Chapter 945 Yutang
[Merit: 1,166]
After checking his merit points as usual, Ouyang Rong opened his eyes again.
There were no lights on inside.
But then a dark shadow darted erratically through the air.
Upon closer inspection, it was a bronze scroll.
A young woman in Confucian robes was lying on top of it, her eyes tightly closed, clutching the scroll tightly and refusing to let go.
The bronze scroll struggled violently, swinging wildly in the air like a dragon's tail, like a wild horse that had broken free of its reins.
This one and one axe raced around Ouyang Rong's room.
Ouyang Rong's eyes adjusted to the darkness, he looked up, and stretched out his palm.
The Peach Blossom Spring painting landed steadily in Ouyang Rong's hands.
Even Miao Si, whose eyes were already blurry, couldn't stand up after letting go of the scroll once it came to a stop, feeling dizzy and seeing stars.
"Xiao Rongzi, you need to control it! It's practically climbing on the roof and tearing off the tiles."
The [Craftsmanship], which was out for a stroll, heard the little ink spirit's words of accusing the villain first, and its axis shook violently.
Fortunately, Ouyang Rong held on tightly and stopped it, otherwise the little ink spirit would have been flung away by its tail whip.
"Just shut up already. You know how you got up there. You always try to sneak food while I'm busy."
“In the past, the poor scholar in the Peach Blossom Spring painting was too lazy to move or pay attention to you, so you could still steal food and succeed. Now that there is a craftsman, you can’t steal anything without my permission.”
Miao Si frowned deeply, tilting her head to scrutinize Ouyang Rong's calmly speaking face and expression:
"Little Rongzi, you've changed. You've started to be wary of this fairy maiden."
"That's what I'm doing here to protect myself from." Ouyang Rong said casually, "Don't bother looking anymore, all the ink sticks are gone."
"You're talking nonsense. You still need it to keep this fairy from producing spirit ink, how could you possibly throw it away? You're such a stingy person."
Ouyang Rong's lips twitched slightly, remaining noncommittal.
Miao Si glanced down, walked to Ouyang Rong's shoulder, and on the way, she didn't forget to kick the aggrieved bronze scroll that was complaining.
She sat down on Ouyang Rong's shoulder, swinging her legs wildly as she said:
"Little Rongzi, I misunderstood you. Chen Jiaxin is a good friend. She'll give you whatever you need. And she's quite the chatterbox. She's practically treating you like one of her own."
Ouyang Rong lowered his eyes to examine the Peach Blossom Spring painting, nodded, and said:
"That's because I'm a good cook and I treat people with sincerity."
"Pah, shameless! You treat people with sincerity? Why don't you just tell her directly that the opponent who's suffocating her, Liu Qing, is your sister, the kind of sister who's even closer than a blood sister?"
"They've been having an honest conversation with you, and you're still pretending to be clueless, just mumbling and 'uh-huh,' never telling a lie but not entirely telling the truth, huh... Hey, a gentleman uses words, not fists, let go of my hand..."
Ouyang Rong grabbed the spouting nonsense from the little ink sprite, tossed it back into the wardrobe, and said sternly:
"A gentleman uses words, not fists, but unfortunately I'm petty and resort to both. I advise you not to provoke this gentleman again."
Miao Si stumbled and fell flat on her face, feeling dizzy and disoriented. She straightened her crooked Taoist crown and, with a stubborn neck, insisted:
"I'm just telling the truth, and you won't even let me speak the truth? What, you're getting impatient, aren't you..."
In the next instant, with a "whoosh," a bronze scroll flew past her about a foot away, almost hitting her head.
The female immortal was so frightened that she immediately pulled her head back. When she realized what was happening, her face first turned angry, but then she saw the bronze scroll turn back in the air. Her eyes widened in fear, and she quickly hid back in the wardrobe and closed the door tightly.
Ouyang Rui shook his head, too lazy to pay attention to her.
However, now that [Craftsmanship] can project the Mo Family Sword Box, it can help him manage Miao Si.
This certain female immortal is a bully at home, and Ouyang Rong sometimes finds it inconvenient to openly suppress her, lest he be accused of bullying the weak. But [Craftsmanship] is different; what's wrong with playing around with a good friend? Not long ago, the female immortal even said she missed it terribly, to the point of being ill with longing…
This is called "fighting fire with fire," where the toughest person in the family is afraid of someone even tougher and more reckless.
Ouyang Rong let the craftsman roam freely in the room, suppressing his whimsical thoughts, and turned to go to the bed to rest fully clothed.
With the little guy around, Miaosi won't be able to steal food anymore, so things should be much quieter lately.
...
The next day, morning.
It was still dark outside the window when Ouyang Rong woke up as usual.
He turned over, crossed his arms over his chest, lay on his side on the couch, and continued to close his eyes and go back to sleep.
I slept until late afternoon, and ended up with some back pain.
But I haven't had a good night's sleep in a long time.
The last time was probably when I was tricked by Li Shu and lost my job as a cook in the dining hall.
