Chapter 9 I got beaten up: I was so envious.
Yao Ruyi was unaware that anyone had come by at this time.
After dinner, Yao Ruyi went into Grandpa Yao's room to clear the dishes. The old man had already finished eating, and when he saw her come in, he still put on airs and praised her, "Your cooking skills are not bad. Keep up the good work, and I'll give you some extra pay next month."
Yao Ruyi couldn't help but chuckle. She took away the bowl that Grandpa Yao was holding, which was also slicked clean and not a single grain of rice was left. Following his lead, she repeatedly agreed.
Just as he was about to turn and leave, Yao Qizhao suddenly asked, "Was it Wen An who carried the stove in for you just now?"
Yao Ruyi was taken aback; she had no idea who it was.
But before she could answer, he shook his head again: "It shouldn't be, Wen Ansheng is more handsome."
Yao Ruyi: "..." Judging people by their appearance is not good, Grandpa!
Yao Qizhao pondered for a moment, then his expression suddenly darkened, and he muttered to himself, "That's it, I remember now, it wasn't Wen An. Wen An was sent back to Fuzhou long ago... Sigh..."
Yao Ruyi was completely confused.
In the memories left by the original owner, apart from Grandpa Yao, the faces of everyone else were veiled.
Not to mention the Lin family members whom we haven't seen for many years.
Yao Qizhao's eyelids drooped, and he remained silent for a long time, inexplicably feeling sad. After a while, he began to ramble on and on, instructing Yao Ruyi: "There's something I need you to do. Since the Lin family has entrusted this house to us, and given my mobility issues, I'll have to trouble you to open the windows every few days to air it out and dispel the musty smell. I'll give you the keys tomorrow, so go and check on it and make sure no snakes, insects, or rodents have made their nests inside."
This was not a difficult task, and Yao Ruyi readily agreed.
After chatting for a while, she brought hot water and let the old man wash up by himself.
Seeing that he had shakily finished tidying up, Yao Ruyi blew out the light in the room and closed the door.
Then she pushed her cart, preparing to go to the small market to buy fresh eggs. This time she would buy more, because in this weather, fresh eggs could be stored in the cellar for three or four days without any problem, which would save her from having to go out every day.
As soon as she opened the door, she heard a thud, as if something had fallen off the door. Yao Ruyi bent down to look under the lantern in the courtyard and saw that it was a fish.
How could there be fish? Where did it come from? She picked it up and looked at it from left to right, then peered into the alley for a while.
There's nobody here.
After a moment's thought, she first carried the plump perch into the yard. As she pushed the cart out of the alley, she asked the old janitor on duty if anyone had come looking for her. Strangers couldn't get into this narrow alley, and sure enough, she found out as soon as she asked.
It turned out that it was Madam Wu who had come and even brought her a fish.
But why didn't she come in? Regardless, she must know about my stall... Ironically, aside from Grandpa Yao, the person who understands the original owner of this body best is probably this aunt who has always disliked her. Wu Shi is not like the neighbors in the alley; she needs to come up with a plausible explanation to get away with it.
Yao Ruyi thought for a moment, then quietly thanked the soldier and continued walking outside.
The night market in Bianjing was bustling, and the streets were even more lively at night than during the day. The city was brightly lit and crowded with people, and Yao Ruyi had to walk very carefully while pushing her cart.
Seeing that she wanted a lot this time, the shopkeeper kindly gave her a discount, making it even cheaper than during the day. In total, each egg cost a little over half a coin, which was a much better deal.
On her way back, she suddenly smelled a strong, spicy aroma. She saw someone pushing a cart selling soup noodles past her, and her eyes were glued to it—the cart was piled high with bowls, plates, charcoal stoves, and small pots, and the aroma of fried noodles filled the air. This… wasn't this the instant noodles that made the female protagonist in the book rich?! In the book, the female protagonist opened a noodle shop and soon started making fried instant noodles and instant noodle sauce, which was an important plot point in the early part of the book!
She saw the scene of eating instant noodles in the middle of the night and felt so hungry that she wanted to make some herself, but unfortunately her body wouldn't allow it, so she could only force herself to eat them.
Therefore, it left a very deep impression on me.
Just as they were about to pass each other by, Yao Ruyi didn't have time to think and quickly called out to stop them.
Before long, her cart was filled with three more earthenware jars for soy sauce and half a sack of fried dough.
Yao Ruyi carefully tied up the burlap sack, her heart leaping with joy: I should have thought of that sooner! What goes best with tea eggs? Instant noodles with free hot water from the convenience store, of course!
This used to be very popular with students. As soon as the bell rang for morning reading, Yao Ruyi would set up the thermos and wait for the students to rush to the store, choose a pack of instant noodles from her, and ask for a braised egg and a King of Kings instant noodles. Then they would go to the side to get a stainless steel basin and thermos, and sit at the small table outside the store to slurp their food.
By selling tea eggs along with other items, she only needed to boil some water and provide some bowls and chopsticks, which saved her time and allowed her to earn more money. She had a very clear vision for the food in her shop: she didn't need to make any novel inventions (she didn't know how), but the food had to be delicious, convenient, and affordable, so that the students and teachers of the Imperial Academy who couldn't easily go out to buy food would buy it from her nearby.
