Chapter 361

Jiang Sheng suddenly remembered that she had promised to show her gratitude. At that time when she made the promise, she was generous, but now that she thought about it again, she felt a little distressed. However, she still sat upright on the carriage seat with both legs stretched straight, saying, "No matter how much money you want, I will give it to you."

The man seemed to be pondering.

Afraid that he might misunderstand her lack of sincerity, Jiang Sheng quickly explained, "My brothers and I do some small business and make some money. We can afford a few thousand taels, but any more would have to be given slowly over time."

Zheng Ruqian, who had been in the carriage for quite some time, nodded in agreement.

"I also saved two plates of iced lychees for Third Brother that I can share with you. It’s not worth much money, but you can’t find a third plate in the entire Fengjing city."

Fang Heng, who had just sat down, was puzzled and surprised. He leaned over to listen closely.

"If that's still not enough..." She rolled her eyes around, "My Fourth Brother can also treat you medically, for any illness."

Wen Zhiyun's face flushed red with embarrassment.

"And also...also..." Jiang Sheng hesitated, "That's all."

Chang Yan, who had been smiling just now, drooped the corners of his mouth expressionlessly.

"We don't have anything else." The little girl mumbled, "If you are still not satisfied, we can discuss it further, as long as my eldest brother is fine."

Money is external to the self, but family is the root of life.

It would be even better if she didn't feel that sting.

Jiang Jizu chuckled softly, "I don't want money."

Jiang Sheng was astonished, and her toes stretched even straighter.

"I just want that plate of lychees," Jiang Jizu said lightly. "I also want to try your favorite pork elbows."

Jiang Sheng was even more astonished, incredulously asking, "Just, just these?"

"Just these. Or are you unwilling?" He bent over slightly, exerting the imposing manner unique to grown men.

According to reason, a sturdy, bearded man like him should frighten Jiang Sheng.

In her young memories, she had been shouted and scolded countless times by men of this stature, and she also knew that they hit the hardest and most painfully.

But she didn't know if it was because his tone was too gentle, or because he had just helped her eldest brother, or perhaps his gesture of not asking for money gave rise to goodwill, but she was not actually afraid.

The little girl’s taut toes relaxed, swaying in the air. If her feet were bare, they would be as lovely as jade. "Then I'll have someone bring them over to you later," Jiang Sheng said earnestly. "Iced lychees, pork elbows, I'll have them delivered to you. Does that work for you?"

The man seemed to ponder again.

After quite a while, he said, "If you send them over, they won't be fresh anymore. I want to try the fresh ones."

While the pork elbows could be piping hot and fresh, iced lychees were never meant to be a fresh item to begin with - wasn't he just being difficult?

Fang Heng, worried that his sister was being taken advantage of, drew the dagger from his waist and was about to rush out.

Chang Yan quickly stopped him and blocked the carriage door, shaking his head at the brothers who were glaring fiercely.

It was good to protect one’s sister, but one shouldn’t be overprotective to the point of driving away those who loved her.

Moreover, Jiang Sheng herself did not seem particularly averse to the idea.

After thinking hard for a good while, the little girl finally said, "I agree, but I have to ask my brothers for their opinion."

Having said that, she poked her head into the carriage, facing Chang Yan directly.

"You’re the one with the credit here, so you get to decide," he said lightly, representing all the brothers.

Jiang Sheng could only shrink her head back and crisply say, "We all agree. Please come on board."

She nimbly crawled into the carriage, pushing Fifth Brother to Fourth Brother’s side to make as much room as possible.

Unexpectedly, the man untied the reins and sat on the shaft instead, "Here is good enough for me."

After saying that, he clapped his hands and the carriage headed straight for home.

The siblings in the carriage were stunned, the chatting eight Jiangs were stunned, and even the accompanying guards were left stupidly rooted to the spot.

As the carriage moved farther away, successive cries rang out.

"General!"

"Young Master!"

"Young Lady!"

"Captain!"

