Chapter 65

After unexpectedly acquiring a few laborers, Li Qi felt greatly uplifted. After chatting with them for a while, he told them to go pack their belongings and get ready to head to Zui Xian Ju with him later.

After giving them instructions, Li Qi walked out of the house and saw Bai Qianruo earnestly teaching a group of children to recognize characters. Not wanting to disturb her, he squatted down and listened from the side.

After a while, Bai Qianruo seemed to sense two pairs of eyes watching her. Turning around, her gaze met Li Qi's dazed stare, causing her cheeks to flush.

Li Qi, however, didn't feel anything amiss, purely admiring her. He stood up and smiled, "Madam Bai, you have truly gone to great lengths. I am immensely grateful."

This was a sincere statement from Li Qi's heart.

However, Bai Qianruo didn't see it that way. She let the children practice on their own and then smiled at Li Qi, "Didn't you say you were a merchant? If so, there's no need to thank me; it's not worth much anyway."

Li Qi was speechless with sweat!

His face stiffened, and he quickly changed the subject, forcing a smile, "Right, it's almost noon. What should we have for lunch?"

Madam Bai huffed, "Someone will bring steamed buns later. You won't go hungry."

"Only steamed buns? That won't do. Look at them; they're all as thin as monkeys. If they stand in the shop, people might think Zui Xian Ju has turned into a refugee relief station," Li Qi shook his head and said.

Bai Qianruo rolled her eyes and said irritably, "I'd like to give them some meat and fish, but don't forget, you only gave me a hundred taels the other day. Now, with over ten more people, and they need to eat for a month, you can't say you don't know how to do the math, right?"

"This—cough, cough, uh... It's like this, the shop is currently being renovated, so I'm a bit short on cash."

After mumbling vaguely, Li Qi continued, "However, to thank you for your hard work and selfless help to Zui Xian Ju, I plan to privately spend—five guan to treat everyone to a good meal."

Bai Qianruo gave him a suspicious look, "Really?"

"Of course, it's true," Li Qi assured her.

"Hand over the money," Bai Qianruo extended her hand.

Isn't it just five guan? You're really looking down on me.

Li Qi glanced at her, reached into his chest, and his eyes widened. No way, I forgot to bring the money?

After searching his body for a while, he realized he really hadn't brought any money.

Seeing his sweaty face, Bai Qianruo guessed the situation and deliberately smiled, "What? You didn't bring the money, did you?"

Li Qi looked at her awkwardly, raised two thumbs, and praised, "Madam Bai, you are truly smart. You guessed it right—I really forgot to bring the money."

Bai Qianruo rolled her eyes, clearly not buying it, "You say you want to thank me, but then you say you didn't bring the money. That's not sincere at all."

Li Qi, knowing he was in the wrong, didn't argue and asked, rubbing his hands, "So—do you have any money on you?"

"Of course, I'm not like you."

"Can you lend me five guan? I promise to pay you back as soon as we get back to the shop," Li Qi vowed, patting his chest.

A glint of cunning flashed in Bai Qianruo's eyes, "Lending you five guan is fine, but—you have to pay me back twenty guan."

Extortion.

Barefaced extortion.

Li Qi said irritably, "You're really pushing it, aren't you? Aren't you afraid of choking?"

Bai Qianruo shrugged, "I didn't force you to borrow."

"Six guan."

"Fifteen guan."

"Eight guan, no more."

"Ten guan. Any less, and you'll have to borrow from someone else."

"You're ruthless, deal."

Li Qi almost ground his teeth in frustration. After playing the hawk for two lifetimes, he was now pecked by the hawk. What a disgrace!

Bai Qianruo finally had the upper hand and was delighted. She immediately called for Xing'er to bring out a money note worth five guan.

A thick stack of paper money, with denominations of ten and fifty wen.

Li Qi took the money note and asked irritably, "Do you have a pen here?"

Bai Qianruo nodded, "In the house. Why do you ask? I didn't ask you to write a promissory note."

"Never mind that for now, you'll know soon. Can you get me a pen? And some scraps of cloth," Li Qi said mysteriously.

Although Bai Qianruo didn't know why Li Qi needed these things, they weren't valuable, so she instructed Xing'er to get a brush and some scraps of cloth from the inner room.

