Unfortunately, the loofah soup failed to extinguish Jiang Yichi’s temper.
After lunch, he and Xu Qiuze hauled Gu Chengfei back to the living room to resume revision, punctuated by occasional roars of frustration over his “unteachable” progress.
Xu Qiushi finished tidying the kitchen and went to the balcony to bring in the dried laundry, including the sheets and duvet covers he had changed for Jiang Yichi two days prior. While he was at it, he organized the young master’s overstuffed wardrobe.
After finishing his chores, he glanced at the calendar on his phone and realized that the Lunar New Year was less than a month away. If he planned to head back to his hometown, he needed to start paying attention to when train tickets went on sale.
Jiang Yichi would surely return to his own family for the Spring Festival. He wondered when he would leave; if Jiang Yichi left as soon as winter break started, Xu Qiushi could stay in Luohai City for a while longer to find some odd jobs.
Before Xu Qiushi could continue daydreaming, Chen Shun called. It was regarding the pet dog incident from the morning. Thanks to Xu Qiushi being on the scene and preventing a potential accident, the property manager wanted to thank him in person.
“It was a small matter, no need to take it to heart,” Xu Qiushi declined.
“Brother Xu, the manager said he must meet you,” Chen Shun’s tone was firm.
Left with no choice, Xu Qiushi gave Jiang Yichi a heads-up and went downstairs again.
The community property manager was waiting right by the first-floor elevator doors. Upon seeing Xu Qiushi, he immediately stepped forward and shook his hand enthusiastically.
The property manager’s surname was Tang. He looked to be in his early thirties with his hair slicked back into a pompadour. Likely from smiling too much, the fine wrinkles at the corners of his eyes were quite prominent.
“Mr. Xu, I am truly so grateful for what happened this morning!” Manager Tang pumped their joined hands up and down.
In just half a day, Xu Qiushi had heard similar words several times and found it a bit overwhelming: “You’re too kind. It was just a small effort.”
“Your small effort helped us out tremendously! If you hadn’t reacted so quickly, someone might have been injured, and then our responsibility would have been massive. All’s well that ends well, and it’s all thanks to you.” As he spoke, Manager Tang pulled a brand-new red envelope from his pocket. “A small token of appreciation, you must accept it.”
“No need, I didn’t do much.” Xu Qiushi hurried to pull his hand back, feeling bewildered. It wasn’t even the New Year yet why was someone trying to give him a red envelope every other day?
Manager Tang’s hand met empty air, but he didn’t give up, insisting that Xu Qiushi take the envelope: “Mr. Xu, it’s just a gesture, not much money. It’s mainly to encourage your courageous act. Don’t feel any psychological burden.”
Manager Tang’s words were earnest, and Chen Shun joined in the persuasion. The two of them painted Xu Qiushi’s actions as if he had saved the world, acting as though they wouldn’t leave until he took the money.
There wasn’t much in the red envelope, only 500 yuan but to Xu Qiushi, it felt like getting something for nothing, and he felt he hadn’t earned it.
“Mr. Xu, I heard you’re working at Mr. Jiang’s house?” Manager Tang asked with a smile after successfully handing over the red envelope.
“Yes,” Xu Qiushi replied.
“Are you a local?” Manager Tang asked curiously.
“No.”
“Then are you going back to your hometown for the New Year?”
“If there’s nothing to do here, I’ll head back,” Xu Qiushi said, keeping his options open.
Manager Tang nodded and took out his phone: “Mr. Xu, you wouldn’t mind exchanging contact info, would you?”
“I don’t mind. Just call me Xiao Xu.”
“If you ever have any suggestions regarding the community’s development, feel free to contact me anytime. Our mission is to wholeheartedly provide the best service to our residents.” Manager Tang patted Xu Qiushi’s arm cordially.
“Okay.” Xu Qiushi knew the other man was just being polite; he wasn’t a homeowner, so what right did he have to give suggestions?
After exchanging numbers, Manager Tang left with Chen Shun.
Xu Qiushi idly scrolled through his contact list. He hadn’t realized he had met so many people in Luohai City.
Just as he was about to press the elevator button to go back, he remembered Gu Chengfei mentioning he wanted to eat hairy crabs this morning. Since he was free anyway, he decided to go pick a few up now.
Back in his hometown, they often caught river crabs in the river. Although they tasted good, they had too much shell and too little meat, so he usually found them too much trouble to eat. However, Xu Qiuze liked them a lot, so he decided to buy a few extra today.
