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After all the broken bones had healed, Xing Ruyi took out some plant roots, about the thickness of a thumb, from her bag and handed them to Chang Tai. "Please, Brother Chang, mash these into a paste and apply it to Granny Zhang's bleeding wound. If all goes well, the bleeding should stop soon. Also, there's this; could you brew it into a tea for Granny Zhang to drink? She's getting old and has hurt her back. If we don't treat it in time, she might not be able to get out of bed in the future."
"Brother Chang will handle the mashing; I'll take care of brewing the tea," said a limping figure who approached and took the strange object that looked like animal fur from Xing Ruyi's hands.
"Your leg..."
"My leg is fine," he replied with a shy smile. "Sister Ruyi, you should sit down and rest for now. I'll bring you some tea later."
Seeing how considerate he was, Xing Ruyi didn't say much. As the two of them left one after the other, she leaned against the headboard and closed her eyes to rest.
The footsteps sounded like thunder in late autumn, ringing painfully in her ears. Just as Xing Ruyi struggled to open her eyes, she heard Granny Zhang let out a painful groan, followed by Zhang Wulai's fierce voice: "Where is that stinky girl you’ve hidden away, you old hag?"
"Zhang Wulai!" Xing Ruyi frowned; that name slipped out before she could stop herself.
"Zhang Wulai, that name really suits you well," came a high-pitched voice from the doorway, clearly feigned. Accompanying it was a suffocatingly strong scent and a figure dressed in flamboyant red and green attire—Flower Bud from Baiyan Tower.
Initially unresponsive to the mention of "Zhang Wulai," Zhang Wulai suddenly lunged at Xing Ruyi after Flower Bud's mocking remark. He grabbed her collar and yanked her up from the bed.
"What did you just call me? Say those three words again if you dare."
"What if I do? What if I don’t? Zhang Wulai, who in Luoyang City doesn’t know you’re just a notorious rascal!" Xing Ruyi retorted word by word, completely unfazed by Zhang Wulai's grip on her.
When Zhang Wulai was born, a donkey raised by his family brayed first before he cried. Back then, the Zhang family lived in the countryside, where they thought giving their child a lowly name would ensure he had an easy life. Thus, when he was born amidst the donkey's braying, they named him Zhang Donkey.
After his father died, he moved to the city with Granny Zhang and decided that Zhang Donkey sounded unpleasant. He renamed himself Zhang Cheng, meaning "success." Although this name gained some recognition, people still preferred to call him Zhang Wulai over his original name, Zhang Donkey.
Originally, just the mention of Zhang Wulai irritated him, and now hearing Xing Ruyi call him "Zhang Donkey" made him furious. He clenched his left fist and swung it toward Xing Ruyi's face.
"I'll make you regret calling me that. Just wait until I smash your teeth to bits; let's see how you call me then!"
Zhang Wulai was filled with rage, his face flushed red.
"Hehe." Flower Bud laughed uncontrollably. "I love watching you hit women, especially beautiful ones like me. Go on, hit her hard right in the face. What is she, the owner of Ruyi Workshop? Pfft, she's just someone who stands at the door to welcome guests."
Zhang Wulai swung his fist but hit nothing but air. He stared blankly at his hand, only to see Xing Ruyi standing coldly at a distance.
Flower Bud rubbed her eyes, making a clucking sound in disbelief.
"Since you don't know how to behave like humans, let's start by acting like animals." Xing Ruyi swung her right hand fiercely, and suddenly, Zhang Wulai and Flower Bud vanished. In their place, a donkey and a chicken appeared in the yard. The donkey brayed while the hen stretched its neck and clucked.
Zhang Granny looked at Xing Ruyi and then out the window, muttering, "Nightmare, nightmare!"
Xing Ruyi said nothing but gently waved her hand, putting Zhang Granny into a deep sleep.
When Chang Tai returned, Xing Ruyi was still leaning against the headboard pretending to doze off.
"How strange! Why are there suddenly a donkey and a chicken in our yard? And that chicken's color is so odd—it's pitch black." He placed the bowl of soup he had cooked on the table.
Chang Tai also found it strange but didn't have time to think about it now; tending to Zhang Granny and applying medicine was more urgent.
Xing Ruyi opened her eyes and stretched comfortably. Chang Tai turned her face away, lowering her head to quickly apply medicine to Zhang Granny.
"Oh, the donkey and the chicken were bought by me. Now that you and your mother have lost your home and your savings have been emptied, you need to do something else to get by."
"But I can't do anything," she bit her lip, feeling useless, unable to care for her mother or protect her.
"It doesn't matter if you don't know how; as long as you're willing to learn, that's enough." Xing Ruyi patted her head and pointed outside at the donkey and chicken. "Do you see that sturdy donkey? Later, let Brother Chang lead it to Jishengtang to be made into Ejiao. That chicken is called Black-boned Chicken; its meat is delicious and can be used for soup. You just need to sell a good rooster to pair with it, and it will lay a few eggs. Those eggs can hatch into chicks, and when they grow up, they can lay more eggs, and so on. Also, I will teach you how to make a few signature dishes using Ejiao as the main ingredient. Remember, we only sell these dishes to the wealthy. I'll also teach you some common dishes that are affordable and tasty for ordinary people. As long as you work diligently, your life with your mother will not be too difficult. Trust me, sister."
She clenched her fists and nodded vigorously. The donkey in the yard brayed loudly while the chicken curled up in a ball, no longer clucking.
The first dish Xing Ruyi taught was Black-boned Chicken Soup with Ejiao, made from high-quality Black-boned Chicken (the one in the yard), Ejiao (from the donkey in the yard), along with lean meat, red dates, longan, ginger, salt, and other ingredients. First, wash and cut the Black-boned Chicken and lean meat into pieces; then pit the red dates and rinse the longan. Blanch the chicken and lean meat in water to remove blood stains. Next, place the Black-boned Chicken, Ejiao, lean meat, red dates, longan, and ginger slices into a stewing pot with an appropriate amount of water. Steam it over low heat for an hour until it becomes fragrant and mouthwatering.
At Zhang's Restaurant, it was bustling with customers; however, one guest at a table was a human trafficker who had paid for his meal. He was thin with a rat-like mustache and had shrewd merchant-like glints in his green bean-sized eyes. As soon as he sat down, he became involuntarily tense. Xing Ruyi patted her shoulder and walked towards him with a gentle smile.
"What may I call this esteemed guest?"
"My surname is Shu; my name is Ke. Just call me Old Shu," he replied.
Shu Ke? Rat? Mouse... Xing Ruyi stared at his green bean-sized eyes as images of swarms of rats flashed through her mind.
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