Chapter 37: A Hollow Joy

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Chapter 37: False Joy

After being busy all day yesterday, Li Qi could finally sleep in without a care today. After all, he did not have to do business.

When he awoke, Li Qi first went to the kitchen.

At that moment, the two Chen brothers were diligently cleaning the kitchen with rags and brooms.

The previous evening, Li Qi had officially taken them both as apprentices. Cleaning the kitchen had naturally become a compulsory part of their training.

After all, no matter how skilled Li Qi was at cooking, he could not manage everything alone. He still needed a few assistants.

Although the Chen brothers and Wu Xiaoliu had no real foundation, they were loyal and trustworthy.

Li Qi did not want to repeat his past mistake by recruiting a group of people from outside, only to have them poached after they had completed their training.

That would truly be more trouble than it was worth!

In any case, he had plenty of time now. The Chen brothers might not have as much talent as Wu Xiaoliu, but they were exceptionally diligent. Li Qi believed that hard work could make up for a lack of natural ability.

“Brother Li!”

“Brother Li! You’re here!”

When the two Chen brothers saw Li Qi enter, they hurriedly set down their tools and bowed to him.

Li Qi nodded and smiled. “Don’t mind me. Carry on.”

Then he suddenly noticed that someone seemed to be missing from the room and asked, “By the way, where’s Xiaoliu?”

Chen Xiaozhu shook his head. “I don’t know. I haven’t seen him all morning. Perhaps he’s still sleeping.”

Still sleeping?

Li Qi’s brows creased slightly.

If he wanted to be lazy, that was fine. But when one of his apprentices slacked off, it made him very unhappy!

Just as Chen Xiaozhu finished speaking, Wu Xiaoliu’s voice came from outside.

“Who’s bad-mouthing me?”

Before the words had even faded, Wu Xiaoliu swaggered into the room. His face was filthy, but the moment he saw Li Qi, he immediately bent at the waist and smiled obsequiously.

“Brother Li, you’re up!”

Li Qi gave him a cold laugh. “Master Wu, did you sleep well last night?”

Master Wu?

Wu Xiaoliu pulled a long face. “Brother Li, please don’t make fun of me. I barely slept at all last night.”

Seeing that his face was covered in grime, Li Qi asked suspiciously, “Were you out robbing houses last night?”

Wu Xiaoliu rolled his eyes and complained, “Brother Li, you have no idea. You spent the entire day yesterday frying stinky tofu in my room, leaving the smell everywhere. Even my bedding and pillow reeked of it. How could I possibly sleep? So I got up early this morning to clean the room and have been at it ever since.”

“Er… Well, Brother Li knows you made a great contribution to Drunken Immortal Residence. You don’t need to clean the kitchen today. Go back and get some proper rest.”

Li Qi wore a strange expression, but inwardly he was already laughing his head off.

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The moment Wu Xiaoliu heard this, delight spread across his face. He gave the Chen brothers a smug wink, then turned to Li Qi with an ingratiating smile.

“Brother Li, you’re truly too good to me.”

“It’s only right, only right!”

Li Qi forcibly restrained his laughter before asking the Chen brothers, “By the way, have either of you seen Uncle Wu?”

“Oh, I saw Manager Wu at the counter just now,” Chen Xiaozhu replied.

“All right. You two carry on. I’m going to speak with Uncle Wu about something.”

With that, Li Qi patted Wu Xiaoliu on the shoulder.

“Go and get some rest. You still have to do business tomorrow!”

“Yes!”

After leaving the kitchen, Li Qi went straight to the counter. There he saw Wu Furong standing before it, rapidly working an abacus.

“Uncle Wu!”

“Oh, Young Master Li, you’re awake!”

Li Qi nodded and walked over. “Uncle Wu, what are you doing?”

Wu Furong gave a simple, good-natured smile. “I’m calculating the accounts. By the way, Young Master Li, do you know how much we’ve earned over these past four days?”

Li Qi shook his head.

He had never looked over the accounts. After all, his goal was not merely to make money by selling stinky tofu. Still, he was not a fool; he had a rough estimate in his mind.

Wu Furong’s eyes widened with excitement. His voice trembled as he said, “Young Master Li, in these four days alone, we’ve earned nearly four hundred strings of cash. There are still six days left. At this rate, it certainly won’t be difficult for you to earn a thousand strings within fifteen days.”

“Oh.”

After Wu Furong had said all that, Li Qi merely responded blandly, without the slightest change in expression.

Wu Furong had not expected such a calm reaction. He asked in confusion, “Young Master Li, what’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”

“What?”

Li Qi paused briefly, then smiled. “Uncle Wu, you’re worrying too much. I’m perfectly healthy. It’s simply not time to celebrate yet. We still have to keep working hard.”

“That’s right, that’s right!”

Only then did Wu Furong realize that he had perhaps been getting carried away. His old face flushed, and he hurriedly nodded in agreement.

Li Qi and Wu Furong chatted for a while longer before a knock sounded from outside.

“Manager Wu, are you there?”

A voice as shrill as a rooster’s rang out.

Wu Furong’s expression changed. He asked in surprise, “Cai the Third? What could he want?”

Cai the Third? Wasn’t he the steward of Emerald Pavilion?

A mixture of excitement and alarm rose in Li Qi’s heart. He said to Wu Furong, “Uncle Wu, if Cai the Third asks about me, tell him I’ve gone out. Remember, whatever you do, don’t tell him I’m here.”

With that, he quietly slipped back into the inner room.

“What? Young Master Li—”

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Before Wu Furong could react, Li Qi had already vanished. Deeply puzzled, he muttered, “How did he know Cai the Third was here to see him?”

“Manager Wu! Manager Wu!”

Cai the Third called out several more times.

“I’m coming, I’m coming!”

With a belly full of questions, Wu Furong opened the door.

++++++++++++++++++++++

Li Qi quietly returned to his room, waved a fist excitedly, and muttered to himself, “I never thought that old fox would lose his patience so quickly. It seems yesterday’s visit from all those high officials gave him quite a shock!”

A quarter of an hour passed.

“Why haven’t they finished talking yet?”

Li Qi paced anxiously around the room. Several times, he wanted to sneak over and take a look, but in the end he managed to restrain himself.

Another fifteen minutes passed. At last, Li Qi could no longer suppress his curiosity and was just about to open the door when he heard a hurried rush of footsteps outside.

“Young Master Li! Young Master Li!”

It was Wu Furong’s voice.

Li Qi quickly opened the door and asked impatiently, “Uncle, what did Cai the Third want with you?”

Wu Furong entered the room and cast Li Qi a suspicious glance.

“He came to discuss buying the establishment.”

“What? Buying the establishment?”

Li Qi’s mouth fell open in astonishment. “Uncle Wu, you’re not joking with me, are you?”

Wu Furong shook his head. “Of course not. Cai the Third really did come to discuss buying the place. It’s just that the price he offered this time was different from before.”

“How much did he offer?”

“Eight thousand strings!” Wu Furong held up eight fingers as he spoke.

Li Qi frowned. “And how did you answer him?”

Wu Furong shook his head. “I only told him that I needed to discuss it with Madam. He’ll be coming again tomorrow.”

Although Wu Furong knew that Drunken Immortal Residence would absolutely not be sold to anyone now, he had always been cautious and feared saying the wrong thing. He had therefore decided to return and ask Li Qi’s opinion first. After all, Li Qi was now the one truly in charge of Drunken Immortal Residence.

End of Chapter