Chapter 75: Different

Zhang Xiaohua tidied up the bedding on the kang, opened his bundle, and took out the things he needed. Then he put the bundle in the small cabinet on the kang.

Although someone had lived in this kang before, Liu Er had just left, and the things were neatly arranged. Liu Er hadn't left much behind, which saved Zhang Xiaohua the trouble of tidying up for someone else.

After tidying everything up, Zhang Xiaohua sat on the kang, about to carefully examine the room, when his stomach growled loudly. Zhang Xiaohua blushed and glanced at Ma Jing, who indeed looked over. Seeing that Zhang Xiaohua was looking at him, Ma Jing smiled and said, "Brother Xiaohua, are you hungry? Don't worry, we'll go eat in a moment."

Zhang Xiaohua nodded and said, "Okay."

Since noon, when he had eaten a little at the entrance of Piaomiao Manor, and then lifted the stone lock at Lotus Escort Agency in the afternoon, he hadn't eaten anything. He hadn't felt particularly hungry until he drank some water in Tian Chongxi's room, and now he felt extremely hungry.

Fortunately, not long after, Ma Jing got off the kang, picked up a copper basin to wash his hands, and called out to Zhang Xiaohua, "Come on, brother, let's go eat."

Zhang Xiaohua happily followed Ma Jing out of the room.

The dining hall was inside the inner gate. They walked through several inner gates, and Zhang Xiaohua felt a bit dizzy. Each courtyard seemed to be about the same size as the one they were staying in, some with people living in them, others dark and empty. Zhang Xiaohua didn't dare ask too many questions and just followed. Just as he was about to get lost, he finally saw Ma Jing stop and enter a brightly lit hall.

The dining hall was surprisingly large. Zhang Xiaohua couldn't estimate its exact size, but he saw six rows of tables arranged in a rectangular hall, with about a dozen tables in each row. However, there didn't seem to be many people eating at the moment, and the hall looked quite empty.

Ma Jing entered the hall and went straight to a corner. Zhang Xiaohua looked around the hall and quickly followed Ma Jing. He thought, with so many tables, who knows where to sit? But when he reached the corner, he realized he was wrong. All the other tables were empty, except for the one in the corner, which had chopsticks and food set up. Where else could he sit?

Ma Jing had already found a seat and was about to start eating. When he saw Zhang Xiaohua standing there, he was puzzled, then he looked up and smiled, "No seats left, Xiaohua. You can sit at the empty table."

Zhang Xiaohua nodded and was about to go over when a sarcastic voice said, "Just arrived and already picky? Don't even know your own worth, and you want to eat the first-class meal?"

Zhang Xiaohua was taken aback and looked around but couldn't see who had spoken. He then carefully examined the food on the empty table and compared it with what Ma Jing and the others were eating. He realized there was indeed a difference. Without knowing what the food on the two tables was, Zhang Xiaohua could tell from the plates and bowls that there was a difference. The plates and bowls used by Ma Jing and the others were clearly larger, and there were fewer of them, while the other table had more plates, but they were smaller. The quality of the plates and bowls was also different, though Zhang Xiaohua couldn't tell the difference.

Even if Zhang Xiaohua were a bit slow, he would have realized that the empty table wasn't for him. Besides, Zhang Xiaohua wasn't slow; he just hadn't left the countryside and hadn't seen much of the world. So, he stopped and felt a bit puzzled. What did Ma Jing mean?

Just as he was thinking, more people came in. Zhang Xiaohua looked up and saw the four men in tight-fitting clothes. They went straight to the empty table and started eating without looking at the others. The middle-aged man who had patted Zhang Xiaohua's shoulder earlier glanced at him but didn't say anything or invite him to eat.

Just as Zhang Xiaohua was feeling very awkward and didn't know what to do, a voice came from behind him, "Zhang Xiaohua? Why aren't you sitting down to eat?"

Zhang Xiaohua turned around and saw that it was Tian Chongxi who had come over.

Zhang Xiaohua said, "All the tables are full, no place to sit."

Tian Chongxi was taken aback, looked at the people eating at the two tables, and frowned. Then he smiled and said, "There is a place, follow me."

He walked over to Ma Jing, pulled out a stool from under the table, and said to Zhang Xiaohua, "Sit here." Then he patted Ma Jing and the person next to him on the shoulder and said, "You two, move over and make some space."

Ma Jing grinned and said, "Brother Xi, there's no space, how can we make more?"

