Qi Mama left with the maid. Zhao Baozhu stood where he was, looking around, somewhat at a loss.
Although Qi Mama had told him to wait, Zhao Baozhu remembered Fang Li’s words, that he would come later to inspect the results, so he still had to complete the tasks assigned to him first.
Fortunately, the small farmstead had all the necessary tools. Zhao Baozhu walked to the chicken coop, picked up a wooden scoop from a bucket, added fresh water to the trough, then went to prepare feed. Back home, his family farmed; it was just him and his father, and in his spare time from studying, he also helped with chores. Feeding chickens and ducks was something he could do with ease.
While the chickens and ducks buried their heads in the trough to eat, Zhao Baozhu carefully cleaned the coop. At the same time, he counted the livestock raised at the inn; there were actually several hundred chickens and ducks in total.
There were even more than what he kept at home.
Zhao Baozhu sighed inwardly. As expected of an inn in the capital, business must be very booming, to the point that they raised their own chickens and ducks for the kitchen.
He didn’t know who usually took care of these chickens; the cleaning had been very careless. Chicken droppings in the corners had piled up like small hills. Zhao Baozhu worked hard to clean everything up, replaced all the straw laid in the coop, and finally scrubbed all the troughs clean as well. By the time he finished, the sun had already climbed to the middle of the sky.
Zhao Baozhu raised his hand and wiped his forehead with his sleeve, looking up at the sky. The winter sun in the north looked somewhat pale; the sunlight shone down through gray clouds, glaring so brightly it made one’s eyes ache.
It was about noon. Qi Mama still hadn’t returned.
Zhao Baozhu rested under the shade of a tree for a while. When the sun dropped slightly, he started working again.
He kept busy until the sun slanted westward, the clouds like burning flames dyed the horizon red, and dusk approached. Only then did he finish all the tasks Fang Li had assigned in the morning. Zhao Baozhu tidied up all the tools, walked to the shade of a huge parasol tree in the backyard, and quietly waited for Fang Li to come inspect the results. But no matter how long he waited, no one came.
“Gulu…”
With a soft sound, Zhao Baozhu lowered his brows and touched his now-flattened stomach. After working under the blazing sun for most of the day, his belly was empty and his mouth parched. But Zhao Baozhu came from the poorest mountain village in Yizhou; when he was young, he had lived days of eating one meal and going hungry the next. Seeing that no one would come anytime soon, he simply leaned against the tree trunk and crouched down, hugging his knees. This position curled his waist and abdomen, helping him keep warm and reduce the feeling of hunger as much as possible.
Then he pulled out the book he carried with him from behind his belt, planning to review his lessons while the sun had not completely set.
After all, there was only a little over a month left before the spring examinations, he had to study hard. As Zhao Baozhu read, he suddenly thought of his lost name card again and felt another wave of worry. If he still couldn’t find it by the time of the exam, he truly didn’t know what he would do!
Lost in his worries, Zhao Baozhu sat there. The courtyard was empty; the chickens and ducks, now full, wandered about in the cleaned coop like people taking a walk after a meal. A gray duck waddled over on its little yellow feet and plopped down beside Zhao Baozhu with its rear raised.
Zhao Baozhu sighed as he casually picked up the fat duck and placed it on his knees, his right hand skillfully patting its thick feathers. Whether because it was too fat and lazy to move or because it felt comfortable, the duck obediently lay still on Zhao Baozhu’s knees.
After a while, a group of newly hatched chicks also came over, huddling together around Zhao Baozhu, using their tiny beaks to preen their feathers. Zhao Baozhu had raised chickens and geese since childhood and was already used to such scenes. While muttering to himself, he stretched out a hand just in time to steady a chick that nearly flapped itself onto the ground, and conveniently tucked it into his arms as well.
The chick nestled against his warm abdomen, shook its feathers comfortably, and chirped. Zhao Baozhu read while stroking the glossy feathers of the fat duck, thinking that if he truly couldn’t find his name card, he might as well find some work in the capital, take the exam again in three years, and in the meantime save some silver to send back to his elderly father at home.
“A gentleman has a great path: it must be obtained through loyalty and trust, and lost through arrogance and extravagance, ”*
Holding a chick in his arms, he swayed his head as he read aloud. Suddenly, in the corner of his eye, he noticed a shadow stretching before him. Zhao Baozhu lifted his head, and when he saw the person in front of him, his eyes lit up: “Fang Gege!”
He looked at the suddenly appeared Fang Li in surprise, quickly closing his book and putting it away before standing up. “You’ve finally come! I’ve finished all the work, take a look and see if there’s anything missing.”
Fang Li walked over, his expression somewhat strange. He gave Zhao Baozhu a complicated look, as if wanting to say something, but then held back and turned toward the coop.
Seeing that there wasn’t a hint of a smile on his face, Zhao Baozhu’s heart tightened slightly, and he hurriedly followed behind him.
