“Yes.” Yu Qing tried to look as obedient as possible as he agreed, placing the clothes in his hand into the small room before him.
Liu Gui walked out of the room with his hands clasped behind his back. “The place where you met Steward Feng, two rooms past it, is the dining area. Breakfast is served in the middle of the mao hour, lunch in the middle of the wu hour, and dinner at the beginning of the xu hour. No food will be kept after the designated times.”
He turned back and pointed to the ledger on the table inside. “Take out the register and check the items in the storage room. See if they match up. If anything is missing, tell me promptly. After today, any missing items will be counted against you.”
“Understood.” Yu Qing quickly went inside and carried the ledger out.
Liu Gui did not stay to help him take inventory. After explaining a few precautions, he left, telling Yu Qing to handle it himself, as it was not an important task anyway.
Nevertheless, Yu Qing still had to honestly go to the storage room to take stock, just in case something went wrong later and he could not explain it clearly.
After checking, he found that no items were missing and everything matched up. By then, it was nearly lunchtime.
To be honest, he had no desire to go to the dining area at all. He could easily imagine the quality of the servants food, and he was not hungry either. However, for an ordinary person, refusing to eat when food is provided would seem abnormal.
He left the small courtyard, closed the gate behind him, and headed for the dining area, ready to make do with a meal.
Upon arriving, he could find the mess hall just by following the smell. Yu Qing went inside and looked around, finding that several dozen people were already seated. Servants in grey clothes like himself made up nearly half of them.
Following their example, he used his servant waist token bearing the name “Niu Youqing” to collect a large bowl.
The bowl was large enough to fit a face inside. After filling it with rice, the cook would scoop a portion of vegetables on top. This was the standard meal portion for a servant.
The rice was coarse grain, and the dish was just one type of green vegetable.
For someone like Yu Qing, the food was hardly appetising. However, for most servants, getting a full stomach here was already quite decent, especially since it provided three full meals a day.
Moreover, today green vegetables had a bit of meat added, in the form of finely chopped pig skin. The servants ate it with great relish, smacking their lips happily.
Yu Qing carried his large bowl to a corner and sat down. Just as he settled, two other servants arrived and sat opposite him. He looked up and froze on the spot.
The two arrivals were none other than Nanzhu and Mu Aotie.
Yu Qing exclaimed in surprise. He looked around and asked in a low voice, “Why are you two here as well?”
They had originally agreed that only he would enter to act according to the situation, while the other two would cooperate from outside.
Nanzhu chuckled softly. “Seeing how easily you got in, we thought we would give it a try. We did not expect to get in so effortlessly.”
Mu Aotie added, “He did not have it easy. They saw he was too fat and worried he would not eat enough or could not do the work. He only got in after he proved himself by lifting a stone block nearby.”
Nanzhu felt somewhat embarrassed, which also stirred his indignation. He snorted, “A bunch of snobbish dogs who look down on people.”
Yu Qing was utterly speechless and had no way to deal with these two.
Nanzhu changed the subject. “By the way, we looked for you everywhere in the dormitories earlier but could not find you. Which dormitory are you sleeping in?”
Hearing this, Yu Qing perked up a bit, making no attempt to hide his pride. “How could I be the same as you? I do not sleep in the dormitories, nor do I have to squeeze in with others. I have my own single room.”
“Tch!” Nanzhu showed clear disdain, glancing at the servant clothes he was wearing, which were identical to everyone elses.
Mu Aotie expression also clearly showed disbelief.
“Seriously, where exactly do you live? It will be easier to contact us if something comes up.” Nanzhu asked again.
Yu Qing said, “Turn left after exiting this door, walk straight to the end, then turn right. The first courtyard gate you see is it.”
The two senior martial brothers fell silent, exchanged a glance, and committed it to memory.
Yu Qing was about to ask where they lived and what tasks they had been assigned, but just then, someone else arrived, carrying a bowl of food and sitting nearby. The three of them immediately stopped talking and could only focus on eating their own meals.
The food in the bowl was unpalatable, and the key issue was the large portion size. Yu Qing had no choice but to force himself to eat it.
Afterwards, the three martial brothers did not get another chance to converse.
Nanzhu and Mu Aotie finished first and left. People on their side kept urging them to eat quickly, apparently because they still had work to do.
When Yu Qing left the mess hall, he was carrying a bowl that was still more than half full.
He truly had no appetite. Seeing that everyone else washed their bowls and took them back, he asked around and learned that these bowls were issued to them permanently, and they needed to bring them whenever they came for meals.
On his unhurried way back, he caught the drifting scent of meat, seemingly coming from the inner courtyard. He wondered who was enjoying such rich food.
When he wandered back to the courtyard gate, his eyes suddenly tightened. He noticed that the door he had closed securely was now slightly ajar, and there was some movement inside.
He pushed the door open slightly to look inside and found a fluffy little dog running in and out of the storage room, dragging and gnawing on a broom.
It turned out a dog had sneaked in, likely just a puppy. He did not know where it had come from, but Yu Qing relaxed, entered, and closed the door again.
The chubby grey puppy immediately bared its teeth at Yu Qing upon seeing a stranger, letting out two “woofs” in a fiercely adorable manner.
“Tch!” Yu Qing scoffed, amused by the little creature. He used his chopsticks to pick some vegetables and rice from his bowl and dropped them on the floor to test its reaction.
The puppy immediately stopped barking. It tilted its head at the food on the floor, its nostrils flaring, then looked back at Yu Qing, hesitating slightly.
Yu Qing then walked away.
