Category: The Big Landlord

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Chapter 135.3 – Zhang Sun Shao Qi

Hearing what the other party had said, An Zi Ran felt like he really would be looked down on if he didn’t show his face. He also wanted to see what kind of person would still have such arrogant confidence after crashing into someone. His identity and status must not be low.

The curtain of the horse carriage parted and two figures came out one after the other.

The people subconsciously raised their heads and looked over. They saw two people, one was soft and supple, and the other was hard and strong. Standing together, they created a peerlessly magnificent tableau. Those who had stopped to watch the spectacle were all shocked into a stupor.

“Junwang*?”

[*T/N: 郡王 – a respectful term of address]

The person who was calling himself ‘this gongzi’ could not help crying out involuntarily when he saw Fu Wu Tian’s face. When he said the words ‘junwang,’ the onlookers immediately started to whisper fiercely. Of all the people to bump into, this person had bumped into the junwang’s horse carriage. Man, this was going to be a good show!

Fu Wu Tian’s indifferent gaze fell upon the other person’s shocked face, and he couldn’t help but to raise an eyebrow, “Zhang Sun Shao Qi?”

“That’s right, this gongzi is Zhang Sun Shao Qi.”

Zhang Sun Shao Qi quickly put away his look of astonishment. Although Fu Wu Tian was no ordinary person, this did not mean that he would be afraid of him. The Zhang Sun family had quite a bit of influence in the imperial court. As the Zhang Sun family’s sole scion, he definitely had the power to walk sideways*.

[*T/N: People normally walk forwards, so “to walk sideways” means you’re flouting conventions because you’re arrogant and/or powerful.]

Speaking of Zhang Sun Shao Qi, one must also mention what a super lucky person he was.

Zhang Sun Shao Qi was not Zhang Sun Cheng De’s biological grandson. Zhang Sun Cheng De only had one daughter, who was the current empress. Although the eldest prince was his grandson, he did not have the surname Zhang Sun, since he took the father’s surname as per custom. In order to pass on the Zhang Sun’s family legacy, Zhang Sun Cheng De brought back Zhang Sun Shao Qi.

Zhang Sun Shao Qi was the grandson of Zhang Sun Cheng De’s younger brother. When they were young, the two brothers took different paths in life and eventually split up. When they reunited, one was already the prime minister of the imperial court, while the other was a rich merchant.

Translations are by vmnovels [dot] com, if you’re reading this anywhere else, then it was stolen.

It was a pity that the two brothers had not reunited for long when the younger brother’s family was killed by bandits on the road to the capital, leaving only the young Zhang Sun Shao Qi and a huge family business.

Afterwards, Zhang Sun Cheng De found Zhang Sun Shao Qi and brought him back. Zhang Sun Cheng De instructed Zhang Sun Shao Qi with great care fomr a young age. It was unfortunate that Zhang Sun Shao Qi’s abilities were mediocre and he wasn’t very clever, so he was unsuited for politics.

Although Zhang Sun Shao Qi had to change families as a young child, he was also a fortunate one. In the blink of an eye, he suddenly changed from the grandson of a wealthy businessman to the grandnephew of the prime minister.

[T/N: The raws did indeed say 侄孙, which means grandnephew. But I’m a little confused, since I thought he was already Zhang Sun Cheng De’s grandnephew from birth… It would make more sense to say 孙子, grandson, implying that he’s been adopted as a direct descendant of Zhang Sun Cheng De’s line… =\ ]

His status rose by several class levels. This was a blessing that others couldn’t even envy. With the Zhang Sun family backing him, it was no wonder that he dared to be so harsh and unreasonable. There were very few people in Jun Zi City who were willing to offend him.

“Zhang Sun Shao Qi, your carriage frightened this prince’s horse, how are you going to compensate?”

Fu Wu Tian folded his arms behind his back and looked at Zhang Sun Shao Qi condescendingly. His black eyes seemed to emit a faint sense of oppression.

Zhang Sun Shao Qi’s eyelid has been jumping ever since he laid eyes on Fu Wu Tian. Although he was not afraid of Fu Wu Tian, his grandfather had once told him not to confront Fu Wu Tian, and to take a detour if he were to ever see the other man. His grandfather had warned him that the one to suffer a lost would be him. At that time, he was unconcerned with his grandfather’s words. With the Zhang Sun family’s strength, why should they be afraid of a wangye that the emperor hated?

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Due to years of feeling superior to everyone else, Zhang Sun Shao Qi somewhat looked down on Fu Wu Tian, but now he was being suppressed by Fu Wu Tian’s aura, and his complexion immediately turned ashen.

“Fu… junwang, take a good look for yourself, your carriage smashed my carriage, yet you dare to say that my carriage scared your horse?”

Zhang Sun Shao Qi’s brain was not muddled. In the end, he did not dare to call Fu Wu Tian by name in public. Otherwise, he might end up making trouble for himself.

But he regretted his words as soon as they left his mouth, because he knew that it was his carriage’s fault for rushing out, otherwise, it would not have crashed into the other person.

If the owner of the carriage he hit was not Fu Wu Tian, he could use his status to crush the other party, but clearly, the person in front of him wasn’t some ordinary person that he could casually extort under false pretenses.

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Fu Wu Tian narrowed his eyes slightly, “Since you are not convinced, this prince can bring you to the prime minister for a discussion and see who is right and who is wrong.”

Zhang Sun Shao Qi’s complexion flipped between blue and white. If his grandfather found out about this, he would definitely be reprimanded. He did not dare to keep insisting. He cowardly spat out one more line and then left with his people.

“You sure are something*.”

[*T/N: Implies “you win” or “you got me.”]

“Grandson.”

Fu Wu Tian leisurely uttered one word that carried endless contempt.

An Zi Ran couldn’t help the twitch of his lips.

This small episode did not affect them at all, and they set off for the palace again.

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The Big Landlord

Chapter 139.1
Chapter 138.3
Chapter 138.2
Chapter 138.1
Chapter 137.3
Chapter 137.2
Chapter 137.1
Chapter 136.2
Chapter 136.1

This Alpha’s Pheromones Are Exploding

Chapter 112
Chapter 111
Chapter 110
Chapter 109
Chapter 108
Chapter 107
Chapter 106
Chapter 105
Chapter 104

Male Lead 2 and Male Lead 3 Happy Ending!

