Transmigrated into Substitute Bride 'Fu Lang1'
作者：雩玖 [Yu Jiu]
As a result of a plane crash, Chen Xing arrived in a never-seen-before dynasty. Here, there were not only women and men but also a Ger who could bear children. Not only did he become a Ger, but he was also married off as the substitute bride to a medicine jar 2that wouldn't live for long. The first time he saw him, Chen Xing thought, 'A medicine jar is a medicine jar, anyway, he is good-looking, so it's not a loss for me. In the future, I can open a restaurant and support him.'
Later on, as his little restaurant grew bigger and bigger and as his customers also became more and more distinguished; he gradually realized that his frail husband was not quite the same as he had imagined.
(Author: This is probably a heartwarming, build up family fortune, culinary & delicacy food story.)
Optimistic, cheerful & hard-working Shou Vs black bellied 3, frail & beauty Gong
[Author: I'm probably a writer that is not very good at writing synopsis, so let's just read the main text. ]
Main characters: Chen Xing (陈星) ,Gu Lang (顾琅)
One sentence synopsis: Three meals a day, in four seasons, beauty and delicacies are sufficient.
The concept: Don't panic when you encounter difficulties and firmly believe that hard work will make you rich.
1
[Fu Lang here means the male wife or another word for this is 'husband' (Shou)I just want to make this term popular in Ger-verse story, so people don't get confused with the husband term for the Gong]
2
(chronic invalid, a person who sick and cost a lot of money in medicine]
3
[腹黑/ Black bellied slang for ; outwardly kind but inwardly evil]
Woken up by the sound of roosters crowing outside, Chen Xing slowly opened his eyes, silently sighed in his heart as he saw the earthy yellow roof above his head and smelled the dampness of the blankets on his body.
Chen Xing felt that no matter how long he had been here, he was still a bit uncomfortable and couldn't adapt with the life here, not to mention the fact that he had only been 'Chen Xing' here for three days.
There is no doubt, Chen Xing was originally not from here at all. He was originally from Z country in the 21st century. At such a young age, he became one of the eight heirs of the Z national cuisine chef. Unfortunately, when he was on a plane for the exchange program with chefs from other countries, the plane met with an unforeseen situation and crashed. He changed from the formerly Chen Xing to the ancient time 'Chen Xing'.
Although Chen Xing was born as the son of Chen Family's patriarch, Master Chen and a concubine, his status in the Chen family's residence was no different from that of a servant.
The most depressing thing for Chen Xing was that not only, he transmigrate into an ancient person, but he also arrived at a dynasty he had never heard of. Moreover, the people here were divided into three types of gender; men, women and ger. The first two were the same as in his previous life, except for the last one, who definitely had the appearance of a man but against reason, could bear children.
The good thing was that the character of the people here were quite tough as nails therefore both women and gers had a high degree of freedom to be whatever they wanted to be, except that they couldn't be officials. If it was not for this, Chen Xing felt that he would have died of boredom and depression.
"Chen Xing, are you up yet? These two days, Madam is not in a good mood, so we have to go to work quickly, or else it would be bad if Madam's leg's dogs 1 caught us!"
Just as Chen Xing was sighing and lamenting over his unfavourable situation, he slowly tidied up and got up. He heard someone calling out to him outside the door, so he hurriedly answered and cleaned himself up before he walked out of the woodshed. When he opened the door, he saw the person waiting for him, Chen Xing smiled at him and said, "Let's go! "
The Ger who came to call Chen Xing was called Zhou Guo, the third child of the housekeeper. Because of the housekeeper, he usually picked up some light work. When Chen Xing first arrived, he helped him chase away a hooligan and after that Zhou Guo became enthusiastic toward him and liked to take Chen Xing with him in everything he did.
Their task today was to clean up the front courtyard.
Zhou Guo was very fastidious and in no time he had cleaned up the area he was in charge of. Then he picked up a broom and came to Chen Xing's side, pulled his sleeve and lowered his voice as he said, "Chen Xing, quick take a look, that is the scholar from the Gu family. He really came to our residence."
Hearing from the tone of his voice where Zhou Guo was unable to conceal his excitement, Chen Xing looked up at the direction he pointed, only in time to see a thin and weak back figure dressed in a cyan scholar's uniform.
"It's a pity." Zhou Guo's voice rang out in Chen Xing's ears, his tone full of regret and sympathy.
Hearing this, Chen Xing was a bit confused since he did not understand what he was regretting about so he asked him directly.
Zhou Guo looked around and saw that there was no one else here beside them so he leaned in close to Chen Xing's ear and gossiped, "Do you know what the relationship between that scholar surnamed Gu and the Chen family is?"
Chen Xing shook his head.
Zhou Guo's eyes were full of gossip as he said excitedly to Chen Xing, "The Gu family was originally a wealthy merchant. Previously, the young master from the Gu family was a famous child prodigy. The Chen family relied on the fact that the Gu family was a prominent and aristocratic family, so they simply tied to Gu Family through the marriage contract or betrothal. Later on, the Gu family was punished by the county magistrate for committing a serious crime so most of their family property was confiscated. The whole family was killed by bandits who had fled down from the mountains, only this young master Gu escaped from the calamity, he then left here and went to seek a living (drift aimlessly). Several years later, the county magistrate was beheaded by the new emperor for some unknown crime, thus this Gu young master came back here again. However the former child prodigy who was previously praised by everyone was now a jar medicine. Without the support and the great wealth of his family, I don't know how long he will live."
Zhou Guo shook his head regretfully, as if sighing at the Gu family's young master's tragic fate, "He came back this time, supposedly to honour his marriage contract with the Chen family. However, the people in the county think that he is the bane of others' existence. He is bad luck to his father, mother and to his relatives. Now, he himself is dying, I also don't know what Madam will do."
As Chen Xing listened to Zhou Guo's words, he became curious about the man who had just walked past but his curiosity did not last long. After all, he himself had his hands full managing his own affairs so naturally, he did not have the heart to look after others.
In the main hall of the Chen family, Madam Chen sent Gu Lang off and with a gloomy face, she asked her servants to sprinkle pomelo leaf water on the road he had passed by to remove the bad luck.
The fourth young lady of the Chen family, who had been hiding behind the screen as she watched, came out and said coquettishly, "Mother, what's wrong with you?"
Madam Chen stroked her daughter's soft hair and said gloomily, "Mother is thinking about the request made by that 'calamity star' just now."
The purpose of Gu Lang's visit was very clear: he no longer insisted the Chen family to marry off his daughter to him, he only wanted the Chen family to return betrothal gifts (from the bridegroom's family to the bride's) to him, so that he could have money to buy medicine.
But the betrothal gifts were given by the Gu family when they were rich and powerful, the meaning behind it was to show their sincerity. In the past few years, the people from Gu Family couldn't be seen, therefore Chen family has long since considered the people from Gu family all dead. That betrothal gifts had long since been used by the Chen family as their own property.
Now, Gu Lang had come to ask for it but how could she possibly give it to him? Even if she could, the thought of spending such a large sum of money would be particularly painful for Madam Chen.
The fourth young lady of the Chen family remembered the handsome face of Gu Lang she had just seen and her heart rippled for a moment as she whispered softly in Madame Chen's ear, "What Mother is going to do?"
Madam Chen squeezed her handkerchief tightly, her face unusually unsightly, "If I were to return that much money, I am a little unwilling and can't bear to do so. However that calamity star still has that 'betrothal card2' from that time, If he makes a scene and stir up a trouble, we, the Chen family will not be able to shake him off either, not to mention that your older brother is about to participate in the imperial examination and his reputation must not be tarnished."
The fourth young lady raised her head and looked up at Madam Chen and asked in some doubt, "Then is mother planning for us to become related by marriage (with him)?"
Madam Chen's frown deepened and she said sarcastically, "How is that possible? You are the only daughter of the Chen family at the right age, how could I let you marry that short-lived ghost? He should also keep this dream of him as a dream! I must think of a way to keep the money and also not let you suffer."
"Chen Xing, take this plate of pastries to the front hall later and be careful not to drop it!"
Chen Xing responded to the cook lady, picked up the tray and walked towards the front yard. He had been here for so many days that he knew the layout of the house really well in his heart. In a short time, he arrived at the front hall.
He placed the tray of refined cakes carefully on the table and was about to retreat, but who knew at that very moment Madam Chen called out to him, "Who is this? Wait, raise your head!"
Chen Xing usually avoided the master of the house as much as he could, avoiding them whenever possible, for fearing that he would get into unnecessary trouble. When he heard Madam Chen's request, his heart thudded for a moment and he had a bad premonition, but he dared not go against her wishes and raised his head to look at Madam Chen's direction.
After seeing Chen Xing's face clearly, Madam Chen narrowed her eyes slightly, as if she had thought of something, and her face suddenly turned cold again. She waved her hand and dismissed him impatiently.
Upon seeing this, Chen Xing silently breathed a sigh of relief and carefully retreated.
Madam Chen looked at his back figure as a deep thought gradually rose in her eyes. She muttered in a low voice, "I didn't think that in the blink of an eye, that wild seed3 from that time would have grown so big."
Until Chen Xing's back was completely out of sight, Madam Chen was still staring in his direction and pondered over something, as if she was having some bad ideas.
Chen Xing had been working with Zhou Guo all day and only when it was dark and dinner time, did he have a moment to rest.
"Chen Xing, quickly sit down and eat, there's meat today!"
As soon as Chen Xing entered the kitchen, he heard the little maid washing the dishes shout at him, telling him to sit down and eat.
Chen Xing smiled at her and sat down to look at the randomly stir-fried dishes on the table, sighing once again in his heart. As a person who liked strongly-flavored food, he really did not appreciate the light food here. However, he knew that he had no room to be choosy since he was here, so he ate under the warm greeting of other people there.
Just as Chen Xing and everyone else were eating, a maid of about 16 or 17 years old suddenly entered the doorway and stood in front of them. She said in a lofty manner, "Is Chen Xing here? Madam wants to see him. Come with me!"
The messenger maid was the lead maid of Madam Chen, who usually worked beside her and was naturally superior compared to the other servants. Therefore, when she said it like this, no one felt that there was something wrong with her, but they all turned their heads to look at Chen Xing, who was sitting and silently eating his meal.
Following their gaze, the maid also looked at Chen Xing and the moment she saw Chen Xing's face, a hint of surprise and envy flashed in her eyes. Her beautiful eyebrows frown as she said in a dry voice, "Since you are here, why don't you quickly come with me? Don't tell me that you want to make Madam wait for you?"
Hearing this, Chen Xing did not dare to delay, so he swallowed his last mouthful of rice, hurriedly stood up and followed behind her to Madam Chen's place.
On the way, thinking about the way Madam Chen looked at him today, Chen Xing always had a bad premonition about it and this feeling finally came true after he stepped into Madam Chen's place and was stared at by her for a quarter of an hour.
Madam Chen leisurely put down the tea in her hand. The tea tray made a sharp and clear sound on the table. She stared fixedly at Chen Xing, as if she was bestowing a favour on him and said, "I haven't paid any attention to you for a long time but I didn't expect you to grow this big now, since it's also time for you to get married. It just so happens that I have found a good marriage for you, so pick an auspicious day and get married ba!"
Chen Xing was startled, looked up, stared fixedly at her and hastily said, "I don't want to get married yet." Damn it, he didn't want an arranged marriage!
Madam Chen laughed coldly, looked at him sharply and sarcastically said, "Do you think I'm negotiating with you? You don't even think about who and what you are!"
1
[狗腿子: lackey, hired thug or henchman]
2
[庚帖 (Gengtie): card with the horoscope of a boy or girl sent as a proposal for betrothal.]
3
[(derog.) illegitimate child]
Chen Xing looked at the arrogant Madam Chen in front of him, but after holding back and enduring it, he finally could not hold back and directly said, "Sorry, Madam, I am afraid I can not listen to you on this matter."
As soon as Chen Xing's words left his mouth, the teacup that had been in Madame Chen's hand flew past his face and landed on the floor behind him with a loud and clear bang's sound.
Chen Xing was startled by this movement, but Madam Chen only raised her eyes, stared straight at him and said indifferently, "Do you think I am discussing it with you?"
Chen Xing looked at her and silently clenched his fist.
Madam Chen's eyes swept over him. Her eyes lingered on his clenched fist for a few seconds, after that fell back to Chen Xing's face, looking at his 'unwilling to concede' appearance and said indifferently, "I still have your 'slave contract1', even if you can't accept, it's useless. I warn you, don't harbor any bad ideas or I'll give that thing to human traffickers, let them deal with you."
