/
Chapter 67: 王素素
(Wang Su Su)
The next day, Zhong Ziqi went into town hastily after finishing his meal. He was relieved when he saw that Wang Ji Cheng and everything in his residence was safe and sound. Not to mention that, Wang Jicheng was also quite diligent. When they arrived, Wang Jicheng was already up.He had cleaned the yard and the house.He even made a pot of hot rice porridge.
Zhong Ziqi, Zhao Xue Mei and the others were unbearably cold when they came over early in the morning, so it was very comfortable to have a hot congee. Because of this, Zhong Ziqi couldn’t help but praise him a lot. Wang Jicheng foolishly and awkwardly smiled.
Afterwards, Zhao Zheng’an took Wang Jicheng to let him start to familiarize with the environment, telling him what he should do and what he should not do.
While Zhao Zheng’an gave enough sweet taste (benefits), he also did not forget to scare him a little. For example, Zhao Zheng’an would pretend to accidentally mention how powerful his wife’s uncle was in the south and how remarkable his social status was. Then he would tell Wang Jicheng not to mess with the powerful people behind Jin Hua Restaurant, but he could also go to Boss Jin if they had any problems later.
Zhao Zheng’an was purposely hinting at Wang Jicheng not to give birth to rebellious behavior’s intention,it was not that he couldn’t do anything about him.
Wang Jicheng nodded his head with a serious face, saying that he remembered. From his point of view, he had no cares, no one to rely on. Moreover, he usually had problems even in supporting himself. Now that he had such a good home, he was naturally very happy (Tl notes: the original one is ‘unable to contain his joy’),so how could he abandon it?
Therefore he was so grateful to his two masters that he secretly decided that he would follow them no matter what.His masters are his family.
Within a few days, Zhao Zheng’an had figured out Wang Ji Cheng’s personality which was a big silly man. If you tell him to go east, he won’t dare to go west. Usually he was just a silly guy who laughed foolishly. However, he was actually an obstinate man, when he worked, he gave it all and didn’t slack off.
Zhong Ziqi was especially amazed and told him that this kind of person was classified as an uncommon one and they were lucky to have met him.As long as a little benefit was given to him, he will remember it for the rest of his life and unswerving to the end.
Zhao Zheng’an nodded his head. Although he agreed with his opinion, he felt that he should observe the situation for a few more days.
Zhao Xue Mei and the others at the workshop watched Zhao Zheng’an walk around with the strange and fierce-looking man every day. At first they were quite nervous, but then they heard from Zhao Zheng’an that this was the new manager who had been recruited.Usually, if he and Zhong Ziqi were not here, they should listen to him.
Zhao Xue Mei and the others naturally did not dare to have any objections. Furthermore, as they came into contact with him, they found that this man was not as difficult to approach as he appeared to be. He was quite an easy going and honest person.
“(Big)Young Master (大少爷) , why didn’t you tell them my true identity?” This was what Wang Jicheng did not understand.
Zhao Zheng’an was a little uncomfortable listening to this awkward address. At first, Wang Ji Cheng had called him (主子) Master, then later on, he even tried to call him ‘姥爷’ (Lao Ye, it mean Lord/ Master respectfully). In Wang Ji Cheng’s words, ‘He (himself) is the servant and he is the master’ so he dared not to offend his superiors. In the end, after going through such a struggle, he could only call him by this awkwardly sounding title.
“Although you were bought by me as a servant. But I did buy you with the intention of needing you to look after this place for me. So there is nothing wrong with my introduction. My Fu Lang and I are going for a faraway trip in a few days.You must learn and take it seriously so that I can leave it to you with confidence.”
Wang Jicheng nodded solemnly at his words: “You (您) and Young Master Qi, please rest assured! I definitely won’t make any careless mistakes.”
“I hope so!”
Zhao Zheng’an said, there was nothing difficult for him here, only the usual daily and trifling chores. Beside that, there was also the matter of dealing with the restaurants that place an order of Mahua and You tiao (fried dough twist and deep fried breadsticks).It would be okay for him to just get that done.
“Zheng’an.”
