Chapter 235: Going Bankrupt
Hearing this, Shang Wan and Lu Chengjing stared at him together, their gazes more frightening than the last.
That was sheer exasperation at his thick-headedness.
Shi Tou shrank back in fright, suddenly thinking of a possibility, and weakly asked, “Sis, are you and brother-in-law going to kick me out?”
Shang Wan: “…”
The kid was beyond hope.
Lu Chengjing: “…”
It should still be in time to teach him from the beginning, right?
Seeing the two of them silently saying nothing, Shi Tou’s heart pounded anxiously, his mind already picturing himself begging on the streets, hugging a broken bowl and freezing to death in a corner.
Then… he was smacked on the back by Xiao Huan’s palm, making him yelp in pain.
“What nonsense are you spouting?” Xiao Huan glared at him and raised her hand to smack him again, but Shi Tou hurriedly dodged to the side, trying to hide behind Yuan Yuan’s small body.
Yuan Yuan blinked her eyes blankly. Though she didn’t quite understand, she shifted her little butt to the side, exposing Shi Tou behind her.
Shi Tou: “…”
What a pitfall of a niece!
Xiao Huan glared at him, her voice sharpening with anger, “Don’t you know how sister and brother-in-law treat you? In your heart, are they that kind of people?”
Shi Tou was stunned upon hearing this, then realized he had said the wrong thing, and hurriedly shook his head, “No, no, no, that’s not what I meant.”
Xiao Huan kept glaring, “Then what did you mean?”
Shi Tou was in the wrong, Shi Tou shut down.
Xiao Huan poked his head with her index finger, her tone also carrying some exasperation at his thick-headedness: “You just said you’d listen to sister and brother-in-law. If they tell you to go to the academy to study, will you or won’t you?”
Looking at Xiao Huan who seemed fierce enough to chop him up like a bone, did Shi Tou dare say no?
He quickly nodded, “I’ll go.”
“Sis, brother-in-law,” Xiao Huan turned to look at Shang Wan and Lu Chengjing, pointing at Shi Tou, “He agrees to go to the academy to study.”
The two: “…”
Ever since opening the restaurant, Xiao Huan this young lady had become increasingly fierce, completely different from the young girl who used to jump up and scream at the sight of a mouse.
Actually, Xiao Huan’s thinking was simple. Since Shi Tou hadn’t thought about the future, let smart people think for him.
Obviously, Shang Wan and Lu Chengjing were smart people in her eyes.
The two making Shi Tou study was surely for his own good. Though she didn’t know their specific plans, studying to gain understanding was never wrong.
What if Shi Tou had that luck and could enter officialdom? It would be a boost for him personally and for the family.
Shang Wan looked at Shi Tou, who still had a somewhat bewildered expression, and said gently, “Your brother-in-law and I want you to go to the academy to study, not to force you to excel or to definitely obtain an official rank. We just hope you’ll have more choices in the future.”
After all, the family wasn’t short on money; supporting one more scholar wasn’t a big deal.
Shi Tou’s thoughts were simple. He didn’t know what he wanted to do now, perhaps because the world he’d seen was too small—just Dongning County, just Elm Tree Village, just their family’s few acres of land.
Books hold vast seas and changing mulberry fields, the world’s transformations. Maybe as he read, he’d suddenly get it.
Even if Shi Tou ultimately wanted to be a leisurely rich man, Shang Wan hoped it was a choice, not that he could only be one because he couldn’t think of other possibilities.
Shi Tou also understood everyone was doing this for his own good, so he nodded, “I’ll listen to you all.”
At this moment, a small hand suddenly reached in front of him. Chubby little fingers opened, handing him a little flower.
“Ha!”
The childish voice was soft and glutinous. Yuan Yuan blinked her big eyes, her wrist turning, and the little flower spun along with it.
Feeling one small hand wasn’t enough, the other small hand joined in to spin together.
With her interruption, the serious atmosphere immediately lightened, and everyone couldn’t help but laugh out loud as they exchanged glances.
Xiao Huan scooped up the flower-spinning dumpling and started kneading her. How was she just so lovable?
·
The next day, the snow stopped and the sky cleared.
The winter sun warmed the body, as if driving out the chill from between the bones, making one drowsy and comfortable.
“Hey, look, the restaurant across the street even took down its plaque.”
“It was still up yesterday. Why’d they suddenly take it down?”
“Probably don’t want to keep losing money. No one’s silver grows on the wind.”
“Sigh, for a restaurant with no customers, closing is just a matter of time.”
The two shop assistants stood in the doorway chatting idly, holding a white rag and wiping the door frame half-heartedly.
“Hey, you two stinking boys, I’m spinning in circles busy in the kitchen, and you’re standing here chatting idly—are you asking for a beating?” Niangzi Lou stormed out wielding a pot ladle, making as if to hit them.
The two shop assistants quickly begged for mercy, “Won’t do it again next time.”
Seeing their good attitudes, Niangzi Lou put away the pot ladle, flicked her fingers to knock each on the forehead, and asked, “What were you looking at just now? What’s gone?”
The shop assistant clutched his forehead and pointed outside, “Right across, the place opposite seems to have closed.”
Niangzi Lou turned to look across.
The restaurant opposite had its doors tightly shut, the spot where the plaque should have hung was empty, giving a sense of desolation.
The boss lady raised her slender brows slightly in surprise. It had really closed.
She gave a light hum, turned, and shooed the two shop assistants off to work.
Heaven’s justice cycles around—what a great day this was!
In the afternoon, there weren’t many customers in the shop.
Niangzi Lou took off her apron, carried a plate of stir-fried sunflower seeds, and entered the neighboring Spiritual Medicine Pavilion with light steps.
Shang Wan propped her cheek and sat behind the counter looking at the account book. Seeing Niangzi Lou come in, she gestured for her to come sit.
Niangzi Lou ducked under the counter and sat beside Shang Wan, cracking sunflower seeds while asking, “Why’d the place across suddenly close?”
“It’s closed, so it’s closed.” Shang Wan closed the account book, grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds to crack, “Keeping it open was just throwing money away.”
Niangzi Lou spat the sunflower seed shells into the spittoon beside them, her beautiful eyes scanning the person next to her up and down, trying to read something from the woman’s face.
Shang Wan glanced sideways at her, looking somewhat lazily languid, “Stop looking. It was my doing.”
“Crack—” The fragrant sunflower seed paused between her lips and teeth, the splitting sound crisp. Niangzi Lou’s eyes flashed, and she raised her hand to give Shang Wan a thumbs-up.
Shang Wan curved her lips slightly, not asking why Niangzi Lou cared so much about this.
Niangzi Lou actually wanted to ask how Shang Wan had done it, but the words reached her mouth and she changed the topic, “The sisters are having a small gathering at Bao Yue Zhai tonight. Do you have leisure?”
The Lancang Association’s boss ladies had a routine small gathering every month. Besides chatting about their situations, they gossiped the most.
Shang Wan had been invited once, and it was truly eye-opening.
This time, luring Qiao Yu Gui into the trap so easily was thanks to the gossip contributed by the boss ladies.
So, Shang Wan nodded without much thought.
Niangzi Lou’s brows instantly lifted in delight as she shoved a small handful of sunflower seeds into Shang Wan’s hand, “It’s a deal.”
At night, Bao Yue Zhai was still brightly lit.
There were quite a few customers in the lobby, almost all there for hot pot, eating with aromas wafting everywhere and a lively atmosphere.
Shang Wan and Niangzi Lou got off the carriage and went straight up to the third floor.
