Chapter 7: Planning To Rob Who?
Shang Wan stopped grinding the axe, raised her eyes to look at Shi Tou, “Did you see him?”
“The yamen people said the young master is a major criminal and wouldn’t let me visit.” Shi Tou drank three bowls of water in a row before feeling his throat no longer burning. He sat on the stool opposite Shang Wan, looking at her hesitantly again and again.
“Say what you have to say.” Shang Wan lowered her head and continued grinding the axe.
Shi Tou pursed his lips, rubbed his fingers back and forth for a while, then stammered, “Young Madam, I was wrong before. Please be magnanimous and don’t hold it against me.”
He pulled out fourteen copper coins from his bosom, “I carried rice at the rice shop for a day, and the shopkeeper settled fifteen coins with me. I was too hungry and had no strength, so I spent one coin to buy a steamed bun to eat. The rest of the money is all here.”
“You take it. Tomorrow I’ll go carry rice at the rice shop again. With me here, I definitely won’t let you, Miss, and Xiao Huan go hungry.”
Shi Tou pushed the copper coins forward a bit.
Shang Wan didn’t take them, raised her eyes to look at him, “You have something to ask of me?”
“Yes.” Shi Tou coughed uncomfortably twice, “Young Madam, you’re someone with great abilities. For the sake of past affection, think of a way to save the young master. From now on, I’ll listen to you. If you tell me to go east, I absolutely won’t go west.”
Shang Wan raised her brow, “What if I tell you to murder and arson?”
“Murder and arson?” Shi Tou’s voice rose in shock.
Goodness, Young Madam really is fierce. Who does she want him to kill and burn?
Could it be that despicable scoundrel who wrote sappy poems to Young Madam, inciting her to have an affair, that shameless villain?
Thinking of his own young master still suffering in prison, Shi Tou gritted his teeth, clenched his fist, and said, “As long as it can save the young master, even if it’s murder and arson, I… I’ll do it!”
Yo, pretty loyal.
Shang Wan reached out to take the copper coins and handed him the axe that was more than half ground, “Keep grinding.”
“Young Madam, does this mean you’ve agreed?” Shi Tou dumbly held the axe.
Shang Wan neither confirmed nor denied it, picked up Yuan Yuan, and entered the kitchen.
Shi Tou wanted to chase in and ask, but thinking of Shang Wan’s order, he hesitated for a moment, then held back, sat down by the grindstone, and buried his head in grinding the axe with grunts.
Shang Wan saw this through the window and felt somewhat satisfied.
Indeed obedient.
Dinner was served: steamed fish, chicken chunks braised with green onions, braised wild rabbit meat, stir-fried bok choy, egg drop soup, paired with fragrant steamed rice—quite sumptuous.
The aroma wafted into his nose, and Shi Tou’s empty stomach immediately rumbled.
Besides breakfast, he’d only eaten one steamed bun today and was already starving with his chest sticking to his back.
He couldn’t help swallowing saliva, looked up at Xiao Huan, “Where did all this come from?”
“Young Madam caught it all in the mountains.” Xiao Huan had already gotten over her initial surprise, her tone very calm.
Shi Tou suddenly felt his face hurt.
He’d worked so hard carrying rice all day, yet it couldn’t compare to Young Madam making one trip into the mountains.
Xiao Huan specially prepared chicken egg drop porridge for little friend Yuan Yuan.
The chicken was chopped into mince with a kitchen knife, cooked soft, with tender egg flowers. When serving, a little salt was added, drizzled with freshly rendered chicken fat, and sprinkled with finely chopped green onions—colorful, fragrant, and flavorful.
But little friend Yuan Yuan was especially uncooperative today. Even with the spoon fed to her mouth, she kept her little mouth tightly shut and wouldn’t open it.
Xiao Huan coaxed her softly, but Yuan Yuan turned her little head away, her pair of big black eyes looking piteously at Shang Wan, and two words popped out of her little mouth, “Mom, rice.”
