After various inquiries, he finally found the steward Qu Lu. Hearing his self-recommendation as a servant, Qu Lu raised an eyebrow and smiled, “Since the young master is a guest invited by the master, just stay. Miscellaneous tasks will be taken care of by others, no need for the young master to worry.”
Thus, Shen Kuang was completely forgotten by the master and could only return to find Xu Wanzhi. He remembered his master saying that wealthy families’ masters would have countless servants, yet he hadn’t seen many in his courtyard.
Finding the deeply sleeping Xu Wanzhi again, Shen Kuang couldn’t help but be surprised. His master was a sleepyhead, so drawing water and chopping wood were always his own tasks, but he was far from the level of this master, who seemed to want to do nothing but sleep!
“A-zhi, why are you still sleeping?” The door opened from inside, and Xu Wanzhi, wearing a single layer of clothing with hair scattered, lazily put on shoes. After opening the door, he nodded at him, then sat back at the table to drink tea.
Xu Wanzhi glanced at him, pouring him a cup of tea and pushing it towards him, directly saying, “I have nothing to do.”
Shen Kuang was stunned by this response, mouth slightly agape, saying, “I heard that masters of wealthy families are never idle.”
“You’ll eventually encounter some exceptions,” he said, raising an eyebrow. Shen Kuang froze momentarily, then Xu Wanzhi tapped the table’s edge: “You came to find me, what is it?”
Pulled back by these words, Shen Kuang’s face reddened, speaking softly, “I’ve been staying in your home for several days…”
“So?”
“I have nothing to repay you with.”
Whatever you need, just order me to do it—” Shen Kuang blurted out, somewhat embarrassed, but received a serious response: “I have nothing to do myself, how can I find work for you?”
Initially worried, after hearing this, Shen Kuang felt he was not looking down on his rough appearance. Having been mocked like this before, he felt both joy and worry, looking up and saying, “I’ll do some miscellaneous tasks. Don’t worry, I often did these before.”
