Upon receiving the praise, Tang Qingyu smiled sweetly, like a flower bud about to bloom.
Looking at Qingyu's expression, Feng Chuli smiled at Yang Xi and said, "You are the famous Constable Yang of Qingshui Town, with superb martial arts skills, yet you let her practice these fancy moves. In my opinion, it would be better if you stayed by her side to protect her."
Tang Qingyu lowered her eyes demurely, as if she had a thousand unspoken feelings that she couldn't express.
Yang Xi looked at the girl with her eyes lowered, his gaze clear and untainted by any romantic feelings. "If she is in danger, I will definitely not let her get hurt if I am by her side. It's just that I am busy with official duties and cannot take care of her all the time."
He turned his gaze to Feng Chuli and teased, "You and Qingyu live in the same house and meet every day. Wouldn't it be wonderful if you, Feng Chuli, took me as your teacher? With you protecting Qingyu, I feel at ease, and Uncle Tang can rest assured too."
“I don’t often leave the house; I stay in the manor every day, so I don’t feel any danger.” Tang Qingyu sheathed her dagger and sat down silently to the side.
When Feng Chuli saw Tang Qingyu's disappointed expression, his smile froze, and he said self-deprecatingly, "I'm just a scholar; these hands of mine can only hold a pen. How could I wield a sword or a spear?"
Yang Xi sipped his tea and smiled faintly, but he didn't believe it: "Is there anything in the world that you, Feng Chuli, can't accomplish?"
"You, you," Feng Chuli said helplessly.
——
The housewarming party ended half an hour earlier than expected. Zhou Chenyu received her wages and followed Baoyu home. She had no interest in anything and went straight to her room, collapsing onto the bed.
She slept on the hard bed in the Tang mansion for three days; even a golden nest or a silver nest couldn't compare to her doghouse.
Li Xiuju pushed open the door and entered the room. Zhou Chenyu was already fast asleep. She picked up the clothes and shoes scattered on the floor and quietly took them out to wash.
Zhou Chenyu's sleep was restless, with several nightmares in a row. All the people she used to hate in the workplace were there: a beautiful but incompetent director who only knew how to ask his subordinates for proposals; a sycophantic, self-righteous, and lecherous married manager; and a hypocritical colleague who was friendly on the surface but stabbed her in the back.
Zhou Chenyu loathed this workplace environment to the point that going to work felt like going to a funeral. She wanted to quit every second, but faced with rent expenses, monthly mortgage payments, and the vacancy period, all her impulses were suppressed by reality.
Others can leave their jobs and go home to be their parents' precious children, but she has no one behind her, only herself.
Under the immense pressure, Zhou Chenyu turned over and woke up. It was completely dark by then, but the room didn't feel as desolate and lonely as a rented apartment, as if it had been abandoned by the world.
The aroma of stir-fried vegetables wafted from the kitchen; it was the spicy and sour green beans she wanted to eat.
That's the taste of home.
The nightmare from before vanished, and Zhou Chenyu buried herself in her pillow with peace of mind. She closed her eyes for a while, folded the blankets, and went out.
Seeing her just-woke-up expression, Huangdou assumed she was in a bad mood and stretched out its whole head. Zhou Chenyu grabbed two tufts of fur near its mouth and glared at it.
Huangdou was being pulled around dumbly, not resisting at all, only its tail was swaying with its body, which amused Zhou Chenyu and made him feel better.
Li Xiuju originally thought Zhou Chenyu was sleeping soundly and would not get up to eat until later, so she wanted to get a plate to leave some food for her. But when she looked up, she saw Zhou Chenyu squatting in front of the dog, which was really inappropriate: "You little girl, you play with the dog as soon as you wake up. Go wash your hands, the food will be ready soon."
"What are we having for dinner tonight?" Zhou Chenyu asked, following behind Li Xiuju.
