Chapter 145: The Master has a dinner companion

The forest is dyed through and the farming season is over.

The villagers of Yuliang Village have prepared several large and small packages containing dried meat, rice cakes, spices and coarse cloths, which they have been stuffing into the arms of Chu Wanning and Mo Ran.

Although there is no shortage of food and clothing at the top of the Dead and Alive, this is a token of appreciation from the villagers and it would be bad form not to accept it. So the two of them did not hesitate to help the village chief fill up the pouch.

Ling is also here, carrying a bamboo basket covered with a small blue cloth, which is lifted to reveal steamed buns and a dozen or so green eggs in their shells.

She came to Mo Ran's horse, her big black-and-white eyes shining, wanting to look at him, but embarrassed at the thought of her bold confession that day when she was half-drunk and half-awake. After a few moments of dawdling, she went over to him, lifted the basket above her head and said to the handsome man who was already on his horse, "Mo Ran, I cooked these this morning, take them with you and eat them on the way with Chu Wanning."

Mo Ran did not know what she meant by this, so he hesitated, not knowing whether to refuse or accept it.

Ling, however, understood his concern and looked up suddenly, her cheeks flushed, but her eyes a little stubborn and hurt.

Although she's putting all her efforts into trying to climb aboard the amazing Your Mightiness, she's not the kind of girl who has no dignity and continues to stalk when she's rejected.

She said, "Your Mightiness, don't worry, Ling didn't mean anything by it, she just wanted to thank Your Mightiness for taking care of Yuliang Village for the past half a month."

Mo Ran now took the bamboo basket and sat on his horse, looking at her with his eyelashes lowered, and said sincerely, "Thank you very much, Miss."

" Your Mightiness is polite."

When Mo Ran saw her willingness to take things in her stride, she was somewhat touched by her feelings and asked her one more question, "What are your plans for the future?"

" Your Mightiness Why do you ask that."

"I don't think the girl is someone who wants to live in the village for long."

I heard that the Confucianism School patriarch is kind and willing to help all the poor people in the world and that he will not kick us out of Lower Fairy World if we can get a job in Linyi. He would not kick us out if we could get a job in Linyi. I am a good maid and I can cook, so I can make a living."

The Confucianism School has the largest number of disciples among the ten schools, and it is a vast school with seventy-two cities, and Linyi is even the capital of the Immortal School, where five out of ten people walking along the road are monks.

Chu Wanning was unaware of her thoughts and frowned when he heard she was going to Linyi, saying, " The Confucianism School is not as simple as you might think. If you want to stay at Upper Fairy World for a long time, why don't you consider Yangzhou Linling Island?"

"Yangzhou is not viable, food and clothing are too expensive." Ling said, "Thank you Your Mightiness for your kindness, Ling has a lot to think about."

Since she had already said that, Chu Wanning knew it was useless to say more, so he gave up.

The two of them were loaded with packages and they were on their way. When Chu Wanning passed near Butterfly Town, he kept an eye on the boundaries there, but fortunately the spiritual flow was strong and stable. So the horses continued on their way, and by midday they were back at the top of the Dead and the Living.

When Chu Wanning went to meet Xue Zhengyong, Mo Ran, who had nothing better to do, wandered around and came across a man by the Naihe Bridge, polishing the stone lions on the bridge pillars.

Mo Ran thought to himself, "I wonder who has committed another crime and been sentenced to hard labour here.

Those who are punished are usually a little embarrassed, so Mo Ran had no intention of going to the bridge and was about to turn around when he heard the man call out to him from a short distance away.

" Mo Ran "

""

When he looked at the lion, he saw that it was none other than Shi Mei who was rubbing it. Mo Ran was stunned for a moment, but felt a strange feeling inside.

It is strange that someone as disciplined as Shi Mei should be punished for polishing Naihe Bridge.

Secondly, it is strange to see Shi Mei in her present form.

It had been a long time since I had seen Shi Mei in full growth, but I had not been able to recognize his current appearance, but rather, as time went by, I felt more and more rusty, so that when I saw him on the bridge at first glance, I did not recognize him.

"Why are you doing something wrong here?" Mo Ran asked, walking up to him.

Shi Mei looked a little embarrassed: "Well it was a penalty with young master."

"Moe." Mo Ran paused and smiled.

It's no surprise that Xue Meng made a mistake, it's nothing new.

"What did he drag you to do?"

"Said he wanted to go to the forbidden place in the back of the mountain to catch some ghosts and monsters for practice."

""

"As a result, I almost stabbed the crack in the boundary that had been sealed before the Master left."

Mo Ran laughed and cried: "He thinks ghosts and monsters are cats and dogs that he can just catch and keep. You too, you shouldn't go along with his nonsense, why don't you persuade him?"

