CHAPTER 311: CHAPTER 296: BROTHER ZHAO WU

Su Jingchen was just about to ask what it was when Zhao Zhiquan pushed the door open and came in.

Ever since Meishan Residence started serving hotpot, Zhao Zhiquan had been there many times and gained some experience in ordering. "Eating just vegetables in a hotpot is pointless, you’ve got to have lamb... Here, give me ten plates of lamb first, then two portions of hand-made fish balls, two portions of hand-made shrimp balls, two portions of tripe, one portion of mushrooms, one portion of cabbage...

Hey... see, there are female guests here, so bring a small charcoal pot for them..."

"Fifth Master, three pots or two pots?" The waiter, afraid of misunderstanding Zhao Zhiquan, quickly asked.

Zhao Zhiquan frowned; why was this waiter so dumb? A newbie?

The shopkeeper Zhao: Of course, he’s new. The previous one was scared away by you.

Zhao Zhiquan held back his impatience, "Two!"

The two men could share one pot to swish their ingredients.

Yu Xiaolian glanced at Su Jingchen, silently inquiring.

Su Jingchen understood, giving a barely perceptible nod.

Zhao Zhiquan asked Su Jingchen, "Do you drink?"

Su Jingchen shook his head, "I can’t hold my liquor well, Zhao Bureau Leader, enjoy yourself."

Zhao Bureau Leader replied in a slightly disappointed tone, "If none of you are drinking, what’s the point of me drinking alone? I won’t drink then."

Soon, two charcoal pots were brought to the table, and Yu Xiaolian began to mix her dipping sauce.

Minced garlic, cilantro, and sesame oil—Yu Xiaolian first mixed a portion for Su Jingchen before starting on her own.

Great Liang didn’t have sesame as a crop, but Yu Xiaolian found raw sesame in her home’s backyard warehouse. In spring, she had Yu Changhe experiment by planting two acres, and the sesame grew well. However, since they had no experience with this crop, they harvested late, resulting in overly mature sesame that dried out and burst on the ground. In the end, they only collected a few bags of sesame.

Nevertheless, now that there was a source for sesame, Yu Xiaolian felt justified in openly selling sesame oil from the supermarket to various restaurants.

Zhao Zhiquan watched as Yu Xiaolian prepared a dipping sauce and naturally handed it to Su Jingchen. He later realized that there seemed to be something special between these two. Why did he suddenly feel like the odd one out?

Zhao Zhiquan was straightforward and couldn’t keep things to himself. His curiosity got the better of him, so he quietly moved his chair closer to Su Jingchen and asked in a low voice, "How old is Scholar Su this year?"

Su Jingchen calmly replied, "In two months, I’ll be fourteen."

Zhao Zhiquan made an "oh" sound, noticing it was similar to Yu Teacher’s age.

"Where in the Northern Land is Scholar Su originally from?" Zhao Zhiquan asked again.

Su Jingchen patiently answered all of Zhao Zhiquan’s questions and, in turn, inquired about some things regarding Zhao Zhiquan.

"Twenty-two?" When Zhao Zhiquan said he was twenty-two, both Su Jingchen and Yu Xiaolian were taken aback.

Yu Xiaolian incredulously examined Zhao Zhiquan closely, but his thick facial hair made it hard for her to see any traces of youthfulness.

Yu Xiaolian could only sigh inwardly that Zhao Bureau Leader seemed to have matured way too soon.

Before Zhao Zhiquan revealed his age, Yu Xiaolian had always thought Zhao Zhiquan was nearing forty and assumed he was already a grandfather.

But as it turned out, Old Zhao... no, now he should be called Young Zhao, said he wasn’t even married yet.

In ancient times, being unmarried at twenty-two was considered late marriage.

People like Sun Manyang, who were also twenty-two, were called old bachelors behind their backs.

Yu Xiaolian curiously asked Zhao Zhiquan, "Being late to marry, doesn’t your family pressure you?"

Zhao Zhiquan took a big bite of boiled lamb, "They do, but I haven’t found someone I like. I don’t care for the ones they introduce.

Marriage is a lifelong matter, and you have to find someone you like; otherwise, if both get tired of looking at each other, it’s better not to marry at all."

"In that respect, Fifth Master Zhao and I share the same thinking—better to go without than to settle!" Su Jingchen said this while looking at Yu Xiaolian.

Yu Xiaolian noticed but pretended she didn’t, focusing on stirring the oil in her bowl.

Zhao Zhiquan laughed out loud, "Don’t call me Fifth Master, call me Brother; from now on, call me Brother Zhao Five."

Yu Xiaolian and Su Jingchen exchanged glances and, in unison, called him Brother Five.

Zhao Zhiquan enjoyed it immensely, responding joyfully.

Zhao Zhiquan thought of how exaggerated it was earlier at the Women’s Virtue Academy when his elder brother cherished the two poems Yu Xiaolian had written. He said, "Let me tell you, my elder brother is the most old-fashioned and hard to please person, especially when it comes to women..."

Zhao Zhiquan informed Yu Xiaolian, "You’ve shown your talent today, so expect no peace in your days ahead. Based on what I know about my elder brother, he’ll likely invite you to every poetry gathering from now on. If you don’t go, he’ll pester you to death!"

Is it really that exaggerated? Yu Xiaolian was half-skeptical about Zhao Zhiquan’s words.

Zhao Zhiquan noticed Yu Xiaolian’s disbelief and began to give examples, "My elder brother had a teacher before, surnamed Bai, named Bai Shixi. That teacher was even more old-fashioned than my brother. Moreover, he was very rigid in his thinking. Yet, my brother pestered him so much that he voluntarily went to the far north to support education.

I heard he left with his old wife, taking a carriage overnight...

Dean Bai? Yu Xiaolian never imagined that Dean Bai would be Zhao Zhiyun’s teacher.

Such an incredible connection indeed.

"We know Dean Bai. He should still be in Yangcheng," Yu Xiaolian said.

Su Jingchen shook his head, "Yangcheng was already an empty city last year. Dean Bai and Teacher Wan are now in the county school in Linzhou."

"Oh, I wonder how the drought situation in Linzhou is now?" Yu Xiaolian said.

"Linzhou is slightly better than Yangcheng and Ping City. There are many wild springs in Linzhou mountains, so the people aren’t entirely without water, but they have to line up for a long time each day to fetch water.

In some places, the springs are monopolized by local gentry, and those who want to drink water have to buy it.

Some, unable to afford water, have even sold their daughters and wives to avoid dying of thirst."

Su Jingchen was unaware that Yu Yanran had died.

In Yangcheng, Su Jingchen had met Yu Yanran.

At that time, Yu Yanran was investigating the cause of death of her half-sister, Yu Wanying, and had looked into almost every student at Qingquan Academy and the Women’s Virtue Academy.

Back then, Yu Yanran already had an extremely pale face, as if she couldn’t catch her breath after taking a few steps.

It seems Yu Yanran had fallen ill and died not long after returning from the Northern Land, Su Jingchen thought.