Only then did the puppy dare to approach. It sniffed the food on the ground, finally extended its tongue to lick it up, and finished it in a few bites. It then looked up at Yu Qing with eager eyes, sticking its tongue out to lick its mouth.
Yu Qing looked around, and finally poured the rest of the food onto the ground under the eaves.
The puppy immediately ran over and devoured the food right in front of Yu Qing, munching happily.
Taking the opportunity, Yu Qing crouched down to examine it closely and realised the puppys coat was not grey at all, but actually a pale purple.
He reached out and lifted the puppys head to take a look, discovering that its pupils were actually purple, resembling two amethysts.
Wait a minute, he immediately pried open its mouth to check its teeth, then looked at its claws, and realised it was not a dog at all, but clearly a wild beast.
Now that it had food, the little beast did not throw a tantrum. Instead, it actively wagged its tail at Yu Qing to show friendliness.
Yu Qing let it go, allowing it to continue eating, which conveniently saved the food from going to waste.
He got up, went to the well to draw water and wash his bowl, then rummaged through the storage room for a bag of charcoal and carried it to the doorway. He remembered there was an iron wok in the storage room as well. After finding it, he carried it to the well, intending to wash it thoroughly.
As he drew well water and scrubbed the rust off the wok, the little beast, having finished eating, ran over. Its attitude towards Yu Qing had completely changed. It wagged its head and tail affectionately, circling around him.
Yu Qing attitude towards it had also changed. He occasionally flashed a mischievous smile and scrubbed the wok with even more vigour.
Knock, knock, knock. A sudden knocking sound came from outside.
The little beast reacted alertly, seemingly wanting to hide from something. It waddled away quickly and ran into Yu Qing room.
“Is anyone there?” A voice called from outside.
Yu Qing recognised the familiar voice, which sounded like Nanzhu. He called out, “Come in.”
The door was pushed open. The first to enter was none other than Nanzhu. Behind him were five or six others, all wearing grey servant clothes, including Mu Aotie among them.
Seeing Yu Qing was truly here, Nanzhu and Mu Aotie still felt surprised.
Yu Qing put down his task, shook the water off his hands, and asked, “What is the matter?”
With outsiders present, Nanzhu could only pretend not to know him and took out a slip. “We are here to collect supplies.”
At the same time, another person also produced a slip.
Yu Qing took the slips, looked at them, and saw the group was divided into two parties, all here to collect items. He immediately led them into a storage room and pointed, saying, “Water buckets, carrying poles, and brooms are all here. Choose what you need.”
The group immediately went inside to make their selections.
After they finished choosing and came out, Yu Qing waved to the crowd. “Everyone come over to sign.”
He brought the group to the doorway of his room.
While Yu Qing was busy making entries in the register, Nanzhu and Mu Aotie, who had already observed the surroundings, craned their necks to look inside his room and confirmed it was indeed a single room.
Getting a single room upon arrival, along with a separate small courtyard. How could there be such a big difference among people who entered on the same day? The two martial brothers looked at each other.
After finishing the registrations in the book, Yu Qing had them come forward one by one to sign. Those who could not write their names were asked to press their fingerprints. Judging by their timid and submissive attitudes, they were clearly all newcomers.
After the group left, Yu Qing closed the door and returned to the well to continue washing the wok.
Just as he expected, not long after, the main door was pushed open again. Nanzhu poked his head in to look, then quickly slipped inside sideways, clicking his tongue repeatedly.
Before he even reached Yu Qing, the door opened again, and Mu Aotie also returned under some pretext.
Nanzhu glanced back, walked over to Yu Qing, bent over with his hands on his knees, and asked, “Old Fifteen, what is going on? Why did they give you a single room and a courtyard? Did you use the identity of A Shiheng?”
Yu Qing said, “You are overthinking it. I cannot help being handsome. What have you two been doing?”
Nanzhu said, “I am just in charge of cleaning. Old Nines bulky build worked against him, so he was directly assigned to heavy labour like loading and unloading.”
Yu Qing found it strange. “Did that surname Feng not ask if you two could read or write?”
“He did.”
“What did you say?”
“Naturally, we said we could not. Hmm…” Nanzhu stopped halfway, suddenly realising the truth, and asked back, “Are you here because you said you could read and write?”
Yu Qing nodded thoughtfully. “That is likely the case.”
Realising where the difference lay, Nanzhu spoke with a mix of envy and resentment. “Old Fifteen, you are being careless again. You come here to be a servant and claim you can read and write. Are you not afraid of raising suspicion?”
Yu Qing replied, “I am such a great talent. Merely saying I can read and write is already a grievance to myself.”
Nanzhu was rather displeased. He stood up straight and snorted, “So what if you are a talent? You are still scrubbing pots like a woman.”
Yu Qing let go, stood up, walked away, and beckoned to them. “Come here.”
After bringing them into his room, Yu Qing looked around, finally bent down to look under the bed, and spotted the little beast hiding there. He gestured for them to take a look.
The two bent down and saw it.
“Just a dog, what about it?” Nanzhu asked.
Yu Qing said, “The wok is prepared for it, and I have charcoal here too. Do not say I am eating alone without caring for my brothers. Find an excuse to come over during dinner time.”
Nanzhu eyes lit up. “Eating dog meat?”
Yu Qing said, “No, I do not know what kind of wild beast it is. Later, go to the mess hall and figure out a way to get some seasonings.”
Nanzhu hesitated. “They might not necessarily give it to us.”
Yu Qing scoffed. “You managed to deceive the prefect daughter and almost became the prefect son in law. What are a few seasonings?”