CH 109

The next day, the two sisters cleaned the shop. When Ms. Hua and Zhao’er came over, Mo Yan said, “Hello Godmother”, and Mo Ling looked at her blankly, “What did you say?”

Zhao’er rushed to answer, “We’re sworn siblings. Lu Junming is the eldest brother, Chuzi is the second brother, Zhou Liangsheng is the third brother, and I’m the youngest. Yan’er is older than Zhou Liangsheng, so she’s our elder sister. But our eldest brother doesn’t recognize her as his sworn sister.”

After hearing Zhao’er’s incoherent explanation, Mo Ling laughed and said, “What are you saying!”

Zhao’er continued, “We’ve been to the Zhou family and Ms. Zhao’s already, but we haven’t met Ms. Liang yet. Eldest brother said it wasn’t necessary as he was afraid that the villagers would laugh at you.”

Zhao’er went to the clinic, and Ms. Hua went to the yard to help get things, and handed them to them through the back window.

Mo Ling said, “There’s not much left of these products. Are we going to buy more? Will they still sell well after the New Year?”

Mo Yan replied, “Yes, but we need to switch it up. In the future, when the weather get hotter, candied fruits won’t be as easy to store.”

The shop just opened for business, when an uninvited guest came along. It was Manager Liang of the Shunlai Restaurant.

He was certainly despicable, but they had to sell to any customer. He bought a few salted duck eggs, some side dishes, and a box of candied fruit.

Lu Junming came over and asked Mo Yan to go to Jiaolan Courtyard, saying that his mother made a raincoat and asked her to go and have a look. Thinking of yesterday’s worries, Mo Yan hesitated, “Sister, why don’t you let godmother come over to help!”

Mo Ling knew what she was worried about, “What can happen to me, an adult, in broad daylight? Don’t worry about it, just go!”

Along the way, Mo Yan told Lu Junming about her family affairs, but he could only comfort her with a few words.

When she went to Jiaolan Courtyard, and as soon as she entered the door, she called her godmother. Ms. Zhao was smiling happily, but Lu Junming objected, “You’re not my sworn sibling, why are you calling my mother godmother?”

Mu Yan pouted at him, “I want to call her that, can you stop me?”

Ms. Zhao backed her up as well, “That’s right, don’t pay attention to him. Yan’er can call me godmother if she likes.”

Ms. Zhao showed the finished raincoat to Mo Yan. She asked Lu Junming to put it on, and looked at it from all angles, “That’s fine, but the stitches will definitely leak water.”

Lu Junming said, “Chi Jie thought of this a long time ago. After the raincoat is finished, we’ll use tung oil to brush the stitches, so there won’t be any leaks.”

“Then design a few more styles! Make one for horseback riding, which can cover both the rider and the horse, and make one which separates the upper and lower bodies for working.”

When Mo Yan raised her head, Lu Junming was staring at her, “Why are you saying the exact same things as Chi Jie?”

She whispered, “We’re not from this world”, then happily said, “By the way, when will Chi Jie come? It’s about time to resupply our stocks. Bring him over when you go!”

Lu Junming turned his head and frowned, “I refuse.”

“What are you doing now!”

Mo Yan sat in Jiaolan Courtyard for a while, but was still worried about her sister, so she went back to the shop. When she arrived, no one was there. Mo Yan was startled, and then comforted herself. She must’ve just gone to the back to grab something.

The yard was quiet, and only the kitten Wang Wang was mewling. Mo Yan called for her godmother, and Ms. Hua came out, “Yan’er, do you need anything?”

“Godmother, has my sister been here?”

Ms. Hua shook her head, “No! I just prepared all of the goods in the morning, so I don’t think she had to take anything here for the time being.”

Mo Yan turned around and ran away. When Ms. Hua asked what happened, Mo Yan ran and said, “My sister’s gone, watch over the shop for me.”

She ran back to the shop, but it was still empty, and she was even more flustered. The first person Mo Yan thought of was Lu Junming. She rushed into the clinic and shouted, “Zhao’er, go and call your elder brother.”

“Sister, what happened?”

“Something bad has happened, my sister’s gone. Go quick!”

Zhao’er ran out, and Mr. Cao came to comfort her, “Don’t worry, maybe she’s out shopping.”

“No, if she leaves, she’ll definitely close the shop or ask Godmother to watch over her. She wouldn’t have left the shop alone. Sir, have you seen any suspicious people come?”

“No! There wasn’t anything out of the ordinary.”

Mo Yan left the clinic and stood on the main road. Her heart was pounding loudly, but she had to force herself to calm down. Zhong Cheng came driving a carriage from the direction of Chenzhong Village. He must have taken the matchmaker over.

“Brother Cheng, something bad happened, and my sister’s gone.”

Zhong Cheng became anxious when he heard this, “Where is she?”

“I’m scared she might’ve been kidnapped.”

“Who’d do such a thing?”

“My father, his mistress, and his employer.”

“Where will they take Ling’er?”

“Yi City.”

Zhong Cheng raised his whip and was about to chase after her, but Mo Yan shouted from behind, “It’s a carriage with a smoke pattern, powered by a yellow horse.”

He whipped his horse hard, and the carriage left without a trace.

Lu Junming and Chuzi also arrived on horseback and asked about the situation. Chuzi said, “If they kidnapped her, they wouldn’t be here. It’s too conspicuous on the main road, they will definitely trick her to go to a secluded place.”

Mo Yan was so concerned and so confused her brain malfunctioned, “Then look around and see if there are any traces left.”

The only secluded place was an alleyway behind the shop. It was a dead end close to the Ng family courtyard, and no one really went there. Mo Yan had been there just now, but she didn’t observe it carefully.

Just as Ms. Hua came over from behind, Mo Yan asked, “Godmother, did you hear any strange noises in the alley just now?”

She didn’t, but she held up a hairpin, “I found this at the entrance of the alleyway, it looks like Mo Ling’s.”

Mo Yan grabbed the hairpin and said, “This is my sister’s!”

Lu Junming also saw Mo Ling wearing it and confirmed it was the same hairpin.

They also saw fresh ruts at the entrance of the alley, and they led to the main road.

“I can’t be mistaken, they definitely took my sister to Yi City.”

Lu Junming asked, “Do you have your father’s address?”

Mo Yan shook her head, “I’ve seen the letters he wrote before, but I don’t remember it.”

“Go home and get a letter.” Lu Junming carried her onto the horse, then asked Xiao Chuzi to close the shop then return to Jiaolan Courtyard.

Now that Mo Yan could ride a horse, she was no longer afraid, so Lu Junming urged the horse to gallop faster. They arrived at the Mo family house quickly, and Mo Yan rushed into the house and shouted, “Mother, where are the letters from Yi City!”

Ms. Liang didn’t know why, so she asked impatiently from the main room, “What did you need those for? Who knows where they went.”

“Give it to me quickly, or tell me Mo Zenian’s address. He kidnapped Mo Ling!”

Upon hearing this, Ms. Liang immediately dropped the work in hand, cursing, “Mo Zenian, this bastard, he’s even willing to harm his own daughter, he has to die!”

Mo Yan was so anxious she was about to cry, “Stop cursing, just find the letters!”

Ms. Liang went into her room and lifted up the kang. There were shoe soles under it, and a letter written by Mo Zenian. Mu Yan picked up one at random, and clutched it tightly when she saw his address on it.

Post-translation notes: It’d be really funny if Mo Ling was really just shopping and forgot to close the shop, although I think we all know that’s not happening. As always, thank you for reading!