Chapter 531: Guests Arrive
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
They were as beautiful as two flowers. The fabric of the dress they were wearing seemed to be glowing. One glance and you could tell that they were from a rich family.
In the center of the crowd are the abbot and the young monk. The abbot, a man of his word, had promised to come early to attend the banquet, and indeed, he arrived early.
Fan Yuru and Rong Shiyu, upon seeing them, walked over to pay their respects to the abbot, saying, ‘Greetings, Master Abbot.’
The abbot, with an amiable expression, clasped his hands in greeting. “Please dispense with the formalities.”
At this time, Chu Qingzhi walked out from the house, calling out, “Yuru, Shiyu, come in.”
Everyone thought to themselves, indeed, these must be Qingzhi’s friends; only she could make such acquaintances.
Fan Yuru and Rong Shiyu, one on each side of Chu Qingzhi, said, “We have brought you gifts…” and they walked towards a carriage.
Fan Yuru took out three small boxes from the back of the carriage, one for each person, and they entered Chu Qingzhi’s house.
As the guests arrived, the Chu family members came one after another to the main hall to greet them.
Chu Qingzhi said, “I’m going to cook in the kitchen, why don’t you let Hongjun and Linjiang take you around the village?”
Rong Shiyu was eager, “Great, it’s my first time in the village, everything seems so novel.”
Chu Qingzhi escorted the four out of the courtyard, then went to the kitchen to cook.
In the kitchen, Li Qingyu was peeling water chestnuts, and Tang Jinghong was chopping vegetables. Even in aprons, the man looked charming. Chu Qingzhi glanced several times at Tang Jinghong.
The four walked out of the courtyard and were soon surrounded by village children.
Chu Junbao looked at the two of them curiously. “Beautiful sisters, where are you from?”
Fan Yuru, smiling at the bold Chu Junbao, replied gently, “We come from the capital.”
“Wow, the capital?” To the village children, the capital seemed unreachable yet bustling. Their eyes lit up with longing upon hearing this.
A five-year-old child, with innocent eyes, asked, “Is the capital big?”
Fan Yuru, with a smile, patiently answered, “Yes, it’s big with many people.”
“I’ll also go there when 1 grow up.”
“Welcome to the capital.”
“Do you want to see a tiger?” The topic changed dramatically, as it often does with children.
Fan Yuru and Rong Shiyu were stunned. “Tiger? What tiger?”
“It’s a big tiger from the mountains.” A child ran over with a big white cat. “It looks similar to this cat, but it’s much bigger.”
Fan Yuru and Rong Shiyu were amused. “This is a cat, not a tiger.”
The young monk ran over and pointed at Tang Jinghong’s courtyard. “The big tiger they mentioned is over there.” He had been frightened by it before.
Fan Yuru turned around and asked Yuan Hongjun. She was a little afraid and expectant. “Is there really a tiger?”
Yes, he had one too. But what the little monk referred to couldn’t be what he and Little Abalone raised. Could it be that Tang brother really has a big tiger?
“I’ll go take a look.”
There was no need for him to check. Da Bai walked out from Tang Jinghong’s yard, striding with the grandeur of surveying its territory, majestically and powerfully.
Fan Yuru and Rong Shiyu were frightened even though they were bold. The two of them instinctively hid behind Yuan Hongjun and Bao Linjiang. Their bodies trembled slightly, and they did not dare to open their eyes.
Facing the pressure of a fierce beast, it’s instinctual for people to feel fear.
How could there be a tiger in the village?”
Chu Junbao loudly said, “That’s Da Bai, it doesn’t bite.”
A four-year-old child added, “Yes, Da Bai is very well-behaved. 1 once threw it a chicken leg, but it didn’t eat it. Since it didn’t eat, 1 picked it back up and ate it myself.”
Everyone was left astonished.
The tense atmosphere was broken by the child’s words. Fan Yuru and Rong Shiyu slowly peeked out from behind Yuan Hongjun and Bao Linjiang.
Da Bai didn’t approach them but sat down, looking at everyone with a gaze that seemed to be evaluating.
Fan Yuru gently tapped Yuan Hongjun’s arm and asked softly, “Is it really harmless? Aren’t tigers supposed to be man-eaters?”
Yuan Hongjun reassured her, “Looking at its demeanor, you can tell it’s intelligent. Besides, if it were dangerous, Brother Tang would have stewed it in a pot by now.”
This remark earned a grievous look from the tiger. It was so large, could it even fit in a pot? At least two pots would be needed!
Fan Yuru thought about it and then slowly stepped out from behind Yuan Hongjun.
“Is its name Da Bai?” Fan Yuru asked Chu Junbao.
Chu Junbao nodded, “Yes, Sister Qingzhi calls it Da Bai, so we all follow suit.” But when they called it, Da Bai never gave them a glance.
Fan Yuru waved at Da Bai and tried calling, “Da Bai-”
Da Bai lay down, lazily watching everyone. When Fan Yuru called, it deigned to glance at her.
Seeing Da Bai’s reaction, Fan Yuru quickly asked Yuan Hongjun, “What does Da Bai eat? 1 want to bring it something.”
Yuan Hongjun shook his head, “I don’t know. Ask my master, but it might not eat what you bring.” Their tiger only ate what they and Chef Zhang fed it.
Fan Yuru, seeing a tiger for the first time, was very interested. “Let’s give it a try?”
Yuan Hongjun suggested, “Go get something from my master to feed it.”
Fan Yuru lifted her skirt and ran back into the house.
Meanwhile, Rong Shiyu, seeing that Da Bai wasn’t dangerous, also stepped out from behind Bao Linjiang. She touched the hair of a child standing next to her, “When did Da Bai come to the village?”
The little girl answered in a babyish voice, “Just a couple of days ago, but it scared us terribly. Everyone hid inside their houses.”
Rong Shiyu imagined the scene and found it somewhat funny, “Did it come here by itself?”
The little girl nodded, “Sister Qingzhi said Da Bai likes Brother Jinghong’s house, so it came here.”
Rong Shiyu was speechless.
At that moment, Fan Yuru came out with a basin containing lightly fried chicken pieces, weighing about three or four catties, each the size of a palm. This was specially fried by Chu Qingzhi for Da Bai, who had done a great job today.
She walked over to Yuan Hongjun, hesitated for a moment, then walked three steps towards Da Bai, placed the basin on the ground, and quickly retreated, still a bit scared.
“Da Bai, this is prepared for you by Qingzhi, you eat.”
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Da Bai’s ears twitched. Since it was given by its owner, it was edible. It stood up, sniffed the chicken pieces in the basin, and found them fragrant, so it picked up a piece with its mouth.
Fan Yuru was delighted and tugged at Yuan Hongjun’s sleeve excitedly, “Look, it’s eating.”
Yuan Hongjun glanced at his tugged sleeve and said, “It’s eating because you said it was prepared by my master.”
Fan Yuru was doubtful, “Does it… understand what we say?”
Yuan Hongjun confidently said, “Of course, but it only listens to my master’s words..”
