“I want some too, make more.”
For dinner, Xu Qiushi prepared three dishes and a soup: stir-fried beef with shredded white radish, sour and spicy cabbage, minced meat eggplant, and oyster mushroom sliced meat soup.
Jiang Yichi had said he didn’t want the few leftover prawns from lunch. Xu Qiushi felt it would be a waste to throw them away, so he kept them for his own dinner.
Returning home after a full afternoon of classes, Jiang Yichi was greeted by a hot meal. Every dish suited his palate perfectly. Being quite hungry, he unusually felt like having a second helping of rice and called out toward the kitchen: “Xu Qiushi.”
Xu Qiushi hurried over at the sound.
The young master tilted his chin up: “Help me get some more rice.”
“Okay.” Xu Qiushi refilled his bowl, then went back to sit by the stove to eat his dinner: the leftovers and a small bowl of oyster mushroom soup paired with steamed buns.
He had bought the buns on his way here this morning just in case. On his first day, he wasn’t sure about his employer’s temper or appetite; although meals were included, it wouldn’t be good if the employer thought he ate too much and let him go.
After dinner, Jiang Yichi handed Xu Qiushi an access card, a universal one for the complex gate, the building entrance, and the elevator and briefed him once more on his daily routine.
Xu Qiushi noted everything down.
“There’s one more thing I need to tell you.” Jiang Yichi’s expression became slightly unnatural.
Xu Qiushi waited quietly.
“There are surveillance cameras in the house. They were here before you arrived. I forgot to mention it; can you accept that?” Jiang Yichi watched Xu Qiushi’s reaction as he spoke, thinking that even if the man couldn’t accept it, he’d have to he wasn’t going to remove the cameras for a housekeeper.
Hearing the word “surveillance,” Xu Qiushi was a bit surprised and instinctively wanted to look up. The bar had surveillance too, but with so many people coming and going, it was normal to ensure safety. It was his first time seeing someone install cameras inside a home.
“I’m not a pervert. I won’t be watching them all the time for no reason,” Jiang Yichi said defensively.
Realizing he hadn’t replied yet, Xu Qiushi nodded: “I can accept it.”
Jiang Yichi gave a soft huff, his face showing a “that’s more like it” expression.
That evening, Xu Qiushi received permission to clean the second floor.
The middle of the second floor was an open-to-the-below area, containing only two rooms: Jiang Yichi’s bedroom and his study. The area was half the size of the first floor.
After finishing the cleaning, Xu Qiushi washed a bunch of grapes for Jiang Yichi, and his work for the day was officially over.
At night, after washing up, Xu Qiushi sat on his bed and called Xu Qiuze, who had just returned to his dormitory from his part-time job, to share what he had done today.
The conversation ended quickly because the day had been far too easy. To summarize, he had only cleaned and cooked much more relaxed than working at the bar.
“Brother, if there’s anything else you don’t know how to use, tell me. I’ll look it up for you.” Xu Qiuze knew his brother hadn’t contacted him in the afternoon for fear of disturbing his classes.
“We’ll talk next time. Go take your shower; don’t stay up too late and bother your roommates,” Xu Qiushi urged.
“Alright, I’m heading to the shower then. Brother, you must tell me if you need anything!”
“Got it.”
After hanging up, Xu Qiushi found himself with nothing to do. It wasn’t even 10:00 PM yet, and he was already lying in the housekeeper’s bed. At this time back at the bar, he would have been run off his feet.
The thick, soft mattress dipped under his weight, contouring perfectly to his body, and the duvet wrapped around him like a fluffy cloud.
He had never slept on a mattress this soft. At this moment, his body, which should have been relaxed, tensed slightly due to a faint sensation of weightlessness.
Xu Qiushi opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling. The spherical ceiling light traced a silhouette in the dark. He wondered if there were filaments inside such lamps.
Moonlight spilled through the window, casting faint patches of light on the floor. Xu Qiushi turned onto his side and closed his eyes.
…
A week passed in the blink of an eye.
As Jiang Yichi had expected, Xu Qiushi was indeed an “unsophisticated” country person, but he was diligent and eager to learn. In just a few days, he had researched almost everything in the house he hadn’t seen before and mastered their use.
