Chapter 95

The next morning, Bai Mengwan indeed got up early as Zhou Chong had taught her, opened the door, and then carried the fish to tell her sister Bai Junwan that it was sent by Manager Xu. Although Bai Junwan felt embarrassed about accepting the gift, under the eager gaze of Qingqing, she had no choice but to nod and accept the fish.

However, just as the Bai sisters had finished their breakfast, Zhou'er pulled Zhou Chong to meet the Bai sisters. One reason was to hope that they would move into the inner courtyard to live with her, and the other was to introduce Zhou Chong to them. When Bai Junwan saw that Zhou Chong was the very Zhou公子 who had saved them, she was greatly surprised and immediately went forward to greet him.

Zhou'er had not expected that her brother had been injured while saving the Bai sisters. She then sighed that they were truly destined to meet and continued to persuade Bai Junwan to move into the inner courtyard. Bai Junwan also considered that Zhou'er was well-intentioned, and it was not very safe for the two of them, along with a child, to live in the front courtyard. Moreover, her sister Bai Mengwan was very willing, so she finally nodded. With Zhou Chong's help, the Bai sisters moved to the courtyard next to Concubine Wang, which was originally the courtyard where Concubine Zhao, the mother of Duo'er, had lived.

When Zhou Chong helped the Bai sisters move, he found that they had very few possessions. Apart from two bundles of clothes and bedding, there was only a little rice and a few cabbages left in the kitchen. It seemed that their diet these days was not much better than that of the disaster victims outside the city. No wonder Bai Mengwan had sneaked into the back garden to steal fish in the middle of the night?

One of the side rooms in Concubine Zhao's courtyard was converted into a kitchen by Zhou Chong. Bai Junwan set up a stove in another side room to cook separately. Originally, Concubine Wang and Zhou'er saw that their rice and grain were almost gone, so they advised Bai Junwan to eat with them, saying it was just a few more pairs of chopsticks. However, the stubborn Bai Junwan insisted on not doing so. Zhou Chong eventually realized that although Bai Junwan was a weak woman, she was also very proud, so he told Concubine Wang and Zhou'er not to persuade her anymore.

After the Bai sisters moved to the Zhou family's inner courtyard, the inner courtyard finally regained some vitality. Duo'er and Qingqing, two girls of similar age, were always running around in the courtyards, sometimes even missing meals. Zhou'er and Bai Mengwan also got along well, often seen chatting and laughing. Occasionally, Bai Mengwan would teach Zhou'er to play the zither. Zhou Chong had once heard Bai Mengwan play a tune, and although he did not understand music, he found it very pleasant to listen to.

Compared to Bai Mengwan's liveliness, Bai Junwan was very quiet. Moreover, she had to earn money to support the family. Whenever she had free time, she would sit and embroider. When she completed her embroidery, Concubine Wang and Su Niang were all amazed, as they had never seen such exquisite embroidery.

Zhou Chong, of course, could not tell the difference in Bai Junwan's embroidery skills, as he was almost completely ignorant of this traditional skill of ancient women. He only thought that the flower and bird patterns she embroidered were very beautiful, but even so, they were not as impressive as the modern craft pictures. Therefore, he did not pay much attention to it at first. However, when Manager Xu took Bai Junwan's embroidery to the embroidery shop and exchanged it for five taels of silver, Zhou Chong was shocked. He did not expect that a small piece of embroidery could be so valuable. After all, five taels of silver were enough for the Bai sisters to live on for a year.

In fact, embroidery was similar to Zhou Chong's writing. It all depended on the individual's skill. Some women's embroidery skills were so high that a piece of embroidery could sell for tens of taels, but such pieces were rare and required a long time to complete, sometimes even the cooperation of several people. However, some women's embroidery skills were not as good, like Bai Mengwan. If she embroidered the same piece, she might barely cover the cost.

What Zhou Chong did not know was that Bai Junwan was already famous in Nanjing. She was well-versed in various subjects and had extremely high embroidery skills. Many noblewomen in the area had once sought her advice on embroidery. Bai Junwan had always treated embroidery as a hobby, but she never expected to have to rely on it to support her family. This time, due to the urgency and lack of money to buy expensive silk threads, the flower and bird embroidery she made was not her best work. Otherwise, a piece of embroidery selling for tens of taels would not be surprising.

That day, Zhou Chong, as usual, got up early, exercised, and then had breakfast before continuing to write "The Golden Lotus." This was mainly because Zhou Chong's life had been very boring lately. Zhou'er and Duo'er had their own playmates and rarely came to find him, so he could only use this method to pass the time.

