Chapter 22, Day 1:
This is the first time since Huanxue Mountain Villa was built that outsiders have stayed overnight.
Calling them outsiders wouldn't be accurate; from the moment they were selected as pageboys, Shen Yan, Long Shaoye, and Fang Renji were "one of their own" at the manor.
After the afternoon's servant exams ended, Shen Bingsi "saw off" Steward Shen and the unsuccessful servants, which took quite a bit of effort, as they didn't want to leave obediently.
After the area was cleared, it was already late. Rong Xie prepared a simple meal for the three children and told them where the food reserves in the kitchen were, and that they could take some whenever they were hungry.
The three children were at the age where they were growing rapidly, so they got hungry very easily and ate with great relish. Watching them eat so heartily, Rong Xie felt a strange sense of satisfaction.
Although Shen Bingsi and other guests visiting the villa also praised Rong Xie's cooking, nothing was more convincing than the children's heads buried in their bowls. Shen Yan and Long Shaoye were like two buckets of rice, pouring food down their throats quickly without lingering. Fang Renji ate a little slower than them and choked several times, stretching his neck.
After the meal, it got dark. Rong Xie released a luminous talisman, which hovered over the winding branches of the weeping plum tree in Longyou, illuminating the way for the three children.
"Thank you for your hospitality, Brother Rong," Shen Yan said politely.
"I'll go wash the dishes!" Long Shaoye stood up.
"Hiccup," Fang Renji rubbed his stomach, "Wait, wait a minute, I'll go too."
There were quite a few dishes piled on the table, and it would be quite troublesome for one person to wash them. So the three kids went together. Some washed, some wiped, some organized, and some chatted. It was like playing around, and they finished in no time.
After dinner, Rong Xie led the three to their room. To make it easier for them to come and go, the three of them stayed in an empty room on the side of the front yard. This room used to be filled with miscellaneous goods, but now it has been cleared out and several large wooden boxes have been put together to form a large communal bed. Newly made mattresses and quilts have been laid on top, which is where the three of them rest.
"Wow, this blanket is so comfortable and smells so good."
"It must be freshly sun-dried cotton, it's so soft."
The three children hugged their blankets, sniffing and rubbing them against their faces, unable to believe that being a pageboy meant having such a comfortable bed to sleep in.
"These are just temporary arrangements. I don't know how many people will come or how to arrange things. Now that you've settled in here, the manor lord and I will go to town another day to get you three new beds," Rong Xie said with a smile.
"Thank you, Brother Rong, but you don't need to bother with my bed. I'm perfectly comfortable sleeping here," Shen Yan said.
Long Shaoye echoed, saying that he and Shen Yan had no problem sleeping in a shared dormitory.
Seeing this, Fang Renji slowly said, "I... I'll also sleep in the communal room."
The three little ones are easy to raise; apart from having a big appetite, they are not picky about any living conditions.
However, some daily necessities still need to be purchased outside.
“It’s too late today, let’s do it tomorrow. Tomorrow morning, we’ll go to Yingbin Town and buy the complete set of daily necessities for new disciples. That way we’ll have everything we need,” Rong Xie said.
"Yes, Brother Rong, when do we set off? Is there a water clock here?" Shen Yan asked.
A clepsydra is a timekeeping device used in the Shen family manor. The head steward, Mr. Shen, has a strong desire to control time and has a detailed timetable down to the 15th of a minute. All the servants in the manor must live and work according to this timetable.
“There’s no water clock,” Rong Xie hesitated for a moment, wondering if they should get one so it would be easier to make appointments. But, were there really that many things that needed to be scheduled? Anyway, they all lived in the villa, so they could just come and call. “We’re not that strict here. We work at sunrise and rest at sunset. Just make sure you’re in bed when the sun is shining on your blankets.”
