Chapter 155: New Year's Greetings

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“Master, go wash your hands and play somewhere else. Dog Egg will handle the rest.” He crowded her aside and personally ladled out hot water for her, setting it on the stove. “You really weren’t made for this line of work. You’re lucky to have me, such a precious treasure, around.”

Zhong Yuxiu: ??

Could he have some kind of misunderstanding about himself?

After washing her hands, she stood to the side and watched Dog Egg bustle about. She could not understand why she had no talent in this area at all. Whenever anything related to cooking was involved, she was completely helpless. Look at that robot—its hands were so nimble. And her? Hopeless.

What a depressing thought.

She tore off a fifth of the large ball of dough, kneaded it into shape, and rolled it into long strips. She then cut the strips into pieces about half the size of her palm. After cutting more than twenty pieces, she arranged them in the steamer Dog Egg had already washed.

The open steamer had been lined with a layer of white cloth. The mantou were placed on the cloth to keep the steamed buns from sticking to the steamer and to ensure a certain degree of hygiene. Once she had finished, she washed her hands and stepped aside, watching Dog Egg place all the filled buns into the steamer, stack the tiers one by one, and finally cover them with the pointed lid.

“Dog Egg.”

“Yes, Master? What is it?” Dog Egg turned around, its sensors scanning her and recording her expression.

Zhong Yuxiu asked, “Have you started working on the dryer?”

“I’m working on it. A dryer isn’t difficult. The finished product will be ready by tomorrow at the latest.” The laboratory had every tool he needed, so there was no issue of missing equipment. Naturally, Dog Egg found the work easy.

“Good.” It was New Year’s Day, so she would not be able to wear new clothes today.

The outfit she had on consisted of a pale-red wool coat, black bell-bottom trousers, and a pair of black snow boots. She still had too few clothes and shoes to mix and match as freely as she pleased.

After leaving the kitchen, Zhong Yuxiu was bored with nothing to do. She went to the storage room and brought out ink, a pen, and a red-grid notebook. During the lives she had spent crossing through different worlds, she had sometimes read things such as Go manuals to pass the time. She began copying down a section of a game record, writing as much as she could. Go manuals were difficult to find in the present day; copying them from memory was much faster.

Her writing speed was quick and her memory excellent. In only a few minutes, she had copied four game records.

For the sake of beginners, she was temporarily copying only basic introductory records.

She stopped only when Dog Egg came to call her for breakfast. By then, she had twelve introductory game records. Once someone thoroughly understood those twelve chapters, entering the world of Go would not be difficult.

“Master, what are you writing?”

“Game records.” Zhong Yuxiu finished the last stroke, capped her fountain pen, and closed the notebook containing the records.

Dog Egg spoke in a cheerful, pleased tone. “Breakfast is served. Master, the red-bean buns you wanted have been steamed perfectly. Please try them and see whether they suit your taste. If they do not, please inform Dog Egg promptly. Dog Egg will make improvements.”

“Okay.”

Zhong Yuxiu first went to the bathroom to wash her hands, then returned to the dining room. A large bowl of thick, glutinous rice porridge sat on the table. In front of it were several porcelain plates filled with buns and mantou, each holding roughly four or five pieces.

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When she had cut the mantou earlier, they had not seemed particularly large. After steaming, each one had grown to the size of a fist. They were white, soft, and immediately appetizing.

She first tried a red-bean bun. It was soft and fluffy, filling her mouth with the rich taste of red bean.

“Dog Egg did a good job. The red-bean filling has just the right texture and isn’t greasy.” It was exactly the kind she liked.

Dog Egg sounded delighted. “I’m glad you like it, Master. Dog Egg will put the remaining red-bean buns in a clean winnowing basket, cover them with a layer of white cloth, and freeze them on the balcony.”

“Good. Go on and keep busy.” She could not finish so many by herself, and there was no need to deliberately make more buns or mantou for the next two days.

After breakfast, she slumped back into her chair in satisfaction, unwilling to move.

Dog Egg put everything away, came downstairs, and walked over to Zhong Yuxiu. “Master, after eating your fill, you should get up and walk around. Sitting immediately after a meal is bad for your health and will eventually hinder digestion.”

