Chapter 37

"Um, Brother, my sister and I originally planned to wait for you to come back and eat together, but we didn't expect to fall asleep!" Zhuo'er said in a voice as soft as a mosquito's, looking quite embarrassed.

Zhou Chong was even more moved in his heart, but he smiled and reached out to pat Zhuo'er's little head, saying, "There's nothing to be embarrassed about for not eating. Get up quickly and eat with your brother!"

Zhuo'er responded with a nod, happily got up, and put on her clothes. Then she helped Zhou Chong put the pot on the stove. After the soup boiled, the two of them sat around the stove and put the dishes on the table into the soup. Zhuo'er kept talking about some interesting things that happened today, such as how the two sisters built a snowman in the yard and how Duo'er used rouge to paint the white ball's face red.

Speaking of rouge, Zhou Chong suddenly remembered something. He stood up, took a small gift box from the corner of the bed, and gave it to Zhuo'er, saying, "Zhuo'er, I almost forgot to give you this. Miss Xie asked me to pass it to you when we discussed the manuscript. She said it's the rouge she promised to give you."

After Zhou Chong and Xie Lingyun discussed the manuscript, he was asked to pass this box of rouge to Zhuo'er. However, due to the disaster relief, Zhou Chong forgot about it. He casually placed it in the corner of the bed and only remembered it today.

"Rouge from Sister Lingyun?" Zhuo'er was also taken aback. When she took the gift box and opened it to see the rouge, she immediately exclaimed in surprise, "Oh, it's from Yuyan轩 (Yuyan轩 is a brand name, so it's kept as is). At the poetry society gathering this spring, I just mentioned it casually to Sister Lingyun, and I didn't expect her to remember it even now."

However, after her surprise, Zhuo'er's face showed a hesitant look. Finally, she reluctantly put the rouge back in Zhou Chong's hand and said, "Brother, I can't accept this rouge!"

"Why?" Zhou Chong was very puzzled. This was a gift from Xie Lingyun, and it was clear that Zhuo'er liked this box of rouge. Why wouldn't she accept it?

"This... this..." Zhuo'er was hesitant, as if there was something she didn't want Zhou Chong to know.

"What's wrong? What's the reason?" Seeing Zhuo'er's expression, Zhou Chong became even more puzzled.

In response to Zhou Chong's questioning, Zhuo'er was initially hesitant to speak, but she couldn't resist Zhou Chong's persistent questioning and finally said, "Brother, the rouge from Yuyan轩 in the capital is very expensive. The one Sister Lingyun gave me is definitely not ordinary. I estimate it costs at least ten to twenty taels of silver. If it were before, I would have accepted it without hesitation, but now, given our family's situation, accepting such an expensive gift is not appropriate."

"What kind of logic is this? Why should accepting a gift depend on the family's financial situation?" Zhou Chong, in his previous life, had interacted with many women, but mostly in a physical sense. This was the first time he encountered the delicate thoughts of a young girl, so he was completely confused. Seeing that her brother didn't understand, Zhuo'er sighed and explained again.

It turned out that when Zhuo'er used to gather with those young ladies, they would often exchange gifts. The key word here is "exchange," meaning that if one side gave a gift, the other side would return a gift after some time. Of course, the value of the gifts didn't have to be equal; the important thing was the sentiment. After all, they were all young ladies of similar status, so the value of the gifts didn't matter.

If Zhuo'er accepted Xie Lingyun's gift now, she would have to return a gift to her in the future according to the unwritten rule. However, with the Zhou family's decline and Zhuo'er's diminished status, if she returned a light gift, it would make the Zhou family seem too poor, and it would seem like Zhuo'er was taking advantage of Xie Lingyun. If she returned a gift of similar value, she would be very reluctant, as ten to twenty taels of silver was enough for Zhou Chong to write for several days. Considering all this, although Zhuo'er really liked the box of rouge, she ultimately decided to give it up.

Zhou Chong never expected a young girl's thoughts to be so sensitive and complex. If it were him, he would accept any valuable gift without hesitation, and as for returning a gift, was there a law in the Ming Dynasty that required it? No! So, sorry, anything given to me is mine, and whether to return a gift depends on my mood.

"Brother, please return this box of rouge. Tell Sister Lingyun that I appreciate her kindness, but I am in mourning for my father and won't need rouge for a while. Please ask her to take back this gift!" Finally, Zhuo'er looked at the rouge in Zhou Chong's hand with a face full of reluctance. For Zhuo'er, this box of rouge from Yuyan轩 was like a top perfume for modern girls, the most beloved cosmetic.

Zhou Chong, who could see Zhuo'er's reluctance, reached out and pushed the rouge back into her hand, saying, "Since it's a gift from someone, you should keep it. As for the return gift, I have something very suitable for girls that I'm planning to make. When it's done, you can use it as a return gift, and it will definitely be more valuable than this box of rouge!"

