RPAGF Chapter 181 Someone Sends Fish
Chapter 181 Someone Sends Fish
Yuan Ziang's chest heaved with anger, and he said, "Ping An, ignore him!"
Zhang Pingan smiled and soothed him, "Alright, a guest is a guest. You should be happy on your birthday today. I also admire Brother Zhao's chess skills!"
Cousin Zhao then smiled and said, "That's right, you don't know the value of the goods. There are people who do. Go and do your work. Don't worry about us."
The others also pulled Yuan Ziang to the other side to play.
After playing chess with his cousin for a while, Zhang Pingan had a rough idea in his mind. He felt that although the cousin's chess skills were decent, there was still some gap between him and him. The cousin was obviously a chess lover, but his mind was not very broad. It would be best to let the cousin win narrowly.
Both of them made moves quickly, and soon they had played three games. The opponent narrowly won two games and exclaimed, "It's so satisfying." When they were about to play the fourth game, Old Master Yuan ordered the servants to come and announce that it was time for dinner, and then they gave up.
"Brother Zhang, I am also studying in the provincial school, but I am in the middle dormitory. After the class starts next year, I will definitely ask you to play chess again. There are really too few people like you who understand and love chess, and can afford to lose. I like making friends with people like you, I just regret that we didn't know each other earlier," Cousin Zhao said with a lingering smile on his face. It was obvious that he had a lot of fun and was eager to make the other person a close friend.
"Brother Zhao, you are also very good at chess. I will definitely ask you to play chess again when the class starts next year," Zhang Pingan replied with a smile.
Cousin Zhao dusted off his clothes and said as he walked away, "Brother Zhang, I'm telling you, I'm giving you face today. Just eat your meal peacefully and don't embarrass my cousin anymore."
Zhang Pingan: ...You are addicted to bullying people, right?
When they sat down to the table, Yuan Ziang had originally planned to arrange Zhang Ping'an to sit next to him, but his cousin Zhao insisted on sitting with Zhang Ping'an. Yuan Ziang felt sick when he saw this cousin and was in a bad mood. He had no choice but to arrange the two of them to sit at the next table.
Zhang Ping'an didn't care. He had seen all kinds of children in the orphanage in his previous life, and there was nothing he couldn't tolerate. Besides, this cousin Zhao was just a little bit arrogant, so he just had to stroke him in the right way. Zhang Ping'an didn't find it difficult to get along with him, and gave Yuan Ziang a reassuring look.
Yuan Ziang finally felt relieved and invited everyone to eat.
"Brother Zhang, this steamed sea bass is good, you can try it," recommended Cousin Zhao with a smile.
"Thank you, Brother Zhao," Zhang Pingan tasted a piece of fish and said with a smile, "I heard it was caught from the river this morning. It's really delicious."
Even if only soy sauce and shredded green onions and ginger are added, there is no fishy smell at all. It is delicate and has the sweetness of fish.
Cousin Zhao smiled and said, "There's not much food in winter, so this fish is the only thing you can eat fresh. If you like it, Brother Zhang, I'll have the fisherman who delivers fish send a bucket to your house tomorrow."
Zhang Ping'an smiled and declined, "Brother Zhao, this is too expensive. I appreciate your kindness."
"Okay, okay, stop talking about this and drink some wine," said cousin Zhao.
People at the three tables took turns toasting and drinking. The dishes got cold in the middle and were taken away by the servants and replaced with fresh ones. The meal ended almost at 12:00 a.m. Everyone was a little drunk. After coming out, Zhang Ping'an was blown by the cold wind in the yard and became a little sober. The Yuan family sent their coachman to take Zhang Ping'an home and prepared various snacks as a return gift.
When he got home, Zhang Laoer had just harnessed the cart. He really couldn't sit still at home. It was so late and his son hadn't come home yet. He was very worried and planned to go to Yuan's house to ask.
"Dad, I'm sorry for making you worry," Zhang Pingan said with a smile.
Zhang Laoer hurriedly got out of the car and supported his son with Xu. The driver of the Yuan family saw that the people had arrived, said hello to Zhang Laoer and his wife, and drove away.
Xu said anxiously, "Stop talking now. I'll make you some hangover soup when we get home."
After they sat down in the main hall, Zhang Laoer handed over the fire basket he had prepared: "Warm yourself up quickly."
Zhang Ping'an wasn't actually cold, but to avoid worrying his parents, he just held it in his hand.
"By the way, Dad and Mom, our school will be on holiday tomorrow and classes will not resume until the 16th day of the first lunar month next year," said Zhang Ping'an.
Zhang Laoer nodded and smiled, "That's great. The weather is too cold, so you can stay home and avoid catching a cold. I'll ask your mother to go get some mutton tomorrow and stew it in a pot. Eating something hot will also replenish your energy."
After a while, Xu prepared a hangover soup and put a few red dates in it. After Zhang Ping'an drank it, he washed himself and went to bed.
Maybe it was because he drank too much, Zhang Ping'an had many dreams that night, some about his past life and some about this life, all of which were bizarre and strange. He slept until almost noon the next day.
Everyone in the family was quietly doing their own things. When Xu saw her son got up, she quickly asked Xiaohu to go to the kitchen and bring out the warm breakfast.
It was a bowl of white rice porridge, an egg, and two fried cakes. I had just finished half of it when someone suddenly knocked on the door.
Xiaohu ran over to open the door and asked, "Who are you looking for?"
A young man's voice came from outside the door: "Excuse me, is this Mr. Zhang's house?"
Xiaohu turned around and shouted, "Brother Ping'an, someone is looking for you."
Zhang Ping'an walked to the door and saw a young man in tattered clothes. He was probably about the same age as himself, about thirteen or fourteen. Although he was tall, he was very thin. The jacket he wore was patched from the elbows to the cuffs. It was obvious that he had worn it for many years. He was holding a bucket of sea bass in his hand. The fish were very fresh and were still shaking their tails in the bucket.
Seeing Zhang Ping'an coming out, the other party bent down and said, "Master Xiucai, I am delivering fish to the Zhao Mansion in the east of the city. Their eldest young master asked me to bring you a bucket of sea bass."
Zhang Pingan glanced at the bucket and estimated that there were seven or eight sea bass. He frowned and said, "I thought he was joking yesterday. This fish is too valuable. I can't accept it. You can take it back and give it to him!"
Even if Zhang Ping'an didn't know much, he knew that in this winter season, a sea bass could be sold for at least 500 coins, and there was no demand for it, as it was basically monopolized by the rich and powerful.
Hearing Zhang Ping'an's refusal, the young man was almost in tears and said anxiously, "Master Xiucai, this won't work. Young Master Zhao said it must be delivered. If I can't do this job well, he won't want our fish anymore. We have more than 20 people in our family who rely on selling fish to pay the fishing tax!"
Seeing how anxious he was, with chilblains all over his face and hands, some even filled with pus, Zhang Ping'an didn't have the heart to embarrass him. He took the barrel and said, "Okay, I'll take it. Do you deliver fish to the Zhao Mansion every day?"
The other person nodded and said, "Yes, we deliver fish every day. My name is Li Si, and every day my third brother and I deliver fish to the Zhao Mansion together."
"Okay, then if you run into Young Master Zhao tomorrow when you're delivering the fish, tell him thank you for the fish."
"Okay, okay," the other person replied with a smile, and then left.