Since his accident in the Wei Dynasty, Rong Xi had never recovered from his illness, and it was hard under the wind in the cold autumn.
Though it was not easy to sweat in autumn, the dirt on the body surface could be seen by rubbing. Rong Xi couldn’t bear it and asked Liu He to get a bathtub.
The bathtub was old and covered with dust and spider silk. After washing it and exposing it to the sun, it was scalded with boiling water, and Rong Xi carefully scrubbed its body.
People in the Wei Dynasty did not like bathing, especially in autumn and winter. Because they sweated less, they did not like bathing even more. The officials and nobles didn’t care. The common people only took a bath once or twice in the winter. They didn’t care if their bodies were full of oil and dirt or if their hair was full of fleas.
As far as he knew, the Liu family’s grandfather and grandson had not been cleansed for a month.
It is extremely difficult to go from luxury to frugality.
Rong Xi was unwilling to follow the local customs in matters such as this. Liu’s grandpa and grandson often followed him around. He didn’t want the people around him to be unkempt, so he ordered them to bathe carefully and put on new clothes.
Now that he held ten guans, he had the ability to improve his life.
After taking a bath, it was already time to turn off the lights, and the room was dark, with only the faint moonlight looming outside the window.
The Liu family’s members were lying on the bed together, and Liu He spoke earnestly.
“The young master is kind. You must serve him wholeheartedly in the future and don’t slack off.”
Liu He had guarded the ancestral home for decades, witnessing many changes in the world and the fickleness of human hearts. He remained loyal to the master’s family, and although he did not mistreat Rong Xi when Rong Xi was sent to Linxi due to a mistake, his sincerity was questionable.
However, after getting along with the young master for more than ten days, he realized that his master was not a domineering person. The young master was also kind and open-minded, and he had no contempt for his servants.
Liu He was already elderly, with half his feet sinking into the yellow soil. His greatest worry was his grandson. He had been restless all night, unsure of his grandson’s future. However, with the kind-hearted and capable master now present, if his grandson could serve by his side, they would surely live in stability for the rest of their lives.
The young master was not a person without wisdom; his grandson, who followed him, could also broaden his knowledge.
“Don’t worry, your grandson will serve the young master carefully and sincerely.”
Though young Liu was ignorant and naive, he could distinguish between good and evil. The young master was amazingly capable, generous, easy-going, and had superb cooking skills. The young master also gave him new clothes as a gift. If the young master did not refuse him, he would do his best to protect the young master.
Grandfather and grandson made an agreement, but Rong Xi didn’t know. He only felt that the quilt was as cold as iron. The hard and thin quilt covering the body had no sense of softness. If he hadn’t dried it during the day, it would have been even colder.
There was no cotton material in the Wei Dynasty. During winter, people would either use woolen blankets or fill their bedding with duck down or sheep wool to keep warm, but such bedding was only affordable for wealthy families.
Ordinary people could only put catkins, straw, and reed flowers in a cloth cover to survive the winter.
In later generations, cotton was of high quality and low price and was used by many people, but unfortunately, it was not available here.
Rong Xi huddled up all night. Fortunately, his fat was thick enough to keep out the cold, so he didn’t freeze into popsicles. It was autumn now, and it was already very cold. What would he do if winter came?
Ten guan wasn’t small, but purchasing a quilt was costly, and buying several definitely required spending a considerable amount of money.
The solution now was to open a money source.
After the cool night passed, Rong Xi got up early in the morning, before the first light appeared, and began jogging slowly in the courtyard.
The Liu family’s grandfather and grandsons came up one after another, and Liu Zishi followed Rong Xi’s instructions and ran in the morning together. Liu He then added firewood and fuel, boiled the water in the pot, and used it to bathe Rong Xi after he finished his morning exercises.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Though Rong Xi’s figure had slimmed down a bit, he was still plump and round compared to ordinary people. After just one lap, he was already out of breath, and his heart was beating wildly.
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At that moment, the hot bath was ready, and Rong Xi went into the house to bathe.
After finishing putting on his clothes, he went to the corridor and saw Liu Zishi happily circling around, sweat dripping from his forehead, but not tired at all, and Rong Xi couldn’t help but feel envious.