Chen Xing's eyes widened as he found it hard to believe and stared at Madam Chen. He remembered that this body was clearly the seed of Master Chen, how could there be such a thing as a deed of slave?
As if she could see Chen Xing's doubt or she simply wanted to shock and attack him, the corner of Madam Chen's lips curled up in a malicious smile, "Your mother thought she could get rid of her filthy status by hooking up with the Master. It's a pity that even if she hooked up with the old man, now she's still a lowly and despicable bitch."
Chen Xing felt that her words were particularly harsh but he knew that he could not be impulsive. Although he had only been here for a few days, he knew the rules here. He knew that since Madam Chen had his sell-body contract so even if he managed to escape, if she took the deed and reported it to the authorities, the official could send someone to arrest him.
Chen Xing forced himself to be calm and tried to be submissive as he looked at Madam Chen above him, his tone cautious, "Madam, to whom do you want me to marry?"
Madam Chen played with her own cleanly trimmed fingertips casually and said indifferently, "To that young master of Gu Family. You should shed grateful tears for such a good marriage."
On the way back, Chen Xing thought of the man he had only met once and frowned silently.
Although Chen Xing did not know what Madam Chen was up to, when she thought of her threats and warnings, he knew it inside, this was not a good thing. There might even be conspiracy or schemes behind it.
He felt terrified when he thought about what Madam Chen had said to him, that she would give Chen Xing's future husband his deed of sale along with his dowry when he got married. If this Gu Young master (Gu Gongzi) vent his anger out on him because he replace the bride to marry, therefore the other party would have plenty of ways to torment him with his slave contract. After all, it was supposed to be a marriage alliance between the legitimate son and heir. However, it was replaced by him, this 'lowborn', anyone would also think of it as an extreme humiliation.
Chen Xing felt that Madam Chen was simply super vicious. He had to think of a way to solve this difficult situation.
Madam Chen's speed was quick in handling things and after informing Chen Xing that he would be getting married, she sent her housekeeper to negotiate with the Gu family.
He was also in wonder regarding whether the Gu family had misunderstood that the bride was a legitimate daughter or because they were afraid of the Chen family's current power; Gu Family originally wanted to withdraw from the marriage, yet they agreed to this, promised to come on time and to fetch the bride.
In the Chen family's mansion here, also being informed of the marriage with the Gu family, which took the entire Gu family by surprise. Behind the scenes, they all wondered, how Madam Chen, with her shrewd character, could agree to this marriage?
It was until the servants realized what Madam Chen was talking about the marriage was only on the surface, since there was not much decoration in the residence, not even the slightest hint of going to get married, then it became clear that there must be a fraud. However, they did not dare to say it clearly because of Madam Chen's deterrence.
On the day of the wedding, the servants there were shocked to find that the bride who was supposedly coming out from the lady's courtyard, had actually come out from the servant's courtyard. Zhou Guo was the only one with a stunned expression on his face as he looked at that person's figure leaving.
The steward of the Chen family residence looked disgustedly at the procession of a few musicians in front of him and said arrogantly, "Master and Madam are not well today and cannot go to the Gu family, so please young master Gu be magnanimous and tolerate them."
The man who came to pick up the bride smiled at his words, "It's not a problem, my family's young master is not well either, so it's good to dispense with these formalities."
The housekeeper looked at his 'bending and scraping to curry favor' appearance, his face became more and more disdainful as he said in a sarcastic and mean tone, "Madam also said that a married person is like a splash of water (which means something that can not be retrieved) so it would be better to have less contact in the future."
That person looked up, he gave the housekeeper a deep look and the smile on his face grew bigger and bigger, "I will tell my family's young master."
After the housekeeper impatiently and excitedly closed the door in such a hurry, that person directed the men to lift up the sedan as they returned home with the miserably and pitiably small amount of dowry.
The moment he got into the sedan chair, Chen Xing felt that there was something wrong with it. The sedan was not very big but the cushions were so soft. But he had never been in a sedan before, so this doubt only flashed through his mind for a moment before he then thoroughly cast it aside to the back of his mind.
What Chen Xing was more worried about was how he would face Gu Lang when he arrived at Gu Family's house later. He had heard the butler's harsh words clearly just now and knew that they had not shown any respect to the Gu family, so if the young master Gu found out, it would be unavoidable for him to vent his anger on him.
Chen Xing was put into the room directly after entering the Gu family's residence, which made him feel both puzzled and relieved. As he sat on the bed nervously, he wondered what he should say next to convince Gu Lang to give him back his 'sell body contract'.
In a room not far away, a man dressed in white, stood in front of his desk as he calmly sketched a willowbiter bird with his brush, only when the last feather on the bird was completed did he put down his brush and asked indifferently, "How is it?"
[Willowbiter's painting:
The person being questioned was the man who had just gone to pick up the bridegroom's bride and the man who was questioning him at this moment was precisely the master of the house, Gu Lang.
Hearing his young master's question, the man hurriedly repeated the steward's words and finally said, "This little one has investigated it, the dowry given by the Chen family is a pile of used items or old property and this deed is the most valuable one of all. "
Gu Lang took the deed in his hand, took a glance at the name on the top and sneered, "This Chen family is really good at trading, using a servant to exchange for so many things from my Gu family."
The man looked at his family's young master's face whose expression was indistinguishable whether he was happy or angry so he carefully asked, "What does the young master want to do?"
"Naturally, I will go and take a look first at what kind of stunning beauty is worth so much of my Gu family's bride price!"
Chen Xing sat in the room, thinking about ways to deal with the situation. Just when he was getting irritated and wanted to do something, a few coughs suddenly came from the door.
When he heard the cough, Chen Xing thought that Gu Lang was coming which made him nervous and sat rigidly, rehearsing what he was going to say in his mind several times.
Just as Chen Xing was getting more and more nervous, the door opened with a creak and a figure dressed in white slowly walked in.
Chen Xing stared nervously at the doorway. The moment he saw the face of the person coming, he was immediately stunned. He knew that Gu Lang was a famous prodigy since he was a child, but he did not know that he was so good-looking.
Looking at Chen Xing sitting on the bed in a red dress, Gu Lang's eyes also flashed with a hint of surprise and amazement. It was no wonder that Madam Chen dared to exchange such a person for such a large bride price from the Gu family.
Chen Xing who was originally nervous, was even more panicked when he saw Gu Lang, not only did he not say anything as soon as he entered, but also stared at himself in silence afterwards, not knowing what he was thinking.
Just at the time when Chen Xing didn't know whether he should speak first or not, Gu Lang already slowly walked towards him.
When he saw Gu Lang approaching, Chen Xing panicked. Although he himself liked men and had a favorable impression of Gu Lang's face, he couldn't accept having a sexual relation as soon as he met the person!
As he stared at Gu Lang who was about to get close to his face, Chen Xing kept calculating whether Gu Lang would sell him out in a fit of rage later, if he managed to make him lose consciousness.
Just as Gu Lang was getting closer and closer to Chen Xing, Chen Xing couldn't resist the urge to prepare and raise his hands to hit him, yet Gu Lang suddenly leaned over toward him.
Chen Xing immediately jumped and hid on the bed.
Until Gu Lang stood straight again, he saw Chen Xing who was on the bed, staring at him with a defensive look on his face. He hesitantly shook the object in his hand and asked suspiciously, "What are you doing?"
After seeing what was in his hand, Chen Xing realized that Gu Lang was not trying to do anything to him, but he was just picking up the veil he had thrown on the floor. After hearing Gu Lang's question, he even smiled awkwardly, not knowing how to answer his question.
Gu Lang didn't seem to care whether he answered or not, as he placed the red veil which had been discarded by its owner on a clean shelf next to him, before he taught Chen Xing, "Even if you don't like it, you shouldn't treat it like this."
Chen Xing looked at 'in all seriousness' Gu Lang who was giving him a lecture and muttered in his heart that this scholar was still a bit romantic.
After muttering in his heart, Chen Xing looked at Gu Lang's handsome face. The thought that this person should not be so difficult to talk to, came into his mind. Thinking of what he had just thought, his eyes lit up as he hurriedly took two steps and ran from the bed to his side. He smiled at him, tried to fawn on him and said, "There's something that I want to discuss with you."
Gu Lang looked at him and frowned, sounding like he was lecturing a child who didn't know how to be sensible, "Don't play on the bed!"
Listening to Gu Lang's lecture's tone, Chen Xing who knew he was in the wrong, hurriedly got out of bed and put on his shoes, smiling at him as he curry a favor with him, "I know, I know, I'm just in a bit of a hurry, I really want to discuss something with you."
Gu Lang looked at the beautiful face that suddenly came closer, his expression in his eyes became deeper and heavier and it took a few seconds before he said, "What is it?"
Seeing that Gu Lang had answered him, Chen Xing felt that his idea was going to turn out well, so he hurriedly said, "I just want to discuss something with you. I want to return the bride price your family gave to the Chen family and after that you return my contract of sale to me."
Hearing Chen Xing's words, Gu Lang's eyes flashed through a few strange surprise expressions as he turned his head to look at Chen Xing who was staring eagerly at him and asked, "Do you know how much bride price my Gu family has given to the Chen family?"
1
[卖身契 : sell body contract; a slave contract/ an indenture to sell oneself or a member of one's family]
Chapter 3 : 家贫
(The Family is poor)
The moment Chen Xing heard Gu Lang ask like this, he subconsciously shook his head, expressing that he didn't know.
Looking at Chen Xing's silly appearance, the corner of Gu Lang's lips curled up, his thin lips gently opened as he slowly said, "Back then, that bride price was what my father decided to give, in order to show his sincerity. Our Gu family gave the Chen family two shops in East Street, ten acres of good land in the West District and two hundred taels of silver."
Chen Xing had only been transmigrated into this place for a few days and was not very clear about the prices here, however from what he heard, he felt that these things were quite a lot; he just didn't know how much they were worth.
Gu Lang looked at Chen Xing's slightly confused expression and continued, "If you don't believe me, I still have the list of presents from back then, do you want to take a look?"
Hearing Gu Lang said it this way, Chen Xing hurriedly shook his head, Gu Lang had already said so, thus there was no reason for him not to believe it, after all, it was unnecessary to lie to him either.
Gu Lang coughed, his already pale face became more and more bloodless, only after the coughing subsided did he continue to say, "Do you know for what purpose did I go to the Chen family some time ago?"
Chen Xing took a look at him and carefully guessed, "To make the Chen family honour the marriage contract back then?"
Gu Lang stared at those clean eyes of Chen Xing and smiled, "The Gu family is in this kind of state now, even if I overrate my own abilities, I know that the Chen family would absolutely never send their daughter here to suffer, therefore the last time I went there was only to break off the engagement and get back my Gu family's things, but who knew that…"
The unfinished meaning of Gu Lang's words, Chen Xing instantly understood, who knew that the Chen family actually found him, an impostor, to take the place of the bride in order not to return those bride prices.
Being stared at by those amber eyes of Gu Lang, Chen Xing didn't know why he felt a little guilty yet at the same time, he also cursed that really despicable Chen family in his heart.
After a very short time of having quilty conscience, Chen Xing quickly remembered his purpose, plucked up his courage, looked at Gu Lang's direction and continued, "Umm, I will try to find a way to earn money to pay you back. Can you promise to return my slave contract to me later when I have earned money?"
Gu Lang did not expect Chen Xing would still react like this after all he had said to him. He stared at Chen Xing's clear eyes for a while and suddenly felt that he was somewhat cute in his simplicity. He hooked the corners of his lips and answered him in a low voice, "Fine."
Gu Lang looked at Chen Xing's suddenly bright eyes, giving him the feeling that this person that had been sent to him was not completely useless or without a single redeeming feature, at least he was somewhat cute in his simple-mindedness.
Gu Lang coughed a few more times and looked at the 'filled with joy Chen Xing', "Until you finish paying back the money, you will stay in this mansion. This will be your room from now on."
"Hn, many thanks." Chen Xing looked at him and nodded desperately, thinking that Gu Lang was simply such a good person. Not only did he not blame him and vent his anger at him, he even let him stay here.
Gu Lang took a deep look at Chen Xing before he turned around and left the room.
Until the door of the room closed again, Chen Xing sat down on the bed and let out a long breath of relief. He had originally thought that it would not be easy to pass Gu Lang, this key factor, but he did not expect that the young master of the Gu family would be unexpectedly so nice and open to persuasion.
However, Chen Xing still felt that no matter what, he had to find out the price of goods here as soon as possible, so that he knew how to earn money and return it to Gu Lang as soon as possible. Waiting until the time he would be able to take his deed of sale back, he would find a place to open a small restaurant and he believed that with his skills, he would not starve to death.
