Give him something to eat, and he would stay and work — was that what he meant?

Feng Jiu’er took another look at the man in front of her. He was genuinely very good-looking, though Feng Jiu’er had seen enough remarkably beautiful men to no longer be struck speechless.

He carried a faintly brooding air about him, appearing more withdrawn and solitary than most, and not particularly inclined toward conversation.

When she had given him acupuncture the night before, she had noticed that the muscles in his legs were extremely well-developed. He appeared to be someone who could get things done.

Keeping him on was not out of the question. Though, a man like this would probably not stay long — one glance told you he was not someone who needed to worry about where his next meal was coming from.

“All right. If you have nowhere to go for the time being, you may stay here. But let me be clear from the start — you either pay the money and leave, or, if you stay, you genuinely have to work.”

Feng Jiu’er studied him a moment longer, then said earnestly: “Anyone who works at Tianji Hall — even a temporary hand — must not be idle. Is that understood?”

Jian Yi had never worked for anyone outside before and was not entirely sure whether his idea of temporary work matched hers — but whatever task he undertook, he would not slack off.

In truth, he had not yet decided whether to leave the imperial city immediately. Although there was nothing here he cared to stay for any longer, Feng Qingyin had once saved his life, and she had always said the debt of that kindness had yet to be repaid.

So until that debt was repaid, he could not leave.

“Very well. As long as there is a place to sleep and something to eat, I will stay and work.”

“I won’t treat you poorly. As long as you apply yourself, I’ll give you a monthly wage on top of room and board.”

“That won’t be necessary.” A small sum of money meant nothing to Jian Yi. Without food and shelter, money in his hands would be useless anyway.

“Whatever is left over can count toward repaying the treatment cost. And as for my leg…”

“Employees at Tianji Hall receive free medical treatment when they fall ill. You need not worry about that.”

She was absolutely a good employer — no one could dispute that.

Feng Jiu’er left. Yanu smiled at Jian Yi and led him to the courtyard outside the kitchen, where he had breakfast, and then the work assignments began.

By evening, when the household gathered for dinner, Xiao Yingtao — the last one to come in — could not help venting her complaints: “Young Master, what kind of strange person did you bring back?”

Feng Jiu’er raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

Xiao Yingtao washed her hands in the well nearby, then settled into her seat.

Qiao Mu glanced at her. She had been working in the main hall all day and had no idea what had happened in the backyard.

“What strange person? What happened?”

“Nothing went wrong, exactly — it’s just that Yanu brought this strange man to work in the backyard, and now everyone’s up in arms about him.”

“Did he do a poor job?” Feng Jiu’er picked up a bite of rice and put it in her mouth, asking casually.

It seemed she had been right — a pampered young nobleman who could not even manage to do basic work properly.

“He splintered three axes, wore out two brooms, and broke four medicine bottles.”

“…” That was quite an expensive employee. The axes and the medicine bottles were costly, even if the brooms were not worth worrying about.

Xiao Yingtao continued: “But he alone chopped half a month’s supply of firewood in a morning, swept the entire backyard clean by noon, and on top of that washed every single medicine bottle himself. Everyone else ended up with nothing to do and stood around not knowing what to make of themselves.”

“…”

That was frankly a bit difficult to believe. Half a month’s worth of firewood — that seemed rather excessive.

Their medicine preparation room used a considerable amount of firewood every day. Three people assigned to chopping barely kept up with demand, with only a small surplus. This man, alone, in half a day, chopped half a month’s worth? One man doing the work of ninety people — was that even possible?

“You really can’t doubt it. I heard them saying that when he was chopping firewood, the way his hand rose and the axe fell — it was just like someone wielding a sword. Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh — and there would be a neat pile of wood on the ground.”

“Well, he’s clearly a master swordsman then,” Xing Zizhou said with a hearty laugh. “Though our axes at Tianji Hall must be rather poor quality if three of them were done in by one man in half a day.”

Xiao Yingtao also laughed. “The way I see it, we ought to just give him a proper sword and let him chop firewood with that.”

“And do you think there would be any firewood left in our backyard for him to chop?” After half a month’s worth in one go — hadn’t he used up the entire stockpile?

Xiao Yingtao blinked, and suddenly realized: “So he chopped through everyone’s firewood and, with nothing left to do, went and started sweeping?”

No one could answer that with certainty, but by all appearances, that was likely exactly what had happened.

“Still, just because he works hard doesn’t make him strange. Why is everyone calling him a strange man?” Qiao Mu glanced at her and picked up a bite of green vegetables.

“That’s what everyone’s been saying. I only repeated what I heard.” She had only caught a single glimpse of the man herself, after all — truly just one look.

No words exchanged, no interaction whatsoever. She had simply seen him for a moment. Whether he was strange or not was purely what the servants were saying and grumbling about. She was only reporting back.

“Though, he really is very good-looking. Quite a beautiful man.”

“Better looking than me?” Xing Zizhou was the first to object.

“Much better looking than you,” Xiao Yingtao said, pressing her lips together.

“I don’t believe it. In your eyes, I should be the best-looking.”

Feng Jiu’er could not be bothered with those two. These days, they were getting more and more hopelessly entangled with each other. To think of how much the man had suffered during his one-sided longing back in the past — that ordeal in Yuhe had rather neatly brought this troublesome pair together.

“In any case, he won’t be staying long. If he likes to work, let him work.”

“Personally, I hope he stays a good while longer. Think of all the labor we’ve saved — the other servants can be put to other things now.”

Xiao Yingtao’s calculations were sharp indeed. Ninety people’s worth of daily labor — subtract the cost of the axes, brooms, and medicine bottles he had gone through — and there was still a net gain. Absolutely worth it.

“It’s just that everyone says he didn’t say a single word all day and wouldn’t respond to anyone. Terribly antisocial. And to this point, no one even knows what his name is…”

Because Jiu’er needed to put on her male disguise, she had, for some time now, made a habit of bathing and changing in her own room.

She had just finished changing when she sensed someone approaching. She waited, brow slightly furrowed — but the figure came to a stop just outside her door, and seemed to hesitate, as though uncertain whether to knock.

“What is it?” She went over and opened the door herself. When she looked up, there was the handsome man, standing just outside in his own clothes.

Jian Yi looked at the dirty clothes in her hands, hesitated briefly, then took them from her and walked away.

Feng Jiu’er felt an urge to laugh. This man was certainly industrious. He had only been here one day, yet he had already settled into the role of a household attendant remarkably well.

It was only just now that Jian Yi had learned where dirty laundry was sent — to the laundry room, where two women handled the washing for the whole household.

When he returned, the door was open. Feng Jiu’er was inside, reading a medical text.

Jian Yi was about to speak when Feng Jiu’er said: “Before you say anything to me — could you start by telling me your name?”