Chapter 94

According to Bai Mengwan's explanation, after she and her sister Bai Junwan rented the Zhou family's house, they didn't have much money left. To make a living, her sister Bai Junwan worked day and night on embroidery, but she couldn't help at all, which often made Bai Mengwan feel guilty.

During dinner today, Qingqing wanted to eat meat, but her sister Bai Junwan shed tears and refused, which made Bai Mengwan feel as if her heart was being cut by a knife. However, at that moment, she suddenly remembered something: the Zhou family's garden had a pond. Previously, she and Zhuo'er had come to the garden and found that although the pond was frozen, there were fish swimming under the ice.

Thinking of the fish in the garden's pond, Bai Mengwan made a decision: she would take advantage of the night when no one was around, break the ice, and catch a few fish to improve Qingqing's diet. That's why the scene from tonight happened.

After listening to Bai Mengwan's story, Zhou Chong was both amused and moved. He never expected that the reason she came to the garden in the middle of the night was to catch fish. However, he also admired Bai Mengwan for her courage, as a weak woman, to dare to come to the desolate back garden in the middle of the night. Just this kind of bravery was enough to earn his respect.

"Miss Bai, today Zhuo'er told me that a few days ago, she heard someone hammering something in the garden at night. Was that you?" Zhou Chong suddenly remembered something and immediately asked again.

Bai Mengwan, hearing that Zhuo'er had heard the noise in the garden a few days ago, was first startled, then nodded, and said somewhat shyly, "Yes, I actually had this idea a few days ago, but I wasn't well-prepared that night and couldn't find good tools, so I couldn't break the ice. Plus, I was scared and ran back after a few tries!"

Hearing Bai Mengwan admit to being timid, Zhou Chong couldn't help but laugh. He had just been admiring her courage, but it turned out she could be afraid too. However, thinking about it, Bai Mengwan knew she was timid but still dared to come to the back garden in the middle of the night, which made him admire her even more.

At this moment, seeing that Zhou Chong wasn't speaking, Bai Mengwan finally mustered the courage to plead, "Mr. Zhou... Mr. Zhou, I know it was wrong of me to steal fish from the garden, but please don't report me to the authorities, and don't tell my sister. Otherwise, she will be heartbroken!"

Seeing Bai Mengwan's pitiful look, Zhou Chong couldn't help but feel a bit soft-hearted. He saw a bit of himself in her. When the Zhou family first went bankrupt, he had also racked his brains to improve his family's living conditions.

Thinking about this, Zhou Chong finally sighed and said, "Alright, since we've met several times, we can consider it fate. I can pretend this never happened, but I have one condition!"

Hearing that Zhou Chong wouldn't pursue the matter, Bai Mengwan's face lit up with joy, but when he mentioned a condition, she immediately became nervous. Especially thinking about how Zhou Chong had been peeping at her earlier, Bai Mengwan involuntarily pulled her clothes tighter and took a couple of steps back in caution.

Seeing Bai Mengwan's cautious demeanor, Zhou Chong couldn't help but be speechless. If he were really a pervert, he would have already stripped her and thrown her on the bed. Whatever was going to happen would have happened by now.

Although he felt a bit frustrated, Zhou Chong still said, "Actually, when I just got back today, Zhuo'er suggested that you and your sister move into the inner courtyard with Qingqing. This way, both Zhuo'er and Duo'er would have playmates and someone to talk to, and I've already agreed."

Hearing that Zhuo'er wanted them to move into the inner courtyard, Bai Mengwan was deeply moved. They hadn't known each other for long, but Zhuo'er had already treated them like good sisters and now wanted them to move in, treating them like family.

Zhou Chong finally stated his condition, "I hope that after you and your sister move in, you can spend more time chatting with Zhuo'er. She stays at home all day and didn't have anyone to talk to before. Now that she gets along well with you two, it's a matter of fate. Is this condition reasonable?"

Hearing Zhou Chong's condition, Bai Mengwan breathed a sigh of relief. However, she then thought of something and hesitantly said, "Mr. Zhou, I usually have nothing to do, so I can spend time with Sister Zhuo'er. But my sister has to work on embroidery to support the family and may not have time to accompany Sister Zhuo'er. Please understand!"