Xu Qiushi went to the fresh food supermarket next to the community. Though things were expensive there, the quality was guaranteed. Besides crabs, he bought some fish and shrimp, intending to cook a few extra dishes tonight to reward the three students working hard at home.
Passing the security booth on his way back into the community, Xu Qiushi gave them two cartons of cigarettes.
“Brother Xu, what are you doing? This is too expensive!” Xiao Huang pushed them back, refusing to take them.
“Consider it a treat from your manager. Does Manager Tang smoke? If he does, help me give him a few packs.” Xu Qiushi tossed the cigarettes directly through the window.
“Our manager doesn’t smoke, take them back.” Chen Shun caught the cigarettes and tried to hand them back. He knew the manager had only given out 500 yuan, and two cartons of cigarettes would cost over 300.
“Then you guys share them. Hard work deserves a break. I’m going up now.” Xu Qiushi didn’t linger and walked away quickly.
“Hey, Brother Xu! Come back!” Xiao Huang yelled at the top of his lungs, but Chen Shun grabbed him from behind and covered his mouth.
“Keep it down, what’s wrong with you! Keep the cigarettes for now, I’ll let the manager know in a bit.” With Wu Ming away, Chen Shun was their pillar, and the others all agreed.
…
[Section Break]
Xu Qiushi carried the large bag of groceries home and took a quiet peek at the atmosphere in the living room before entering.
Fortunately, Gu Chengfei was currently on break, slumped on the sofa wanting to do absolutely nothing, while Jiang Yichi and Xu Qiuze sat on either side attending to their own business.
Hearing Xu Qiushi return, two pairs of eyes looked toward him in unison.
“I bought crabs. I’ll steam them for you guys to eat first.” Xu Qiushi shook the shopping bag. Eating crabs was time-consuming and labor-intensive; in his view, it was best treated as a snack. If they ate crabs at the dinner table, the hot dishes would go cold.
“Wow! Brother Xu, you’re the best! I love you!” Gu Chengfei sat up with a start, wanting to rush over and give Xu Qiushi a big hug.
Jiang Yichi raised a foot to block his path: “Feeling energetic? Then let’s continue.”
Gu Chengfei froze and immediately collapsed back onto the sofa.
Xu Qiuze gave him a look, then stood up to help Xu Qiushi prep the crabs.
Jiang Yichi listened to the two brothers busy in the kitchen. Occasionally, a word or two he didn’t understand would pop up in their conversation. He soon realized it was Xu Qiushi’s hometown dialect and couldn’t help but let out a faint chuckle.
The rinsed crabs were arranged neatly in the steamer—nine in total, all female crabs weighing about 125 grams each. Judging by the color peeking from the edges of their bellies, they were all full of roe.
Xu Qiushi sliced some ginger and placed a piece on each crab’s belly. Once the water boiled, they would steam for fifteen minutes.
During this time, Xu Qiushi took the opportunity to start simmering the soup for dinner and prepped the other ingredients.
Xu Qiuze was responsible for washing the vegetables while Xu Qiushi handled the chopping. The two brothers coordinated perfectly with high efficiency.
Before long, Gu Chengfei also snuck in, wanting to help.
Xu Qiuze was already well-acquainted with assisting his brother and casually assigned Gu Chengfei some non-essential tasks to prevent him from getting in the way.
As long as he wasn’t studying, Gu Chengfei could apply 120% of his focus to anything right now.
Xu Qiushi sliced the beef and added seasonings to marinate it, then turned to handle the hairtail fish intended for braising.
Gu Chengfei watched from the side as Xu Qiushi’s knife rose and fell, his movements fast and precise. No matter how many times he saw it, he found it pleasing to the eye.
“Brother Xu, did you really never go to a culinary school like Xinhua?” Gu Chengfei asked with admiration.
“Where would I get the spare money for that?” Xu Qiushi smiled.
“Brother Xu, can I learn to cook from you? I think men with good culinary skills are the most charming.” Gu Chengfei looked at Xu Qiushi with expectant, starry eyes.
“Sure, but you have to pass your final exams first.”
“Aww, why do you even have to bring that up?”
“If you don’t do well on the finals, you’ll have to retake the course. Will you still be in the mood to learn cooking then?” Xu Qiuze added from the side.