Chen Xing had made up his mind and was ready to go to bed. The bedding under his buttocks was so soft that it was comparable to the Simmons1 bed he had slept on in his previous life.
Chen Xing tilted his head and wondered, 'Is the craftsmanship in ancient times better than even the one in modern times?' However, this thought only flashed through his mind for a moment before he left it behind. 'After all, there were even men here who could give birth to children, so what was wrong with having more advanced craftsmanship?'
The next day, as soon as Chen Xing opened his eyes, he realized that it was almost dawn outside. He woke up with a jolt of fright, rushing to get out of bed.
It wasn't until Chen Xing put on his shoes and saw the decorations around him, only then did he remember that he was no longer in Chen's family residence, but in the Gu family's residence. He let out a sigh of relief and slowed down his dressing speed.
When he finished tidying himself well and got things ready, he opened the door of his room and went out. He was again taken aback by the scenery outside. He didn't know whether the courtyard had been unoccupied for years or neglected, but the rest of the courtyard was covered with weeds of varying heights except for the pathway for passage. If one were to see it at night, one would definitely think that this was the haunted mansion of an abandoned village.
Chen Xing observed his surroundings and found that not only, no one there, but there was not even an extra sound. At this moment, he felt even more frightened. Just then, he saw smoke fluttering not far away, so he hesitated for a moment and went over to that direction.
When he found the place that looked like a kitchen, he saw a man crouching in front of a gurgling pot of medicine carefully fan the fire.
Chen Xing hesitated for a long time, standing in front of the door, but when he saw that the man was solely preoccupied and concentrating his attention on boiling the medicine, as if he didn't have the slightest intention to divert his attention, he could not help but speak out, "Umm..that, hello."
That man's response was really quick, he turned his head back in instant, only then Chen Xing could see that the person squatting there looked quite young, he was only about 17 or 18 years old.
A short moment of confusion appeared in that man's eyes when he first saw Chen Xing, then as if he thought of something, his eyes suddenly lit up and he said excitedly, "You are the young master's newly married wife!"
Chen Xing felt this form of address was too embarrassing so he awkwardly said, "Don't call me that, just call me Chen Xing. Oh yeah, by the way, what is your name?"
The youngster looked at him for a moment and nodded, "My name is Qiu Jiu."
Seeing how good-natured the young man was, Chen Xing slowly walked over to him and asked him about the affairs of the mansion, "What are you doing here? Is there anyone else in this mansion?"
"I am helping my young master, boiling the medicine for him. The young master is not in good health and has to drink the medicine first after he wakes up in the morning." Qiu Jiu paused for a moment and continued, "There were only two of us in this house, me and my young master and now, with you here, there are three of us. By the way, I have to make breakfast after I finish with the medicine. Do you have anything you can't eat?"
Chen Xing was a little curious, "What do you cook every day?"
Qiu Jiu scratched his head, showing a silly smile and said with some embarrassment, "I can only boil some noodles and then put some toppings on top."
The topping2 was some kind of salted vegetable, moreover it tasted very odd.
澆頭:
Chen Xing looked at the squatting teenager and asked confusedly. "Isn't your young master in poor health? Is it okay to eat like this every day?"
Upon hearing this, Qiu Jiu sighed very melancholy, sighed like an old man and then said, "It's something that can't be helped~ since my family's young master is very poor ah! I don't have any talent for cooking either, so I can only make do with what I have. Originally, I thought that if the young master succeeded in breaking off the engagement and getting the bride price back this time, we would be able to improve the family's condition, but who knows that…"
Qiu Jiu seemed to have suddenly realized something and immediately stopped talking, looking at Chen Xing awkwardly.
However, in his heart, Chen Xing did not mind as much as Qiu Jiu thought he would be, after all, what Qiu Jiu said was the truth.
Looking at the embarrassed young man, Chen Xing smiled at him, "If you don't mind, leave the breakfast to me,ba! Does your young master have anything that he avoids or abstains from certain food?"
Qiu Jiu looked at his clean and neat face and asked with some doubt, "Can you cook?"
The corners of Chen Xing's lips curled up and his entire person brightened up a little more, "I still have some knowledge and experience in cooking."
Qiu Jiu looked at him with suspicion, only half believing what he said, but recalling his young master's instructions therefore he did not stop him. He even told him that he could use whatever ingredients he wanted from the kitchen.
Chen Xing answered him and began to be busy with the cooking, to his surprise, this Gu family's stove, not knowing whether the kitchen's stove was less used or because Qiu Jiu was quite diligent, it was unexpectedly and particularly clean. What made him even happier was that the kitchen had everything he needed, even fresh ingredients.
Next to him, Qiu Jiu was boiling medicine while he saw Chen Xing was puzzled only for a moment before he then happily started cooking. He only felt that the newly married wife was a bit silly.
At first, Chen Xing was not familiar with ancient cooking utensils. He was a bit clumsy in cutting vegetables with a knife
Qiu Jiu next to him was sweating for him as he watched his hands. He was afraid that Chen Xing would cut his own hand, but it was only when he gradually changed from clumsy to skilled, only by then did he feel that this recently married 'wife' still had some merit.
Soon, a strong smell of meat porridge wafted out of the kitchen.
Qiu Jiu, who was boiling the medicine next to him, could not stop swallowing his own saliva as he smelled the aroma and even when he was pouring the medicine, he almost accidentally dropped and knocked the bowl over. Luckily, he was quick enough to catch the falling bowl, only then did he manage to save the result of his achievement. After doing so, he glanced at Chen Xing and was relieved to see that he did not pay attention to him.
Chen Xing served three bowls of the cooked congee, looked at Qiu Jiu who had already poured the medicine so he asked, "Do you need me to help you carry the congee together with the medicine over to your family's young master?"
Qiu Jiu took the meat congee that belonged to him, shook his head and said straightforwardly, "No need, the young master can't eat anything too hot. Let's eat first, I'll bring it over to the young master when we finish eating, the temperature will be just right by then."
Hearing what he said, Chen Xing also did not force it, nodded his head, picked up his own bowl and ate.
Gu Lang got up as usual, when he had finished washing up and came outside, he saw that in addition to the bowl of medicine that he usually drank, there was also a bowl of lean meat porridge on the table that looked really delicious.
Gu Lang raised his eyes to look at Qiu Jiu who was standing next to him and said in confusion, "Did you go out to buy this?"
Qiu Jiu heard his family's young master ask about this congee. He said with dancing eyebrows and radiant face, "Gong Zi, this congee was made by Chen Xing. I think it's worth it even if you spend all that money to buy back someone who can cook like this."
Gu Lang glanced at him and Qiu Jiu immediately stopped talking.
Until Gu Lang finished his medicine and ate a few mouthfuls of porridge, he suddenly agreed with Qiu Jiu's words. He finished the bowl of porridge unhurriedly, which was more than the portion he usually ate. Before then, he raised his eyes to look at Qiu Jiu who was impatient to say something. He asked indifferently, "Where is he?"
"Chen Xing said he was going out to see what business was profitable and would be back in time to cook at noon. Gong Zi, do you think we should prepare the ingredients for noon in advance?"
1
[席梦思: innerspring mattress/ spring mattress (loanword from "Simmons" bedding company name)]
2
[澆頭 (read Jiāotou) or the topping here is actually : gravy with meat or vegetables that was usually eaten by pouring it over on the rice or noodles. But from the text, it seems like the vegetable version of toppings since they are poor (?) , while the pics I gave for examples, mostly put a lot of meat]
Chapter 4: 餛飩
[Wonton ]
When Chen Xing left the Gu family's gate, he just realized that the scene outside was completely different from what he had imagined.
Originally, Chen Xing thought that since the grass was overgrown inside the gate, outside should also be relatively bleak and desolate. However, who would have thought that there was a street right outside the Gu's family Mansion. Although there were not many pedestrians, he could see that it was not a remote place.
Chen Xing glanced back at the Gu family's dilapidated placard placed above the gate and still could not understand why there was such a big difference between inside and outside of the door. But he soon remembered that he had proper business to attend to, so he did not delay his time any longer and chose a direction to walk in.
A quarter of an hour later, Chen Xing saw a busy street two blocks away from the Gu family residence. Looking at the flow of people and all kinds of steaming hot snacks on the street, Chen Xing felt that he had found the right place.
After standing at the end of the street for a while, Chen Xing observed that most of the people coming and going here were strong labourers, with the occasional woman passing by with her children. He guessed that there must be a relatively intensive labour force in the area so there was such a scene.
After observing the majority consumer group, Chen Xing then turned his attention to the food sold here.
Chen Xing went in and scanned all the food on the street. He found that most of the food sold here were buns (baozi), steamed stuffed bread (mántou) and noodles which were cheap and easy to make, while some of the occasional rice vendors did not do as well as the previous type.
Chen Xing memorized all of these in his mind, and then found a place with a relatively large number of stalls opposite to each other and closely crowded together. He stood there silently observing what tools they used and how the prices of the food were set.
After looking around for another half of the day, Chen Xing finally got a good idea of the prices here and was ready to go to the nearby food market.
Just as Chen Xing turned around to leave, an old voice called out to him and at the same time a bowl of steaming wonton appeared in front of him.
Chen Xing looked at the arm carrying the wonton and saw a kind face.
Seeing Chen Xing facing her, the old woman carrying the wonton gave him a kind smile, "This wonton is for you, eat it and go home early."
Although he didn't know why this grandma would suddenly give him the wonton, he knew that she was selling this wonton for money, so if he ate one bowl of it, she would sell one bowl less.
Chen Xing hastily waved his hand and refused, "No need, no need, this is something that you sell, I can't take it!"
The old woman looked at Chen Xing's attitude and her face became more and more benevolent. She forced the bowl of dumplings into Chen Xing's hand and looked at him, "Next time you want to eat, come here and help granny do some work here. Grandma will give you food to eat. Don't just stand here and watch, your family will be worried if they know."
Hearing this, Chen Xing realized that she had misunderstood. He looked at the wonton that had been shoved at his hands so he did not continue to resist and ate it.
The amount of wonton was not much and the taste was average, so Chen Xing finished it in three or two sittings. When he had finished eating, he returned the bowl to the old lady, looked at her and said sincerely, "Grandma, thank you."
The old woman looked at his pretty and charming face which was covered with beads of sweat and smiled as she waved her hand.
Chen Xing wiped his mouth and looked at the old woman, somehow embarrassed as he said, "Grandma, I want to ask you something."
"Go ahead." The Granny handed over the empty bowl to her grandson who was next to her as he was staring at Chen Xing. She then patted him on the head and told him to go and wash it before she turned her head and gently answered Chen Xing's words.
Chen Xing recalled the question and was a little embarrassed, but he asked it anyway, "I would like to ask, how much is a tael of silver here?"
Before the grandmother could say anything, her big grandson, next to her, replied to him, "You don't even know this? You're not a fool, are you?"
As soon as he finished speaking, his grandmother slapped him on the head.
When she had finished slapping her loose- tongue grandson, the grandmother turned her head to look at Chen Xing with a complicated look in her eyes, "In an ordinary household, one tael of silver is enough to last for a year."
Chen Xing was dumbfounded, thinking about what Gu Lang had said, a bad feeling gradually rose in his heart. He asked probingly, "Then at least, how much does a shop in East Street cost?"
The Granny looked at him with increasing pity, mixed with, 'This child, instead of working hard, only thinking about what was not there all day.'
But even so, the old woman answered Chen Xing's question, "The shop is not affordable for a person like us, I only know that the cheapest shop there costs five taels of silver a year of rent."
Chen Xing immediately fell silent. He had thought it would be worth a lot of money, but he had never thought it would be that expensive. When he thought of the way Gu Lang looked at him last night when he said he wanted to give the money back, he feared that Gu Lang probably thought he was a little fool who didn't know anything at all, right?
Not knowing what Chen Xing was thinking, she thought he was probably imagining something unrealistic again, patted him on the arm and said in a sincere and serious tone, "You are still young. Being a person, you have to work in a down-to-earth manner, step by step, don't think about attaining the highest level in one step.1"
Chen Xing knew that the old granny had misunderstood him, but he did not argue and nodded obediently, remembering what he had planned to do, so he directly asked, "Grandma, where is the nearest vegetable market from here?"
The granny not only gave him direction but also told him all about the recent prices of vegetables there, fearing that he would be lied to.
Chen Xing was extremely grateful for her help, so after he thanked her, he left in such a hurry.
Only when Chen Xing was gone and they couldn't see his shadow anymore, did her grandson look up at the old woman and say in dissatisfaction, "Grandma, why were you so kind to that person? Made us lose a bowl of wonton."
