Before noon, the kang in the wing room was almost ready.
Before Chen Cui could entertain the workers, the servants of the Cui family had already prepared meals for them and brought them over. They also quickly built a small shed outside the house for them to eat, to avoid the workers having too many mouths to eat and disturbing the tranquility of the academy.
Cui Wuniang finally took time out during lunch and hurried to Cuiwei.
When she saw Chen Cui, she apologized first, "For such a big event as A Fei's enrollment, I should have come here in person this morning. It's really..."
Shen Cui nodded in understanding, "We have known each other for such a long time, let's not say those polite words."
Seeing Cui Wuniang's head covered with beads of sweat, Chen Cui invited her to come in, sit down, have some tea and rest.
Cui Wuniang didn't go to rest, but went to check the kang first.
In fact, not only Cui Fei had never seen this thing in real life, but Cui Wuniang had never seen it either - there was one in the servants' room of the Cui family, but as the masters of the family, it was impossible for them to go to the servants' room to see where they slept.
Cui Wuniang selected craftsmen who were familiar with the Cui family and had superb skills, but she still had to see the work with her own eyes to make sure that they had not slacked off on the job before she felt relieved.
After reading it, Cui Wuniang said to Chen Cui, "You too, if you encounter any inconvenience, just tell me directly. Fortunately, Ah Fei is also very sharp-eyed and sharp-eared, otherwise I really wouldn't know that you are living in an inconvenient place."
"It's just a small matter, and I was thinking that I would have to sell or rent out this house later, so it would take a lot of effort if I didn't have it."
Cui Wuniang waved her hand nonchalantly - Chen Cui was willing to accept her own brother, so what did a house mean to her? If I didn't know that a scholarly family like the Mu family didn't value money, it would be fine to just give this house to Shen Cui now.
"You can stay here as long as Cuiwei Academy is open in Qingzhou Prefecture. If there are any inconveniences in the future, don't hide them. Just let A Yao pass the message to me. Although I am busy myself, the people I support at home are not idle, so I can solve it for you in the end."
She was straightforward, and Chen Cui liked her character, so she no longer refused her kindness.
The maid who stayed outside came to look for her again. Cui Wuniang didn't even have a sip of tea. She followed the maid and was about to leave. After walking two steps, she turned back and said apologetically: "I was so busy that I didn't meet the teacher of your academy, let alone give you the tuition."
Seeing that she was in a hurry, and guessing that she had come here specially without having lunch, Shen Cui said, "Master Lao is a generous person who doesn't like red tape, so he won't be surprised. Moreover, he didn't take a break at noon, and was still practicing calligraphy with Er Pang."
After saying that, Cui Wuniang took out another stack of banknotes and told Chen Cui to take it first. If it was not enough, she would ask A Yao to send it over later.
The Cui family got rich earlier than the Wei family, and their foundation is deeper, so they are not short of money. However, Shen Cui still blocked her hand and explained, "Everyone is treated equally in the academy. Ah Shu and Xiao Xi are given ten taels of silver a month for living expenses in our academy, and another ten taels of silver for Lao Fu. In other words, twenty taels a month is enough. In addition, you won't let me pay Ah Yao's salary, and you have to deduct her salary from it."
Cui Wuniang said, "Why don't you mention that my brother's appetite alone is equivalent to that of two or three people?"
Another maid came in to urge them. Cui Wuniang was really in a hurry, so she said, "Anyway, Ayao's wages will offset the extra food expenses of my Afei. You also said that we should be treated equally. Twenty taels a month, I will advance one year's payment, which is four hundred and eighty taels. I'll trouble you to pass half of it to the teacher. Today is not a good time to visit him in such a hurry. I will definitely apologize next time."
Cui Wuniang had been dealing with account books and banknotes since she was a child. Shen Cui didn't even see how she counted them, but she quickly counted a few banknotes and stuffed them into Shen Cui's hands.
Cui Wuniang sent helpers and craftsmen to make the kang, and Chen Cui wanted to send her off as well.
The result was that after Cui Wuniang gave the silver, she blew away like a gust of wind. Chen Cui trotted two steps and only saw her back as she walked out of the Chuihua Gate.
…………
When the young men returned from the provincial school in the evening, the kang had been heated for most of the day and was ready, and the craftsmen had packed up and left.
Isn’t it said that Cui Wuniang is a meticulous person? This craftsman, like the workers in later generations, was only responsible for working and not for cleaning.
The servants of the Cui family who were responsible for setting up the shed outside were responsible for bringing them water and snacks in the afternoon. When they saw that they were almost done, they first dismantled the shed outside and then came over to clean up the house.
Therefore, apart from the addition of a large kang (a bed with a bed-like structure that can be used for sleeping) in the wing where the young men lived, there were no other changes. Even their wooden beds were neatly moved onto the kang, without making the place look messy at all.
Mu Erpang had known for a long time that the family was building a kang - although the craftsmen had deliberately been careful during the day, it was a big project after all, and it made some noise.
He was the one who liked to sleep on the single kang the most among the few people. Chen Cui thought he would be the first one to go and see after class, but he held it back and waited for Wei Shu and the others to come back from the government school before they went into the house together to check.
After looking at it, Mu Erpang praised it as the strongest, widest and best kang he had ever seen.
Not to mention sleeping with five of them, even if Lao Buyu slept with them, he could definitely sleep there.