"We'll sell it like this tomorrow!" she said excitedly as she hurried back.
Upon returning, she couldn't rest yet. First, she washed the eggs she would sell the next day, boiled them in wine, gently tapped them until they cracked but didn't break, and then soaked them in brine. Because of the long soaking time, she didn't need to boil them. They wouldn't spoil even if soaked overnight, and she could start selling them early the next morning without having to get up too early.
Making tea eggs is very quick and easy, which is one of the reasons she chose to do it, since the original owner of this body had only just recovered.
Then the stored eggs were slowly hoisted into the cellar for storage.
After a quick wash, Yao Ruyi lay on the couch, massaging her legs and stretching her muscles. Her body had just recovered from a serious illness and she rarely did any physical labor. If she didn't stretch and relax properly, she definitely wouldn't be able to walk when she woke up.
However, although the original owner looks thin and small, she is actually quite strong! As time goes by, if she eats more and works harder, she will definitely grow stronger. Then she will be like her grandmother, walking with a brisk pace, easily making three hundred braised eggs a day and doing other things.
The autumn insects chirped outside the window, and a cool breeze drifted in through the crack in the door. Yao Ruyi pressed the quilt down with her foot, rolled over, and wrapped herself up like a plump towel with only her head sticking out. As soon as her head touched the pillow, she fell asleep warmly and comfortably, as if the power had been cut off.
She slept soundly, but Meng Boyuan couldn't sleep.
The Meng family's house was located near the military post station at the alley entrance. After passing the fork in the road leading to the south study of the Imperial College, one would see two newly painted vermilion gates. The two-courtyard house had its front hall, front yard, and side courtyard converted into a woodblock printing workshop, while the six side rooms in the back house housed the entire family.
This house is not as spacious as the old house in the outer city. It was only after mortgaging the large house in the outer city and adding 700 strings of cash that it was purchased.
His third brother, Meng Qingyuan, has returned to the yamen to work today, but his situation at home has not improved as a result.
While he, Cheng, and Lin stayed in the study copying books, Zhu Bing came to the Meng family to have the exam papers printed a few days later. Not only did Zhu Bing punish him, but he also added fuel to the fire by telling his father that he had fallen asleep in class.
Meng's father was sweating profusely as he scolded Zhu Bing, feeling as if his face had been ripped off and trampled on. He not only bowed repeatedly to Zhu Bing to apologize, but also refused to accept the money for printing the exam papers. Naturally, he was filled with pent-up anger and waited for his unruly son to return home before unleashing his fury.
Unfortunately, Meng Boyuan came home late today.
Meng Boyuan felt extremely aggrieved. He and his two friends had only two eggs in their stomachs. When they arrived at the dining hall, all that was left on the table were a few scrambled leftovers. The pungent yam, crabapple, and lamb liver soup was bubbling in a large earthenware jar, having already turned into a grayish-brown paste.
The three men looked at each other and smiled bitterly in front of the bucket of swill, and then decided to go home separately.
All three of them lived in alleyways, just a few steps from the school, so none of them stayed at the South Study Hall of the Imperial College. The Imperial College was established early, and the dormitories for students were old buildings from twenty years ago that had never been renovated. Twelve people shared a large dormitory room, which was not as comfortable as the dormitories of the Biyong Academy.
I heard that the study rooms of Biyong Academy are for four or six students a room, with bright windows and clean desks, tables, chairs and cabinets, and even the outhouses are scented with dates and have fragrant towels.
I'm so envious.
Although they lived at home, they mostly ate their meals in the dining hall. Since they were neither from a prominent family nor wealthy, they were naturally not like the young masters of the Jia Yi Academy, who were surrounded by servants all day long and had their meals served to them.
The three of them didn't even have a page!
To be precise, the students of the two dormitories, Jia and Yi, never ate in the dining hall. They either took a carriage home to eat or had already booked meals at high-class restaurants such as Fanlou, Panlou, and Chenji. The dining hall was only good for feeding the stomachs of these sons of minor officials.
Morning classes started too early, and there wasn't enough time to cook at home, so it was better to spend a few copper coins to eat in the dining hall. The back gate of the Imperial College was closed at noon. So they would take some steamed buns or flatbreads to fill their stomachs, or heat up some snacks, swallow them hastily, and then rush off to listen to the lecture.
In the evening, I should have gone home for dinner, but after a whole day of classes, it was a rare chance to relax and have dinner with my classmates. It was a different kind of experience. Five out of ten days, we would sneak out to eat at all sorts of roadside stalls. So, I became too lazy to cook for them at home and just left some leftovers as a token of my appreciation.
But when Meng Boyuan returned home today, he was greeted not even with leftovers or cold drinks. Instead, his father stood in the front hall with a livid face, his hand gripping the rattan cane so tightly it cracked.
"You beast!" Meng's father roared as he entered the door, "Go kneel before your grandfather's memorial tablet!"
Meng Boyuan bowed his head and knelt down.
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Ruyi: My cheat code is actually... [sunglasses]
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