Shi Feizhe roughly understood: only when the four—Blood, Qi, Spirit, and Essence—were all complete would one have that kind of intensely subjective feeling.
Next, Hua Xiaomei answered Shi Feizhe's other questions, like the most attentive teacher imaginable. Shi Feizhe was deeply moved.
Who said the jianghu was all deceit and treachery? There were still benevolent and righteous people like Hua Xiaomei.
"Thank you, Brother Hua! If I ever amount to anything, I'll repay you for your guidance!" Shi Feizhe said, bowing to Hua Xiaomei with utmost solemnity.
Only then did Hua Xiaomei remember that this young man's surname was Shi.
"Don't mention it. In the jianghu, we're all strangers who meet by chance. To meet again is fate! If you can lend a hand, you should!" Hua Xiaomei continued, "You seem simply dressed, Brother Shi. If you don't mind, I can recommend you for a job at Three Talents Manor. It'll be hard work, but it'll provide a steady living!"
The precious herbs he'd planted would be better watched over by the people of Three Talents Manor!
"Really?" Shi Feizhe was overjoyed. He truly had no way to earn a living at the moment. It was just like being handed a pillow when you were sleepy. "Then thank you, Brother Hua!"
"It's no trouble at all. No need for such courtesy! I'll take you to Three Talents Manor first and speak to Zhan Ming. I doubt he'd refuse me!" Hua Xiaomei said, waving his fan.
Zhan Ming was the man who called out to people and registered them at the entrance of Three Talents Manor every day. He was in charge of the gate. After finishing his work keeping order and registering people there that day, he had just turned back toward East Manor when he saw Hua Xiaomei approaching with someone.
"Greetings, Young Master Hua!" He bowed respectfully to Hua Xiaomei. As a steward of Three Talents Manor, he knew that even the Manor Lord treated Hua Xiaomei with considerable courtesy. As a servant, he naturally had to show him the utmost respect!
"Greetings, Steward Zhan!" Hua Xiaomei was always courteous to everyone. He returned Zhan Ming's bow, then said, "This is a young man I had the good fortune to meet on the road. I wonder if your manor has any work available, so he might stay here and earn a living."
Zhan Ming was no fool. He knew he couldn't make this decision himself; he'd need the Head Butler or the Manor Lord to approve it. But he didn't say so outright, lest he offend Young Master Hua. Instead, he said, "That should be easy! I'll just have to consult the Head Butler and check the roster to see where we're short-handed."
"Go ahead! You should tell Manor Lord Zhan, too." Hua Xiaomei nodded, then turned to Shi Feizhe. "Let's go inside and have some tea and snacks while we wait."
"Um... won't I be putting you to too much trouble, Brother Hua?" Shi Feizhe said, looking at Zhan Ming's tall figure.
"It's a small thing. What trouble?" Hua Xiaomei snapped open his fan and led Shi Feizhe through several gates to a side courtyard.
Three Talents Manor was built in the typical northern courtyard style. Each compound was square, with high walls enclosing spacious courtyards. Three wing rooms formed a quadrangle, with the south side left open. The courtyard was paved with bricks and looked clean and spacious. The wing rooms had black-tiled roofs with raised eaves, and wooden doors and windows; everything was neat and tidy.
A clump of green bamboo grew in the courtyard, beside a stone table and four stone stools. Hua Xiaomei sat by the table and said to Shi Feizhe, "Sit. Make yourself at home."
Shi Feizhe looked around and thought it was fairly ordinary. It wasn't even as luxurious as some of the real-estate sales offices he'd seen in his previous life. He wasn't shy about it and sat down by the stone table.
As soon as he sat on the stone stool, two girls in green, around fourteen or fifteen years old, came out of a side room in the courtyard. They brought a pot of hot tea and four plates of snacks.
The tea was green tea, with a fragrant aftertaste. It was quite good. The snacks were goose-oil pine-nut rolls, buttery pine-nut pastries, seven-colored rice cakes, and poria cakes. They were delicately made, and they made the appetite of Shi Feizhe, who went without dinner every day, stir.
He didn't hold back. One goose-oil pine-nut roll, then one buttery pine-nut pastry, washed down with green tea. In no time, he'd swept the plates clean.
Hua Xiaomei watched Shi Feizhe wolf down the food with a smile. He came from the demonic Hua Family and, though his childhood had been rather constrained, every aspect of his life—from clothing and food to housing and travel—had been carefully attended to. Three Talents Manor's pastries were common fare in the jianghu, and they held no appeal for him.
But when he saw people treasure or value things he himself didn't care about—women, food, martial arts manuals—it gave him a strange sense of satisfaction and made him very happy.
Besides, Shi Feizhe was a precious herb he'd planted. The better Shi Feizhe ate, the better the plant was growing!
Anyone who had ever planted crops felt a sense of satisfaction when they saw the plants in their fields flourishing.
With those two kinds of satisfaction piled together, Hua Xiaomei was in an excellent mood. Watching Shi Feizhe wolf down the food, he said, "Take your time. There's more if you want it!"
"Then could I have another serving of these two?" Shi Feizhe knew Hua Xiaomei didn't care about the snacks at all, so he didn't hold back. He pointed at the goose-oil pine-nut rolls and the buttery pine-nut pastries.
Hua Xiaomei clapped his hands lightly. The girl in green who had served them came out of the side room and walked over to him, giving him a curtsy.
"Two more servings of each of these!" Hua Xiaomei pointed to the two empty plates.
The girl in green curtsied again, then returned to the wing room. Before long, she brought out four plates of pastries.
"Could I have another pot of tea, too? Thank you!" Shi Feizhe said to the girl in green.
The girl glanced at Hua Xiaomei. When he didn't say anything, she gave Shi Feizhe a slight nod.
After the tea arrived, Zhan Ming came from the courtyard entrance and bowed to Hua Xiaomei from a distance. "Young Master Hua, I've checked the roster. The manor needs quite a few more hands. What is this young man good at?"
He hadn't checked the roster at all; he'd gone to consult the Manor Lord. As soon as the Manor Lord heard that Hua Xiaomei had brought someone, he told Zhan Ming that Young Master Hua's request had to be accommodated.
As a servant, Zhan Ming immediately understood. Hua Xiaomei was a truly honored guest, the kind even the Manor Lord wouldn't dare offend!
"Quite right. What are you good at, young friend?" Hua Xiaomei turned to ask Shi Feizhe.
"Me?" Shi Feizhe swallowed a mouthful of pastry. "I'm good at arithmetic. I can do calculations and bookkeeping without any trouble."
These pastries were loaded with oil and sugar. In his previous life, as an overworked office drone, he wouldn't have given them a second glance, afraid that even looking at them would make him gain weight. But for someone like him, who often ate coarse grains and still went hungry, they were practically nourishment!
"Arithmetic? Bookkeeping?" Zhan Ming stared, clearly skeptical.
There were plenty of people who knew martial arts these days, but not many who could do arithmetic!
"Of course! Why not give me a test? Then you'll see for yourself." Shi Feizhe said as he ate. He'd figured it out, too. He'd spent years as an office drone, doing work that required brains. He couldn't go back to hammering iron, chopping wood, or fishing!
Hadn't he spent more than a decade in school in his previous life? Had all that schooling been for nothing?
At the medical clinic before, he'd only become a laborer because he had no choice if he wanted to learn about medicine. Now that someone had put in a good word for him, he could start directly as a bookkeeper!
Who the hell would choose physical labor when they could work with their brains?
If I came to another world just to do physical labor, wouldn't all the knowledge I'd learned have gone to waste?
Before you continue