The Aloof Junior Brother I Was Supposed To Be Is Actually A Hopeless Romantic! - Chapter 7

Chen Ji’s face flushed red with shame. When the two unfilial sons had brought the silver home and handed it over to him, he had actually praised them for a job well done. He had no idea they had caused such a massive headache for someone else.

“Are you two not going to apologize to Sister Man?” Chen Ji asked as his fists tightened.

“A-Ji, what did Jingyun do wrong?”

“I did nothing wrong either,” they replied.

The two unfilial sons stood righteously before their victim, making Chen Ji so angry he wanted to give them both a heavy slap. However, thinking that such an act might cause significant psychological trauma to these youths, Chen Ji clenched his jaw and held back.

He personally offered an apology to Manyue. “Sister Man, I am so sorry. I will definitely compensate you for your losses from last time.”

“There is no need for that, you little troublemaker,” Manyue replied. “I might not be close to them, but are we not close? I practically watched the three of you grow up. I can overlook one mistake, but this is a small business and I cannot afford too many losses. So, while I would be happy to hire you, I would not dare take on these two junior brothers of yours.”

Chen Ji enjoyed a fairly good reputation among the citizens of Tianyun City. Thanks to his cheerful personality and smooth talking, everyone knew there was a friendly and handsome cultivator from the Tianyun Sect. Of course, they also remembered his two eccentric junior brothers. Those two were blunt and lacked patience. Some girls had tried to approach them in the past, only to be barked at until they ran away in tears.

Chen Ji knew Qiu Lingzhou and Liu Jingyun were unpopular within the sect, but he had not realized their reputation was this bad outside of it. Hearing Manyue’s words, he said sheepishly, “Sister Man, I brought them down today specifically so they could learn how hard it is to earn money. Since they caused trouble here, I will not bother you further. I will take them to the riverside to see if any merchant ships need laborers for unloading cargo.”

“A-Ji, you are cultivators. Why are you doing such manual labor?” Manyue asked.

“Exactly,” one of Manyue’s friends added. “If you go and accept a commission to slay a monster, you will earn more than you would from a whole day of unloading cargo.”

Chen Ji sighed. “I want to take those commissions, but we are not allowed to leave the sect territory without the Sect Leader’s orders. Since the city is under his protection, no monsters have appeared within a hundred miles for a long time.”

“Why don’t you try visiting Master Zhang?” Manyue suggested. “I heard him say a couple of days ago that some kind of monster had broken into his lotus pond. Every morning, they find dead chicken feathers and entrails scattered along the banks.”

She continued, “They are too afraid to go near the pond right now. Master Zhang has been busy lately, but I heard he was planning to go to the sect yesterday to find some disciples to help him catch it. I am not sure if he went, so why don’t you go ask?”

Chen Ji’s eyes lit up with joy. “Great! I will go to the Zhang estate and ask right away!”

After thanking Manyue, the group of four arrived at the Zhang residence. The owner, Zhang Yu, was quite famous in Tianyun City. He managed several fish and lotus ponds, making a living primarily by selling fish and lotus roots.

The people of Tianyun City loved dishes made with fish and lotus root soup with peanuts and pork ribs. Consequently, fish and lotus roots were incredibly popular. Outsiders often joked that not a single fish or lotus root could leave the city alive. While Zhang Yu was not incredibly wealthy, he certainly had money to spare.

Chen Ji had helped Zhang Yu harvest lotus roots before, so he knew the way well. He stepped up to the front door and used the bronze ring to knock gently. The old butler opened the door and greeted him warmly. “Is that you, A-Ji? Are you here to see the Master?”

“Yes, Uncle Zhao. I heard there is a monster in Master Zhang’s pond.”

Although monsters were rarely seen in Tianyun City due to the sect’s protection, occasionally a foolish creature would wander into the wrong place. Chen Ji was determined to land this commission for a rare monster sighting.

“Uncle Zhao, who is it?” Zhang Yu’s voice called out from inside.

The butler replied, “Master, it is A-Ji. He is here about the commission.”

“He arrived before I even made it to the sect! Let him in quickly. I happen to have something else to discuss with him!”

The butler opened the door wide and let them in. Zhang Yu was sitting in a lounge chair in the courtyard. When he saw Qiu Lingzhou walk in, his eyes brightened instantly. He stood up excitedly and rushed over. “Master Chef! I finally see you again!”

Qiu Lingzhou took a step back, looking at him with clear disgust.

Zhang Yu continued, “Young man, that spicy chicken you made last time was exactly to my taste! I have had my own chefs try to recreate it, but they cannot get it right. You must make it for me again today! And while you are at it, make some boiled fish, spicy beef tofu, dry-pot spicy chicken wings, and braised chicken giblets.”

“Wait, Master Zhang!” Chen Ji interrupted. “I heard from Sister Man that you were in bad shape after eating Lingzhou’s spicy chicken last time. Has your hemorrhoid flare-up healed yet?”

Chen Ji looked at Zhang Yu warily. “The four of us are very poor, Master Zhang. Please do not try to swindle us.”

“Oh, A-Ji, do not be so anxious. Why would I swindle you? Your junior brother’s cooking was spicy, but it was addictive! I only swindled Manyue because her chef could not get the flavor right and it made me angry!”

“Master Zhang, so you admit you swindled Sister Man,” Chen Ji noted.

“No, that is not it at all! I really did have a flare-up!” Zhang Yu quickly corrected himself. He looked back at Chen Ji and said, “Regardless, I will not swindle you. How about making me some spicy chicken? I will give you five taels of silver for one dish.”

Chen Ji’s eyes sparkled, but he quickly suppressed his excitement. “Master Zhang, you are still as generous as ever, but it is still a no!”

Zhang Yu grabbed him. “Why? Why not?”

“Your wife mentioned before that you have severe hemorrhoids and refuse to stick to a bland diet,” Chen Ji explained. “She said anyone who causes you to have a flare-up will be in trouble. I would not dare disobey Madam Zhang’s orders.”

“Oh! What are you afraid of? That tigress treats you like her own son! If you just coax her a little, she would not dream of blaming you.”

“Still no. Master Zhang, we are here to deal with the monster in your lotus pond. How much silver are you offering to get rid of it?”

“I don’t want that!” Zhang Yu began to act like a spoiled child. “I just want to eat the spicy chicken your junior brother makes. As for the monster, I will not give you any silver even if you solve it.”

“Then I will go find Madam Zhang and tell her you are not watching your diet,” Chen Ji threatened.

“Fine, fine! This is a man’s business, why bring the wife into it? I give up. Fine! Depending on the size of the monster, I will give you twenty taels if it is weak and fifty if it is strong.” Zhang Yu glared at Chen Ji grumpily, still looking at Qiu Lingzhou with lingering hope. He tried to convince Qiu Lingzhou with his eyes to make him a meal.

Qiu Lingzhou met his gaze, his lips curling into a calculating smile.

Seeing that they finally had a job, Chen Ji said happily, “Then we are off. Once we have dealt with it, we will bring the monster’s carcass back to you.”

“Don’t! I cannot stand the sight of blood,” Zhang Yu said quickly. “Just tell the workers at the lotus pond. You can collect the silver directly from them.”

Chen Ji responded cheerfully, “You got it! We are heading out then, Master Zhang.”