TTTQF Chapter 116

Live Frugally

“What? Got nothing to say? Then hurry up and leave, don’t waste my time,” Chef Hu says impatiently as he sees Jiang Miao standing still. In the Imperial Academy, the chief scholar holds the most authority, and no one else can surpass him.

However, Chef Hu seems to forget that while the teachers in the Imperial Academy are under the management of the chief scholar, most of the students here come from aristocratic families. He has become accustomed to working in the large dining hall, where most of the students he deals with come from poorer backgrounds, and thus his behavior has grown increasingly overbearing.

Jiang Miao glances at him and says, “If you won’t let someone bring my food, fine, but you’ll need to refund the money I paid.” There is no point in arguing with such a petty man, but Jiang Miao certainly won’t let this villain take advantage any further.

Chef Hu sneers and mocks, “How pathetic,” as if he finds Jiang Miao’s behavior amusing. He doesn’t know which family this man belongs to. There are many people living in the back mountain, and a few of them have the surname Jiang. He just doesn’t expect that he would be so poor. In any case, since the chief scholar hasn’t specifically instructed him to deliver food to everyone living in the back hills, he figures that the families of retired officials, for example, no longer need to be provided for.

“You will get the money,” Chef Hu says as he pulls out a silver coin and tosses it directly to Jiang Miao, the action dripping with disdain. Jiang Miao catches the coin, weighs it, and leaves without a word once he confirms it’s the correct amount.

As soon as he steps outside, he bumps into some women who have arrived right after him. Seeing Jiang Miao’s angry expression, they immediately know there is no hope of negotiating in this matter.

The group quickly discusses among themselves and each gives Jiang Miao some of their supplies to take home. It is getting late, and if he goes down the mountain to buy food, he might not make it back in time before his two children finish school.

After thanking the women and taking the supplies, Jiang Miao heads home. Once he finishes preparing the food, his mood has calmed down. Now, he needs to carefully consider how to resolve this matter.

Directly filing a complaint likely won’t work since he still doesn’t know chief scholar Chen’s temperament. If chief scholar Chen turns out to be the type who favors his own people, not only will the problem remain unsolved, but it might even cause trouble for Pei Che. 

What if Chen hints to other teachers to make things difficult for Pei Che? With exams coming up in a month or two, it isn’t worth the risk of affecting Pei Che’s mood.

There are many kinds of vegetables and fruits at the foot of the mountain, but the only meat available is duck. Studying requires a lot of energy, and they can’t survive on just that. Well, if worse comes to worst, he’ll ask the coachman to make a trip every two days to bring them supplies. At this critical moment, it’s best to endure and let things slide for now.

At lunchtime, Jiang Miao appears completely normal while eating with the others, showing no sign of concern, so no one notices anything unusual.

After lunch and a short rest, Jiang Miao takes the two children to the Children's Hall. As soon as the two children enter, Wang Changyu comes over. He pats his chest and assures them that he will ask his mother to share some food with their brother every day, making sure they won’t go hungry.

Xiao Shitou and Pei Mu exchange puzzled looks, unsure of what Wang Changyu is rambling about. Ever since Wang Changyu tasted the food made by Brother Miao, he has been eager to play with them.

“Thank you, but that’s not necessary. My brother will prepare food for us,” Xiao Shitou politely but firmly declines his offer.

Wang Changyu is shocked. “But the big dining hall isn’t bringing food for your brother anymore. Where is he going to buy food? Oh, by the way, will we still get to eat what your brother makes in the mornings?” His face is full of concern. In the past few days, he’s been urging his mother to send him to school every morning, no longer using excuses like headaches or colds to avoid attending.

“What are you talking about?” Xiao Shitou looks at him in confusion. “My brother didn’t mention any of this, and the food we ate today was delivered by the big dining hall!” He recognizes the string used to tie the vegetables from the dining hall.

Wang Changyu’s mouth drops open in surprise. He stares blankly at Xiao Shitou—was his mother lying to him?

Just then, another child comes over and says, “It’s true, my mother mentioned it today too!” After hearing this, the other children start saying the same thing.

Wang Changyu immediately puffs up with pride. “See, I told you it’s true! I’m not lying. If you ever get hungry, you can come to my house to eat. No, better yet, I’ll bring the vegetables to your house, and your brother can cook for us!” As he speaks, he can’t help but swallow a bit of saliva.

Xiao Shitou feels a bit panicked. He glances at Pei Mu, who is also frowning and clearly upset. They don’t know why the big dining hall has suddenly changed, but they understand one thing: there will be less food at home in the future. Distracted by this thought, both of them have trouble focusing in class, though luckily, Old Master Tan doesn’t come down from the lectern to check on them today. Otherwise, they would surely be caught.

After school, the moment they step outside, they see Jiang Miao waiting for them at the entrance.

“Brother!” / “Brother Miao!” they call out simultaneously, running toward him in unison. Jiang Miao bends down and catches them, gently patting their heads one by one, wondering why they are so clingy today, as if something has happened.

On the way home, Jiang Miao asks what happened, but the two little ones keep silent. Later, during dinner, Jiang Miao notices that they only eat a small bowl of rice each and refuse to have more. After a few attempts to encourage them, they both use the excuse of needing to work on their assignments and retreat to the study.

“Was the food I cooked today not good?” Jiang Miao asks, glancing at the table, which holds dishes like braised pork ribs, sautéed vegetables, pan-fried tofu, and winter melon meatball soup—all dishes that should suit their taste.

