Chapter 017 Chapter 17

"Master Jiu, Young Master, we're here." Mr. Hu said.

Gong Jiu got off the car first. After Xue Chen was carried out by Mr. Hu, he found that the driver who had been with him all the way had disappeared.

The residence Gong Jiu found was much larger than Xue Chen had imagined. The front door was closed, and the threshold was at least 20 centimeters high. The side door was open. Gong Jiu had no intention of waiting for Xue Chen. He disappeared after a few steps after entering.

"Have you been here before?" Xue Chen asked.

"No." Hu Sheng came in through the small door. "This is the first time."

A middle-aged man dressed as a butler hurried over to greet him. Seeing Xue Chen being held, he did not show much surprise: "Are you Mr. Xie Heng?"

"I am Xie Heng."

"My name is Qiu Shu. I am in charge of all matters in the mansion. The Ninth Young Master sent a message half a month ago saying that you were coming. I have already asked everyone to pack up. Please go this way."

Xue Chen could not walk by himself. Being held in someone's arms and talking to a stranger, he felt an indescribable embarrassment.

He should have asked Qiu Shu to obey the Taiping Palace or the Nameless Island. Now he did not want to say a word and his attitude was extremely cold. Hu Sheng held him through the corridor, walked around the yard for most of the way, came through the moon gate, and entered the west courtyard.

There is a dense yew tree growing in the yard, which looks very lively.

There are not many furnitures in the house, which is spacious and clean.

Xue Chen sat on a chair in the main hall: "Where is he?"

Qiu Shu was stunned for a moment: "You mean Master Jiu? Master Jiu just came back from outside, and he will probably take a bath and change clothes, and go to the welcoming banquet of the state government office in the evening."

Xue Chen frowned: "I'm asking where Gong Jiu lives, is it close to here?"

This is the top priority, which is related to whether he can sleep well at night.

Qiu Shu: "Master Jiu lives in Cangyunxuan in the east courtyard, which is some distance away from Hongdouju. It takes at least an incense stick of time to get there."

Xue Chen: "Is this place called Hongdouju?"

Qiu Shu: "This house was originally the home of Chen Xingye, a wealthy family in Jiangxi. Unfortunately, the Chen family's wealth could not last more than three generations, and they fell into decline. The descendants of the Chen family sold their ancestral property, and Master Jiu bought it and used it as a place to stay. The yew tree in the yard outside was planted by Chen Xingye when he became rich. It is very long-lived and has lived for nearly a hundred years. In order to get a good omen, this yard was renamed Hongdouju."

So frank!

Is this the treatment of formal employees?

Xue Chen suddenly felt that Wuming Island was pretty good. It provided food and accommodation, with high pay and little work, and you could travel at public expense.

The only bad thing was that the boss had a unique XP and didn't care about the lives of his employees when he was angry.

Qiu Shu: "The hot water will be delivered in a while. The Ninth Young Master was thinking about you, so he specially changed the tea sets in the room, and the clothes in the cabinet were all newly made according to your size. Mr. Xie can use them with confidence."

Xue Chen: "He is thoughtful."

Qiu Shu: "If you don't have any other instructions, I will take my leave first."

Xue Chen: "Go down."

Xue Chen took a bath, and was carried to a low stool by Hu Sheng, allowing him to wipe his hair.

Through the thin green gauze curtains, the maids brought the food to the table.

Lotus blood duck, fish with fermented lees, stir-fried pork with Artemisia selengensis, Yonghe tofu, radish cakes, and clay pot stewed soup, just a few dishes filled up the not-so-big table. The

aroma of the hot dishes was tempting. Xue Chen was not hungry at first, but when he smelled the food, he suddenly felt that he would be starving to death if he was a little later.

He said coldly: "Gong Jiu should be going to the banquet now, right?" My

brother went out to the banquet without me!

The local officials were treating us to a meal there, and they must have the best chefs and the freshest ingredients, which were much higher in quality than the meal he was having now.

