The Wealthy Eldest Sister Rules Supreme

Fan Wenxuan didn’t respond to him, but instead, he stirred the nearly burnt-out fire in the oven, using a poker to pull out the roasted sweet potatoes buried inside.

The skin of the roasted sweet potatoes was already charred and hardened, and they were extremely hot to touch.

“Hoo hoo…”

Fan Wenxuan peeled off the hard crust of the sweet potato while blowing off the heat. He revealed the soft, tender, sweet meat inside, which was emitting a strong aroma, and they were steaming hot.

“This is for you.” Fan Wenxuan handed the deliciously soft and fragrant sweet potato to Chu Jinzhou.

“You eat first, sir. I can handle it myself.”

Chu Jinzhou declined the peeled sweet potato and picked one with hard charred skin. He mimicked Fan Wenxuan’s movements, peeling off the hard skin. He then began to eat alongside him.

The orange flesh of the sweet potato was perfectly roasted. It was so well-done that even the sweetness of the potato’s oil could be tasted, it was soft, slightly sticky, fragrant and sweet. Extremely delicious.

At this point, Chu Jinzhou was starving. Moreover, the sweet potato was genuinely delicious, so he chewed heartily, making his meal deliciously sweet.

Needless to say, Fan Wenxuan also relished his food as if he hadn’t eaten in three days.

As per Fan Wenxuan’s stating, people in the kitchen had already brought them a large pot of gruel.

Hence, Fan Wenxuan and Chu Jinzhou, crouching in the kitchen, eating roasted sweet potatoes with the gruel, had a rather unique dinner.

“Burp…”

Fan Wenxuan, without any courtesy, patted his round belly and looked at Chu Jinzhou: “Are you full?”

“Yes, I’m full.” Chu Jinzhou nodded

The air rising from his stomach made him want to burp too, but he held it in after all.

“Sir, I think my brother already explained the teaching agreement to you, could you follow me to the study? I want to serve you tea.”

Being one’s teacher required respect and adherence to tradition, which included pouring tea and kowtowing, as well as presenting the teacher with a gift.

“We can skip the tea…” Fan Wenxuan stood up, with his hand at his back.

Chu Jinzhou was taken aback by this gesture.

Did avoiding the tea ceremony mean Fan Wenxuan didn’t think highly of him and didn’t want to accept him as a student…

Why?

They had only met once, and he hadn’t properly tested his knowledge or his character, so why directly refuse?

Chu Jinzhou felt disappointed.

Fan Wenxuan, on the other hand, said, “I think you’ve heard some rumors about me. I don’t care for formalities and I don’t like drinking tea, so let’s skip the tea.”

“As for the gifts for the teacher, haven’t you already given them?”

Already given?

Chu Jinzhou was then perplexed for a moment, and then he realized.

Was it about the fire he had helped to kindle earlier? That must be the ‘teacher’s gift’ Fan Wenxuan was referring to.

It was undeniable that this Mr. Fan was intriguing.

It was something different from the rigid Mr. Zhou he had met earlier.

“Yes, I understand,” Chu Jinzhou replied respectfully.

Ning Feng, who was beside them, was just as stunned.

So, Fan Wenxuan had created this charade just to gauge the Third Young Master’s attitude towards him as a teacher and his dedication to learning?

Despite figuring out Fan Wenxuan’s intentions, Ning Feng wasn’t pleased about seeing Chu Jinzhou looking so distressed earlier.

Ning Feng raised his hand and asked, “Since the Third Young Master has already given you a gift as your student, by rights, you should also give a gift in return. May I ask what your return gift is…”

Fan Wenxuan, the well-known scholar, may be a bit unorthodox in his behavior, but Chu Jinzhou knew that his collection of books at home was renowned.

This return gift might not be something small. It could be an ancient book whose reading would be extremely beneficial.

In that case, it wasn’t a complete loss.

“Hmm?” Fan Wenxuan looked surprised, “Didn’t you just eat?”

Ning Feng:”…”

So, Chu Jinzhou helping with the fire counted as a gift to the teacher, and Fan Wenxuan’s roasted sweet potatoes counted as the teacher’s return gift?

Ning Feng felt a dull ache in his chest again.

However, Chu Jinzhou chuckled and said, “What the teacher said is indeed true.”

He had kindled the fire and in return, he got this roasted sweet potato. There was absolutely nothing wrong with this.

This Mr. Fan indeed was quite interesting.

The weather had been good over the past few days.

Being close to summer, it was getting hotter with each passing day. Even the rain was like a summer downpour, quick to come and go.

It would rain in the evening and stopped by the early part of the night.

This did not interrupt Zhuang Qingning’s routine of selling tofu and salted duck eggs in town early in the morning.

The tofu business was booming as usual, but the salted duck eggs gained quite a reputation over this period, becoming more sought after than the tofu.

After all, tofu could be made overnight if needed, but even if you were in a rush, the salted duck eggs still had to be patiently cured.

Moreover, Zhuang Qingning did not produce a large quantity of salted duck eggs, which made them even more desirable. Customers had to wait early in the street for Zhuang Qingning to set up her stall.

Zhang Yongchang has been visiting Zhuang Qingning more often these past few days.

Partly for the tofu and salted duck eggs, and partly for the shop front.

Zhang Yongchang had found two suitable shops, and took Zhuang Qingning to check them out to see which one was more apt.

One was big, and the other was small.

The bigger one was spacious and clean, with new construction, located near a food shop on the east side, conveniently close to the Fushun Tower and Ruyi Pavilion for deliveries.

The smaller shop was in a nearly identical location, neither too crowded nor too isolated. It was only about two-thirds the size of the bigger shop. While both more aged and a bit dusty, a bit of tidying up could make it decent as well.

Zhang Yongchang asked, “What do you think of this one? I think it’s quite suitable.”

Zhang Yongchang believed the ‘this one’ in his question pointed to the smaller shop.

In Zhang Yongchang’s view, Zhuang Qingning would not pick the larger shop, as the rent would double. Zhuang Qingning, who was hesitant about paying rent and even considering setting up an open-air stall, probably would not afford to rent the big shop.

While the small shop had cheaper rent and the landlord was a familiar face who could probably be convinced to lower the rent further, it was quite suitable for Zhuang Qingning’s tofu and salted duck eggs business.

“Actually…”

Zhuang Qingning hadn’t explicitly declined, but pointed at the store in front of her and said, “I quite fancy this one.”

“This one?” Zhang Yongchang was startled..