Chapter 9: 码头 (Pier)
Translator: LittleYen
In the evening, Zhong Ziqi made a stir-fried bamboo shoot with the bamboo shoots he brought home today, which tasted pretty good. It was not surprising that Zhao Zheng’an had eaten a lot again.
Zhong Ziqi was afraid that he would accumulate food, so he asked him to walk in the courtyard, while he cleaned the dishes and boiled a big pot of hot water. After walking all afternoon, the smell of sweat was so strong that he could not stand it any longer.
It was probably because his body was so weak that he was always sweating.
There was a large bath in the kitchen, so Zhong Ziqi poured the water in, test that it was just the right temperature, so he took off his clothes and sat down in it, sighing comfortably. After a few days of work, he just wiped himself down, but today he could finally take a dip. With his head on the tub, he felt as if he had forgotten something… forgotten what?
“Wife?” Zhao Zheng’an returned to the house after he had finished eating, finding no sign of his wife, so he searched for him again.The kitchen door left unlocked, the sound of water could be heard faintly. He pushed it open happily, then he was greeted by his wife’s bare, shining white shoulders and back.
It was only when Zhong Ziqi heard Zhao Zheng’an’s shout that he suddenly remembered what he had forgotten.
He had forgotten about Zhao Zheng’an, this guy, thus he turned his head and waved his hand.”Zheng’an, go wait for me in the house first, I’ll go back when I’ve finished my bath.”
Zhao Zheng’an, who had been very obedient, was not happy this time, he went over and crouched down in front of Zhong Ziqi, giggled: “No, I’ll stay here.” His eyes glared like two little stars.
Zhong Ziqi could not persuade him, so he handed him a towel, “Then you can rub my back!” With a big grin, he had completely forgotten that he was a ger. Even if he remembered, Zhong Ziqi would have said calmly, “We are both men, what I have he has too, what is there to be afraid of? Besides, he’s a fool.”
Zhao Zheng’an followed his wife’s instructions, took the towel and walked behind him, not knowing why he was a bit thirsty, he gently rubbed it on the white back, afraid that one force would ruin the beauty in front of him, Zhao Zheng’an felt that he was not right, why did it feel so hot in the kitchen!?
After rubbing for a while, Zhong Ziqi had had enough of soaking then he was going to get up, but Zhao Zheng’an was still standing here, even though he was a big-hearted one, he was a bit embarrassed: “Wait for me outside the door! I’ll be right out.”
“Oh.” Zhao Zheng’an went to the door obediently this time, he only felt that the kitchen was so hot now, he had to go out to cool off.
Zhong Ziqi got dressed, changed the water,thus he let Zhao Zheng’an take a bath before going to bed.
Probably suffering from the excitement, Zhao Zheng’an’s dreams throughout the night, the content is all the shining white, dazzling white skin of his wife, he could not help but hug the person and then ……then there is nothing. He was pushed awake by the light of the oil lamp, immediately he saw his wife’s expressionless face, so scary.
Zhong Ziqi felt the low pressure surrounding him, when he was sleeping soundly, suddenly someone hugged, rubbed and touched him, how could he not be angry? The moment he opened his eyes, he found that Zhao Zheng’an had his arms tightly around him from behind, and his lower body was rubbing against his ***. He suddenly got up and turned around to find that the guy was still sleeping soundly with his eyes closed, yet his mouth kept shouting the word “Wife”.
He pushed Zhao Zheng’an hard,finally he woke him up, he didn’t say anything, just stared coldly at this guy, Zhao Zheng’an is not in normal state of mind after all, if he wasn’t a fool, he would have jumped up and hugged Zhong Ziqi to ask him what was wrong, but unfortunately he was a fool, under his wife’s cold glare, he shrank in fear, the parts that he didn’t pay attention to also softened.
Just because he wasn’t paying attention, didn’t mean Zhong Ziqi wasn’t. Seeing that the culprit had bowed his head, he was satisfied to withdraw his own cold aura: “Sleep!”
“Oh,” Zhao Zheng’an was confused and didn’t understand what was going on, so he laid down as he was told. Just as his hand wanted to reach over, he heard his wife’s cold voice: “Don’t touch me with your hands, sleep inside!” Zhao Zheng’an withdrew his paws and moved back inside disappointingly.
