Chapter 43: Chapter 43

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, the sky was clear, with only a light snowfall.

Zhao Jiu slept comfortably until noon before finally awakening.

On the first day of the new year, comfort was mandatory! Who would rush off to work like an ox or horse on the very first day?

After washing his face, he did not hurry to find food or drink. Instead, he first gave Zhaocai, who was lying on the floor, a slap.

Zhaocai had been idling about when he was suddenly slapped for no reason. He immediately began barking without pause. Zhao Jiu made no attempt to soothe him, merely asking from time to time:

“Will I prosper this year?”

“Woof! Woof! Woof…” To Zhao Jiu, every bark sounded exactly like “Prosper! Prosper! Prosper!”

Good dog!

It deserved an enormous bone as a reward. Being able to bark out such auspicious words first thing in the morning proved that he was a good dog who brought wealth!

The tavern had not opened yet. With no other choice, Zhao Jiu had to cook for himself.

He entered the kitchen and busied himself for about an hour before finally carrying out a table of passable dishes.

The beginning of a new year demanded both meat and vegetables. Since he could not finish everything alone, he would save the leftovers for his next meal. That way, he would only need to reheat them instead of cooking again. He had even made an enormous pot of rice.

Of course, he had to keep his word. He prepared a huge bone covered in meat for Zhaocai—an entire hind leg of pork.

He tossed it onto the floor and let Zhaocai gnaw at it until drool covered its mouth.

Zhao Jiu left him alone. The dog had wished Zhao Jiu prosperity, so how could he hit it again?

He could not!

Zhaocai brought prosperity. What would he do if he beat that prosperity away?

After eating and drinking his fill, Zhao Jiu leisurely carried a reclining chair into the courtyard to bask in the sun.

He brewed a pot of tea. He neither cultivated nor contemplated anything, simply enjoying that tranquil feeling.

His days continued in this leisurely fashion through the second, third, and fourth days of the new year.

When he finally counted the days, he discovered that it was already the fifteenth day of the first lunar month—the Lantern Festival!

Glutinous rice balls were indispensable!

As on the previous days, he did not get up until the noon sun was practically roasting his backside.

He did not slap Zhaocai today. The dog had already wished him prosperity for more than ten days, so he could take a break.

Too much daily prosperity was not good either. Zhao Jiu’s work was already stressful enough. Whether his clients died was another matter, but if business prospered every day, Zhao Jiu himself would almost certainly work himself to death.

Besides, what would happen if he had business every single day?

Society would lose its harmony, the people’s hearts would scatter, and one model young citizen would disappear.

That would be a serious problem!

The ancients had said that celebrating the Lantern Festival without eating glutinous rice balls was the same as celebrating the Dragon Boat Festival without eating rice dumplings.

The laws of the ancestors could not be changed!

He had to make some glutinous rice balls!

The technology of this era was roughly comparable to that of the Ming dynasty. Flour was easy enough to obtain, although it was somewhat yellow. White sugar, however, was vastly inferior to its twenty-first-century counterpart in both quality and appearance.

It did not matter. No rule said glutinous rice balls had to be sweet.

Zhao Jiu would forge his own path and make meat-filled ones!

Once he decided, he immediately got to work. He had already eaten and had nothing else to do anyway.

Knead the dough, mince the meat filling, wrap the filling inside, then roll it into a ball.

Look at that! Was that not a glutinous rice ball?

It was merely a tiny bit larger than usual—about the size of an egg.

That was no problem. It was still edible.

He spent several hours making them, and the sky was already dark by the time he removed them from the pot.

Zhao Jiu fetched two bowls. He filled his own with nearly twenty and gave Zhaocai five or six.

Time to eat!

Zhao Jiu took a bite.

Well, would you look at that? It tasted quite good. With meat and dough, it could not possibly taste too awful. It simply tasted rather like a dumpling.

That worked out perfectly. Now he had made up for not eating dumplings during the New Year as well!

Two birds with one stone!

The thought made Zhao Jiu want to give himself a five-star review. Who would have imagined that the master of time management and the God of Cookery were the same person?

Truly remarkable!

He had made forty “glutinous rice balls,” but one man and one dog could not finish them.

Zhao Jiu ate twenty and nearly burst. Zhaocai ate three, then refused even to look at them again.

With no other choice, Zhao Jiu put the leftovers into his Storage Space. Next time, he could flatten them and use them as dumplings!

Zhao Jiu continued living his leisurely little life until the entire first lunar month had passed.

The Little Tavern remained closed, and Six Fingers had no jobs for him. At least that gave Zhao Jiu ample time to rest.

By the fourth day of the second lunar month, even Zhao Jiu felt slightly embarrassed.

Six Fingers had not sent a message, which meant there was still no work, but Zhao Jiu was already bored out of his fucking mind. Every day, he either lay flat or reclined halfway. It felt as though every bone in his body had gone soft.

Tomorrow. He would definitely open tomorrow!

On the eighth day of the second lunar month, Zhao Jiu finally awakened before noon.

After washing up, he opened the doors of The Little Tavern and changed the sign on the door to “Open for Business—Great Fortune.” Then he carried a Grand Tutor’s Chair into the courtyard, sat down, and began cultivating.

As for why he had waited until the eighth to reopen, did he not need time to readjust after the holidays?

