Chapter 221 Door-to-Door Delivery
However, after Wu Dalang sold all the remaining pancakes, he hurried home to deliver food to Zhan’s house.

When he got home, he saw that the new pancakes were out of the pan, so he quickly took them out and put them in the basket. He was about to leave, but Pan Jinlian stopped him and asked:
“It’s almost noon now, big brother, why are you in such a hurry to go out? It won’t be too late to go hawking after lunch.”

Wu Dalang was overjoyed to receive his wife’s concern, so he took out some silver and handed it to Pan Jinlian, smiling happily:
“My lady, you don’t know, I met a big client today, who wanted me to send pancakes to him for three meals a day, and even gave him a lot of deposit.”

“We must not neglect our parents who provide us with food and clothing. We must send the pancakes over early, lest we are late and delay the meal for the great master.”

Pan Jinlian took the silver into her arms and said with a smile:

“You run around like this every day, isn’t it tiring? Why don’t you take me to get to know the place? I’m idle at home every day and have nothing to do. I can just get a small cart and deliver the pancakes to you at a certain time. This will save you from running back and forth and won’t waste time.”

Wu Dalang thought about it carefully and it made sense.

He walked around the streets all day long, and the hard work didn’t matter to him, but his legs were short, and carrying a load back and forth in the city took a lot of time. If he delayed Mr. Zhan’s meal due to some setbacks, it would be a sin.

“Well, my lady, what you said makes sense. In that case, you can come with me to the Zhan Mansion to meet me. I won’t be back at noon, so you can go and deliver the food yourself. Remember, it’s better to be early than late.”

Pan Jinlian agreed immediately and helped Wu Da put the pancakes into the basket. Then she got a chicken cart and pushed it to the Zhan Mansion.

Not long after, the two men arrived at the door of the Zhan Mansion, knocked on it, and explained the situation to the manager who came out.

The steward had already received Master Zhan’s instructions, so how could he refuse? He quickly glanced at Pan Jinlian, who was obviously wearing makeup, and led the two of them into the mansion and to the kitchen, unloaded the steamed buns, and then brought the two of them to see Master Zhan.

Mr. Zhan’s eyes met Pan Jinlian’s briefly, then he looked away, smiling and taking out the silver to give to Wu Da.

“Here’s the money for the steamed buns. Keep it for now.”

“No, no…” Wu Da waved his hands repeatedly and said with a simple smile: “Master Zhan has already given me a silver ingot, which is enough to buy ten baskets of pancakes. I dare not accept more money from Master Zhan.”

Master Zhan glanced at Pan Jinlian’s chest and said with a smile:
“Your steamed buns taste great, they are big and fluffy, I like them very much, sir.”

“This is the reward I give you, just keep it.”

Wu Da refused repeatedly, but finally could not bear Master Zhan’s insistence and had to accept the silver. He pointed at Pan Jinlian and said:

“I have to walk around the streets during the day, and I am afraid that I will delay your lunch. From now on, I will ask my wife to bring the pancakes to you earlier. Please allow me to do so.”

Master Zhan smiled and said:
“It’s a good thing that I can eat big, soft and hot steamed buns every day!”

“Don’t worry, as long as I enjoy my meal, I will definitely get your reward!”

Wu Da thanked Pan Jinlian profusely before taking her away with him, who was reluctant to leave, and went home.

After arriving home, Pan Jinlian began to wonder whether she should go to deliver the goods to Mr. Zhan in the afternoon. But after Wu Da came back, he started to walk around in the yard, wondering what he was thinking about. She couldn’t help but feel a little impatient, so she frowned and asked:
“Brother, are you not going to set up the stall this afternoon?”

“Does it mean that our family will have to rely on Mr. Zhan’s business to survive in the future?”

“You must know that although Mr. Zhan is generous and always gives us rewards, his family may not eat pancakes every day. If he stops buying them in the future, how can we live?”

Wu Dalang shook his head and explained:
“Sister-in-law, you misunderstood. I am not counting on this business alone. I just received a lot of favors from Mr. Zhan, and I feel a little uneasy. I am thinking about how to repay him.”

When Pan Jinlian heard this, she rolled her eyes and snorted in disdain.

What can you, a mere three inches tall of tree bark, give me in return? I still have to donate my physical body to you!