The grandmother stroked her grandson's head with her big and rough hand then said dotingly, "That boy has been standing here for half a day, only looking but not buying, so he must have drool over the sight of food but did not have money to buy. He looks quite pitiful."
The grandson pouted his lips, he was still somewhat unhappy.
The old lady looked at her grandson who was sulky by himself, she only smiled as she shook her head. She didn't say anything anymore to him, but turned around and went to clean up the table. As soon as she turned her head, she saw a few copper coins on the table, no more and no less, it was the exact money for the bowl of wonton that Chen Xing had eaten.
Chen Xing gave the old lady the last of his savings and after finding the market, he only took a look around the market to find out the types of food and prices before he went back to Gu Family's house empty-handed.
Chen Xing went to his room to change his sweaty clothes and he only went to the kitchen when it was almost time to cook. Before he entered the kitchen, at first glance, he saw Qiu Jiu standing in the middle of the kitchen staring blankly at the wooden barrel.
When he heard the sound of Chen Xing entering, Qiu Jiu raised his head with a whoosh and looked straight at him.
Chen Xing felt that it might be his misperception but he always felt that Qiu Jiu's eyes lit up the moment he saw him.
Qiu Jiu looked at Chen Xing who had entered and said excitedly, "You come here quickly, I've prepared the ingredients for lunch. Look, do you know how to make it?"
Chen Xing walked over and looked at the ingredients he mentioned, a fish in the water, a pile of fresh green vegetables and a basket of eggs.
Chen Xing thought about the price he had just asked at the food market and then looked at the ingredients in front of him, he always felt something was strange. He was at a loss for a moment, but still hesitated and asked, "Do you guys often eat these things?"
At first, Qiu Jiu didn't respond to Chen Xing's question and why he even asked something like this, but when he saw Chen Xing staring at the ingredients with a complicated look on his face, it suddenly occurred to him that something was wrong there. He had just told Chen Xing this morning that his family's young master was very poor, so how could he have come up with so much food in the blink of an eye?
Qiu Jiu immediately felt anxious, Qiu Jiu suddenly thought of something and his eyes lit up as he said this to Chen Xing, "That fish, I caught it in the river and the eggs were given to me by the auntie next door when I saved her grandson while catching the fish."
As he said that, he stared at Chen Xing and nodded his head calmly, in order to increase the credibility of his words.
Although Chen Xing still felt that something was strange there, he did not pursue the matter further as he saw Qiu Jiu's expression as if he was about to swear to the heavens. He looked at Qiu Jiu and said somewhat embarrassedly, "Well, can you help me with the fire? If I do it alone, I might not have enough time."
Seeing that Chen Xing did not pursue the matter, Qiu Jiu immediately became happy and assured him, "No problem, just leave such a small thing as tending the kitchen fire to me!"
While Qiu Jiu was enthusiastically working on the two stoves, Chen Xing took a look at the ingredients and gradually he had an idea in his mind.
With the help and suggestion of Qiu Jiu, it took only an hour for the two of them to prepare the steamed eggs, fried vegetables and fish soup.
Because they were the only three living people in the Gu Residence at the moment, on top of that, they were not outsiders so they did not eat separately.
During lunch, Chen Xing saw this young master of the Gu family who was in dire straits for the second time, and looking at his complexion which was a little better than last night, he felt that he looked even more good-looking than the first time he saw him.
The time Chen Xing was staring at Gu Lang, Gu Lang suddenly raised his head and met his eyes straight on. The corner of his lips curled up and he said in a low voice, "What's wrong?"
Gu Lang's slightly magnetic voice attracted him, Chen Xing couldn't help it as his ears became red so he hurriedly moved his eyes away.
Gu Lang stared at the tips of his red ears, thinking that this little ger was a bit interesting.
Until everyone sat down to eat, only then the heat on Chen Xing's ears subsided for a while, and then he remembered what he had planned to do next and began to hesitate again.
During the meal, Chen Xing was particularly in a dilemma while eating. He looked at Gu Lang again and again. Until they had all finished eating and Qiu Jiu began to clear up the table, Chen Xing still didn't know how to start to talk.
After finishing his meal, Gu Lang looked at Chen Xing who was sitting opposite him, and asked indifferently, "Is there something on my face? During the meal, you have already looked at me no less than ten times."
Chen Xing's face heated up at his words and he looked a bit embarrassed, but after mutterring for a while, he finally summoned up his courage and said, "Precisely, there is something that I want to discuss with you. Can you lend me some money?"
1
[一步登天: reach the sky in a single bound—have a meteoric rise]
Chapter 5: 準備
[Prepare]
After Chen Xing said this, Gu Lang who was sitting opposite him slowly raised his head to look at him and even Qiu Jiu, next to him, stopped cleaning up and stared at him with suspicion.
Facing the two of them who were looking at him with questioning eyes. Chen Xing felt the pressure. He licked his dry lips and told them the plan he had thought of on the way back, "I want to start a small business but now I don't have the capital."
After saying this, Chen Xing himself felt embarrassed. However, when he thought that he could not borrow money because he did not have enough thick skin to do so, how could he would be able to earn money then, let alone to pay Gu Lang's money back, he could only brace himself and continued, "I promise, I will pay it back as soon as I can earn some money."
Gu Lang looked at Chen Xing quietly and only when his face was turning even red did he slowly say, "How much money do you need?"
Hearing Gu Lang unexpectedly answer him like this, Chen Xing who originally prepared to be rejected, raised his head with a swish, and both of his eyes brightened as he stared at Gu Lang, he then said excitedly, "Half a string of 1.000 copper coins."
After saying this, Chen Xing thought of what Qiu Jiu had said to him this morning, suddenly his excitement dissipated, showing some hesitation as he said, "It's okay if it's not that much, I can think of another way."
Gu Lang looked at Chen Xing's dimly gaze and wondered why his heart felt a little uncomfortable, he didn't wait for Chen Xing to continue and directly said, "Okay."
Chen Xing was still calculating in his heart what he was going to buy, a pushcart, two wooden barrels, seasoning for cooking as well as the ingredients, and also thinking about how to keep the cost to the minimum. Unexpectedly, when he heard Gu Lang agreed to it, he raised his head to look at him with a disbelief-look in his eyes.
Gu Lang thought he didn't hear clearly so he lightly tapped the top of the table and repeated, "This money, I can lend it to you." After that, he paused for a moment and especially added, "However you have to pay it back as soon as possible, since I'm very poor!"
Chen Xing's eyes instantly lit up again, he looked at Gu Lang while nodding his head desperately, "Hn, I will pay you back as soon as I can earn the money. I promise!"
Looking at the smile that appeared on Chen Xing's face again, Gu Lang felt that a smiling Chen Xing was much more pleasing to the eyes than Chen Xing who felt disheartened.
Chen Xing was excited for a while because he had borrowed the start-up fund. When he saw Qiu Jiu packing up the tableware and going out, he thought of what he was good at. Right away, he said to Gu Lang, "If you guys think it's okay, let me do the cooking in this house from now on!"
Hearing Chen Xing had made this request himself, Gu Lang was more and more satisfied. He nodded at Chen Xing, it could be counted as agreeing to his proposal.
Gu Lang told Chen Xing to sit here and wait for him while he went to get the money.
Looking at Gu Lang's back as he unhurriedly left, Chen Xing felt that Gu Lang was really a good person, not only did he take him in but he also lent him money although he himself was also in a difficult situation. Wait until he had earned money later, he would definitely give Gu Lang a better life.
Just at the exact time when Chen Xing was giving free rein to his imagination of a better and happy future, Gu Lang came back with a worn-out money bag.
When Gu Lang handed the money bag to Chen Xing, he felt that Chen Xing was looking at him strangely, but he didn't think too much about it. He only thought that he was probably just too happy.
Chen Xing took the money bag and thanked Gu Lang discreetly. He didn't continue to rest as he took the money bag and went out.
Chen Xing first went to the carpenter's place and prepared to buy the big things like the trolley and the barrel and then took the rest of the money to buy the ingredients for tomorrow's cooking.
Who knew that as soon as he went there, Chen Xing realised that he had underestimated the price of the handmade goods here. If he had to buy a new trolley, plus two barrels, he would not have much money left over to buy food. But if he wanted to cook, how could he do it without the ingredients? Could it be that when the moment came, he had to borrow it from Gu Lang again?
As Chen Xing was standing there and in a dilemma, suddenly he saw an outmoded carpenter's shop. In front of it, there was an old and shabby wheelbarrow piled up with miscellaneous items. It looked like it had been abandoned there.
Chen Xing's eyes lit up and he immediately walked over to the shop. After making sure that the vehicle was still usable except for being a bit worn out, he politely asked the old carpenter who was working inside the door, "Grandpa, is that old wheelbarrow at the entrance for sale?"
When he heard Chen Xing's question, the old man who was immersed himself, working on the component, looked up at him. The moment he saw that the person who spoke out was a pretty and charming Ger, his serious expression also relaxed a little.
The old carpenter put down what he was doing and came out. When he saw what Chen Xing was pointing at, he
frowned slightly and said hesitantly, "If you want to buy this vehicle, I will naturally sell it. It's just that this vehicle is too old and may not be that convenient to use."
Hearing this, Chen Xing somewhat hesitated but soon he made up his mind, looked at the old carpenter and said embarrassedly, "The main reason is that I don't have much extra money, so I can only buy the old one. As long as it is still usable, I'll take it."
The old man didn't say anything more when he heard his words, he took away the miscellaneous things and took out the wheelbarrow from the bottom. He then pushed it in front of Chen Xing and said to him, "This thing was originally obsolete, if you want it, I'll price it 50 wen."
Chen Xing had just asked before, if it was a brand new unicycle, it would cost 300 wen, but this one was a bit old but still usable. He nodded and immediately agreed to it.
The old carpenter looked at the happy Chen Xing and was silent for a moment. After he took his money, he told him to wait.
Chen Xing was a bit confused and didn't understand why, but he watched the old carpenter go into the house and bring out a bunch of tools, and then make a continual banging sound as he helped him repair some of the worn-out areas of the old wheelbarrow for half of a day.
Waiting until he had finished all of it, the old carpenter then gave the cart to Chen Xing and said, "There, you can take it away now."
Chen Xing pushed it for a while and felt that the wheelbarrow was better than before, beside that, it was more solid and sturdy. Knowing that the old carpenter had been kind enough to help him, he thanked him sincerely, "Thank you!"
The old carpenter looked at Chen Xing, who was smiling brightly, and gently waved his hand, indicating that he did not need him to say thanks.
By having his own wheelbarrow, Chen Xing bought two more wooden barrels that fit on either side of the unicycle and used the extra money to buy an extra wooden basin that could fit on top of the wooden barrel, and then happily pushed his cart out of this place towards the vegetable market.
On his way to the market, Chen Xing also bought the spices he needed at the grocery store. He would still feel a little distressed when he saw that his money bag was half empty but soon he cheered up and pulled himself together. As long as he sold what he had made, it was only a matter of time before he made his money back.
Chen Xing arrived at the market and went straight to the bean curd stall that he had his eye on. Because he had a large quantity to buy and he needed it fresh, he went over to the stall owner, negotiated the price and asked if it could be delivered to his place.
After learning the quantity Chen Xing wanted and negotiating the price, the stall owner readily agreed to Chen Xing's request for delivery. It was only when Chen Xing mentioned his address that the tofu stall owner's face began to look odd.
Chen Xing sensed that something was wrong with the owner as he looked at him strangely and asked, "What is it? Is there any problem?"
The stall owner looked at Chen Xing's puzzled expression and asked with a bit of fear on his face, "You, this ger, why do you live in a place like that?"
Chen Xing only thought that his question was strange, why couldn't he live in that kind of place? While thinking like this, he also asked him this question directly.
The stall owner looked at him with a complicated expression and asked in a somewhat odd tone, "Do you know who lived there in the past?"
Looking at the stall owner's expression, Chen Xing's suspicion deepened and he asked uncertainly, "Wasn't it the Gu family?"
Hearing his answer, the stall owner was so excited that he slapped his thigh, "That's right, it's the Gu family! Since you know that the Gu family used to live there, then how dare you live there? Are you from abroad?"
Chen Xing hesitated for a moment, not knowing if he transmigrated like this was considered as a foreigner, but still, he nodded his head.
When the stall owner saw him nod, he became more and more agitated, "Then you must have been fooled by the person who rented the room to you, back then, dozens of Gu's family's members died overnight. I heard that blood was spilled all over the place. Everyone thought it was a place with bad luck so they always made a detour and walked around from there."
Hearing what he said, a look of disbelief appeared on Chen Xing's face. Looking at the agitated stall owner, he understood why he was reluctant to go there, but understanding as he was, he indeed couldn't come here to buy it himself, it would delay and take too long of his time.