Needing only four days to readjust already made him the possessor of an Innate Sacred Wage-Slave Physique!

By the tenth, the tavern had been open for two days. Business was fairly decent, and customers had actually come to spend money.

Zhaocai’s wishes had worked. He truly was prosperous!

As usual, Zhao Jiu carried a reclining chair into the courtyard and lay there drinking tea and reading.

As for The Little Tavern, it only received one or two customers a day. It did not matter. He had never intended to make his fortune from the place.

The weather was pleasant. As he read, he gradually began to doze off.

While drifting between sleep and wakefulness, Zhao Jiu vaguely sensed a hand waving back and forth in front of him.

He did not open his eyes. Instead, he spread his book over his face and spoke impatiently.

“The counter is beneath the tree. The Huadiao Wine is on the far left—one tael a jug. In the middle is Immortal’s Intoxication from Chang’an—two taels a jug. On the far right is Shengjing’s famous Shaodaozi—half a tael a jug. There’s no meat or other food, and no refills! Don’t even think about skipping out on the bill. I’m watching you.”

After speaking, he ignored the person’s amused laughter and adjusted his sleeping position.

He had not slept well last night. He had gotten up as early as mid-morning!

Insufficient sleep was terribly harmful to the body. He could not afford to be careless about it.

When Zhao Jiu opened his eyes again, the sky had already darkened.

He removed the book covering his face, stretched with his eyes closed, and took a sip of the cold tea beside him. Only then was his afternoon-nap ritual complete.

Zhaocai barked cheerfully nearby.

Stupid dog. All he knew how to do was bark. If it was hungry, could it not cook for itself?

Thinking this, Zhao Jiu sighed.

“All right, stop barking. Anyone who didn’t know better would think you were the master and I was the dog. What use are you? Have you ever cooked me a single meal?”

“Young Master Zhao is awake?”

A warm, gentle voice sounded beside him.

Zhao Jiu froze. The voice seemed somewhat familiar, but he could not remember whose it was.

“Mm.”

Although he could not recall the speaker, Zhao Jiu instinctively replied, “Who awakens first from the great dream? All my life, I alone have known.”

He turned around and saw two women seated at the table behind him.

One wore her hair in a high coiffure with a white jade hairpin inserted through it. She was dressed in a blue-purple silk gown that accentuated a slender waist barely a handful wide, with a crimson cloak draped over her shoulders. Silk and satin covered her from head to toe, and an air of overwhelming wealth and nobility radiated from her even at a distance.

Her dark brows resembled distant mountains, while her nose was sculpted like fine jade and her lips were as red as cinnabar. Although she wore no powder or rouge, her natural beauty surpassed any cosmetics.

She was truly dignified and elegant.

The other woman looked perfectly ordinary. Her hair was arranged in a high bun, and she wore a green dress with black shoes. Her face was pink from the cold. One glance was enough to identify her as a maidservant.

“Have you been well since we parted, Young Master Zhao?”

Zhao Jiu was astonished. He rubbed his eyes, then smiled.

“Young Miss Liu! I didn’t expect us to meet again so soon.”

The dignified young lady was none other than Liu Rouwei. Holding a teacup, she said evenly, “Young Master Zhao truly looks different every day.”

Zhao Jiu did not argue and simply let her tease him.

Given his line of work, he would be finished if he looked the same every day.

“Young Miss Liu, what brings you to Liangzhou? And how did you recognize me?” Zhao Jiu asked in confusion.

Whatever else might be said, he had great confidence in his Disguise Technique. Liu Rouwei certainly should not have been able to see through it.

Liu Rouwei scoffed. “You revealed your true face in Chang’an. Have you forgotten? Investigating you wasn’t difficult. I thought you had returned to Jiangnan, but instead, I discovered that you were in Liangzhou. Of course I had to come and see you.”

Hearing the teasing note in Liu Rouwei’s voice, Zhao Jiu smiled helplessly. He truly had been careless about that.

All he could do was smile awkwardly.

“Stop laughing at me. We’ve been through life and death together, haven’t we? At least leave me a little dignity.”

“All right.”

Liu Rouwei’s smile was dazzlingly beautiful as she made what sounded like a request.

“Your tavern doesn’t seem to have much business. Since you have time, why don’t you accompany me around Liangzhou?”

What else could Zhao Jiu say?

Although this woman had only one maidservant beside her, he could not forget that she also had a First-Rank steward. If he dared utter the word “no,” whether he would live to see tomorrow’s sunrise remained uncertain.

He could only agree to take care of everything.

Liu Rouwei was delighted by his satisfactory answer and generously treated him to a meal.

Sure enough, the person who delivered the food was Gao Qi.

Zhao Jiu’s suffering was beyond words.

After eating and drinking their fill, Zhao Jiu sat in the courtyard drinking tea with Gao Qi while Liu Rouwei and her maidservant played with Zhaocai nearby.

Well then. This was clearly his home, yet somehow, he had become the one merely keeping them company.

He had no choice but to bow to circumstances.

He tidied the rear courtyard and arranged for Liu Rouwei and her maidservant to stay there. Fortunately, the residence had plenty of rooms. Even two more guests could have stayed without a problem.

The only trouble was that he had reopened the tavern just a few days ago, and now he had to close it again.

Running a business like this truly put him in a league of his own!