The ex-wife of a former CEO regrets resigning to raise her child and retire from public life.

Chapter 120 Provoking Those High and Mighty Buddhas

At 5:30 a.m., the sky was just beginning to lighten with the first hint of dawn.

The wooden door, seemingly filled with the sounds of everyday life, creaked open slightly and slowly opened a crack.

Chen Feng, wearing a clean apron, was standing in front of the sink splashing cold water on his face.

The cold water sobered him up considerably.

Although I managed to stay up until 8 p.m. at Lao Liu's place yesterday, for a chef, this unwavering biological clock is ingrained in his very being.

Delicious food is inseparable from fresh ingredients; if you go too late, you won't get a chance to choose the best items in the market.

"Haa—"

A yawn with a strong childlike voice suddenly came from the small side hall at the back.

Chen Feng had just pulled off a towel to wipe his face when he turned his head and his brows furrowed in a helpless expression.

Three figures were slowly making their way down the wooden stairs on the second floor. The one in front was Mengmeng, a little girl wearing a nightgown with bunny prints. Her big eyes were still half-closed, and she was rubbing her eyes with her little hands. She was all crooked and unsteady, like a kitten that had just left its nest.

Behind Mengmeng, Xingruo was somewhat flustered as she helped Mengmeng straighten the heel of her flattened slippers, while Su Chen, sporting two huge dark circles under his eyes and with one of his shirt buttons fastened incorrectly, was leaning against the armrest.

"Why are you all up?" Chen Feng put down the towel, walked over and scooped Mengmeng, who was about to fall, into his arms. "Didn't I tell you to sleep a little longer? I can go to the delivery myself today."

"Brother Chen... since you're up, we can't slack off." Su Chen said with a yawn, rubbing his face vigorously with both hands.

Mengmeng snuggled her little head against Chen Feng's neck, clinging tightly to him with her two little arms, and mumbled, "I want to be with Daddy... Mengmeng isn't sleepy, Mengmeng wants to help Daddy pick out big pieces of meat..."

Chen Feng looked at his daughter in his arms, whose eyes were barely open, and sighed helplessly. He then turned and tilted his head at Xing Ruo:

"Xingruo, go and bring out the porridge and some side dishes that are still warm in the pot. Eat a couple of bites, and then we'll set off."

"Okay, Master." Xingruo replied, neatly tied up her hair, and went into the kitchen.

Ten minutes later, the four of them sat around the square table and finished their breakfast with some side dishes.

A black sedan, its cabin filled with morning mist, swayed and drifted towards the suburban market.

The carriage was quiet, with only the slightly hoarse sound of the engine running.

Su Chen leaned back in the passenger seat, his hands nervously rubbing his knees.

He turned his head and looked at Chen Feng, who was steadily holding the steering wheel. He frowned, and the worry that had been building up in his heart all morning finally couldn't be contained.

"Brother Chen, do you think... Aunt Liu's wife will be able to stay stable in the hospital today?"

Yesterday when we were reconciling the accounts, that 10,000 yuan seemed like a lot, but I'd heard people say before that in the late stages of uremia, throwing money into it is like throwing it down the drain. Sometimes... it really is a matter of fate.

Su Chen's voice was low, carrying a heavy tone typical of young people.

Seeing Liu Cheng cry like that yesterday still makes his heart ache.

Xingruo, who was holding Mengmeng in the back seat, also felt a hint of sadness in her eyes when she heard these words.

She said softly, "Master, I saw the words on that form. The complications are quite severe."

The money has been paid, but if the doctor can't cure him, Uncle Liu will really have nothing left.

"It will be alright!"

Mengmeng, who had been looking out the window at the scenery, suddenly turned around anxiously after hearing the two's conversation.

The little girl stared intently at the two of them, her big eyes wide and her little fists clenched tightly.

"Grandpa Liu is a good man; the noodles he makes are so long! The doctor will definitely cure Grandma! She'll get better!"

Chen Feng glanced at his daughter's stubborn yet innocent face in the rearview mirror, and a slight smile crept onto his lips.

