Leisure Vacation 2

  "If every day could be like this"

  。”

  "Whatever, we'll finish all these dishes in ten days and get sick of them after a month." Chen Huiying didn't hesitate to finish the remaining soup. So full, I wish I had served less rice. "Hmm, have you thought about our income and expenses for the past few days?"

  "It's okay, these two days we've been drinking tea at a small teahouse, buying milk tea on the road, and having a cup of coffee in a cafe; the hotel is slightly more expensive, but eating out is still relatively thrifty. This Spring Festival, even with gas and tolls added up, it's just about one month's rent - isn't that what I rented to you? I also asked, if we book a standard room for a month, it would be equivalent to our current 10 days' accommodation cost, and if we use the boss's kitchen to cook...the final living expenses won't necessarily be much higher than renting a house in S city."

  Cheers! This kid will be able to count money now!

  "Looks like you're good at math, why don't you go study finance and accounting, then do the company's accounts and save some money." You must be thrilled!

  "......" Is accounting and finance a profession that's going to take his life?! "Uh, I actually studied physics, and the reason I got a chemistry degree is because it was self-funded training..."

  "It's not bad to pay for it yourself." She suddenly lost interest in taking exams and studying, only wanting to live a carefree life. "You can study something you're interested in or that will help with your work, the pressure of learning and financial burden aren't too heavy, and it won't affect your main career."

  "However, your way of learning is too difficult. It's hard for ordinary people to be so diligent."

  "I? Diligent? Not really! On average, I spend less than an hour a day. Looking at cases, foreign languages, various drafts of advice, occasionally listening to some "interesting" approvals, and then writing something to put on the firm's website - it has become a habit for colleagues in the firm and even other practitioners to check out new articles every week - life is quite good."

  "It's already very good." Pang Hua emphasized again, but didn't provide much strong evidence. Chen Huasheng had once analyzed the value of her work from both her own and Director Feng Lei's perspectives. This thinking angle was strange, coldly realistic, yet effective, and she had only mentioned it once. He understood everything: Chen Huasheng still cared about that stable assistant job where she could come into contact with all sorts of people and things, so she wanted to prove her unique value, but now the one who wanted to break free was Chen Huasheng herself, not the boss she had gotten used to using and would absolutely not give up voluntarily.

  "That's what you get for being a learning genius. Or rather, a madman of few words." Chen Xiao Sheng had seen too much in his past life, so everything was ordinary and mundane to him.

  "How much longer are you planning on being an assistant?" Pang Hua rarely questioned her choices or decisions.

  "I don't know. I haven't thought about it. It's almost impossible for me to leave S city now, and maybe in the future too. So if this law firm doesn't work out, I'll stay until the boss retires or it disbands."

  "Ten years? Then an assistant's salary, even after ten years, still can't be considered particularly low."

  "Haha, don't worry, I will definitely live up to my salary and also be true to myself." She has been working for almost thirty years, how could she not find the balance?! "I'm definitely a good employee, but I'm definitely not a foolish employee. Sigh. Mainly because employees like me are too rare, so I didn't think of hiring people, and would rather outsource all the work."

  "Uh-huh, you think whatever is good then just do it, I'll always support you anyway." Pang Hua returned to her obedient and listening mode.

  Add hot water to the small teapot in front of her. They are now drinking tea in a sheltered corridor of the inn, using the tea set in the room and drinking a pack of last year's roasted green tea that was just bought at a stall on the bridge. The tea leaves were unexpectedly not bad, and they were not bitter or astringent when brewed thickly.

  Look at how much money they save by doing this!

  ***

  After eating and drinking, I should move around a bit.

  The town has been prosperous for over a thousand years, and fortunately, many large and small gardens from the Ming and Qing dynasties still remain. The luxurious residences of retired officials, wealthy merchants, and refined scholars were built with vast amounts of gold, silver, and cultural heritage, ranging from grand nine-courtyard mansions that leave one speechless to concentrated miniature gardens that epitomize the essence of garden design. Few other ancient towns in China can match its prosperity and historical significance.

  "Every house looks different. Even if everyone uses this two-story, courtyard-style structure, the carvings and scenery are all distinct."

  Scholars, who claim to be calm and detached, viewing fame and wealth as worthless as dirt, would surely be the first to flee if they were made to live in a thatched hut with leaks and drafts, squatting over a foul-smelling latrine.

