Chapter 26 - 26 26 Jealousy and Arched Eyebrows

Chapter 26: Chapter 26: Jealousy and Arched Eyebrows Chapter 26: Chapter 26: Jealousy and Arched Eyebrows The news that the Bai family brought a fish to the Chen household quickly spread throughout the street where Chen Jiusi’s family lived.

The Bai family’s status in Xiantao Village was incredibly high, revered by the villagers. Not only was there Doctor Bai who could treat illnesses, but more importantly, there was Fishing Guild Manager Wu Zhong.

With such status, even in the entire Xiantao Town, who would dare to disrespect the Bai Family?

Even Yu Biao from Yu’s Treasure House had to be courteous to the Bai Family.

At least on the surface, he had to be polite.

And now the Bai family had visited a notorious gambler, sparking a flurry of speculation among the curious villagers.

“Hey, did I see that right just now? Wasn’t that Bai? What’s he doing at Chen Jiusi’s house?”

“Yeah, could it be that someone in Chen Jiusi’s family is sick?”

“Nonsense, even if someone is sick, they would call Doctor Bai, not Bai. She doesn’t know how to treat illnesses.”

“Right, plus, don’t forget, Doctor Bai and Chen Yongwang are at odds. How could their families be associating now?”

“Exactly, exactly, this is really strange.”

As everyone buzzed with speculations, one person spoke out.

“I know what’s going on!”

Everyone turned to look at him as he explained, “Yesterday, I saw Chen Jiusi carrying Doctor Bai back home. It seemed like Doctor Bai sprained his ankle while gathering herbs up the mountain and ran into Chen Jiusi...”

Hearing this, the others were filled with envy.

Chen Jiusi’s luck was unbelievable.

Saving Doctor Bai meant the Bai Family owed him a favor. If the Bai Family treated him favorably, his status in Xiantao Village would rise sharply.

*He truly stepped in luck.*

*Why wasn’t it me who saved Doctor Bai?*

*How wonderful it would be if this luck fell on my head.*

Numerous people began to envy Chen Jie, aligning with the Bai Family was something many aspired to do. Not to mention Bai’s son-in-law, Wu Zhong.

He was the Fishery Manager, practically an emperor on Mianshui River. Anyone wanting to fish had to get his permission and pay taxes.

The fishery was a place everyone in Xiantao Town dreamed of joining, not only was the work easy and profitable, but if one performed well, there was a chance to join the Fishing Guild.

Joining the Fishing Guild meant truly rising above others.

As a result, countless villagers tried to use connections to get into the fishery, but success was rare.

The surrounding neighbors were green with envy, feeling that Chen Jiusi was extraordinarily lucky, having all the good luck fall on him.

Some people even stomped their feet in frustration, like Chen Sanliu, who felt more miserable than unlucky seeing Chen Jiusi’s success!

...

The villagers had little to talk about, so when they discovered this incident, it spread quickly, and more people gathered to watch the excitement.

Just then, the door opened, and Bai was escorted out. Chen Jie, accompanied by Su Yunjin, stood at the door and said, “Aunt Bai, I’ll come by after lunch.”

Bai replied, “No rush, there’s nothing major today, you can also come tomorrow.”

Chen Jie said, “Thank you, Aunt, for your kindness. But I have no plans this afternoon, so I’ll drop by and see if I can help you with anything.”

Bai was very pleased with Chen Jie’s attitude and said, “Alright, then it’s settled. I’ll be off now.”

After saying this, she left. Watching Bai walk away into the distance, Uncle Erba approached with Hu Zi.

“Uncle Erba,”

Chen Jie greeted him. Uncle Erba looked at him and asked, “Jiu Si, what did Bai come for? She didn’t give you any trouble, did she?”

Seeing Uncle Erba’s concerned expression, Chen Jie laughed and said, “Haha, rest assured, Uncle, it’s good news. Yesterday I went up the mountain and met Doctor Bai... It turns out Doctor Bai needed an apprentice, so he found me...”

Chen Jie explained the situation.