"Ah..." The three little ones were confused—without a water clock, when should they get up and assemble? When should they drill in front of the courtyard? When should they prepare breakfast? When should they sweep the house and do laundry? If they didn't follow the schedule, they might offend their master at an inappropriate time, incurring his wrath, and he would inevitably punish them by making them stand in the sun without food, which would be terrible.
Seeing the three people's reactions, Rong Xie knew what they were thinking. He smiled slightly and said, "I used to work at Shen Family Manor, so I know Uncle Shen's habits. However, Huanxue Manor doesn't have that many people living there, nor that much work to do. If anything happens, I'll just let you know. This kind of... carefree life might be a little hard to get used to at first, but over time, you'll appreciate its charm."
The three of them looked somewhat unfocused. "This kind of life without scruples"—it sounded unsettling! What could possibly be so wonderful about it?
“If you really want to know the time, there’s a sundial in the warehouse in the backyard. You can go take a look when you have time. Also, every hour on the hour, the main peak of the Spirit Realm Sect will ring a bell. You can hear it if you quiet down,” Rong Xie said.
A clock that can only be heard when it's quiet... that must be a clock that only very idle people would pay attention to. The three thought.
"Next... what I'm about to say is very important," Rong Xie said solemnly.
The three of them snapped out of their daze and looked at Rong Xie.
"Although I will show you the layout of the manor and explain its strict rules later, before that, at the request of the manor lord, I need to inform you of something in advance..."
As the moon rose above the treetops, Rong Xie returned to his bedroom, where Shen Bingsi was already waiting in bed.
"How was the chat?" Shen Bingsi propped her head up with one hand and placed the other on the edge of the bed, patting it to signal Rong Xie to come up and talk.
"There's so much to talk about, let's just get to the important things first. We still have a ton of things to do tomorrow, aren't you going to rest?" Rong Xie walked around him, climbed up from the foot of the bed, took out a table from the couch, and placed it between the two of them.
Shen Bingsi sat up abruptly, her elbows resting on the table on the tatami mat: "When do we start learning?"
Rong Xie was taken aback. He was about to ask what they should learn when he suddenly realized what Shen Bing Si meant. His face immediately flushed. He lowered his head, pretending to be nonchalant, and pressed the back of his hand to his cheek to cool it down: "The servants have just been recruited and haven't been settled in yet. How could they have time to study..."
“You weren’t like this before,” Shen Bingsi suddenly leaned forward and got close to Rong Xie. “Before, when you got a cultivation method, you would overcome all difficulties and read it through three times from beginning to end, marking the problems so that you could block the head elder and ask him all the questions you wanted during the next class.”
"..." Rong Xie leaned back slightly, avoiding Shen Bingsi's prickly head. "There are priorities. Right now, the urgent thing is to settle the servants, establish rules for them, and also..."
"And then there's taking care of their three meals a day, their daily needs, even their bed sheets and blankets have to be aired and laid out in advance. You're not hiring servants, you're raising sons." Shen Bingsi's words became sharp. "Haven't you always hated children?"
It turns out that Shen Bingsi hadn't been lying in bed the whole time; at least his spiritual sense was still wandering around outside, and he knew how Rong Xie entertained the three children in the front yard.
“I really don’t like children,” Rong Xie said. “Taking care of them is a hassle…don’t you think it’s a hassle?”
“I don’t think so,” Shen Bingsi said, “because I don’t take care of him.”
"..." Rong Xie was speechless.
"And they won't appreciate your kindness, you'll never know what they're thinking." Rong Xie added two more points, "By the way, I've already told them that they are not allowed to enter this courtyard without permission."
“And the study, the flower hall, the underground storerooms,” Shen Bingsi continued, “as well as the entire backyard.”
"No, do you have so many restricted areas?" Rong Xie said, both amused and exasperated.
The first thing the master of the manor had to tell his servants was which places they could go and which places they couldn't go. This was what Rong Xie solemnly informed the three young servants.