"Of course not." Then, Pei Che proves with practical actions that it is not Jiang Miao's cooking skills that have problems. He helps himself to a fourth serving of rice.

“Could they be tired of the food?” Jiang Miao frowns, as he thinks the dishes taste just fine.

“Impossible! They were enjoying it so much at lunch,” Pei Che replies. The home-cooked meals Jiang Miao makes are truly exceptional. Ever since he started living with Jiang Miao, Pei Che has even noticed himself gaining weight. Worried about putting on too much, he’s started sparring with Su Jin every day, on top of his regular martial arts classes, to avoid getting fat.

Jiang Miao sighs and picks up his chopsticks again, joining Pei Che in clearing the table so the food doesn’t go to waste.

...

That night, Xiao Shitou and Pei Mu toss and turn in bed, unable to fall asleep. Both of them feel uncomfortably hungry. Although they have resolved to eat less to avoid burdening their brother, their grumbling stomachs protest the sacrifice.

Regret washes over Xiao Shitou. If he had known he’d be this hungry, he would have eaten more at dinner—after all, their brother has already prepared the meal.

Pei Mu is so hungry that he turns over and suddenly sits up. Startled, Xiao Shitou quickly asks what he is doing.

“Going to the kitchen to get some food,” Pei Mu replies.

Xiao Shitou's eyes light up, and he sits up as well. “I’ll go with you!”

The two quietly climb out of bed, slip on their shoes by the moonlight streaming into the room, and, not daring to light a lamp for fear of alerting Jiang Miao, stealthily open the door and creep toward the kitchen. Little do they know that Jiang Miao, who has gotten up in the night, has seen everything.

Watching the two sneaking toward the kitchen, Jiang Miao realizes they are hungry. He sighs, feeling mentally exhausted—do children nowadays really think it is more fun to eat secretly?

Returning to his room, he lights a candle and is about to head out. Pei Che, seeing this, calls out, “Ah Miao, where are you going?” He sounds a little panicked. Has his teasing gone too far, and now Ah Miao is upset and refusing to sleep in the same bed as him?

Jiang Miao has already forgotten about Pei Che’s earlier teasing. Turning around, he says, “I’m going to make something for the two of them to eat. Do you want some?”

Pei Che thinks about it and, with some reluctance, declines. However, he still gets out of bed, intending to follow Jiang Miao to the kitchen. If the two little ones don’t eat at night and it ends up causing Ah Miao to get up in the middle of the night to cook for them, some discipline is certainly in order.

Xiao Shitou and Pei Mu wander around the dark kitchen, but apart from almost knocking over a bowl, they find nothing. Disheartened, they are just about to head back to their room when the kitchen suddenly lights up.

“So, care to explain why you didn’t eat dinner?” Pei Che sits in front of them, his face stern and serious.

The two little ones are distracted by the mouthwatering aroma drifting from the kitchen to the dining room, unable to focus. So, they obediently tell Pei Che about the rumors they heard at the Children's Hall today.

“…Next time if something like this happens, remember not to hide it from us,” Pei Che says earnestly, though the harsh words he initially intends to say are swallowed back down. No word has spread beforehand, yet the rumor has already circulated around the mountain, which means it’s probably true. But why hasn’t Ah Miao mentioned anything to them?

Meanwhile, Jiang Miao quickly whips up two bowls of fried rice and brings them over. The golden egg-fried rice is topped with a few sprinkles of chopped green onion, making it look irresistibly appetizing, not to mention the enticing aroma that makes anyone’s mouth water.

The two little ones take a spoonful, and their eyes light up in happiness. To them, this fried rice instantly ranks as the best-tasting food they have ever had.

After filling their stomachs, Jiang Miao doesn’t rush to ask any further questions. He leads them to rinse their mouths and then sends them back to their room to rest.

After a busy day today, Jiang Miao feels very sleepy as soon as he lies on the bed. He closes his eyes and quickly drifts off to sleep, not noticing that Pei Che is still quietly watching him.

...

Knock, knock, knock!

While Jiang Miao is making breakfast in the kitchen the next morning, someone suddenly knocks on the courtyard door.

“Coming!” Who could be visiting so early in the morning? Jiang Miao wipes his hands and walks over, wondering as he goes.

When he opens the courtyard gate, he sees two men standing there, one of whom is the familiar coachman. Each of them has a large sack slung over their back. Upon seeing Jiang Miao, they say, “Master Jiang, these items were sent up from the estate. Where should we put them?”

This is like getting a pillow when you're feeling sleepy. Jiang Miao is overjoyed, silently celebrating. He quickly steps aside and allows the two men to enter. "Thank you both so much! Just put everything in the kitchen," he says.

After the two men leave, Jiang Miao opens the burlap sacks and finds a variety of ingredients—both meat and vegetables—as well as mountain goods and dried products. The sheer variety of food piled together fills Jiang Miao with happiness.

“Who was that just now?” Pei Che enters the kitchen, pretending not to know, and deliberately asks.

“Things were sent from your grandmother’s estate!” Jiang Miao replies cheerfully. He begins sorting the items, planning to set aside some to share with the aunties who gave him supplies the day before.

“Then for the next few days, we won’t need to get any food from the big dining hall,” Pei Che remarks.

“Mm, the food there is expensive and not even that fresh. I’ve decided not to go there for groceries anymore,” Jiang Miao says, taking the opportunity to share his decision with Pei Che. It is as if the injustice he suffered the day before has been swept away by this casual remark.

However, while Jiang Miao can let it go so easily, Pei Che, who now understands the full story, isn’t as quick to brush the matter aside.

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