Elder brother's garrison

Page 1341

The afternoon passed in a flash.

Xiao Bai watched as the goddess of the hearth repaired the ship equipment of the ship girls lying on the open ground one by one. Changchun and New Jersey moved chairs and furniture out of the office building. Surrounded by hundreds of unconscious ship girls, everyone sat in the center of the open ground, drinking Lin Yueyue's tribute tea, and waited. Before they knew it, it was getting late.

Finally, as evening approached, Yubari returned with Captain Lin Yueyue and the ship girls.

"Admiral! Admiral! We're back!"

In the distance, Yubari, who had just returned, waved vigorously amidst the ship girls, looking as if she had made a great achievement. She showed a triumphant smile to Shiro, and even Captain Lin Yueyue beside her was rushing over in excitement.

"You're back! How's it going at the police station?" Xiaobai asked, getting up from her chair to greet the returning ship girls.

"A great victory! Admiral! I'm telling you, a great victory!" Yubari excitedly ran up to Shiro, hugged him tightly, and jumped up and down twice. "Admiral, you have no idea how much progress we've made this afternoon!"

"Hmm? How big is it?"

"Unbelievably smooth!" Yubari said to Shiro. "Normally, investigations into embezzlement cases from over a decade ago would face many obstacles due to the time statute of limitations, making it difficult to conclude quickly. However, this time the whistleblower was you, Admiral, and it concerned a major issue involving ship girls, so the police station took it very seriously. Coupled with the witnesses, evidence, and statements we provided, this investigation was incredibly swift! In just one afternoon, we tracked down and apprehended the former minister, who had been promoted to another city!"

"Huh? They've already caught them? So fast!" Xiaobai exclaimed in surprise.

“Yes!” Yubari put Shiro down and winked at him. “And that’s not the most important thing. The most important thing is that I also brought you some souvenirs!”

"Huh? What kind of souvenir?" Upon hearing the word "souvenir," the female Kitchen Goddess behind Xiaobai's eyes lit up. She thought Yubari had brought back some delicious food, so she quickly brought over with a teacup.

"Admiral, please step back a little."

Yubari coughed lightly, then took a few steps back and pushed the empty space in front of her with one hand. With a thud, a black suitcase fell out of Yubari's ship equipment space and landed in front of Shiro.

"Goddess of the Hearth, look!"

Yubari opened his suitcase in front of the goddess of the hearth.

First, a strong scent of ink wash wafts over you.

Everyone looked at the suitcase.

Inside the suitcase.

It was a large, neatly arranged row of shiny red banknotes.

"Because the matter was resolved faster than we expected, when we returned from the police station this time, the police officers made an exception and allowed us to get back the money that had been withheld from you over the past twenty years!" Yubari said to the female hearth goddess. "Female hearth goddess, here is your share of the money. All the money that was withheld from beginning to end is here, totaling more than 1.5 million yen!"

Everyone turned to look at the female Kitchen Goddess holding the cup.

The goddess of the hearth held a teacup, staring blankly at the suitcase.

Chapter 1723 I, the female hearth goddess, am a rich woman!

The suitcase Yubari pulled from her ship's storage space was a fairly common medium-sized suitcase. Bundles of red banknotes were scattered and piled up inside, filling up most of the space.

Today's society is an information society, and electronic money has gradually become the primary payment method for people in modern society because of its convenience, fashion and speed. As a result, some people may have a lot of money in their bank accounts, but they may never have seen the stacks of banknotes in real life.

One and a half million yuan.

For an ordinary office worker with a stable monthly salary of over 10,000 yuan from the start, this is the amount of savings that a person would accumulate over twelve and a half years without eating or drinking.

original……

There are so many...

The goddess of the hearth, holding a teacup, stared at the open suitcase, momentarily lost in thought, pondering the meaning of life.

The female Kitchen Goddess, who had lived a life of poverty year after year, surviving on only two meals of hand-pulled pancakes a week, had only these few words echoing in her mind at this moment.

—My money actually came back?

—I don’t know I have so much money?

—That must be so many… scallion pancakes…

The female kitchen goddess felt a little dizzy, and for a moment she was overwhelmed with mixed feelings of joy and sorrow. Her hands trembled so much that she almost dropped the teacup she was holding.