In this regard, Gu Chengfei, who often came over for free meals, and Xu Qiuze, who always looked out for his big brother, deserved much of the credit.
All in all, Jiang Yichi’s week has been quite pleasant.
“I’m going to my brother’s place tonight. You just make dinner for yourself.” This was a request from Jiang Yihe, requiring Jiang Yichi to visit at least once a week for the brothers to have a meal together, bond, and confirm that the younger brother wasn’t causing any trouble.
Xu Qiushi: “Okay.”
…
At the Jiang Family Villa.
Jiang Yihe looked at his brother, whose cheeks seemed a bit rounder, and asked in surprise: “Have you gained weight recently?”
“No way!” Jiang Yichi reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, instantly bristling. “Where am I fat?”
“Your face. It looks a bit rounder.” As Jiang Yihe spoke, he turned to Uncle Li for confirmation: “Right?”
Uncle Li kept his eyes on his nose and his nose on his heart, looking like he didn’t want to answer.
Jiang Yichi touched his face, suddenly feeling a sense of dread.
He did seem to have been eating more lately. Not only did he have two big bowls of rice per meal, but sometimes he even asked Xu Qiushi to make him late-night snacks. He couldn’t tell by looking in the mirror every day, but his brother, who hadn’t seen him for a week, spotted the difference instantly.
“It looks better to be a bit heavier. You were too thin before.” Jiang Yihe put a piece of rib into his brother’s bowl.
Setting the weight issue aside for a moment, why did the ribs stewed in medicinal herbs taste so weird? Jiang Yichi took one bite and discarded it into the bone plate in front of him.
“What? Not to your taste again?” Jiang Yihe asked.
“It tastes bad.” This one sentence from Jiang Yichi broke the hearts of several chefs who were peeking from the kitchen.
“I haven’t heard you say it tastes bad before.” Jiang Yihe tried a bite himself; it was the same taste as always.
“It’s just bad. It’s not even as good as what my housekeeper makes.” Jiang Yichi lost his appetite looking at the table full of food, thinking he’d rather be at home eating Xu Qiushi’s cooking.
Great, the young master’s palate had become even more spoiled. Standing to the side, Uncle Li discreetly wiped away a bead of sweat.
“It seems your new housekeeper has good culinary skills?” Jiang Yihe raised an eyebrow.
“They’re passable.” Jiang Yichi picked at the food with his chopsticks. This was bad, that was bad.
The chefs behind him shed two rows of “wide noodle” tears. How could their meticulously prepared delicacies not compare to a housekeeper whose skills were merely “passable”? How could they justify their high salaries at the Jiang house?
“No wonder he fed you fat.”
“…” Jiang Yichi was unusually speechless, choked up by his brother’s words. He put down his chopsticks angrily: “I’m not eating.”
Knowing his brother had someone to take care of him at home, Jiang Yihe didn’t force him. He wiped his mouth and said, “I had Assistant Zheng investigate. Your housekeeper’s background is quite rough, but there are no issues with the person. Since the food suits your taste and he seems to be taking good care of you, I’ll have Assistant Zheng go over and sign a formal contract with him.”
“Fine,” Jiang Yichi replied. He stood up and asked Uncle Li to arrange a driver; he wanted to go back.
…
With a “beep,” the code lock opened. The living room lights were on, but no one was there. Jiang Yichi walked toward the kitchen, where sounds were coming from, and saw the familiar figure at the stove: “What are you doing?”
The sound of boiling water prevented Xu Qiushi from noticing the door opening and closing. He was startled by the sudden voice and turned to find Jiang Yichi already standing behind him.
“Cooking some noodles.” Xu Qiushi showed Jiang Yichi the bag in his hand.
“How come I haven’t seen you cook these before?”
“I bought these for myself. I was afraid you wouldn’t like them.”
“I want some too. Make more,” Jiang Yichi demanded.
“Didn’t you have enough for dinner?” It should have been not long after dinner at this hour.
“I couldn’t eat my brother’s food. Stop talking nonsense and move fast, I’m hungry.”
“Okay.”
