Chapter 15

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Just as Young Master Song was about to worry about whether he should pay the bill, Xie Lingyun suddenly smiled and said, "I said earlier that I would cover the cost of Zhou Gongzi's tea today. Suanzhu, go back and fetch seventy taels to give to the innkeeper!"

Upon hearing the young lady's instructions, Suanzhu was about to agree, but Young Master Song, who naturally couldn't let the woman he admired pay the bill, quickly stopped her and said, "Lingyun, hold on. How can I let you pay the bill when I'm here? Let me write a note, and you can send someone to the Song residence to get the money!"

While Young Master Song was saying these words, he tried to appear nonchalant, but his lips were twitching uncontrollably, and he was almost bleeding from the heart. Seventy taels was no small amount; his monthly allowance was only about thirty taels. Now, Zhou Chong's tea had cost him two months' worth of expenses. He didn't know how he would get through next month.

Seeing Young Master Song's pained expression, Xie Lingyun's beautiful eyes flashed with a hint of cunning, and she secretly smiled. With Young Master Song temporarily out of money, how would he continue to纠缠自己？

Young Master Song wrote the note for the innkeeper and then forced himself to escort Xie Lingyun out of the teahouse. Once the Xie family's master and servant were out of sight, Young Master Song's pale face turned gloomy. He stared at the direction of the Zhou residence for a long time before saying viciously, "Zhou Chong, I'll let you enjoy yourself for two more days. Once your future father-in-law falls, I will make your Zhou family kneel and beg me!"

"Ah-choo!" Zhou Chong, who was preparing dinner at home, suddenly sneezed.

"Which beauty is talking about me?" Zhou Chong muttered, then picked up an egg from the table, cracked it on the edge, and skillfully broke it into a bowl.

Originally, today's dinner was to be prepared by Zhuo'er. Despite her previous status as a young lady, cooking was one of the essential skills for women in the Ming dynasty, so her cooking was quite good, though not as good as Aunt Luo's. However, Zhou Chong believed that everyone had endured a lot recently, and it was necessary to celebrate with a hearty dinner. Therefore, he decided to help, and everyone pitched in. Apart from Aunt Wang, who had to look after Duo'er, he and Manager Xu all joined in.

In his previous life, Zhou Chong had become an orphan at an early age. If he hadn't learned to cook, he would have starved to death. Moreover, he had a voracious appetite and couldn't go without meat, so his cooking skills were quite good. Today, he made two dishes: one was pork rib stew with tofu, and the other was egg and tofu soup with Chinese cabbage. Although Manager Xu loved to eat, his cooking skills were poor, so he was only responsible for steaming the rice, while the other dishes were mainly prepared by Zhuo'er.

They worked until it was almost dark, preparing a rich and delicious meal. Seeing Zhou Chong and Zhuo'er so happy, Aunt Wang's mood improved as well. She praised their cooking skills, but she was a bit puzzled: she had watched Zhou Chong grow up and never knew he could cook.

In fact, not only Aunt Wang was puzzled, but Zhuo'er and Manager Xu were also surprised. "A gentleman stays away from the kitchen," and Zhou Chong had always focused on his studies, showing little interest in other matters. How could he have such good cooking skills?

Zhou Chong didn't explain their doubts, not because he wanted to be mysterious, but because he didn't know how to explain. If he explained his cooking skills today, he would have to explain his other talents in the future, and he would have to come up with more lies. It was better to keep quiet from the beginning and let people gradually get used to his mysterious side. Over time, no one would ask anymore.

Although Aunt Wang, Zhuo'er, and the others were a bit puzzled, they didn't press him when they saw he didn't want to explain. They had indeed suffered a lot recently, enduring the pain of Zhou Hai's death and the decline of the family business. They had been eating poorly and sleeping badly, and although Zhou Chong had asked Manager Xu to hide the family's true state from Aunt Wang and Zhuo'er, they could tell that the family was in dire straits, otherwise they wouldn't be eating porridge and pickles every day.