A soft and delicate voice sounded behind Zhao Zheng’an.
Zhao Zheng’an turned around and paused for a moment: “Why are you here?”
It was none other than the ger who had been engaged to Zhao Zheng’an but had canceled their engagement, his name was Wang Susu.
Wang Susu walked over in a graceful and charming manner. He didn’t say anything, but took a silent look at Wang Jicheng, who was standing dumbfounded. It was very obvious that Wang Jicheng was treated as a light bulb by him.
[ a light bulb is a slang term for unwanted third guest ]
“Just say what you have to say ba!” Zhao Zheng’an said with an unable to endure/tolerate look. How could he, a grown up man, have personal contact with an unmarried ger? If some nasty gossip was spread out, how could he explain it to his wife?
Wang Susu bit his lip: “Have you… have you been well?”
Zhao Zheng’an’s face was without expression: “As you can see, I’m doing very well.”
It was the first time Wang Susu had been treated so coldly. He had some good looks, the men out there would be so gentle and kind to him, none was like Zhao Zheng’an now who frowned and gave cold shoulder to him.
Wang Susu couldn’t refrain from turning his rim of eyes red, the appearance of ‘Even I cannot help loving him upon seeing him’: “Zheng’an, are you still blaming me? Actually I didn’t want to cancel my engagement to you but my father forced me to do so. As a ger,
I am not allowed to rebel this (saying) ‘by the order of parents and the introduction of matchmaker’s word’ (父母之命媒妁之言). I also can’t help it.”
The more Zhao Zheng’an listened, the more annoyed he became, interrupting him, “What exactly are you trying to say? If you’re just asking me if I still blame you, then I’ll tell you, I don’t blame you at all. On the contrary, I have to thank you guys otherwise I wouldn’t have met my Fu Lang.”
Wang Susu was stunned but he did not answer the question. Instead, he changed the subject: “I… I’ve been thinking about you these days, so I came to see you.” Wang Susu’s face was hazy as he looked at Zhao Zheng’an.
[The origin word for hazy is ‘the flying rose-tinted sky or clouds at sunrise or sunset’, only two words in hanzi but the meaning is so rich.]
Zhao Zheng’an rolled his eyes speechlessly, without a trace of pity or tender feeling left: “If you say that, it won’t be good if it gets to your fiance’s ears. I’ll leave now since there’s nothing important. I’m very busy.” After saying that, Zhao Zheng’an turned around and went back to the workshop.
Wang Susu looked at the distant back, stomped his feet and his eyes red. Originally Zhao Zheng’an was a very gentle person, but now he was treating him like this.
Zhong Ziqi noticed that Zhao Zheng’an was not in the right mood since he came back, but he wouldn’t say anything even if he was asked. So Zhong Ziqi didn’t ask him anymore, but he asked Wang Jicheng instead when Zhao Zheng’an wasn’t paying attention, “Did you guys run into something today?”
Wang Jicheng scratched his head: “I guessed no… (We) ran into someone just now. We came back after they exchanged a few words.”
Zhong Ziqi intuited that Zhao Zheng’an must be in a bad mood because of this person: “Who is it? What kind of person?”
“It’s a ger. He is about the same age as you, Young master.”
“What did they say?”
Wang Jicheng thought for a moment and said, “Nothing much, just that Ger said something about not intentionally withdrawing from the marriage.”
After hearing this, Zhong Ziqi immediately knew who it was: “That Ger was alone?”
“Hn…yes, alone.”
Zhong Ziqi was speechless, what did this ger want? Suddenly, he came out of nowhere and acted like he was forced and without a choice. He was already engaged but he still wanted to reconcile? He didn’t believe that he (the ex fiance) would willingly marry Zhao Zheng’an, given the circumstances of Zhao Zheng’an at that time. Presumably without his will,his family could not have done it so quickly. They didn’t even bother to withdraw the marriage without any delay.
At night, before going to bed, Zhong Ziqi yawned and asked, “Did you meet your old lover today?”
Zhao Zheng’an’s eyes, which had been closed originally, suddenly opened: “You’ve heard about it? Wang Jicheng told you?”
