Chapter 135: Envy

Gong Qi came out of the bathing shed and saw Tang Luwu standing not far away with clean clothes in her hands.

"This is my eldest brother's clothes, please change the dirty clothes first!"

Gong Qi was a little embarrassed: "Isn't this bad? Will your brother be angry?"

"My elder brother is not so stingy." Tang Luwu stuffed the clothes into his arms. "I'm just borrowing it. I'm not not going to return it to him."

"Where is your eldest brother? Oh, I see. Is he repairing the dam? However, your family should be able to afford the two taels of silver fee, so you don't have to let him repair the dam!"

"My eldest brother is studying in the academy. He will take the imperial examination soon. He seldom comes home. Our family spent money to buy a place, so no one went to repair the dam."

"Thank you then. I will definitely wash it clean before I leave." Gong Qi said with a smile.

"Your clothes won't be dry tomorrow, right?" Tang Luwu said, "You can wear them first. There's no need to be in such a hurry."

"Just let it dry in the oven. Your brother's clothes are so good. It would be terrible if a waiter like me wore them back and damaged them or got greasy stains on them that couldn't be washed off."

"Then tomorrow you can just hang my brother's clothes on the clothesline and I will wash them. You can leave early tomorrow and don't have to work so hard." Tang Luwu said as she went into the kitchen.

Gong Qi looked at the silver-white robe and found the material to be quite comfortable to the touch.

"Scholars are different. Nine out of ten scholars like white. I really don't understand what's so good about white. It doesn't get dirty and it doesn't look festive."

Tang Yi smiled and came out after taking a shower, and it was Gong Qi's turn to take a shower. Gong Qi personally went to the kitchen to get some hot water, then mixed it with warm water and brought it to the bathroom.

The simple bathing shed was set up by Qin Huiyin and others for the convenience of bathing. There was a tattered cloth hanging outside, and two empty baskets hung on the wall inside, one for clean clothes and the other for dirty clothes. There was also a small wooden box containing soap nuts for bathing.

When Gong Qi came out of the shower, the aroma from the kitchen had already penetrated his nose. He sniffed the air and his stomach began to rumble.

Tang Yi walked over with a smile and took the dirty clothes from him: "I'll wash them for you."

"No, no." Gong Qi quickly snatched it back.

"You are the guest, I am the host, I should take care of you."

"No, I can do it myself." Gong Qi said awkwardly, "Since I lost my parents when I was ten years old, I have been doing my own washing and sewing. I would feel uncomfortable if someone else did it for me."

Tang Yi smiled and looked at Gong Qi with sympathy in his eyes.

Gong Qi: "...Don't look at me like that. My parents were killed by bandits. This is a man-made disaster, and no one can prevent it. Fortunately, I have my aunt and uncle, and they treat me very well."

"As long as there are relatives around, they are children blessed by God. There are so many orphans in the world who have lost their parents. They have no relatives to take care of them and eventually become street children."

"Are you comforting me?" Gong Qi laughed. "Okay, I am comforted. Thank you, Brother Xiao. But I have a question that I want to ask you. I hope I won't be too abrupt."

"What's the problem?" Tang Yi responded to Gong Qi with a smile while walking to the well to fetch water.

Seeing this, Gong Qi put the dirty clothes into the wooden basin and took over the job of fetching water.

"Your family looks different. Look, your mother and your second sister are fair and tender, but you and your eldest sister don't have such fair skin. Also, your mother and your second sister speak with a soft accent, while you, your eldest sister, and your father speak with the accent of the locals."

"This is not a secret. You can find out the secret by asking anyone you like. My mother and my second sister are biological mother and daughter. My mother brought my second sister to marry into our family half a year ago."

"I see that you have a very good relationship, just like a family, and there are no conflicts at all..."

"We are family. My second sister said that it doesn't matter if you are related by blood to be family. As long as you care about each other, pay attention to each other, and think about each other, you are also family."

"That's great, your family is very lucky."

He followed his uncle in business and had seen all kinds of people. It was common for a man to have a stepfather after marrying a stepmother, but it was rare to have real relatives like them.

"It's time to eat!" Qin Huiyin shouted. "Little brother, your favorite grilled fish and pickled fish are ready."

"Fortunately, the new table is big enough, otherwise it wouldn't be able to hold the food that this greedy little cat loves." Li Taohua said, "Put the table and chairs in place, and put out the dishes and chopsticks."

"I am coming." Tang Yi responded with a smile, and then said to Gong Qi, "Eat first and then wash! My second sister's cooking skills are amazing. If she opened a shop, it would definitely be packed with customers."

Gong Qi never doubted Qin Huiyin's cooking skills. She could make so many delicious sauces, which showed that her cooking skills would not disappoint people. However, after eating the grilled fish, the deliciousness was beyond his expectations.

Gong Qi looked at Qin Huiyin with burning passion, which frightened Li Taohua. She thought that there was another person who was targeting her daughter. But what he said made her realize that she was worrying too much.

"Young boss, can you sell me the recipe for grilled fish? The price is fifty taels of silver."

Several people nearby were stunned.

A dish like this can be sold for fifty taels of silver?

Everyone looked at Qin Huiyin, waiting for her final decision.

Qin Huiyin said, "I can sell you the grilled fish recipe. If you buy it together with the pickled fish recipe, I'll give it to you at a lower price. The two dishes together will cost seventy taels."

Gong Qi tasted the pickled fish and immediately agreed.

Everyone's eyes changed when they looked at Gong Qi.

Just now, Tang Yixiao was still sympathizing with Gong Qi's situation and looked at him as if he were a small bitter gourd. But now when he looked at him again, he saw a golden God of Wealth.

"Brother Qi, please eat more." Tang Yi smiled and picked up some food for him enthusiastically.

Gong Qi smiled and said, "Thank you, you eat too."

"Can you make the decision?" Li Taohua doubted, "This is seventy taels, not seventy coins."

"My aunt and uncle don't have a son, only a daughter. My cousin and I were betrothed to each other, so I will be the son-in-law of my aunt and uncle in the future, so I can still make the decision."

Everyone: “…”

Who were they sympathizing with before?

He was said to be a waiter, and he said the shop belonged to his uncle. He was said to be just a nephew and could not decide who was the boss, but it turned out that he was the designated successor!

After dinner, several people went to the yard to digest the food. As for the messy table, they would clean it up after digesting the food.

Talking about the recipe just mentioned, Gong Qi said that next time he goes to their store, he will teach this skill to their chef and settle the money then.

Qin Huiyin thought there was nothing wrong with it and made an appointment with him to discuss the menu after they set up the stall next time.

Gong Qi washed his clothes and hung them in front of the charcoal basin where grilled fish had been cooked, waiting for them to dry.

Qin Huiyin thought it was troublesome, so she asked him to put on the clothes and take them away and she could get them next time.

Gong Qi smiled and said, "No, this brazier is quite hot. It will definitely be done if we roast it for a while longer."