“Liu Zishi, breakfast is coming soon, let’s take a rest for now.”
Liu Zishi stomped his foot upon hearing this, intending to wipe his face with his sleeve. However, he hesitated, thinking of his clean new clothes, and couldn’t bring himself to do it. So, he went to the well to fetch water and wash up.
“Young master, the briquettes are dry, can they be used?” The young man’s curiosity was overflowing after several days of anticipation.
Rong Xi smiled and nodded, “When Master Jiang completes the new tool, we can give it a try.”
He observed that although Liu Zishi was young and innocent, he had an honest character, was not afraid of hard work, was obedient and sensible, and had malleable talent. After thinking for a moment, he asked, “Does Zishi want to read and write?”
In the courtyard, Liu He was about to serve the meal. When he heard this, his face was slightly shaken and he immediately raised his head.
In the corridor, a young man was sitting on his back, wearing a futou, dark clothes and wide sleeves. Although he was fat, his temperament was like jade, reflecting the morning glow and being gorgeous, capturing the splendor of the golden wheel.
The young master was kind-hearted, and Liu He thought he should do his best until he died.
Young Liu was not as thoughtful as his ancestors. He had never touched a book or held an inkstone. He only listened to the master reciting outside the school, but he remembered a few sentences that were deeply ingrained in his mind.
But he only remembered its sound and didn’t understand its meaning.
“Young master, can the servant also read and write?”
The young man’s heart was beating wildly, and he almost wanted to burst out of his chest. His eyes were bright and excited, looking straight at Rong Xi.
The young boy’s eagerness to learn was evident. Rong Xi smiled and softened his expression. “Starting from today, come to my study every day at the hour of Si today?”
As soon as he finished speaking, Rong Xi arrived with Liu Zishi. Liu He knew that they would discuss important matters, so he withdrew.
Hu Yulin also saw that the young Liu’s expression was excited, his fingers were stained with ink. Hu Yulin’s mind was turning slightly, and he knew the reason Liu He was excited about.
That’s fine too.
Previously, when Hu Yulin saw that Rong Xi had no clever servants serving him, he wanted to give Rong Xi one or two people, but now that Rong Xi had personally trained his confidant, he no longer needed to mention it.
“Living up to Young Master Rong’s trust, the coal stove is ready.”
Jiang Weiping got straight to the point, placed the stove on the ground, lifted the soap cloth, and revealed a half-leg-high coal stove.
Compared to charcoal pots, it was much more delicate and convenient.
Liu Zishi and Hu Yulin got closer and watched for a moment. Hu Yulin stood up and asked, “Brother Rong, can you show me how it works?”
Rong Xi nodded in agreement.
Liu Zishi took the stove to the open space in the courtyard, followed Rong Xi’s previous instructions, lit a honeycomb of briquettes, and placed it in the furnace with tongs.
The furnace was tall and long and could accommodate three honeycomb briquettes stacked vertically.
The young man placed two unburned coal briquettes on top of it. Following Rong Xi’s instructions, he moved the air outlet at the bottom of the coal stove to make the fire more intense.
The fire could not be wasted. Rong Xi went to the kitchen and ordered Liu He to get the meat.
Jiang Weiping looked puzzled, and Hu Yulin raised his eyebrows to answer: “My friend and I will have a good time today.”
The words were still unclear. Jiang Weiping stopped asking and just watched Rong Xi cut the meat into pieces, put them into the pot with cold water, and let it boil. Once it boiled, the broth was removed, and this process was repeated twice.
Later, a clay pot was placed on the stove in the courtyard, and the meat pieces were poured into it, covered with water. Wine, spring onions, peppercorns, and mushrooms were added to the pot, the airflow was reduced, and the mixture was simmered over low heat.
“Brother Hu, brother Jiang, how about staying here to have a drink together today?” Rong Xi invited.
Hu Yulin nodded repeatedly, “How can I refuse your kindness?”
Jiang Weiping was about to politely refuse, but was interrupted by Hu Yulin, “My friend, don’t worry about your sister, I will send my servant to tell her.”
After saying this, he ordered his servant to go to Jiang’s shop and inform Lady Jiang.
