiful people in the world.
Xu Qing is not that philanthropic. He does not expect everyone in the world to live in harmony and happiness. As long as the people he cares about are doing well, that's enough.

Ah Qi scratched his head in worry and sighed, "Actually, I think there might be some hidden reason for the old man's son's crime. The old man always said that he was framed."

Xu Qing shook his head secretly. All parents are like this, they love their children very much. The words of the elderly should not be taken seriously.

Ah Qi saw Xu Qing's expression and knew what he was thinking, so he explained, "You don't know, that guy is very serious about cooking, and has a noble character. He is just like the old man. How could he do something like deliberately adding poison to harm people?"

"And the old man once mentioned that his son had returned home once before the accident. He said goodbye to his family with a heavy heart and said he was going to stop the Black Kirin. The old man said that his expression at the time seemed to know that he would never come back. Sure enough, the accident happened not long after. Therefore, the old man concluded that his son must have been framed."

"Black Kirin?"

Xu Qing's heart skipped a beat.

Could it be the dark culinary world?

If this is really related to the dark culinary world, then this matter cannot be ignored.

If the Governor of Sichuan is controlled by people from the dark cuisine world, Sichuan will become a piece of cake for the dark cuisine world, and they can only manipulate it and run rampant at will.

(End of this chapter)