Chapter 114 - 115: Refusal

Chapter 114: Chapter 115: Refusal

After eating, Ancient Wen Heng was full of praise. "It’s just as good as I remember. Such a familiar taste."

Jin Qianqian turned to look at him. "I don’t remember ever sending you any food."

"..." Ancient Wen Heng knew he’d slipped up and admitted it openly. "Li Tian’ai owed me a few favors. A few times, she packed up leftovers and brought them to me."

Jin Qianqian said, "Li Tian’ai owed you favors?"

Ancient Wen Heng rubbed his nose. "She needed an internship back then, so I found someone to help her out."

Jin Qianqian looked at him suspiciously. She finally understood why Li Tian’ai always liked to pack up leftovers after eating.

"See what other kitchenware you need. I remember there’s a blacksmith shop at the end of the street. While I’m home, I can go have them custom-made for you." Seeing Jin Qianqian so enthusiastic, Ancient Wen Heng wanted to indulge her.

Jin Qianqian was already prepared. She pulled out a few sketches. "I was just looking through some reference materials, but we don’t have electricity or any machinery here. We can only have more molds made. And the oven will have to be an old-fashioned one..."

Ancient Wen Heng, having successfully dodged a bullet: "..."

＆

As the sky began to lighten, the moment Ancient Wen Heng’s feet touched the floor, Jin Qianqian sat up instantly.

"Did I wake you?" Ancient Wen Heng lowered his voice. "I can manage on my own. Go back to sleep."

Jin Qianqian looked at him with sleepy eyes. "I’ll get you some breakfast. You should eat before you head out. What would you like?"

Getting breakfast on the other side of the county town would mean taking a long detour.

Ancient Wen Heng replied, "Something filling. The morning is long. My stomach was growling halfway through class yesterday."

Hearing this, Jin Qianqian’s heart ached for him. "It’s a good thing I made so many pastries yesterday. I’ll pack some for you to take along."

Ancient Wen Heng, pulling on his robe, said, "No need. None of the other students bring food, so we shouldn’t be the exception.

"Besides, I didn’t know I would be starting classes immediately yesterday, so all I had was rice porridge. It won’t happen again today."

Jin Qianqian didn’t argue, but her hands kept moving. A hamburger, soy milk, sushi, and a bowl of steaming hot seafood congee. "Hurry up and wash. If this isn’t enough, just say the word."

"That’s enough," Ancient Wen Heng quickly stopped her. "You get some more sleep. If you’re bored, you can walk around the county town and see if there’s anything you want to buy."

Jin Qianqian waved her hand dismissively, rolled over, and pulled the covers over her head to go back to sleep.

Ancient Wen Heng smiled and shook his head, then carried the platter straight out the door.

The moment he stepped out of the room, the stubborn donkey stamped its hooves, trying to break free from its rope and get to him. Ancient Wen Heng, holding the platter, said, "This is the special breakfast my wife made for me. You’ll have to wait for yours."

"HEE-HAW—HEE-HAW—HEE-HAW—"

"Stop your braying!" Ancient Wen Heng quickly carried the platter into the kitchen, then ran back out to add fodder to the trough. "If you dare disturb the neighbors, believe me, I’ll sell you off. Especially to a mill, where you’ll be pulling the grindstone day and night."

"HEE-HAW..." The Little Donkey snorted, then lowered its head and began to eat the fodder.

"That’s more like it." Ancient Wen Heng clapped his hands together and hurried to the washroom to clean up.

＆

Ancient Wen Heng stared, baffled, at the little boy standing in front of his main gate. "Who are you looking for? Do you have the wrong house?"

But the boy suddenly dropped to his knees. "Sir, I can drive a cart and do odd jobs! Can you take me on as a long-term laborer?"

"..." Ancient Wen Heng’s mind went blank. ’What’s all this drama so early in the morning?’

"Sir, I’m just trying to earn a bite to eat. As long as it’s enough to feed my uncle and me, I don’t need any wages."

Ancient Wen Heng said, "There are plenty of other households on this street. Why don’t you go ask them? We don’t need any help at the moment."

’This boy is only a few years old,’ he thought. ’This is child labor. Even if I needed help, I wouldn’t hire a kid this young.’

"No, no, no, I know you need help! I’m a really good cart driver, especially with donkey carts."

Ancient Wen Heng said, "Have you been watching us?"

"No," the boy replied, waving his hands frantically. "I just saw you practicing driving the cart by the roadside yesterday, so I thought I’d come and ask."

Ancient Wen Heng glanced at the sky. "Even so, I have no intention of hiring a complete stranger. You should go ask somewhere else."

The thought of the boy waiting outside made Ancient Wen Heng turn back to wake Jin Qianqian. "You should bolt the door."

Since they had always come and gone together, they hadn’t thought about the need to lock the door. This wasn’t like the automatic locks they were used to.

Jin Qianqian came to her senses. "Silly me, I almost forgot about that."

Just then, Jin Qianqian also saw the little boy standing outside the gate. "Who’s this?"

"He’s here to offer his services, wants to be a long-term laborer for us." Ancient Wen Heng had no more time to linger and explained hurriedly, "I already turned him down. Bolt the door and go back to rest."

Once he heard the sound of the door being bolted, Ancient Wen Heng bypassed the boy and hurried toward the academy.

Xiao Dongzi just watched his retreating figure, then silently squatted down in a corner.

Jin Qianqian returned to her room but couldn’t fall back asleep. She got up, made herself a simple breakfast, and then picked up her grocery basket, planning to check out the nearby market.

"Why are you still here?" Jin Qianqian was surprised to see the little boy still standing by the gate.

"Ma’am, I can really do anything. Please, take me in."

Jin Qianqian replied, "We’re just ordinary people. We don’t need to hire any help."

Her thoughts were the same as Ancient Wen Heng’s. ’He’s just a child. I’d feel too much pressure hiring him.’

"..." Xiao Dongzi’s head drooped as he nervously tugged at the hem of his clothes.

"Sigh..." Jin Qianqian sighed. "Wait here for a moment."

She turned and went back inside. A moment later, she returned with a small bag of mixed grains. "We can’t help you much, but take this back with you."

Xiao Dongzi shook his head. "I didn’t come here to beg."

Jin Qianqian squatted down to look him in the eye. "I’m not giving this to you as a handout. I’m lending it to you. When you have grain to spare someday, you can pay me back."

"You really can’t let me stay?"

Jin Qianqian shook her head and placed the bag of grain in front of him. "We really don’t need anyone right now."

Watching Jin Qianqian walk away with her grocery basket, Xiao Dongzi remained silent for a long time before finally picking up the bag of grain and slowly leaving.

"What? Didn’t work out, huh?" Big Beard was leaning against a haystack. He glanced up at the boy before closing his eyes to rest again.

"Uncle, is there really no hope for us in this lifetime?"

"Tch. You’ve seen a few operas and think it’s that easy to find a noble patron like in the stories?"

Xiao Dongzi said, "But they’re good people."

"Good people? How many people have you even met in your life to make a judgment like that?" Big Beard said listlessly. "Don’t be so stubborn. If we don’t do something, the two of us might really starve to death here.

"Besides, I feel like the wounds on my hands are getting worse. I don’t know how much longer I can hold on. If you don’t grow up soon, I won’t be able to look after you anymore."