Clearly wanting Shang Wan to feed her.
“I’ll do it.” Shang Wan was happy to indulge her own child. She took the porcelain bowl from Xiao Huan’s hand, scooped half a spoonful of porridge and fed it over. Yuan Yuan immediately smiled with crinkled eyes and obediently opened her mouth to eat.
“Yummy!” Another word popped out of her mouth, and her chubby little hand happily patted.
Xiao Huan watched her in surprise, unable to stop feeling happy inside.
When at the Lu Family, Miss could only call daddy and mommy. She wouldn’t learn any other words no matter how taught, and even the young master was at a loss with Miss. It hadn’t been long since leaving the Lu Family, yet Miss could say several more words now—she learned so fast.
If Shang Wan knew what Xiao Huan was thinking, she’d definitely be speechless.
In the apocalypse, one-year-olds could already talk and run. Where was Yuan Yuan like that? She was still learning to walk and stumbled when speaking.
She was actually quite worried about Yuan Yuan’s intelligence. Today she’d secretly fed her two drops of spiritual spring water, hoping to make up for it later.
If there really was no change at all, Shang Wan would start doubting if the spiritual spring water had lost its effect.
While Xiao Huan went to the kitchen to serve soup, Shang Wan told Shi Tou about Chen San and the other two breaking in and bullying Xiao Huan, which infuriated Shi Tou into clenching his fist to go settle accounts with the three.
Shang Wan stopped him, “I’ve already beaten those who needed beating. If you go beat people now, it’ll only ruin my plans. I’m telling you so you won’t act impulsively if you hear about it from others later, and don’t mention it in front of Xiao Huan.”
“Got it.” Shi Tou responded sullenly, inwardly annoyed at his own carelessness for leaving two women and a child at home when he first arrived and knew nothing.
It was only because Young Madam had good skills and returned in time. Otherwise, if Chen San had really succeeded, Xiao Huan’s life would be ruined, and even if he beat those three scumbags to death, he couldn’t make up for it even half a bit.
Shang Wan looked at his head that was about to dip into the rice bowl, thinking this incident could serve as a lesson—they all needed to think more carefully from now on.
She knocked on the table, and when Shi Tou looked up at her, she said, “Tomorrow don’t enter the city. Just walk around the village, get to know the villagers, understand the village situation. Like which families get along well, which families don’t, anything related to the village, especially related to the Lin Family, write it all down.”
“Okay.” Shi Tou nodded in agreement.
Shang Wan continued, “Also ask around who in the village can repair houses. Our house is drafty and leaky; it needs repair as soon as possible.”
Shi Tou also wanted to repair the house, but, “Young Madam, we have no money.”
Finding someone to repair the house was easy, but whether materials or labor, it all cost money. Their total assets were fourteen copper coins—where would the money for repairing the house come from?
Shang Wan: “It’s just money. We’ll have it tomorrow.”
Shi Tou seemed to understand something, vigilantly looked around, leaned his head closer, and asked in a low voice, “Who do you plan to rob? There’s still an axe in the cellar. I’ll grind it together later, and go with you tomorrow.”
Shang Wan’s eye corner twitched, “Kid, you’ve got some high awareness.”
Shi Tou was just about to be modest when Shang Wan slapped the back of his head, making him clutch it and gasp in cold air, staring aggrieved and puzzled at the person opposite.
Why hit him?
Shang Wan gave him a glance, “Stay alert at night, watch the door. I’m going out.”
“You’re going out to do…” Under Shang Wan’s stare, Shi Tou silently swallowed the rest of the sentence. He wouldn’t ask, okay?
At nightfall, the breathing of the person beside became even, and the little meatball in her arms smacked her little mouth and fell asleep.
Shang Wan waited a bit longer before carefully lifting the quilt to get up, put on her outer garment, tucked in the quilt for the two on the kang, and silently walked out the door.
The cyan figure flickered and disappeared into the night tinged with thin mist.