You left your people behind!

Not until the carriage stopped at the small courtyard gate did Jiang Sheng come to her senses. She tentatively lifted the carriage curtain.

Jiang Jizu was skillfully tying the reins to a wooden post.

Hearing the movement, Zhang Xianglian came over swiftly, holding a ladle. She opened the door with one hand and laughed, "The elbows just came out of the pot and you’re already back, like a bunch of greedy little cats sniffing the aroma..."

Seeing the man, she was somewhat surprised, swallowing the rest of her words. But to Jiang Sheng, it was as if she saw a savior. She loudly yelled "Auntie!" before leaping from the carriage into Zhang Xianglian's arms swift as a returning swallow.

Zhang Xianglian grew even more vigilant. She shielded Jiang Sheng with her body and asked softly, "Who is this? Where are the brothers?"

"They're in the carriage. He helped Big Brother, so I invited him to eat pork elbows," Jiang Sheng whispered back.

The two women acted all mysteriously, yet everyone could hear them loud and clear.

The brothers in the carriage covered their faces while Jiang Jizu laughed helplessly outside.

Realizing he was Little Mo’s benefactor, Zhang Xianglian immediately let go of Jiang Sheng and warmly beckoned, "Since you’re here, please come inside. The elbows just came fresh out of the pot - fragrant!"

Jiang Sheng nodded along. She had already caught a whiff of the aroma.

"I just wonder if there is enough to eat,” Zhang Xianglian muttered softly. “Oh well, just one extra person. It’s alright, I’ll steam a couple more steamed buns."

"Auntie," the children in the carriage had appeared at some point, standing in a row.

The one speaking was none other than the much taller Fang Heng now.

Zhang Xianglian gave a jolt, dropping the ladle in her hand. Tears were about to stream from her eyes. "It’s little Heng, little Heng is back! Two buns won’t be enough, I must add four more."

No sooner had she finished speaking than the eight Jiangs came rushing over, yelling in unison, "Auntie!"

Behind them were another four guards with sabers.

Zhang Xianglian suddenly felt a little dizzy. If not for Jiang Sheng's support, she would have collapsed to the ground.

Where did all these extra people come from? The prepared pork elbows might not be enough, the steamed buns might not be enough, even the bowls and chopsticks might not be enough.

"You don't have to worry about them, they have their own place to eat," said Jiang Jizu, waving off his men.

The guards looked somewhat disappointed but turned to leave obediently.

"Wait," Zhang Xianglian picked up the fallen ladle from the ground. "Since you’ve helped Little Mo, that makes you our benefactor. How can we not prepare enough food even for our benefactors? Everyone, don't leave. Stay and have a meal!"

It didn’t matter whether there were six pigs or sixteen pigs to feed.

That noon, Zhang Xianglian bought up almost the entire pork shop. The master chef from Leisure Manor who was there teaching his apprentices also came over to help. With the addition of the two Wang siblings running errands, they finally managed to prepare enough for two tables.

One table of medium size was set up in the main hall for the household’s masters, Jiang Jizu and the master chef guest.

Another extra-large table was set in the yard for the eight Jiangs and four guards, plus the Wang siblings.

From the crispy, soft and juicy pork elbows to the chicken stew with fried crackers, stir fried meat and vegetables - the spread was magnificent, even more sumptuous than a New Year’s Eve feast.

Even the master chef who came to help was astonished, asking repeatedly, "Lianmei, who exactly is this guest that you’ve gone through so much trouble to prepare all this for?"

"He's the one who helped Little Mo," Zhang Xianglian replied without even turning her head. "Jiang Sheng said she wanted to show her gratitude."

While gratitude was important, they could simply have gone to Leisure Manor to eat instead of all that effort to prepare so many dishes.

The master chef worked resentfully, helping to pan fry dishes and arrange the platters.

Only when he was seated at the table did he realize why the bearded man seemed vaguely familiar - it was as if he had seen him somewhere before.