AGN -Chapter 456 Shengsheng (Part 7)

Jiang Huiqin stayed in the kitchen until she saw the final step of steaming the yam cake. She originally planned to wait until it was fully finished, but the young lady arrived early, and she had to go to the front hall to receive her.

In the spirit of “since I’m already here,” Jiang Huiqin tasted a piece of Zhao Cheng’an’s red bean pastries before leaving, and left a comment: “It’s too sweet, and a bit hard.”

That made Zhao Cheng’an jump in place in dissatisfaction, muttering under his breath, “How is my pastry hard? Huiqin is slandering me!”

He even knew how to use the word “slander” now—clearly, Zhao Cheng’an had picked up a bit of literacy over the past couple of years.

Chen Qiusheng said quietly, “Her brother is Jiang Chengde, and her sister-in-law is Qin Wan. The signature of Qin Ji Pastry Shop is all kinds of pastries. Isn’t it normal that she thinks yours don’t taste good?”

Zhao Cheng’an fell silent, then turned his attention back to the steaming yam cake in the pot.

“Master Chen, Miss Fen is just a little girl—she probably can’t finish such a big portion of yam cake. I’m going out to the outskirts of the city tonight and won’t have time to wait here. Could you help me keep watch? The moment the yam cake gets thrown on the ground, pick it up for me and bring it back tonight so I can eat it.”

Chen Qiusheng: “……”

Even Qin Huai felt Chen Qiusheng was starting to question his entire life.

And indeed, Chen Qiusheng was questioning his life. He stayed silent for a full five minutes before slowly asking, “This year… so early already?”

“Yeah. I got news yesterday. Last night there were already a lot of human traffickers gathering outside the city to sell people. They changed locations, but I can still find them. Even if they bury sweet potatoes underground, I can dig them out.”

“I already asked for leave from the steward. I’ll leave the city as soon as it gets dark and try to be back before midnight. Master Chen, can you help me pick—”

“Impossible.” Chen Qiusheng refused flatly.

Zhao Cheng’an turned away disappointed, then his eyes lit up when he saw Xia Sheng returning with two cabbages.

“Xia Sheng, are you free tonight to help me pick up yam cake?”

“No.” Xia Sheng didn’t even understand what Zhao Cheng’an was talking about—and clearly had no intention of understanding it. He refused expressionlessly and continued working.

Zhao Cheng’an could only sulk.

He was the most unusual pastry chef in the kitchen—doing the work of a pastry chef while only receiving an assistant’s wage. Because he didn’t earn much, and because he was considered Chen Qiusheng’s man, no one forced him to take on extra work even when he was idle.

Moreover, Zhao Cheng’an was actually the personal pastry chef of the old matriarch. Only she liked what he made. The other masters had relatively normal taste buds and found everything too sweet. If they wanted pastries, they had to specifically say “don’t let Zhao Cheng’an make it.”

So in reality, Zhao Cheng’an had a lot of free time.

Qin Huai could tell that when Zhao Cheng’an was slacking off, he often looked like he really wanted to steal something—but his professional ethics kept him from doing it.

He had one very clear principle when stealing:

Don’t steal from his own employer.

With nothing to do and no extra work assigned, Zhao Cheng’an stood beside Xia Sheng and watched him work.

The two were complete opposites.

They earned the same wage, but Xia Sheng was a true all-purpose workhorse—he did every job, and even created work when there was none. He had a sharp eye for spotting tasks.

Zhao Cheng’an watched him continuously chopping ingredients, tending the fire, adding firewood, occasionally simmering sauces, cooking, and controlling heat. Eventually he couldn’t help asking: “Xia Sheng, aren’t you tired?”

Xia Sheng glanced at him helplessly, even with a bit of patient lecturing tone, like he was teaching a child: “While you can still learn skills, you should learn as much as possible. How could that be tiring?”

“The reason you live comfortably now is because Master is looking after us. But what if he gets old and returns to the frontier one day? You have to think about the future.”

Zhao Cheng’an replied, “When Master Chen returns to the frontier, I won’t have to give him my wages anymore. By then, Ping’an should already be in university and working for the government, so he can support me.”

Xia Sheng: “……”

Xia Sheng couldn’t help saying, “What if Ping’an doesn’t get into university? What if he doesn’t get a government job? What if one day we end up like my family back then—three years of drought, land sold off, and we can only hang ourselves with ropes just to save food?”

Zhao Cheng’an said confidently, “That won’t happen.”