"Wow, they returned it so quickly! The police station is so efficient!" Shiro exclaimed in surprise as she looked at the open suitcase and asked Yubari with delight.

“Yes, originally the money from the Goddess of the Hearth was supposed to be returned after a while, after the police station went through some procedures. But this case was closed quickly. Because of you, Admiral, and because the police station heard from us that the Goddess of the Hearth had been having a hard time lately, they made an exception and let us get it back first.” Yubari closed the lid of the suitcase, patting it as she explained to Shiro.

"Oh, I see!" Xiaobai nodded, smiling as she looked at the female Stove Goddess beside her. "Miss Stove Goddess, that's wonderful! Now you don't have to worry about your quality of life anymore, you can buy whatever you want!"

"Ah...I want to...I want to buy whatever I want..." The female hearth goddess stared blankly at her suitcase, still not fully recovered from the fact that she had become a rich woman.

"How are things on your end, Miss Yueyue? Have you gotten the money you were scammed out of back?" Xiaobai asked Lin Yueyue, the group leader.

"We've submitted all the statements and physical evidence." Lin Yueyue smiled easily at Xiaobai, a slight regret on her face. "The police told me that because our transaction with that fraudster happened a long time ago, and there are no IOUs, bank statements, or other irrefutable evidence of the financial transactions, they can't recover the money immediately like the Goddess of the Hearth..."

"Oh... I'm sorry..." Xiaobai gave Lin Yueyue an apologetic look.

"Ah! It's okay, it's okay!" Lin Yueyue immediately raised her hand and waved it rapidly at Xiaobai. She grinned at Xiaobai and showed a relieved smile. "Although the debt can't be recovered for a while, the police told us that they will do their best to help us investigate and will deal with that liar seriously! As long as that person is severely punished, I'll be satisfied!"

Lin Yueyue brought the ship girls to Kyoto this time not just to get back the money from twenty years ago, but more to seek an explanation for the mercenary group being cheated twenty years ago. She just wanted to stand up for herself.

After all, if her father hadn't been scammed twenty years ago, he wouldn't have worked himself to the bone for over a decade to pay off that million-dollar debt. This accumulated overwork eventually led to his illness, and a few years ago he finally succumbed to his illness and had to retire to the hospital. She wouldn't have had to leave her beloved school at such a young age, say goodbye to her comfortable life of being waited on hand and foot, and step into the cold world of adults just to make a living.

Lin Yueyue, the regimental commander, said she could not swallow this insult.

The Obsidian Mercenary Group is now one of the top mercenary groups in the civilian world, and they are not short of money. It would be good if they could get back the million, but if they couldn't, they would be satisfied as long as they could personally send the swindler who deceived their father to prison for ten or twenty years.

Overall, Lin Yueyue felt relieved, as if she had avenged a deep-seated grudge and finally relieved herself of a heavy burden.

"I've gotten quite a lot done today," Yubari said to Shiro as he stood up, stretched deeply, and yawned.

"Yes." Xiaobai nodded, thought for a moment, and then called out to the female stove goddess who was standing there dumbfounded, "Miss Stove Goddess, speaking of which, I've been so busy all day that I haven't eaten yet. Why don't we find a place to eat something before we go home?"

Xiaobai's words seemed to indicate that she was about to leave.

"Ah! I... Anyway, thank you all so much for your help today!" Upon hearing this, Lin Yueyue quickly looked at Xiaobai and stammered a couple of times. Then, in front of Xiaobai, she bowed deeply to everyone. "I have no way to repay your great kindness today! Um... if you don't mind... would you like to have dinner with us before you leave?"

"May I?"

"Of course!" Lin Yueyue nodded quickly, like a hamster.

"Thank you very much for your hospitality today. If you don't mind, please allow us to give you a proper welcome!" Upon hearing this, the ship girls behind Lin Yueyue also bowed to Xiaobai and said.

"That's possible... but the daily rent for the factory must be quite expensive... Won't our presence delay your mercenary group's return journey?"

Xiao Bai asked Lin Yueyue curiously.

