Chapter 90: Unmoved

Bai Xi said leisurely, “I don’t know. I’m still little; I don’t know anything.”

Before the two of them could even breathe a sigh of relief, she went on, “But it’s enough if other people understand. I only need to tell the grown-ups what I saw, and if they understand, then that’s that.”

After saying this, Bai Xi smiled with unrestrained delight, and the two of them, who had just begun to relax, had their hearts lifted high again.

Her words sent their nerves soaring once more.

Indeed, they had no idea how long this little brat had been watching. If she copied them, if she deliberately added a few extra words, in truth it would be hard for anyone not to believe a child over them.

“Stop talking!” Every time the cook opened his mouth, things only got worse, so the server turned and gave him another low hiss.

The server saw the cook glare fiercely at Bai Xi, but he fell silent at last, and only then did she turn back to Bai Xi and ask, “Little one, what do you want?”

By now she regretted it a little. If only she had ordered the food for them just now and sent them off after they ate.

“What, you want to eat something? A lot of the things you ordered aren’t available. How about I make you a bowl of plain egg noodles?”

Though the noodles were coarse grain noodles, with an egg poached on top they still tasted good. At a time like this, getting a bowl of egg noodles was no easy thing. Just now she had noticed that the man’s clothes were full of patches, and he carried a bamboo basket; he looked like someone who had come in from the countryside for the market.

Bai Xi shook her head. “I don’t want egg noodles.”

What was so good about egg noodles? The day before yesterday she had eaten fish noodles in rich broth.

Come to think of it, it was also Chen Zhaodi who discovered that besides meat, Bai Xi especially liked fish.

But they couldn’t keep making it braised, fried, or in tofu soup; sooner or later she would get tired of it.

Just then Xiao Hei brought back a few more fish, so she took the big bones out, chopped the flesh finely, mixed it with some white flour, and made Bai Xi a bowl of fish noodles. Bai Xi ate an entire big sea bowl of it, not stopping until her belly was round and full.

“Then what do you want?”

Originally the server had also been worried that the man who had come with Bai Xi was still nearby, which would make him hard to send away. Unexpectedly, she saw only Bai Xi alone.

Though she didn’t know why that man had felt safe leaving Bai Xi here, seeing that she was just a little girl, the server quickly figured it out: in these years, most likely the family couldn’t afford to keep her, so they had brought the girl out and abandoned her.

That man probably said something to coax the little girl before running off, huh?

“Little one, where are your grown-ups?”

The cook quickly understood what the server meant and said to Bai Xi as well, “Could your father have left you behind? Hurry and go after him, or you’ll lose your way home.”

The server also put on a look of surprise. “Little one, did your father really abandon you? Go find your father quickly…”

“That’s right, if you don’t hurry, you really won’t find him!” the cook added, pretending to be concerned.

If Chen Dali heard these words, he would surely drop to his knees in terror. What virtue had he ever possessed to have such a little ancestress of a daughter?

The two of them thought that saying this would be enough. Even if Bai Xi had a mind of her own, she was still only a child; how could she not be afraid? Surely she would turn and run to find the man at once.

Who would have thought that Bai Xi remained unmoved, her expression not changing in the slightest.

“Don’t pretend to be kind,” Bai Xi said with an annoyed glance.

Afraid that Chen Dali would come back soon, she couldn’t be bothered to waste words with the two of them. Unfazed, she said, “If you want me not to say anything, that’s fine. I want eggs.”

Eggs?

“Fine, then that bowl of cornmeal egg batter porridge...” Hearing this, the cook hesitated for two seconds, then nodded in agreement.

After all, neither of them was in the mood to steal food anymore. They might as well feed this little girl first while the other person had not yet come on duty. They could make it up later if need be. Otherwise, if they dragged their feet and got caught, it would only be more troublesome.

Before the cook could finish, Bai Xi interrupted him with a bright smile and held out her hand. “I want fifteen!”

“What?!” the server cried out.

The cook also stared wide-eyed. “How is that possible!”

Bai Xi shrugged. She was too small to make the gesture properly, so it looked both cute and absurd, yet the two of them could not bring themselves to laugh.

“Anyway, that’s my only condition. Figure it out yourselves,” Bai Xi said, then added with a snort, “Either fifteen eggs, or you lose your jobs. Which is more worthwhile? You can think about that yourselves.”

“Do you even know how much fifteen is? Five is one hand’s worth.” One or two might still be manageable, but asking for fifteen at once made the cook glare at Bai Xi so hard it seemed he would like nothing more than to beat this ignorant, overbold little girl.

Bai Xi said, “Do you think I can’t count? Three fives make fifteen!”

If she hadn’t sensed that there were only sixteen eggs left in the kitchen altogether, she would have demanded twenty.

Look down on people, would you? Insult Xiao Liu, would you? Eyeballs not acting like eyeballs, noses not acting like noses, and secretly stealing food... Serves you right!

The server still wanted to say something, but Bai Xi said impatiently, “Save your breath. I’m not here to listen to a lecture. If you won’t agree, I’ll run out to the street and shout.”

“Then let’s see who ends up ashamed,” Bai Xi finished, making as if to rush outside. The server hurriedly called her back.

Turning to the cook, the server looked to him for a solution. If they really had to hand over the eggs, the two of them would have to split the cost.

Two eggs could already fry up a small dish. To hand over so many eggs to an irrelevant little nobody was no different from throwing money into water. Just thinking about it made their hearts ache.

“We don’t have that many. Only one... only two. We’ll give you both. Is that all right?” the cook said through gritted teeth.

The server also hurriedly chimed in, “Only two. Take them or leave them!”

“Oh.” Bai Xi nodded as if she understood. “So that’s how it is. Then I don’t want them. I’d rather watch someone catch you two; that sounds more interesting...”

With that, Bai Xi turned and was about to go out and call for people.

How were these two to know that this little brat would be so hard to fool?

They could neither scare her nor coax her.

Seeing Bai Xi had already reached the restaurant door and was standing on the steps with her hand cupped to her mouth as though ready to shout, the two of them grew frightened and hurriedly stopped her.

“Wait, wait...”

“Little one, don’t shout, don’t shout. We’ll think of something, think of something.”

Bai Xi turned back and looked at them, irritation plain in her eyes as she said coldly, “Don’t try to fool me. I already saw you stealing food. Either you give me eggs, or I’ll call for people.”

There could be no more delay. She could already feel Chen Dali hurrying this way.

The cook and the server exchanged a glance and could only grit their teeth and agree.

What else could they do if they refused? If Bai Xi really shouted and brought people here, they would be finished. The things on the stove were still there, and besides, with this little girl looking so devilishly clever, making a scene would do them no good at all.