Tian Chongxi glared at him and said, "Liu Er used to sit here, and Zhang Xiaohua is even smaller. How can he not fit?"

The other person didn't say anything but moved over. Ma Jing had no choice but to move as well. Although the space was small, it was enough for Zhang Xiaohua. Tian Chongxi then went to another table, and the person eating there quickly pulled out a stool from under the table, and the others made a large space for him.

Zhang Xiaohua sat down and started eating the abundant dinner ravenously. Not only was he extremely hungry, but the food on the table was also very tempting. Our poor Xiaohua had never seen such a sumptuous meal before. The meat on the plate, he didn't know how it was cooked, but it was even better than braised pork. What was that meat? It was even better than fatty pork. And the fish, how could its head be so big, where did the body go? The main dish was also exceptionally fragrant and sweet. If only his grandmother could taste it. Thinking of this, Zhang Xiaohua started eating more slowly. At this moment, he noticed that almost everyone had stopped eating and was looking at his bowl. Some were mocking, some were ridiculing, some were indifferent, and some were smiling and pleased. Someone whispered, "Just by looking, you can tell he's from the countryside, he's never seen such food."

Unfortunately, Zhang Xiaohua seemed to have adapted to the gazes of the others, and he continued eating without paying attention to them. The others found it uninteresting and stopped paying attention to him, but they continued to chat while eating. Zhang Xiaohua even noticed that they were looking at the first-class meal and whispering, "We do the same work, why do they get the first-class meal and we don't?"

But this had nothing to do with Zhang Xiaohua. Eating these meals every day was already a treat. Who cared about the first-class meal? Besides, although the variety of dishes on the other side was greater, they weren't as practical as the ones here.

Eating more and eating well was Zhang Xiaohua's theme for the evening in the dining hall.

Despite eating to his heart's content, there was still a lot of food left on the table. The others didn't seem to have eaten much either. Looking at the leftover food, Zhang Xiaohua's only thought was that if he could feed it to his pigs, it would be great.

This thought lingered in his mind until he returned to the room with everyone else.

Back in the room, Ma Jing and Zhang Xiaohua each drank a cup of water and returned to their kang. Ma Jing continued to pick at his smelly feet. Zhang Xiaohua, looking at him, thought disdainfully, "Is Ma Jing's feet going to be given to someone else? He should take good care of them now."

However, the smell in the room was getting worse. Zhang Xiaohua even thought maliciously that Liu Er might have "escaped" because of this, using his mother's death as an excuse. At this moment, he wished Liu Er would come back so he could move to another room, without considering whether he could still stay at Huanxi Manor if Liu Er returned.

Finally, unable to bear it, Zhang Xiaohua got up, went to the window, and opened it. He looked outside, took a few deep breaths, and asked Ma Jing, "Brother Ma, why were there two types of food at dinner? Can you tell me?"

Ma Jing took his finger away from his nose, squinted his small eyes, and said, "Xiaohua, you're quite observant. You have a good attitude, knowing to ask when you don't understand. I'll tell you, then."

He looked out the window, over the night, and seemed to be transported back in time. Ma Jing's deep voice echoed in Zhang Xiaohua's ears, "A long, long time ago..."

Zhang Xiaohua was taken aback and asked, "A long, long time ago?"

Ma Jing replied, "Yes, before the New Year."

"Clang!" A sound interrupted Ma Jing's reminiscence. Ma Jing looked at the fallen Zhang Xiaohua and thought, "Even when he falls, he looks cool. He's the only one who deserves to live in the same room as me." Then he asked, "What's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing, I was tripped by your time-traveling thoughts," Zhang Xiaohua said with a smile.

Ma Jing continued, "Before the New Year, the people responsible for the medicinal fields at Huanxi Manor were us, the young servants of the manor. Although it was hard work and we didn't get the first-class meal, everyone was happy and enjoyed a peaceful and harmonious life. But after the New Year, around the 18th of the first month, a few more medicinal fields were opened on one side of the manor. Do you know what kind of medicine it is?"

Zhang Xiaohua was puzzled, "I don't know."

Ma Jing said, "Guess."

Zhang Xiaohua was puzzled again, "I really don't know. I've never planted or seen medicinal herbs. How can I guess?"

"Hmm," Ma Jing nodded, "I guessed you wouldn't know."

"Then, what kind of medicine is it?" Zhang Xiaohua asked eagerly.

Ma Jing said slowly, "I don't recognize it either."

"Clang!" Zhang Xiaohua fell to the ground, and Ma Jing praised, "What a cool pose."

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