Chapter 159: The Art of Provocation

Li Taoahua was extremely busy in front of the food cart. Such bustling scenes had only occurred when they first started the business, and she hadn't expected today to be even more prosperous than before.

Although they offered a discount and the prices were slightly lower, the food sold rapidly, clearing out more than half in no time, which was a delightful sight to behold.

Moreover, since these workers were engaged in heavy physical labor and had large appetites, each person bought a lot. Dealing with customers like them was far better than dealing with those women who haggled over a single coin for half a day.

"Yinyin, your brother is here," Tang Luwu called out to Qin Huiyin, who was standing nearby.

Qin Huiyin glanced sideways and, spotting Jiang Qibin and the others approaching, waved at them. "Brother Qibin, Brother Chen Yong, come over here!"

"Little sister, that won't do. We queued up first," the burly men standing at the front protested good-naturedly.

"Excuse me, please, I have a family and friends lane here," Qin Huiyin said with a smile. "My brother and my brother's friends have to use the family lane. We don't have many ingredients left for today, so we'll prepare more next time. But I wasn't even sure if I'd be allowed to sell here today; I mainly came to see my brother and incidentally help improve everyone's meals."

"You can sell, you can definitely sell! You must come next time," said a burly man nearby, speaking with his mouth full as he heartily devoured his food. "This is too delicious. What on earth was I eating before? It was practically pig swill."

Jiang Qibin and the others stepped forward, picked a little bit of everything, and sat down at a nearby table to eat.

Song Ruize walked over and stood beside Qin Huiyin.

Qin Huiyin looked at him in surprise.

"I'll help you," Song Ruize said awkwardly.

Li Taoahua raised an eyebrow and muttered under her breath, "So this fellow does have a human touch after all."

With Song Ruize keeping watch nearby, the boisterous men immediately fell silent.

Li Taoahua was strikingly gorgeous and never believed in making herself suffer. Whether at home or going out, she always dressed exquisitely and prettily, with no intention of hiding her charms. In her view, if the heavens blessed her with such beauty, it was a gift that should be shown to others; why on earth should she pretend to be plain?

Yet, there was no denying that beauty often attracted trouble. For instance, the men who had been baking under the sun at the dam for over a month were practically drooling just looking at Li Taoahua.

Of course, with Song Ruize acting as a fierce guardian deity right there, they didn't dare harbor any improper thoughts and merely allowed themselves a few extra glances.

Once the ingredients were sold out, Li Taoahua shook her sore arms. Tang Luwu pressed down on her shoulders, while Tang Yixiao poured her a cup of water.

Jiang Qibin and the others finished eating and were about to leave when Qin Huiyin called out to them.

"Brother Qibin, Brother Chen Yong, Brother Qingnan, Brother Jianyuan, Erzuo is getting married today and has invited you all to the wedding feast. Do you have time to attend?"

Several pairs of eyes turned toward Song Ruize.

Qin Huiyin continued, "Brother Erzuo invited my brother too. But he also said you have a lot of work at the dam, so if you can't get away, never mind. If you are free, he would love for you to come share a cup of celebratory wine."

"Someone needs to stay and keep watch over the warehouse, so I'll stay behind," Jiang Qingnan said.

Zhou Jianyuan chimed in, "I'll stay behind too."

Thinking of the chaotic situation at the dam and how a few people behind the scenes were just waiting to pounce on their boss and catch him making a mistake, Chen Yong also volunteered to stay and help.

Song Ruize said calmly, "You should all go. I'll ask a few brothers to come help watch the place. Leaving for just one day won't cause any trouble."

"Boss, won't that give the other side an opportunity to exploit?"

Qin Huiyin could tell that Song Ruize's life here was not as idyllic as one might imagine. Aside from the hardships of the assignment, there was the constant need to guard against ghosts and monsters lurking in the shadows.

"If it's inconvenient..."

"It's convenient," Song Ruize said calmly. "Don't worry about it."

