Fan Datong was exhausted, but he finally carried the 100-pound load back to Caijia Lane.

When Fan Datong saw the dilapidated state of the Zhao family's yard, he felt dizzy and almost fainted.

Fortunately, Zhao Hao had foresight and asked his father to replace Fan Datong in advance.

"Brother, are you living here now?" Fan Datong looked at Zhao Shouzheng with tears in his eyes.

Zhao Hao thought to himself, this is still a well-maintained one. If you saw the original appearance, wouldn't you just jump into the well and commit suicide?

Zhao Shouzheng said a little embarrassedly: "Didn't I tell you last time? In order to settle the matter for my father, my family has already spent all its wealth."

"I just thought it was an excuse for my brother not wanting to lend me more money." Fan Datong looked hopeless and said in despair, "I didn't expect my brother to have fallen into such a state."

He looked so sad, as if he was the one who suffered.

Zhao Hao thought, maybe it’s because there’s nowhere else to get lucky?

He opened the door, helped Zhao Shouzheng unload the two bags of brown sugar, and carried them directly to his room.

When the father and son came out, they saw that Fan Datong had recovered as usual. He fetched water from the courtyard and drank it like a gulp.

"You didn't go back?" Zhao Hao asked in surprise.

Fan Datong wiped the corner of his mouth with his sleeve and said righteously: "My dear nephew, what you said is wrong. Am I the kind of person who can only share wealth and honor, but not adversity?"

As he spoke, he seemed to have made a great decision, took out a gold ingot from his sleeve, and said with a painful look on his face:

"I haven't spent the five taels of silver yet, so I gave it back to my brother."

Zhao Shouzheng looked at his son and said nothing.

Zhao Hao knew what he was thinking. Now that he had 100 kilograms of brown sugar, he could at least get dozens of kilograms of white sugar. Why would he care about this little money? He fulfilled his father's wish and said, "There is no reason for the Zhao family to take back the money we gave."

Zhao Shouzheng nodded vigorously and said, "I am very satisfied that you have this intention. My son asked you to keep it, so just keep it."

"Then I'll keep it..." Fan Datong looked at the father and son and found that they didn't take the five taels of silver seriously. He happily put it in his arms and said, "The sage said that a gentleman seeks the truth, not food. Now I am considered a gentleman."

"Oh, you don't want to eat?" Zhao Hao thought, you are too cheap, aren't you? Hearing this, he smiled and said, "I thought you would provide food."

"Of course, it would be even better if you could provide meals. Didn't the saints say that it is a pleasure to have friends coming from afar?" Fan Datong said with a smile, "Besides, I have done all this work for your family, but you don't even provide meals for me. That's really unreasonable, isn't it?"

"But there's no wine or meat, so we'll just have to make do with simple tea and rice." Zhao Hao wasn't just arguing, he was really worried about how to prepare dinner.

"My dear nephew, you are joking. How can there be no wine and no meat?" Fan Datong lifted the hemp rope hanging in the well and said with a sly smile, "What is this?"

Zhao Hao slapped his forehead and said suddenly, "I forgot about this."

That was the meat that Gao Wu had brought and cut before putting into the well. It was still very fresh...

~~

However, Fan Datong was not one to just eat for free, he took the initiative to take on the task of cooking.

Zhao Hao didn't expect that he had good cooking skills. He saw him divide five pounds of meat into three portions, preparing to stir-fry one dish and stew one bowl. He also fried the fat with oil and put it in the pot with the rice.

"There's even this way to eat it?" Zhao Shouzheng exclaimed as he was lighting the fire, "Brother, you really impressed me."

Fan Datong is also a slut. When he is praised, he becomes very proud. While wielding the spatula skillfully, he said proudly: "This is my unique skill. It is called Piaoxiang Braised Pork Rice. It is most suitable for our situation where we are short of food!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Hao thought to himself, it turns out that this man doesn’t have a wife either… Hey, why did I say ‘also’?

After Fan Datong finished stewing the meat, he let Zhao Hao taste it as if he was presenting a treasure.

Zhao Hao ate a piece of meat and drank a sip of soup, his eyes lit up and he said, "The cooking skills are really good."

