Chapter 54 Meeting Master Fan Again

Zhu Er's commotion left everyone speechless. When he approached, Fan Shi was the quickest to react.

Immediately, Madam Fan stood up and stood protectively in front of Fan Xiaoxiao and the others like a mother hen, stammering, "No, nothing! You misheard!"

After saying that, Madam Fan turned around, picked up Xiao Bao, and pulled Fan Xiaoxiao and Aunt Wang, saying, "Let's go, let's go back."

Zhu Er squinted his eyes as he watched the group of people hurry away, then his gaze shifted and landed on Old Wu, who looked completely at ease.

"Hey! Old man! What were they just saying here?"

"Who? Oh, them? They're the ones talking about collecting antiques on the awning boat! What? Is Second Master interested too?"

"Antique collectibles? What are those?"

"Hehe, this old man doesn't know. If you're interested, Second Master, why don't you go and see for yourself?"

Seeing that Old Wu was completely unyielding, Zhu Er spat, snorted, and walked towards the awning boat.

"Get out of the way! Can't you see your second grandfather?!"

Zhu Er's shout silenced the previously bustling crowd. Zhu Er scoffed, pushed aside several people blocking his way, and walked to the awning boat, scrutinizing the stall owner.

The stall owner was a tall, thin middle-aged man with a small goatee, and he had piles of junk in front of him. He was also dressed in tattered clothes, and did not look like he had any money at all.

"Ha, you? A collector of antiques?"

The stall owner could hear the sarcasm and disdain in Zhu Er's words, but he wasn't annoyed. He simply nodded slowly to Zhu Er and said, "Indeed, I wonder if you're selling antiques, sir? Here I have teacups, walnuts, and beads! As long as they're handled well, I'll buy them all."

Upon hearing the old man mention walnuts, Zhu Er's ears twitched slightly.

"You just said you were buying walnuts? What kind of walnuts?"

...

On the way back, Xiao Bao looked a little sullen as he held the sugar figurine. Seeing this, Fan Xiaoxiao couldn't help but try to cheer him up.

"Xiao Bao, what are you thinking about? The sugar figurine is about to melt!"

"Hmm!"

Xiao Bao snapped back to reality and immediately looked nervously at his sugar figurines. Only after confirming that neither had melted did the little guy breathe a sigh of relief. Then, after a brief hesitation, he picked out the prettier one and handed it to Fan Xiaoxiao.

"Here, Auntie can have some."

"For me? Little Bao, you can have it yourself. Auntie won't take your candy away from you!"

"Auntie, eat!"

Xiao Bao stubbornly pushed the candy towards Fan Xiaoxiao again, looking as if he wouldn't take it unless she did. This reminded Fan Xiaoxiao of the night she visited the Fan family, when the little guy had also stubbornly insisted on having porridge from her.

Fan Xiaoxiao couldn't help but smile, and reluctantly accepted the candy from Xiaobao, saying, "Okay, okay, I'll eat it! Thank you, Xiaobao!"

"Um!"

Xiao Bao nodded emphatically and finally ate his candy with peace of mind. But after taking a few steps, Xiao Bao sighed like a little adult.

"Why!"

Before even putting the candy in her mouth, Fan Xiaoxiao raised an eyebrow and asked Xiaobao, "Bao, what's wrong with you sighing like that?"

"Auntie, can walnuts really be exchanged for money?"

When Manager Ji, who was walking in front, heard Xiao Bao's question, he smiled and turned around to answer it for Fan Xiaoxiao.

"Of course! These ornamental walnuts are worth a lot of money! A pair of top-quality ones can be worth at least a hundred taels of silver!"

This amount was clearly beyond Xiao Bao's calculation range, and he hurriedly asked Steward Ji, "Uncle! How much is one hundred taels?"

"Hmm... One hundred taels of silver, that's five thousand coins. Xiao Bao's sugar figurines cost two coins each. So one hundred taels can buy twenty thousand sugar figurines."

Xiao Bao's mouth gaped open, and he exclaimed in a daze, "Wow! So many!"

Aunt Wang chuckled as she wiped the dirt from Xiao Bao's mouth, tapped his nose, and said, "Yes! So many!"

To everyone's surprise, Xiao Bao's lips twitched when he heard this, and he looked a little unhappy again.

"Our walnuts were stolen by the bad guys..."

Everyone was both amused and exasperated by Xiao Bao's words. The child was good in every way, except for being a bit stubborn. Fan Xiaoxiao chuckled and tapped his nose.

"Hey, don't even think about those two walnuts! They might even help us get out of Guqu Town without spending any money!"

"But, but..."

Xiao Bao was about to say something more when Madam Fan comforted him, saying, "Alright, didn't you say last night that you wanted to make fish balls together? How about we go to Uncle Ji's place and help them make fish balls?"

Upon hearing that he could help make fish balls, Xiao Bao instantly became excited and stopped worrying about the two walnuts. The group happily returned to Linjiang Restaurant, where the fish they had bought earlier had already been delivered to the kitchen.

Ji Yushu, who had gone to see off fans earlier, had also returned and was watching the cook kill fish.

"Young Master!"

Upon hearing Steward Ji's voice, Ji Yushu turned around and smiled when he saw that it was Fan Xiaoxiao and her group. "You're back. Old Li and the others at the dock just brought over the fish. Hey! Why didn't you say you were going to make these meatballs today? If I had known, I would have gone to Master's place later. Now, I have to go there again later."

Fan Xiaoxiao heard Ji Yushu mention his master again, and couldn't help but feel curious.

"My lord has a master?"

Ji Yushu nodded, seemingly recalling her old man, and said with a helpless smile, "Yes! He's quite a serious old man. He knows a lot of things and is a good friend of my father. Oh! I also mentioned you to him."

"My business?"

"Yes! It's about your Snowball Vegetarian Shark Fin Soup! You know, my master usually loves to drink tea and eat fish, and this was the first time he'd ever heard of fish meat being made into balls. He hinted that he wanted me to make some for him. So as soon as the vermicelli was dried, I sent some over."

I didn't expect to be making Yukimaru today; if I had known, I would have gone later.

Upon hearing Ji Yushu's description, Fan Xiaoxiao pictured a serious-looking but greedy old man in her mind. She went through all the characters in the book in her mind, but couldn't recall such a person at all.

"He sounds like an interesting old man."

"Yes, but he seems to be quite busy these days. He hasn't left the house much. If there's a chance, I'll definitely let you, Miss Fan, meet him!"

It was clear that Ji Yushu greatly admired his master; his eyes sparkled when he spoke of the old man. Fan Xiaoxiao smiled and nodded, then, after washing Xiaobao's hands, joined the cooks in making fish balls.

An hour later, a large pot of fish balls was ready. Ji Yushu picked out some of the nice-looking ones, wrapped them up, and then left Linjiang Tower. The rest were sent to the ice cellar by Steward Ji.

After a busy afternoon, Fan Xiaoxiao and her companions finally sat down to drink tea and rest. Before they could even settle in, a servant rushed in, panting heavily as he leaned on his knees, clearly having run all the way. Seeing his out-of-breath condition, Aunt Wang quickly poured him a cup of water.

"What's wrong? Why are you so anxious?"

"Auntie! Something terrible has happened! Something terribly terrible has happened! Zhu Er and Hou San! They're fighting!"

(End of this chapter)