“Don’t worry, Xia Sheng. Setting aside the fact that we don’t even have farmland—if one day we’re so poor that even the firewood in Master Chen’s woodshed is sold off, we still won’t reach the point of starving to death. I have skills. I can go steal for you.”

“Actually, I can even steal from big households. Before I met you, I even went to a certain manor…”

Xia Sheng immediately covered Zhao Cheng’an’s mouth, signaling him not to say things he shouldn’t.

“And if you get caught stealing?” Xia Sheng asked.

Zhao Cheng’an thought about it seriously.

“If I’m already grown up by then and get beaten to death, it wouldn’t be a loss. But if I die now like this, it would be a pity.”

“Xia Sheng, you’re right. I should only steal from those human traffickers outside the city. Big households are too dangerous.”

“Xia Sheng, you’re really a good person—to think about me like this.”

Xia Sheng didn’t understand what he meant, but he was already used to it and ignored him completely.

Zhao Cheng’an slacked off like that until the sun set. During that time, an old servant from the matriarch came to pass on instructions for tomorrow’s pastries, telling him to prepare the ingredients in advance.

Zhao Cheng’an finished his meal just as the sun fully set, then immediately sprinted out of the city in high spirits.

He spent the whole night stealing.

Yes—Qin Huai watched Zhao Cheng’an steal the entire night.

If one had to evaluate his skill, Qin Huai could only say: under the cover of night, Zhao Cheng’an’s thieving ability was likely unmatched in this field—far better than his pastry-making skills.

Thankfully, Chen Qiusheng and Xia Sheng had kept him in check over the years. Otherwise, after the legend of the “mad young lady,” the capital might have gained another tale—the “thief of the capital.”

After a night of hard work and effort, Zhao Cheng’an returned richly rewarded. Perhaps because his experience had grown, he no longer stole everything indiscriminately. Now he focused more on refining his skill and keeping his craft sharp.

Meat was a must—offal or pork head meat, he took it all. Sometimes bran, sometimes large sweet potatoes, fresh wild greens if available, and grains like black beans, soybeans, millet, and Job’s tears depending on what he could carry.

And unlike before, he no longer targeted one trafficker relentlessly. He left some leeway so as not to scare them off—otherwise there would be nothing to practice on next year.

Finally, before midnight, Zhao Cheng’an returned dragging a full sack.

The Chen household was still awake. Everyone sat in the main hall under lamplight, waiting for him.

The old servant was no longer there—likely having passed away from old age. Chen Ping’an had grown from a child into a teenager. He was short, only around 1.6 meters, very pale, almost sickly, clearly in poor health at a glance.

“Ping’an, why aren’t you asleep? Don’t you have school tomorrow?”

Zhao Cheng’an dragged in his heavy sack and excitedly dumped its contents on the ground.

“I got something good today—a whole bag of pork head meat!”

“You can take it to school and eat it tomorrow.”

Chen Ping’an didn’t speak. He carefully inspected everything in the sack and confirmed that it contained only food—no money, no gold or silver jewelry. Only then did he finally relax.

“Dad, it’s all food,” Chen Ping’an said.

Chen Qiusheng nodded.

“You were worried I stole something else?” Zhao Cheng’an asked carelessly. “I wouldn’t steal anything else. Didn’t Master Chen already tell me? If I want to practice on human traffickers, I should only steal food—never money.”

“I didn’t say that,” Chen Qiusheng defended himself. “What I said was, if you’ve already stolen something, stealing only food is better than stealing other things.”

“There was a theft at the Beile Manor tonight,” Xia Sheng said. “They say a lot of valuable items were lost, even two Eastern pearls. The police bureau is in chaos, the whole city is hunting for thieves. We were worried you got caught, so we’ve been waiting for you at home.”

“Huh? So that’s why it felt so lively tonight. I kept hearing noises outside—good thing I avoided them,” Zhao Cheng’an said suddenly, then frowned. “Does that mean I can’t go outside the city for the next few days? I checked tonight and those traffickers don’t have much stock left. It feels like they’ll sell everything in a few days. I even heard their business is getting harder—taxes are too heavy in many places, people have all run away, and there’s nothing good left to take.”

Hearing this, Chen Qiusheng only sighed and shook his head.

“Sigh… the world is in bad shape. We should just live our own lives well. Since things are chaotic outside, you should go out less. Stealing is a skill, but only for last resort situations—don’t do it casually.”

“It’s not ‘don’t do it casually’—it’s don’t steal at all,” Xia Sheng corrected.

“Right. Xia Sheng already told me today,” Chen Ping’an said with a smile. “Don’t worry. Once I get into university and work for the government, I’ll support you and Brother Xia Sheng.”

