章 8: 008. Employment

[Employment] Su Liang had just entered the kitchen when big raindrops began to pitter-patter down. She took out the food and vegetables from the basket and turned around in the kitchen. There were pots, firewood, and bowls and chopsticks, but no kitchen knife, and no oil, salt, sauce, or vinegar. Obviously, this kitchen's original function was just for boiling water. "Ning Jing." Su Liang called Ning Jing's name for the first time. A figure in blue appeared in the corridor, "What's up?" "Go to Auntie Bai's house and borrow a kitchen knife, some oil and salt. If there are other seasonings, take a little of each," Su Liang said. She only took ingredients from Su Daqiang's kitchen. Ning Jing had brought back many pears, which she tasted. They were crispy, sweet, and delicious, but they couldn't be eaten as a meal. "Borrowing means returning," Ning Jing said. "Then let's buy it!" Su Liang remembered that she had brought a string of copper coins and told Ning Jing to get them from her room. After a while, Ning Jing stepped out in the pouring rain with a dark-colored oil umbrella. Su Liang took some white flour and two eggs, planning to make pancakes. She needed to eat something hot and starchy; otherwise, she felt she would soon pass out from low blood sugar. Ning Jing returned just as she finished mixing the batter. Seeing him put a heavy bamboo basket in the kitchen, Su Liang suddenly had a bad feeling. A knife and seasonings didn't need such a big basket, right... Then she saw: two heads of cabbage, three white radishes, four carrots, a bowl of green bean sprouts, a handful of red dates, and two kinds of wild vegetables that Su Liang couldn't name. Ning Jing took out the kitchen knife and the seasonings from the basket and handed them to Su Liang. Su Liang frowns and asks, "How much did these cost?" "All of them," Ning Jing said. Su Liang was speechless. However, she still did not know the price of things in this world and couldn't say for sure if Ning Jing had been ripped off. "Did you always have someone serving you before?" Su Liang asked. Ning Jing nodded, "Yes." No wonder, he had no common-sense knowledge about life. Even if he wanted to buy vegetables, he shouldn't have spent all his money. What if something urgent came up? "Do you need help?" Ning Jing asked. "You start the fire," Su Liang put the vegetables in the corner, planning to eat this meal and then organize them. A moment later, thick smoke filled the kitchen, and Su Liang, with a blackened face, kicked Ning Jing out. She should never have had any expectations for this pampered and handsome man! "Sorry." Ning Jing stood at the door and wiped the soot off his forehead. "You think about how to make money!" Su Liang said irritably. This teammate wasn't very good for partnering up in daily life. Although she was not used to the primitive earthen stove, Su Liang still managed to make a decent lunch. She had been living independently since she was young, and this was a basic skill. Soft and fragrant radish egg pancakes, stir-fried bacon, cold mixed vegetables, and millet and red date porridge. Ning Jing tasted each dish, nodding his head in approval of Su Liang's cooking skills. Considering that Ning Jing took the initiative to propose washing the dishes and pots, Su Liang's opinion of him improved slightly. He might lack common life knowledge, but his attitude was very correct. However, Su Liang couldn't help but roll her eyes when she heard the sound of porcelain breaking in the kitchen... And what left Su Liang speechless was that Ning Jing diligently washed all the vegetables clean! Even the many pears he had picked from Su Daqiang's house! She tried to maintain a smile and told Ning Jing that the storage time of the vegetables would be significantly reduced after washing them. "You want to hit me." Ning Jing put down his rolled-up sleeves, his insightful eyes detecting and pointing out Su Liang's current mood. Su Liang's face was full of black lines, "If I leave, and you have no money and don't know how to do anything, how will you live?" Ning Jing thought for a moment and said, "I can earn money by copying books for people." "Fine." Su Liang had nothing more to say about this. "Where did you come from?" Ning Jing suddenly took up the interrupted serious topic after lunch. "Just like you don't know why you have abilities different from ordinary people, I don't know why I came here and became another person," Su Liang said indifferently. "I am from a world very different from here, and you wouldn't know even if I told you." Ning Jing nodded slightly, "You know martial arts and medical skills, who were you before?" "I was a doctor and a soldier," Su Liang said. "In your original world, women