When Zhong Ziqi saw that he was obedient, he closed his eyes and wondered in his heart, he is already a fool, how can he still have this function? (Blatant discrimination!) But fortunately, he didn’t notice, otherwise he would have had to teach him how to… The thought of that image made Zhong Ziqi shudder, so he decided that he would do it again in the future when he encountered such a situation (cold stare).But don’t let him notice, in case, what should he do if he got addicted?
As his mind wandered, Zhong Ziqi couldn’t resist his drowsiness then he slowly fell asleep. Before he fell asleep, he thought, should he be ruthless and decide to sleep in separate beds?
However, when Zhong Ziqi woke up the next day,his heart softened immediately after he found Zhao Zheng’an sleeping in the bed with his body curled up.His thick lips were slightly pouting with a hint of resignation with his 1.7m body was bowed into a small ball, Zhong Ziqi knew these typical insecurity. He sighed, this guy, always able to anger himself, but just at the right time,also able to make himself soft hearted.
It was a cool summer morning, so Zhong Ziqi washed up in the cool water and then started to make breakfast.
When Zhao Zheng’an walked into the kitchen, yawning while he was looking for the scent. He was greeted by the golden pie and the rich aroma of the pie. Zhao Zheng’an was immediately chased away from his sleepy state, with his mouth watering, he drew up behind Zhong Ziqi and called out in a whisper, “Wife!” He still remembered that last night his wife was inexplicably angry,therefore he wondered if he was still angry.
In fact, Zhong Ziqi had been busy all morning so he had almost forgotten about it. When he saw Zhao Zheng’an’s pleasing face, he said, “Go wash your face and brush your teeth first! I’ll be done in a minute.”
“Oh.” Zhao Zheng’an went away obediently, thinking happily in his heart that his wife didn’t seem to be angry anymore.
Zhong Ziqi’s vegetable-filled pancakes were filled with a lot of thin skin and tasted delicious to the palate.He cooked a total of six pancakes, he ate two himself, the remaining four went into Zhao Zheng’an’s stomach.Zhong Ziqi couldn’t help but think that he should cook more in the future, as he had a guy with big appetite at home.
After eating, Zhong Ziqi dried the mushrooms and the black fungus that he had brought back yesterday in the courtyard, peeled the bamboo shoots, cut them one by one, boiled them in hot water, and sealed them. He just needs to wait for two or three days for them to become sour shoots.
After this, Zhong Ziqi and Zhao Zheng’an were in a daze while sitting in the cool place. Zhong Ziqi lost in his own thoughts while Zhao Zheng’an watched him,he was thinking that if he was going to set up a stall to sell food, he could sell something hot in the morning, after all, the temperature was still a bit low in the morning,therein he could sell something relatively cool at noon. He already had a prototype of these two types of food in mind, but he didn’t know where to get some utensils for the stall,nor if there were any rental ones.It would take time to get a carpenter to make them,the cost would be quite high too, so it would be better to rent them.
Tsk! It seems that I have to go to the town again. I need to open the stall as soon as possible, the rice and noodles at home will be eaten soon, so it is urgent to get everything in order quickly before the only 500 wen left on me is spent.
Since he was planning to enter the town, he chose a better day to do so, so Zhong Ziqi ate his lunch early and headed for the town with Zhao Zheng’an.
While walking non-stop to the town, Zhong Ziqi thought for a while as he decided to set up his stall on the south pier.In fact there was no difference between the north and south piers, it was just Zhong Ziqi’s personal preference.
The pier was easy to find, a straight walk all the way then in ten minutes it was there, with many vendors shouting.
“Seafood, fresh from the sea.”
“Buns for sale, big stuffed buns!”
“Delicious ‘sauced noodles’!” (打卤面)
“……”
It was midday. Many of the stalls were full of customers, yet at the same time, other stalls had only a few people in them. Some of these people were dressed in strange clothes, obviously foreigners, while others were locals.
Zhong Ziqi looked around for a long time before he found out that although there were many vendors, they were less numerous than he had expected.When he thought about it carefully, he realized the crux of the problem.
‘Not enough to go round,keep pursuing perfection'[僧多粥少, 精益求精], these eight words fit the current situation. There are a lot of traders but not so many that could fill to the full capacity of the stalls, not to mention the fact that there is a lot of competition in the food business. One day you can be complacent that you’ve made a lot of money, the next day, you’ll be crying and going home because there’s a competitor who’s even better than you.