Gu Chengfei: “…”
Once the crabs were steamed, Xu Qiushi had Xu Qiuze bring them to the table first. He then mixed three portions of crab vinegar and brought out a set of crab-eating tools, sitting down next to Jiang Yichi.
Gu Chengfei and Xu Qiuze assumed he was joining them to eat.
Xu Qiushi took the delicate “eight-piece crab tool set” from its specialized box and laid them out one by one. He picked up the scissors, snipped off all the crab legs, and quickly extracted the leg meat, placing it on the small saucer in front of Jiang Yichi. He simply said: “Eat while it’s hot.”
Gu Chengfei and Xu Qiuze stopped their peeling actions in unison.
Jiang Yichi picked up his chopsticks and elegantly ate the leg meat before him, while Xu Qiushi began to deconstruct the crab body.
A small crab mallet tapped lightly on the shell a few times; he lifted the thin outer shell to reveal perfectly intact crab roe. He carefully removed the mouth, gills, heart, and intestines, scooped out the roe cleanly, and finally peeled the body meat.
Looking at the two people across from them, one peeling and one eating and then looking at the crabs in their own hands, Gu Chengfei and Xu Qiuze suddenly didn’t feel like eating much anymore.
Xu Qiushi was clearly accustomed to the task of peeling crabs, and Jiang Yichi accepted the service as a matter of course. After finishing two, seeing that Xu Qiushi was about to peel a third for him, Jiang Yichi finally spoke: “Aren’t you eating?”
“I don’t like eating them,” Xu Qiushi replied.
“My brother has always felt that eating crabs is too much trouble,” Xu Qiuze added, his tone carrying a hint of “sourness” (jealousy).
Jiang Yichi heard it, turned to look at Xu Qiuze, and a look of smugness appeared on his face.
Xu Qiuze: “?”
“I’m done, you eat,” Jiang Yichi put down his chopsticks, indicating he had had enough.
“Then you guys finish them. Have a rest after eating, we’ll have dinner a bit later.” Xu Qiushi followed suit, putting down the tools and returning to the kitchen to continue prepping.
Jiang Yichi’s good mood lasted until Gu Chengfei’s next round of revision began.
But this time, it wasn’t Gu Chengfei’s fault; it was because Jiang Yichi received a message from the property management.
After dinner, Xu Qiushi saw Xu Qiuze and Gu Chengfei off to the community entrance. He returned home to find Jiang Yichi with a displeased expression.
“What’s wrong?” The young master’s mood had been low since dinner started, even though he seemed quite happy while eating the crabs.
“What did you do this morning?” Jiang Yichi asked.
“Took a walk downstairs.”
“And?”
Xu Qiushi thought for a moment and said, “Ran into two dogs fighting and gave them a pull.”
“Gave them a pull?” Jiang Yichi’s face darkened instantly, and his voice rose several notches. “Do you know how dangerous a large dog is when it loses control?”
Xu Qiushi didn’t expect the young master’s reaction to be so extreme and was momentarily stunned: “The situation was urgent, I didn’t think much about it.”
Jiang Yichi took a step forward. Beneath the anger in his eyes was a trace of carefully suppressed panic: “I’m asking you to think more before you act! What if that dog turned around and bit you? Do you know you could get rabies from a dog bite?”
“How could there be time to think in that situation? And it wasn’t as serious as you’re making it out to be.” Xu Qiushi frowned. “I know that dog, it’s vaccinated.”
Is that the point? Jiang Yichi closed his eyes in frustration: “You knew this dog today, but can you guarantee you’ll know every dog or be able to control every dog in the future?”
Xu Qiushi looked at him silently.
“You’re always like this. No matter who it is, whether you know them or not, you want to help the moment you see them. You want to rush the moment you see something happening. Blocking a beer bottle for someone at a bar, carrying a fridge for someone moving house, and now pulling back a rabid dog… you completely fail to consider…” your own safety. Jiang Yichi paused, then gritted his teeth and continued: “You are here to work for me, not to mind everyone else’s business! If you can’t get your priorities straight, then perhaps you aren’t suited for this job.”
“I have done my job well. Helping people has always been within my capability and hasn’t affected my work.” Xu Qiushi’s tone grew more urgent.
Jiang Yichi stared at him for a long time before coldly leaving him with one sentence: “Think about it clearly yourself.”
Watching the young master’s angry back, Xu Qiushi opened his mouth but found himself at a loss. Think about what? He really didn’t understand what was wrong with his behavior of helping others.