Chapter 96
Chapter 95
Chapter 94
Chapter 93
Chapter 92
Chapter 91
Chapter 90
Chapter 89
Chapter 88
Chapter 87

Didn’t Love You Enough

Chapter 89
Chapter 88
Chapter 87
Chapter 86
Chapter 85
Chapter 84
Chapter 83
Chapter 82

Let Me Shoulder this Blame!

Chapter 148
Chapter 147
Chapter 146
Chapter 145
Chapter 144
Chapter 143
Chapter 142
Chapter 141
Chapter 140

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Chapter 135.2 – Zhang Sun Shao Qi

Many people were stunned at the sight of An Zi Ran.

Before, the people saw him often, and when wangfei first married into the wangfu, he did not look as good as he did now. At that time, he still had some baby fat, so his appearance could only be regarded as cute at most. Later, he gradually lost weight and his facial features began to change.

For the people in the wangfu, they could see wangfei everyday, so the gradual changes that they saw each day did not shock them. It was not until now, that they realized how good-looking the wangfei was.

One of the servants wiped the saliva that almost dripped out of the corner of his mouth, “Our wangfei is so good-looking. When our wangfei goes to the state banquet, it will surely surprise many people.”

Translations are by vmnovels [dot] com, if you’re reading this anywhere else, then it was stolen.

“That’s right, let’s see who would dare to say that our wangfei is ugly.” The little maid immediately felt indignant. Their wangfei was clearly so good-looking, so how could he be ugly. If he was still considered ugly, then there was no one on this earth who could be considered pretty.

As servants of the Fu wangfu, they would occasionally go outside to make purchases, so they inevitably heard the people outside talking about An Zi Ran.

Among them, the most gossiped about topic was An Zi Ran’s appearance, because not many people have seen how he looked like, and those who had any impression of him were of the original An Zi Ran. Although some people later saw him after losing weight, it was only a small number of people, so even till now there were people saying that wangye had married an ugly wangfei.

“Is grandfather not coming into the palace with us?”

Seeing that the laowangye had yet to come out at this time, An Zi Ran was surprised. He thought that they would be going into the palace together.

Fu Wu Tian explained: “Grandfather is not going with us. Later, my uncle will be taking him into the palace.”

An Zi Ran understood that the laowangye’s status was quite special, and because of his illness, it was not suitable to meet with too many people. Most likely, he would return to the wangfu after seeing the empress dowager.

The two of them then got on the carriage and headed to the palace.

The black horse-drawn carriage ran quickly down the street like a whirlwind. The people living here were all high-ranking officials and powerful people, unlike the crowds in the downtown area, so there was no need to worry about bumping into people.

However, in addition to their carriage, there were also other carriages on the street rushing towards the palace in a hurry. After a while, you could see several carriages vying to compete for who was faster. Only a few chose to yield the way. Fortunately, the streets were relatively wide, so they were unlikely to collide.

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An Zi Ran looked at Fu Wu Tian, who was sitting next to him. He was wearing a black and gold-rimmed broad-sleeved official robe [worn by ministers] today. The edges and corners of his facial features looked even sharper than usual. Even when Fu Wu Tian had his eyes closed, you could still feel the tension of having his eyes on you. His casual posture also gave off a strong sense of presence.

“Wangfei, if you keep looking at this prince like this, this prince won’t be able to endure anymore.”

Fu Wu Tian suddenly opened his eyes. An Zi Ran did not withdraw his gaze fast enough and was met with Fu Wu Tian’s stare. Something seemed to flash in Fu Wu Tian’s eyes.

An Zi Ran was not embarrassed. He calmly retracted his gaze, opened his mouth and was about to change the subject. The carriage abruptly braked, and his body was immediately flung forward uncontrollably. He was about to bump into the carriage when a strong arm looped around his waist and pulled him back.

An Zi Ran sprawled back against Fu Wu Tian’s body instead.

From outside came the sound of the frightened horse, and there seemed to be the sound of something falling over. It took a while before things calmed down.

Before they could inquire about the situation, a questioning voice suddenly sounded.

Translations by Vanilla Muse.

“Do you not have eyes? Can’t you see that there is someone here? Look at our carriage. It’s ruined. How are you guys going to pay for it?”

That person’s tone was extremely arrogant and haughty.

The Fu wangfu’s stable lad wasn’t someone that others could bully at will. Although the identity of the other party did not seem to be ordinary, the stable lad also had backers. He immediately retorted: “It’s obvious that you rushed out suddenly, how can you blame us?”

“You dog servant, there is no place for you to speak here. Call your master out. This gongzi would like to see what kind of person has the guts to ram into this gongzi’s horse carriage.” The speaker changed to someone else. It was evident that this was the true master of the other horse carriage.

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T/N: The author wrote a note at the beginning of this chapter. Because kinship words are not as complicated in English, it won’t be too big of a change for us, but Chinese has really specific kinship words that delineate your exact position on the family tree in relation to another person and whether they’re from your paternal side or maternal side.

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Chapter 135.1 – Zhang Sun Shao Qi

[A/N: Because the stupid author made a mistake, second uncle (二伯 er bo) will be changed directly to uncle (小叔 xiao shu) in the future.]

In the 27^th year of Emperor Chong Ming, the imperial palace ushered in the grandest royal banquet of the year.

From very early in the morning, every level of the palace was busying about in preparation for the banquet. There were people running back and forth carrying plates and other things. This royal banquet was not like the previous ones before it.

A royal banquet has become a state banquet. It was nothing compared to a normal family banquet. The attendees of a family banquet would only include the harem’s concubines and all the members of the royal family, while a state banquet also included all state officials from the fourth rank and up. It was a very grand affair, and even Emperor Chong Ming attached great importance to it.