[僧多粥少 /sēng duō zhōu shǎo:
lit. many monks and not much gruel (idiom) fig. not enough to go around
demand exceeds supply]
[精益求精 /jīng yì qiú jīng : to perfect sth that is already outstanding (idiom); constantly improving]
Zhong Ziqi pretended not to be aware of it. After asking around the vendors and getting the information that he wanted, he took Zhao Zheng’an to a slightly dilapidated courtyard.
As soon as he entered the courtyard, he saw a small wooden cart for a stall standing in the corner, with two pots on top. Behind the wooden cart was a removable table and stools.
“Is anyone home?” Zhong Ziqi knocked on the door and shouted.
“Yes, I’m here! Who is it?” A voice came from inside the house, then soon an old man in his forties with wrinkles around his eyes came out, looked at the two of them suspiciously, asking, “Who are you?”
Zhong Ziqi smiled and asked, “Huang Amu, right?”
Huang Amu nodded, “Yes, I am.”
“Hello, Huang Amu, my name is Zhong Ziqi.This is my husband, Zhao Zheng’an. I was asking around the pier when I found out that your family used to have a stall there, but not long ago,you suddenly stopped. I’m here today to ask you if you’re still using the cart? If not, can you rent it to us?” Zhong Ziqi said in explanation.
“Oh,is that so?! I’ll ask my family member about this and let him talk to you.”
Huang Amu let the two into the courtyard, then shouted into the room, “Old Huang! Old Huang? Come out for a moment! There are guests at home.”
※※※※※※
[Zhao Zheng’an’s Extra]
Zhao Zheng’an has been in an unstable environment since he became stupid. Don’t look at him as stupid, as Zhong Ziqi said,his mind is like that of a seven or eight-year-old child, so the ridicule and insults around him, his parents’s dislike, scolding and ostracizing him,were actually felt by him but he just not able to express it.
Occasionally he would play with the children of the village, who were delighted by the sudden appearance of an older brother who played with them like a child. But not all the children were willing to play with Zhao Zheng’an, some of them would tease him and scold him when they knew he was a fool.
Of course there were children who didn’t mind this and played with him joyfully.
But Zhao Zheng’an didn’t have much time to play with them, he spent most of his time working for the family so that his father and mother would be happy.But it was probably not to his liking that, at some point, the children he played with would tell him that his father and mother didn’t want him anymore and would throw him out, while others would say that they would give him a wife and throw him out together.
Chapter 9: 码头 (Pier)
Translator: LittleYen
In the evening, Zhong Ziqi made a stir-fried bamboo shoot with the bamboo shoots he brought home today, which tasted pretty good. It was not surprising that Zhao Zheng’an had eaten a lot again.
Zhong Ziqi was afraid that he would accumulate food, so he asked him to walk in the courtyard, while he cleaned the dishes and boiled a big pot of hot water. After walking all afternoon, the smell of sweat was so strong that he could not stand it any longer.
It was probably because his body was so weak that he was always sweating.
There was a large bath in the kitchen, so Zhong Ziqi poured the water in, test that it was just the right temperature, so he took off his clothes and sat down in it, sighing comfortably. After a few days of work, he just wiped himself down, but today he could finally take a dip. With his head on the tub, he felt as if he had forgotten something… forgotten what?
“Wife?” Zhao Zheng’an returned to the house after he had finished eating, finding no sign of his wife, so he searched for him again.The kitchen door left unlocked, the sound of water could be heard faintly. He pushed it open happily, then he was greeted by his wife’s bare, shining white shoulders and back.
It was only when Zhong Ziqi heard Zhao Zheng’an’s shout that he suddenly remembered what he had forgotten.
He had forgotten about Zhao Zheng’an, this guy, thus he turned his head and waved his hand.”Zheng’an, go wait for me in the house first, I’ll go back when I’ve finished my bath.”
Zhao Zheng’an, who had been very obedient, was not happy this time, he went over and crouched down in front of Zhong Ziqi, giggled: “No, I’ll stay here.” His eyes glared like two little stars.
Zhong Ziqi could not persuade him, so he handed him a towel, “Then you can rub my back!” With a big grin, he had completely forgotten that he was a ger. Even if he remembered, Zhong Ziqi would have said calmly, “We are both men, what I have he has too, what is there to be afraid of? Besides, he’s a fool.”
Zhao Zheng’an followed his wife’s instructions, took the towel and walked behind him, not knowing why he was a bit thirsty, he gently rubbed it on the white back, afraid that one force would ruin the beauty in front of him, Zhao Zheng’an felt that he was not right, why did it feel so hot in the kitchen!?
