Now, because of these animals, he and Zhao Ger were separated, living in different places, becoming a long-distance couple. Sleeping alone at night was unbearably lonely!
Fortunately, Du Xiaodu brought him a bundle of goat grass every now and then.
The pumpkin cakes and roast duck were in high demand, but Zhao Ger only sold them until noon. In the afternoon, he was busy slaughtering ducks. The ducks were ordered from Fourth Uncle He. As he was a major customer, Fourth Uncle He delivered them to town for free.
Zhou Ger originally thought the work would be very tiring, but peeling pumpkins and plucking duck feathers were, to him, the simplest tasks.
He thought that if he didn't come, Zhao Ger would be busy with the front, and Fang Zichen would be busy in the backyard. The work distribution was just right, there was really no need to hire anyone. It wasn't until he went to the outhouse to relieve himself and came out to see Fang Zichen had peeled a basin-sized pumpkin down to the size of a bowl that he finally understood why Zhao Ger had asked him to come.
Zhao Ger also explained to him that Fang Zichen would still need to return to work at Zuixiao Restaurant in a couple of days.
Zhou Ger was puzzled. Now that they had their own shop, why did he still need to go? The job at Zuixiao Restaurant paid three taels of silver per month. Although this was a lot, it seemed insignificant when compared to the profits generated by their own shop.
"Yi Ger hasn't fully gotten the hang of the work yet," Zhao Ger said: "My husband said he would go and guide him for a period of time."
Yang Mutao had treated Fang Zichen quite well. If Fang Zichen were to leave his job while Yang Mingyi wasn't yet fully capable of taking over, abandoning Zuixiao Restaurant, that would be ungrateful.
Fang Zichen thought he would rest for two more days and then return to work.
Zhou Ger didn't know the County Magistrate. When he saw him come in, he thought he was some master that Fang Zichen knew, coming to chat. He stopped working and poured him a bowl of water.
County Magistrate Jiang sat down and waved to Fang Zichen: "Young Fang, come sit over here."
"Is there still something?" Fang Zichen asked.
County Magistrate Jiang took out three banknotes and handed them over: "This is the compensation from the Zhang family."
Fang Zichen's eyes nearly popped out of his head. He had never lacked money before and used to consider wealth as dirt beneath his feet. He also thought that poverty wasn't scary.
After eating wild vegetables for several meals and going hungry a few times, he still thought poverty wasn't scary. What was scary was that he was the one who was poor.
He hastily collected the money, his face blooming into a smile. When he smiled, his features were bright and dazzling, the sense of distance instantly fading a lot:
"So you came to give me money! You should have said so earlier! Have you eaten breakfast? I'll go outside and get some pumpkin cakes for you to eat!"
Zhang Huaiwen was sentenced to exile. Zhang Huaini would cry and sob whenever she saw Jiang Zhengxu, begging him to make an exception. After being enlightened by Old Master Wu, Jiang Zhengxu found her increasingly irritating when he looked at her. He had slept at the government office last night. The bed there was hard. He tossed and turned all night without sleeping well and got up a bit late in the morning. He didn't have time to eat breakfast, thinking he would first come to see Old Master Wu off, but he didn't expect to be late.
"Alright," he said.
Fang Zichen happily ran out and came back in with three pumpkin cakes and three pumpkin sushi rolls.
"That'll be twenty-one coppers in total," Fang Zichen said: "But, considering Old Master Wu's face, I won't charge you for the small change. Just give me twenty coppers."
County Magistrate Jiang: "......"
In the past, when he ate outside, anyone who knew his status never charged him money. They said he was an honest and upright official, and for him to eat at their shop brought them honor and meant their ancestors had accumulated virtue. How could they still take his money?
Jiang Zhengxu wasn't the type to take advantage of others. Moreover, given his status, eating commoners' food without paying had a flavor of 'using power for personal gain' and could easily give others a handle. So he always paid. Today was the first time he encountered someone asking him for money.
Fang Zichen sat opposite him, smiling cheerfully.
Jiang Zhengxu looked at him and suddenly said: "Aren't you angry?"
"Ah? Angry about what?" Fang Zichen asked. He was overjoyed at the moment!
During the court proceedings that day, Jiang Zhengxu had indeed ordered the Zhang family to pay three hundred taels in compensation. However, the Zhang family was connected to Jiang Zhengxu by marriage. The silver was delayed and hadn't been delivered to him. Fang Zichen thought County Magistrate Jiang was probably just saying it in front of the commoners to build his reputation, and that the silver was most likely hopeless! He had even written County Magistrate Jiang's name on paper and stuck it to his shoe sole!
[Writing a person's name on paper and sticking it to the sole of one's shoe is a superstitious act of symbolic aggression, meant to express contempt, curse, or wish harm upon them]
So he had misunderstood the man. He should tear it off after the man left.
"Just now, your fulang hit you. Aren't you angry?" Jiang Zhengxu said.
Fang Zichen looked at him: "Are your eyes not working properly?"
Jiang Zhengxu: "......"
"Where was that him hitting me? It was just a light pat," Fang Zichen said.
Jiang Zhengxu: "......"
That loud 'smack' sound earlier, could that be a light pat? Could a light pat make such a noise?
Does he think I'm stupid?
Fang Zichen, feeling embarrassed under his gaze, added: "Even if he did hit me, so what? Hitting is affection, scolding is love. Do you understand? That's the banter between me and my fulang."
Jiang Zhengxu asked: "Don't you find it embarrassing?"
A strong, stubborn look spread across Fang Zichen's face: "What is there to be embarrassed about?"
Jiang Zhengxu gestured with his eyes towards Zhou Ger, who was busy working, and asked: "Is that young ger your fulang too?"
Fang Zichen immediately shook his head: "No, he's my fulang's good friend. Don't talk nonsense."
Seeing his somewhat flustered appearance, County Magistrate Jiang laughed: "Alright, if he's not, then he's not. Look at you, why are you so nervous?"
"Of course I'm nervous! If this gets out, it will harm his reputation!" Fang Zichen said: "Destroying someone's reputation deserves being struck by lightning."
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