"Of course, I've eaten at all the major restaurants in Nanjing!" Fan Datong was about to boast proudly again, but he saw Zhao Hao bringing out the whole pot of stewed meat.

"Alas, nephew, you will get corns if you eat alone!" Fan Datong became anxious. In order to stew the meat so deliciously, he used his own secret collection of South Asian spices, which were really worth a lot.

"Yes, this meat was sent from the front yard, so my son naturally can't eat it alone." Zhao Shouzheng knew what Zhao Hao was going to do, and explained to Fan Datong with a smile.

"I see. My dear nephew, you always have a clear vision when doing things. If you can be more tolerant, you will definitely have a bright future." Fan Datong curled his lips and was about to open the rice pot.

"Don't talk nonsense, my son is the most generous person!" Zhao Shouzheng held him back and said, "Wait until my son comes back before eating."

"Okay, okay, I'll listen to you, brother." Fan Datong stretched his neck, hoping that Zhao Hao would come back soon.

~~

Zhao Hao walked straight to the blacksmith shop. He was already very familiar with Gao the blacksmith and his son.

The father and son were also eating. When they saw Zhao Hao bringing in the stewed meat, Gao Wu hurriedly stood up and took it.

Gao the blacksmith was now in much better health. He stood up, took Zhao Hao's hand, and invited him to have dinner with him.

"Let's have dinner another day. We have guests at home tonight." Zhao Hao declined with a smile.

Blacksmith Gao quickly asked his son to scoop out a large bowl of pickled cucumbers and beans and give them to Zhao Hao to entertain his guests.

Zhao Hao did not refuse. He thanked Gao the blacksmith and asked Gao Wudao, "Brother Gao, are you free tomorrow?"

Gao Wu scratched his head and silently organized his words with some difficulty.

Zhao Hao has known about his problem these days. Gao Wu's speech center was injured, but other than that, he has no problems at all.

"The old man can't even lift the hammer and the shop is closed, what can he do?" Blacksmith Gao answered for his son.

Gao Wu nodded quickly and said, "That's what I meant."

"Then Brother Gao, can you please do me a favor and go out with me tomorrow?" Zhao Hao asked with a smile.

"Sure." Gao Wu answered this question just like any other ordinary person.

"Then wait at home tomorrow and I'll call you then."

~~

When Zhao Hao returned home with two bowls of pickled vegetables, Fan Datong, who had been waiting anxiously, cheered and said, "It's time to eat!"

When the lid of the pot is opened, the aroma of meat and rice mixed together, the smell is extremely tempting.

This made the father and son, who hadn't had a full meal for a while, both salivate.

Who would have known that Fan Datong ate more than the two of them combined... He finished half a pot of rice, a pound of meat, and half a bowl of pickles by himself.

Zhao Hao was stunned by what he saw, thinking that he was indeed a big glutton.

Even Zhao Shouzheng asked curiously, "Don't you have money? Why are you acting like a hungry ghost?"

"Well, to be honest, after I separated from my brother that day, I met my classmate Xu, who also said that my brother's family was ruined. Although I didn't believe it at the time, I wondered why my brother would be so generous to lend me money if that was the case. But I had to see the situation of my brother's family with my own eyes, so that I could spend the money with peace of mind." Fan Datong said with deep regret, "Who knew that my brother would not accept the money? I was hungry for three days in vain."

Zhao Hao nearly spat a mouthful of rice on his face. He didn't know what this guy's stomach was made of. He could eat half a pot of food and could go hungry for three days... The nickname of "Rice Bucket" was really not wrong at all.

"Don't be surprised, nephew." Fan Datong said nonchalantly, "When I was the poorest, I drank cold water for seven days and didn't eat a single grain of rice."

"He ended up fainting from hunger in the lecture hall, and became a laughing stock in the Imperial College." Thinking of the past, Zhao Shouzheng laughed and said, "That's how he is. He spends all the money he has without thinking about the next day."

Zhao Hao gave the two of them a thumbs up to show his admiration.

Zhao Shouzheng's old face turned red, and then he remembered that he was the same kind of person.

ps. The second update is here, please vote and comment~~~