Chapter 84: Envy in Heart

Chapter 84: Envy in Heart

When the chief doctor gave orders, no one dared to disobey.

Chen Fu's menu, which used to include a bowl of salty soy milk from Xixiang Pavilion for breakfast, a lunch of four cold dishes and four main courses, and home-cooked meals by Mama Zhang for dinner, changed to—

"Am I supposed to eat this?"

Chen Fu looked at the plain steamed bun, a pot of boiled cabbage, a small dish of pickled radish, and a piece of braised chicken in front of him. On the table were eight large bowls filled with egg custard, buns stuffed with vermicelli and cabbage, fried radish cakes, and even the side dishes for congee consisted of four small plates.

Chen Fu looked up in disbelief, glanced around, and asked, "Has Sun Shi come to Jing County?"

Such a vicious tactic was once used by Sun Bapi against Xianjin.

Xianjin picked up a bun stuffed with vermicelli and cabbage and took a bite.

It was delicious.

The vermicelli was chewy, and the cabbage, seasoned with coarse salt, was crisp.

Xianjin swallowed happily and earnestly advised her father, "Endure it for a while!"

She lifted a bowl of thick vegetable porridge and tapped the rim with her chopsticks. "Look, the amount of rice one eats in life is predetermined. Whoever finishes first leaves first."

Chen Fu's sobs were choked in his throat.

A bowl of rice, whoever finishes first leaves first?

He used to have nine meals a day, which meant he was shortening his lifespan by three days!

This was utter nonsense, wasn't it?

Chen Fu slammed the table. "Who said that? Who said that?"

Xianjin remained calm. "My mother said so."

Chen Fu immediately nodded without hesitation. "That makes perfect sense, integrating heart studies, rationalism, and mysticism."

She bit into the steamed bun and continued, "Tell me, what other wise sayings has your mother shared?"

Xianjin rolled her eyes, then quickly finished the remaining bun, chewing as she pulled out a thick notebook made of coral peach paper from her cloth bag and handed it to Chen Fu. "...This is a new notebook from the store. You can play with it. In these past six months, you've almost finished eating at all the taverns in the nine towns and twenty-four villages of Jing County—didn't you want to write a record of them? I've arranged it with Boss Shang; if you write it, he'll print it, starting with three hundred copies, which I'll sell at the store."

Chen Fu was stunned.

Could... could his writing be printed and sold?

How could one make a child quietly behave?

Give them something to do.

Preferably something they've always wanted to do but never succeeded in doing. For example, in her previous life, the mother next door kept her child quiet during IV drips by playing five days straight of "Magic Fairy Princess."

By the time the child was discharged, Xianjin felt like she had been colored with eyeshadow.

After settling her father, Xianjin prepared to head to the store. Before leaving, she glanced at the empty chair next to her.

...

Since taking over Song Kee, there had been many pressing matters. The empty chair did stir a slight ripple in Xianjin's heart, but it was quickly overwhelmed by the flood of work.

The time for office workers to indulge in melancholy ends before clocking in.

Cold Face.JPG. Throughout June, Xianjin was extremely busy, shuttling between the printing workshop, Xiaocao Village, Qingcheng Mountain Courtyard, Shuidong Street, and Chen's shop. She was so busy that she couldn't return to her old residence and slept every night at the renovated Song Kee shop on Shuidong Street.

When Chen Zuo Niang came to visit with a basket, she saw Xianjin mingling among the craftsmen wearing vests, her head covered with a ragged headscarf, her light brown single-layered clothes stained with white dust here and there, and her skirt covered in wood shavings.

She looked like a vagrant who had rolled in a hay stack.

Chen Zuo Niang was about to approach when she heard a casual yet malicious joke from inside. "...Little girl, always hanging around men. Don't your parents care? What if you can't get married and end up blaming us?"

There were three or four workers, grinning maliciously, teasing Xianjin, who was standing with her hands on her hips, examining a diagram.

Chen Zuo Niang frowned, ready to step in, but then heard Xianjin laugh, a mocking laughter.

"Haha, little boys, always taking money from women. Don't your parents care? What if you can't find a wife because you use coins tainted by women's touch and blame me?"

She then bent down, laughing with a girl named Suo'er.

Chen Zuo Niang was taken aback.

What could one say?

That laugh sounded quite mean.

Especially when both of them covered their mouths, grinning widely, the impact was significant.

The workers' smiles froze instantly.

Xianjin, still with her hands on her hips, pointed at the instigator and laughed. "Liu Dageng, why are you holding the hammer in your left hand?"

"You don't need to come back this afternoon. Finish up and settle accounts with Old Dong."

Liu Dageng's face turned pale.

What was wrong with holding the hammer in his left hand? Wasn't he allowed to be left-handed? Getting fired after just three days? That was too unfair!

This job was hard-won! The pay was good, meals were provided, and there was even a big piece of meat every noon... And just like that, it's gone!?

Liu Dageng tried to explain.

Unexpectedly, Xianjin didn't give him a chance to speak.

Chen Zuo Niang watched the young girl tilt her head and smile as she pointed at each of the remaining craftsmen, her voice affectionate and gentle. "Come on, let me see which of you still uses his left hand to hold the hammer?"

In the room, three or four burly men all switched their hammers to their other hands in unison.

After switching, they switched back—none of them were left-handed! They had been using their right hands all along!

Seeing Xianjin nod in satisfaction, Chen Zuo Niang's eyes curved into two crescent moons.

"Very good, very good, everyone is now on the same page."

Xianjin said, "Everyone, work hard! Regardless of gender, age, or skin color, whoever pays us silver is a good person, right? After we finish this job, you go west, I go east. If we have fate, we'll meet again; if not, we part ways for life—why make things unpleasant?"

The two crescent moons narrowed further.

Xianjin's voice was sweet. "Everyone, tell me, is that right or not?"

"Yes!"

The workers responded in unison.

Chen Zuo Niang looked at Xianjin with some admiration.

Xianjin lifted her head and saw Chen Zuo Niang, smiling and beckoning her into her usual small room. She poured a cup of tea for Chen Zuo Niang and said, "...Third Master said you were coming to see me. I thought you'd come at noon."

Chen Zuo Niang took the teacup and noticed a stack of documents on the table. The top page was filled with densely written words. She glanced at it and saw a few large words: "Positioning, Atmosphere, Cultural Integration..."

She didn't understand what it meant.

But seeing how busy Xianjin was, Chen Zuo Niang felt a bit envious.