Before the start of the state banquet, both luxurious and low-key carriages began appearing on the avenue leading to the imperial capital. The horses pulling these carriages clipped and clopped along the road. Some of these people were very high profile and even attached a flag to the roof of their carriages to announce their identity. Some did not have anything on their carriages, but anyone with eyes could recognize which carriage belonged to which family at a glance.

The common people did not dare to approach these people.

They also knew what day it was.

The state banquet was a first-class event for the imperial family. On this day, all the people of high rank and status would bring their wives into the palace. If a normal person accidentally ran into one of these carriages and offended the people sitting inside, they would not be able to recompense even if they used all their family fortune.

At Fu wangfu

An Zi Ran was busying about outside for nearly the entire day, and as soon as he stepped inside the wangfu, Fu Wu Tian pulled him into their room. By now, there was less than two hours until the state banquet.

Translations are by vmnovels [dot] com, if you’re reading this anywhere else, then it was stolen.

There was a new set of clothes arranged on the table in the room. It was obviously for him.

An Zi Ran did not have any special requirements for the color of his clothes, as long as it was not particularly bright, so his clothes were usually royal blue, cyan, red, blue, etc. However, he rarely wore white clothing. In his memories, he has worn white only a few times. Furthermore, this was a white that carried a hint of crescent moon yellow.

[T/N: Yellow or gold is often the color of Chinese royalty in media, even though different dynasties in China prized different colors as a symbol of royalty.]

Fu Wu Tian had prepared a pure white outfit for him this time. There were lotuses embroidered in light blue silk thread along the hems of the robes. The white silky fabric was dignified and noble, and with the addition of some colors, it suddenly raised a few levels, making it noble and inviolable.

An Zi Ran rarely wore such cumbersome clothes, and it was a little uncomfortable wearing it for the first time.

Because he often ran about outside the wangfu for his work, his clothes would get in the way if they were too complicated, so his clothes have always been as simple as possible.

For the sake of attending the state banquet held by the imperial family this time, he could only bear with the discomfort.

After An Zi Ran bathed, Fu Wu Tian personally helped him put on the new set of clothes. As each piece of clothing went over the youth’s slender and tempting body, a tent began to bulge underneath Fu Wu Tian’s clothes. If they didn’t have to attend the state banquet soon, he would’ve just torn off the youth’s clothes and carried him onto the bed. Do first and talk later.

An Zi Ran didn’t see the bulge beneath Fu Wu Tian’s clothes and accepted his service with peace of mind.

Fu Wu Tian picked up the blue belt with his hand. The belt was made of pure white fabric, and embroidered in blue silk thread were the patterns of waves along the edges and bamboos in the middle. It was very beautiful.

Fu Wu Tian hugged An Zi Ran around the waist and carefully helped him put on the belt. Once on, the belt perfectly outlined An Zi Ran’s slender waist. Fu Wu Tian rubbed the youth’s waist lightly, reluctant to part.

An Zi Ran pulled his hand away.

Fu Wu Tian chuckled, plucked the snow-white brocade cloak from the folding screen, and put it on An Zi Ran. As the Chinese New Year approached, the weather got colder. The capital was not located in the warm south, so it snowed occasionally in winter.

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The snow-white cloak made the youth looked even more handsome and unparalleled. His skin was originally fair. After wearing this set of clothes, he looked like a translucent piece of jade, clear and delightful to the eye. Once you caught sight of him, you would not want to look away.

When the two men came out of their room, the servants were indeed really amazed at the sight of An Zi Ran.

The wangfei had an indifferent and noble temperament, but it was not to the point that it was enough to make people afraid to approach him. But after putting on this set of clothes, he instantly transformed into a lofty and untouchable flower. And his dark eyes were like the vast night sky, which was extremely mysterious and beautiful.

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Chapter 134.2 – A New Game

The complacency on the gambler’s face immediately turned into rejoicing, “Damn, fortunately I called you, or I would lose.”

The other two looked at his cards with jealousy. If this hand of cards were theirs, how good would that be?

The neglected middle-aged man was a little unhappy. He rolled his eyes and then suddenly thought of the rumor he had heard before he came up, and he abruptly laughed.

The four people who heard the laughter looked up, thinking he was laughing at them, “What’s so funny?”

“Of course I am laughing at you for being too outdated. You are still playing Chinese poker.” The middle-aged man put his parrot on the table and then he stubbornly scooted a seat for himself beside Wang-laoer*.

[*T/N: 王老二 Wang is the person’s surname, laoer means the second-eldest child in the family]

With a sneer, Wang-laoer reached out to poke the head of the parrot on the table. The latter quickly dodged back. The parrot was very intelligent. Wang-laoer said, “You’re the one who’s outdated. Who doesn’t play with cards nowadays? Only someone outdated like you would play around with a dumb parrot all day long.”

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“Don’t mess with my parrot. I bought it for fifty taels of silver. It is expensive!”

The middle-aged man immediately took the parrot off the table, lest Wang-laoer damaged its head.

“I say you guys are outdated, but you don’t believe me. Just now when I was outside I heard that Tian Long Gambling House has a new card game. I heard that this new card game is different from Fight the Landlord and Chinese poker.

The four gamblers looked at each other and doubted the authenticity of these words. Who knew if this guy was deliberately lying to them, but it might not be impossible. The four of them were a bit curious, and finally Wang-laoer spoke first.

“Do you know what’s going on?”

“How would I know? I just heard someone say this by chance. It’s not like you guys don’t know that I’m not interested in gambling.”

The middle-aged man’s biggest hobby was playing with his parrot. The amount of money that he spent on his parrot was more than what the gamblers lost in their games.

The four gamblers pondered for a bit and finally decided to go to Tian Long Gambling House to see for themselves. They hurried away without even exchanging any greetings.

The middle-aged man laughed at their backs. He didn’t tell them this piece of news out of the goodness of his heart. He just wanted to watch them fall into a pit. How dare they laugh at him? He spent a lot of money on the parrot, but the parrot was real. It was not like gambling. If you lose your money, you don’t get anything back for it.

Translations are by vmnovels [dot] com, if you’re reading this anywhere else, then it was stolen.

As soon as news of Tian Long Gambling House’s new card game spread, many gamblers learned of the news one after another.