But such words could not be brought up on the table, so Pan Jinlian could only comfort him:

“It is obvious at first glance that Mr. Zhan is a wealthy and powerful man. He doesn’t need our three or five taels of silver. All you need to do is make the pancakes big and fragrant, so that Mr. Zhan can eat them comfortably and happily, and he will naturally pay you back everything.”

After hearing this, Wu Da lowered his head and thought for a while, then suddenly clapped his hands and raised his head and said:
“Have it!”

“I saw that the kitchen in Zhan’s house also made a fire to cook, but the firewood was not much.”

“From now on, I will go down the mountain to collect some firewood every afternoon and send it to Mr. Zhan’s family. It will be considered as a token of my appreciation.”

Pan Jinlian became increasingly impatient and sneered:

“That bundle of firewood is only a few dozen yuan. Does Mr. Zhan need this bundle of firewood from you?”

Wu Da kept shaking his head and said:

“This is not about money, it’s our intention!”

“I have received such a favor from Mr. Zhan, but he has not shown any appreciation at all. I feel uneasy.”

Pan Jinlian had long been disgusted with Wu Da’s useless appearance, so she ignored him immediately and went back to her room to rest, waiting to deliver the goods at noon tomorrow.

Wu Da picked up his axe and went out of the door, straight out of the city, went to the foot of the mountain to collect a bundle of firewood, carried it on a shoulder pole, and brought it to Master Zhan.

Mr. Zhan was entertaining Ximen Qing who came to visit at this time. He was surprised to hear that Wu Da came again, but he had no time to pay attention to him, so he asked someone to collect the firewood. When he asked someone to give him a reward, Wu Da refused it resolutely and left on his own.

Ximen Qing came to visit this time in the name of discussing business. He had adjusted his mood at this time and put the matter of the beautiful lady behind his mind. He came specifically to make friends with the noble Master Zhan.

When they met yesterday, time was rather tight and they were unable to give a detailed introduction. Now that they had met, he introduced all his sworn brothers.

When it came to others, Master Zhan didn’t take it seriously. But when it came to Hua Zixu, Master Zhan said “Oh” and realized that this was Li Ping’er’s husband, so he pointed at him and said:

“I’ve heard of you. Your uncle is the eunuch Hua who guards Guangnan, right?”

Hua Zixu was stunned when his name was called, then he quickly smiled and said:
“You have also heard of my uncle’s name, sir?”

Mr. Zhan said:

“Then we are not outsiders!”

“I have a concubine, and her godfather is Li Yan, the chief eunuch in front of the emperor.”

“Ouch!” Hua Zixu slapped his thigh and said, “What a coincidence! My uncle was a guard in front of the emperor and was under the command of Li Zongguan.”

“If you count carefully, my uncle can be considered as Manager Li’s godson!”

“Let’s do the math. You and my uncle are of the same generation. I have to call you uncle!”

Ximen Qing’s sworn brothers were all good at scheming for personal gain. They only cared about power and wealth, and were all shameless. Now that they saw such a great opportunity, how could they miss it? Hua Zixu immediately fell to the ground and kowtowed, calling Master Guan Zhan “uncle”.

“Haha…” Master Zhan did not refuse. He let him kowtow a few times. Then he threw out a bag of golden beans, which fell on the blue brick floor with a “clang”, sounding crisp and pleasant.

“Hey, this is a gift from your uncle. Just consider it as a meeting gift.”

Just by hearing the sound of the purse falling to the ground, Hua Zixu knew that there was something valuable inside.

He wanted to show off, so without getting up, he tore open the mouth of the bag and poured it down. The golden beans jingled and scattered all over the ground, shining brightly in the afternoon sun.

“Oh my!” Now everyone’s eyes became jealous, and they all prostrated themselves at the feet of Master Zhan, saying shamelessly: “We and Hua Lao Si are sworn brothers. Since he is the nephew of the great official, then we must also be the nephews of the great official.”

“Hahaha…rewards, everyone gets a share…”

Master Zhan accepted all the gifts and respect from them. Then he waved his hand and took out a large bag of gold beans.

This time he did not scatter the whole bag on the ground. Instead, he just tossed the bag like soybeans, and immediately golden beans began to rain.

The golden beans bounced and rolled on the ground. Except for Ximen Qing, who was very rich and could still hold on, the others were all crawling on the ground, fighting for the golden beans. Some even fought for the same golden bean, which made Master Zhan laugh.

