In an old residential complex, inside a newly renovated apartment, every dish on the large table had been wiped clean, leaving only sauce and scraps.
"You can really eat," Zhu Zhe remarked, then laughed. "But it's a good thing too. You got to eat everything you wanted, and nothing went to waste."
Wang Yan drank his beverage and asked with a smile, "So all I did was fulfill my role as a human garbage disposal?"
Neither of them drank alcohol, but the meal was still a pleasant one, full of laughter and conversation.
"Of course not. It's just that your importance becomes especially apparent at the dinner table." Zhu Zhe raised her brows at Wang Yan, then stood up. "All right, sit for a while. I'll wash the dishes first."
"I'll help you clean up the kitchen."
Wang Yan was hardly the sort to eat and loaf around. He got to work right away, getting up to busy himself alongside Zhu Zhe.
Zhu Zhe worked at the sink while watching Wang Yan use a rag to wipe the grease off the stovetop. Smiling, she asked, "You've never done this kind of work before, have you?"
"Do you really take me for some big landlord's young master? My family wasn't rich either. After my parents passed away, our place wasn't immediately demolished for redevelopment. I was still in school then, and they hadn't left much savings behind. I had to pinch pennies, and sometimes I took odd jobs too—handing out flyers, doing street promotions, that sort of thing. I've done it all. Chores like this were naturally unavoidable too."
"Why a big landlord's young master?"
"Landlords don't have any surplus grain either..." Wang Yan imitated that accent as he spoke. "Small landlords built up their wealth by living frugally and bullying