The Sanitation Worker on the Wall, The Empress Dowager Pushes Open the Door of the Small

The black Bentley came to a steady stop a dozen meters away from the nameless courtyard house.

The steady engine sound stood out particularly in this narrow cobblestone alley.

The driver, wearing a white shirt, quickly got out of the car, walked steadily to the other side, and respectfully opened the rear door.

Song Wan carried the sandalwood box and stepped gracefully out of the carriage.

She came alone today, without any entourage.

Wearing flat leather shoes, she walked unhurriedly towards the gate of the courtyard house.

It happened shortly after the Bentley stopped.

At the corner of the alley, a green and yellow taxi slammed on its brakes, the tires screeching against the ground.

The car door was hurriedly pushed open from the inside.

A figure wearing an orange sanitation worker's vest, a tattered straw hat, and a large black mask sneaked out furtively.

Jiang Jianguo casually tossed a hundred-yuan bill to the driver, not even bothering to take the change, and then closed the car door behind him.

Like a thief, he quickly slipped behind a thick concrete utility pole.

The cold wind crept up his trouser legs, but he was completely unaware.

He peeked out, his shifty eyes fixed on the tall figure in front of him.

That was his wife, the true pillar of the Jiang family.

As Jiang Jianguo watched his wife walk step by step toward the courtyard house that had caused him so much embarrassment, his heart pounded with anxiety.

It's not that he's afraid his wife will suffer.

He was afraid that his wife would be bribed by that guy with a bowl of noodles and then find out about his shameful secret of going out for a free meal in the middle of the night wearing a tattered military coat.

If that kid, in an attempt to get closer to someone, casually mentions, "An old beggar came by the day before yesterday,"...

With Song Wan's microscopic observational skills, she could identify him in just a fraction of a second.

Jiang Jianguo's gaze passed over Song Wan and landed on the old, heavy wooden door of the courtyard.

A small blackboard was hanging on the door panel.

The sign above was written in bold chalk strokes: "Lin's Restaurant Closed Today! Full Preparation for Battle!"

The moment I saw those words clearly.

Jiang Jianguo's face, hidden behind the mask, turned a deep liver color.

His eyes widened like saucers, his face filled with disbelief, and even his breathing became rapid.

"Great! You're even giving up business just to please my wife!"

Jiang Jianguo suppressed his anger and forced out a few strained words through his teeth.

"When I went to eat there, they wouldn't even give me a seat, and they wouldn't even offer me a bowl of hot soup!"

"Now, as soon as my wife arrives, wow, she just clears out the place and closes down!"

This double standard was like a bucket of ice water poured directly onto the richest man's proud pride.

Jiang Jianguo grew angrier the more he thought about it, and his jealousy was completely overturned, with sour water gushing out.

He, the chairman of a multi-billion dollar conglomerate, personally visited the company, only to be treated like a homeless person.

Why is this guy making such a big fuss over his own wife's arrival?

Does that young man surnamed Lin think that his father-in-law is less important than his mother-in-law?

"Unsolicited kindness is either a treacherous act or a theft!"

"That guy's definitely up to something! He must know who's in charge at home and wants to sweet-talk my wife privately!"

He stared at the door through gritted teeth.

In my mind, I had already imagined a grand drama of a poor boy resorting to any means to please his future mother-in-law in order to get close to a rich girl.

We absolutely cannot let him succeed.

Jiang Jianguo took a deep breath, preparing to quietly follow and keep an eye on them.

But when he looked down at his overly conspicuous orange vest, he felt that it still lacked some concealment.

Standing in this outfit in the bare alley, he looked like a moving traffic light.

He looked around in circles.

I happened to see a large bamboo broom that a sanitation worker had left behind, leaning against the wall of the courtyard next door.

Jiang Jianguo's eyes lit up, and he rushed over, grabbing the dusty broom in his arms.

He waved his hand dramatically a couple of times, head down, pretending to sweep the floor as he slowly moved forward.

The bamboo broom made a "whoosh whoosh" sound as it rubbed against the bluestone slab.

The boss is someone who doesn't even have to bend down to pick up documents that fall on the floor.

Now, when he starts sweeping the floor, his movements are surprisingly quite professional.

At this moment, Song Wan had already reached the entrance of the courtyard house.

She didn't knock, but instead reached out and pushed open the slightly ajar wooden door.

Song Wan's tall and elegant figure disappeared behind the door.

Immediately afterwards, with a soft "bang," the wooden door was closed again.

Seeing this, Jiang Jianguo, who was hiding more than ten meters away, stomped his feet in frustration.

He grabbed a broom and rushed to the gate, taking two steps at a time.

He didn't even care that the dust from the broom had gotten onto his expensive haute couture shirt.

The gate was closed tightly, without even a crack.

He pressed his ear against the cold door, sticking his butt out, trying to hear what was happening inside.

But the wooden doors of this old house are made of really solid materials.

The soundproofing is surprisingly good; apart from the sound of the wind passing through the alley, you can't hear anything inside.

"Oh no, oh no, if this kid tries anything funny, my wife might fall for it."