In this small group of ten people, Ximen Qing has always been the most respected one. Everyone only flatters him, and he is the only one who can fool others. How can others fool him?

But now that Master Zhan has arrived, he is playing with the ten of them, but the nine of them don’t care at all and are enjoying it, leaving him, the eldest brother of the group of ten, aside, which makes Ximen Qing feel quite uncomfortable.

Although he knew in his heart that Mr. Zhan was a very powerful person and someone he should curry favor with, he always felt as if there was a knot in his heart. He always felt as if he had lost something and was vaguely uncomfortable.

He chuckled twice and pretended to scold:
“Brothers, what are you doing? You are so ugly just to get some gold. You are so disgraceful. You let Uncle Zhan look down on you for no reason!”

“Hurry up and get up!”

Almost all the gold beans on the ground had been picked up, and everyone got up in disappointment, and smiled and apologized to Master Zhan:
“I’m sorry that you, my uncle, have never seen the world.”

Master Zhan smiled and waved his hand, saying disapprovingly:
“My dear nephews, this is your true nature and true feelings, which shows that you have never regarded your uncle as an outsider!”

“You don’t need to fight for it. I have plenty of gold and silver here. As long as you work hard for me, I will definitely give you rewards.”

Everyone was even more delighted. They surrounded Master Zhan and flattered him, making him smile from ear to ear. However, Ximen Qing’s expression became increasingly uglier.

Master Zhan ignored him and just chatted and laughed with Hua Zixu and the others. Unknowingly, the core of the ten brothers was transferred to Hua Zixu.

When Eunuch Hua was alive, Hua Zixu also enjoyed a period of glory. But later, Eunuch Hua died, and Hua Zixu was a useless person with no official position or power. He was so poor that he only had a little money left, and he lived off his savings, becoming increasingly destitute.

He even had to flatter and serve a local rich man like Ximen Qing, and I don’t know how aggrieved he felt.

Now, an uncle suddenly appeared out of nowhere, making him feel like he had turned the tables and became the master of the house. He immediately used all the methods he had used as a second-generation official to serve his superiors, and he made sure to serve this Uncle Zhan well.

Although Ximen Qing had also flattered and fawned on others, he was, after all, of a lower social class and mixed in a relatively low-level circle. He was able to establish connections with the Beijing dignitaries only by using money to pave the way, and he was not familiar with many of the entertainment methods used by the children of the Beijing dignitaries.

But Hua Zixu was different. He had been following Eunuch Hua since he was a child, and had learned a lot from him, so he knew many things very well.

In addition, Mr. Zhan had just arrived, and the things he knew were basically things in Kyoto. Now that he was chatting and laughing with Hua Zixu, it was just what he wanted.

Hua Zixu wanted to curry favor with Master Zhan, and the two of them became more and more cordial as they talked, clapping and laughing from time to time, and their intimacy was increasing rapidly!
Ximen Qing tried to interrupt several times, but Hua Zixu was only concerned with showing off himself and had no intention of helping him at all.

Seeing that this great opportunity was clearly shared by him, Ximen Qing, but now Hua Zixu has become the closest person to Master Zhan, Ximen Qing’s face was gloomy and he was quite unhappy. He couldn’t help but think of the words of opposition from his wife Wu Yueniang before the ten brothers became sworn brothers.

Now it seems that these ten brothers are just as she said, all relying on him for help, but he can’t rely on anyone.

I’m afraid this sworn brotherhood is a mistake!

The ten brothers became alienated at this point!
Ximen Qing lowered his head slightly to drink tea, hiding the fierce light flashing in his eyes.

He was a small country landlord with no talent in either literature or martial arts, but he was able to develop his business to its current size. He had connections in Beijing, and it was not due to his ancestors’ influence!

He couldn’t afford to offend Mr. Zhan, but as for Hua Zixu… hehe…

Just let him be on good terms with Mr. Zhan. In the future, we just need to find out Mr. Zhan’s purpose of coming here, and there will always be a way to pry open the relationship.

It would be fine if Hua Zixu was sensible, but he also needed someone to help maintain his connections with Mr. Zhan.

But if Hua Zixu doesn’t know what’s good for him, then don’t blame Ximen Qing for disregarding their brotherhood!
After making up his mind, Ximen Qing just sat idly by the side, occasionally saying a few words to show his presence, but left all the opportunities to steal the show to Hua Zixu.

