Chapter 21

Ji Shuangyu was raised by the elders in his family, so his dietary habits had always been rather Huaxian. Besides, Western food was nothing special in the modern era. He could eat it, but when it came to dining out right now, he naturally wanted to savor the splendor of Jingcheng's grand cuisine!

Forget it, forget it. It's a free meal anyway...

It seemed the seats here had to be reserved in advance. Ji Shuangyu consoled himself for a bit. Drunken West Wind Restaurant it is, then. He regained his good mood, started looking at the menu, and ordered things like steak, coffee, and pudding. He didn't drink alcohol.

Ji Shuangyu put on an act, feigning unfamiliarity. After reading the menu, he even asked Zhou Siyin how to order. When the food arrived, he said very naturally, "Please give me a pair of chopsticks."

It wasn't that he didn't know how to use a knife and fork, but he didn't feel like pretending he didn't know how to use the utensils and learning all over again just for a meal. That would be too tiring...

Zhou Hanque had a very good impression of Ji Shuangyu and just smilingly asked someone to prepare chopsticks. Perhaps when a handsome and talented person does something, others are more likely to view them through a filter.

Although Ji Shuangyu felt his cover was perfect, Zhou Siyin had been observing him the whole time and came to a conclusion: when eating, he acted like it was his first time, but his casual familiarity with the details of the table setting was unintentionally revealed.

After they finished eating, the Western-style restaurant also had a poker room, a bar, a ballroom, and other entertainment venues. This was a characteristic feature of such restaurants. Some people couldn't get used to the food, but coming for the entertainment was also a good option.

Ji Shuangyu signed the contract, then went with them to the poker room to play cards.

At the table, Zhou Hanque chatted a bit more with Ji Shuangyu. She was very interested in him, perhaps also because of his unusual relationship with Zhou Siyin. But every time she asked how they met, Zhou Siyin would intentionally or unintentionally change the subject, turning the conversation to her.

This redirection really got Zhou Hanque talking, and she brought up her own experiences. She had studied abroad in her early years and had even traveled alone through many countries around the world.

During the game, small snacks were also served. They had a Russian flavor, a skill the head chef of the Western-style restaurant had learned, and his craftsmanship was quite good.

Zhou Hanque used this as a chance to reminisce, "I once took a train to Russia, all by myself. I ate and slept in the carriage. For every meal, I'd spend a few jiao to buy a large piece of beef. The bread and butter were all-you-can-eat, but the taste was really not good."

Although separated by time and space, Ji Shuangyu had a similar experience. Some things don't change even in a hundred years. He casually said, "There must be food for sale at the stations, right? Why not get some grilled fish from Lake Baikal to improve your meals?"

Zhou Hanque rested her chin on her hand and said, "I wasn't very old back then, and I had left home alone after a fight with my family. I really didn't dare to leave the carriage and run around. Even inside the carriage, there were instances of random price gouging... It was very chaotic."

Only after she finished did she realize. "Huh, how did you know..."

The tourism industry wasn't developed at this time, and there were no travel guides to read. Kunlun Bookstore did start a travel magazine, but it mostly just introduced major domestic cities. Zhou Hanque thought about Ji Shuangyu's life experience; it seemed he had never even left Jingcheng. How could he be so clear on such small details of the journey?

Ji Shuangyu fabricated an excuse, "What a coincidence. I heard someone mention it."

Just like every other time he made something up, Zhou Hanque, like everyone else, didn't doubt him. After all, who would have thought that this was a Ji Shuangyu from a parallel universe? "Is that so? What a coincidence."

Zhou Siyin took a sip of water, hiding the doubt in his eyes.

'How did it even involve overseas matters... Actually, he had already had some suspicions about Ji Shuangyu's strangeness, but now it seemed they were about to be overturned.'

......

It was almost nine in the evening when Zhou Hanque finally got up, and everyone bid each other a cheerful farewell.

Zhou Hanque instructed, "Baoduo, you should see Mr. Ji home safely." Ji Shuangyu didn't have a car, so it was only right for them to give him a ride.