Jiang Jianguo was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, pacing in circles in front of the door.

His mind was in a jumble.

The thought of Lin Mo's incredible culinary skills sent a chill down his spine.

What if Song Wan gets bribed with a bowl of braised pork or a plate of crab-stuffed oranges after she goes in?

After that, who in this family can control this brat?

The more Jiang Jianguo thought about it, the more he felt that there was a crisis lurking everywhere.

He looked up at the more than two-meter-high blue brick courtyard wall.

The top of the wall was covered with moss, making it look slippery.

With his old bones, free climbing is clearly an impossible task for him.

He looked around, trying to find something to stand on.

Trash can? Too dirty, and not tall enough.

Bricks? The area was swept clean; there wasn't even a single shaped stone left.

Suddenly, his gaze locked onto an old locust tree not far away.

Under the tree, a dusty shared bicycle was parked crookedly.

This car has been abandoned here for who knows how long.

The paint on the bike was mottled, the chain was covered with thick rust, and even the basket was dented.

Jiang Jianguo was overjoyed and threw down the broom to run over.

He gripped the handlebars with both hands and pulled back forcefully.

"Creak—"

The rusted bearing emitted a piercing scream.

Jiang Jianguo was so frightened that he trembled all over and quickly covered the car seat.

He looked around nervously.

Only after confirming that he hadn't attracted the attention of the elderly people in the alley did he dare to continue exerting his strength.

The chairman of a large corporation with assets exceeding 100 billion yuan.

He is always driven by a chauffeur, and someone even carries his briefcase for him.

A powerful figure in the business world whose every move can shake the entire stock market in Beijing.

Now he acts like a car thief.

Huffing and puffing, he pushed a dilapidated shared bicycle step by step to the base of the courtyard wall.

The cold wind of early winter blows against my body.

Jiang Jianguo was exhausted and covered in sweat; the back of his shirt was soaked through and clung tightly to his skin.

He parked the bicycle horizontally against the wall, kicked the flat tires to make sure it was still stable.

Then, he took a deep breath and gripped the rough cracks in the blue bricks on the wall with both hands.

He placed his right foot on the pedal and tentatively stepped his left foot onto it.

The shared bicycles emitted a mournful cry of despair, as if they were about to collapse under the strain.

The car shook violently.

Jiang Jianguo's heart was in his throat, fearing that the broken car would fall apart and throw him face-first into the mud.

He gritted his teeth and pressed down with all his weight.

My left foot finally landed on the slightly slippery plastic seat.

His body gradually rose higher.

The moss on the wall stained his crisp suit trousers.

Dust fell in a flurry, landing on his straw hat and making him look covered in grime.

Jiang Jianguo's legs began to tremble uncontrollably from the excessive force.

Like noodles swaying in a gale, even their knees were trembling.

He didn't dare look down at all, and could only stare intently at the top of the wall in front of him.

His knuckles turned bluish-white from gripping so tightly.

The rough brick surface made his palms ache, but he gritted his teeth and didn't utter a sound.

He secretly vowed that once he caught Lin Mo doing something wrong, he would make him pay.

Finally, he painstakingly poked out half of his head, which was wearing a straw hat.

Those bloodshot eyes peered over the wall, like a thief, into the courtyard.

From the outside.

This once-powerful business tycoon now looked exactly like a groundhog peeking out of its hole.

It was utterly ridiculous, yet it also carried a strange sense of sadness.

For his daughter's happiness and for his own position in the family, the richest man is risking his life.

at the same time.

Inside the courtyard, separated by a wall.

Song Wan had no idea that her husband was perched on the wall, ready to fall at any moment.

She stood behind the screen wall, looking at the main gate leading to the backyard.

The courtyard was quiet, filled with a faint woody scent and the cool atmosphere of early winter.

There's not a trace of excessive commercialism, nor any of that deliberately created sense of being a tourist attraction.

The blue bricks on the ground were swept clean, and several wooden tables and chairs were arranged in a pleasing, staggered manner.

All of this surprised Song Wanwei.

She had assumed that a young chef who became famous online must have a restless and superficial atmosphere in his restaurant.

But the scene before me exudes a reassuring tranquility.

However, this only made her pause for half a second.

Song Wan took a deep breath, preparing herself to scrutinize the arrogant young man once again.

The sandalwood box in my hand, containing a fragment of ancient jade from the Song Dynasty, was quite heavy.

She had already sketched out the young man's image in her mind, after all, she had seen him on a variety show before.

She came today to use her most discerning eye to tear away this pretentious facade.

Let him know that true character and discipline cannot be faked.

Song Wan straightened her cuffs and walked forward with steady steps.

She stretched out her fair and slender hand and gently pressed it on the heavy wooden door of the Lin Family Restaurant.

A slightly cool sensation came from my fingertips.

The wooden door creaked open.

Song Wan gracefully stepped over the threshold, her gaze, which was originally three parts aloofness and seven parts scrutiny, sweeping across the courtyard.

However, the moment he saw the two old men working in the courtyard, the Peking University professor, who remained calm even in the face of imminent danger, instantly cracked his elegant expression.