After some laughter and joy, Master Zhan invited everyone to stay for a drink. Of course, everyone would not refuse, and they accompanied Master Zhan for a while of feasting until late at night, when they said goodbye and left.

“My dear nephew, it is a rare opportunity for us to meet here. I will go to your house someday to pay a visit and burn a stick of incense for Eunuch Hua.”

More importantly, I want to see what my nephew’s wife, Li Ping’er, looks like and whether she has any beauty.

Hua Zixu had no idea that Master Zhan had ulterior motives. He was overjoyed when he heard this and agreed without hesitation. He set a time and came personally to pick up Master Zhan. Then they went their separate ways and went home to make preparations.

The next day, Wu Dalang went out early again with the pancakes on his shoulder. Before leaving, he repeatedly reminded Pan Jinlian not to forget to deliver the pancakes to her house at noon.

“Oh, don’t worry, big brother. How could I forget something that concerns our family’s income?”

After pushing and shoving Wu Da out of the door, Pan Jinlian hurriedly steamed a new pot of buns, and then sat in front of the dressing table, put on makeup, and put on pearls and jade all over her head, dressing up in a gorgeous manner and looking very charming.

After finally waiting for the steamed buns to be cooked, she frowned, endured the heat, took out the steamed buns, threw them into the basket, pushed them in a cart, and went straight to Master Zhan’s house.

When they arrived at the Zhan Mansion, it was still early in the morning, but the housekeeper saw that only Pan Jinlian came, so he knew very well that she was the only one there. He hurried over to take the cart, and said to her with a flattering smile:
“Young lady, just give me the pancake. My master is sitting in the hall now. If you have anything to say to him, you can go over there directly.”

“There are strict rules in the mansion. Servants are not allowed to enter the back house without being summoned. Young lady, don’t worry.”

Pan Jinlian smiled triumphantly, threw the cart away, twisted her waist and ran to the back, walking along the porch, and soon saw the spacious hall where Master Zhan was sitting and drinking tea.

She hurriedly walked forward, entered the living room and threw herself directly into Master Zhan’s arms, saying delicately:
“Sir, I have delivered the goods to your door. How do you plan to reward me?”

“Haha… the master will give you a secret medicine to try first.” Master Zhan, with his beauty in his arms, was also smiling.

Pan Jinlian was reluctant at first, but when Mr. Zhan threw a large ingot of silver at her feet, she was absolutely willing to do it.

A woman like her would never believe the benefits of any secret medicine if you told her about it. On the contrary, she would think that these vulgar things like gold and silver would have more immediate effects.

After Mr. Zhan bought this house, he had a large bathtub built in the backyard and placed it in the open air under the porch. He often played there with Yan Poxi and her sister.

Originally he wanted a swimming pool, but these days without running water, it would be difficult to change the water and the swimming pool would easily rot and stink.

He didn’t want to reveal his magical powers to these outsiders, so he simply simplified it and left only a bathtub for the couple to bathe together.

After playing in the water, Master Zhan sighed regretfully:

“Jinlian, your feet are disabled!”

“Take a few more doses of medicine later and see how the master can help you cure it!”

“Then your natural golden lotus will be truly the most beautiful thing in the world!”

Pan Jinlian chuckled a few times, not believing what Master Zhan said at all. She thought he was talking nonsense, but she was considerate enough not to expose him. She just smiled and said:
“Are you willing to do so, sir?”

“I have bound my golden lotus since I was young because you great officials like it, right?”

“I am afraid that after my golden lotus turns into natural feet, the master will no longer want me. Then I will cry to death!”

“Hey, Jinlian, what are you talking about? Am I such a heartless person?”

Master Zhan scolded:

“My lord, I am such a great man that the words I say are as powerful as gold and jade. Even the Emperor Zhao cannot speak as well as I do.”

“Don’t worry, since you have met me, I will definitely give you a bright future and will not let you sink into the mud again.”

After getting the promise from Mr. Zhan, Pan Jinlian was immediately very interested and served even harder.

The two of them bathed in the tub for nearly half an hour, and with the help of Master Zhan’s magical power, the water was ensured to remain hot.

It was not until dusk that Wu Dalang would have to go home if he didn’t leave, and Master Zhan finally let the little beauty go.

(End of this chapter)