Chapter 6: The Junzi Keeps a Distance from the Kitchen

  After Fang Yi Ai clumsily put on the Tang Dynasty clothes, she finally realized how difficult it was to deal with these Tang Dynasty clothes. It wasn't until Ling Long helped her that she was able to dress properly. Looking at herself in the copper mirror, Fang Yi Ai felt that if it weren't for Ling Long, she would have had to disguise herself as a beggar.

  After washing her face, Fang Yu'ai saw that Linglong still had the same hairstyle as yesterday. She smiled and asked Linglong to stand in front of the copper mirror, holding her shoulders and saying: "Linglong, stand still, don't move! Today, Master will help you create a new hairstyle, I guarantee you'll be satisfied!"

  Linglong was shocked after hearing Fang Yiai's words, and her mind was filled with astonishment. The second young master had actually combed his hair for himself! Linglong didn't know what to do now, she just stood there stupidly. Fang Yiai skillfully loosened Linglong's hair, then coiled her beautiful hair into a small bun, inserted a hairpin, and let the rest of her hair flow freely. Looking at his masterpiece, Fang Yiai clapped his hands and laughed: "It's done! Linglong, take a look, if it's not good, I'll help you change it!"

  But Fang Yi'ai saw that Linglong's face was covered with two tear marks, and now Linglong felt nothing but moved in her heart. She thought she was extremely happy and fortunate to have such a young master, it was the blessing of several lifetimes! Linglong didn't care about looking good or not, as long as it was the second young master who helped her get it, she would like it. Fang Yi'ai moved over Linglong's delicate body and asked: "Linglong, why are you crying for no reason? Did I do something wrong?" Linglong shook her head, "Second Young Master, why are you so good to me? I will never leave your side!"

  "Fool, is that all? What's wrong with me being good to you? Who says a young master can't have a servant girl later on? Besides, if we can't be apart, then so be it. With a beautiful servant girl like you, I'd smile even in my dreams," he said, pointing to the saliva dripping from his mouth. Seeing this, Linglong took out her handkerchief and helped Yu Ai wipe away the spit, laughing as she said: "Second young master, as long as you don't drive me away, I'll follow you for a lifetime."

  "Alright, stop talking nonsense, let's go have breakfast first!" After finishing speaking, he pulled Linglong's hand and walked out. Linglong wiped away the tears on her face, furrowed her brow and asked: "Second Young Master, what breakfast? It seems like the manor didn't prepare any breakfast?"

  Fang Yi Ai was taken aback, and after some thought, he realized that it wasn't common to have three meals a day at this time. Most people only had two meals a day, but as someone who was used to eating breakfast, he couldn't bear the thought of skipping it. Moreover, not eating breakfast would cause great harm to one's body, so even if he didn't eat lunch, he still couldn't skip breakfast. Therefore, Fang Yi Ai said to Ling Long, "Ling Long, tell the kitchen to prepare according to my instructions. Tomorrow, I'll make something delicious for you!" As he spoke, Fang Yi Ai told her the steps needed to make fried dough sticks, and although Ling Long didn't know why, she still agreed and left.

  The next morning, the two of them arrived at the kitchen. Linglong was puzzled, what did this Second Young Master want to do again? However, Linglong still obediently brought Fang Yu'er to the kitchen. Before they even entered the kitchen, a middle-aged aunt came out and said: "Second Young Master, why have you come here? Your body is so precious, how can you enter the kitchen? What do you want to eat? Tell me and I'll make it for you."

  Fang Yi'ai didn't know what to call this aunt either, but Linglong understood and said: "Aunt Liu, you don't have to worry about it, Second Young Master wants to do something himself, we'll just watch from the side." Aunt Liu saw that even Second Young Master's personal maid was saying this, so she didn't bother to intervene anymore, but still felt that this wasn't quite right - what kind of young master enters the kitchen? Seeing Aunt Liu's anxious eyes, Fang Yi'ai also felt helpless, all because of that phrase "a gentleman keeps a distance from the kitchen"!

  Fang Ai walked into the kitchen and took out the prepared dough, kneading it for a long time. She added a small amount of baking soda, salt, and warm water to soften it slightly, then kneaded it into a ball. Finally, she flattened the dough into a rectangular shape. "Aunt Liu, go get the soaked beans?"

  "Hey, Second Master, wait a minute, I'll help you get it." Seeing Liu Ayi walk out of the kitchen, Fang Yilai knew that the beans were definitely not in the kitchen. Taking advantage of this time, Fang Yilai found two large ceramic jars from the kitchen, also found an iron sheet and rolled it into a funnel, and stuffed some cotton balls into the funnel. After Liu Ayi brought the beans over, Fang Yilai scooped out two handfuls of beans from the bag, put them in the ceramic jar, added water, and used a small wooden stick to stir vigorously. Soon, the water in the jar became white and cloudy, and it seemed that the beans were almost crushed. Fang Yilai then asked Linglong to hold the funnel over another ceramic jar, and poured all the water from the jar into the funnel. Soon, white liquid flowed into the lower jar, while a pile of bean dregs remained in the funnel. After finishing these tasks, Fang Yilai said to Linglong: "Linglong, go boil the soy milk in the jar, don't forget to add some water!" Linglong nodded and took the jar to the small pot, while Fang Yilai didn't idle around either. The oil had already opened without any foam, so Fang Yilai began to put the dough into the oil pan, and soon the yellowish fried dough sticks came out. After frying about 40 fried dough sticks, Linglong also boiled the soy milk well. Fang Yilai wiped his hands on his apron and chuckled: "Linglong and Liu Ayi, everyone sit down and try my craftsmanship. This is something I made with my own hands, called oil strips. You've definitely never had it before."

