Chapter 982: Helping Out

"I'm still so young, yet I can already make egg custard— that's quite impressive," Xin Xianying said discontentedly. "And I know over a thousand characters, can tell fifteen stories, and I even know how to please people," she added while hugging Chen Xi's arm.

Chen Xi didn't mind the young girl clinging to his arm. In fact, he never had any objections to clean and well-behaved children.

"Alright, you're a genius," Chen Xi said, rare as it was for him to smile. "Do you want to eat something? I'll take you. I assume you don't have much money, and I still remember you sneaking snacks from my house."

Xin Xianying immediately looked around guiltily, pretending to know nothing. Chen Xi didn't mind too much; it was normal for kids to love sweets.

"But don't eat too many sweet things, especially my rock sugar. It's too sweet, and you might end up with bad teeth," Chen Xi warned while patting Xin Xianying's head. Speaking of sugar, it had been a year since Mi Zhu followed Chen Xi's instructions and successfully produced white sugar.

However, since sugarcane doesn't grow in Taishan, Gan Ning brought some back from the south for everyone to try. Bored one day, Chen Xi asked Mi Fang to ship an entire boatload of sugarcane back to press into juice and boil into sugar. At that time, sugar was in the form of reddish crystalline blocks.

Later, a craftsman from Mi Zhu's household accidentally produced white sugar. The 'accident' happened when charcoal somehow got mixed into the syrup.

After that, white sugar appeared, and as the process improved, rock sugar was produced too. This was truly pure, natural, and additive-free high-quality rock sugar.

The yearly production was limited to a small amount. Although Mi Zhu had the technique, it remained a reserved technology. Without expansion into subtropical regions, large-scale production was impossible. Thus, the few thousand pounds of sugar produced each year were divided among the households as a rare treat. No one thought it was unreasonable.

Chen Xi only ate a few pieces of rock sugar out of nostalgia. In the materially rich world he came from, he had already indulged enough. Most of the sugar he received went to his household, with the rest divided among his family members.

Xin Xianying, on the other hand, probably hadn't had the chance to taste this highly sought-after treat of the era. If Chen Xi didn’t warn her, she'd likely end up eating all of his rock sugar, resulting in painful toothaches.

"Oh~," Xin Xianying drawled. She loved those sweet treats, finding them far better than honey water.

"So, don't underestimate this. You can only have three pieces a day," Chen Xi said with a smile, gently pulling her along. Obedient and intelligent children were always well-liked, especially those like Xin Xianying.

"Okay~," Xin Xianying nodded and released Chen Xi's arm, stretching out her fingers and starting to count.

"What are you counting?" Chen Xi asked, watching her curiously as she did math with her fingers.

"Seeing how long I can keep eating it," Xin Xianying replied, without lifting her head.

"It’ll last a long time. I don't really eat it," Chen Xi said with a trace of pity in his eyes. She was a noblewoman, yet her childhood was so hard that her material life wasn’t even on par with an average child in his era.

"Oh..." Xin Xianying seemed lost in thought. Clearly, her math skills were lacking.

"No need to count. Just know that you can eat it. Come on, I’ll take you to a restaurant for a meal, and in the afternoon, I'll read you some stories," Chen Xi said, habitually reaching out to ruffle her hair. However, Xin Xianying dodged.

"That's not very cute," Chen Xi said, watching Xin Xianying puff up her cheeks, reminding him of Zhen Mi. Three years ago, he could still ruffle Zhen Mi's hair like that. But in the blink of an eye, she'd grown up into a young lady. How fast time flies.

Xin Xianying dodged Chen Xi’s hand, made a face at him, and skipped toward a nearby restaurant. Zhen Mi had previously been at this restaurant's top-floor private room, eating snacks and reading the Spring and Autumn Annals to Xin Xianying.

Fortunately, there were now paper books available; otherwise, reading a single volume of Spring and Autumn to Xin Xianying would have required a scroll. Zhen Mi had the time and didn't mind spending it reading to Xin Xianying, and in doing so, she also deepened her own understanding of the classics.

Chen Xi stood outside the restaurant, glancing at the small "Zhen" character in the bottom right corner of the signboard. He shook his head slightly. Watching Xin Xianying hop inside, he said nothing and followed her in.

The staff of the Zhen family's restaurant were not as ostentatious as those of the Mi family. Upon seeing Chen Xi, they showed no excessive reaction. They simply sent a waiter over to escort him to a private room on the second floor.

The manager offered a distant bow with an apologetic gesture. Chen Xi merely nodded before following the waiter upstairs.

"Bring three of her favorite dishes and a bowl of soup," Chen Xi said once Xin Xianying had returned from the third floor. The waiter stood quietly nearby until Chen Xi started pointing out dishes for Xin Xianying.

The waiter nodded. "If you need anything else, I’ll be on the second floor. Just call for me." The waiter was quite familiar with Xin Xianying's preferences, as Zhen Mi often brought her here. The reason Chen Xi wasn’t taken to the third floor was that it had become Zhen Mi's personal space—unsurprising, as this was the tallest restaurant in the area.

"Did you fail to convince her? Is that why you're so unhappy?" Chen Xi asked, smiling at the sulky Xin Xianying.

"Huh? How did you know?" Xin Xianying exclaimed in surprise, her cheeks puffed out.

"With that little brain of yours, do you really think you can hide it from me?" Chen Xi tapped her head playfully.

Xin Xianying pouted adorably. "Why don't you want Sister Mi? She's so beautiful, and aren't you two very close? Mother says that the person who helps you decorate your home—if they're the same age—is either your best friend or your future partner. But Sister Mi said you don't want her anymore."

"...," Chen Xi was a bit taken aback. What on earth was Xin Xianying's mother teaching her? Was this really suitable for children?

Thinking it over, Chen Xi realized it made sense. In this era, moving into a new home was an important event for a family. The same-sex friends who helped were indeed usually close, and if they were of the opposite sex, they might indeed end up as lifelong companions.

"Hey, why don't you want Sister Mi? She's really sad. And you haven't told me any stories lately, either," Xin Xianying tugged at Chen Xi's arm, leaving him at a loss for how to explain.

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