With the conversation having reached this point, Jiang Weiping no longer resisted.
“Brother Rong, this meal will take some time, why don’t we go in and discuss something else?” Hu Yulin had a task today and had to get it done.
Rong Xi nodded and asked Liu Zishi to prepare all the necessary ingredients and guard the coal stove. Then he took Hu Yulin and Jiang Weiping into the study to discuss it in detail.
“Brother Rong,” Hu Yulin suppressed his smile and said solemnly, “When my father learned about the briquettes incident earlier, he accused me of bullying others too much. I am here to apologize.”
Seeing that Rong Xi was about to speak, he stretched out his hand to stop him, and continued: “The matter is over, no more words. Now that the coal furnace is completed, I, on behalf of the Hu family, want to discuss the matter of cooperation with my two friends. I don’t know whether the two brothers are interested?”
Rong Xi had known this for a long time and was not surprised. Jiang Weiping was stunned. He was just a blacksmith, so what does he have to do with it?
“Brother Rong’s ingenuity and brother Jiang’s skills are both precious and extraordinary.” Hu Yulin said with a smile, “I only have money and silk at my disposal, and I hope to achieve good results with you two.”
Rong Xi shook his head and sighed: “Brother Hu, there is no need to be humble. The way of doing business is more valuable than money and silk. I admire my brother’s talent endlessly.”
The two looked at each other and burst into laughter.
Jiang Weiping, seeing the two people so familiar with each other, suddenly realized his own immersion in craftsmanship, not realizing the deep friendship between his good friend and Rong Xi. Seeing this now, he couldn’t help but speak up: “It’s been several days, yet brother Hu and you, Young Master Rong, are surprisingly…”
“Brother Jiang, there’s no need to be formal, just call me Rong Xi.” Rong Xi’s eyes curled up and his smile was warm and gentle.
Jiang Weiping was already amazed at his ingenuity, but when he saw that he had no sectarian views, as an official, he took the initiative to interact with the craftsmen, and his good impression doubled. He smiled immediately, and dimples appeared on his cheeks, which made his dull look lighter and full of energy.
“Brother Rong.”
The room suddenly burst into laughter.
Since the matter involved Jiang Weiping, Rong Xi no longer refused. Hu was kind enough to give Rong Xi and Jiang Weiping three points each for the benefit of the coal stove, and he kept four points.
Rong Xi just provided the drawings and gained a third of the benefits. Apart from Hu Yulin’s friendship and Hu’s foresight, Rong Xi’s promising talent had to be within the scope of Hu Yulin’s thinking.
The contract between the three was completed.
The Hu family hired people to make utensils, and Jiang Weiping was the chief engineer and supervised the work of all the craftsmen. As for Rong Xi, he was just staying at home and getting the money.
Rong Xi felt ashamed about such a wonderful thing and couldn’t help but remind them.
“Brother Hu knows that the method of making honeycomb briquettes is simple. When the craftsmen see it, they will know it. The benefits are only temporary.”
Hu Yulin understood what Rong Xi meant and smiled like a fox.
“You don’t have to worry, my friend. My father once said that fame is more important than the profit from a small project. Even though we are members of the ninth class, we still have great ambitions.” He curled his lips and smiled, “The Hu family must not rely on charcoal for generations.”
Rong Xi smiled and praised: “It is my pleasure to meet and cooperate with you ”
Hu Yulin made his fortune with charcoal, but he did not want to be restrained by charcoal. Since he had ambitions, Rong Xi was thinking of helping him.
“Brother Jiang has superb skills. I have something to ask, please help me.”
After he lived in the Wei Dynasty, he missed good food very much. The iron pot was heavy and difficult to cook, so he wanted to ask Jiang Weiping to build an iron pot for him to satisfy his appetite.
Just as Jiang Weiping opened his mouth to respond, Liu Zishi’s voice suddenly came from outside the door.
“Report to the young master, the food is ready!”
Rong Xi stood up instantly, his food!
I feel hungry now(((
Thank you for your translation 💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙
same 😑 this novel is going to be so difficult to get through…🤤😅
I read it until the end and it’s absolutely true!!!
I think I will gain more weight from reading this 🤣 oh the sacrifices we have to make as BL fans…