Shi Mei sighed, his face full of helplessness: "Of course I tried to persuade him, but it was no use. I was afraid that something would happen to him, so I had to go in with him. Mo Ran, let's talk about you. The other day you and your master went to Yuliang Village to do some farming."

"Hmm."

"So, it's going well."

"Well, it's all pretty smooth."

The two of them chatted indifferently for a while, and after bidding farewell to Shi Mei, Mo Ran walked alone in silence along the boulevard, looking back with his mind set, he became more and more aware that his feelings for Shi Mei were more of an obsession, a habit, than a self-perceived love.

He used to think that he looked at Shi Mei's appearance and thought it was beautiful, that it was stunning, that it was comfortable, that it was desire, but it wasn't.

He admires Shi Mei's beauty, but, on examination, there is no intimacy in this admiration.

He enjoyed watching him as much as he enjoyed watching the red leaves on the mountains in autumn and the lotus flowers in the ponds in summer, and over the years, there was hardly any delusion of transgressing the rules.

He still cherished and loved Shi Mei as much as ever.

But it is not the same as it used to be. Mo Ran, now that he finally understands what love is all about, is not a willow, his love should be wet and hot, with the invasion, with the clash of flesh, with the rush of blood and the gushing of fluids.

He is a wolfhound and will sniff out the roses.

But the teeth and molars are hideous, and when they do go down, it is certainly not flowers and plants that they will eat, but flesh and blood.

By dinner time, Xue Meng had finally finished compiling all the books in the Cangshu Library's second scripture section, but he was so tired that he sighed and sighed and slumped in Mengpo Court, complaining that even his usual favourite, diced chicken with chilli sauce, failed to cheer him up.

As he was playing with his chopsticks, he suddenly saw Chu Wanning enter the dining hall and, at last refreshed, straightened up and shouted, "Master!"

Chu Wanning gave him a look and nodded towards him.

Mo Ran sits next to Xue Meng. He, Xue Meng and Shi Mei have always eaten together, but today when Chu Wanning walks in, Mo Ran moves all the dishes around the table, leaving a large space free.

"What do you do?"

Mo Ran smiled at Xue Meng and stood up and beckoned to Chu Wanning, "Master, come and sit here."

Xue Meng :""

Shi Mei :""

It's one thing to respect, but it's quite another to eat together.

Most people who are able to sit at a table and eat bones on a regular basis don't have too hard a relationship, or at least are used to each other baring their mouths, and can stand to see each other eat in an ugly way and lose their cool occasionally.

The look on Xue Meng's and Shi Mei's faces showed that they were uncomfortable and unaccepting of eating with Chu Wanning, despite the fact that he had always eaten with aplomb and aplomb.

For them, the occasional meal with their master was the same as a social occasion, where they had to be tense and polite to each other, and their backs were often stiffened after a meal, and they did not know how to eat.

Chu Wanning understood this and gave Mo Ran a rather surprised look, shook his head and, still carrying some light vegetables, went straight to his usual spot.

It had been five years since I had eaten at Mengpo Court, and as soon as I sat down, Chu Wanning saw that a small brass plate had been carved into the corner of the table, with the words "Elder Yu Heng's Seat" engraved in small letters.

""

Xue Zhengyong What's wrong with you?

Chu Wanning sits down with a heavy hand on the wooden tray, and before he can take two bites, a man pulls out the wooden chair opposite him and takes his seat at the 'Yu Heng Elders' table, bringing his tray right in front of Chu Wanning's plate, so close together that it almost touches.

Chu Wanning lifted his eyes, "What brings you here?"

"It's too crowded over there." Mo Ran said, smiling as she picked up her bowl of rice, "Come and eat with your Master."

Chu Wanning glanced over at Xue Meng's side of the room, slightly puzzled: where was the crowd?

Not only was he baffled, but the other two people left behind by Mo Ran also looked at Chu Wanning and Mo Ran's table with mixed feelings.

Xue Meng muttered, "That dog is not crazy, is he?"

Shi Mei :""

Mo Ran didn't care about that, he felt uncomfortable just looking at Chu Wanning's food. Chu Wanning was a fussy eater and was particularly fussy when it came to food, he often felt sick after eating this or tasting that.

He didn't care what Chu Wanning ate before, but now it's different, not to mention the fact that he likes it.

But feeding Chu Wanning is a learning process, just like feeding a cat, you can't just shove it down your throat, they won't want it and he can't force it.

So Mo Ran had the bright idea to put a piece of fatty, lean roast pork in Chu Wanning's bowl.

"Master, try this."

As luck would have it, Chu Wanning frowned, "I don't like pancetta, you take it."

Mo Ran was prepared and laughed, "I hear it's very sweet and Jiangnan in flavour."

Chu Wanning said, " Jiangnan cooks meat, which is different from this."

"You don't even eat it, how do you know it's different"

"It's all there to see by the looks of it."