“Of course you’ll support us. Right now the three of us are supporting you. Your medicine is too expensive—our monthly wages aren’t even enough to cover it. If Master Chen didn’t forbid me from stealing, I’d even consider stealing from Manager Lu. He pays me too little.”

Chen Qiusheng & Chen Ping’an: “……”

“Are you hungry?” Chen Qiusheng asked.

Zhao Cheng’an thought for a moment. “Not hungry, but I can eat.”

Chen Qiusheng gave Xia Sheng a look. Xia Sheng went to the kitchen and brought out the yam cakes that had been kept warm on the stove. There were only two pieces.

They looked excellent—clearly not something that had been dropped and picked back up.

“Yam cake!” Zhao Cheng’an exclaimed happily. “Master Chen, you went and picked them up for me!”

Chen Qiusheng: “……”

“Miss Fen didn’t have much appetite today, so she only ate two pieces. I asked Xia Sheng to go to Miss Huiqin and specifically have her leave two pieces for you.”

“If you want something to eat, you don’t necessarily have to steal it or pick it up off the ground. You can just ask. Leftover food is usually distributed among people like us. The masters of the Li household are mostly kind people—Old Madam, Madam Li, and especially Young Madam Huiqin, who has known us for years.”

“If you want something, just say it. If you don’t understand something, ask Xia Sheng. If Xia Sheng can’t handle it, ask me. Don’t act on your own—picking things up, sneaking around. The Li household is a good place, but not everywhere in this world is good.”

“Our relationship with Huiqin can be used for small matters like this, but there’s no need to exhaust it on trivial things. Today I asked Xia Sheng to request these two yam cakes, and also had him bring Madam Huiqin my fish stew recipe, and casually ask about Miss Fen’s tastes so we can prepare better food for children in the future.”

“Your brain—sometimes smart, sometimes not—think more before acting, and ask others more.”

“Ping’an has never caused me much worry since childhood. You, on the other hand, have given me quite a bit of worry.”

Faced with Chen Qiusheng’s father-like lecturing, Zhao Cheng’an simply finished the yam cakes happily and asked, “Master Chen, there’s still half a portion of offal in the sack. Should we boil it or braise it?”

“…Braise it.”

After finishing the yam cakes, Zhao Cheng’an noticed everyone still hadn’t left, so he knew there was more to come.

“Is there something important?” he asked.

Chen Ping’an said happily, “Father, I told you—he’s not stupid. He definitely noticed.”

Zhao Cheng’an looked at Xia Sheng and immediately picked up a hint of satisfaction and pride on his usually expressionless face.

“You got a reward?” Zhao Cheng’an asked.

“I got a new name from Master,” Xia Sheng said, his tone slightly lifted.

“Oh, I already knew. I overheard it this afternoon—you were getting a new name,” Zhao Cheng’an said casually. “Is it good?”

Chen Ping’an took paper and brush from his room and carefully wrote the new name.

Qin Huai guessed it was in traditional characters, but coincidentally, the characters were the same in both forms.

Xia Murui.

“Xia… Mu… how do you read this?” Zhao Cheng’an’s literacy was still limited.

“Xia Murui,” Xia Sheng said. “Young Master Li gave it to me. ‘Mu’ means gentle and refined; ‘Rui’ is an ancient word for a kind of grass, symbolizing brightness and prominence. My original name had ‘Sheng’ because my parents hoped I would be like wild grass—vigorous and able to survive. So this new name also carries their wishes.”

“Wow,” Zhao Cheng’an said, sounding amazed. “That sounds amazing. Can Young Master Li give me a name too?”

“I want a name I won’t regret using.”

When Qin Huai saw the three characters “Xia Murui” on the table, he was already stunned.

“I also thought of a name for you,” Xia Murui said. “You never liked the names others gave you—they were either too simple, too complicated, unpleasant, or hard to pronounce.”

“You want a name that has meaning to you.”

“Now that I have a new name, I can give you my old one. You have no parents, but I do. I also have a master. I’ll give you my old name, and the expectations my parents gave me.”

“Do you like a name like that?”

Zhao Cheng’an shouted loudly, “I love it! So I’ll be called Xia Sheng from now on?”

Xia Murui: “…You don’t have to take my surname. Do you even have a surname?”

“I don’t, but I can take Ping’an’s surname. He’s going to support me anyway—I’ll take his surname!”

“Great, I have a name now! I’ll be Chen Sheng from now on!”

With Zhao Cheng’an’s excited shout, Qin Huai exited the dream.