Chapter Five Listening

  The clear and white liquid in the water bowl in front of me looks calm and peaceful.

  "Thank you." Old Master Chen said, picking up his cup and taking a few sips.

  Good! Good! Good!

  Every wrinkle on his face was expressing praise.

  The maid smiled slightly and got up to move away.

  Cao Guan Shi on the side was a bit dazed, how did this turtle crap become one bowl? What about me?

  "Mr. Chen is a guest, and Cao Guan Shi is in charge, so they are being lazy because he's one of their own people; otherwise, the mistress would not be easy to coax." The maid said with an apologetic tone.

  Aren't you saying you don't know me? At this time, it became one of us again?

  Cao Guan Shi felt a bitter dryness in his mouth. He looked towards the screen and saw that the young girl was also looking at him from behind it.

  Dimly visible, unable to discern features.

  Chen Siye drank the bowl of water in one gulp, and suddenly felt refreshed all over, as if the anxiety and fatigue that had been plaguing him since his father's illness had vanished into thin air.

  "What is this? It's so delicious." He couldn't help but ask.

  "Snow bubble shrink skin drink." The maid said, and turned her head to look behind the screen, "Is it called this? Mistress?"

  "Yes." said Jingniang.

  The strange name, Chen Siye looked at the bowl and wanted to have another one, but seeing Cao Guan's eyes beside him, he put away his thoughts.

  It's better for people to be content with what they have.

  "What do you want from me?" Jingniang asked from behind the screen.

  Chen Siye felt a little happy in his heart, great, he had just thought of how to speak up, and this woman took the initiative to speak first, although there was some inexplicable strangeness, but she spoke straightforwardly and directly, saving trouble.

  "My daughter, my father wants to ask you to cure his illness and save his life." He said respectfully, bowing down.

  Silence behind the screen.

  "I want some dessert." Jian Niang said suddenly.

  Chen Siye's expression stiffened slightly outside.

  "Good." The maid replied immediately, taking a box from the shelf beside her and carrying it in. "Which one would you like to eat, mistress?"

  "This is what the fairy maiden sent yesterday. Which one was sent the day before, this red salt, that white dried one and the honey roasted one, which one do you want to eat?"

  What's this got to do with anything? How did we end up talking about this again? We're in the middle of chatting with our guest.

  Chen Siye looked at Cao Guanshi with an impatient expression.

  Cao Guan sighed and said, "Since I've come in, I shouldn't just stand here without saying anything. Otherwise, all the hospitality from the Chen family would be wasted."

  "Miss, Mr. Chen is critically ill and has specially come from afar to invite you. Please hurry up and save his life." He said respectfully.

  The little girl inside was interrupted while talking.

  "Who is Mr. Chen?" asked Cheng Jiaoniang.

  Just answer normally, and Old Man Chen let out a sigh of relief.

  "My father wrote a letter to your mother, I wonder if she has read it?" He asked hastily, his eyes looking towards the maid behind the screen.

  "Oh, I forgot." The maid replied vaguely, "The young lady is asleep, I'll put it away, I'll go get it."

  She walked quickly out of the inner room and flipped through a book on the desk for a moment. She took out a letter from one of the books.

  "That's it." she said happily.

  Chen Siye hastily nodded in agreement.

  "I've been listening all along." said Cheng Jiaoniang inwardly.

  The maid opened her voice, slightly surprised, with only a few large characters on the paper, scribbled and trembling, as if written in haste.

  "The road is rainy, the temple is broken. Someone sends red bean cake and yellow wine, saying I'm ill but I don't believe it. A person who regrets too late knocks and bows."

  The maid is coming.

  What does it mean? She didn't understand and couldn't help but look at Cheng Jiaoniang.

  Jiang Yao tilted her head as if thinking for a moment.

  "I don't know," she said, sitting up straight.

  The three of them were shocked.

  Oh right. This woman seems to have regained her sanity, but she's physically unwell and has poor memory, only remembering things that happened within the past few days.

  Cao Guan thought of his instructions.

  "There's also that book, I gave it to you too. Half Qing said, if the young lady doesn't understand..." He hastily said. "Just take a look at this, whether..."

  Before he had finished speaking, two female voices in the house exclaimed simultaneously.

  "Me?"

  Celery?

  Cao's manager was startled by the shout.

  "How did you know I'm called Ban Qin?" The maid asked excitedly, her eyes shining brightly.

  "Half celery, half celery." Cheng Jiaoniang also shouted from inside, as if she had heard some exciting news.

  It was just two women's voices, but Cao Guan Shi felt his ears buzzing and his head a bit dizzy.

  "No, no, is the girl also called Ban Qin?" He hastily said, "My family has a young girl, not, not my family, originally was my wife's, my wife, do you still remember?"

  What's going on? Chen Siye frowned.

  "What are you talking about?" the maid asked, "I don't understand."

  Actually, I don't understand either...

  Cao Guan's throat was dry and he swallowed hard, his throat was originally sore, but he still had to say so much.

  "Is the girl coming here later? Originally, the daughter-in-law..." he said.

  "Yes, yes, I came ten days ago. It was my master who sent me here. The original maid of the mistress followed our master, and he told me to come and serve the mistress." The maidservant said enthusiastically, "Do you know my master? My master's surname is Zhang..."

  Who cares if your husband's surname is Zhang or He!

  What's this got to do with anything?

  Cao Guanshi couldn't help but let out a light cough, and his mind became even more muddled.

  "Oh, yes, that's right. As it happens, the maid of the young lady was originally called Half Cinnamon." He hastily took over the conversation and said.

  "Yes, yes! The little girl who followed our great-grandfather is called Half Cabbage. You know this too!" The maid was even more surprised and excitedly said, kneeling down to sit, with a hint of eagerness for a long conversation, "Despite being so far away, you all seem to know about the young lady's affairs quite clearly. That Half Cabbage sister is very formidable... My great-grandfather..."

  "No, not that one." Cao Guan Shi hastily sat up straight and interrupted the servant girl's words, "Not the one who followed your great-grandfather, but the one who followed our Sixth Young Master."

  The maid looked puzzled.

  "What? Is Half Cabbage still following your family's Sixth Young Master?" she asked, "I didn't hear her say that."

  Zhang Guanshi's throat was smoking.

  "Isn't that half-witted?" he asked, also somewhat perplexed.

  What's with all these celery? Why are they all called celery?

  When he came, Qin Langjun didn't remind him that after Ban Jin left, the new maid added here was also called Ban Jin. Could it be that this Ban Jin is not that Ban Jin? Is another Ban Jin popping up?

  What's going on?

  "Which half of the celery is that? Isn't it the original half you mentioned earlier?" The maid also asked in surprise with wide eyes, "How can you speak unclearly like this?"

  Cao Guan Shi wanted to cry, he couldn't help but cover his throat with his hand.

  "Miss, could you first give me a glass of water?" He finally couldn't bear it anymore and said in a hoarse voice.

  The maid responded with a "yes".

  "You want to drink water, why didn't you say so earlier." She said with a smile, carrying a hint of reproach, "You're an outsider who's become family, you're one of us now, coming here is like coming home, don't be polite, just say what you want directly, no need to be courteous."

  Yes, yes, I'm not being polite, I'm not being courteous, bother you to hurry up and give me a glass of water, I'm dying.

  Cao Guan covered his throat with his hand and nodded painfully.

  Chen Siye on the side felt his throat ache just by watching.

  What a pity! Fortunately, I am a guest. Fortunately, this young master knows some etiquette for receiving guests. Otherwise... (sigh)