Ouyang Rong stretched.
It was still early before his shift started.
The Sun family had instructed that from today onwards, Ouyang Rong would be on the night shift. He would stay at home during the day and go to the Qingliang Valley dining hall at night to keep watch and prepare vegetarian meals for the fairies in the valley.
After staring blankly at the bed curtains for a moment, Ouyang Rong got up, pushed open the window, and took a deep breath in the warm afternoon sun.
He went to the well in the yard, drew water, and washed his face.
Suddenly, a woman's voice came from outside the neighboring courtyard wall:
"Ah Liang? Why are you still at home? Aren't you going to the cafeteria?"
Turning around, I saw Li Wan.
She was dressed elegantly, as if preparing to go out, and looked at his courtyard with a surprised expression.
Ouyang Rong offered no explanation, but succinctly stated:
"I'll go in a bit."
Li Wan nodded and said with a smile:
"You really should rest more. Now that you're a master butcher, you're in a very high position. No one in the dining hall should be bothering you anymore, which is quite comfortable."
After saying this, the woman hurried out. After the two exchanged greetings, she waved goodbye.
Ouyang Rong didn't ask Li Wan where she was going.
Lately, perhaps because she had become familiar with the area, or perhaps because she was concerned about A-Qing's opinion, Li Wan hadn't asked him for help with chores much.
Li Wan began to frequently hire other maids and servants from the island to handle miscellaneous tasks in the courtyard.
She's generous and can make even the maids earn extra money, so there are plenty of people willing to do it.
During the daytime, Li Wan seems to go out frequently, but it's unclear what she does.
Ouyang Rong only knew that she must have been visiting Zhutang often to see Lu Jinghong. Because of her frequent visits, the noblewoman had become quite familiar with the people at Zhutang. Sometimes, when she asked Ouyang Rong to cook for her, she would bring several portions together as a favor.
Li Wan is very shrewd and enjoys making friends with all sorts of people in this new environment.
The fact that he had repeatedly "troubled" Ouyang Rong in the past is a case in point.
However, Li Wan is clearly looking for new social connections right now, and her focus has shifted away from Ouyang Rong, Song Zhian, and others, with some new targets in mind.
Actually, it wasn't just Li Wan.
Previously frequent gatherings, such as Song Zhian, Yu Mili, and Lu Jinghong, have also begun to form their own new circles within their respective gangs.
People are spending less time together these days.
Only Sha Ergou still likes to come over and freeload off Brother Liu, just like before.
Ouyang Rong felt no sadness or regret about this; on the contrary, he was somewhat pleased with it.
Since he also has new circles to connect with, he needs to reduce his distractions. If Li Wan and the others contact him less often, it will save them a lot of trouble.
For example, starting today, I'll be working the night shift, going out at night and sleeping during the day, which is the opposite of a normal person's schedule. This means I'll likely have less interaction with Song Zhiran, Li Wan, and others.
Ouyang Rong did not continue sleeping in the afternoon.
The rule was that he should go to the dining hall after the servants finished their shifts in the evening, but Ouyang Rong left very early.
First, I went to the purchasing office and found Madam Chen.
The latter asked, somewhat surprised by his arrival:
"What, you're going to the storeroom to choose ingredients for tonight? Okay, sure." He added, "You're quite diligent; it's not even evening yet."
"I can't stay idle."
After he answered, Madam Chen had already taken the key and personally led him to the storeroom.
Having worked there before, Ouyang Rong was familiar with the warehouse. He took a look around and picked out some high-quality rice, along with some radishes.
Ouyang Rong did not deceive Chen Jiaxin.
He was indeed familiar with vegetarian food. He had gotten tired of eating it at the breakfast hall of Donglin Temple, but what impressed him most was the pickled radish at Donglin Temple.
Since he was making vegetarian food, he would cook some plain porridge in advance and then make some pickled radishes beforehand.
These refreshing pickled radishes should, in principle, meet the standards of the Five Ladies' vegetarian meals.
After pondering for a moment and confirming that everything was correct, Ouyang Rong began preparations...
The afternoon passed quickly, and as evening approached, the sun set.
Ouyang Rong carried the small bundle he had prepared and arrived at the dining hall.
All the other colleagues had left, leaving the dining hall nearly empty.
Ouyang Rong came to the stove and looked down.
Although I haven't been here all day, the stove is still spotless.
He turned around and searched around, and saw a familiar young woman reading a book by the window in a corner of the dining hall.
It is Wu Cui.
She must have helped tidy up.
It's great to have a cook with OCD.
Ouyang Rong nodded in her direction:
Thank you.
Wu Cui glanced at him but did not respond.
Before it was time to cook, Ouyang Rong put down the bamboo tube and small bundle, left the stove, and took a walk around the dining hall.
He was the only cook left to keep watch at night; the others were all servants, about seven or eight people in total.
Most of them were elderly women.
Ouyang Rong was the highest-ranking among them and could command them.