After rubbing for a while, Zhong Ziqi had had enough of soaking then he was going to get up, but Zhao Zheng’an was still standing here, even though he was a big-hearted one, he was a bit embarrassed: “Wait for me outside the door! I’ll be right out.”
“Oh.” Zhao Zheng’an went to the door obediently this time, he only felt that the kitchen was so hot now, he had to go out to cool off.
Zhong Ziqi got dressed, changed the water,thus he let Zhao Zheng’an take a bath before going to bed.
Probably suffering from the excitement, Zhao Zheng’an’s dreams throughout the night, the content is all the shining white, dazzling white skin of his wife, he could not help but hug the person and then ……then there is nothing. He was pushed awake by the light of the oil lamp, immediately he saw his wife’s expressionless face, so scary.
Zhong Ziqi felt the low pressure surrounding him, when he was sleeping soundly, suddenly someone hugged, rubbed and touched him, how could he not be angry? The moment he opened his eyes, he found that Zhao Zheng’an had his arms tightly around him from behind, and his lower body was rubbing against his ***. He suddenly got up and turned around to find that the guy was still sleeping soundly with his eyes closed, yet his mouth kept shouting the word “Wife”.
He pushed Zhao Zheng’an hard,finally he woke him up, he didn’t say anything, just stared coldly at this guy, Zhao Zheng’an is not in normal state of mind after all, if he wasn’t a fool, he would have jumped up and hugged Zhong Ziqi to ask him what was wrong, but unfortunately he was a fool, under his wife’s cold glare, he shrank in fear, the parts that he didn’t pay attention to also softened.
Just because he wasn’t paying attention, didn’t mean Zhong Ziqi wasn’t. Seeing that the culprit had bowed his head, he was satisfied to withdraw his own cold aura: “Sleep!”
“Oh,” Zhao Zheng’an was confused and didn’t understand what was going on, so he laid down as he was told. Just as his hand wanted to reach over, he heard his wife’s cold voice: “Don’t touch me with your hands, sleep inside!” Zhao Zheng’an withdrew his paws and moved back inside disappointingly.
When Zhong Ziqi saw that he was obedient, he closed his eyes and wondered in his heart, he is already a fool, how can he still have this function? (Blatant discrimination!) But fortunately, he didn’t notice, otherwise he would have had to teach him how to… The thought of that image made Zhong Ziqi shudder, so he decided that he would do it again in the future when he encountered such a situation (cold stare).But don’t let him notice, in case, what should he do if he got addicted?
As his mind wandered, Zhong Ziqi couldn’t resist his drowsiness then he slowly fell asleep. Before he fell asleep, he thought, should he be ruthless and decide to sleep in separate beds?
However, when Zhong Ziqi woke up the next day,his heart softened immediately after he found Zhao Zheng’an sleeping in the bed with his body curled up.His thick lips were slightly pouting with a hint of resignation with his 1.7m body was bowed into a small ball, Zhong Ziqi knew these typical insecurity. He sighed, this guy, always able to anger himself, but just at the right time,also able to make himself soft hearted.
It was a cool summer morning, so Zhong Ziqi washed up in the cool water and then started to make breakfast.
When Zhao Zheng’an walked into the kitchen, yawning while he was looking for the scent. He was greeted by the golden pie and the rich aroma of the pie. Zhao Zheng’an was immediately chased away from his sleepy state, with his mouth watering, he drew up behind Zhong Ziqi and called out in a whisper, “Wife!” He still remembered that last night his wife was inexplicably angry,therefore he wondered if he was still angry.
In fact, Zhong Ziqi had been busy all morning so he had almost forgotten about it. When he saw Zhao Zheng’an’s pleasing face, he said, “Go wash your face and brush your teeth first! I’ll be done in a minute.”
“Oh.” Zhao Zheng’an went away obediently, thinking happily in his heart that his wife didn’t seem to be angry anymore.
Zhong Ziqi’s vegetable-filled pancakes were filled with a lot of thin skin and tasted delicious to the palate.He cooked a total of six pancakes, he ate two himself, the remaining four went into Zhao Zheng’an’s stomach.Zhong Ziqi couldn’t help but think that he should cook more in the future, as he had a guy with big appetite at home.
After eating, Zhong Ziqi dried the mushrooms and the black fungus that he had brought back yesterday in the courtyard, peeled the bamboo shoots, cut them one by one, boiled them in hot water, and sealed them. He just needs to wait for two or three days for them to become sour shoots.