Now that the family's situation had improved, and seeing Zhou Chong's spirited appearance, Aunt Wang and Zhuo'er felt relieved, and their hearts were at ease. Therefore, they all enjoyed the meal, and the abundance of the dishes made them eat more than usual.

Zhou Chong, being a meat lover, had been suffering from days of porridge and pickles. Although he had eaten some sweet and sour pork from Aunt Luo the night before, it only made him hungrier. If he didn't eat meat today, he might have even considered robbing someone.

Because of his recent vegetarian diet, Zhou Chong found the food especially delicious today, especially the pork rib stew with tofu. He and Duo'er each had a rib, and they both ate until their mouths were greasy. Duo'er, being small, ate little, so Zhou Chong ended up eating both ribs, even sucking out the bone marrow. This made the always hungry Manager Xu drool, but he was too embarrassed to ask for the ribs, so he just stuffed himself with tofu.

Everyone ate until they were full, especially Zhou Chong and Duo'er, who lay on the chairs, unwilling to move. Zhuo'er was also quite full, being young and lacking self-control. In the end, Aunt Wang helped Manager Xu clean up. Just as Manager Xu was about to take the dishes to the kitchen, he heard someone knocking at the front door. He ran to open it and found Wu the Butcher standing outside, with a cart full of pork parked on the steps.

"Ah, Brother Wu, I'm really sorry. We were eating in the back yard and didn't hear the knocking. I kept you waiting!" Manager Xu apologized, remembering that Wu had said he would move in tonight. They had been so happy during the meal that they had forgotten about it.

To his surprise, Wu smiled and said, "Manager Xu, don't be too polite. I just arrived. Do you have time now? I have a cart of pork and would like to move it into the yard quickly to rest."

"I have time. I'll open the side gate, and you can push the cart in. I'll show you around the yard," Manager Xu said, opening the side gate. The main gate had steps, so the cart couldn't enter, but the side gate was for vehicles.

Wu the Butcher rubbed his nearly frozen hands and pushed the cart into the Zhou residence. It was already completely dark, but he couldn't help looking around curiously. In the past, he would never have been allowed in, so he was very curious about the wealthy Zhou residence.

Seeing Wu's curiosity, Manager Xu's face flashed with a long-lost pride, but it quickly turned to melancholy. He first greeted Aunt Wu in the kitchen, then led Wu to the two courtyards on the right side of the front yard. "Brother Wu, here are two courtyards. I live in the back one, and the front one is empty. It used to be for guests, but the furniture is gone. We can provide a bed, but you'll need to bring your own bedding."

"Fine, a bed is enough. I've brought my bedding," Wu said. He had been busy all afternoon and only brought his bedding, thinking he would have to sleep on the floor. He was relieved that the Zhou family was providing a bed, saving him the trouble of bringing one from home.

Manager Xu opened the courtyard gate and led Wu with a lantern. After Wu pushed the cart into the yard, Manager Xu briefly introduced the layout. The courtyard was almost identical to Manager Xu's, with three main rooms and two side rooms. One could be used as a kitchen, and the other as a storage room for pork.

Wu was very satisfied with the courtyard. Zhou Chong, who had heard about Wu's arrival from Aunt Wang, also came over. He then took Wu to the servants' quarters, where many beds were available. Wu chose the sturdiest and heaviest bed, as his build required a strong bed.

Zhou Chong had wanted to help Wu carry the bed, which weighed over a hundred pounds, but to his surprise, Wu lifted it with one hand and carried it on his shoulder with ease, as if it were a small chair. Zhou Chong couldn't help but praise him, "Good strength!"

After settling Wu, Zhou Chong returned to the back yard, while Manager Xu chatted with Wu for a while, mainly to remind him of the rules, such as staying in the front yard and not entering the back yard, where Zhou Chong and Aunt Wang lived, as it was mostly occupied by women. Wu understood and agreed.

Zhou Chong returned to the inner quarters, intending to write down "Journey to the West" in his study to have Manager Xu prepare it quickly and build his reputation, earning his first pot of gold. With this crucial first pot of gold, he could borrow more money and help the family recover.

However, as Zhou Chong passed the back garden, he suddenly heard a strange sound coming from the courtyard.