Hua Zhi missed her family, and when she knew Bai Mingxia had returned, she immediately replied to his invitation and agreed to his request. She asked Xu Ying to go to the vegetarian restaurant and tell Fu Dong to prepare a table with mushrooms as the main ingredient.
But she didn't expect Shen Qi to come with her.
After greeting each other, Bai Mingxia smiled and said, "He happened to be at my place, so we came together. The young lady looked a little thinner. I heard from Du Cheng that he went south?"
"Yes, to discuss a business deal." Hua Zhi did not shy away from the question. Seeing Fu Dong approaching with red eyes and a look of wanting to cry, she smiled, "What's that? You don't want to see me."
"The young lady knows very well that this is not the case." Fu Dong refuted for the first time. She was now trying her best to discipline the people around her, hoping to let go and return to the young lady as soon as possible. However, she couldn't do it in a short period of time. She felt sad just thinking about it. If the price of doing what she liked was to leave the young lady, she would rather not have it.
After flicking her head affectionately, Hua Zhi turned around and looked at Bai Mingxia, "This is Fu Dong, the senior maid beside me. She is the one who supports the vegetarian family. You can go directly to her when Uncle comes next time."
"That's great." Bai Mingxia laughed and did not show any displeasure because the person in charge of the vegetarian meal was a maid. Hua Zhi was satisfied and signaled Fudong to lead the way.
The private room on the second floor of the restaurant is usually empty and can be entered and exited from the stairs at the back. There is no need to walk from the front to the back, thus avoiding possible encounters with acquaintances.
That's good. The Bai family's account is still in a mess. At this moment, Bai Mingxia really doesn't want to meet some people who claim to care but actually have different thoughts.
The host and the guest sat down, and Hua Zhi pushed the tea in front of Bai Mingxia, "Uncle, has it been a long time since you came back?"
"It will only take three or four days. Don't worry, your family is fine. After Yue Zhi went there, he got rid of those taboos and had the opportunity to show his strengths. Now he has entered the general's mansion and is highly valued by General Wu. Although he may not have much power, the Hua family at least has some support and cannot be stepped on by anyone."
"It's not surprising. My father, second uncle and third uncle are all ignorant of household affairs. It's better for them to be teachers. If I want to gain a foothold there, I can only rely on my fourth uncle."
Bai Mingxia smiled, "You are quite insightful. Your father is now a teacher."
Hua Zhi was stunned. Can an exiled person be a teacher
Shen Qi took the opportunity to answer her question, "The teacher is not going to be a teacher in the academy. There is no academy in that place. He just teaches the local children. There are people to do his work for him."
So that's how it is. Hua Zhi nodded slightly. This is good. Her father is a real scholar. He feels comfortable with a book in his hands. If she asks him to do other things, he will probably get half the result with twice the effort.
Bai Mingxia handed her a package, "This is what Yue Zhi asked me to bring back. It's all letters."
Hua Zhi thanked her but still did not say that she was going north.
Even though Bai Mingxia had a good relationship with the Fourth Master of the Hua Family, he was still an outsider to the Hua Family. Even in the letter, he only said some meaningless words and avoided all the taboos. It was impossible for him to bring any important message. Bai Mingxia could only talk about what he saw and heard, and Shen Qi supplemented it from the side, so it didn't feel awkward.
When they had almost finished talking, Fudong, as if he had calculated the time perfectly, brought people to serve the dishes one by one. Because there were few people, the portions were not large, but there were twelve dishes in total, stewed, fried, braised, etc. For a moment, the whole room was filled with the fresh aroma of mushrooms.
Bai Mingxia smiled, "I heard that the vegetarian mushroom feast is a must-try when I came back. I can enjoy it today."
"As long as Uncle Shi likes it."
It was obvious that Fu Dong's cooking skills were praised by Gu Yanxi and Shaoyao, so it was no problem for him to win over Bai Mingxia. After the meal, Bai Mingxia ate so much that his belly was full and he even started to act like a spoiled brat.
"How can I make up for all the hard work I've put in along the way with just one meal? I'll need at least three meals, no, five meals. What do you think, niece?"
Hua Zhi ate a lot at this meal. Although she was busy as soon as she came back, in fact she just came back today and had not had many good meals in more than a month away.
She was optimistic about Bai Mingxia's character and approved of his business methods, so she would not offend him on this matter. "This box is reserved for entertaining our own people. Uncle Shi can come anytime."
Bai Mingxia raised his eyebrows. One of our own? Based on his friendship with Yue Zhi, he could be considered one, but his brother, who should really treat him as one of his own, was so wary of him that he didn't even want him to go home!
Bai Mingxia suddenly felt extremely bored. Instead of being depressed in the capital, he would rather travel to some place far away and have fun.
Having made up his mind, Bai Mingxia took the initiative to bring up what Hua Zhi had said before he went north, "Does what the young lady said count?"
Hua Zhi raised her chin slightly, "I am not a man, but my words are my bond."
"Then please tell me how we plan to cooperate in the canned goods business."
"It's simple. I supply the goods, and you just come to me to buy them. I will add a certain profit on top of the cost and sell them to you. As for how much you can earn, that depends on your ability."
Bai Mingxia was not very satisfied with this way of cooperation. He was too passive, but he had to admit that this way of cooperation was the most straightforward.
At this time, Shen Qi stood up and said, "My mother is not feeling well. I need to go back early. I will take my leave now."
Knowing that he was trying to avoid suspicion, the two of them did not keep him. Hua Zhi bowed and said, "The Hua family will accept Master Shen's kindness."
Shen Qi's mouth was bitter, his heart was full of bitterness, and the words he had not said before came out at this moment, "Miss, there is no need to be like this. I have been taught by the teacher for many years. Even if we are not destined to be together, I am the teacher's student and this will never change. I have already felt guilty about this matter. If the young lady says this again, I feel really uncomfortable."
Speaking of her father, Hua Zhi's heart softened. Her father, who had been dealing with books for half his life, did not have many students, only two or three. Among them, Shen Qi was his favorite. If she had not really liked him, there would have been no marriage between her and Shen Qi.
Hua Zhi bowed again, "Mr. Shen is right. You have always been my father's student, and my father has always been proud of you."
Shen Qi smiled bitterly in his heart. After saying goodbye to Bai Mingxia, he looked at Hua Zhi deeply again and turned to leave.
It would be better not to see each other again in the future. Every time they meet, the obsession in his heart becomes deeper. If this goes on, he will never let it go. She is bold and straightforward, and she must not like this kind of entanglement. He doesn't want to be hated by her.
Bai Mingxia looked at Hua Zhi, whose expression did not change at all, and knew that Shen Qi was the only one trapped in this situation, so he could say something. "Yue Zhi was worried about you, saying that Shen Qi was a good match with a good character. If you are interested, why not go to the Zhu family and ask them to find a way to make this happen? Now it seems that he has been worrying for nothing."