The gamblers who originally flowed to other gambling houses came back. New things were always attractive to people, especially to people who liked to gamble.

The new game play was different from Fight the Landlord and Chinese poker.

The two card games – Fight the Landlord and Chinese poker – were actually mild game plays. They were fun but not exciting enough. Some experienced gamblers would get bored after playing it a few times and then go back to playing other gambling games. So when someone talked about the new card game at Tian Long Gambling House, some people thought at first that it surely wouldn’t last long.

Other gambling houses also began to wait to see Tian Long Gambling House make a fool of itself.

Until Chinese poker came out, many people did not know that there were other ways of playing with cards. So some gamblers that were lost were gradually attracted back.

However, Chinese poker was similar to Fight the Landlord. It could be popular among the masses, but not in casinos. So many people were waiting for Tian Long Gambling House to launch a new card game. This one wait took one month.

Wang-laoer’s group learned of the news relatively early, but when they arrived outside Tian Long Gambling House, there were already crowds of people inside.

“Have you guys seen it? I heard that this new game is even more incredible and more fun than Fight the Landlord and Chinese poker!”

“There are too many people inside, I haven’t seen it yet.”

“I have heard that the name of the game is blackjack. It’s all luck, but if you can double it, you will win more.”

“What’s going on? Quickly, tell us more.”

Wang-laoer and them pricked up their ears.

“Blackjack means that the points of the few cards in the hand do not exceed the number of twenty-one. If it exceeds the number, it will go bust. If the banker also busts, it will be a tie. If the points are higher than the banker, you can win. It’s very fun. Whether you want to play or not depends on your own wishes.”

Translations by Vanilla Muse.

All the people around who heard him were all itching to play. It sounded more fun than Fight the Landlord and Chinese poker.

Wang-laoer and them immediately followed the crowd and squeezed up to the second floor.

The card games were all on the second floor. There were several large wing rooms*. There were nearly ten gambling tables in each of the wing rooms. The sides of the gambling tables were all full of people. There were many people playing. There was no room for four more people. So they could only stay on the side and observe the rules of the game.

[*T/N: 厢房 xiang fang – wing (of a traditional house) / side room]

When the new card game was launched, the other gambling houses were also affected.

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Chapter 134.1 – A New Game

Naturally, the venue for the royal banquet would be in the palace, and all the members of the imperial family and some high-ranking officials and dignitaries would be invited to attend.

This was a good opportunity to hitch a ride to the sky on the dragon and phoenix*. And it was also a good place for the upper brass to make friends with and sound out each other. Because the royal banquet was only held once a year, every year it would be a very lively event.

[*T/N: “to hitch a ride to the sky on the dragon and phoenix” – this is an idiom meaning to curry favor with the rich and powerful in hopes of advancement]

Although Emperor Chong Ming was arrogant and extravagant, it cost a lot of money to hold such a large-scale banquet like this, so no matter how stupid and incompetent he was, he knew that the treasury’s money could not be used for his wanton squandering. Of course, it might also be related to the concubine selections that were held just some time ago.

An Zi Ran actually wasn’t very interested in the royal banquet.

This kind of royal banquet was nothing more than a place for all the various factions to probe each other. The event would definitely be surging like a gathering storm. He really did not want to get involved in the struggle of these people.

Translations are by vmnovels [dot] com, if you’re reading this anywhere else, then it was stolen.

Moreover, Fu Wu Tian’s military power had already been confiscated, and those who wanted to rope him in before also disappeared. It seemed like they had little to do with them. It didn’t matter if Fu wangfu attended or not.

“The empress dowager is hoping that this prince will attend.” Fu Wu Tian said.

The chopsticks in An Zi Ran’s hand paused, and he finally raised his head, “Why is that?”

Fu Wu Tian picked up a piece of meat and put it into his bowl. When he spoke, his tone was unconcerned, “The empress dowager heard that grandfather might recover, so she hopes that grandfather will also go to the royal banquet. Speaking of which, it’s true that I haven’t attended the royal banquet for many years.”

Laowangye was unable to participate because he was ill, and Fu Wu Tian was not in Jun Zi City during those years. Although Fu Yi was the laowangye’s biological son, few people knew about this fact. Therefore, the Fu wangfu had been absent from the royal banquet every year.

This year, everyone was present, so the empress dowager hoped that they could attend the royal banquet.

An Zi Ran’s expression became a bit absent-minded.

Fu Wu Tian said: “Wangfei will go with this prince at that time. The empress dowager also wants to see you.”

“See me for what?”

“The empress dowager regards grandfather as her own. You are the wangfei chosen by this prince. Of course she wants to see you. She’s been wanting to see you for a long time, but there was never the opportunity to do so.”

“When is it?” An Zi Ran understood right away. He had thought that the members of the imperial family did not want to see him, so that was why Fu Wu Tian never took him to meet his elders. Fortunately, he also did not want to have anything to do with the imperial family, so he never minded not meeting them.

“On the 25^th.”

That wasn’t too far off, because it was the day after tomorrow.

As the Lunar New Year drew closer and closer, every family in the capital hung up two big red lanterns in front of their house. There was a festive atmosphere everywhere, and the atmosphere on the street was a bit more lively than usual. The elderly and children all had happy expressions on their faces, and there was endless laughter.

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On this increasingly festive day, Xiao Jin Street (a.k.a. Money Squandering Street) was also particularly lively.

Since other gambling houses have successively launched card games, all the major gambling houses have become popular again. Along the street, you could see many faces of confidence, disappointment, or despair coming in and out of the gambling houses.

At the teahouse on the opposite street, a few old gamblers gathered together, holding a deck of cards in their hands. They were playing one of the most popular games nowadays: Chinese poker.

Chinese poker was the game that Tian Long Gambling House launched a month ago. Although it was not as popular as Fight the Landlord, for gamblers, they preferred this one. In this game, it was two versus two, and was fairer than Fight the Landlord.

Fight the Landlord was a more playful game, but on the contrary, it was not very suitable for gambling, because the players felt that two versus one was not very fair. But a lot of people still enjoyed playing this stuff. When there was nothing to do, they would gather three people to play together. Many teahouses and restaurants could witness this phenomenon.