"Ha ha, no problem. I just want you to spend more time with Zhuo'er when you have the chance. I won't force you when you have important things to do," Zhou Chong laughed. In the future, he would be busy with the South China Sea Chamber of Commerce and would often be away from home. Zhuo'er and Duo'er would need someone to keep them company. The Bai sisters were well-educated and had the demeanor of well-bred young ladies, which was much better than buying a few illiterate maids to keep the two sisters company.

Seeing that Bai Mengwan had recovered, Zhou Chong stood up and said, "It looks like it's almost dawn. There's no time to dry your clothes. You can wear my clothes, and I'll take you back!"

Bai Mengwan nodded, blushing as she tidied up her clothes. Earlier, Zhou Chong had taken off her clothes, and after she could move, she had put them by the fire to dry, but they were still wet and couldn't be worn.

After Bai Mengwan had tidied up her clothes, Zhou Chong prepared a lantern. Then the two of them left his courtyard. To get to Bai Mengwan's courtyard, they should have gone west, but Zhou Chong led her east, which made Bai Mengwan curious and ask, "Mr. Zhou, are we going the wrong way?"

However, Zhou Chong replied without turning his head, "We've been up all night and almost drowned in the ice hole. We can't go back empty-handed. You'll see when we go back to the garden."

Hearing Zhou Chong's words, Bai Mengwan was puzzled, wondering what he was going to do in the garden. But she already trusted him and wasn't worried that he would harm her, so she followed him with her doubts.

Zhou Chong, holding the lantern, returned to the pond and asked Bai Mengwan to wait on the shore. He then went onto the ice and quickly reached the spot they had broken earlier. Bai Mengwan watched as Zhou Chong searched the ice for a while and then returned with the lantern, holding several large carp that had been frozen.

"I found four large fish. Only Zhuo'er likes to eat fish in our family, so I'll give you three, and I'll take one," Zhou Chong said, smiling as he handed the three carp to Bai Mengwan. In winter, the surface of the water freezes, but the water below doesn't. However, it becomes oxygen-depleted, so when a hole is made in the ice, the fish gather at the opening and even jump onto the ice. Zhou Chong just had to pick them up.

"Where... where did you get these fish?" Bai Mengwan, holding the three large carp, asked in a daze. She didn't know that fish would jump out of the ice in winter, so she was naturally very surprised.

"Don't worry about it!" Zhou Chong didn't bother to explain, then laughed, "You're quite clever. When we were running out of food at home, I didn't think of catching fish from the pond."

Hearing Zhou Chong's words, Bai Mengwan asked curiously, "Your Zhou family has also experienced a food shortage?"

"Of course!" Zhou Chong didn't hide it and explained frankly, "My father had an incident, and all our assets were used to pay off debts. At the most difficult time, we had no money at all, and even Xu the steward had to use his private savings to buy rice. I racked my brains to find solutions. Once, I brought dozens of pounds of pastries for Duo'er, all by using my face!"

Hearing Zhou Chong's amusing story, Bai Mengwan couldn't help but giggle, but then she sighed, "I really envy Sister Zhuo'er for having such a good brother. My sister works hard to support the family, but as a woman, she faces many inconveniences."

As they chatted, they quickly arrived at the gate leading to the front courtyard. However, Bai Mengwan didn't want to go through the gate because if she did, she would have to go to the front courtyard and have her sister open the door for her, and she didn't want her sister to know that she had gone out to catch fish at night.

Hearing this, Zhou Chong laughed, "You don't want your sister to know you went out at night, but how will you explain where these three fish came from in the morning?"

"This..." Bai Mengwan looked troubled. She had rushed out in a moment of enthusiasm and hadn't thought about what would happen afterward.

Seeing her careless demeanor, Zhou Chong couldn't help but laugh again, "Alright, I'll help you one more time. Get up early tomorrow, open the door, take out the fish, and tell your sister that Xu the steward sent them. I'll talk to Xu the steward so you won't be exposed!"

"Thank you, Mr. Zhou!" Bai Mengwan was excited and thanked him repeatedly. Zhou Chong then took her to a wall. Outside this wall was Bai Mengwan's courtyard, and there was a ladder on the wall, indicating that she had climbed over it.

Seeing Bai Mengwan climb onto the wall, Zhou Chong helped her flip the ladder over and handed her the clothes and fish. Finally, Bai Mengwan gave Zhou Chong a sweet smile and climbed down the ladder to return to her courtyard.

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