"But the chef says it's Jiangnan." Mo Ran throws down the net and prepares for the cat. Mo Ran threw down his net, ready for the cat to take the bait, and laughed, "The chef at Mengpo Court is an old chef, he must have been away for so long that he forgot what roast pork looked like back home."

Chu Wanning said, "Nonsense, how could I be wrong about this?"

Mo Ran then ate a piece himself and seemed to be really serious about tasting it and said earnestly, "I think the master is really wrong, this meat is very heavy with sweetness, don't believe you try a piece"

Chu Wanning, unaware of Mo Ran's ulterior motives, picked up his chopsticks and took the roast pork from the bowl to his mouth.

"How's that?" Mo Ran stifled a laugh and looked at the big white cat that had taken the bait.

Chu Wanning frowned solemnly and said, "No, the anise and fennel flavour is too strong, I'll talk to the chef, that's not how Jiangnan's braised pork is made."

"He said, "Don't worry, the cook is busy at the moment, since he has tasted it, it must not be true. I'll tell him later, let's eat first."

Chu Wanning thought better of it, so he sat down again and continued to munch.

Mo Ran then began to coax him again, this time with a piece of fish.

Chu Wanning's chopsticks pause for a moment: "anchovies"

"Hmm."

"Don't eat it, take it away."

"Why don't you eat?"

"Not like that."

Mo Ran just laughed: "Is it prickly?"

"No."

"But every time Master eats fish, he picks the kind with no thorns, or those with large thorns that are easy to pick, Master wouldn't be able to eat small thorny fish, would he? hahaha."

He knew the soft spots of Chu Wanning's character and he took them well. Chu Wanning fell for it again, and with some thinly veiled anger he said, "That's ridiculous." He picked up the anchovy Mo Ran had given him and ate it, showing physically that he was not incapable of eating spiny fish.

In this way, Chu Wanning was coaxed by Mo Ran into eating much more food than usual, almost all kinds of vegetables and poultry. It was a quick meal for one person, but it took more than half an hour to finish.

By the time they had cleared away the dishes, Xue Meng and the others had long since left, and only a few of the Mengpo Court disciples remained, Mo Ran accompanying Chu Wanning along the wooded path back to the red lotus water pavilion, the sun slanting towards evening and the twilight.

The evening breeze was blowing and he was suddenly smiling as he walked idly with his arms behind his head.

"Master."

"Do what?"

"Not doing anything, just shouting at you."

"I think you've had a long night."

Mo Ran then smiled more softly, "Yeah, good hang on. Master, can I always eat with you from now on"

Chu Wanning's heart still skipped a beat, knowing that Mo Ran meant nothing else, but his gaze remained calm.

"Why, you and Xue Meng had a fight."

"No no." Mo Ran waved his hand and laughed, "It's just that it's been too long since I've eaten with the two of them, and it feels a bit awkward to sit together again after a five-year gap. If Master thinks I'm in the way, then I'll just find another seat tomorrow and eat by myself."

""

Of course he could not say "I feel sorry for you eating alone", or "I want to feed you more food", but Mo Ran knew that it would not work. He had to say that he felt sorry for himself and that he needed company, and Chu Wanning was so kind that he would not refuse.

Mo Ran could practically see the faltering in his eyes, just short of the last bit of intensity.

So he continued, "But actually, I don't really want to eat alone."

"Why?"

Mo Ran lowered her soft eyelashes, her smile half genuine in its emotion and half made to coax Chu Wanning: "Doesn't Master think one casually finishes eating, that's called fruit."

He paused, swept away the wind-blown hair from his forehead in a haze of brocade, and with a deep swirl of pearls, he gazed at the other man again.

"If two people eat together, talk, talk, have a taste in their mouths and fall into their stomachs as hot. That's eating."

""

"Master, can I still join you tomorrow?"

The wolfdog's heart-warming words are really overwhelming when they are spoken.

Mo Ran is stubbornly heartwarming, saying.

"Master, I spent five years out on my own, and when you woke up, I ate with you."

"I'm not used to it without you."

"I won't eat rabbit head or duck neck." At the end of the sentence, he burst out laughing and went to pull Chu Wanning's sleeve, playing a scoundrel, "I'll eat tofu with scallions and sweet root with cinnamon, just promise me, okay?"

He was fine if he didn't say this one, but as soon as he did, Chu Wanning suddenly thought of something old and his face sank, and at the end he sneered twice and said, "Yes, you can, but you'll have to eat the same as me in the morning."

Before Mo Ran could respond, she said yes before saying, "Yeah, same what"

"Salted bean flower." Chu Wanning is unfailingly cruel, "With nori."

Mo Ran :""

I bet this is a reminder of the feud we had over hot pot when he was Xia Sini.

Chu Wanning grinded his teeth and said in one word, "And dried shrimp."