It's understandable that they can't come to the bedroom or go to the underground storage rooms. In fact, these places are also protected by restrictions, and no one can enter unless Shen Bingsi gives permission.
But the study and the flower hall are open spaces for receiving guests and need to be cleaned and tidied up frequently. The exotic flowers and plants in the flower hall also need to be cared for from time to time. If we don't let them in, what is the purpose of summoning this servant boy?
“I might come up with some sword techniques while walking in the back garden and then practice them on the spot. Also, when I’m reading in the study, I sometimes enter a meditative state to contemplate some principles and I can’t be disturbed,” Shen Bingsi said confidently. “And the flower hall.”
"And the flower hall." Rong Xie wondered what else he could come up with.
"You wouldn't want to be seen when we're studying and exchanging ideas, would you?"
"……………………"
Rong Xie's face suddenly felt hot. He could feel smoke coming out of his ears. If the heat had a physical form, his entire head would probably be surrounded by flames.
He hated Shen Bingsi; he had tainted the word "study" into some kind of filthy mess.
The culprit who caused the trouble simply left behind the words "Get some rest" and quickly went to the next room.
Leaving Rong Xie behind, he tossed and turned for a long time, his mind filled with one stimulating image after another, unable to rest at all.
“That’s not right… I would never study and exchange ideas with Shen Bingsi in a place like the flower hall, which is drafty on all sides.” Rong Xie suddenly lifted his head from under the covers.
Despite saying that, Rong Xie still got out of bed and added the following item to the servant training memo in tiny characters: "Shen Bing Si's quirk of not being disturbed."
The next morning, Rong Xie finished washing up early and went to the front yard.
He had planned to reheat the sesame seed cakes and soup from yesterday to tide him over for the three little ones, so that they could have a proper meal when they arrived in Yingbin Town.
Before I even reached the front yard, I saw smoke rising from the chimney.
Standing in the courtyard in the dim morning light, Rong Xie heard the sound of pots and pans clattering together. He picked up a ladle and scooped a full spoonful of water from the water vat, then poured it into some container with a "whoosh." Bubbles rose from the bottom of the pot, and the lid sizzled as it was shaken.
The quiet mountain villa was suddenly filled with noise, but the noise was not unpleasant at all; on the contrary, it warmed people's hearts.
The steaming hot soup dumplings were served. Shen Yan was the head chef, and Long Shaoye was his assistant. When Fang Renji saw Rong Xie coming over, he went back into the house and brought out a chair.
The four of them enjoyed a hearty meal at the stone table, then cleared away the dishes and set off for Yingbin Town.
It took about half a morning to get all the daily necessities we needed, we had a quick meal, and then we came back together.
The journey was filled with laughter and chatter. Shen Yan and Long Shaoye kept talking, and Fang Renji would occasionally blurt out a silly remark that made everyone laugh.
After digesting their food, Rong Xie took out a flying talisman, gave one to Shen Yan, and they each flew back to the manor with Fang Renji and Long Shaoye.
"Brother Rong, is there any more work to do?" The three younger ones put down their purchases and asked eagerly.
On their first day at the resort, they ate, drank, and shopped, and Rongxie paid for all the daily necessities they bought. They felt uneasy and felt uncomfortable if they didn't do some heavy work right away.
“There will definitely be work, but don’t rush. I’ll take you on a tour of the manor first so you can understand the rules and regulations of the manor,” Rong Xie paused, “The prohibitions mainly refer to… the various taboos of your master, things that you absolutely cannot violate.”
The three younger ones exchanged glances. It wasn't surprising that the Great Master had taboos; powerful people always had some kind of sore spot. However, what they were curious about was what kind of taboos a Nascent Soul cultivator might have.
"Let's talk as we walk," Rong Xie said, leading the way towards the central gate.
The middle gate is the dividing point between the front yard and the back yard. Passing through the middle gate means you have officially entered Rong Xie and Shen Bing Si's private domain.
The three children followed excitedly.
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