Fang Li looked around outside the chicken coop, used a stick to flip the straw, and glanced into the troughs. The tightly furrowed lines between his brows eased slightly. He thought to himself that although this little beggar spoke cleverly and liked to act spoiled whenever he got the chance, he was actually quite efficient at work.
As he was thinking this, he turned around and saw Zhao Baozhu right behind him, holding a big fat duck in his arms, staring at him with wide, cat-like eyes.
Fang Li’s brows immediately knitted together again. “What are you doing? Hurry up and put that duck down! It’s filthy!”
He had the appearance of a northern man, with thick brows reaching into his temples and a high-bridged nose; when he frowned like this, he looked rather intimidating. But Zhao Baozhu wasn’t afraid. He blinked twice, carefully set the duck down, and as he stood up, he even patted its plump chest reluctantly, watching it wobble back into the coop before saying softly: “How is it dirty? Ducks are very clean.”
Fang Li stared at Zhao Baozhu in disbelief. Among all the servants in the Ye household, aside from those serving in the front, who wasn’t afraid of him? Yet this little beggar dared to talk back to him!
Seeing him glare, Zhao Baozhu smiled again. “Fang Gege, I’ve properly finished all the tasks you assigned.”
Hearing this, Fang Li’s expression shifted. He pressed his lips together, and after a while said awkwardly, “The work… was done fairly decently.” After saying that, he reached out and grabbed Zhao Baozhu by the back of his collar, dragging him outside. “Hurry up and go wash! You stink all over!”
Zhao Baozhu was baffled, lowering his head to sniff his sleeve. “How do I smell–”
He had only held a duck and some chicks for a while, and he had rolled up his sleeves properly while working, how could there be a smell so easily? City people were really particular, Zhao Baozhu thought.
Just as Fang Li half-dragged him to the courtyard gate, Zhao Baozhu grabbed Fang Li’s sleeve. “Fang Gege, can we bathe later?” He looked up at the man, who turned back with a frown, and curved his eyes pitifully. “Can we eat first? I’m very hungry. Even just a drink of water would be fine.”
The anger on Fang Li’s face faltered. His gaze paused on Zhao Baozhu’s face, and only then did he notice that the boy’s full lips were covered in dry cracks, some places already showing signs of splitting.
Thinking of how Zhao Baozhu had been curled up under the tree earlier, Fang Li’s brow jumped. “You didn’t eat at noon?”
Zhao Baozhu was also stunned. “At noon… there’s food?”
The two stared at each other, falling into a slightly awkward silence. Zhao Baozhu parted his lips slightly, he truly hadn’t known that there was a noon meal in this inn. In his hometown, almost all families ate only two meals a day: one in the morning, and another after finishing farm work before sunset, then they would go to bed early so that sleep could dull the hunger in their stomachs.
Fang Li also understood upon hearing this. His expression changed several times, and he turned away with a frown, muttering in a low voice, “…those despicable wretches!”
Zhao Baozhu didn’t know who he was referring to and blinked in confusion. Fang Li cursed a few more times under his breath, then turned back to Zhao Baozhu. Seeing him looking at him expectantly, the anger between his brows softened somewhat as he said in a calmer voice: “I’ll take you to eat first.”
Zhao Baozhu was overjoyed and nodded vigorously.
Fang Li led Zhao Baozhu through the courtyard gate, winding through narrow alleys, until they arrived in front of a side room.
“Remember this, this is where the servants of the back courtyard eat every day.”
As he spoke, Fang Li lifted the blue cloth curtain at the entrance. Zhao Baozhu followed him inside and saw two or three wooden tables, each with bowls and dishes set on them.
Unfortunately, there was no food left in the bowls and dishes, only scraps remained. Clearly, the other servants had already eaten everything while Zhao Baozhu was absent.
Seeing this, Zhao Baozhu’s eyes widened slightly. The dishes didn’t matter too much, but when he saw that even the wooden bucket of rice had been completely scraped clean, his brows slowly drooped.
…There wasn’t even any rice left.
Standing before the empty wooden bucket, Zhao Baozhu touched his stomach in disappointment. It seemed he would have to go hungry today.
At that moment, however, a suppressed, furious male voice came from behind him: “…these vile things!”
Zhao Baozhu turned around and saw Fang Li’s expression turn cold. He slammed his fist onto the wooden table beside him, knocking the bowls and dishes to the ground, where they shattered.
It seemed that after neglecting discipline in the back courtyard for some time, this group of lazy fools had actually started ostracizing others! Fang Li was furious. Ever since following the young master to this residence, his life had been too peaceful, so peaceful that he had almost forgotten the filth and scheming in the inner household!
Overcome with anger, Fang Li clenched his fists until they cracked. But when he saw Zhao Baozhu standing there, looking at him in confusion, the anger in his throat stalled, and he slowly loosened his hands.
“…We’ll deal with this later.”
Fang Li relaxed his fists and beckoned to Zhao Baozhu.
“Come with me first.”
*The quote is from The Great Learning.
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