"Alright then! We still need to deliver these items to Gong Qi at the roast duck restaurant, and then we need to make a trip to the academy. Shall we wait for you at the city gates?"

After making arrangements with Song Ruize, they delivered the utensils to the roast duck restaurant and collected the empty jars.

Immediately afterwards, they headed to the academy. The academy was holding an event today, and when Tang Yichen emerged from the grounds, he was dressed in full riding gear, with beads of sweat glistening on his forehead.

"The academy held a horseback archery competition today, and I won first place," Tang Yichen said, handing a box to Qin Huiyin. "For you."

"What is this?" Qin Huiyin opened the box out of curiosity, saying as she lifted the lid, "Since it's your prize, you should keep it for yourself! Oh? Are these gold leaves?"

Inside lay a piece of gold leaf, which had some heft to it and must have weighed around two taels.

"This is a fine prize. When vulgarity reaches its absolute peak, it becomes elegance," Li Taoahua joked. "Two taels of gold are worth twenty taels of silver. Brother Chen, you now have enough travel expenses for your trip to the capital for the imperial examinations."

"This is for household expenses; I'll earn my travel expenses for the capital exams separately," Tang Yichen replied. "Recently, a gentleman took an interest in my paintings, so I should be able to sell some for silver."

"Brother, I want to learn painting too," Tang Yixiao said. "Can you teach me when you have free time?"

"Of course. As long as you want to learn, I can teach you anytime," Tang Yichen said, patting Tang Yixiao on the head. "You've grown up, actually taking the initiative to want to study."

Thinking of the heartwarming scene from the previous night, Tang Yixiao smiled shyly.

"Erzuo is getting married today, and we need to head back to drink his wedding wine," Third Grandpa Tang said. "Do you have time to go back?"

Tang Yichen hesitated. "Today..."

"It's fine, Big Brother. Your studies are the most important thing; if you don't have time, just forget it," Qin Huiyin said, comforting him when she saw how torn he looked.

"That's right, studies come first. If you can't get away, you don't have to come back," Third Grandpa Tang said, turning to Qin Huiyin. "Your Brother Ruize is waiting for us at the city gates, so don't keep him waiting too long."

"Right, we must be off," Qin Huiyin said, signaling for Tang Yixiao and Tang Luwu to pick up the small dried fish fried to a golden crisp. "We didn't bring any dipping sauce today. I figured there was some left over from before, so I didn't pack extra."

"Is Song Ruize going back?" Tang Yichen asked.

"Yes. Brother Erzuo is now one of his subordinates. Since he's getting married, Brother Ruize is taking a few other good friends back to congratulate him. Brother Ruize has changed a lot; he's becoming easier and easier to get along with." Knowing that Tang Yichen held a prejudice against Song Ruize, Qin Huiyin seized the opportunity to put in a good word for him and reshape Song Ruize's image in their minds.

"Wait for me here a moment; I'll go back and change my clothes," Tang Yichen said.

"You're going back?" Qin Huiyin asked in surprise. "Didn't you just say..."

"The horseback archery competition just ended today, so the academy probably won't assign any coursework. I'll go ask for leave, change my clothes, and come right out."

Third Grandpa Tang said smugly, "Look at that. This boy's nemesis is Song Ruize. You only have to mention Song Ruize, and you can guarantee he'll behave."

"Third Grandpa, Big Brother is actually under a lot of pressure. He stays at the academy because he wants to read more books and prepare well for the upcoming imperial examinations. You shouldn't deliberately provoke him," Tang Luwu said.

"Little Luwu, pushing himself like this isn't good for your brother," Third Grandpa Tang countered. "He keeps himself wound too tight, like a string. If you pull it too hard, won't it snap? Your brother works diligently enough; he has learned everything he should learn and read everything he should read. What matters most right now is maintaining a calm and even mindset."

"Third Uncle is right," Li Taoahua agreed. "If he keeps driving himself like this and breaks down physically during the exams, all his efforts will have been for nothing. Third Uncle, you truly are a seasoned veteran—brilliant."