Chapter 101: Settlement
Not even a stick of incense burned down, and Feng Chaoyang had already hurried to the entrance of the dance house with his friends.
It was too late today, so Zhou Wangshu handed them over to Chen Buyu for accommodation, telling him to discuss the details tomorrow and arrange a place for them to stay in the meantime.
By this time, the lantern festival had ended, and it was late at night. Su Yaoguang and Zhou Wangshu didn’t linger long at the dance house and quickly returned to the Taoyao Square’s backyard to rest.
The next morning, as Zhou Wangshu headed to the academy, Su Yaoguang was still asleep. By the time she woke up, the others had already arranged everything in the store. They saw her looking tired, nudged each other, wanting to ask but hesitant, with eyes burning with curiosity.
"Girl, how did you and Wang Shu have fun last night?" Zhang Zhaodi inquired.
Su Yaoguang, munching on a bun, replied, "Great!"
"Was the lantern festival fun?"
"Very fun." Su Yaoguang said, touching the corner of her mouth and inhaling sharply, "Oh no, I ate too messily last night, and now I have a blister in my mouth."
Jiang Jing leaned in: "Open your mouth, let me see."
Su Yaoguang took a sip of water and opened her mouth for Jiang Jing to inspect.
Zhang Zhaodi, seeing Su Yaoguang as usual, muttered to herself, "What am I really expecting? These two kids, married or not, what’s the difference?"
"Don’t rush, Wang Shu is still too young, it’ll be fine in a couple of years." Zhang Pandi said, "I see Wang Shu is quite honest."
"He’s studying now; if he gains fame two years from now, he might not appreciate our Yaoguang. Honestly, I’d rather he isn’t too accomplished, no need for fame." Zhang Zhaodi said in a lowered voice, "Otherwise, raising him for so long only to find out he’s ungrateful would be a waste of time and money, wouldn’t it?"
"Cousin is wonderful! If he turns out to be that kind of person, it means he’s not worthy of cousin." Jia Chunni protested, "Cousin deserves the best man in the world."
"Chunni’s right." Zhang Yingdi agreed.
Zhang Zhaodi felt somewhat relieved.
There weren’t many customers today, and Su Yaoguang continued making the next batch of skincare products with Jiang Jing and her two aunts in the backyard. If Jia Chunni was too busy, Zhang Zhaodi would call them to the front yard to help with customers.
"The shop across the street was rented out; there’s quite a commotion. I wonder what kind of store it’ll be?"
Su Yaoguang paused in her busy work. She looked up at Zhang Zhaodi and said, "Mom, find out if Jiang Yihuan and Zhong Lanhua rented the shop across the street."
"Them? Why do you suspect it’s them?"
"I saw Jiang Yihuan and Xiao Ci yesterday and overheard their conversation; they seemed to be talking about starting a business." Su Yaoguang said, "Knowing those mother and daughter, they’d certainly find ways to trouble us. I’m just guessing, but better to investigate than be caught off guard."
"Alright, I’ll find someone right away to ask."
A while later, Zhang Zhaodi returned and said, "I found out, it’s not those two troublesome women; the renter is an outsider, also a woman."
"What’s the plan for the shop opposite?"
"Couldn’t find out that part." Zhang Zhaodi said, "The broker only knows the renter is an outsider and doesn’t even know what she’s up to."
"Better keep an eye on them in the coming days." Su Yaoguang said, "After all, they’re right across the street; if there’s a bad relationship, it could affect our business."
The academy. Zhou Wangshu applied to the Mountain Master for daily home accommodations. The Mountain Master initially hesitated but approved when Chen Buyu and Zhong Chushan also applied.
Knowing that only allowing these three to return home would lead to discontent among others, the Mountain Master revised the rules to allow those living nearby to return home as well.
Xiao Yanci rarely intervened.
The Jiang Family is about to start business soon, and with a place in the city, he’ll inevitably often visit Jiang Yihuan. Hence, he ’reluctantly’ cooperates with them.
"You said you have other plans for those ten people?" Chen Buyu exclaimed in surprise. "Brother Zhou, those ten beggars are still young. You say you want them working at our dance house as errand boys, I think that’s fine. After all, with over a hundred people in our dance house, manpower is often short. Having a few more errand boys wouldn’t be a problem. But you want to arrange something special for them, what can you do?"
"You just need to know they’re my people, and for now, they’re temporarily staying with you. Once I’m ready, I’ll take them away, so you must ensure their safety."
"If they were ten young girls, I couldn’t guarantee it. After all, I can’t overpower my father’s tough stance. But they’re ten errand boys, I can certainly manage that."
"If you can’t manage here, I can handle it. Our Gambling House also lacks staff, raising ten young beggars is more than manageable." Zhong Chushan said lazily, chewing a grass root.
"Your Gambling House’s business is currently too monotonous; I have some ideas. Do you want to hear them?" Zhou Wangshu said.
Zhong Chushan spat out the grass root, looked at him fervently, "Brother, tell me, how should we do it?"
Zhou Wangshu didn’t hide his mysterious identity as Young Master Zizhan from him. He knows this new bond helped Chen Buyu earn quite a bit of silver, giving Chen more leverage with his father, who knowing Young Master Zizhan was brought in by Chen, viewed him differently, and hadn’t even hit him recently.
As one of the city’s notorious second-generation double swordsmen, Zhong Chushan is also a spoiled young master who fails academically, often looked down upon by his father, who was on the verge of bringing in his out-of-town illegitimate son as a backup heir. His mother, crying bitterly every day, begged him to strive hard and not relinquish his inheritance rights readily.
"I used to be a tricky character, roamed up and down the country, often visiting Gambling Houses. I’ve seen many gambling games, from foreign lands, the Capital City, to the vast northern deserts — I can teach you all."
"Brother, you must properly teach me."
"I want a share." Zhou Wangshu said, "Between brothers, everything’s clear. What’s in it for me?"
"Of course, I wouldn’t take advantage of a brother."
Xiao Yanci, along with several classmates, passed by in front of them. One noticed the three and mocked, "Today’s piano class, they played even worse than dog’s bark. Not scholarly, nor master’s six arts, Zhong Chushan and Chen Buyu merely come from somewhat wealthy families, and that Zhou Wangshu is a live-in son-in-law. How does he dare spend his wife’s family silver here and waste time?"
"Brother Xiao, the teacher said your piano skills resemble Young Master Zizhan’s. Are you Young Master Zizhan?" The person looked at Xiao Yanci with an admiring gaze.
Xiao Yanci denied: "I’ve heard Young Master Zizhan’s music too. His piano skills are indeed masterful, requiring two to three decades of dedication to achieve such proficiency."
When Young Master Zizhan performed, he and several classmates were inside the side room, and a casual inquiry revealed he wasn’t the one. He certainly wouldn’t claim such an identity.
Besides, a Piano Master is just a lowly person; what’s the point in impersonating? He disdains such actions.