Hearing Zhou Chong's words, Zhuo'er still showed some hesitation on her face, but out of trust in her brother, she didn't refuse again. She quietly put the rouge in her bosom and started to serve Zhou Chong food.

After Zhou Chong and Zhuo'er finished eating, it was already past midnight. Zhuo'er originally wanted to go back to her mother's place to sleep, but Zhou Chong, seeing the heavy snow outside and feeling wide awake after eating, asked Zhuo'er to stay with Duo'er on his bed. He would continue writing "Journey to the West" in the outer room and sleep after breakfast.

Time passed quickly. When Zhou Chong finished writing a chapter of "Journey to the West," it was already morning, and the heavy snow had stopped. The snow on the ground was nearly two feet deep, and a child like Duo'er could barely be seen in the snow.

A little while later, Zhuo'er and Duo'er also woke up. Zhou Chong helped Duo'er get dressed, carried her and Zhuo'er to Concubine Wang's place for breakfast, and then sent a portion to Manager Xu, checking on Wu Shan at the same time. Unfortunately, after a whole night, Wu Shan still showed no signs of waking up, and it was impossible to know how he was injured.

"Master, since Wu Shan was so severely injured, should we report it to the authorities?" Manager Xu suddenly asked.

"Report it to the authorities?" Zhou Chong thought for a moment. In his previous life, he mostly did things that couldn't be exposed to the light, and he always kept a distance from the police. Even after being reborn, he still had a distrustful attitude towards the government. So when he saw the bloodied Wu Shan yesterday, he didn't think of reporting it to the authorities while saving him.

"I think it's better not to. Old Wu is still unconscious, and even if we report it, it won't do any good. We should wait until he wakes up and can explain what happened, and then we can report it." In the end, Zhou Chong didn't want to deal with the authorities, so he said.

Manager Xu also found this reasonable and nodded. After breakfast, Doctor Cheng came to check on Wu Shan again. After examining him, he showed a surprised expression and said, "That's great! Thanks to this young man's strong body, his pulse is much stronger after just one night. From this, it seems his life is out of danger!"

Hearing Doctor Cheng's words, Zhou Chong and Manager Xu were both overjoyed. They then helped Doctor Cheng change Wu Shan's bandages and sent him back to the clinic. After all this, Zhou Chong, who hadn't slept all night, felt his bones about to fall apart, and his head was heavy and drowsy.

"Master, Wu Shan's condition is improving, and I don't need to watch him all the time. I'll take some time to clear the snow at home. You should go back and rest." Manager Xu, who knew Zhou Chong hadn't slept all night, advised him to go back.

Zhou Chong also felt he couldn't hold on any longer, so he didn't force himself. After a few words with Manager Xu, he returned to his bedroom and fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

Zhou Chong slept very deeply, without even dreaming. When he woke up again, it was already afternoon. On the table was a note left by Zhuo'er, telling him that the kitchen had saved lunch for him and not to forget to eat.

Zhou Chong smiled as he read Zhuo'er's note, got dressed, and went to Concubine Wang's place for lunch. However, as soon as he stepped into the courtyard, he heard Zhuo'er and Duo'er laughing and playing. When he entered the yard, he saw the two girls having a snowball fight. Duo'er and Baiqiu were on one team, with Baiqiu distracting Zhuo'er while Duo'er attacked. Unfortunately, she was too small and short, and her snowballs couldn't reach her sister.

As soon as Zhou Chong entered the yard, Baiqiu whined and ran into the house. Duo'er immediately knew her brother had come and called out, "Brother, come help! Duo'er can't beat Sister!"

"I... Bang!" Just as Zhou Chong was about to speak, Zhuo'er took the initiative and threw a snowball that hit Zhou Chong in the face. The flying snowflakes landed in his neck, making him shiver.

"You little brat, today you'll see your brother's strength!" Zhou Chong, caught off guard, also got into the spirit. He bent down, grabbed two handfuls of snow, and formed them into snowballs. He then joined the snowball fight with his two sisters, and for a while, the battle was intense, with Zhuo'er and Duo'er's screams echoing.

After playing snowball fight with Zhuo'er and Duo'er until they were all sweaty, Zhou Chong, worried that Duo'er might catch a cold, stopped and carried her into the inner room. However, he didn't see Concubine Wang, so he asked, "Zhuo'er, where is Auntie?"

After playing for a while, Zhuo'er's cheeks were rosy, and she panted, "Manager Xu went to the teahouse. The injured tenant in the front needs care. I wanted to go, but Mother didn't agree, so she..."

Before Zhuo'er could finish, someone rushed into the courtyard, and Concubine Wang hurriedly entered the room and called out, "Chong'er, Wu Shan in the front has woken up, and he wants to see you!"