"Mengmeng is right, good people are always blessed."

Chen Feng shifted gears and stared at the road ahead:

"We've done all we can to help; the rest is up to fate."

Su Chen, when we get to the market, let's go to the meat stall first and get the half-pig and flour that Uncle Liu needed this afternoon.

This is the first time he's personally cooking and selling large bowls of noodles; he can't afford to run out of stock.

"Okay, whatever you say." Su Chen nodded, and perked up when business was mentioned. "Brother Chen, what are we planning to sell at 'Human Fireworks' for lunch today? The braised pork was so popular yesterday, will our customers buy something else today?"

Chen Feng stared at the horizon that was gradually emerging in the distance and spoke calmly:

"I'm not making braised pork today."

Today I'm making a dish called "Clear Broth Chicken with Shaoxing Wine".

Debone and shred a three-yellow chicken, marinate it with aged Shaoxing wine, and then steam it thoroughly with old ginger and dried shiitake mushrooms. The chicken is tender and smooth, and the broth is clear and bright—perfect for cooling down and replenishing your body in the summer. Served with a bowl of white rice, it's just right.

"It makes my mouth water just thinking about it, Master. Then we should pick out a few more plump, live chickens later." Xingruo smiled from behind, and the originally worried atmosphere was eased a lot.

As they were talking, the bread truck, after a bumpy ride, slowly came to a stop at the entrance of a large food wholesale market on the outskirts of the city.

The wholesale market is always the first place in the city to awaken in the early morning.

Various large trucks and tricycles carrying goods covered the cement ground with mud and water, and the air was filled with a strong smell of fresh, raw food and the earthy aroma of vegetables.

"Get off the bus, Su Chen, and take the woven bag."

Chen Feng turned off the engine, removed the key, and was the first to push open the car door and get out.

However, as Chen Feng walked inside, he felt something was off.

The atmosphere in the market today is a bit off.

In the past, when they came over at this time, the vegetable vendors and butchers around them, even if they didn't make a sale, would always greet Chen Feng from a distance, shouting across a few tables, and asking, "Boss Chen, what kind of specialties do you want today?"

But today, when Chen Feng led Su Chen and the others past the first row of vegetable stalls carrying woven bags, the originally noisy hawking suddenly and strangely subsided.

"Hey, look, isn't that him?"

"Yes, that's him. He's exactly the same as the photo Zhou Heizi posted in the Weibo group yesterday... even the people next to him match up."

Behind the old vegetable stall, several vendors wearing dirty aprons were huddled together in a bit of panic, glancing at Chen Feng while whispering to each other, their lips moving in very low voices.

Chen Feng didn't stop walking, but he had already taken in all the little movements of everyone around him.

He saw Old Zhang, who sold dried goods, not far away, sweeping the floor with a broom.

Seeing him walk over, she was so startled that she almost dropped the broom in her hand, which fell to the ground with a "clatter." She hurriedly turned around and pretended to rummage through the shelves, not daring to look at Chen Feng even once.

"Brother Chen...don't you think these guys are looking at us like we're wanted criminals?"

Su Chen also noticed something was wrong at this time.

He was carrying two large woven bags in his arms, and his eyes swept over the faces of the whispering merchants around him with a hint of doubt.

Although he couldn't hear what those people were whispering about, the complex gazes they cast, a mixture of fear, inquiry, and even a hint of schadenfreude, made him feel extremely uncomfortable.

"Cute Star is following behind me."

Chen Feng did not answer Su Chen's question, but turned his head slightly and gave an instruction to the two little ones behind him.

His right hand slowly clenched in his pocket.

Although the vendors spoke in hushed tones, some fragmented words inevitably reached his ears.

"Zhou Heizi has made his statement..."

"Anyone who dares to sell their goods to 'Human Fireworks' can forget about doing business in this southern district from now on..."

"Tsk tsk, I wonder what's wrong with this cook, that he's offended those high and mighty Buddhas..."