CH 80

Chapter 80: 到来

(The Arrival)

The docks of Qing Shui Town were as busy as always, with ships coming and going ; merchant ships leaving and passenger ships coming.

Qing Shui Town at best was only a supply station. The region was small and not very crowded. People usually didn’t stay here for too long. It was just a place to get some food and rest.

Gradually, however, as Zhong Ziqi and Zhao Zheng’an’s business grew bigger and bigger, and the more prosperous it had become. Many merchants who come here have heard about it. They heard that Qing Shui Town had produced some particularly delicious food that people wanted to eat again and again.

So many merchant ships chose to stop at Qing Shui Town, and then, after asking around, they found the ‘Quite Delicious’ restaurant. After a meal, those people approached Wang Jicheng, wanting him to provide more supply of fried dough twists and deep-fried breadsticks for them to eat on the way.

Naturally, Wang Jicheng wouldn’t put the business out of business.

When one of the merchants said it was delicious, he would spread the words all over the place. Going through the publicity given by one merchant to other merchants, soon, one after another, the merchant ships that reach the shore would go to Wang Jicheng there to buy a large batch of food.

In this way, the town of Qing Shui became more and more lively. All the merchant ships passing by would go to ‘Quite Delicious’ or Wang Jicheng’s place there to buy a batch of food to take it away with them.

It was a ‘moderate wind, beautiful sun’1‘ day, where the sun shone brightly, the weather was good when another passenger ship from the southern part of the country docked at the south pier of Qing Shui Town.

The people on board, one after another, got off the boat. The last to disembark were two middle-aged couples in their forties. They were dressed in ordinary clothes. On the other hand, the man’s Fu Lang looked very pretty and still had a lot of charm at his age.

They were followed by two other people on their backs. One was an older man, about the same age as the two people in front of him and the other one was a young lad probably in his twenties …

Many passers-by kept gawking at them, mainly because the forty-something year old Amu looked so conspicuous.

“Master, madam, right now the little young master and the others should not be in the town. You and Madam, please wait here for a while. This subordinate will go and get a carriage.” An ordinary-looking, sturdy man with an expressionless face bent down and said respectfully, if Zhong Ziqi and the others were here they would have recognized that this man was none other than Shen Yu Bei’s trusted aide.

And the two people called by Hong Ying as Master and Madam were exactly no other than Zhong Ziqi’s maternal grandparents. After a long and difficult trek of journey, they had finally arrived in Qing Shui Town.

“Let’s go together!” Father Shen waved his hand for him to lead the way.

“Master, you walk slowly!” Shen Amu hurriedly held Father Shen’s arm.

“That’s right, Master. Let’s walk slowly without hurry. It’s more important to pay attention to your health.”

That man in his forties said smilingly. He was the head butler of the Shen Family’s residence and had been serving Father Shen for more than thirty years, so he had always been loyal and devoted. Everything regarding the Shen Family,  whether it was big or small matters, had to go through his hands first.

Father Shen said in full spirit:  “I’m in good health. I don’t need you guys to help me.” After saying this, he left the two of them and strode forward.

Shen Wang and the head butler looked at each other and hurriedly followed.

Hong Ying heard from his master that the two young masters were no longer in ‘Quite Delicious’, so Hong Ying went straight to the carriage shop and rented a carriage. Naturally, the master and the madam sat inside, while Hong Ying sat on the left to drive the carriage and the head butler sat on the right side, watching the scenery.

At this moment, Zhong Ziqi and Zhao Zheng’an were busy making stewed meat at home. Although the house in which they would be going to use as their working place had been built, lack of staff was still a problem. In the past two days, Zhao Zheng’an has been looking for someone to work for him. Until they find one, they would have to do it by themselves.

Both of them had just finished making the portions for tomorrow. There was a knock on the front door when they were drinking water in the house.

“Who is it?” Zhao Zheng’an got up and went out to open the door. No one usually came over to their house, so they didn’t know who it was at this moment.

Zhao Zheng’an froze the moment he walked over to the door and opened it. It took him a long time to regain his senses before he said with surprise: “Grandpa, Grandma, you’re here? ! Why didn’t you send someone to come here and let me pick you guys up?”

Outside the door, Father Shen walked in with his hands behind his back, bypassing the dumbfounded Zhao Zheng’an :”It’s this close so why should I (torment) trouble you guys? It’s not like we don’t have hands or feet.”

“Well…I’m afraid you won’t find it!” Zhao Zheng’an scratched his head.

“There’s Hong Ying here.” Shen Wang said as he patted Zhao Zheng’an’s arm.

“Zheng’an, who is it?”

Zhong Ziqi saw that Zhao Zheng’an hadn’t come back for so long, he could only hear the sound of people’s talking so he put on his shoes and came out.

Both sides were stunned when they met. At the first glance, Zhong Ziqi saw an unfamiliar old man, ahem…old man (老头 but this words is not a polite words) was not appropriate but it was really a man with white hair standing not far from him. He then saw another unfamiliar Amu looking at him, standing side by side with Zhao Zheng’an. A glint of understanding flashed across Zhong Ziqi’s eyes after he saw Hong Ying.

However, Father Shen and Shen Amu were particularly excited (emotionally moved), taking a few steps forward.

“Similar…really, it’s too similar.”Father Shen muttered to himself as both of his hands trembled.

Shen Amu was even more excited.He rushed forward and held Zhong Ziqi’s hand, choked with sobs and said: “Qi Ge’er, I am your grandma! He is your grandfather….You and your Amu are really…really alike.”

