124 An Extremely Blunt and Oblivious Man
Power is better than money…
There’s a saying—scholars, soldiers, farmers, workers, merchants, in that order.
“You really do know what you’re doing!” Zhao Chuchu gave him a thumbs-up.
Xie Heng laughed in a self-deprecating manner. “Sometimes, I actually hope that I wasn’t so clear on certain things.”
Zhao Chuchu didn’t understand why he said that at first, but then he thought about Xie Jun’s identity. Although Xie Heng didn’t say anything, Zhao Chuchu could still guess that Xie Jun’s identity was definitely not as simple as it seemed!
“You shouldn’t overprotect Xie Jun to the point that he doesn’t know anything about the real world,” Zhao Chuchu said in a hushed voice. Then, her expression became serious as she continued, “Regardless of who Junjun is, you can’t protect him forever.”
“Previously, I couldn’t do anything to defeat the poison that plagued his body. Junjun’s days were numbered. I just wanted him to see the good, pretty parts of this world. I can take on the burden of all the ugliness and sins.” Xie Heng’s gaze was intense. “But now, things are different.”
“Da Lang, all I know is the violent stuff. But I think one can never have too many skills. Besides studying, I think it’s good for Junjun to learn some self-defense skills.”
“What?”
“I want to teach him some knowledge about medicine.”
Zhao Chuchu made this decision after careful consideration.
“I thought you said you would leave after eliminating the poisons from Junjun’s body?”
“If you trust me, you can let Junjun follow me for a few years. I don’t know about other stuff, but I know that he’s much safer with me than with you!”
Xie Heng didn’t respond.
“I want to teach Junjun simply because I feel that we get along. That’s it.”
“Chuchu, I have never doubted your intention.”
Initially, he actually suspected Zhao Chuchu. But after being with her for so long, Xie Heng could sense that Zhao Chuchu had no ill intentions toward him or Xie Jun.
“You should start studying,” Zhao Chuchu said. “It’s rare to come by a first-rank scholar. But a first-rank scholar in his teenage years, that’s impossible to ignore. So, Da Lang, work hard. I hope to see you become a first-rank scholar someday.”
“Thank you for the good wishes. I will work hard.”
Xie Heng paused for a while and then asked again, “Do you want to know about Junjun’s background?”
Zhao Chuchu shook her head and said, “No.”
Xie Heng was rather disappointed.
“You want to tell me?” Zhao Chuchu sensed the change in Xie Heng’s emotions, so she looked at him again.
Xie Heng laughed and said, “You don’t want to know, so I won’t force you.”
“Okay.”
The conversation ended there.
Although Xie Heng didn’t expose too much information, it was enough for intelligent people to know what they wanted to know.
Xie Heng said that he wanted to become an official for Xie Jun’s sake, so one could imagine how prestigious Xie Jun’s identity was.
Zhao Chuchu felt that she might have unintentionally established connections with two people who would be highly successful.
Xie Heng would definitely be able to do what he wanted to accomplish with his wisdom and intelligence.
“Brother, Sis, is the pork head done? It smells so good from the room that I can’t even focus on studying,” said Xie Jun as he ran into the kitchen. He gulped as he looked at the pot of braised pork head. “Sis, can we eat it yet?”
He looked toward Zhao Chuchu with hopeful eyes. The desire to eat was written all over his expression.
Xie Heng laughed and said, “I didn’t know you were such a gluttonous cat.”
“Hmm, Sis, please don’t get angry, but I found the dishes that Sis cooked so bad,” Xie Jun said cautiously. “But after that, Sis’s cooking improved greatly, and Brother’s cooking is even better.”
“Grab some bowls and chopsticks, and we’ll eat soon.” Xie Heng couldn’t bear to reprimand his brother, who depended on him.
Xie Heng cheered and then sprinted over to the cabinet to get the utensils.
Zhao Chuchu said to Xie Heng, “I’ll bring some to the Chen clan and the village chief’s family.”
“You decide.” Xie Heng had nothing against that.
Xie Heng’s response made Zhao Chuchu very happy.