Hence, Chen Xing looked at the agitated stall owner and discussed with him, "Boss, don't worry, I am still living fine in there and it's not a scary place. If you are afraid, just leave the bean curd outside the gate and I will move it inside by myself."
When the stall owner saw Chen Xing's remain unmoved look, he hesitated for a while but finally nodded and agreed to his proposal.
Chen Xing made an appointment with him when it would be the time to deliver the bean curd, so after he paid him the deposit, he pushed his cart and went back. On his way back, from time to time, he would remember what the stall owner had said.
Since Chen Xing was very fast, when he returned to the house, there was still some time before dinner, so he did not rush to cook dinner. Instead, he pushed the wheelbarrow and its contents into the courtyard where the kitchen was located. After putting the spices in the kitchen, tidying it up, he started boiling the water, preparing to boil and clean the newly purchased utensils.
The moment he got busy, he became occupied with it for a long time. When he had finished boiling the water, he saw, not knowing since when Qiu Jiu had come over at some point, sneaking into the courtyard and looking around at his new purchases with a curious look on his face.
Chen Xing looked at his curious face and asked with a smile, "What are you looking at?"
Qiu Jiu raised his eyes and turned to look in his direction. His eyes flashed with some curiosity as he pointed at those piles of strange things and asked, "What kind of food are you prepared to make with these things?"
Looking at his curious eyes, Chen Xing smiled and said cheerfully, "Wait for tomorrow, tomorrow you will be able to see the new food I made. I guarantee you'll like it too."
Chapter 6:麻婆豆腐
Mapo Tofu1]
The next day, Chen Xing came to pick up the bean curd at the door at the appointed time and after hearing a knock at the door, he immediately opened the gate of Gu family's residence.
The stall owner who had originally raised his hand to knock on the door was obviously startled by the sudden opening of the gate, a look of embarrassment surfaced on his face while he could not help but shiver after looking pass through Chen Xing's shoulder and seeing the sight behind him.
Chen Xing looked at his panic-stricken reaction and somewhat did not know why he was like this, "What's wrong?"
Hearing the sound of his voice, the stall owner immediately came back to his senses with a jolt, thinking of what he had come over for, he quickly pointed at the tofu placed aside and said nervously, "This is your tofu."
Chen Xing looked at the quality of the tofu, which was all freshly made today, so after nodding to him, he gave him the rest of the money as well as the deposit money for tomorrow.
After the stall owner received the money, once again, he took a look at the direction inside the door. He shivered again and ran away as if he was being chased by a ghost.
Looking at the stall owner's panicked back as he hurriedly ran away, Chen Xing shrugged his shoulders and bent down to pick up the tray of tofu on the floor. The moment he turned around and saw the overgrown weeds on the courtyard behind him, he suddenly fell silent for a moment, as if he could somewhat understand why the stall owner had given that kind of expression just now.
However, looking at the weeds in front of him, Chen Xing started to think about another issue. He wanted to raise some animals here, so that he could get rid of the weeds and have more meat to eat. But he still had to discuss this to Gu Lang about this, after all, he was the owner of the place.
Qiu Jiu, who was originally in the kitchen boiling the medicine, was distracted by the thought of what he was going to have for breakfast later and also by the thought of what Chen Xing had gone out to do. When he saw Chen Xing returning with a tray of tofu in his arms, he was instantly curious, could it be that the food Chen Xing mentioned had something to do with this?
But although he was puzzled, Qiu Jiu did not open his mouth to ask because he saw that Chen Xing had already put down that plate of tofu and started to prepare today's breakfast.
The people here usually only ate two meals, but since Gu Lang was not in good health and could not starve yet also could not eat too much, therefore he ate three meals a day, to the extent that Chen Xing and Qiu Jiu followed him to eat like this. Concerning this, Chen Xing was very satisfied.
As soon as Chen Xing got up, he made soup from the bones left over from yesterday's fish dishes. In such a short time when he went to get the tofu, the soup was almost done. He ladled out three bowlfuls with a spoon, then added water to it and brought it to the boil, then added the noodles he had made last night.
The noodles were put into the boiling water. He then lifted it out of the water and put it directly into the thick white soup, topped with the seasonings and sprinkled with some chopped green onion, making it look particularly delicious.
Qiu Jiu sucked in the drool that was about to flow out of his mouth and came over to Chen Xing as he excitedly said, "This noodle you made smells much better than the one I made!"
Chen Xing just smiled at Qiu Jiu's words and didn't answer, then pointed at the bowl of noodles with a soft yolk of the cooked egg and said to Qiu Jiu, "Gu Gongzi is not in good health and the noodles are not easy to digest, so I put a little less in it for him and added an extra egg, so it's a balanced nutrition."
Qiu Jiu nodded and finished his own noodles first, then picked up Gu Lang's medicine as well as the noodles and went out.
Wait until Qiu Jiu left, Chen Xing leisurely finished his own bowl of noodles and guessed the time to start working on those tofu.
Before making the tofu, Chen Xing cooked the rice first. He brought in the clean bucket and put the tofu cut into small pieces in it, until all the tofu was cut, the smell of the rice came out.
Chen Xing set up a wok on the top of the stove and prepared all the seasonings, then poured oil into the wok and began to fry the vegetables. Soon, a nice chilli aroma wafted up from the kitchen.
Until the dish was ready, Chen Xing tasted it first. Although the taste of the dish was affected by frying too much in one pot, but as a snack to sell, this taste was enough.
Chen Xing put the finished dishes and rice into separate buckets, covered them as he prepared to carry them and put them on the wheelbarrow.
Qiu Jiu returned with an empty bowl as he prepared to see what he would eat for lunch. He could not help but swallow his saliva when he smelled the remaining fragrance inside the kitchen and looked at Chen Xing, "What are you making? Why does it smell so good?"
Chen Xing looked at Qiu Jiu's gluttonous (fond of good food) face and smiled, "I made mapo tofu and saved some for you guys to eat at lunch today."
Qiu Jiu's eyes immediately lit up and he hurriedly ran to Chen Xing as he excitedly asked, "Where is it?"
Chen Xing stretched out his hand and pointed it out, only to see two plates of mapo tofu and a plate of stir-fried vegetables in the pot that still had residual heat. He then said to Qiu Jiu who was so excited and impatient to get the dishes, "Gu Gongzi has a weak stomach, so the less spicy one is for him."
Qiu Jiu nodded his head like a chicken pecking rice, indicating that he knew.
Chen Xing also didn't say anything anymore, only telling him that he would be back to cook before dinner and went to move those two wooden barrels.
While imagining what the two dishes would taste like, Qiu Jiu glance from the corner of his eye and saw Chen Xing trying to pick up a wooden bucket with some difficulty, he suddenly froze for a moment, then walked over and took the bucket from Chen Xing's hand before the person could react. Looking at the unresponsive Chen Xing, he smiled, "I'm quite strong. I'll help you carry it."
Chen Xing still wanted to refuse, but he saw Qiu Jiu striding out energetically with the wooden barrel in his arms, easily putting the barrel on the wheelbarrow before then coming back and picking up the other one and placing it on the other side.
When they were all done, Qiu Jiu turned his head and smiled at Chen Xing and said, "It's done."
As Chen Xing watched Qiu Jiu's series of actions, he felt that you shouldn't judge people from his appearance. After thanking him, he pushed the wheelbarrow and left.
Looking at Chen Xing's departed back, Qiu Jiu sighed in his heart and then, as if he had thought of something, he ran back to the kitchen in a flash, picked up the dishes Chen Xing had left for them and served two more bowls of rice before heading to the dining area. At this hour, it was time to eat!
Chen Xing pushed his wheelbarrow towards the main street and as he walked, he was thinking in his heart about where he was going to sell it, how much he should sell it for and how he should shout the slogans so he could attract more customers.
When Chen Xing arrived at the street, he found that there were no good spots left in the street, so he had no choice but to choose a corner that was not too remote.
By the time Chen Xing had set up the wheelbarrow and took out the bowls and chopsticks from the wooden basin, the street had gradually become more crowded with pedestrians.
Looking at the groups of pedestrians walking past, Chen Xing took a deep breath, then uncovered the lid of the wooden bucket with the dishes inside and shouted, "Mapo tofu! Spicy and fragrant mapo tofu! Guarantee you've never eaten this mapo tofu before, if you pass by, then don't miss it!"
The youngster's clear voice rang out in the street, attracting the attention of many people.
A man who had a high curiosity came to Chen Xing's stall, smelled the thick and fragrant smell, swallowed his saliva and asked somewhat skeptically, "Is this really delicious?"
Chen Xing gave him a smile and said directly, "Whether it is delicious or not, you will know when you taste it."
At first, the man was only asking but now he was fascinated by Chen Xing's smile and coughed to cover It, before continuing to ask, "Then how do you sell it?"
Seeing that he was thinking of buying it, the smile on Chen Xing's face became more and more sincere, "Eight wen for a bowl, with meat in it, I guarantee that after you have eaten one bowl, you will want to eat the second one."
Hearing that it was sold at such a high price, the man was a bit hesitant, after all, this amount of money could buy four big meat stuffed steamed buns. But after smelling the aroma and looking at Chen Xing's smile, he gritted his teeth and still bought a bowl.
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[麻婆豆腐 : pockmarked grandma's bean curd —stir-fried bean curd in chili sauce (attributed to an old woman with pockmarks)]
Chapter 7 :養動物
[Raising Animals]
As word of mouth spread, Chen Xing's business got better and better every day, and more and more people came, sometimes there were already people waiting for him before he even arrived at the place.
Today Chen Xing had just found a place to put his wheelbarrow when the old lady who had been waiting there for a long time shouted, "You, this little boss, why do you always come so late? My grandson is still waiting to eat it. Oh right, remember to give me some more today!"
After saying that, she handed Chen Xing a large bowl she had brought with her and let Chen Xing help her with today's meal.
Chen Xing looked at the fact that she came to buy it every day and did not mind about the extra advantage she took. He gave her the rice, smiling as he said, "Here, Aunt Shèng, here's yours!"
Aunt Shèng took the meal and looked at Chen Xing's smiling face. She tried to hold back but in the end, she couldn't hold back anymore and came up to Chen Xing as she asked, "Little boss, how do you make this tofu, it's so delicious. Can you teach me? My grandson loves to eat this."
This was the first time Chen Xing had ever encountered such a question and for a moment, he was at a loss as to how to answer.
At this time, when Chen Xing was in a dilemma, the man behind Aunt Shèng in the queue already shouted, "Madam, are you old and muddle-headed? This is the little boss's secret recipe, can he tell you? After buying, just quickly go! Don't delay our meal's time!"
Aunt Shèng was angry and about to turn her head, wanted to argue with him but when she turned her head, she saw some big, tall and sturdy men, she was also afraid, therefore after complaining a few times, she left. If it wasn't for her grandson eating this then he would eat more, she wouldn't have come to buy this stuff. What bad luck!
Seeing that Aunt Shèng had left, Chen Xing smiled at the man who had spoken for him, took the money he gave him and gave him a bowl of rice. He especially gave him a little more extra mapo tofu for him.
As business was booming on Chen Xing's side, a restaurant located diagonally opposite to him, a woman was leaning against the wall, her eyes staring viciously in Chen Xing's direction as she laughed contemptuously, "Fox charming~ just relying on seducing men to do business."
The young waiter next to the woman, looked at his own charming and flirtatious female boss, and then he looked at the plainly dressed, down-to-earth little Ger over there and did not dare to comment on this.
The woman stared at Chen Xing for a while, before she saw a sloppy figure entering the shop, her face immediately became flattering as she smiled at the man and said, "Lai Jiu Ge, why do you have free time to come here today?"
Lai Jiu didn't look at her, he went straight to find a seat and sat down as he nonchalantly said, "Naturally, I came here because I had something to do. Hurry up, serve me some food! I have to go to work after eating. By the way, put in some more meat! My mouth felt as if it had no taste for the past two days."
The smile on the woman's face froze for a moment, looking seriously at Lai Jiu who only cared asking for wine, but in the end, she still didn't dare to say anything back.
Until that woman finished ordering the cook, she came out again. Lai Jiu was looking at the restaurant and said suspiciously, "Boss Qiao, why is your shop so deserted?"
The shop that was originally able to provide seats for more than a dozen customers, only had seven or eight tables occupied at the moment.
Boss Qiao looked at Lai Jiu and complained, "You don't know, recently we have another food vendor here. He only sells one kind of dish, but he steals most of our business."
Lai Jiu was a bit curious, "Selling just one dish and he can steal so much of your business?"