At this time, a middle-aged man with a parrot in his hand came up from downstairs.

The sound of the parrot made several gamblers look over subconsciously, and then they casually retracted their gaze and focused on the cards in their hands.

The middle-aged man looked around inside, his gaze eventually settled on a group of gamblers, and then he walked over with a smile on his face.

“Why are you guys playing cards again?”

“Don’t talk nonsense, it affects my judgment,” said a gambler on one side. He didn’t even raise his head. Then he tossed out eight cards from his hand. The chance of getting this card was not high, but the game of gambling was inherently prone to surprises, so his expression was not relaxed, and he still kept an eye on his opponent.

Translations by Vanilla Muse.

After going around the players once, it turned out that not a single of one of them had it. The gambler immediately threw down the remaining two cards in his hands, a pair of fives, and said triumphantly: “I won!”

“F*ck, I lost again!”

The two opponents wailed. For several consecutive rounds, they’ve been drawing bad cards. Their luck was simply too bad.

“Haha, look at what this is.” At this time, the gambler’s partner spread out the cards in his hand. There were eight cards in a row, and they just so happened to be higher than his by a little.

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Chapter 133.3 – Royal Banquet

“How is the production of mahjong going right now?”

An Zi Ran looked at Su Zi and Ge Qian An. The person who answered was Ge Qian An. Although Su Zi was the one in charge in this area, he didn’t have much contact with the small farms in the suburbs. This matter concerned caustic soda, so they must not be careless or sloppy in any way.

“Replying to wangfei, the production amount for mahjong is low…”

Mahjong required relatively high craftsmanship, and the manufacturing cost was proportionally higher, making them much more expensive to produce than playing cards. Therefore, the number of mahjong tiles currently produced was much smaller than that of playing cards. Even with a dozens of craftsmen working together, they could only produce roughly a hundred sets of mahjong tiles in a month.

The upper-class ladies of Jun Zi City loved mahjong more than playing cards. When they had nothing better to do, they would gather a few other upper-class ladies and play mahjong together to pass the time.

That’s why, no matter how expensive the price of mahjong was, there would still be many people who want it.

Translations are by vmnovels [dot] com, if you’re reading this anywhere else, then it was stolen.

Some people even came all the way to Tian Long Gambling House just to ask for a custom-made set of mahjong. However, because the number was limited, the competition was very fierce. Some people would even bid more than a hundred taels, just to be able to grab a set of mahjong tiles first, and then show off to others.

“Mahjong tiles are in short supply. Should we expand production?” Ge Qian An asked.

An Zi Ran shook his head, “Not right now. Other gambling houses are inquiring into caustic soda. Rushing to expand production will only increase the chance of exposure. Moreover, at the current price of mahjong tiles, there isn’t that many people who can afford it. The more rare something is, the greater its value. So on the contrary, keeping supplies low will keep their interest hooked. Let’s wait a little longer.”

Ge Qian An nodded and did not say any more.

Standing on the side, Su Zi immediately handed An Zi Ran the account book of the carving workshop during this period. “Young Master, these are the accounts during the months you were gone from Jun Zi City.”

The ledger for the carving workshop was not limited to just mahjong. In addition to making mahjong tiles, the beef bones could also be carved into various small ornaments. The craftsmen were skillful, and the carved ornaments were very popular with girls. This side venture also brought in more income for An Zi Ran.

An Zi Ran casually skimmed over the accounts. He had faith in Su Zi’s work.

“By the way, while I was away, was there any movement from the fourth concubine?”

This question was directed at Su Zi.

Su Zi was a servant of the An family. He lived within the An Manor. Although he was busy with work, he would still bump into Wang Qing Lan whenever he entered or exited the manor.

Su Zi immediately responded: “Replying to Young Master, Concubine Wang often goes out these days. I heard that she was going to a gathering of upper-class ladies. I also don’t know when she made connections with those people.”

An Zi Ran frowned, “Leave her alone for the time being, and just keep monitoring her.”

After a period of observation, the more he analyzed the situation, the more he felt that Wang Qing Lan was not the murderer who had killed the original owner of this body. The main reason was that she didn’t have the motive to kill the original host. But this kind of intuition still needed facts to back it up.

After Su Zi finished reporting, he left.

But An Zi Ran kept Ge Qian An behind.

“Does wangfei have anymore commands?”

An Zi Ran said: “There is a matter that I need to trouble you with. The An family restaurant is going to open another restaurant in Jun Zi City. Help me look around and see if there is a suitable place to run a restaurant.”

“How big do you need the place to be?”

“I want to have a space big enough for development.”

Ge Qian An immediately nodded in understanding. When he left, Fu Wu Tian had just returned from the palace. He was now an idle wangye, so he didn’t need ot go to morning court, but this time it was the empress dowager who had summoned him into the palace. It had nothing to do with Emperor Chong Ming.

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An Zi Ran did not ask him why he went into the palace. He just thought Fu Wu Tian went to chat with the empress dowager about domestic trivia. It wasn’t until they were at the dinner table that Fu Wu Tian told him some unexpected news.

“The imperial palace is going to hold a royal banquet? Fu wangfu also needs to attend?”

As far as An Zi Ran knew, Emperor Chong Ming had always wanted to isolate them. When Fu Wu Tian got married, he didn’t let anyone fomr the imperial family come to attend. So why was he suddenly inviting them to this royal banquet?

You couldn’t blame An Zi Ran for coming up with conspiracy theories.

Emperor Chong Ming was muddleheaded and incompetent, but he still insisted on holding onto power with his own hands. He always targeted the Fu wangfu for their military prowess. But he never considered how he would keep the power once he got a hold of it.

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Chapter 133.2 – Royal Banquet

“No one knows what will happen in the future.”

An Zi Ran only believed in human effort, with effort, one could achieve anything, whereas the future was a vague and illusory thing. No one knew whether or not mishaps would happen in the middle of a journey, thus distorting the predetermined trajectory.

Fu Yuan Fan just wanted to complain. He didn’t actually think he was going to die for certain. He’s actually someone who pursued timely enjoyments.