She scooped two big bowls of braised pork head meat and brought them to the Chen clan and the village chief’s house.
“So it was your family that was cooking. No wonder the entire village could smell it,” said old lady Chen, smiling when Zhao Chuchu entered the door. “You’re bringing some for us again?”
“Yup, back when Da Lang’s eyes couldn’t see, you guys took care of him. This pork head isn’t worth much, but I thought we cooked it quite well, and it tastes decent. Have a taste.” Zhao Chuchu took one bowl and placed it on the table.
The children all stared at the bowl of braised pork head and gulped non-stop.
“Thank you. We’re taking things from you again.” Old lady Chen didn’t reject Zhao Chuchu, but she gave Zhao Chuchu a basket of fresh vegetables and said, “This is all we have at home. Please take it.”
Zhao Chuchu took the vegetables and then headed to the village chief’s home.
“This is all pork head?” Niu An couldn’t believe it as he asked. “How can it smell so good? I had it once before, and I swore never to eat it again, regardless of how much I craved meat. How come the pork head that you cooked is completely different from the one that I ate before?”
“This is called braised pork head. We braised it in brine for a really long time. Of course, it tastes good,” Zhao Chuchu said as she took out the bowl of meat. “Village chief, come have a taste too.”
The bowl of braised pork head had grabbed Niu Tongsheng’s attention a long while ago.
When he heard Zhao Chuchu’s invitation, he didn’t act overly polite and immediately picked up a piece. His eyes lit up upon tasting it. “Oh my, it’s delicious. It’s not smelly at all. How did you wash the pork head?”
“Da Lang washed it. I’m not sure, either. If you want to know, you can ask Da Lang.”
“Definitely! Next time, I can buy pork head and try cooking it when we want something special to eat. Also, pork heads are cheaper!”
“You guys enjoy it. I need to go home and eat as well.”
Zhao Chuchu didn’t continue the conversation with the village chief’s family. She put down the bowl of pork head and left.
Madam Kong called her, “Chuchu, hold on.”
...
After a while, she brought out a packet of peanuts and passed it to Zhao Chuchu.
“I picked out these peanut seeds. You can plant some of this when you’re farming the barren plot of land.”
“All right, thank you.”
Zhao Chuchu accepted it.
If she ever got the chance to return to the modern era, these organic seeds that had not been selectively bred and genetically modified would have a lot of research value.
Xie Jun had been waiting eagerly for Zhao Chuchu to return. He kept craning his neck and going to the courtyard door to see if she was on her way back.
Zhao Chuchu saw Xie Jun’s small figure from a long distance away. She couldn’t stop the corners of her lips from curling upward.
“Junjun, what are you doing?” she yelled.
“Sis, you’re finally back! I’ve already scooped the rice. We’re just waiting for you now,” Xie Jun hurriedly told Zhao Chuchu.
He is definitely a gluttonous little cat.
Zhao Chuchu hastened her footsteps to return to the Xie family quickly.
...
Xie Jun hurriedly went to the water vat to get water for Zhao Chuchu to wash her hands. He was afraid that Zhao Chuchu would be slow.
Zhao Chuchu could tell that Xie Jun wanted to eat the braised pork head really badly, but she hadn’t returned, so he controlled himself.
Xie Heng protected Xie Jun and educated him really well.
Zhao Chuchu enjoyed the food so much that Xie Heng felt like his appetite had improved.
“Da Lang, if this continues, I’m definitely going to get fat.” Zhao Chuchu worried as she ate. Xie Heng was too good of a cook. Compared to Xie Heng’s cooking, the warm, packaged food in her carry-on space was inedible!
“You’re not fat,” Xie Heng said seriously after looking at Zhao Chuchu. “Skeletons don’t look good.”
Zhao Chuchu didn’t know what to say.
Xie Heng was an extremely blunt and oblivious man.
What did he mean by “skeletons”?
Boy, you will be looked down upon by people if you despise slim girls like that.
Updated from fr𝒆ewebnov𝒆l.(c)om