“That won’t happen.” Zhong Yuxiu paid no attention.

“Even with your supernatural abilities, you cannot be so willful. Dog Egg takes care of you according to the data you have provided. When it comes to your health, you must show some self-awareness. You must not set a bad example for children.”

“You’re not a child.”

Dog Egg: “...”

“Dog Egg has been activated for less than a year. By human standards, Dog Egg is definitely a little child—a baby, in fact.”

What kind of baby was this?

She did not believe a word of it.

Zhong Yuxiu shot it a sidelong glance and resignedly got to her feet, walking around the main hall to aid digestion.

Dog Egg was satisfied. It cheerfully cleared things away and left.

Zhong Yuxiu sighed helplessly. She had somehow acquired an ancestor whose sole purpose was to supervise her. Still, Dog Egg genuinely cared about her. To avoid being nagged so much, she had better listen when listening was warranted.

Yan Rushan arrived as promised. Seeing her strolling around the main hall, he asked curiously, “Yuxiu, what made you think of walking around in here?” He considered himself very familiar with her. His girl was habitually lazy: at home, if she could sit, she would never stand; if she could lie down, she would never sit. Yet today she was behaving strangely.

“You’re here.” Zhong Yuxiu looked toward him and smiled. “Have you eaten breakfast? Dog Egg made a lot of buns and mantou. I’ll have it heat some up for you.”

Yan Rushan gave a quiet affirmative and walked over. “I ate before coming. Mom gets up early every day to make breakfast for us.”

After hearing that, Zhong Yuxiu paid him no further attention and continued walking around the hall.

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“Xiu’er, how long have you been walking? Why don’t you sit down and rest for a while?” He reached out to support her.

“I’ve only been walking for a little while. It hasn’t even been ten minutes, I think. My Dog Egg is such a nagging housekeeper. It saw that I had eaten my fill and did not want to move, so it kept muttering at me without end. If I didn’t do as it said, who knows how long it would have kept grumbling in my ear?” Dog Egg had never lacked patience. After all, it was a robot.

Not forcing her was one thing, but its duties were perfectly clear. It could not disobey its master’s commands, but surely it had the right to nag.

It was just like those mothers who loved to lecture. When their children refused to do things their way, all they could do was grumble and mutter to vent their frustration.

Yan Rushan chuckled. “Then just ignore it. Come to my house. It won’t be able to nag you there.”

“Better not. I’ll walk for another ten minutes.”

Yan Rushan smiled indulgently and did not stop her. Dog Egg often mocked him openly and covertly. When it came to taking care of Yuxiu, he simply could not compare.

After accompanying her for another ten minutes, he asked, “All right, time’s up. Do you want to sit for a while, or shall we go straight to my house?”

“Fine. Wait for me.”

Zhong Yuxiu went upstairs to fetch some money, then went to the storage room and found a sheet of red paper. She cut it into a large red envelope and put five ten-yuan bills inside. After shaking the envelope once, she tucked it into her pocket.

“Let’s go pay our New Year’s respects.”

“Come on.” Yan Rushan held out his hand.

Zhong Yuxiu raised her hand and placed it in his palm. Turning her head, she called, “Dog Egg, go to the laboratory when you’ve finished your work.”

“Beep, beep, beep.”

Dog Egg once again became a mute robot.

The two left hand in hand. After they had gone some distance, Dog Egg walked to the entrance and closed the gate. It then turned around and continued tidying the kitchen. Once the kitchen was clean, it went upstairs to the laboratory to continue building the dryer.

With all the materials available and the design already constructed in its mind, the task was simple for Dog Egg.

Meanwhile, at the Yan residence, Zhong Yuxiu arrived with Yan Rushan. His family welcomed her as warmly as ever, with his grandfather being the most enthusiastic of all.

“Yuxiu, you’re finally here! Happy New Year!”

“Happy New Year, Grandpa Yan. Happy New Year, Uncle Yan and Aunt Yan. Happy New Year, Xiaohai. May the New Year bring a fresh beginning. I wish everyone success in all they undertake, good fortune in everything, and ever-rising prosperity.”

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