Xu Qiushi prepared to make lard-mixed noodles (zhuyou banmian). The lard was rendered from the fat sliced off pork belly; he usually added a bit when stir-frying vegetables to enhance the aroma.
A soup bowl with the base sauce was already sitting to the side. Now that there was one for Jiang Yichi, he prepared another bowl.
Scallions, minced garlic, chili flakes, white sesame seeds, a spoonful of light soy sauce, half a spoonful of dark soy sauce, a little mature vinegar, and a pinch of salt and sugar. Then he took a small pot to melt the lard.
Under the high temperature, the white blocks of lard gradually melted and were finally poured over the prepared sauce base, triggering a tantalizing aroma.
Standing to the side, Jiang Yichi couldn’t help but swallow his saliva.
He didn’t rush to wash the small pot used for the lard; it was perfect for frying a poached egg.
“Why is there only one?” Jiang Yichi saw Xu Qiushi finish one egg and put the pot in the sink.
“Do you want to eat two?” Xu Qiushi made a move to take the pot back.
“No, aren’t you eating?”
“I don’t need one.”
Hearing this, Jiang Yichi simply assumed Xu Qiushi didn’t like eggs.
In another pot, the noodles were boiled until just cooked, then lifted out and drained before being placed directly into the bowl with the sauce. He added a spoonful of noodle water and stirred evenly. The appearance alone was enough to make one’s mouth water.
The taste, of course, was impeccable. Jiang Yichi finished a large bowl of lard-mixed noodles with satisfaction, but then he suddenly remembered his brother saying he was getting fat, and a hint of regret surfaced in his heart.
It seems I need to find time to go to the gym.
…
Early the next morning, Assistant Zheng paid a visit.
“Mr. Xu, hello.” Assistant Zheng took out a prepared contract. “This is the labor contract Mr. Jiang instructed me to sign with you. The position is ‘Logistics Specialist’ for our company. The job description is to take care of Young Mr. Jiang’s daily life. Please look it over.”
Hearing about signing a contract, Xu Qiushi hesitantly flipped through it. The clauses were dense; he recognized the words, but when put together, he couldn’t understand them: “Is it mandatory to sign a contract?”
“It’s like this: you are currently not affiliated with any housekeeping service company. According to relevant regulations, only by joining our company can we legally pay your ‘Five Insurances and One Fund’ (social security).” Assistant Zheng nodded slightly, certain in his heart that there was no reason to refuse such benefits.
When Xu Qiushi worked on construction sites, he was always paid in cash. Working at the bar was just a matter of a word from Xun Wenyao. He had never been through such a formal process, and he didn’t even know what “Five Insurances and One Fund” were.
The last page of the contract was already stamped with the company seal, lacking only a signature. Jiang Yichi sat to the side. Seeing Xu Qiushi take the pen but hesitate to sign, his brows gradually furrowed.
“Mr. Xu, please rest assured. The contract is standard and in duplicate; you will keep one copy after signing. The company will handle all subsequent social security procedures; you only need to provide your ID card.”
He needs my ID card too? Xu Qiushi became even more uneasy. Back then, when his parents cooperated with others, they had also signed a bunch of contracts. He had an almost instinctive resistance to such things.
“All formal jobs require a contract. Do you want this job or not?” Jiang Yichi crossed his arms, looking at Xu Qiushi irritably, not understanding why he was hesitating.
“Can I look over the contract properly before giving you an answer?” Xu Qiushi asked hesitantly.
Assistant Zheng was taken aback but quickly recovered: “Of course. Roughly how much time do you need?”
“Tomorrow.”
“Alright.” Assistant Zheng handed over his business card. “My contact information is on there. Contact me anytime once you’ve considered it.”
“Sorry for the trouble,” Xu Qiushi took the card and carefully tucked it away.
“It’s my job. No need to see me out.”
After seeing Assistant Zheng at the door, Xu Qiushi returned to the living room, only to meet Jiang Yichi’s cold gaze: “If you don’t want to do it, then get lost. It’s not like I can’t do without you, hmph.”
Without waiting for Xu Qiushi to reply, Jiang Yichi turned and left an angry silhouette as he stomped upstairs. A moment later, the sound of him slamming his bedroom door echoed like thunder.