  Linglong smiled wryly and now the second young master said what was what, took three bowls and poured soy milk, Fang Yiai also used a basket to pack more than 20 fried dough sticks. The three of them started eating, Fang Yiai wolfed down the food, soy milk and fried dough sticks were a perfect match. Linglong and Liu Shu ate one fried dough stick after another and thought the flavor was quite good, and when paired with soy milk, it felt even more delicious. Liu Shu smiled and asked: "Second young master, where did you learn this fried dough stick and soy milk from? The taste is really not bad!"

  "Aunt Liu, have you ever seen anyone else make fried dough sticks?" Fang Yi'ai was too lazy to explain, how could he clearly say such things, it's better to pretend to be ignorant. Aunt Liu thought for a moment and also understood the meaning of the second young master, it seems that this fried dough stick and soy milk were indeed made by the second young master himself.

  "Linglong, how does it taste? If it's not bad, I'll help you make it often in the future," Fang Yile asked with a smile after taking a sip of soy milk. Linglong felt very happy and said with a smile: "Second young master, this fried dough stick is delicious, but next time let me help you make it instead. Which young master goes to the kitchen every day? If madam finds out, I'll get scolded!"

  "Yes, Second Master. From now on, just let me know if you want to eat something and I'll make it for you. Anyway, I've already learned most of the recipes after watching once." Liu Shu didn't dare let Second Master and Linglong come into the kitchen to cook, wasn't that a slap in her face? Fang Yiai also knew that going down to the kitchen every day wasn't very reliable, even if she was willing, Linglong wouldn't agree. So she nodded at Liu Shu and said: "Liu Shu, then we'll trouble you with breakfast from now on!"

  "Second Master, you're really embarrassing me! I'm originally in charge of the kitchen, cooking for the Fang household is what I should be doing, where's the trouble?!" Liu hurriedly waved her hand and said. This made Second Master personally go down to the kitchen once again, which was already quite embarrassing enough. Moreover, Liu now had a very good impression of Second Master, thinking that he was such a good person, she didn't know who had been slandering him before, saying that Second Master was a scoundrel. Liu thought that the people who spoke ill of Second Master were the real scoundrels.

  After finishing breakfast, Fang Yi Ai returned to his own courtyard and started making a recliner. When the frame was almost ready, he still hadn't seen the iron rods and control handles he wanted. So he asked Fang De: "Uncle De, why haven't the things I want been delivered yet?"

  "Second Master, don't worry, I'll let Housekeeper Fu go get it himself. It should be back soon," said Housekeeper De with a smile, but in his heart he was already scolding, "Where did that good-for-nothing Housekeeper Fu run off to? Taking so long just to fetch something." Just as Housekeeper De was getting annoyed, he saw Housekeeper Fu running in, panting and out of breath, putting the thing on the ground and grinning foolishly: "Second Master, I've brought back what you wanted. Take a look, is this what you were looking for?" House Yi looked at it and nodded with a smile. Housekeeper De scowled and said irritably, "Housekeeper Fu, what's wrong with you? It took you a whole hour just to fetch something. Did you sneak off somewhere to have fun again?"

  "Housing Manager, this is not my fault, I'm also unlucky. On the road, I encountered two gangs fighting, and those people didn't know what medicine they took, blocking the main road so that others couldn't pass by. I originally wanted to squeeze past, but those people directly knocked me down. If it weren't for the Golden Guard rushing over, I wouldn't have made it back yet." Fang Quan said with a complaint.

  "You stinky little brat, do you think I'd believe you? You've got a lot of nerve!" Fang De slapped the back of Fang Quan's head with a laugh.

  Fang Yi'ai took a look at Fang Quan's tall and powerful physique, almost 1.9 meters in height, and was surprised that he was so afraid of Fang De. Seeing Fang De still wanting to continue bullying Fang Quan, Fang Yi'ai smiled and said: "Uncle De, just let Fang Quan off, he didn't lie, you can tell from the green stuff on his butt, he must have sat on a vegetable leaf."

  "Huh, Second Master, you're really something. I was just thrown into a pile of cabbage by those people. You don't know how arrogant they are, I told them I'm from the Fang Manor and they still dared to treat me like this." Fang Quan said indignantly, who in Chang'an City would dare not give face to the Fang Manor? Although the people of Fang Manor never bully others with their power, they also can't let others bully them.