  "Plop!" Pang Hua heard the sound of a toilet. He burst out laughing. "I've also used it, yeah, it's just a big vat in the ground with two thin wooden boards on top... I'm sure someone has fallen in before."

  "Definitely."

  The two people looked up at the brick carvings and calligraphy in the mansion again.

  Ate a lot in one day, drank quite a bit, and walked to many places. Chen Huai didn't bring his camera and was too lazy to take pictures. These things will be even better.

  "If I retired, it would be great to spend my old age here."

  "The houses in town aren't for sale, only the nearby apartments. And are you sure you're happy staying in a place where there's only farm food and Italian noodles are especially expensive?"

  "Well then, you say these officials... uh, they have cooks at home who can cook for them." He could also get a few young and pretty concubines to serve him, but he didn't dare say that out loud.

  "Concubines, maids and whatnot, these can all be put to use." Chen Huaiyang took over himself. "Such a large place... not keeping several concubines would really be unworthy of so much money. But don't think that these big and little wives are like in Islam, each with their own suite, their own external door; it's very possible two concubines share one room, using one toilet."

  "...anyway, that's it." Pang Hua quickly changed the subject, "These literati are really wealthy!"

  "Scholar? Alright, you say scholar then it's a scholar. Just look at the land price, house price, and annual maintenance fees, personnel costs... even now, it's worth tens of millions."

  "Even tens of millions can't afford a place to live." This is something that Pang Hua has a good grasp on, these dozens of rooms in the front and back, which ordinary multimillionaires can't afford.

  "In ancient times, the population was not as terrifying as it is now, and house prices were certainly not as expensive as they are today. At that time, a family's power could take a small piece of land, and after spending dozens of years building houses and gardens, it was still bearable. So you see, the houses here are very crowded, this family beats children, and the neighbors can all hear."

  "In such a small place, although there are many rooms, the young ladies really stay upstairs every day, looking at this small piece of green brick floor?"

  Their feet are crippled, of course they can't walk much, and walking the stairs I think would be a near-death experience if not careful, so staying upstairs every day is possible.

  However, this also leads to a high maternal mortality rate. Without exercise, how can they have the strength to give birth?

  "Is this also a way of controlling population?"

  "...it's objectively like that."

  “……”

  “……”

  Two people chatted and made random guesses as they walked towards the next scenic spot.

  "There's a teahouse!" Chen Huacheng saw that there was a storefront in the alley, where locals of all ages seemed to be gathering. She had always been interested in old-fashioned stoves and small teahouses.

  "Go and have a cup of tea. Do you want to use the restroom first?"

  "No need, go take a look."

  A small teahouse, but there were quite a few people. Everyone was talking loudly and ignoring each other, and when Chen Huai and his friends came in, they just glanced around before continuing to argue with red faces about grand affairs of state and family gossip.

  Two cups of tea, with a generous amount of tea leaves. The price is reasonable, but the table is dirty and the chair is crooked. There's no air conditioning, just relying on body heat from the crowd and the warmth from the stove. Oh, and also the hot tea in my hands.

  I ate a lot at noon but less starch, and I exercised in the afternoon. Now that I've drunk strong tea, my stomach is starting to feel uncomfortable.

  Chen Huaisheng took a look at the time, approaching five o'clock, and it was time to go find something to eat. He drank down two or three mouthfuls of tea water, indicating that they should leave. "I'm a bit hungry, let's go. If we keep drinking this tea, our stomachs will hurt."

  "Good!" Pang Hua had been listening with relish to others' loud conversations. But the old men's spittle-flying talks were actually mostly nonsense, so they just said it and left.

  At night, they "accidentally" had noodles, and the two of them strolled along the riverbank with lantern-style streetlights to digest. After finally finding a home-priced drink shop, they bought two cups of American-style brewed coffee - the quality of the beans was very poor, and the people around were too close. The two also casually bought a few small things, such as local cigarettes and woolen dolls.

  It was already an hour and a half after dinner when I returned to the hostel.

  "I have to go online to work now. You study papers and English translation."

  "Good."

  "Oh, take a look at that elementary accounting book too."

  "......good——"

  The next day, Chen continued working, but spent most of his time taking his computer to the small tea room at the corner of the corridor.

  The other day, I was too close to Pang Huai, except for the intimate movements, everything else was like a little lover. She needs some distance and space.

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