Not too long after, Fu Yuan Fan then left through the wangfu’s back door. He was afraid that someone would see him interacting with the people from the Fu wangfu, so when he came, he was also very furtive.

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Not long after he left, Ge Qian An and the others came over.

During his absence away from Jun Zi City, these were the people who helped him take care of the affairs in the capital. Second Uncle would occasionally help him take care of matters, but Second Uncle also had his own affairs to tend to.

Li Zhen, who managed the playing cards workshop, reported first.

After An Zi Ran left the capital, Li Zhen’s workshop launched several batches of playing cards. Each batch of playing cards sold out very quickly. After going up on the shelves, they would sell out within a few days. The sales results were even better than An Zi Ran had imagined.

The people in the capital were actually not as poor as he had thought. Many people still had a bit of money stored away. The playing cards were a bit expensive, but with a bit of forbearance, the money they spent could be saved up again. Even if the later market was a bit saturated [with playing cards], they still sold out very quickly.

However, playing cards were no longer a monopoly in the capital.

After they launched the third batch of playing cards, Bao Hao Gambling House also produced a batch of playing cards. The price of their cards was cheaper by ten yuan. The paper they used was the same: official card paper, but the appearance of the cards was not as exquisite as theirs. However, the masses were not very particular about how the cards looked, so it still attracted some customers.

Li Zhen remembered what An Zi Ran said before he left, and soon made adjustments. When the fourth batch of cards went on the market, they were twenty yuan cheaper than the previous batches.

He didn’t touch the profits, but rather decreased manufacturing costs.

An Zi Ran had anticipated this kind of situation, so he bought a certain paper workshop at a high price and expanded it a long time ago. Now this paper workshop specialized in the production of paper materials for the playing card workshop. The official card paper they used was no longer made from fine bamboo. Although there were differences in quality, there was no difference to the people as long as they could be used to play with.

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Bao Hua Gambling House’s playing cards took a hit, and their momentum languished slightly. It was too late for them to make adjustments. The market in the capital was already saturated [with playing cards].

Right now, Li Zhen was thinking of promoting playing cards in towns near the capital. But because there were no gambling houses in other towns for promoting playing cards, the results will definitely be worse, so he thought of two ways to solve this problem.

One was to find someone to specifically teach the locals how to play cards.

The second was to open gambling houses in those places. This method would take time, but the intensity of publicity was better than the first method.

An Zi Ran pondered for a while before speaking, “Both methods are fine. My idea is to combine them. More than one method can be implemented at the same time. Only in this way can we occupy the market first. If we wait for a new gambling house to be built first, it will be too late by then.”

“But other places are not like Jun Zi City, where we have Tian Long Gambling House to advertise the playing cards. The people may not be willing to spend more than a hundred yuan to buy a set of playing cards that is of little use in their opinion.”

Translations by Vanilla Muse.

An Zi Ran knew what he was worried about, and said, “Don’t worry, there is more than one way of playing cards. In the future, I will continue to introduce various ways of playing with cards. It will also be good publicity for the newly opened gambling houses.”

Li Zhen immediately felt relieved when he heard this. After discussing about some more details with An Zi Ran, he got up and left.

Ge Qian An originally wanted to talk to An Zi Ran about the gambling house. After Bao Hua Gambling House launched card games at their casino too, it was inevitable that some gamblers would leave Tian Long Gambling House and go over there.

The amount of gamblers that they lost was not high. Tian Long Gambling House still held sway over the majority, but the card game was a little monotonous and it was not suitable for long-term development. The gamblers would only slowly share how to play the game with others.

But now that Ge Qian An knew that there were still various ways to play with cards, he could guess what the wangfei was planning.

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Chapter 133.1 – Royal Banquet

The day after An Zi Ran returned to the Fu wangfu, Fu Yuan Fan showed up at the front door. He came as soon as he heard news of their return.

He has been working hard for Tian Long Gambling House for several months. Now, everyone thought that he and Tian Long Gambling House were inextricably linked. Even if he said he had nothing to do with Tian Long Gambling House, no one would believe him. They would only think that he was trying to take them for fools.

Fu Yuan Fan still remembered tht when he saw Fifth Brother in the palace not long ago, Fifth Brother had sneered at him, as if he had already regarded Fu Yuan Fan as an enemy.

Fu Yuan Fan believed that he had never coveted the throne before. He was only interested in showing off his literary skills. Almost everyone in the palace knew about this. He has always been happy to just be an idle wangye, until he met his cousin.

And then his leisurely life was instantly gone forever.

For ten thousand taels of silver, he put his life up as collateral. Ever since then, his fifth and second elder brothers regarded him as an enemy. It was such an unspeakable bitter suffering. So he felt like his cousin ought to give him some compensation for all this.

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“Cousin, you don’t know how terrifying Fifth Brother looked when he saw me. I’ve never seen Fifth Brother with such a horrifying expression before. After that day, I was so scared that I didn’t dare to sleep for three days and three nights. Can you see my two dark circles…”

Amidst his bombastic words, Fu Yuan Fan’s bitter complaints flowed out of his mouth like spilling beans.

One hour later

An Zi Ran signaled to Steward Zhou to pour a cup of tea for him to quench his thirst.

“Thank you.” Fu Yuan Fan received the cup of tea and finished it in one gulp. He didn’t know how long he had been talking for. All he knew was that he was very thirsty.

An Zi Ran asked, “Are you finished talking?”

Fu Yuan Fan stared at him blankly, and then he said, “I’m done talking.”

An Zi Ran nodded, put the teacup down on the table slowly, rolled his eyes, and then looked directly into Fu Yuan Fan’s eyes, “Do you know why you are here?”

Fu Yuan Fan couldn’t figure out what he was trying to say. After thinking about it, he felt that it could not be a shallow problem, so he thought deeply, “Of course I know, isn’t it because cousin asked me to look after Tian Long Gambling House?”

“En, then why would you be helping me look after the gambling house?”

“Of course it’s because I owe you…” Fu Yuan Fan started replying before thinking about his answer thoroughly. But right before he could say ten thousand taels, his brain finally caught up and he trailed off.