When he saw that Wu Cui had only gone out and disappeared for a while, returning an hour later and sitting down by the window, she didn't seem to be leaving.
Ouyang Rong subconsciously asked:
"Wu Cui, are you on night duty too?"
Wu Cui glanced at him and suddenly spoke:
"You really don't just want to be a master chef; you want more."
In an instant, Ouyang Rong stopped all his movements.
He remained expressionless and glanced at Wu Cui.
The young woman looked at him with unwavering eyes.
"What's more?"
Wu Cui did not answer, but continued talking to herself:
"Liu Aliang, your connections are indeed extensive and unfathomable. You were able to directly replace Madam Hong and transfer her to cook at night."
Ouyang Rong shook his head and said woodenly:
“I did nothing, but I was transferred here. It was the Fairy Lantang who sent me. They found Granny Sun, and I was just following their orders.”
Wu Cui's eyes still showed disbelief.
She said earnestly with her small face:
"The vegetarian meals at night are not something that ordinary people can interfere with. The arrangement of the night shift members has not changed for a long time. It won't work with Lantang either. It requires the approval of those Jade Hall Fairies in Qingliang Valley. You're not going to tell me that a Jade Hall Fairy values you and likes your cooking, so she specially instructed Lantang to make this arrangement, are you? You used to cook during the day. Have those Jade Hall Fairies ever eaten your cooking?"
"Yu Tang?"
"Uh-huh."
Wu Cui was distracted and showed no intention of explaining.
Ouyang Rong had a rough idea of what was going on. It was probably the same Yue women group that was in charge of the Five Women's Hall in Qingliang Valley, which was also the one that managed the water prison.
Clearly, Chen Jiaxin is one of the Jade Hall Fairies mentioned by Wu Cui.
Ouyang Rong wanted to nod to Wu Cui, but hesitated to speak.
Thinking that she had hit the nail on the head and made him feel short of breath and guilty, Wu Cui became even more certain of something.
The freckled young woman shook her head and continued sitting by the window, reading by the light of a nearby candle.
Ouyang Rong was too lazy to explain.
However, when he looked at Wu Cui, he noticed that the surrounding lights were somewhat dim and that she was rubbing her eyes from time to time.
Ouyang Rong went back to the stove, took some lamp oil, and added it to the lamp near her. He then casually adjusted her position.
The lights were brighter.
Wu Cui looked up at Ouyang Rong's departing figure.
He waved his hand:
"Be careful. Staring at it all day is really hard on your eyes. You're stuck in the dining hall day and night. I don't know how you get any rest. Don't push yourself too hard... For things like cultivation and studying, pushing yourself too hard will only make things less effective. Don't ask me how I know. Well, I had a friend when I was young who went to school in town every day."
Whether Wu Cui listened or not, Ouyang Rong didn't interfere further and returned to the stove to check the white porridge he was cooking.
As for Wu Cui's guesses and misunderstandings about him... thinking that he was like her, still unwilling to give up on the path to promotion, and that he came to work the night shift and stumbled upon the opportunity in Qingliang Valley... it's irrelevant and doesn't need explanation.
The dining hall was quiet at night, with everyone doing their own thing. Some elderly women even dozed off against the door.
After Ouyang Rong finished cooking the porridge, he also crossed his arms and closed his eyes to rest.
Time passed second by second, and midnight arrived.
Suddenly, with a loud bang, both doors swung open.
Ouyang Rong, Wu Cui, and the others opened their eyes and looked.
The night wind swept in, along with slanting rain.
I don't know when it started, but a light rain began to fall outside.
The servant, who had just woken up, was about to go close the door when he stopped and quickly made way for him.
A group of Yue women came carrying food.
Stop at the entrance of the dining hall.
There were about nine people, all quiet and still. The woman leading them was a Yue woman with a gilded plaque hanging from her waist, while the other eight each had a silver plaque hanging from their waists.
Ouyang Rong couldn't help but glance sideways. It was rare to see so many high-class Yue women at once, especially since they were there to collect food, as if it were free.
The silver-plated Yue Maiden requires a cultivation level of 7th grade, while the gilded-plated Yue Maiden requires a cultivation level of 6th grade.
The Jade Hall in Qingliang Valley has a certain special quality.
However, Wu Cui and the other cooks seemed to have gotten used to it.
"It's vegetarian food."
"A silver-medal-wearing Yue woman at the front asked."
Ouyang Rong and Wu Cui, along with other servants, immediately turned around to fetch the prepared porridge and rice boxes and went to deliver them to the door.
The leading gilded Yue woman took the food box and suddenly asked:
"Are you new here? Where's Mrs. Hong?"
Ouyang Rong felt everyone's gazes on him, but he kept his eyes straight ahead and nodded blankly.
“Madam Hong is unwell, and Chef Sun has sent me to take over for a while. My name is Liu Aliang, and I am the head chef of this establishment. I used to be in charge of daytime meals. Please give me your instructions, Fairy.”
(End of this chapter)
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