Dissatisfied, Boss Qiao continued, "Exactly, if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I also would not believe it."
Lai Jiu suddenly became interested, looked at Boss Qiao and asked, "That's quite interesting. Where is the person you are talking about?"
Seeing that Lai Jiu was interested, Boss Qiao's eyes quickly flashed with a dim light. She guided Lai Jiu to the front doror where he could see Chen Xing and pointed at Chen Xing as she said, "Look, it's right there."
Lai Jiu looked in the direction she pointed. At the first glance, he saw a beautiful Ger smiling while handing over the meal to people. At second glance, he saw people lined up in front of him and seeing that the people lined up there were many times more people than the customers in other places, thus he also believed Boss Qiao's statement.
While Lai Jiu was staring at that place, Boss Qiao whispered in his ear, "That Ger set up his stall alone every day, The raw materials he used are also cheap. I don't know how much money he has made now and I also don't know how he can afford to take advantage of those men?"
Lai Jiu stared at Chen Xing's face as his mind gradually moved to think that if he could get that Ger, wouldn't it be that he could obtain the money and also the beauty?
Chen Xing was still busy at this moment. He did not know that he was being watched,so after an hour of work, he finally finished selling all the food. He told those who could not buy it that there was no more food left before then he closed his stall with the background sound of their complaints.
Since Chen Xing was very fast in selling it all, he came back quite early. He went back to sleep and after he woke up, he went directly to the kitchen to prepare for dinner.
On the way to the kitchen, Chen Xing looked at the weeds growing freely in the yard and thought it was time to put the matter of buying animals on the agenda.
As soon as Chen Xing started to work in the kitchen, Qiu Jiu walked in slowly as if he had timed it, looked at the vegetables on the chopping board and asked curiously, "What are we going to eat for dinner tonight?"
Chen Xing didn't even look up, bowing his head down while continuing to work on the things in his hands, he replied, "I'm going to make a cold eggplant dressed with sauce, a sliced cabbage, a scrambled egg with tomatoes, and a soup of three delicacies."
Qiu Jiu noticed something, "Why are there so many cold dishes today?"
Chen Xing put the eggplants into the pot to boiled and answered his question in a soft voice, "The weather has been getting hotter lately and the food is a bit slow to cool down naturally, so I might as well just make it cold so that Gu Gongzi doesn't have to wait. In fact, I would like to make a shredded chicken which is even more delicious, but the chicken is too expensive, so I can't buy it until I earn the money for another two days."
Hearing the first half of Chen Xing's words, Qiu Jiu was a little moved by the fact that Chen Xing was unexpectedly so kind to his family's young master. When he heard the latter half of Chen Xing's words and remembered Chen Xing's past skills, Qiu Jiu swallowed his saliva and began to think about how he could get a chicken home reasonably for this 'in name only' poor family.
Chen Xing was very quick, in less than a minute, he had already prepared three dishes and a soup.
Waiting until Chen Xing and Qiu Jiu arrived at the dining room with the dishes, they saw that Gu Lang was already sitting upright in his seat, ready to start the meal.
Chen Xing saw Gu Lang's upright posture, he inexplicably felt that Gu Lang was like a little boy waiting for the adults to start the meal, therefore he burst out laughing, causing the other two people to look at him.
Chen Xing hastily averted his expression and explained to Gu Lang who was staring at him, "Just now, I only thought of something funny."
Hearing Chen Xing say it like this, the two of them didn't look further into the matter and prepared to eat the meal.
In the past, because Gu Lang could not eat anything too hot, he would always put the dish he wanted to eat on a plate and wait for it to get cold before eating it. Usually, by the time he could eat, Chen Xing and Qiu Jiu would have already eaten half a bowl of rice.
Although Gu Lang did not say anything every time, Chen Xing however could feel that he must not feel really happy about it. Today was different though because most of the dishes on the table were cold dishes,so Gu Lang did not need to wait for too long. He could feel that Gu Lang was in a much happier mood.
Until the three of them had finished eating, Chen Xing hesitated for a moment, before he then told Gu Lang what he wanted to do, "Gu Gongzi, can I raise something in the courtyard?"
Hearing his words, Gu Lang was a bit stunned and looked at him in confusion, a bit unsure why, "Raising what kind of animals?"
Chen Xing touched his own nose and said with some embarrassment, "I haven't thought about it yet, but I think we can't waste all the grass in the courtyard! We can raise chickens, goats,etc and when we have enough money, we can raise a cow. This way we will not only save the money from buying meat, but if we even sell the animals, we will have an income to supplement the family expenses."
Seeing Chen Xing getting more and more excited as he talked, Qiu Jiu who had already tidied up the bowls, quietly glanced at his family's young master who did not like dirty and messy (place). As expected, his handsome face had become colder and colder.
Chen Xing finished talking about his plans with great enthusiasm. However, he found out that the person opposite him did not say anything. He looked at his direction strangely, a puzzled look appeared on his face, "What's wrong? Can't I?"
Qiu Jiu dared to swear that the moment Chen Xing looked at his young master, his young master's face, which no one would dare to say any nonsense if they had seen him, immediately softened.
Gu Lang looked at Chen Xing who was full of expectation as he stared at him and that decisive, 'No!' was stuck in his throat. He changed it to a more euphemistic way, "I'm not well. I don't like noise."
Chen Xing heard him talk like that, although he was a little disappointed, he did not fail to understand that Gu Lang's health was not good, so that was why he needed to rest quietly and recuperate properly. He could only nod in a depressed mood and sighed, "Okay then, I thought that I had found another way to earn money."
Chen Xing said goodbye to them and went to the kitchen to prepare the ingredients for tomorrow's breakfast. On the way, he was still calculating in his heart that since he could not raise chickens now, therefore he could only wait for a few days to pass, when he earned more money and bought a chicken for Gu Lang to supplement his health.
Looking at Chen Xing's disappointed back as he went away, Gu Lang pursed his lips and asked Qiu Jiu who was standing silly next to him, "Why would he think that way?"
Qiu Jiu pondered for a moment, thinking of Chen Xing's recent words and he gave a less certain kind of answer, "Maybe Chen Xing thinks we are too poor and wants to help to increase our income a bit. However since we usually say something like that, it's no wonder that he will think that way, I think…"
Qiu Jiu hadn't finished talking yet he silently closed his mouth after a stern knife gaze from Gu Lang.
Gu Lang looked at the direction where Chen Xing left and was silent for a moment, then he said, "Later, you get someone to take care of all the grass in the courtyard, especially the one in front of Chen Xing's room."
Gu Lang knew that Chen Xing felt that the grass in the courtyard was too much like a ghost house, but he had never cared about it, so he did not think of clearing it. But since Chen Xing cared, it was better to get rid of it, so that he wouldn't have to think too much about it.
Gu Lang defined his behaviour as not wanting Chen Xing to have any more strange thoughts and that was all, but he didn't know that something had already gone off the rails.
Chapter 8 : 被欺負
[Being bullied]
"Little boss, I want two bowls today!"
The woman's loud and clear voice was extraordinarily loud in the bustling street.
"Yes!" A cheerful voice then rang out, followed by two bowls of fragrant and tasty mapo tofu mixed with rice being handed to the shouter.
That person took the meal that was given to her and left. The people waiting behind her immediately lined up.
Chen Xing collected the money in high-speed and served the rice to the customers with his quick and neat hands.
Just as Chen Xing was busy, bustling with activity, an extraordinarily arrogant voice came from the back of the crowd, "Get out of the way. All of you, get out of the way and let me in!"
The customers in front of Chen Xing split into two lines, revealing the person shouting behind them.
Chen Xing looked at the man who was walking with an extremely arrogant posture and had a few helpers behind him, pursed his lips and was secretly on guard.
Lai Jiu watched from the side for half a day and found that this little ger's business was even better than he had imagined. Moreover, the raw material in his dish was only tofu and a few bits of minced meat (usually pork). Surely after the capital, he could earn even more money,so this made him more and more enthusiastic.
When Lai Jiu walked up to Chen Xing and looked at the fair-skinned, delicate-faced Ger in front of him. His desire grew more and more as he was ready to make trouble. If he could marry him, he would have the person to work hard for him in the future. The person would be his and the money would even more so.
Thinking of this, Lai Jiu's gaze on Chen Xing grew hotter and hotter and a greasy ( slippery) smile appeared on his face, "Do you know who I am?"
Chen Xing only felt that the man in front of him was looking at himself with some disgusting gaze, but he didn't think much of it. Hearing him ask this, he subconsciously shook his head and said softly, "I don't know."
The smile on Lai Jiu's face grew bigger and bigger. He stared at Chen Xing with a nasty smile, curled up the corners of his mouth and said in a low voice, "It doesn't matter if you don't know me. Later, you just need to get to know me. Now let me tell you, my name is Lai Jiu. All the vendors in these two streets are covered by me."
Chen Xing nodded hesitantly, wondering why he was telling him this? Did he want him to pay protection fees? He didn't want to take out even a single cent of the money he had worked so hard and had earned in these past few days.
Lai Jiu saw that Chen Xing was behaving quite meekly, his scheming heart grew even more as the expression on his face became more and more smug (pleased with himself) looking at Chen Xing with determined to win expression, "How about this? You give me ten taels of silver and I will cover you from now on."
Then after a pause, he looked at Chen Xing's face and continued, "Otherwise, it's also fine if you marry me, as long as you marry me, you won't have to worry about any trouble in the future."
Chen Xing stared at him incredibly, not expecting that he himself, a grown up man, would actually have a day when he would be forcibly robbed by a civilian male.
Lai Jiu looked at Chen Xing while his heart became more and more tickled. He came up to Chen Xing, raised his hand and wanted to touch his face, but who knew that before he could touch Chen Xing, his hand was slapped away by him.
Lai Jiu covered his ached hand that was slapped, before he looked at Chen Xing again who was looking at him with disgust, he suddenly felt an indescribable anger in his heart. He kicked the wheelbarrow and all the bucket, overturned it, spilling the rice and the mapo tofu inside onto the ground. The crowd around them, even cried out in shock.
Chen Xing stared angrily at the arrogant man in front of him, clenched his fist.
Lai Jiu looked at his angry face and laughed instead. He loudly said, "It's your honour that this master takes a fancy on you. If you don't give me the money, then give me the person. Otherwise, I'll destroy your stall once you show up in the future."
After saying those words, Lai Jiu gave his greeting, taking his men with him and left.
"Chen Xing, are you all right?"
Just when Chen Xing was staring angrily at the back of Lai Jiu and his underlings, as he wanted to go over and beat him up, suddenly an old voice sounded in his ears. Turning his head over, he saw Grandma Sun who was being helped by his grandson.
Looking at Chen Xing's face, Grandma Sun knew that he was angry, but she could only advise him, "Xiao Xing, don't be impulsive! He is the son of Master (Shiye)1 Lai's family, we ordinary people can't fight against him."
Chen Xing somewhat couldn't understand and still sounded very angry, "Is there no law here?"
Granny Sun looked at Chen Xing, a bit of helplessness appeared on her wrinkled face as she advised Chen Xing, "You don't know that Master Lai has been here for a long time and has accumulated a lot of connections. Even the newly appointed County magistrate can't do anything about him. Listen to Grandma's words, since you are new here, so don't act on impulse! For the next few days, you must think of a way to avoid him. He's a scoundrel, he could and would do anything, don't let yourself suffer disadvantage!"
Chen Xing looked at the concern in Granny Sun's eyes and gradually calmed down as he said with some resignation, "Grandma, I know. I won't be impulsive."
Not far away, Qiu Jiu was carrying a chicken with great joy, thinking that he had finally found an excuse to buy a chicken and that today they would be able to eat that shredded chicken. As a result, the moment he looked up, he saw Chen Xing's wheelbarrow fall to the ground with the rice and mapo tofu all over the place.
Qiu Jiu showed a puzzled face, after a moment of thought, he went over to the pancake (Jianbing) vendor and asked directly, "What's going on there?"
That peddler looked in the direction he pointed and said in a slightly sympathetic tone,"What else can it be? It's just that Lai Jiu has taken a fancy to that little Ger. That little Ger didn't comply, Lai Jiu gave him a hard time. Really, that little Ger is also quite pitiful that Lai Jiu has taken a fancy to him."
A dark light appeared in Qiu Jiu's eyes that soon disappeared again as he looked at the hawker and continued, "Is there no one to control such things happening in such broad daylight?"
The hawker laughed scornfully, "Just from the look of it, you're not from here, right? You don't even know this."
Hearing his words, Qiu Jiu was not angry and said as he grinned, "That's right ah, I have only been here with my young master for a few days, so I don't know much about the situation here. This big brother, from the look of it, knows a lot of things, if you don't mind, can you tell me about it?"