After this, Zhong Ziqi and Zhao Zheng’an were in a daze while sitting in the cool place. Zhong Ziqi lost in his own thoughts while Zhao Zheng’an watched him,he was thinking that if he was going to set up a stall to sell food, he could sell something hot in the morning, after all, the temperature was still a bit low in the morning,therein he could sell something relatively cool at noon. He already had a prototype of these two types of food in mind, but he didn’t know where to get some utensils for the stall,nor if there were any rental ones.It would take time to get a carpenter to make them,the cost would be quite high too, so it would be better to rent them.
Tsk! It seems that I have to go to the town again. I need to open the stall as soon as possible, the rice and noodles at home will be eaten soon, so it is urgent to get everything in order quickly before the only 500 wen left on me is spent.
Since he was planning to enter the town, he chose a better day to do so, so Zhong Ziqi ate his lunch early and headed for the town with Zhao Zheng’an.
While walking non-stop to the town, Zhong Ziqi thought for a while as he decided to set up his stall on the south pier.In fact there was no difference between the north and south piers, it was just Zhong Ziqi’s personal preference.
The pier was easy to find, a straight walk all the way then in ten minutes it was there, with many vendors shouting.
“Seafood, fresh from the sea.”
“Buns for sale, big stuffed buns!”
“Delicious ‘sauced noodles’!” (打卤面)
“……”
It was midday. Many of the stalls were full of customers, yet at the same time, other stalls had only a few people in them. Some of these people were dressed in strange clothes, obviously foreigners, while others were locals.
Zhong Ziqi looked around for a long time before he found out that although there were many vendors, they were less numerous than he had expected.When he thought about it carefully, he realized the crux of the problem.
‘Not enough to go round,keep pursuing perfection'[僧多粥少, 精益求精], these eight words fit the current situation. There are a lot of traders but not so many that could fill to the full capacity of the stalls, not to mention the fact that there is a lot of competition in the food business. One day you can be complacent that you’ve made a lot of money, the next day, you’ll be crying and going home because there’s a competitor who’s even better than you.
[僧多粥少 /sēng duō zhōu shǎo:
lit. many monks and not much gruel (idiom) fig. not enough to go around
demand exceeds supply]
[精益求精 /jīng yì qiú jīng : to perfect sth that is already outstanding (idiom); constantly improving]
Zhong Ziqi pretended not to be aware of it. After asking around the vendors and getting the information that he wanted, he took Zhao Zheng’an to a slightly dilapidated courtyard.
As soon as he entered the courtyard, he saw a small wooden cart for a stall standing in the corner, with two pots on top. Behind the wooden cart was a removable table and stools.
“Is anyone home?” Zhong Ziqi knocked on the door and shouted.
“Yes, I’m here! Who is it?” A voice came from inside the house, then soon an old man in his forties with wrinkles around his eyes came out, looked at the two of them suspiciously, asking, “Who are you?”
Zhong Ziqi smiled and asked, “Huang Amu, right?”
Huang Amu nodded, “Yes, I am.”
“Hello, Huang Amu, my name is Zhong Ziqi.This is my husband, Zhao Zheng’an. I was asking around the pier when I found out that your family used to have a stall there, but not long ago,you suddenly stopped. I’m here today to ask you if you’re still using the cart? If not, can you rent it to us?” Zhong Ziqi said in explanation.
“Oh,is that so?! I’ll ask my family member about this and let him talk to you.”
Huang Amu let the two into the courtyard, then shouted into the room, “Old Huang! Old Huang? Come out for a moment! There are guests at home.”
※※※※※※
[Zhao Zheng’an’s Extra]
Zhao Zheng’an has been in an unstable environment since he became stupid. Don’t look at him as stupid, as Zhong Ziqi said,his mind is like that of a seven or eight-year-old child, so the ridicule and insults around him, his parents’s dislike, scolding and ostracizing him,were actually felt by him but he just not able to express it.
Occasionally he would play with the children of the village, who were delighted by the sudden appearance of an older brother who played with them like a child. But not all the children were willing to play with Zhao Zheng’an, some of them would tease him and scold him when they knew he was a fool.
Of course there were children who didn’t mind this and played with him joyfully.
But Zhao Zheng’an didn’t have much time to play with them, he spent most of his time working for the family so that his father and mother would be happy.But it was probably not to his liking that, at some point, the children he played with would tell him that his father and mother didn’t want him anymore and would throw him out, while others would say that they would give him a wife and throw him out together.
