General, Your Wife Wants You to Get Out - C46
Su Zhi pulled a large and small step into the room, and politely asked, “Is there anyone here?”
No one answered her. The deserted and desolate storefront was in stark contrast to the crowded restaurant on the other side.
“Is there anyone here?”
This time, she raised her voice and tried to walk into the lobby.
He had only taken a few steps when he heard the faint sound of someone reading a book, “Confucius said: ‘If a gentleman is not strong, then he is weak; if a scholar is weak, then so be it. “The Lord is loyal, and if no friend is better than he or she, do not fear to change him or her.”
Hearing the sound, Su Zhi was overjoyed. She looked around for the sound and asked, “Is the wine house available?”
The voice of the student stopped and said indifferently, “Go to the other side for tea and food. Get some lodging upstairs. One tael of silver per night for extra nourishment. The deposit will cost you half of the money.”
Su Zhi could not help but be speechless as she looked around ‘Flowers all over the floor’.
Perhaps because it had not been cleaned for a long time, the house was covered with cobwebs, and the tables and chairs in the center of the hall were covered with a thick layer of dust.
‘Bang! ‘A huge rat fell on the ground in front of the counter, knocking over the empty wine jar and smashing it into pieces.
How dare she ask for a tael of silver in such a situation? If it weren’t for the fact that she was afraid of spending money like running water and couldn’t bear the time to settle down, Su Zhi wouldn’t have brought her child to suffer even if she had to stick to such a place.
Thinking about how embarrassed she was, she could only endure it for now and politely said: “It should be the shopkeeper, right? I, a woman, brought my child to a relative with me, and I don’t have much money in my pocket.
The studying voice had completely stopped, Su Zhi looked into the room, but there was still no one there. She thought that it was just annoying her, so she said, “I won’t disturb you for too long, but when I find my friends, I’ll be leaving soon.”
It was inconvenient for her to go out, especially since she was a weak girl and had brought two little children with her. She had no choice but to come up with an excuse.
“In that case, please do as you please, my wife. No wine is served in this shop. The deposit is exempt. Do you have any money in the shop …?” “I’ll give you less than six cents.”
Accompanied by a clear and gentle voice, the curtain in the inner room was opened by someone. A young man in a blue shirt walked out of the room with a book in his hand as if he was wandering in the clouds.
Her hair was uncombed and tied with a cotton scarf. She was dressed like a scholar. Her face was as white as jade. She was fresh and handsome. She looked elegant and gentle. She was kind and amiable.
From the looks of it, he was a young master who had yet to have a weak crown on his head.
When Su first heard his voice and then saw him, she was secretly surprised. She did not expect the owner to be so young.
“Good job, Shopkeeper.”
Su Zhi nodded and met the scholar’s gaze. She was still as poised as before when facing him.
When the young scholar saw that she was a woman with two children, he felt sorry for her after the journey had been full of hardships and fatigue. He shook his head and said, “Wealth and nobility are the desires of man. “Being poor and being lowly is the same as being evil. If one does not follow the same path, it is also impossible to not go …”
Su Zhi listened to his lecture very patiently without disturbing him.
After the scholar had a good talk with him, he finally realized that there was still someone like Su Zhi. A hint of red appeared on his jade-white face, “I’m really sorry. I’ve been studying hard. I don’t want to see any guests at this store today.”
Su Zhi smiled and expressed her understanding. “It’s not a bad thing for a man to study well.”
The scholar nodded, closed the book, and pointed to the guest room upstairs. “Since you want to stay here, please do so. I haven’t had a single customer for three or four months anyway, you guys can come and get more popular. The kitchen has rice noodles, if you’re hungry, you can make your own.
“Oh right, cockroach, insect, ant, mouse and so on. You don’t have to care too much about them. Going out on a map is very convenient.”
With a stiff expression, Su Zhi took out some silver from her purse and gave it to him, then went up to find a room on her own.
Behind him came the impassioned sounds of a scholar reading.