The hawker was flattered by Qiu Jiu and enjoyed it very much. He told him about Lai Jiu and what he usually liked to do in his spare time.
Chen Xing had suffered an unexpected disaster today, even his unicycle had been kicked over, so naturally he could not continue selling and had to go back early. But luckily, by the time Lai Jiu appeared, he had already sold almost everything and there was only less than half a bucket of Ma Po Tofu left in the barrel, so the loss was not too serious.
Chen Xing took all his things back to the Gu family's residence. He first washed and dried the dirty wheelbarrow and bucket before taking a bath.
Until Chen Xing came out of the bathroom and was about to go back to his room to rest, he saw a person standing in the hall (living) room which was usually empty.
Chen Xing raised his eyes and looked towards the person, only to see Gu Lang standing in front of the table, dressed in a crescent-coloured (ivory-coloured or creamy white) cloth. His long hair was casually styled or set with a simple hairpin. His pale skin added a touch of fragility to his handsome face. His sleeves were loosely pulled up to his arms, revealing a somewhat thin, yet smooth figure. His bony hand, holding a black coloured brush, was on the table, sketching something on a piece of paper laid out on the table.
Chen Xing stood there looking at him, thinking that even according to their modern aesthetics, Gu Lang was a very good-looking man, not to mention that in this era when ordinary people didn't particularly dress up, such a naturally beautiful man could be considered extremely rare.
Just while Chen Xing was deeply absorbed as he looked at Gu Lang, Gu Lang just finished his painting, slowly put down his brush, raised his head to look at Chen Xing who was in a daze, hooked his lips and said softly, "What are you looking at? You looked so fascinated?"
As soon as Gu Lang's voice rang out, Chen Xing snapped back to his senses. By the time his eyes met Gu Lang's deeply concerned eyes, he didn't know why he suddenly felt a little hot in the face. He panicked and averted his eyes, "No, I wasn't thinking about anything."
Gu Lang looked at Chen Xing's appearance which the more one tried to hide, the more he was exposed; where he tried to cover it up, but only to make it more conspicuous, therefore he did not continue to ask. He just gently picked up the painting on the table, as if he was admiring his own painting, and then asked as if he was not purposely asking (did not pay attention), "Why did you come back so early today? Did you encounter something?"
Chen Xing instantly thought of what had just happened and his originally radiant and bursting with life's face instantly turned gloomy, however he quickly adjusted himself again as he looked up at Gu Lang and smiled, "Nothing, I just came back a little early because I sold it relatively quick today."
Gu Lang raised his eyes to look at him. In those deep black eyes which seemed to be hiding something extremely secretive, even Chen Xing who looked at him, wondering if he had said something wrong.
Luckily, Gu Lang only looked at him for a moment before he smiled towards him and said in a warm voice, "I just think that if you are in any kind of trouble, you can talk to me about it. Maybe I can help you out."
Chen Xing looked at Gu Lang's smile that seemed to have the power to bewitch him and was stunned for a moment, but he soon came back to his senses. He shook his head towards him and said cheerfully, "Rest assured ba, if there is something I can't solve, I will definitely discuss it with you."
Gu Lang stared at the smiling face Chen Xing for a moment before quickly averting his eyes again and gently responding, "Hn."
"Oh by the way, recently I have earned some money. Just now, when I came back I saw people selling chicken, so I bought one back. We will have chicken stew tonight." Speaking of this, Chen Xing looked like he just thought of something, a bit embarrassed appeared on his face, "But that chicken is rather small, so maybe each person won't get much of it."
"It doesn't matter." Gu Lang kept looking at Chen Xing, something unknown flickering in his eyes, "I also have to thank you a lot for that, after all, because of you, we are able to eat meat."
Being looked at by Gu Lang like this, Chen Xing felt more and more uncomfortable, he touched his burning hot cheeks again and laughed, "I usually still eat and use your food and place, this is nothing. Oh that's right, now I'm going to prepare and cook the chicken stew, then I'll go to the kitchen first."
After Gu Lang nodded his head, Chen Xing turned around and ran away.
Gu Lang looked at Chen Xing's figure as he ran away and laughed at him, "Silly thing, when you're bullied, you won't even tell me."
After that, Gu Lang lowered his eyes, looked at the picture of the bird in his hand, and said indifferently, "Filthy things should be cleaned up all together."
Tl: Really like that last sentence
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[师爷 (shiye): private assistant attending to legal, fiscal or secretarial duties in a local Yamen; private adviser]
Chapter 9 : 交流
Interaction
Chen Xing was woken up the next day by the sound of rain falling on the eaves, making a pitter-patter sound. The moment he opened his eyes, he felt that the air in the house was pleasantly cooler than usual.
Chen Xing dawdled under the quilt for a while, feeling the rare slight chill in the air, before he slowly got up and dressed.
When Chen Xing opened the window of his room, he looked outside and felt the slight coolness of the heavy rain, but at the same time, he felt a bit more melancholy in his heart. He had originally planned to go out today to find out more about Lai Jiu, but now it seemed that he would go another day.
Although he couldn't go, Chen Xing wasn't that disappointed. He could use the time to rest a little, sort out his mood, wash up and then go to the kitchen to prepare breakfast.
Wait until Chen Xing arrived at the kitchen, he found that Gu Lang was the one boiling the medicine today, while Qiu Jiu was nowhere to be found.
As Chen Xing stepped into the kitchen, Gu Lang also seemed to have sensed Chen Xing's arrival. He put down the cattail leaf fan in his hand and turned his head to look at Chen Xing, seeing that he had a dumbfounded look on his face and said softly, "What's the matter?"
Chen Xing pursed his lips, a little embarrassed, but still asked in a small voice, "Usually, isn't Qiu Jiu the one who boils the medicine?"
Gu Lang looked at Chen Xing with a warm and gentle smile as he said softly, "I have something for Qiu Jiu to do, so I can only boil this medicine myself."
Chen Xing looked at Gu Lang dressed in a bluish white (pale blue) robe, even when he was sitting on a short chair, he did not lose any of his aura, even the not very bright kitchen was brightened up by him.
Chen Xing felt that a man like Gu Lang should not sit in this kind of place, but in the study room, reading or painting, and just doing something elegant.
With this in mind, Chen Xing looked at Gu Lang and said directly, "If Qiu Jiu is not home in the future, I will help you boil medicine. You are not well, so being surrounded by flames and smoke while staying in the kitchen for too long is not good for your lungs."
Gu Lang kept staring at Chen Xing. Naturally, he did not miss the stunned look that unconsciously revealed out of his eyes, he had seen this kind of infatuation in many people's eyes, but the way Chen Xing looked at him was the only one that did not turn him off.
Gu Lang smiled toward Chen Xing and said gently, "No need, this medicine of mine is a bit troublesome, there are rules that you have to pay attention to, about what medicine and when to put it in."
After he heard Gu Lang say this, Chen Xing subconsciously wanted to say that he could also learn how to do it, but then he thought that this was medicine, not a food and that if you eat bad food, you will still suffer from diarrhea, let alone the medicine, so he dismissed this idea, but the look on his face could not help but take on a bit of feeling blue.
Gu Lang looked at his expression and after a few seconds of silence, he said, "You've already helped us a lot by helping us cook three meals a day. After all, in the past, when you weren't here, Qiu Jiu and I ate casually, so you just have to do what you're good at."
Hearing Gu Lang's comfort, Chen Xing's mood improved again as he smiled and said, "Hn, I know, is it okay to have steamed dumplings1 and congee for breakfast today?"
Gu Lang looked at Chen Xing's renewed smiling face and instantly felt that Chen Xing was particularly easy to coax. At this moment, hearing his words, he answered in a low voice, "Whatever you make is fine."
Hearing Gu Lang's low and deep voice, Chen Xing's ears reddened for some reason. He always felt that there was something strange about Gu Lang's words, but he couldn't say what was strange. He could only turn his head over and do his work with his reddened ears.
It was raining outside and the two people inside were busy, neither of them talking, so it was quiet.
Amidst the slowly rising fragrance of the herbs, Gu Lang asked, as if inadvertently, "Why can you cook so many varieties of foods, and you are also so good at it?"
Chen Xing, who was wrapping a dumpling, heard him ask such a question, answered smoothly and blurted out without thinking, "It's a family tradition!"
After saying this, Chen Xing seemed to realize what was just happened and stopped what he was doing, turning his head to look at Gu Lang who was sitting in front of the medicine stove, but he was staring at the fire in front of the stove with a serious expression, as if he didn't notice anything wrong in his words.
Chen Xing breathed a sigh of relief and said directly, "Although I am Master Chen's child, my mother died early and I have no status in the house, I am just like a servant. I learnt my cooking skill when I was helping in the kitchen. I am probably talented, so I learned it better."
Gu Lang listened to Chen Xing's words and compared it with the information he had found, and found that there were many inconsistencies. Gu Lang raised his head as he looked at Chen Xing, however Chen Xing did not show any difference. He was seriously making dumplings while he continued to chat with him, little by little, describing what he wanted to know.
Time passed slowly as they talked.
When Chen Xing's steamed stuffed buns were ready, he wanted to ask Gu Lang when he was going to eat them, but then he saw Gu Lang picking up the chinese medicine in front of him that he had let it cooled down and drank it all in one gulp.
As he watched Gu Lang finish the medicine without changing his face, Chen Xing looked at him with admiration. How could he drink something so bitter and not have a reaction to it?
Perhaps Chen Xing's gaze was so intense that when Gu Lang finished drinking and turned his head to look at him, he saw Chen Xing looking at himself with admiration in his beautiful eyes.
Gu Lang was stunned. He was a little confused as to why Chen Xing had such a look on his face, "What's wrong?"
"Huh? Nothing, I just want to ask, are we going to have dinner now?" Chen Xing hurriedly withdrew his eyes, only to feel that the way he was staring at Gu Lang was extraordinarily silly, therefore he hurriedly changed the topic of the conversation.
"We're going there now."
Getting Gu Lang's permission, Chen Xing was ready to carry the tray with the congee and buns, but who would have thought that when his hand touched the edge of the tray, Gu Lang who had come over at some point, had already picked up the tray before him. The two hands had inadvertently touched each other.
The warmth caused by their fingers touching each other made Chen Xing's hand shrink violently and under Gu Lang's 'not knowing why' gaze, he explained in a panic, "I was just a little shocked."
Looking at Chen Xing's reaction, Gu Lang said in a very good temper, "I'm sorry, it's all my fault."
Seeing Gu Lang's apology, Chen Xing felt more and more embarrassed, it was his own fault for being surprised and making a fuss about nothing so how could he blame Gu Lang? Before he could say anything else, Gu Lang walked ahead with the tray and he hurriedly followed after him.
As they walked along the corridor, looking at the rain that had not yet stopped, Gu Lang suddenly said to Chen Xing, "It is raining heavily today, so you should rest at home and not go out to set up the stall."
Chen Xing, who was still puzzled by his own unusual behaviour, suddenly heard Gu Lang's words and raised his eyes to meet his serious gaze, his heart couldn't help but pounded a little faster.
Seeing that Chen Xing just looked at himself but didn't say anything, Gu Lang couldn't help but continue to ask again, "Can you not go?"
"Huh?"
Seeing that Chen Xing looked like he didn't react, Gu Lang good-naturedly repeated what he had just said, "It's raining heavily today, so you shouldn't go out to set up the stall."
Understanding what Gu Lang had said, Chen Xing nodded and laughed, "I saw that it was raining so heavily today, so of course, I also planned not to go out to set up the stall."
After saying that, he looked at Gu Lang and blushed, "Still, thank you a lot for your concern."
Gu Lang fixedly stared at him for a moment and followed him to the living room with the serving tray.
After the two of them had finished their breakfast in peace and quiet, Gu Lang went to his study room first, while Chen Xing went to his own room to count his money after cleaning up the dishes.
Sitting at the table, Chen Xing looked at the small pile of copper coins 2 in front of him and sighed. The rain today made him suddenly realize that it was too difficult for a peddler like him who pushed a cart to set up his stall, not to have a shelter from the wind and rain.
Chen Xing felt that after settling the matter with Lai Jiu, he would have to consider looking into renting a shop there. But then, the rent would be another expense, thus his savings would be reduced again.
Just at the time Chen Xing was torn between saving up to pay back Gu Lang's money or renting a place that would make him able to do business, keep out from the rain and wind, however, Gu Lang was sitting quietly in his study room, doing nothing as he waited for someone.
Not long after that, there was a knock on the door of the study, then a man whose entire body was drenched with water walked in, this person was Qiu Jiu who had disappeared in the morning.