Zhou Siyin nodded and opened the car door for Zhou Hanque. "I know, Aunt Que."

Zhou Hanque waved to the two of them from the car window, and the vehicle drove away.

"Driver Hu might have stepped away for a moment. Let's wait," Ji Shuangyu said, seeing that Driver Hu wasn't in the car. He probably hadn't gone far, either to the restroom or to grab a bite.

"Let's walk over there and buy something to eat," Zhou Siyin said.

"You're not full yet?" Ji Shuangyu looked at him in surprise.

Zhou Siyin: "...I saw that you looked a little aggrieved while eating earlier."

Ji Shuangyu thought he had hidden it well, but his initial reaction hadn't been completely suppressed and was noticed by Zhou Siyin, who had been staring at him.

He laughed awkwardly, "Actually, it was quite good, hahaha. People eat Western food for the novelty, but of course, we're more used to traditional flavors. Still, thank you for the treat, boss."

In this era, there were both expensive and cheap foreign restaurants and Western-style eateries. Not to mention those who went to show off their wealth, even ordinary citizens would go to try them out to be fashionable. But the general consensus after eating was: they couldn't quite get used to the taste.

No matter the era, everyone has their own dietary habits, and some people just love Western cuisine. But by and large, what Ji Shuangyu said was not suspicious; it was the normal view of the vast majority of citizens at the time.

Zhou Siyin shook his head helplessly. "I originally wanted to treat you to a meal, but I didn't expect it to be a poor reception."

Ji Shuangyu quickly said, "It's the thought that counts. Such an expensive thought, I'm extremely moved!"

Zhou Siyin: "..."

Zhou Siyin thought for a moment and said, "Let's walk toward the end of the street. There's a good old shop there."

Unlike Ji Shuangyu, a fake native and formerly poor person, Zhou Siyin was very familiar with the shops in Jingcheng. He took Ji Shuangyu to a Chinese-style restaurant and ordered a dish of "bao du."

Between the methods of salt-frying, oil-frying, and soup-boiling, Zhou Siyin chose soup-boiled for him: "It's getting late, so let's eat something lighter."

By the time Ji Shuangyu came from, Jingcheng's "bao du" no longer had so many preparation methods; the most common one passed down was water-boiled.

Ji Shuangyu's eyes lit up instantly: 'This is the kind of different I was looking for!'

'The boss is so considerate, sob sob.'

He didn't realize that Zhou Siyin had already assumed that he, a "Jingcheng native," was unfamiliar with the local dishes, which was why he ordered for him.

The soup-boiled method involved cooking it in a delicious, light, original-flavor broth. It could also be dipped in brine shrimp oil sauce. You could choose how to eat it. Ji Shuangyu had played cards earlier and burned some energy, so the moment he smelled the aroma, his appetite was wide open.

What was soup-boiled was the peeled beef tripe lining, which the shop called "du ren'er." The cooking time was perfect, making it soft, tender, fresh, and fragrant. Ji Shuangyu found it quite to his taste. He ate it with a steamed bun and became so full that he had to lean on Zhou Siyin, looking like he was on his last breath.

He even thanked him, "Thank you... It was so delicious... Lingdang'er, you're truly my bestest friend..."

Zhou Siyin: "............"

Zhou Siyin shook him off. "Walk by yourself."

'...So mischievous! Truly too mischievous!'

'I shouldn't let this kind of person make money! Renewing the subscription was a complete waste!'

Ji Shuangyu followed behind, rubbing his belly. "Hahahahahaha, don't, don't walk so fast, I'm stuffed to bursting, hahahaha."

When they got back, Driver Hu was already waiting. Seeing Zhou Siyin storming back with a dark face, with Mr. Ji following behind, he thought they were angry at him for not being at his post earlier. Terrified, he didn't dare to make a sound and silently drove them to Small Drum Alley.

On the way, he noticed the two of them weren't talking, and Driver Hu gradually relaxed: 'As long as they're not mad at me.'

Ji Shuangyu got out of the car, leaned against the window, and said as if certain Zhou Siyin wouldn't stay angry, "Thanks—hey, I've already drafted the Thousand Character Classic. Do you want to take a look?"