“It was because I saw you sulking that I asked him. What? Don’t want me to know?” Zhong Ziqi looked at him, raised his eyebrows.
“No…. It’s not like it’s something shameful. I didn’t tell you because I was afraid of upsetting you.” Zhao Zheng’an was hurriedly defend himself. He didn’t tell him because he was afraid he would misunderstand and be unhappy, but now it seems to have backfired.
[backfired = produce the opposite of the desired result]
“What do I have to be upset about? Could it be that you two do something shameful behind my back?”
“I am innocent here! I only spoke to him a few words. In all honesty, I didn’t even say more than five sentences to him. If you don’t believe me, ask Wang Jicheng!”
Zhong Ziqi did not know whether to laugh or cry, looking at his hastily panicked appearance, “I believe you. I didn’t say that I didn’t trust you.”
Zhao Zheng’an saw that he wasn’t pretending so he put his mind at ease: “I also don’t know how he got there. Moreover, all by himself, I didn’t see anyone else.”
“Then what did he say to you?”
Zhao Zheng’an rubbed his nose: “He said that it was not his intention to withdraw from the marriage but it was his parents’ arrangement. He asked me not to blame him. I was impatient to listen to him, so I went back.”
“Didn’t you say that he was already engaged? How come I didn’t hear when the marriage was going to take place!” Zhong Ziqi asked in confusion.
“This … I don’t know either. Maybe they have something going on and the (marriage) day is delayed.”
“Fine, go to sleep ba! Don’t talk about him anymore.” Having got the answer, Zhong Ziqi stopped asking and yawned as he lay down to sleep.
……
In a flash of eyes, it was almost the beginning of the twelfth lunar month. Zhong Ziqi was also a bit anxious, he had heard that it would take them six or seven days to get to Yang Zhou City without stopping to rest. After the round trip, they didn’t have much time left.So they had to leave as soon as possible.
Zhao Zheng’an was also in a hurry. Now Wang Jicheng had almost finished his training here, he was able to manage the accounts and work. He could handle the tasks on his own.So Zhao Zheng’an was relieved to let him take charge. However, there were only four people in the workshop and three of them were gers. Since it wasn’t good to leave Wang Jicheng as the only big man there. Zhao Zheng’an went to find Zhao Jiang, the youngest son of Li Zheng. He asked him to join Wang Jicheng in the workshop. He didn’t need to do anything, but came around every day, to save Zhao Xue Mei and the other gers from being scared.
Of course, he would pay and give him a salary but not that much. Zhao Jiang naturally agreed, Zhao Zheng’an was his good friend, even if he didn’t pay, he would still help.
On the day they set out on a journey, Zhong Ziqi brought all of his family belongings. For the purpose of guarding against the unexpected, he and Zhao Zheng’an each brought half of the silver money with them.Afterwards, he prepared a large packet of food to pass the time on the road.
Their family’s chickens and dogs were entrusted to Zhao Amu to look after.
“Be careful on the road! There are too many robbers and bandits. Don’t …follow in the footsteps of your father and your Amu.”
Zhao Amu was uneasy and warned them repeatedly. He also knew that the two children had gone to look for the miracle doctor. Zhao Zheng’an’s illness could not be delayed but the journey was long. Who knows what they might encounter? Adding the two children’s age together was not as old as him. What if something happens to them? What should he do?
“Got it, Amu! We’ll be careful.” Zhong Ziqi said.
The passenger ship that was docked on the shore was about to set sail. Zhong Ziqi didn’t have time to talk to Zhao Amu anymore. Originally, Zhao Ning, Huang Amu and the others also wanted to come and see them off, but Zhong Ziqi stopped them. ‘Quite delicious’ could not be without people, so no need to send them off. Only Zhao Amu was not at ease, insisted on coming with them, and repeatedly warned them.
Zhao Zheng’an also instructed Wang Jicheng to look after the house properly and so on. After that, only then did he and Zhong Ziqi get on the boat.
It didn’t take long for the passenger boat to leave for an unknown direction.