"It won't be a problem! Don't worry, we'll be staying here for over a week!" Lin Yueyue patted her chest and replied earnestly to Xiaobai, "After all, even I didn't expect things to be resolved so smoothly. The initial booking was for quite a long time. Although things are resolved now, we rarely come to Kyoto because we wanted to give our ship girls a paid vacation. So why not stay a few more days? One more night won't make a difference. And most importantly..."

Lin Yueyue was excitedly talking non-stop.

suddenly.

Just now.

A loud boom came from behind them.

This morning, the two-story office building, which had been battered by Changchun, swayed in the wind all day before finally reaching its limit. Unable to withstand the onslaught, it snapped in half with a series of loud crashes, turning into broken bricks and tiles that returned to the earth and collapsed.

The small building collapsed, and a hazy yellow smoke billowed everywhere.

The booming sound carried far and wide.

Fortunately, when they were cleaning up the battlefield earlier, Changchun and Yubari had already moved the unconscious Obsidian Mercenary Group ship girls outside the dilapidated office building, otherwise they would have been buried in the ruins.

"Uh..." Xiaobai was drawn back by the strong wind and sound of the collapsing building. When she saw the desolate ruins on the ground, she awkwardly covered her mouth. She quickly turned back to Captain Lin Yueyue and apologized, "Miss Yueyue, um... I'm... sorry, I will take responsibility..."

"Look!" To Xiaobai's surprise, Lin Yueyue, the group leader, had an unexpectedly sunny expression. She even looked at the collapsed building with delight and smiled at Xiaobai. "I told you so! This building has collapsed now. We still need to discuss compensation and other things, so we definitely won't be able to leave Kyoto for a while! Treating you to dinner is no problem at all!"

"……"noob.

Although Lin Yueyue, the group leader, said that she would bear all the compensation costs for the building that was severely damaged by Changchun, Xiaobai couldn't completely ignore the matter since it was related to her. So, she took on the most basic tasks, such as calling in the demolition team and construction team to clean up the site.

The ship girls of the Obsidian Mercenary Group warmly welcomed Xiaobai and his group.

As evening approached, before bidding farewell to the Obsidian Mercenary Group, Xiaobai specifically inquired about the departure time of Leader Lin Yueyue from Kyoto before leaving the factory area with the ship girls.

The female kitchen goddess was still in a daze about becoming a rich woman when she left, and followed Xiaobai and the others home in a daze.

The Kitchen Goddess, having returned home, sat on the sofa, head tilted back, eyes glazing blankly at the ceiling, seemingly lost in thought.

Xiao Bai could understand. After all, the female stove god had endured twenty years of hardship. Suddenly, such a large sum of money, which was perfectly legitimate for her, fell into her lap. It would indeed shake her mental state considerably. Even Fan Jin, who passed the imperial examination, had to be slapped twice by his father-in-law to regain his senses. It was only natural for the female stove god to be in a daze for a few days.

However, Xiaobai definitely wouldn't bring himself to slap the female stove goddess.

Xiao Bai thought the goddess of the hearth would continue in this dazed state for a few more days.

However, that very night, after the ship girls had said goodnight to Xiaobai, they all returned to their rooms. Xiaobai stayed in the living room, preparing to remind the goddess of the hearth, who was sitting blankly on the sofa, to go back to her room to sleep. Suddenly, the goddess of the hearth took a soft breath, and a glimmer of light appeared in her empty eyes.

"Huh? Where am I?" The goddess of the hearth looked around in a daze, then looked at Little White in front of her in confusion.

"Ah? Lady Stove, you're awake now?" Xiaobai said to Lady Stove. "We just got home from the factory area, and it's already evening. Lady Stove, do you remember? Just now, the police officers retrieved and returned the wages that were withheld from you."

"Ah..." The female hearth goddess blinked, looked at Little White's face for a moment, and then seemed to understand. "Ah...right, right...my money..."

"..."

"..."

"...Would you like some?" The goddess of the hearth looked up nervously and asked with a hint of reluctance.

"I don't need it." Xiaobai chuckled.

Chapter 1724

Xiaobai can probably understand some of the thoughts of the female hearth goddess.

It was Xiaobai who discovered and investigated the matter of Vestal being embezzled by the previous minister. Xiaobai was also in charge of the investigation, including sending the current Minister of Finance to the police station and retrieving Vestal's embezzled twenty years' salary. It was Xiaobai's ship girl who was in charge of the whole process. Vestal was just standing by and watching the show all day.