Zhou Siyin hesitated for a moment but decided that work was more important. So, he temporarily gave up on his sulking and stepped out of the car.

This time, upon entering Ji Shuangyu's family courtyard, Zhou Siyin was much more careful. Arriving at Ji Shuangyu's home, the first thing to do was, of course...

Zhou Siyin: "Ji Feifei?"

Ji Feifei jumped. "Huh? What do you want?"

"So you're here." Only then did Zhou Siyin relax. 'Right, first things first, confirm her location to avoid getting scared. This is called striking first to gain the upper hand.'

Ji Feifei: "..."

Ji Shuangyu took out the draft paper. Zhou Siyin sat on a straw mat and examined a few pages by the lamplight.

He looked up, originally intending to speak, but what met his eyes was Ji Shuangyu using a wooden stick to adjust the lamp wick, then skillfully blowing on it gently—

Something inside him tickled. Zhou Siyin saw Ji Shuangyu's moonlit-glaze-like eyes look over and said, a beat too late, "...Okay, I'll take it back to read. Is that alright?"

Under the lamplight, Ji Shuangyu's pale red lips were tinged with a warm orange hue. A triangular shadow beneath his lower lip made his lips seem even fuller. They parted and closed, uttering a few words: "Of course."

Zhou Siyin: "..."

This time, there was clearly no white hair to contrast, yet it still made Zhou Siyin's heart pound.

'Am I really this timid...!'

Zhou Siyin dared not show it. He hurriedly rolled up the draft paper. "I'm leaving!"

He took a few steps to the door, only to hear Ji Shuangyu hastily chasing after him, a paper lantern in hand. "Wait, let's go together. I'm going to Uncle Jiang's to borrow something."

Zhou Siyin grunted an "mm," and sullenly strode out. His leather shoes echoed long and loud in the alley.

A gentle point of light followed Ji Shuangyu's figure, unhurriedly trailing behind and to his side, noticeable with just a slight glance. It seemed that in the blink of an eye, they had reached the end of the long alley.

Ji Shuangyu had already stopped outside the first courtyard at the alley's entrance, still with a hint of a smile. "Goodbye."

"Goodbye." Zhou Siyin also left a word, then went straight to the back seat of the car.

Driver Hu took a glance. His master's expression didn't seem as foul as before. Only then did he dare to cautiously lighten the atmosphere, "Haha, it's so late, and Mr. Ji is still out. Visiting neighbors?"

Zhou Siyin stared at the draft paper in his hands without looking up. "He came to see me off."

Driver Hu: "???"

Driver Hu didn't dare to ask further and quickly started the car.

But in his heart, he thought, 'See him off for such a short distance? Didn't you just drop him off??'

'Heh, what's with this? Before getting in the car, his face was as foul as could be, and now it's 'you see me off, I see you off'... Even my daughter and her little friends don't act like this. I really don't understand you cultured folk!'

......

Speaking of which, after the Xieyi Style established its position in one fell swoop, many opera troupes started making moves to follow the trend.

But this set design, while seemingly minimalist, required a strong aesthetic sense.

After a few major troupes gave it a try, not wanting to crudely follow the trend, they asked a senior from the Pear Garden Charity Association to act as an intermediary and went to the Changle Theater to find Ji Shuangyu, hoping he would allow their set designers to become his apprentices for in-depth study.

How could Ji Shuangyu refuse? This was a good thing that would promote the industry's progress. Even Xu Xinyue understood this principle: one person can't earn all the money. Only when the industry flourishes can everyone make a profit.

Besides, according to the old rules, after they completed their apprenticeship, they would offer him a portion of their income as a sign of respect, and the troupes would provide subsidies on top of that...

Ji Shuangyu agreed on the spot, telling them to just send people over to learn set design.

Those few troupes were overjoyed, thinking, 'He truly is as kind as he is handsome. We can't let him down. Let's quickly screen some people internally and send the high-quality ones with potential to be his apprentices!'