“What, Doctor Bai wants to take you as an apprentice!”

Uncle Erba was overjoyed, laughing, “Haha, good, it’s a great thing, being appreciated by Doctor Bai. Once you learn the skills, you’ll be as respected as your uncle. Goodness, this meets your uncle’s expectations!”

“Haha, congratulations, Jiu Si!”

Hu Zi, standing by, grinned and said as well. Chen Jie smiled and said, “Uncle Erba, we’re having fish stew for lunch, why don’t you bring Aunt along to join us and celebrate?”

“This...”

Uncle Erba hesitated. In those days, every household lived frugally.

In later times, inviting someone for a meal was no big deal, but during that era, it was indeed a significant token of goodwill!

Uncle Erba hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded and said, “Alright, I’ll definitely come at noon.”

Chen Jie nodded with a smile, then turned and went back inside.

Uncle Erba also headed home, leaving a crowd still watching. One of them nudged Chen Sanliu beside him and said, “Hey, Sanliu, you guys are both uncles, why did he invite Erba for a meal and not you?”

Chen Sanliu’s face turned livid, his complexion darkened as he said, “Who cares about his meal, that ungrateful brat.”

“Hey, Sanliu, don’t be so petty. Just because he didn’t invite you doesn’t mean you should curse him.”

“Humph, am I wrong? Doctor Bai has a grudge with my uncle, and now he takes Chen Jiusi as an apprentice, it’s obviously to humiliate my uncle. Yet he agreed, without any regard for my uncle’s face. Just saying, outsiders can’t be trusted... Alas~”

Chen Sanliu sighed, turned his back on them, and went home, looking rather disappointed.

The few people who stayed behind watched Chen Sanliu’s demeanor and spat in contempt. Chen Sanliu was really something else. Back when he wanted his son to join the fishery, spending money to gift the Bai family, he was all smiles and flattery to Doctor Bai, calling him uncle at every turn. Where was his concern for his uncle’s face then?

Now he’s saying this, huh, what a lack of humanity.

At noon, Chen Jie cooked a large carp stew, a carp weighing seven to eight jin, and after removing the internal organs, it was still six or seven jin of fish, with edible parts like fish bladder, liver, and roe.

He stewed a large pot and also steamed a pot of sorghum rice. During the meal, Uncle Erba arrived with Chen Xiaohu and Aunt Erba in tow.

But Uncle Erba didn’t come empty-handed; he carried a jar of rice wine, clearly freshly unearthed from the ground, claiming it was buried when Xiaohu was born, with just two jars in total.

Today’s happiness prompted him to dig one up for a drink. In terms of value, the wine far surpassed the fish.

Uncle Erba wasn’t one to take advantage. He brought his whole family to eat because he feared Chen Jie wouldn’t want the wine. With this gesture of my family eating your fish, and you drinking my wine, neither could claim to have taken advantage.

Chen Jie couldn’t refuse, so he agreed to drink. During the meal, Chen Jie and Uncle Erba sat in the main seats, with Xiaohu accompanying them, while Su Yunjin and Aunt Erba stayed busy in the kitchen, refusing to sit at the table.

Ruirui, although eager, could only stand by. Chen Jie insisted Aunt Erba sit down and also persuaded Su Yunjin and Ruirui to join, and while they initially resisted, they eventually complied due to Chen Jie’s insistence.

At the table, Chen Jie expressed gratitude for their care during his reckless days, especially their support for Yunjin.

Uncle Erba said, “Yunjin is a good girl, she has suffered a lot with you, you must treat her well...”

Tears welled up in Su Yunjin’s eyes, and Aunt Erba quickly changed the subject, while Hu Zi and Ruirui, like rivals, gobbled up the carp stew.

Uncle Erba, being older, had a low alcohol tolerance, and as he inevitably got drunk, he held Chen Jie’s hand and kept urging him to diligently learn medicine under Doctor Bai, not to let his uncle’s skills fade away.

Then he laughed and cried, saying, “Jiu Si, it’s truly great if you can master it. Uncle is genuinely happy, honestly!”