That’s right, the reason why he had to suffer this burden was entirely due to him losing ten thousand taels of silver to the gambling house. Because he did not have the money to repay the debt, he had to sell his ‘labor’ in exchange for an IOU. This was such a tragic fact of reality!

Fu Yuan Fan bowed his head weakly.

An Zi Ran stood up, walked over to him, patted him on the shoulder, and said, “Don’t worry, no one knows that the gambling house is run by Fu wangfu. Your brothers would not think that you’re working with us.”

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“But they will find out sooner or later.”

Fu Yuan Fan looked at An Zi Ran bitterly. His facial features were relatively handsome, so it was really inappropriate for him to make this kind of expression like a bullied daughter-in-law.

An Zi Ran glanced at him and looked away, “Counter soldiers with arms, and counter flood water with an earth weir*. When the time comes, we will talk about it then.”

[*T/N: This entire sentence is an idiom and it means that one should adopt measures that are appropriate to the actual situation.]

Fu Yuan Fan felt that An Zi Ran was being irresponsible. This wasn’t a situation of when the boat reaches the bridge, it will pass underneath without trouble*.

[*T/N: “when the boat reaches the bridge, it will pass underneath without trouble” is a Chinese proverb that means everything will be all right]

If nothing unexpected happened, then the next emperor would be selected from among his three elder brothers. If the ultimate winner were Second Brother, then Fifth Brother, as a minister who has given outstanding service, definitely would not let him off the hook.

“Then it will be fine as long as you don’t let your second brother ascend to the throne, right?”

Fu Yuan Fan accidentally said what he was thinking out loud, and An Zi Ran answered him when he heard his words.

Fu Yuan Fan complained: “That’s easy for you to say. Even if it’s not Second Brother on the throne, Eldest Brother and Third Brother are both hard to get along with.”

The eldest prince Fu Yuan Wu was a paranoid person and extremely indifferent to brotherhood. It was impossible to expect him to remember their brotherhood after he took the throne.

The third prince, Fu Yuan Yang, was surly and irritable. He has always coveted the throne and regarded his brothers as thorns in his side. It was impossible to expect him to be merciful. It would already be good if he didn’t make up some excuse to kill off the others.

In summary, none of his brothers were good people, except for his forth brother who died young.

Fu Yuan Fan became sadder the more he thought about it.

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Chapter 132.2 – To Restore

The next morning, they set off for Jun Zi City. Steward Su was reluctant to part. An Zi Ran brought Chef Wang and Zhou Laohan’s family along with him. Because there were children in the family, they decided to all go to the capital together as a family after some discussion. Based on their family’s current income, they were fully capable of buying a house in Jun Zi City.

Upon hearing the news that they were going to return to the capital very soon, everyone in the Fu wangfu was very happy. Even Head Steward Fu came back early.

This time he kept his promise and raised the little bun to be very rosy and healthy. However, the little bun was too round, and accidentally turned into a little fatty, but the result was still very gratifying.

“Oh, I haven’t seen him for a few months, Zi Ming is getting heavier and heavier.”

An Zi Ran picked up the little bun that was clinging on to his leg. As soon as he got his arms around the little bun, he could feel how heavy he was. The little bun really did get fatter. It wasn’t a misperception. The little face was especially round, ruddy, and adorable.

“Gege…”

The little bun enunciated very clearly, and called to him excitedly. It sounded like he had been practicing a lot. His soft lips directly stamped a kiss onto An Zi Ran’s cheek, smearing his saliva everywhere. The little bun laughed happily, as if he had succeeded in getting away with a sneak attack.

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Blood relations cannot be changed. Even if the little bun had not seen him for a few months, he still recognized his older brother at a glance.

“Was Zi Ming a good boy while big brother was away?” An Zi Ran pinched his tender cheeks. They looked so plump. It was as if water could be squeezed out of them. The little bun’s skin was very nice and supple.

Although the little bun could talk, he could not understand sentences that were too complicated. He held onto his brother’s neck with his chubby paws and refused to let go.

Fu Yi spoke: “He was very good. He’s only so active now because you are here.”

“During my absence, I have troubled second uncle to take care of him.” After learning about Fu Yi’s background, An Zi Ran changed to calling him second uncle.

“We’re a family, and I also like little Zi Ming very much. This place hasn’t been so lively in a long time.”

An Zi Ran thought for a bit, but in the end he did not say what he was thinking. Actually, he very much doubted the authenticity of that sentence. If you asked him, the wangfu was lively everyday with the amnesiac laowangye around [to make trouble].

“By the way, why don’t I see grandfather?”

Fu Yi laughed: “Recently, there’s been a bit of problem with his brain. He has been hiding in his room for a couple of days and has not come out. Leave him alone. It will be better in a few days.”

“What’s the matter with grandfather, is his illness acting up again?” Fu Wu Tian raised his eyebrows in question.

“It can’t be regarded as his illness acting up,” Fu Yi replied ambiguously.

There was no need for him to illuminate any more. Fu Wu Tian could guess what was going on. With a calm face, he asked a few questions, “When did it happen? Did you have a doctor see to grandfather? Will it happen again?”

Fu Yi replied: “The doctor said that he needs to be observed for some more time, so I’m having him stay in his room more often.” After saying that, he gave An Zi Ran a meaningful look.

An Zi Ran noticed. His eyebrows furrowed imperceptibly. It seemed like the laowangye’s illness was taking a turn for the better, and his personality might deviate a lot. As a result, the laowangye who has recovered from his illness might not accept An Zi Ran as a male daughter-in-law*?

[*T/N: The text specified “male daughter-in-law” as opposed to simply “son-in-law”]

In the evening, the two went to bed after washing up and preparing to turn in for the night.

An Zi Ran put his head on Fu Wu Tian’s sturdy and broad chest, and listened to his strong and powerful heartbeat. After sharing the bed together for half a year, he was already very used to this.

After a while, An Zi Ran took the initiative to break the silence in the room.

“What did the doctor say about grandfather’s illness?”

When he married Fu Wu Tian, he did not put any thought into having heirs for the Fu wangfu, but it was different now. You could say that there’s still a second uncle around [to have children], but he was already forty years old.