Xue Chen: [So greedy.]

System: [Didn't he give you money? Let's go to the most expensive restaurant tomorrow!]

Xue Chen: [It's not the same thing. I have to fight for my right to be at the table. 】

System: 【How come you don’t have the qualifications to sit at the table? Will you eat on the floor later?】

Xue Chen: 【…Are you sick?】

Hu Sheng could see that Xue Chen was a little unhappy, but he didn’t know why. He figured it out and said a few nice words to Gong Jiu: “Those hawks and dogs in the court are difficult to deal with, and they are extremely particular about face and pomp. It’s unknown how long Master Jiu will have to socialize with them. If you are tired, take a rest after dinner. When Master Jiu comes back, I will get the account book.”

Not only did Gong Jiu not take him to the banquet, he also made him work overtime!

After wiping his hair, Mr. Hu carried him to the dining table. Xue Chen looked listless, and ate elegantly. When he was almost done, he drank soup and ate carrot cakes. After dinner, he asked Mr. Hu to leave the wine. When no one was paying attention, he poured out all the wine in the pot and replaced it with water from another pot. He pretended to drink and continued to eat tea cakes.

System: [Is this okay?]

Xue Chen: [Didn’t you say that as long as others think I fit the character setting, it’s okay? Just tell me whether the synchronization rate has increased or not.]

System: […It has increased, synchronization rate +1.]

It was late at night when Gong Jiu came back. Seeing that the lights were still on here, he came directly over.

Seeing the thin figure sitting at the table, slightly blurred by the dim candlelight, he seemed to see his brother far away in the palace.

"Are you waiting for me?" Gong Jiu raised his eyebrows and walked into the house.

He originally planned to put down the account book and leave, but after seeing the calm young man, he changed his mind and sat directly opposite him.

Xue Chen said lightly: "I'm eating."

Gong Jiu watched him eat and followed him to take a tea cake.

This tea cake is made of flour, mixed with tea oil, osmanthus, malt sugar, and sesame and baked. It is small in size and fragrant.

He originally didn't want to let Xue Chen know too much, but seeing that Xue Chen was so motivated, he weighed the pros and cons and was sure that it was nothing serious, so he said, "You should have seen it when you came here. Not long ago, there was a locust plague nearby."

"I know."

"There are always people who want to take advantage of the disaster year to make a fortune, deceive the superiors and deceive the subordinates, and enrich themselves."

Xue Chen asked, "What does this have to do with you?"

Gong Jiu looked up at him, not disguising his ambition: "I want this money, too."

He took out a few account books, put them on the table, and pushed them to Xue Chen: "This is the income and expenditure of Longxing Prefecture in recent years. The bottom is the population of Longxing Prefecture. I want you to check the account as soon as possible. I will also send people to verify the actual population."

Xue Chen took the account book and flipped through a few pages: "What do you do after you get the money?"

"The Prince of Taiping is in charge of all the troops in the world and he cannot be offended easily. I come here in the name of the Prince of Taiping, so I can't do anything too excessive, lest I arouse suspicion. I will find a way to send the money to the army as rations, and take out a small and insignificant portion of it and put it in my own pocket." His eyes became sharp: "Can you balance the accounts?"

It was much more restrained than expected. Xue Chen thought that this jerk would take all the money and then find a scapegoat to take the blame.

Xue Chen still had that indifferent look: "Yes."

Gong Jiu said with satisfaction: "Very good."

Xue Chen drank the water in the cup: "Anything else?"

Gong Jiu was very tolerant of capable subordinates: "Nothing, I..."

"If you have nothing to do, come and help me massage my waist." Xue Chen said, "Mr. Hu's hands are strong, but his internal strength is shallow. Although he is very dedicated, it is not as comfortable as yours. I have been sitting in the carriage for a few days, and my body is about to fall apart." Gong

Jiu: "..."

Xue Chen smiled: "Please carry me over."

Gong Jiu: "..."