Soon, Xing'er brought the brush and scraps of cloth.

Li Qi took the brush, hesitated, blushed, and then handed it back to Bai Qianruo, forcing a smile, "Sorry, but could you do it for me?"

Bai Qianruo took the brush and asked in surprise, "You can't read?"

"Not exactly, but my handwriting is so bad that even I can't read it," Li Qi said with a helpless smile. In his time, at his age, who would bother to practice calligraphy?

Bai Qianruo looked at him with a strange expression. This was too unbelievable. She thought Li Qi, who could match her and Song Yuchen in couplets, must be very talented, but she never expected he couldn't write well.

What kind of person is he?

Bai Qianruo felt a mix of amusement and frustration, "So, what do you want to write?"

Li Qi chuckled, "It's simple. Um—fifteen pounds of pork, tofu, garlic, ginger, scallions, cabbage..."

Li Qi listed about thirty ingredients, main dishes, and seasonings, and asked Bai Qianruo to write one or two on each piece of cloth.

Bai Qianruo frowned, thought for a moment, but didn't ask, and wrote down what Li Qi said.

After Bai Qianruo finished, Li Qi took the pieces of cloth, walked to the group of children, and patted the head of the sturdier-looking boy at the front, smiling, "Little brother, what's your name?"

The boy seemed a bit afraid of Li Qi and trembled, "I—I'm Tian Qi."

Sweat! Tian Qi? What a powerful name.

Li Qi was taken aback and asked, "Is your father the carpenter Tian?"

Tian Qi nodded.

"Ha! Your father is really good at naming. He could apply for a patent."

Li Qi said something no one understood, then picked up a piece of cloth, placed it in front of Tian Qi, and pointed to the words, "Tian Qi, do you recognize these words?"

Tian Qi looked carefully and said, "Pork and ginger—ginger." He didn't seem to recognize the last word.

"This word is 'ginger.' Remember it?" Li Qi smiled.

Tian Qi repeated it softly and nodded.

"Very good."

Li Qi handed him the cloth and said, "Can you go buy fifteen pounds of pork and one pound of ginger for your big brother?"

The adults, hearing Li Qi ask Tian Qi to buy pork, all ran over, volunteering to do the errand.

But Li Qi refused them all. If I let you do it, what's the point?

Li Qi gave each child a piece of cloth and some money notes, and told them to buy what was written on the cloth. He arranged for an adult to accompany Tian Qi to buy the pork, while the others had to figure it out on their own.

The children, holding so much money, were trembling and scared, but they were more afraid of Li Qi. They all bravely went out, and Li Qi wasn't worried they would get lost, as they had been wandering around here for a long time.

After they left, Li Qi instructed the carpenter and the others to go cut some firewood, and told the women to find some stones to build a temporary stove in the courtyard. As for the pots and spoons, they were already in the house.

After giving all the instructions, Li Qi hadn't even had a chance to catch his breath when Bai Qianruo walked over, looked at him with a complex expression, and asked, "Are you doing this to teach them to read?"

Li Qi was slightly taken aback and smiled bitterly, "It seems nothing can escape your notice. I just wanted to take this opportunity to teach them a few more characters, but this method is too expensive and impractical. I'll still need your help to teach them."

"Don't worry, I promised, so I won't go back on my word," Bai Qianruo huffed.

However, she thought Li Qi's method was quite good. The children, holding so much money, wouldn't dare to split up and would discuss what to do together. The words on the cloth would become the focus of their discussion. This way, they would remember the words on the cloth by heart, possibly more effectively than if she read them a hundred times.

Li Qi chuckled, "I trust you, or I wouldn't have asked for your help."

Bai Qianruo glanced at him irritably and asked, "By the way, what are you planning to cook?"

Li Qi had her write down the names of the ingredients, except for the fifteen pounds of pork, the rest were all seasonings, which was a very strange combination.

Li Qi chuckled, "You'll see. Don't worry, I won't disappoint you."

Bai Qianruo was already used to Li Qi's habit of keeping people in suspense, but thinking of last night's 'Smiling Eyes' dish, she was quite looking forward to it.