"Do apprentices count as my assistants? Can they come tomorrow? They can help me with work." Ji Shuangyu was quite looking forward to it, even muttering about it while sitting at the door sunbathing with Jiang Sanjin.

After The Record of Sympathetic Joy, his next step was to make more money... which meant improving the set designs for the troupe's other regularly performed plays. Having a few more skilled hands to help would surely be good.

"How could they just come over? After they've selected the people, they still have to pick an auspicious date for the apprenticeship ceremony," Jiang Sanjin said, shaking his head.

'That's too much trouble...'

Ji Shuangyu stretched lazily. Forget it, forget it. Might as well go look at the housing information the agent gave him. He was still in the process of looking for a new house.

In his spare time, Ji Shuangyu worked on his copybook and looked at houses. He spent the better part of a month and found a place. He wouldn't have known if the agent hadn't taken him to see the properties, but there were secrets to choosing a "siheyuan."

For example, a siheyuan in an east-west alley was generally better than one in a north-south alley.

The siheyuan he finally settled on was located on the Second Ring Road. It was a single-courtyard residence with buildings on all four sides: three main rooms, with one ear-room on each side, three side-rooms on both the east and west, and also reverse-facing rooms.

It was a typical small siheyuan, not as impressive as those with three or four courtyards, or even the large, complex ones. But Ji Shuangyu had been very selective. The location was excellent, and the construction was exquisite. It had a "ruyi" gate, the lintel carved with elegant floral patterns. Although the interior space wasn't particularly vast, it still had a "borrowed mountain" screen wall, showing the original owner's pursuit of architectural beauty.

Even better, the original owner had already installed running water and electricity in the siheyuan.

Take their home in Small Drum Alley, for example. It was one thing to not have electric lights; after all, there were no mobile phones or computers, and one could use lamps to read. But the water currently had to be delivered by manpower. If you were on bad terms with someone, the local water tyrant would dare to refuse you water, leaving you to die of thirst.

Therefore, Ji Shuangyu had long been looking forward to returning to a world with electricity and running water.

Just like that, a siheyuan on the Second Ring Road was negotiated down to two thousand five hundred yuan. Ji Shuangyu used his fountain pen contract to borrow some money from the bank first and bought it outright!

Second Ring Road, siheyuan, two thousand five hundred. The moment Ji Shuangyu heard these words, he tingled all over and couldn't stop himself from buying it.

After paying the deed tax, the place was officially under Ji Shuangyu's name. He took his younger siblings for a tour, and the children, who had never lived in a standalone courtyard, were so enthralled they didn't want to leave.

"Big Brother, when are we moving in?" Ji Leizong asked eagerly.

Ji Shuangyu, like every parent, said, "No rush. You need to focus on your studies first."

Ji Leizong: "..."

'They were studying hard...!'

This courtyard was just too beautiful. He loved it so much. The naive child wished he could go back and study right away so they could move in sooner.

Ji Shuangyu planned to renovate and design it according to more modern living habits. For example, glass windows had to be installed, and the toilet needed to be more modern. This couldn't be rushed. He would wait until the weather was warmer, finish the design drawings, look at materials, and then find workers to start construction.

For now, they would continue to live temporarily in Small Drum Alley. He wouldn't sell the house in the future either; after all, it was left to the original Ji Shuangyu by his parents, and he wasn't that short on money anymore.

The four children in his family absolutely loved this new courtyard. While there, they couldn't stop touching the light switch. This alone was something no one else in their entire alley had! Even the streets outside didn't have streetlights.

Ji Feifei was especially interested in the switch. She had Ji Shuangyu lift her up and tried flipping it a couple of times. Her eyes were practically glowing, as if this were the most precious thing in the entire courtyard. "This is great, Big Brother."

Ji Shuangyu smiled. "That's right. From now on, you won't have to grope your way to the toilet in the dark at night." 'What era is this? The children should be living a life with electric lights and running water.'

Tears welled up in Ji Feifei's eyes. "Yeah, and no one will step on my feet at night anymore."

Ji Shuangyu: "............"

'Little Six, we'll definitely move in as soon as possible. You've suffered...!'