Zhang Chen squinted his eyes: "Even if you can’t eat it, you have to! If we don’t act hungry, we might run into big trouble, those elders aren’t fools, they will surely notice."
Xiaodouding was also helpless, and together with Zhang Chen, they went into the house, tearing at buns and sipping porridge, but this time there was none of the previous enjoyment, instead, their faces were filled with pain.
Fortunately, the two of them were martial artists, so although they were stuffed, they could digest it through martial practice.
"Next time, eat less meat," Zhang Chen muttered to himself.
Sure enough, halfway through their meal, the Law Enforcement Elder suddenly came in for an inspection. Seeing the half-eaten buns, he did not cause any trouble.
In the morning, they still swept the temple as usual, then each went back to practice martial arts. Zhang Chen found a chance to transform into a bat and fly away, and within an hour, he appeared in the county town.
He first bought a bamboo hat to wear, then carried a gift box as he walked towards Chen Sanliang’s house, following the Fox Spirit’s guidance.
Zhang Chen could not carry much weight while transformed into a bat, at most no more than thirty jin, but the weight of the gift box was sufficient.
Zhang Chen was generous, directly carrying twenty gold ingots. As for the antiques and paintings he collected last night, he was afraid of causing trouble that might delay his study plan, so he did not take them out to show off as gifts.
However, Chen Sanliang’s destitution was beyond Zhang Chen’s expectations.
A shabby alley with a pungent smell on both sides made him retch.
He even suspected whether he had come to an African refugee camp; it felt like he had arrived in an African city village.
"The eighth household in Wang Family Lane," the Fox Spirit used Illusion Technique, following behind Zhang Chen, guiding him.
Carrying the paper box, Zhang Chen carefully counted the doors, and then came to a shabby door.
The door was terribly worn, riddled with holes from bugs, showing its age.
However, before Zhang Chen could knock on the door, the angry voice of a woman came from the courtyard: "Chen Sanliang, if you dare to look at those useless books again, I’ll burn them and go back to my mother’s house, do you believe it?"
"My lady, you can’t be unreasonable, doing scholarly work is my lifelong pursuit... Hey... hey... hey, why hit while talking!"
A cultured middle-aged man’s voice came from the courtyard, but it was a bit anxious: "Hey, I’m warning you, don’t touch my books!"
"We don’t even have rice to cook, we’re almost starving, and you’re still here reading, would you only be happy if I starved to death? You’re not who you used to be, your reading has become useless, why can’t you step out and live a practical life?" The woman’s voice was sharp, and the sound of furniture being overturned came from the courtyard.
"Slap~"
Suddenly, at a certain moment, the sound of a slap came from the courtyard, and then the air seemed to freeze.
Seven or eight breaths later, the man’s panic-stricken voice came with an apology: "My lady, I didn’t mean to hit you! I was wrong, I apologize!"
"Chen Sanliang, you’ve grown capable, haven’t you?" The woman’s voice became even sharper, starting to roar.
"Hey, don’t scratch the face! Don’t scratch my face!" The man’s panicked voice rang out from the courtyard.
"Did I come at a bad time?" Zhang Chen’s hand hovered in mid-air, looking at the wooden door, eyes revealing a hint of helplessness.
The Fox Spirit was speechless too.
The two stood outside waiting until a quarter of an hour later, when the quarrel in the courtyard subsided, and Zhang Chen reluctantly knocked on the wooden door, the thudding sound echoing into the courtyard.
"Who’s there?" A gentle woman’s voice came from the courtyard, then the door opened, revealing a middle-aged woman in coarse clothes but with an air of nobility.
Although her clothes were coarse and patched numerous times, her skin was slightly dark and coarse, the inborn nobility was hard to hide.
People’s temperament is indeed mysterious, some people do have presence.
But the woman’s hair was slightly disheveled, with a red mark on her left cheek, looking like four fingers, adding a touch of earthly flavor to the noble aura.
The woman’s gaze fell on Zhang Chen’s gift box, then at his fine skin and satin outfit, and her eyes lit up: "You are?"
"I am Zhang Chen, having heard that in Wang Family Lane lives a noble man who reads and writes, I’ve come with a small gift to visit, hoping to learn, could the gentleman perhaps oblige?"
As he spoke, Zhang Chen opened the gift box, revealing a box full of gold ingots and numerous pearls and jade.
Normally, he wasn’t unversed in etiquette, and wouldn’t open a gift box at the door, but special cases require special actions. Since he knew the couple’s poverty led to arguments, he obviously knew how to touch them directly.
Moreover, the most crucial thing was, he thought scholars were quirky, if the gentleman acted aloof and didn’t give him the chance to open the box, wouldn’t it all be for nothing? The lady before him seemed like a great opportunity!
The woman’s gaze stayed locked onto the gift box, unable to pull away.
Truth be told, she used to be a wealthy lady, so these silver and gold, although plenty, might not have caught her eye. But after decades of destitution, she had long since faced reality; pride and fame can’t fill your stomach.
"Oh, you want to learn to read and write? Then you’ve come to the right place, come in and let’s talk." While speaking, she casually took the gift box, closed the lid, and opened the door for Zhang Chen.
Zhang Chen entered the courtyard, finding it very small, less than fifty square meters. In the courtyard sat a simply dressed man, full of patches but cleaned thoroughly.
The gentleman seemed around fifty, but overly lean, looking malnourished, especially with several scratch marks on his face, appearing very odd.
Zhang Chen was very puzzled, clearly they were tussling in the courtyard, how had they tidied themselves so quickly?
"This is the gentleman you’re looking for," the woman’s voice was gentle, without a trace of the fierceness heard outside, if Zhang Chen hadn’t heard himself, he wouldn’t dare associate both shrew and lady as the same person.
"Disciple Zhang Chen greets the gentleman, I long for knowledge and admiration, please teach me the principles of writing," Zhang Chen didn’t pretend, directly kneeling.
One must have the demeanor of someone in need.
Learning to read and write was so hard!
The man gazed at Zhang Chen, sizing him up without speaking, until the woman beside them impatiently coughed, prompting Chen Sanliang to inquire:
"Are you a commoner?"
"Indeed," Zhang Chen replied.
He didn’t want to hide it, as with many rules and etiquette, he simply couldn’t conceal it.
Then silence fell in the courtyard, the gentleman stood, in a quandary.
"Cough cough~"
The woman beside him, holding the gift box, started coughing again.
Forced by the persistent coughs, Chen Sanliang sighed and clenched his teeth: "I can’t accept you as a disciple, you should go! Take the gift back!"
"I merely wish to learn to read, not to become a disciple, I ask for the gentleman’s mercy," Zhang Chen quickly lowered his request, noticing the man’s determination.
This time, Chen Sanliang seemed resolute, waving him off, turning away: "I cannot break the rules of this world. Take your things and go!"
"Chen Sanliang!!!" The woman’s eyes turned red, her voice raised, her anger undisguised.
Chen Sanliang remained silent.
Seeing this, the woman glanced at the kneeling Zhang Chen, then said: "If you’re merely here to learn to read and write, I can teach you."
"Suzhen, you... you... can’t break noble rules!" Chen Sanliang became anxious hearing this.
"To hell with the rules, I don’t want to starve to death with you, you fool!" The woman pointed at Chen Sanliang’s nose, swearing angrily.