Bai Shijue watched Han Shun for a while before he turned around and walked inside his tea shop again and cooked a dumpling soup. He also added slices of meat inside the soup to give it a richer taste and ensure that Han Shun ate well.
He set up the fire by flicking his finger and started boiling. After he was done preparing, Bai Shijue put a bowl of dumpling soup and a cup of warm water on a tray and put it on the table for Han Shun.
He returned to the front door and saw the scrawny boy was still busy swiping leaves and collecting them into one big pile before picking them up with his small hands and putting them in a trash jar made out of metal.
He returned to Bai Gege and bowed his head politely, "Gege, I'm done cleaning! Do you need me to do anything else?"
"Just wash your hands first and come inside to eat your breakfast," Bai Shijue said.
Han Shun's eyes sparkled full of joy as he heard the word 'breakfast.' He quickly washed his hand and entered the tea shop. He saw Bai Gege busy arranging the fresh flower in a porcelain vase for today, just like he did every morning.
"You can eat that," Bai Shijue said.
"Thank you, Gege!" Han Shun carefully sat on the stool and raised his toes. He was afraid that his feet would dirty the clean wooden floor. He was about to dig in, but when he saw strings of meat in his food, he was shocked and looked at Bai Gege out of confusion.
"B—Bai Gege…"
"Hm?"
"Um… are you sure I can eat this?"
"Yeah, what's wrong? Is it not what you like?"
"N—No! I really like it, Gege! But… there is meat inside…."
Bai Shijue frowned. He stopped his flower arranging activity and approached Bai Shijue. He saw the food was still untouched, and Bai Shijue's expression looked complicated.
"I see nothing wrong with it. Do you not eat meat?"
"I—um… because it's meat, Gege. It's too precious for me to eat…." Han Shun mumbled. He was ashamed that he had to reject Bai Gege's food. But this was meat, and it looked fresh as well. In this city, meat was very expensive, and nobody ever threw anything into the dumpster other than the bones.
"A—Are you sure it's okay for me to eat the meat? I.. um... I can just sip the soup if I'm allowed to…." Han Shun asked politely. He was unsure whether he could eat this. "I can just drink the water instead, Bai Gege!"
Bai Shijue was stunned by Han Shun's reluctance. He never saw someone so polite and careful, especially coming from a little boy like Han Shun.
He was a noble birth who never experienced the hardship of not having enough money to eat and shelter to sleep. He took this mission because his master, the previous sect leader, died and reincarnated. And as a temporary leader, he just needed to take care of Han Shun, the reincarnation of his sect leader.
[OMG, he is so sweet and mindful about everything! I just want to snuggle him up and pat his head, for real!]
[Pupa: Control yourself. Bai Shijue is an elegant young master. He is kind, but he is not the type to show too much affection to anyone.]
[Ah, damn it!]
"Just eat it. I'm putting the meat in because I saw that you're so scrawny. That's not good for a young boy like you because you're still growing up," Bai Shijue said.
Han Shun bit his lower lip anxiously. He still couldn't accept this because he thought it was too much, "Is it really okay, Gege? Meat is so expensive, only the rich can buy it…."
"Haha! I am also rich. I can afford to buy meat as much as I can. All you need to do is to eat that and grow healthy, okay?"
Han Shun stared at Bai Gege, full of admiration and hope. He heard people in the street say that Bai Gege must've come from a wealthy noble family because he could afford to build a house and set up a tea shop alone, without any family member coming with him.
"T—Thank you so much, Bai Gege!" Han Shun bowed his head again and ate the dumpling soup with meat.
Bai Shijue saw how the chopstick in Han Shun's hand trembled as he picked the meat from the bowl. As if he really just ate a piece of gold.
[Ah, what a pitiful kid. I lived a hard life in my original world, but at least I can still save up some money to buy meat at least once a week. But he literally ate meat as if eating something so valuable.]
[Pupa: Meat is indeed valuable in this world. Before modern times, people were generally poor unless you're from the nobility class.]
Han Shun ate everything and drank the soup till the last drop. He didn't want to miss the taste of meat, even only from the broth.
He closed his mouth to hold the burping and then bowed his head to Bai Gege, "Gege, thank you so much for the food. This is the best food I've ever tasted. I didn't know that meat can be so tasty."
"Well, do you want to eat more?" Bai Shijue asked.
"U—Um… isn't meat supposed to be once in a year food? I think I had a piece of meat once when I was in the orphanage," Han Shun asked, then quickly lowered his head. He was embarrassed because he felt so small compared to Bai Gege.
Han Shun felt that he was asking a stupid question. Of course, Bai Gege could afford to eat a lot of meat without any problem at all. Bai Gege was so rich and noble, unlike him!
"I have enough money to eat meat daily. If you want to eat it, just come here every day and work with me.. You need to eat a lot because you're so scrawny."
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