This time, Lord Shiliu heard clearly, raised his long eyebrows, and said to Teacher Shen: "Stop ordering children around, why can't you do it yourself?"

The usually polite and gentle Teacher Shen was provoked by this bastard of a brother every day, and his anger was apparent on his face: "Didn't we say we will take turns? Not being able to hear is one thing, why is it that you never keep to your words?"

Shen Shiliu busted out his usual old trick, again he 'could not hear', and asked, "What is he barking about?"

Chang Geng: "..."

Indeed, it was quite convenient to be a deaf man.

"He said that..." Chang Geng bowed his head and was struck by the playfulness in Shiliu's gaze, the dream of the night before flashed right back in front of his eyes. He suddenly found that he was not so unaffected.

Chang Geng's throat suddenly became a bit dry; he tried to steady his mind and said with an expressionless face: "Please sit still, don't play tricks so early in the morning."

Shen Shiliu didn't have the chance to get something to drink this morning, his small bits of conscience had not soaked into liquor yet, he smiled, grabbed Chang Geng's hand, borrowed some of his strength to stand up, patted the boy's head intimately, and then stumbled into the kitchen.

He really was ready to be put to work - Lord Shiliu doing chores was an incredibly rare occurrence that had not been seen in a hundred years, almost comparable to the blossoming of iron trees*.

*from the idiom 铁树开花/tiě shù kāi huā/, lit." the iron tree blooms"; a highly improbable or extremely rare occurrence

Chang Geng hurriedly followed after his yifu to see him carelessly grabbing a few handfuls of rice, throwing them all into the pot, and pouring in water, splattering droplets. Next, he 'lowered himself,' sticking two fingers inside to mix, stirring them around for a brief moment, then took them out, shook the remaining water off, and announced: "I'm done washing my half. Shen Yi, come and take turns."

Teacher Shen: "..."

Shen Shiliu then grabbed the wine bottle on the tabletop, tilting his head back to take a sip, his movements completely precise, like moving clouds and flowing water.

... Sometimes, Chang Geng suspected that even his blindness was only an act.

Teacher Shen truly admitted defeat. No longer pointlessly arguing with him, he washed his hands with saponins, rushed into the kitchen, reheated their breakfast, and started to clean up the mess left behind by Shiliu.

Chang Geng took out the notes he wrote earlier that morning and showed them to Shen Yi. After Shen Yi had finished making his comments on them, Chang Geng put them into the stove to help keep the fire.