Chop chop chop…
Chop chop chop chop…
Chop chop chop chop…
At noon, in the horse gang’s kitchen, the incessant sound of chopping came from the cutting board. The chopping was quicker and heavier than before, making the kitchen helpers feel something was off.
Beside the wash basin, Zhang Agui and Ma Sao were both lowering their heads, their eyes darting toward the cutting board with curious expressions.
“Ma Sao, I feel like Yi An seems to be in a really bad mood,” Zhang Agui whispered to Ma Sao.
“Tch! Do you need to feel it? Just looking at Xiao Zhao’s totally opposite, withdrawn demeanor is enough to tell!” Ma Sao stopped washing the vegetables and started gossiping with the young man beside her.
She glanced toward Zhao Yi’an’s direction and signaled Zhang Agui to look.
At that moment, Zhao Yi’an was sitting on one stool, using another as a cutting board. He had already piled up a large basin of chopped greens, but he was still lost in the world of chopping.
If you just looked at him, he seemed like an ordinary busy young man.
But…
“Look here.” Ma Sao shook the water off her hands and quietly pointed at Zhao Yi’an. “Even in the most urgent times before, Xiao Zhao always maintained the principle of slow work yields fine results. He was never in a hurry.”
“When has he ever chopped vegetables like now, ‘chop chop chop’ like he’s going to a market fair?”
“And didn’t you notice?”
“What?”
Seeing that the young man wasn’t very bright, Ma Sao lightly tapped her knee and said urgently, “You can’t even tell that absentminded expression?”
“How can you be so stupid? No wonder your Ma Ge didn’t ask you to go to the martial arts field but called you here to help.”
“…Who has time to stare at other people’s expressions?” Zhang Agui twitched his mouth, noncommittal to Ma Sao’s disdainful expression.
‘I don’t want to go wave knives and guns anyway, it’s exhausting! It’s better to wash vegetables here. Hmph! After I finish, I’ll sneak over the wall and slip out!’
Ma Sao rolled her eyes and ignored him, continuing to wash vegetables.
“But come to think of it, it’s normal for Xiao Zhao to be this busy,” she muttered. “Who would have thought the gang leader would be back so soon?”
“Bringing a big group back means we have to get busy, right?”
Ma Sao kept working, talking to herself.
Hearing this, Zhang Agui snapped out of his fantasy of going out to play and looked up at Ma Sao.
“Huh? Leader Li is coming back? When?”
“Probably tonight?”
Tonight?
Zhang Agui felt mixed emotions upon learning that Leader Li was returning tonight.
The good part was that whenever the gang leader came back from a mission, the whole gang would prepare good food and drink, second only to holidays.
The bad part was…
Zhang Agui shrank his neck and secretly glanced at Zhao Yi’an again.
It was always Zhao Yi’an who was responsible for preparing the meals. And this time, Yi An seemed to be in a bad mood…
Looking closely, the greens on the cutting board were already chopped into a mess, pieces flying everywhere, but Zhao Yi’an didn’t seem to notice, his knife getting heavier with each strike.
Zhang Agui swallowed.
Ma Sao picked up the washed vegetables, shook off the water, and set them aside. “Alright, alright, hurry up and work!”
“Oh.”
Urged by Ma Sao, Zhang Agui had to continue working and stop spacing out.
Chop!
After a final chopping sound, the knife on the cutting board suddenly stopped.
Both of them froze, quickly averted their eyes, and pretended to be focused on work.
Zhao Yi’an put down the cleaver, staring at the pile of greens already chopped to a pulp, blank for a long moment.
Then he took a deep breath, picked up the basin of vegetable bits he had accidentally chopped, and turned to dump it into the slop bucket in the corner.
“Hey—” Zhang Agui couldn’t help but speak, “That was…”
“Recut.” Zhao Yi’an expressionlessly walked back, grabbed another handful of greens from the basket, and placed them on the cutting board.
He sat back down, and the sound of chopping resumed. This time, his knife speed was slower, one cut at a time, leisurely, completely different from before.
Chop.
Ma Sao and Zhang Agui exchanged glances, neither daring to say a word.
Zhao Yi’an was now lowering his head, the knife falling unhurriedly on the board, one cut after another, as if trying to also chop away the tangle in his heart.
He knew he was in a terrible mood, even an outsider could tell. But he didn’t want to explain, and couldn’t explain. After all, he had promised Liu Yao not to tell anyone about their master-disciple relationship.
But…
‘Cheating me again! What kind of master is this!’ the young man muttered in his heart.
At this moment, to outsiders, he looked like a sulking teenager, completely opposite to his usual calm.
Remembering the guilty look on the girl’s face before she ran away yesterday, Zhao Yi’an felt both amused and annoyed.
‘So annoying!
‘Even though I want to sympathize with her, it’s still so annoying!’
As he thought, his movements quickened again.
‘No, the gang leader is coming back tonight, I should work properly. Otherwise, I won’t be able to prepare meals for more than twenty prisoners tonight…’
He shook his head, dispelling these thoughts, and added more force to his hand.
Crack! The cleaver chopped into the cutting board and got stuck.
Zhao Yi’an paused, tried to pull it out, but couldn’t.
At the same time, the other two were startled by the sudden noise and both looked up simultaneously.
Zhao Yi’an took a deep breath, pulled again, still stuck.
Without changing his expression, he stood up, grasped the handle with both hands, and yanked upward.
Smack!
The knife came out, but the cutting board came with it, along with the unfinished greens, spilling all over the floor with a clatter.
The kitchen was silent for a moment.
Ma Sao opened her mouth but said nothing. Zhang Agui twitched his lips, trying hard not to laugh.
Zhao Yi’an looked at the mess, closed his eyes.
‘Hold your breath to stabilize, a calm heart brings peace. Phew… calm, calm…’
He took a deep breath, crouched down, and picked up the greens one by one, very slowly.
“Hey, hey, hey! Alright! Let me help you. Look how clumsy you are, making a mess everywhere.” Zhang Agui sighed, put down his work, came over, and crouched to help him pick up.
“If you have something on your mind, just tell your buddy. Don’t be a silent gourd and ruin the food, okay?”
“Don’t worry, at most I’ll treat it as a joke and laugh it off.”
“If you keep bottling it up, you might get physically hurt, or worse, go crazy.”
“Learn from me, don’t take anything to heart, live freely.”
He kept muttering, not caring if Zhao Yi’an was listening. After picking up the dusty greens, he patted Zhao Yi’an’s shoulder and said teasingly, “Here, do a good job! You’re in charge of feeding the whole gang!”
Perhaps Zhang Agui’s rough comfort worked. Zhao Yi’an, who had been upset, was amused by his words.
“Haha, what crazy talk?! What are you saying?” He rubbed his nose, feeling much better now. At least he wasn’t thinking about that irresponsible master.
“Alright, alright, Agui, don’t make him laugh.” Ma Sao was also covering her mouth and laughing, not convincing at all.
“Come on!” Zhang Agui was a bit embarrassed by the two, muttering under his breath, “You guys, don’t you know that rough words carry truth…”
The previously oppressive atmosphere suddenly became lively. Thus, the three continued their preparations, but the mood was much better than before.
They chatted and laughed until the sun set and the night grew thick.
Outside, the originally white clouds under the night sky looked like dark clouds overhead.
“The gang leader is back!”
Suddenly, a shout came from outside the door, breaking the peace.
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