  After hearing Fang Quan's words, Fang De stroked his beard thoughtfully. Fang Yi'ai also felt that the other party had gone too far in this matter. "You fight your own battles, why block others' way?" Fang Yi'ai frowned and asked, "Fang Quan, do you know who the other party is? Normally, the Metropolitan Procuratorate would be enough to handle such fights, there's no need to involve the Golden Armor Guard."

  "Second Master, you're absolutely right. The ones fighting are Long Sun Chong and Cheng Huai Liang's people." Fang Quan said with a gloomy expression, rubbing his head. Upon hearing this, Fang Yi Ai understood that there was no way Long Sun Chong would give face to the Fang family. If Fang Quan hadn't claimed to be from the Fang family, perhaps Long Sun Chong would have let him pass. But now, he definitely wouldn't let him through. The Long and Fang families were sworn enemies after all. Long Sun Wu hated Fang Xuan Ling so much that he wished he would die soon and reincarnate early.

  It turns out that Fang De also understood, no wonder the other party didn't care about Fang Quan, it seems that they had encountered someone from the Zhangsun family, and this loss was not unjust.

  After everything was ready, Fang Yilove quickly made the recliner with the help of Fang Quan and Fang De. The frame was done, but the fabric wasn't there yet. Fang Yilove measured the size and cut the fabric, then said to Linglong: "Linglong, now you sew the fabric onto the recliner, you'll be the great contributor!" Linglong smiled and started sewing with the needle and thread. Fang Yilove didn't idle around either, cutting the remaining bamboo strips into small squares, writing characters on them with a brush. It was clear that these were pieces for a game of Xiangqi (Chinese chess). Fang De and Fang Quan watched curiously from the side, this second young master really was hard to understand, what was he making? It looked like Xiangqi, but it was very different.

  Linglong quickly finished the task and saw Fang Yilai still busy, so he wiped the sweat from his forehead and smiled: "Second young master, I've already done it. What else do you need me to do?"

  "Hey, so soon? Fang Quan, let's take a stroll to Father's courtyard with the reclining chair." After finishing speaking, he handed the chess pieces in his arms to Linglong and chuckled: "Linglong, keep these flags well, I'll teach you something when I get back!" Fang Yi'ai led Fang De Fang Quan to their father's courtyard in big strides. As soon as they entered the courtyard, they saw Old Master Fang Xuanling watering flowers. Fang Yi'ai said with a smile: "Father, you really understand the way of life! It seems that I still have much to learn from you. I feel like my patience is not good enough now!"

  "Ah, Jun'er has this idea, it's good. Raising flowers can cultivate one's mind, as long as you want to learn, I will teach you with all my heart." Fang Xuanling was also a bit dazed by his own son, and after a while, he saw the recliner in Fang Quan's hand, and only then did he ask: "Jun'er, what is this thing?"

  "Father, this thing is called a recliner. I saw you sitting on that low stool and it didn't look very comfortable for you, and it's not good for your waist either. So I racked my brains and came up with this idea. Why don't you try it out, see if this recliner suits you?" Fang Yaoli said as she unfolded the recliner. Fang Xuanling listened to her explanation and sat down on the recliner with a smile, putting his head back against the chair back and laughing loudly: "Jiun'er, this thing is great! Lying on it is incredibly comfortable, my waist doesn't feel any discomfort at all, it's even more comfortable than lying in bed! The only thing is that looking up like this isn't very good..."

  Fang Yi'ai didn't say much more, pulled the handle of the recliner forward and hung it on the crooked teeth, smiling and saying: "Father, how are you feeling now?"

  "Huh, it's really amazing. So this thing can be adjusted at will? What a great thing!" Fang Xuanling was very curious and carefully studied the recliner. This thing is really good, it can be folded and unfolded, and it's comfortable to use however you like. Fang Xuanling was delighted and laughed loudly: "Jun'er, you've helped your father out of a big trouble. From now on, your father won't have to worry about not having anything to sit on again."

  "Hehe, as long as Father likes it, it's all worth the trouble. Seeing the old man like this recliner so much, Fang Yiai is also very happy in her heart. Being able to make the old man more comfortable is more important than anything."

  Two father and son were happily chatting on the chaise longue, when Lu Shi walked out of the house, saw Fang Xuanling sitting on a strange chair, suddenly became interested, pulled Fang Xuanling up from the chaise longue with one hand, and lay down himself. As soon as Lu Shi lay down, he didn't want to get up anymore. Facing Fang Xuanling happily, he said: "Old master, this thing is really not bad, from now on this thing will be mine!"

  "Ah, madam, what am I supposed to do? This was specially made for me by Jun'er!" House Xuanling's beard fluttered with anxiety. It took great effort to get something good, and now it had been seized by his own wife. Lu Shi raised an eyebrow and said nonchalantly, "What business is it of mine what you do? You didn't have this thing before and you still managed to live."

  Fang Xuanling's temper flared up, and he pointed at Fang Yiai with a scowl: "You little brat, this is all your doing! I'm giving you two days to get me another recliner, or else I'll hang you from the city gate tower to sun-dry!"

  Fang Yiai felt very uncomfortable in her heart, this old man was too shameless, he had been scolded by his mother and now he was taking it out on his own son. However, Fang Yiai could only endure it, after all, he was her father.