can join the army? And they can also be doctors?" Ning Jing asked. Su Liang nodded, "Yes. Men and women are equal, and they can do the same things." Ning Jing seemed thoughtful, "Can men also give birth to children?" Su Liang: ...This guy's thinking is quite advanced... "I hope I have the chance to see it." Ning Jing didn't ask too many questions. Both returned to their rooms, and Su Liang planned to sort through the information they'd gotten today and think about the future. But as it was a cold rainy day, she went to bed and quickly fell asleep. In the evening, the rain stopped, and a gorgeous sunset dyed half the sky red. Su Liang opened the door, and saw Bai Xiaohu running in with a basket. "Sister-in-law Ning, this is the wild chicken that Master Ning bought from my house! It's been killed and cleaned!" Bai Xiaohu handed the basket to Su Liang, which contained a freshly slaughtered wild chicken. Su Liang was startled for a moment before hearing Bai Xiaohu happily say, "My mom says Master Ning is very good to you! He even paid extra to have my dad kill and clean the chicken, so you wouldn't be tired!" Su Liang didn't mind that the entire Bai family assumed she should be the one to kill the chicken. After all, Ning Jing was beautiful, so it was understandable that people would think she shouldn't do such chores. She misjudged Ning Jing. Despite spending all their money, he had been somewhat aware of what he was doing. "Thank you, Little Tiger." Su Liang took out the wild chicken, and filled half of the basket with big crisp pears that Ning Jing had cleaned. Bai Xiaohu was both shocked and delighted, "I know! Su Xiaoming's pear tree is the best in our village, and the pears it bears sell for more than others!" Even if a farmer's family had fruit trees, the good fruits were usually sold for money, and their children seldom got to eat them. "Thank you, Sister-in-law Ning!" Bai Xiaohu hugged the basket and ran away. As Su Liang was thinking about how to cook the wild chicken, she heard Ning Jing ask from behind, "Do you still want to leave?" Having exchanged their biggest secrets, Su Liang directly asked Ning Jing, "Do you know where she originally planned to go?" Ning Jing shook her head, indicating she didn't know. Su Liang remembered the knot that the Original Master had made with the "cloud" character and sighed softly, "I'm not her. I have no place to go and no one to find." She was alone, with no ties or concerns. "Alright." Ning Jing said, "I want to hire you to do things for me." To outsiders, they appeared to be newlyweds, but in reality, they were strangers to one another. Su Liang frowned, "You don't have money, and if you copy books for people, you might barely make enough for yourself to live on." She could make money by practicing medicine and live alone, but first, she needed to learn the rules of this business. "I have." Ning Jing called Su Liang over. After entering the room, Su Liang saw Ning Jing open a locked wooden box. Her eyes widened. Jewelry and jade, brilliantly colored and radiant, each piece valuable and exquisite. "Why did you say you have no money? Any of these items could be sold for enough money to support you for a long time." Su Liang was puzzled. "I can't sell them. It would invite trouble," Ning Jing shook her head. Su Liang understood. Valuable items like these always had owners, so if they were sold, people like Nian Jincheng could easily find their way here. "You want to hire me to cook and do laundry for you with these unsellable treasures?" Su Liang was somewhat speechless. Ning Jing shook her head, "No, not to cook and do laundry, but to do other tasks." "What tasks?" Su Liang asked. "You know martial arts and medical skills, have courage, and can help me save people or prevent assailants." Ning Jing explained. "You should have no problem finding a master or a famous doctor to help you, right?" Su Liang asked. "Yes, but finding someone who doesn't think I'm a monster, and who won't harbor ill intentions after knowing those things, is hard." Ning Jing said. Su Liang understood that Ning Jing saw her as a fellow traveler. And she wasn't wrong. At least Su Liang wouldn't betray Ning Jing. She couldn't say the same for others. If word got out, Ning Jing would never have peace. Though the jewelry and jade were valuable and beautiful, Su Liang wouldn't sell her future for these items that not only couldn't be exchanged for money, but also ran the risk of inviting trouble. The reward was secondary. The key was that this matter concerned the lives of others, and she needed to be careful. Once she agreed, she would have to do her best and couldn't easily renege or slack off. "I'll think about it." Su Liang didn't immediately respond.