“I told you to wash your hands and sit down, but you still followed me here.” Li Xiuju lifted the pot lid to show her that crucian carp and tofu soup was simmering in the pot. The fish and white tofu were rolling in the water, revealing their slightly browned surfaces. After simmering for a while, the soup base had turned milky white. Li Xiuju chopped some scallions and sprinkled them in along with the softened goji berries.
The milky white broth, topped with vibrant green scallions and red goji berries, looks incredibly appetizing.
When Zhou Chenyu came back, she was exhausted and thought she didn't have much of an appetite, but when she saw the pot of crucian carp and tofu soup, her mouth watered. "This soup must be very delicious."
Zhou Chenyu only glanced at it before Li Xiuju shooed her to the dining table. Besides the spicy and sour green beans she had ordered, there was also a plate of boiled river shrimp on the table. Although the river shrimp were not as big as those bought at the market, they were a wild-grown variety and were sure to taste delicious.
No one in Qingshui Town farms river shrimp; if you want to eat them, you have to go to the river and catch them yourself.
"What a wonderful day it is today! They've cooked all my favorite dishes."
Zhou Chenyu couldn't resist reaching out and grabbing a river shrimp to peel. Baoyu came out after taking a bath and sternly reprimanded Zhou Chenyu, "Hehehe, sister, is it proper for a young lady to not use chopsticks to pick up food and only use her hands?"
Zhou Chenyu stuffed a piece of shrimp into his mouth right in front of him, and kicked him as he did so, saying, "Get out of here!"
Baoyu knew this move was coming, and dodged it before the leg flew over, raising his eyebrows triumphantly.
Li Xiuju brought out a bowl of piping hot crucian carp and tofu soup and almost bumped into Baoyu. "You're such a grown-up, why can't you be more mature?"
Zhou Chenyu helped bring it over, adding more fuel to the fire, "That's right!"
The flickering oil lamp on the dining table cast a reddish glow on the river shrimp powder, and you could also see the thin rings of oil floating on the crucian carp and tofu soup.
Li Xiuju ladled a bowl of fish soup for everyone and said, "Today, when I was washing clothes by the stream, I saw people fishing with nets. We've been eating pork all the time, so I thought I'd try something different and bought a pound of river shrimp and two crucian carp. How do you like them? If you like them, we'll buy more next time."
Zhou Chenyu took a sip of the soup from the bowl. The broth was smooth and tender, not fishy at all, but with a rich fishy aroma. She scooped up some fish and soft tofu from the bowl and ate it along with the sour, crisp, and spicy green beans. "After eating the food from Tangfu's kitchen for three days, it's not as good as the food we make at home."
Baoyu nodded as he ate a shrimp, as if he had found a kindred spirit. "Sister, you also think their food is bad, right?"
Li Xiuju peeled a few shrimp and put them in Zhou Chenyu and Baoyu's bowls. "Master Tang has paid us so much money, and you still say such things? This is not a good habit."
Baoyu pouted, "Mother, let's keep things separate. If it doesn't taste good, it doesn't taste good."
Zhou Chenyu nodded, "It really doesn't taste good."
Li Xiuju had no choice but to smile helplessly. Halfway through their meal, a sudden gust of wind blew in from outside, extinguishing the lamp wick.
Baoyu groped his way into the kitchen, found a tinderbox, and relit it. Not long after, a bolt of lightning struck the sky, and a torrential downpour followed with thunderous roars.
Looking at the heavy rain, Li Xiuju sighed, "The rice seedlings outside were just planted not long ago. If it rains all night, they'll all be soaked and all our work will be for nothing."
“Mother, we don’t have any land, what are we afraid of?” Baoyu wasn’t worried at all.
Baoyu was right, and Li Xiuju secretly rejoiced.
Zhou Chenyu looked outside, leisurely peeling shrimp. "That's right, and the weather is so nice, it's perfect for me to sleep in tomorrow. I need to give myself a short vacation and sleep as much as I want."
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