Greed Arising

At the ancestral hall.

A big bowl of stir-fried pork with green peppers, a big bowl of braised pork with beans, a big bowl of cold shredded white radish, a bowl of vegetable soup, and a big bowl of white rice were brought one by one into the shrine hall and placed on the table at the entrance of the classroom.

At quarter past noon, class was dismissed on time, and Ge Lihua put down her textbook and said, “You can eat now, everyone get your bowls and go to eat.” Everyone’s bowls were kept in a cabinet at the back of the classroom, and they were responsible for washing their own bowls.

Next came the happiest moment for all the children in the classroom. After Ge Lihua stepped out, everyone rushed to grab their bowls and then dashed out of the classroom to line up.

The village chief’s wife said kindly, “Come one by one, everyone will get their share, no need to rush or snatch.”

While speaking, the village chief’s wife took the large bowls from the children’s hands, first ladling about too grams of white rice, then adding a scoop of each dish until the bowl was full, and finally handing it back to the children.

They ate in the classroom. After all, it was a temporary schoolhouse, so they made do.

Holding a big bowl of rice and meat in their hands, no matter where they were, in the eyes of the children, it was as if they were in heaven.

The village chief’s wife said, “If you haven’t had enough, you can come back for more. If you want soup, you can also come to get some. Take as much as you can eat, but don’t waste it.”

“Yes.”

In the classroom, the children devoured their food, their cheeks bulging with food.

However, there were two exceptions, Xu Songnian and Xu Wenlin, who came from the wealthiest families among the children, at least not lacking food or clothing.

Thinking of Chu Qingzhi’s elegant eating manner, they began to imitate her.

In their eyes, Chu Qingzhi’s way of eating was the most graceful they had ever seen, and they unconsciously learned from her.

At this moment, the siblings ate their food slowly and quietly, which was quite pleasing to watch.

Tian Xiaoqiu ate very quickly, as if she had been starved for several meals and suddenly had food, but her movements slowed down when she caught sight of the Xu siblings.

She thought to herself that their way of eating was really elegant.

With this thought in mind, she couldn’t help but start to imitate them.

Xu Zeliang, Tian Xiaoqiu’s desk mate, ate very quickly, finishing more than half of his bowl in a short time.

Seeing that his desk mate still had more than half of her bowl left, he couldn’t help but say, “Hurry up, are you counting the rice grains?”

Tian Xiaoqiu pointed at the Xu siblings and whispered, “Don’t they eat differently from us?”

Xu Zeliang looked over and felt a sense of inferiority inside, but he didn’t show it, “Let’s not compare ourselves with them. They don’t lack food at home, unlike us, who have to wait for the New Year to have a full meal. Hurry up and eat.”

Tian Xiaoqiu stared at the rice in her bowl and suddenly said, “Don’t you want to become like them?”

Without thinking, Xu Zeliang replied, “Of course, I do, but first we need to make sure we can stay here. Otherwise, it’s all in vain. And you’ve seen how strict Sister Lihua and the others are. Whether we can stay for the next three months is still a question.”

Tian Xiaoqiu swore, “I will definitely pass the exam and stay.”

Xu Zeliang was silent for a moment, then his eyes lit up with determination, “I will too.”

At Yunhui Restaurant.

In the main hall, a customer called out loudly, “Boss, bring out the wine.”

The waiter quickly approached, “May I ask what kind of wine you would like?

The restaurant has five types of wine…”

Before the waiter could finish, the customer interrupted, “Bring the rice wine.

This wine has a good flavor, very satisfying to drink.”

The waiter smiled and responded, “Please wait a moment, I’ll get it for you right away.”

In just half an hour, more than thirty pots of rice wine were sold, marking the first time the restaurant had sold wine so quickly.

In the kitchen, the chef added a bit of rice wine to the braised fish, bringing out

a strong fragrance that tempted everyone.

This was a tip from Chu Qingzhi to Chu Xuhua, suggesting that rice wine was very fragrant when used to cook dishes with a fishy smell. When the wine was delivered, he mentioned it to Chu Yehui, who happened to be starting work.

After trying a bit of rice wine, the effect was surprisingly good, even astonishing.

“The wine’s ability to enhance the aroma is amazing.”

“Yes, the entire kitchen smells wonderful, I’m drooling.”

Everyone discussed animatedly as Chu Yehui entered from outside, “What have you done? I could smell the fragrance from outside.”

The chef pointed to the braised fish in the pot, “This, I added some rice wine.”

Chu Yehui approached and took another sniff, somewhat intoxicated, “It’s so fragrant with rice wine?”

“Yes, everyone saw it just now.”

“Alright, I’ll allocate some rice wine for you to cook with every day, but don’t let this secret out. It’ll be Yunhui Restaurant’s exclusive secret recipe.”

“Understood, young master.”

Chu Yehui left the kitchen happily, humming a tune, thinking about the good business brought by the rice wine.

In the fields.

He Cuiyun and a few women from the village approached, “Qingyu.”

Seeing them, Li Qingyu couldn’t help but feel a headache coming on, wiping sweat as she walked over, feigning ignorance, “Why have you come?”

The women signaled to He Cuiyun, who reluctantly took the lead, chuckling, “About what I mentioned to you yesterday, what do you think?”

Li Qingyu sighed internally, knowing that once greed takes hold, it’s hard to restrain.

She first explained the disadvantages of marrying into a wealthy family in the capital, then said, “If you’re determined to marry your daughters into the capital, I can send a letter to Qingyue, asking her to find a matchmaker in the capital for your daughters. But let me be clear, I won’t be responsible for the consequences.”

The women hesitated after hearing Li Qingyu’s words, but the thought of the various benefits still tempted them, “Sister Qingyu, please write a letter to Qingyue. After you send the letter, we’ll head to the capital.”

Li Qingyu nodded, “I’ll send the letter later.”

The women were extremely grateful, “Thank you, Qingyu. If our daughters marry well, we’ll definitely repay you.”

“Alright.” Li Qingyu smiled and agreed, thinking to herself that she hoped they would all be lucky. She went home and informed Chu Qingzhi of the villagers’ decision.

Chu Qingzhi wrote a letter, explaining what to do, and sent it off with an eagle. The method was simple: the villagers would go to Chu Qingyue, who would then take them to stay at an inn, not to arrange them at the Ning residence. She would introduce one of the matchmakers to the villagers.

The villagers might ask Chu Qingyue to introduce them to wealthy young masters, but she should decline everything except for introducing the matchmaker. Other than that, she shouldn’t involve herself in anything else.

The next day, Li Qingyu told He Cuiyun that she had sent the letter. On the third day, the villagers packed their luggage and took their daughters to find Chu Qingyue in the capital.

Xu Guannan, accompanied by Fang Mingyi, entered Chu Village.

Fang Mingyi had a bright appearance, dressed in expensive white clothes, tall and slender. As he moved, his clothes gently swayed, giving him an effortlessly graceful look.