Zhong Ziqi was a bit embarrassed and at a complete loss by the excitement of the scene before him. He looked at Zhao Zheng’an and cried for help but he shrugged his shoulders and expressed that there was nothing he could do, no matter how much he would like to. Zhong Ziqi could only behave, calling out to them first: “Grandpa, Grandma!”

“Ai…” Father Shen and Shen Amu answered at the same time.

Zhong Ziqi was a little embarrassed, and said apologetically: “Grandfather, grandma, let’s go inside and talk!”

“Okay, okay, let’s go inside and talk.”

Shen Amu nodded and wiped his tears. He then helped Father Shen into the house.

“Is this the new house you’ve built?”

Shen Ame asked as he looked around.

“Yes, we just moved in not long ago.” Zhong Ziqi said with a smile.

Father Shen also surveyed the surroundings decorations and nodded, “It’s quite good.”

They sat in the room and chatted for a while. Zhong Ziqi saw their tired faces then he said: “Grandfather, grandma, you must be tired from the journey! I’ll go and cook for you.”

“Qi Ge’er ah, there’s no hurry. Your grandfather and I want to go and see your Amu first.” That’s right, they were anxious to see and talk to their son whom they hadn’t seen for more than ten years.

Zhong Ziqi’s maternal grandparents had tears falling down from their faces as they thought about it.

“Master, Madam, this subordinate knows the way. Just let this subordinate take both of you there!” Hong Ying said with a paralyzed face,his eyes swept over Zhong Ziqi, whose body was obviously inconvenient to go to the cemetery.

Father Shen and Shen Amu were obviously aware that their grandchild was pregnant : “All right! You can take us there! Ziqi should rest at home.”

Zhao Zheng’an wanted to go with them, but Father Shen refused.

Hong Ying was the only one who went with them, the head butler stayed behind too.

Zhong Ziqi obviously didn’t know him yet and asked in confusion: “This (person) is? “

The Head Butler smiled amiably: “My name is Shen Qing. I am the butler of the Shen Mansion. Little Young master, you can call me Butler.”

“I’d rather call you Uncle Shen!” Zhong Ziqi said. He was still a bit uncomfortable calling him housekeeper.

“Fine, I’ll just listen to the little young master.” The Head Butler narrowed his eyes and smiled. His eyes were also a little red, he was obviously also thinking about Zhong Ziqi’s Amu. His Amu was the one he had taken care of since he was still a child.

Zhong Ziqi sat in the house, chatted with the housekeeper for a few moments and then went into the kitchen. He didn’t know what their tastes were (preference in food) so he could only cook a few dishes with both heavy and light tastes.

He was still a bit nervous inside, since he didn’t know how to interact with them. His heart was in a complete mess so it was good for him to calm down in the kitchen and get his head around it. His grandparents were both very kind and friendly, although his grandfather seemed a bit serious, Zhong Ziqi could see that he treated him very gently. He wasn’t as stern as Zhao Zheng’an said he was. This way they could get along better.

“Uncle Shen, how is grandfather’s health these days? Has he gotten better?”

Inside the house, Zhao Zheng’an asked the head housekeeper. Both of them were still quite concerned about their grandfather’s health.

“There is nothing wrong with his health. You also know it’s a mental problem that he can’t untie at this moment.” The head housekeeper shook his head with a sigh.

“Ai…” Zhao Zheng’an sighed too: “I hope grandfather will be able to get over it after visiting Amu. No matter what, he still has me and Ziqi! Soon, the great-grandson will also be born.”

The Head housekeeper also smiled: “That’s right, Master likes children the most actually, but the problem is Young Master Bei has not yet married.”

“Perhaps, it’s not his time yet!”

“Perhaps…”

It was almost an hour later, Father Shen and the others came back. Everyone tacitly ignored their red eyes.

“Grandfather, grandma, you’re back just in time. We’re going to eat. Try Ziqi’s cooking, it’s very good!” Zhao Zheng’an all smiled and changed the subject.

The Head Butler nodded appreciatively besides him. He still liked Zhao Zheng’an. He was clever, quick-witted, good at what he did, had a good eye (good observer) and anyone who met him would compliment him.

“Okay, your grandfather and I will try Ziqi’s cooking.” Shen Amu forced himself to smile.

Soon, Zhong Ziqi’s meal was ready. Because there was not much time and not too many ingredients available, he made one soup dish, two meat dishes and two vegetarian dishes.There was also a plate of the braised pork that had been prepared in the morning. Hong Ying and the butler could not eat with them because of their status. Zhong Ziqi had prepared for this and had set another table for them in the kitchen.

“Grandfather, grandma, you guys try my cooking, I don’t know if it’s up to your liking or not.” Zhong Ziqi said as he served the rice to the couple and sat down.

Shen Amu was the first to move his chopsticks. After just one bite of the dish, he immediately praised and said: “It’s delicious, Ziqi’s cooking skill is good. You try it too! ”

Shen Amu gave Father Shen some dishes with his chopstick. When Father Shen heard this, he picked it up and tasted it. He also nodded his head: “It’s good.”

“It’s good that you guys like it. Let’s eat, it will get cold later.” Zhong Ziqi said with a smile as he narrowed his eyes.

In the kitchen, the butler ate his meal. As he ate, he said: “The little young master’s cooking is not that different from the cooks in our residence. Even more so, I think his cooking was even better. What do you think, Hong Ying?”

“….”

Hong Ying did not reply and his face was expressionless. The way he ate was simply as fast as the way locusts passed through a country’s territory; the butler was speechless as he looked at him.

But he was also afraid that he would eat all the food, so he had no choice but to go ahead regardless of being thick-skinned  and fight over the food with him. It was the  little young master’s fault to cook such delicious food.

Translator’s :

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(idiom for fine sunny weather day especially in springtime)