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Judging from what Fu Yi said during the day, grandfather probably would not agree to Fu Wu Tian marrying a male wife who could not lay eggs, so An Zi Ran might have to make some preparations?

“There is a possibility of recovery, but it is uncertain. After recovery, it is the same, he might relapse at any moment.” Fu Wu Tian looked up at the canopy of the bed. He had one arm around An Zi Ran’s waist. His tone was absent-mindedly content.

An Zi Ran raised his head and looked into his eyes, “What if he insists that you marry a concubine?”

Fu Wu Tian met his gaze. His black eyes flashed with a bright light in the dark, “This prince has his own way to deal with him.”

“Second uncle?”

“It goes without saying.”

“Heh, that’s really something to look forward to!”

An Zi Ran actually wanted to see what the laowangye would be like after he recovered his memory. He heard that Fu Wu Tian inherited his personality from the laowangye, but so far, he has not seen how they could be similar.

“It would definitely surprise wangfei.”

At that moment, An Zi Ran really did not know how different the amnesiac laowangye’s personality was compared to his previous self. The laowangye before his amnesia was like Fu Wu Tian when he was about to kill someone. He was a powerful and fierce persona.

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Chapter 132.1 – To Restore

At the end of the 27th year of Emperor Chongming

After discussing with Fu Wu Tian, An Zi Ran finally decided to return to Jun Zi City. Guan Su, Shao Fei and Zhong Yue left with them.

Guan Su didn’t want to stay in Ali Xiang anymore. He had been in Ali Xiang for several months. Shao Fei was someone who couldn’t stay idle for long, so he couldn’t stay either. Thus, the group of people went back in a grandiose manner.

An Zi Ran was thinking of sending someone to Ali Xiang to oversee everything after he went back to the capital. It wasn’t that he didn’t believe in Ta Li, but Ta Li was indeed too young, so An Zi Ran was afraid that he wouldn’t be able to continuously subdue the masses.

Fortunately, things were easier with the nomads. They considered each other as family after all. But it was different for the foreigners. Both sides hoped that the person sitting in the mayor seat could be their own, so the conflicting views between the two sides was still vaguely visible.

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When they passed by An Yuan County, they stayed there for one night.

An Zi Ran could not avoid hearing about Zheng Bi and her daughter’s situation.

After they were evicted from the An family, the mother and daughter pair’s situation could be described with the idiom “can bu ren du,” a spectacle too horrible to endure.

Who knows how they’ve been living, it’s only been a few months, the two were once wealthy women, but now they’ve ended up in dire straits. They squandered the money that they got from selling the courtyard, and ended up spending everything in less than half a month.

The next day, the two women came knocking on the An family’s door.

Zheng Bi and her daughter naively thought that if they spent all their money then they could just ask the An family for more, but they didn’t know that An Zi Ran had already decided to sever all relationship with them the day that he kicked them out of the An family. So why would the An family still support them?

Thus, Steward Su rejected them and had the servants drive them out.

Zheng Bi and An Ke Xin were so angry that they came to the gate of the An family house everyday, and scolded An Zi Ran for having no conscience. They said he kicked them away as soon as he gained power, and all sorts of other unpleasant words. Shrews were still shrews.

Steward Su didn’t want to pay attention to them at first, but found that their words got more and more unpleasant, so he finally threatened to take back the house [that was given to them]. Only then did the two women exercise restraint, and afterwards Steward Su did not see them anymore.

Until half a month ago, someone said that they had seen them leaving An Yuan County with a man.

That man didn’t seem to be a good person.

As for the Lin family in Tong Tai County, they might have been afraid of revenge, or it might have been due to the incident with An Ke Xin, but after An Zi Ran left An Yuan County for Ali Xiang, the whole Lin family relocated.

Translations by Vanilla Muse.

Steward Su later learned that the Lin family actually intended to move their business away from Tong Tai County to a larger town for development. Lin Xin already had this idea before An Ke Xin had married into the Lin family. Rumor has it that Lin Xin only took his second and third concubine with him, and he divorced the fourth concubine.

“Steward, I didn’t expect you to be such a gossip.”

After listening to these words, An Zi Ran looked at Steward Su for a long time before opening his mouth to speak. He was really surprised.

Steward Su’s old face was embarrassed, “ Young Master, don’t get me wrong, I just paid attention to it habitually because it had some connection with the An family. There is absolutely no other meaning. But I do want to ask your opinion about something.”

“What is it?”

“It’s about the second young lady.”

An Zi Ran immediately guessed what he wanted to say, and said mercilessly: “There is no need to pay attention. They are already grown ups with their own thinking and judgment capabilities. If they are deceived, they can only be blamed for their own ignorance. Furthermore, they have already left the An family. Whether they are alive or dead has nothing to do with the An family.”

Steward Su thought for a while. Eventually his thoughts turned into a sigh. Thinking back, he had watched the second young lady grow up into an adult with his own eyes, and now he was also watching her fall from grace with his own eyes. He thought regretfully, things have remained the same, but people have changed.

“By the way, Young Master, there is something I want to discuss with you, it’s about the An family restaurant.”

“What about the restaurant?”

“We’ve opened five restaurants and the results are all good. So I discussed with Chef Wang and Zhou Lao Han’s wife some time ago. We were wondering if we could expand the restaurant business to the capital. What do you think?”

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Steward Su looked at him expectantly. Originally, he didn’t intend to touch the food industry, but now that he has made achievements, he wanted to expand the restaurant to various places. There was no shortage of money in the An family right now, so he wanted to try it.

“That’s possible, but Jun Zi City is not like An Yuan County. There is more competition there. At that time, we would need Zhou Lao Han’s wife and Chef Wang to join me in Jun Zi City.” An Zi Ran nodded.

Steward Su’s face lit up, “No problem. I have discussed with them already. Chef Wang accepted several apprentices some time ago, and all of them have inherited some of Chef Wang’s techniques and recipes. If we hand things over to them, there shouldn’t be much of a problem.”

“Then let’s do it like that. Is there anything else?”

“There’s nothing else for now.”

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