Qiu Jiu raised his eyes to look at his young master and said solemnly, "Young master, they are all taken care of. Today at the earliest or the day after tomorrow at the latest, someone will be there to deal with them."
Gu Lang nodded in response, looked at him and said, "Chen Xing has left breakfast for you in the kitchen."
Qiu Jiu's serious expression changed instantly and he said with a smile on his face, "Thank you, young master. I'll go and eat now."
When he was cooking at noon, Chen Xing was surprised to find that Qiu Jiu, who had gone out in the morning, was back again, as he over praised the steamed dumplings he had made, causing him to be a little embarrassed.
After the three of them had their lunch, Chen Xing looked at the rain that was gradually getting lighter and hesitated for a while before leaving the house with his umbrella.
Chen Xing first went to the street where he set up his stall and asked the surrounding hawkers for information about Lai Jiu, then asked people along the way to find out where Lai Jiu lived.
Looking at the striking and imposing mansion in front of him, while thinking that Lai Jiu's father was only a Shiye and his family had no capable people, he could guess how much money (sweats and tears) his family had scraped from the people.
Just as Chen Xing was staring at the gate, pondering the possibility of his success in reporting him for corruption, the gate of Lai Jiu's house slowly opened.
Chen Xing immediately hid and sneakily observed them, then he saw Lai Jiu leading a group of his subordinates out. His shouting sound could be heard from a distance, "Come, let's go and see that little ger! Let's see how he has thought about it today. If he doesn't comply, we'll take him back!"
Chen Xing looked at those underlings who were catering to him, after weighing up the strength between him and the enemy, he finally did not choose to confront the tough with toughness; meet force with force, therefore he quietly slipped away. The good thing was that he never revealed his address when he was selling the food. He didn't have to worry that those people would soon find his way to the Gu's family mansion, but right now he had to inform Gu Lang or it would be bad if he got him involved.
Just after Chen Xing slipped away quietly, Lai Jiu hadn't gone far out of his own house when he was stopped by a group of government troops.
1
(usually filled with minced meat and gravy)
2
(round with a square hole in the middle, used in former times in China)
Chapter 10: 坦白
[To Confess]
Chen Xing had no idea what had happened to Lai Jiu after he had left. He had been debating on how to tell Gu Lang about it all the way back to the Gu Family's residence. After all, this was the trouble he had caused and if Lai Jiu really found his way to the Gu Mansion, he was worried that it would involve Gu Lang and the others into the trouble.
Chen Xing thought that if it was really not possible, he would leave the area first to lie low until the storm was over. However, he would not be able to return Gu Lang's money for some time.
Chen Xing stepped through the gate of the Gu Mansion with anxiety and fear. The first thing he saw was that the courtyard, which was usually overgrown with grass, had been mostly cleared and looked much emptier and spacious.
Chen Xing was stunned by the sight. He looked at the person who suddenly emerged from the grass and fixed his eyes upon Qiu Jiu.
Qiu Jiu's eyes lit up when he saw him. He opened his mouth to say something to him. After seeing Chen Xing's somehow not in a good expression, the smile on his face paused for a moment and he asked, "Chen Xing, did you run into any trouble just now?"
Chen Xing looked at him with some hesitation, not knowing how to start and tell him about this matter.
Qiu Jiu looked at Chen Xing's 'find it too difficult to talk to' look and smiled cheerfully, "If you have any difficulties, you can go and talk to my family's Gong Zi. My Gong Zi is very clever so he will definitely be able to help you out."
Hearing him say this, Chen Xing finally had made a decision in his heart. He nodded his head to Qiu Jiu, expressing that he would go and talk to Gu Lang.
Only after this was said, did Chen Xing have time to pay attention to the half-empty courtyard, looked at Qiu Jiu and asked, "Why are you suddenly cleaning up the courtyard?"
Qiu Jiu picked up the knife in his hand and waved it, with somewhat silly smile, "The rainy season is approaching, so if I don't get rid of the grass in the yard, I'm afraid we'll attract a lot of insects by then, so it's would be better to cut it all."
Chen Xing smiled and thought he had a point, then said, "I'll help you do it later."
Qiu Jiu hastily refused and politely said, "No need, no need, I can do it alone. You only need to cook properly."
Seeing Qiu Jiu's repeated refusals, Chen Xing did not insist and after bidding him farewell, he went to the study room.
It was only after Chen Xing left that the smile on Qiu Jiu's face fell and he looked at the barren grass in front of him, said helplessly, "It seems that I will have to call them over to help me tomorrow."
Chen Xing arrived in front of Gu Lang's study room and caught a glimpse of a young man sitting in the study room reading a book through the window. His eyebrows were picturesque (as distinct as a painting), his expression was calm and indifferent, even with the humble background behind him, he was still beautiful like a painting.
As if he noticed someone looking at him, Gu Lang raised his head and looked in the direction of his line of sight. In the first glance, he saw Chen Xing who was smiling foolishly at him. Gu Lang was stunned for a moment and smiled at Chen Xing. His thin lips lightly parted as he asked indifferently, "Why are you standing outside and not coming in?"
Only then did Chen Xing realize that he had been standing outside the room. He hit his head, a little annoyed and upset by his own action as he slowly walked into the study room under Gu Lang's gaze and came in front of him.
Gu Lang's gaze swept him from top to bottom without a trace and finally put his attention into his face as he said softly, "Do you have something you want to talk to me about?"
Chen Xing didn't know how to tell him and said in a small awkward voice, "I got into a bit of trouble."
Hearing that, Gu Lang put down the book in his hand and stared at him intently, as if he was ready to listen to his next words.
Chen Xing was getting more and more pressured by such a gaze, so he clenched his teeth and simply said it all, "I got into trouble with Master Lai's son."
Gu Lang looked at Chen Xing's nervous look and his voice slowed down a little, "What? Isn't he coming to mess with you? But you didn't have time to dodge it!"
Chen Xing was startled, met Gu Lang's gaze and asked in surprise, "You already know?"
Gu Lang looked at Chen Xing's excited look and said indifferently, "It's just that I had heard about his son's character for a long time, so I guessed it. But in this case, it seems that I guessed it correctly."
Hearing what he had said, Chen Xing dropped his head down and gloomily retell the events of the past two days. At the end, he also told the story of how he had gone to spy on Lai Jiu and ended up hearing that they were coming to arrest him.
Gu Lang looked at Chen Xing's worried expression, lowered his head and smiled. His eyes, which were always gentle, seemed to be hiding a pool of deep spring. He then said in a low voice: "It's alright, I heard that the new County Magistrate is a parental official 1 who works for the people. I'm sure he won't let this scourge continue to ride roughshod over others and act like a tyrant."
Hearing Gu Lang say this, Chen Xing was still a bit worried, "But I heard that Lai Shiye is quite powerful in this county town, even the county magistrate can't do anything to him."
At this point, although Chen Xing was a bit reluctant, he still told him his alternative solution, "If it really won't do, I will leave here first and come back after some time. It's just that the money I owe you can't be paid back for a short while."
Gu Lang looked at Chen Xing's apologetic face. His face didn't change much, he just smiled gently and comforted him, "It's not that worrisome yet. I'll go to the county office tomorrow and see what the newly appointed county governor is like, then it's not too late to plan for the rest after that."
Chen Xing looked at him with a tangle in his eyes, as if he wanted to say something but could not.
But Gu Lang saw through his thoughts at once and asked without any hesitation, "Are you worried that I'll be kicked out before I even get to see the county magistrate?"
Chen Xing nodded embarrassedly as Gu Lang exposed his mind.
Instead of getting angry, the smile on Gu Lang's face grew bigger and bigger as he said in a soft voice towards Chen Xing, "Although I am not talented, I have passed the Juren 2 examination, so even if I am not well received by the local officials, I will not be kicked out,so you can be at ease."
Hearing Gu Lang say this, Chen Xing's expression changed into amazement, he had originally heard that Gu Lang was just a downtrodden or in dire straits scholar and thought that he was just a tongsheng 3, a candidate who had not yet passed the county level imperial exam.
Looking at appearance, Gu Lang said softly, "Alright, it's a deal then. I will go to the county magistrate's feudal office tomorrow and see what the county magistrate has in mind. You should stay at home for the next few days, lest you meet Lai Jiu again."
Seeing that Gu Lang had arranged everything clearly, Chen Xing's originally nervous and tense mood suddenly relaxed. He nodded repeatedly towards Gu Lang, responding obediently as he said, "Hn."
Looking at Chen Xing's bright smile, Gu Lang stunned for a moment and quickly averted his gaze again, shifting his eyes to the window and changing the subject, "It's getting late, you, it's time for you to go and prepare the dinner."
Chen Xing didn't think there was anything wrong with his words and after looking at the sky outside and realizing how late it was, he left hurriedly.
Just as Chen Xing was walking towards the kitchen while contemplating what to cook today, Qiu Jiu suddenly appeared from the side, startled him.
Qiu Jiu looked at Chen Xing who had been startled by him, then apologized to him. He looked at his expression carefully and found out that the worry he had on his face just now had disappeared. He secretly relieved in his heart, at the same time, he cheerfully took out the chicken he had hidden behind him, "Let's eat this today!"
Chen Xing looked at the rooster in Qiu Jiu's hand which weighed at least four or five catties and then looked at Qiu Jiu's happy and excited appearance. He seemed to want to ask something, but felt that it was not appropriate.
The good thing was Qiu Jiu on his own accord answered his confusion. He looked at Chen Xing and said with some embarrassment, "This is the money I earned from doing odd jobs and since the season is about to change, I wanted to make something delicious for my family's young master to nourish his body."
Hearing that, Chen Xing nodded and then asked, "How would you like to eat this?"
Hearing Chen Xing ask like this, Qiu Jiu said loudly without any hesitation, "I want to eat the kind of hand-torn (shredded) chicken you mentioned the other day!"
When Chen Xing looked at Qiu Jiu's excited look, he had some doubts as to whether Qiu Jiu had made this chicken because his young master wanted to eat it or because he wanted to eat it himself. However, Chen Xing only thought about it in his heart but did not say anything and after taking the chicken from him, he silently went to the kitchen to cook it.
Qiu Jiu looked at Chen Xing's departing back and sighed, "There aren't many people as simple as Chen Xing." After sighing, he immediately went after him, wanting to help him cook it so that they could eat it quickly too.
That day Chen Xing give his best on it and made full use of the ingredients in the kitchen, cooking three dishes and a soup in addition to the shredded chicken, making a total of four dishes and a soup. It was so delicious that in the end, apart from Gu Lang who always restrained himself, Chen Xing and Qiu Jiu both ate so much that they both feeling too full for a long time after the meal.
The next morning, after the three of them had breakfast together, Gu Lang told Chen Xing to properly stay at home, soon afterward he took Qiu Jiu and left the Gu residence to go to the county magistrate's office to find out some information.
Chen Xing was left at home and had a rare leisure moment, wandered around the empty house several times before finally deciding to find something for himself to do. First he went to the kitchen and found a small pumpkin, so he decided to make a steamed pumpkin cake.
During the day, Chen Xing noticed that although Gu Lang didn't say anything, he would eat a little more every time there was sweet food to eat. This pastry he made, Gu Lang would surely like it too.
With this goal in mind, Chen Xing wouldn't think a lot about it any more, so he went to carry the pumpkin out with great enthusiasm, weighed the quantity and started to work on it.
Busy as he was, Chen Xing soon lost track of time, when he came back to his senses again, he found that it was almost dinner time, but Gu Lang and the others had not yet returned.
Just when Chen Xing was worried about Gu Lang, wondering when they would be back, Qiu Jiu ran in first followed by Gu Lang who was calm and composed behind him.
Chen Xing looked at how happy Qiu Jiu was, so he still at a bit loss, then he saw Gu Lang raised his eyes as he smile toward him and said, "You are very lucky, before I could say anything at the Yamen'4s office, I heard the news that the county magistrate had already collected the evidence of Master Lai's guilt and arrested his whole family and was going to deal with them together in a few days."
Hearing Gu Lang's words, Chen Xing's eyes slowly lit up as he said unbelievably, "All of them were arrested?"
Gu Lang looked at Chen Xing's pleasantly surprised look and could understand why he was so happy. He couldn't help but follow and curl up the corner of his lips, "If nothing was missed, they should all be arrested. If you want to see the condition with your own eyes, you can just go to the Yamen tomorrow."
1
(a popular term for a county magistrate)
2
[举人: in the Ming and Qing dynasties, a successful candidate in the imperial examinations at the provincial level (乡试)]
3
[童生 tongsheng: a scholar without a xiucai (秀才) degree]
4
[衙门: Yamen, government office in feudal China]