Now that the Goddess of the Hearth has received the money she is entitled to, Xiao Bai has spent the whole day running around because of this, and was even mistakenly identified as an accomplice of the conman by the Obsidian Mercenary Group and wanted throughout the city, but in the end he did not gain any benefit. Considering this alone, the Goddess of the Hearth, who is ultimately the beneficiary, feels that she should at least give Xiao Bai some "labor fee" or "compensation for mental distress" as a token of appreciation.

That's the logic.

However, when Xiao Bai saw the hearth goddess's tense and pained expression when she suggested splitting the profits, he couldn't help but laugh and rejected her suggestion.

Xiaobai doesn't lack this little bit of money.

Perhaps 1.5 million yuan is an enormous sum in the eyes of the Kitchen Goddess, but for Xiaobai, it's a mere 1.5 million yuan, which is far more expensive than the snacks Xiaobai chews on when he's not doing anything.

"I didn't help you, Miss Stove Goddess, just to get a share of the money. You don't need to give me any," Xiao Bai said with a smile. "Miss Stove Goddess, you should use this money to buy what you want and do what you want."

"Ah..." The goddess of the hearth stared blankly at Little White, then murmured for a while, "The things I want to buy..."

There was silence for a few seconds.

The goddess of the hearth took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and exhaled the air she had just inhaled.

When she opened her eyes again, the goddess of the hearth had regained her former radiance.

"Okay! I understand!" The female hearth goddess clenched her little fist and said earnestly to Little White.

"What does Miss Stove Goddess plan to do with this money?" Xiaobai asked with a smile.

"Uh... well..." The female kitchen god scratched her cheek, looked away shyly, and stammered for a moment, "Well... it depends on the situation... but compared to my matter! Although you just said that you don't need me to give you money specifically, I can't completely pretend that you didn't help me, can I!"

"Ok?"

"Alright then!" The female hearth goddess rolled over, braced herself on the sofa, excitedly climbed onto Little White's face, and said to Little White, "Little girl, didn't you say today that you wanted to find the ship girl Mutsu who helped you?"

"Hmm? Hmm... Yes. Miss Vesta, didn't you tell me I could visit Miss Mutsu when your clinic opens?"

"Well, it's like this, because I have to work from Monday to Friday, my clinic is only open on Saturdays and Sundays. Today is only Monday, so if you really wait for my clinic to open, you'll have to wait four more days!" The female hearth goddess said excitedly to Little White. "How about this, I'll ask for a day off from the ship equipment research center tomorrow, and then I'll come with you to my house to open the clinic tomorrow, how about that?"

"Eh? Is that okay?"

"Absolutely."

"Won't taking leave interfere with your work, Miss Stove Goddess?"

"I used to work year-round without a break! I had tons of sick leave slips! At most, it would just be a matter of having one day's pay deducted." The female kitchen goddess pressed her hand to her chest and smiled smugly at Little White. "Besides, look at me, I'm worth millions now! Would I care about something as small as having one day's pay deducted!"

"Haha...that's true." Xiaobai covered her mouth and chuckled.

"Don't worry, I've already missed a day by spending the whole day with you guys, so one more won't make a difference." The Goddess of the Hearth gave Little White a thumbs up. "Then it's settled. Tomorrow morning, get up early and come with me to the Ship Equipment Research Center to ask for a day off. Then we'll go home and open our clinic!"

"Okay, thank you very much, Miss Stove Goddess."

"You're welcome!" The Kitchen Goddess flashed a set of neat little teeth at Little White.

……

the next morning.

While the ship girls were still asleep, Vesta and Shiro left Yubari's house and headed towards the newly opened Ship Equipment Research Center.

Even in a bustling metropolis like Kyoto, the streets were sparsely populated in the early morning. When Xiaobai and the Vessus arrived at the gate of the Ship Equipment Research Center, there was hardly anyone to be seen, except for the occasional security guards who had just started their shifts.

"Oh, right." As they approached the entrance of the ship equipment research center, the goddess of the hearth seemed to remember something and turned back to Xiaobai, saying, "Little girl, find a place to wait for me. I'll go in alone from here."

"Huh? What's wrong?"