He kept writing until almost noon, then put down his pen, stretched his stiff neck, and walked out of the door. He found that it was another sunny day with no wind. Not wanting to write anymore, he strolled out of the courtyard and into the garden.

It was already the 27th of the 12th lunar month, and in three days, it would be New Year's Eve, followed by the arrival of the new year. However, the closer it got to the New Year, the warmer the weather became. Wearing a cotton coat and moving around a bit at noon could even make one feel hot.

Zhou Chong walked along the garden's gravel path to the pond in the center of the garden. He found that the ice on the pond's surface had melted, and the large hole they had broken earlier had disappeared. The leaves on the water's surface floated gently, and occasionally, small fish would surface and gently blow a series of bubbles.

"Ha ha, Brother, come over quickly, we're fishing!" At that moment, Zhou Chong heard someone shouting from the long corridor over the pond. Following the sound, he saw Zhou'er and Bai Mengwan sitting at the end of the corridor, holding fishing rods and waving to him. Behind them, Bai Junwan was sitting on a chair, holding a book and smiling at him.

Invited by the beauties, Zhou Chong naturally could not refuse. He greeted Zhou'er and walked to the corridor, smiling, "You two are so leisurely, coming here to fish. How's the catch? Did you catch any fish?"

When Zhou Chong mentioned the fish, Bai Mengwan blushed and lowered her head, not daring to meet his eyes.

"Of course! Brother, look at the fish I caught. We'll make fish soup later!" Zhou'er proudly held up a small bucket. Zhou Chong looked inside and saw only a few small fish, which made him laugh heartily.

Seeing that her brother was not giving her face, Zhou'er was very angry. Zhou Chong, sensing the situation, wisely retreated, saying he did not want to disturb their fishing, thus avoiding Zhou'er's anger.

Since Zhou Chong did not disturb Zhou'er and Bai Mengwan's fishing, he naturally had to disturb Bai Junwan's reading. He sat opposite her and asked, "What book are you reading, Miss Bai?"

Hearing Zhou Chong's question, Bai Junwan closed her book and smiled, "Zhou Gongzi, you are so talented. I never expected that the 'Journey to the West' which caused a huge sensation in the scholarly world was written by you!"

Zhou Chong then realized that Bai Junwan was holding a newly printed copy of "Journey to the West." This was the sample book sent by the Xie family yesterday, which he had not had time to read and had been taken by Zhou'er. He did not expect it to be borrowed by Bai Junwan.

"Ha ha, I didn't expect Miss Bai to like the book I wrote. But for me, writing is just a means of making a living, and I can't really claim to be very talented," Zhou Chong said honestly, but his words sounded like modesty to Bai Junwan.

"Zhou Gongzi, you are too modest. 'Journey to the West' is a novel, but it is rich in content and vivid in characters. More importantly, although the content seems absurd, it is actually a reflection of reality. Everything in the book can be found in our daily lives. I wonder how you, so young, managed to write such a book?" Bai Junwan said with great admiration.

In Nanjing, she had only two hobbies: reading and embroidery. The fame of "Journey to the West" had already reached Nanjing, but she had never had the chance to read it. She never expected to meet the original author of "Journey to the West" during her escape, which made her sigh at the unpredictability of life.

"Thank you for your praise, Miss Bai. In fact, my situation was similar to yours. We were both struggling to make ends meet. To feed and clothe our families, we had to find ways to earn money. Miss Bai's embroidery skills are unparalleled, and I can only write. So, in essence, there is not much difference between us," Zhou Chong said with a smile.

Hearing Zhou Chong compare himself to her and show such respect, Bai Junwan blushed and felt a growing fondness for him.

Bai Junwan then asked Zhou Chong some questions about "Journey to the West," and he answered them one by one. However, just as they were enjoying their conversation, Manager Xu rushed into the garden, wiping sweat and handed a letter to Zhou Chong, saying, "Young Master, someone slipped a letter under our front door today. It says to open it personally. I didn't dare delay, so I brought it to you immediately."

"Oh?" Zhou Chong was also surprised. He took the letter, opened it, and his face immediately changed. He stood up hurriedly and said, "Manager Xu, I have something to attend to and might not be back for dinner tonight. Don't wait for me!"

Zhou Chong then quickly left, leaving Manager Xu and Bai Junwan puzzled, both guessing the content of the letter and what could have made him leave in such a hurry.