This Flowery Mansion’s store was very big, but it didn’t have much customer traffic. If it was an ancestral shop, it wouldn’t pay too much rent.
However, how could such a scholar, who only knew about the situation, possibly operate a shop like this? What a pity that such a huge hotel was such a pity.
Su Zhi made some comparisons from room to room. Finally, she found a relatively clean and tidy room with better ventilation. After a simple cleaning, she finally settled down.
In order to coax her, Su Zhi had bought candied fruits for the two children.
Now that she saw the bed, she didn’t even eat the candied fruits anymore and started to doze off.
A Jin helped her little sister straighten out, and she was also very tired.
It was noon now, so Su Zhi was afraid of the hungry children. She quickly washed up, then told A Jin to stay in her room and look at the small bean bag while she went downstairs to find something to eat.
When he arrived at the back of the kitchen, he saw the young scholar studying hard, holding a book as if he didn’t know he was hungry.
“Shopkeeper, can I use the things in the kitchen?”
Without looking back, the scholar paced back and forth in the small room, chanting a classic of Chinese Studies while waving his hand and shaking his head, indicating that she should do as she pleased.
Su Zhi thanked him and then went back to busy herself.
When he entered the kitchen, he found that the place was extremely dirty. There were heaps of bowls and chopsticks stacked together into a mountain that was already half a man’s height. There was a thick layer of dirt on the stove and a foul stench coming from the swill bucket.
He opened the pot and saw that there were two yellow steamed buns inside.
Su Zhi covered her nose in disgust and found the rice jar’s location. When she opened it to take a look, a fat rat had jumped out.
Ah!
She let out a shriek and was scared out of her wits. The wooden lid in her hand was thrown far away and it clanged against the stove. Several cockroaches the size of a thumb popped out.
How could she dare to make food in this kind of place? Don’t eat until your stomach breaks.
Su Zhi ran out of the kitchen as if she was escaping, and the only good impression she had towards the white-faced scholar was instantly gone.
Since there was no place to cook, she could only go outside and settle the matter. Soon, she went to the opposite restaurant.
It was the time for the meal. Su Zhi followed the customers who came and went into the hall and found that the place was already packed with people.
The waiter was shuttling back and forth between the tables, busily greeting the officials like a spinning top.
Su Zhi was the only one standing alone at the door, with no one paying attention to her.
She went to the counter and greeted him. She said that she wanted to have a meal, so she didn’t even raise her head as she continued with her work.
“Manager, can you cook a few dishes and send it to the opposite Flowery Restaurant?”
When he heard the name “Flower Mansion,” the accountant slowly raised his head and looked up and down at Su Zhi. When he saw that she was dressed in plain clothes and looked poor, he didn’t want to bother with her, but after seeing her bright eyes and white teeth, he kindly reminded her, “Young lady, the things in our store are not cheap.”
“I don’t need too much. Three dishes and one Tonga is enough for me to order some meat dishes.”
The accountant waved his hand, “Let’s go, let’s go somewhere else. You can’t afford the things here.”
Su Zhi panicked. Afraid that the child would be hungry, she took out a silver ingot from her purse and placed it on the counter, “It’s not that I can’t afford it, look carefully!”
That person still ignored him. After all, he was used to seeing real money, so who would care about such a small amount?
“Yuan Ming, how many times have I told you that the guest is not a small one but a customer instead? We, the Hundred Flavors Clear Joyous, are here to open our doors for business. Is there any reason for us to turn our guests away?”
Su Zhi turned around and saw a man dressed in brocade clothing. He held a fan made of Agarwood, his hair tied in a bun and his waist adorned with a bright moon. He looked like a rich child.
He was extremely handsome, especially his peach blossom eyes which flashed with shrewdness. Although he was talking and laughing, the smile on his face didn’t reach his eyes.
“I apologize to the young lady. It’s all because of my lack of discipline. I’ll send the food over to you right away.”
His demeanor was respectful, neither humble nor haughty. While chatting and laughing, he had already kept the silver ingot.
Su Zhi could only laugh, “Then I’ll have to trouble Young Master.”