Chapter 198: Away from Home, Your Identity Is What You Make It
I woke up.
I could hear the faint sound of string and bamboo instruments.
Having eaten nothing last night, I actually slept until dawn.
I woke up famished.
Censor He pressed on the mattress and discovered it was both soft and firm, truly ingenious; upon waking, his back didn’t ache, his shoulders felt light, and his whole body felt comfortable, making him feel that the weather was wonderful.
It was just a thousand taels a night, comparable to sleeping on gold.
He went to the washroom to freshen up, and seeing the hot water flowing in a steady stream from the copper pipes when he opened the sluice, he felt that while a thousand taels was indeed an exorbitant price, it was truly extravagant.
After washing up, he told his Page Boy to pack up everything that could be taken.
It wasn’t shameful.
After all, he was paying for it, and no one’s money comes from a strong wind.
For this one night, he didn’t even know if he could get reimbursed.
It shouldn’t be this way, right? Was the Jingzhou government so oblivious that he had stayed a night and had to pay for it himself, with no one coming to receive him?
“Master, for breakfast, Steward Lin said it can be sent to the room, or we can go to their main hall to eat. Would you like them to send it up, or shall we go out to eat?”
“Naturally, we shall go out to eat.”
He had come to observe the local customs after all. (He wanted to see if there were any other suckers like him).
His Page Boy, Jizi, was somewhat reluctant; in a room that cost a thousand taels a night, he felt he was making money every moment he stayed inside, and felt a loss with every step he took outside.
With that much money, one could buy a whole courtyard in a small place, yet here it only covered a stay until noon.
When they arrived at the place for breakfast, Jizi felt dazzled again.
There was so much food.
Censor He frowned slightly.
It was too wasteful.
How could one eat so much for breakfast?
The servers included both men and women; one could take the food oneself, or ask a server to help.
Upon entering, the server would even ask what tea you wanted and give you a cup first.
And there was their steward.
Steward Lin led them to their seats.
And served him tea first.
“Master Su, whatever you need, you can let us fetch it, or you can get it yourself.”
“I’ll have a bowl of noodles; I’d like something warm.”
Steward Lin brought the noodles quickly.
The noodles were fragrant, and the broth was very savory.
It was an unremarkable bowl of noodles, but the broth, having some unknown ingredient added, was actually the most delicious thing he had ever tasted in his life.
Jizi, hearing that everything was free, took a lot.
He looked exactly like someone who had never seen the world.
However, everyone who came was like this; those who didn’t take anything were the minority.
After eating a bowl of noodles, he actually didn’t feel full, because the bowl was very small; instead, it whetted his appetite.
It was probably to let the guests taste various foods.
As a master, Censor He found the feeling of getting his own food quite fresh.
He saw that the guests here all helped themselves, taking whatever they saw.
He didn’t stand on ceremony either.
He planned to get some fruit.
When he reached the fruit section, he discovered that there were peaches and plums that shouldn’t be in season, looking vibrant and making one’s mouth water just by looking at them.
This seemed like a magical place.
It contained many unreasonable things.
Spending a thousand taels to see the world didn’t seem like a loss.
In just a short while, many guests had arrived one after another.
Wu the Third hadn’t lied; it was surprising to see so many guests in such an expensive inn.
Although there were many people, everyone took their own food, and it wasn’t chaotic at all.
There were even couples together.
The table next to them was a couple with a little girl.
They looked quite outstanding.
Censor He couldn’t help but take a few extra looks.
Then he ordered another bowl of noodles, and when adding vinegar, the little girl from next door came over and asked him:
“Grandpa, are you finished with this vinegar pot? May I use it?”
“I am finished, please go ahead.”
Censor He watched as the little girl took the vinegar pot to the table next to him in a straightforward manner and poured some into her parents’ bowls as well.
Then he heard the little girl chattering away.
“You guys are too mean, actually sneaking out to have fun without me.”
“I study so hard.”
“Now, in the whole family, I’m the only one who has to go to school on time every day. How could you bear it!”
Hearing the little girl complain about her heavy academic workload, Censor He couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
He found it amusing and gratifying.
“If you don’t work hard when you are young, you will regret it when you are old; little girl, having the opportunity to study is not easy.”
Censor He couldn’t help but interject.
Jiang Mianmian looked at the thin grandfather with a long beard and sparse hair, who looked every bit the scholar, and nodded with tears in her eyes—you have studied much, everything you say is correct.
She just never imagined that in ancient times, she could live a life of going to school every day; thinking about it, it was a bit unreasonable.
Censor He interjected and started chatting with the young couple next to him.
“I am Su Lin, in the fabric business. I heard that business is good in Jingzhou, so I came to take a look.” Censor He lied effortlessly.
Jiang Changtian at the next table quickly cupped his hands: “I am Su Wen, in the medicine business. I didn’t expect us to be of the same surname; we were one family five hundred years ago. It is a pleasure to meet you.”
“This is my wife and youngest daughter. My daughter studies at the Shangqiu Academy. We also often come to Jingzhou to do business. Jingzhou has good public order and a large population; we are just thinking about whether to move our whole family here.” Jiang Changtian spoke eloquently.
Censor He also earnestly discussed business strategies.
The two of them went back and forth and sat at the same table. They chatted very enthusiastically.
They even talked about going into business together, to make a fabric business with the fragrance of medicine.
His Page Boy, Jizi, was lost in thought; someone else was about to be swindled by his master.
Qin Luoxia smiled as she watched her husband chat with someone, full of admiration; whatever her husband said sounded plausible.
She kept an eye on her daughter eating.
Her daughter was only so big, thin and tiny, yet she was afraid of getting fat.
Qin Luoxia didn’t know what her little Mianmian was thinking; being plump was good, after all. She felt that no matter how she raised her daughter, she couldn’t get fat, and she didn’t know where the meat went after eating so much delicious food.
How could she have known that one day she would discover this little one actually wanted to lose weight.
If she weren’t a little older, Qin Luoxia would have certainly given her a good spanking.
They finished a long breakfast.
Censor He, who was in the fabric business, and Commander Jiang, who was in the medicine business, felt like they had met too late.
They agreed to talk again next time they had the chance.
When it was time to go to work at the government office.
They didn’t expect to meet again.
The fabric-selling old man Su was wearing peacock official robes.
The medicine-selling businessman Su was wearing crane official robes.
Censor He, wearing his official robes, looked at Commander Jiang, who was wearing his official robes, and the two looked at each other with smiles: “A pleasure to meet you.”
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