There were two wing rooms in the house, one was used as a classroom and the other as a student dormitory. Although the back room was vacant, it was impossible for Lao Buyu to live next to Chen Cui, so he stayed in the back room in the front - the back room was a general term for a row of houses next to the gate. There were several rooms, and Lao Buyu lived in one alone, while the others were occupied by servants of the Wei family.
Lao Buyu always said that he lived very well there, but Mu Erpang still felt that the place in front was not quiet enough.
In places like academies or provincial schools, students both respect and fear their teachers. When they see the teacher, they are like mice seeing a cat. How could they be willing to stay with the teacher after class?
It’s not that teachers are born to teach with a stern face, but many students are disobedient and it’s impossible to control them unless they are a little strict.
But the students here in Cuiwei are more self-conscious than each other, and Lao Buyu is not the type of person who is rigid and sticks to the old ways. His mode of getting along with them is that of both teacher and friend.
Even Cui Fei, who had just officially enrolled today and offered tea to Lao Buyu, had discovered, after meeting him a few times, that he was different from other teachers and was not nervous in front of him.
Lao Buyu laughed and said, "Please forgive me. If I sleep with you guys, some of you will snore, grind your teeth, and even punch in your sleep... I live really well up front. After class, before curfew, I can still go out for a stroll!"
When he said this, it naturally meant that he had no dissatisfaction with his current residence, so Mu Erpang didn't bring it up again.
A Yao was the one who prepared the dinner for that day, and Chen Cui only made the one dish that was required by the daily schedule, enough for everyone in the academy to eat together.
A Yao had said before that Cui Wu Niang praised her highly, but in fact she was just an assistant in the Cui family's kitchen and her cooking skills were very average.
Today she showed off her skills, which opened the eyes of Chen Cui and others.
Because she had just arrived and didn't know everyone's taste, she prepared the ingredients according to the meal that Cui Fei had eaten before.
Also steaming fish, she cut the fish meat into very neat pieces and marinated it with seasoning in advance. The steamed fish doesn't have any fishy smell at all, and it's so fresh that it makes your tongue fall off.
It was still chicken, but she didn’t make roast chicken. Instead, she made clear-boiled chicken soup. It was clean and greasy, but the chicken was not bland or dry at all and melted in your mouth.
In addition, there are the cucumbers she casually mixed and the vegetables she casually stir-fried. Each one is delicious and fragrant, and is completely comparable to the level of the chefs in big restaurants!
Chen Cui, Mu Erpang, Lao Buyu and Mei Ruochu all came from poor backgrounds and may not have seen the world, but the Wei brothers are different. Even the two brothers praised A Yao's home-cooked dishes after tasting them, which shows how superb his cooking skills are.
The boys first shared the dishes cooked by Chen Cui and ate them in an orderly manner. Then, no one knew who started to scramble for the food first.
Cui Fei was also very happy to see that they liked the dishes cooked by A Yao. He showed his happiness by smiling while holding his small bowl properly and eating the dishes cooked by Shen Cui - Shen Cui specially gave him more, so he hasn't finished it yet.
Until a chicken leg suddenly covered his bowl. Cui Fei looked up and saw Shen Cui's smiling face. "You are too stupid. If you keep eating like this, you won't even be able to eat the vegetable juice later."
Cui Fei pursed his lips and smiled secretly, "I often eat the dishes made by Yao at home. It's rare that everyone likes it. Let them eat more."
Then Cui Fei heard Mu Erpang's voice full of resentment——
“Chicken wings, my wings… It’s so miserable. If I can’t eat chicken wings, I won’t grow taller. If I can’t grow taller, I won’t be able to get chicken wings. If I can’t eat chicken wings, I won’t grow taller…”
Hearing this, Cui Fei was even more unwilling to take the chicken leg, and quickly said, "Give it to Hanshan, I haven't touched it yet."
While he was talking, Shen Cui had already picked the skin off the chicken leg with the serving chopsticks, "Ignore them, eat quickly. Just wait and see, he will be able to eat it himself in a while."
Wei Shu relied on his strong arms to pick up a pair of wings. Facing Mu Erpang's pitiful eyes and his "complaints" like chanting scriptures, he raised his hands in surrender: "Take them away quickly!"
Mu Erpang immediately turned his complaint into a smile and put the pair of wings back in place.
He didn't eat it himself after taking it back. He turned his head to look at Cui Fei and saw that his mother gave the chicken leg to Cui Fei - that chicken leg was deliberately left untouched by everyone and was left for Chen Cui. The other one was naturally given to Lao Buyu.
He put all the chicken wings into Chen Cui's bowl and said, "Eat quickly, Mom. This is a gift from your son."
Wei Shu was almost amused to death by his sudden change of appearance, "You are so good, Mu Hanshan, you are showing filial piety by stealing my food! If there is any filial piety, it should be my filial piety to the headmaster!"
Then he used his chopsticks so quickly that he picked up the chicken heart that Mu Erpang had secretly hidden and was going to eat last, causing Mu Erpang to scream in surprise.
This made Wei Shu very proud, and he chewed the small piece of chicken heart dozens of times before swallowing it.
The "grudge" between the two finally came to an end. When they turned around, they found that Mei Ruochu and Wei Xi, who had been silent, had already taken away all the other good meat...
Laughing and joking, Cui Fei finished his first meal after entering Cuiwei. It was also the first time for him to know that a simple meal could be so lively and fun.
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