Just as she was pondering, a shopkeeper who used to assist Mu Zhongqing in selling dim sum suddenly rushed in, saying to Cai Wei: "Miss, there’s a large group of people looking for you outside. They claim to be the servants from your old home!"
Could it be Chun Liu and her company?
Cai Wei was overjoyed. She had been contemplating buying help when, coincidentally, the servants from her previous home showed up. With this, not only could she save money on hiring, but employing familiar workers would be more efficient.
She hurriedly put down her work and rushed to the front. To her delight, she saw Zhao Yun, Chun Liu, Aunt Liu, Zhang Bo and his family of three, Zhang Biaotou and his five brothers, their families, all crammed into one room.
Upon seeing Cai Wei, everybody began to move towards her in excitement, wanting to pay their respects, but were stopped by her.
Cai Wei first greeted Zhang Biaotou’s mother. Despite her advanced age, Mother Zhang, hailing from a martial background, bore a healthy pink glow, showing no signs of fatigue despite her long journey.
Cai Wei then inquired about their trip to the capital. Apparently, they had arrived at the capital city seven or eight days earlier and had been lodging at a small inn in the suburbs.
Every day, Zhang Biaotou’s five brothers, Zhang Bo and the others would wander around the city in search of information about their miss. That morning, their search led them to the newly opened Bafu Restaurant where they were immediately convinced that it must be owned by their Miss.
Zhang Biaotou and his brothers, however, were not certain. There were many shops with the same name in the world; it couldn’t just be assumed that their Miss owned this one. Thus, they went in to inquire, learning that the owner’s surname was Mu and that he had gone off to buy groceries. Yet, they also found out that the restaurant sells roasted meat skewers; Zhang Bo and his sons were convinced that the tavern belonged to their Miss.
With that, the group promptly returned to the inn at the suburbs of the capital, packed their belongings, paid their dues, and boldly headed towards the Eight-Fortune Tavern to find their master.
Seeing all of them, Cai Wei was also delighted. While exchanging pleasantries, she didn’t forget to ask Aunt Liu about her back.
Seeing the miss’s heartfelt concern, Aunt Liu excitedly said: "It’s all better now. The medicine Miss gave worked wonders. My back recovered within a few weeks. Fortunately, we found a place for Zhang Biaotou’s family and were eager to meet up with you, so we hurried over."
En route, in Yushu County City, they encountered Zhang Bo’s family. After being separated from Mu Zhongqing’s family, they had been staying in Yushu County City, looking for news about them. When they met the group, they decided to join them on their journey to the capital.
While they continued their conversation, the inn gradually filled with customers. These were people who had queued the previous day but had left disappointed when the meat skewers were sold out.
Funny enough, when one is denied something, the desire to have it grows. Unable to feast upon the skewers the previous day, their longing for them had increased, some even reporting sleepless nights.
Therefore, today everyone was smarter; they rushed over early. The tavern is usually less crowded right after breakfast and before lunch, so they were confident of getting seats.
Seeing the thriving business, everyone was overjoyed. Knowing what to do, Zhang Bo and Aunt Zhang didn’t wait for Cai Wei’s orders and immediately summoned everyone to help prepare the skewers in the back kitchen. Meanwhile, Pillar quickly rushed outside to grill them.