Crossing the Mountains

Chapter 41: Sharing the same robe with my son
"Zari's leg is lame, but he has not lost his cooking ability. With his cooking skills, he can be a chef anywhere. Even if he can't stay in Zhangye County, he can still go to Dunhuang County or Wuwei County. Why does he have to drag his injured leg around selling and delivering firewood?" Shentu Zhuo said.

"Indeed," Tan Huaike was puzzled. "Then why did he do this?"

"He'd rather be a woodcutter delivering firewood than live a peaceful life. He's certainly attached to this place." Shentu Zhuo sneered. "To put it bluntly, he's still harboring evil intentions and still thinking about his lover. Although he can't continue to work as a chef at the Yue Mansion, Zhali still relied on the favors he'd accumulated in the past and asked for a chance to deliver firewood there. This way, he can visit often, ask people to deliver messages, and if he's lucky, he might even see them from afar."

"Uncle Zhali is truly a lovesick man..." Tan Huaike sighed, his tone filled with helplessness and indignation. "It's a pity that the Yuefu has strict discipline, and this slave status is difficult to remove. Poor woman, she has no choice. The unbridled happiness that was once before her is like a mirage, shattered in an instant."

Shentu Zhuo was slightly stunned, then he remembered that she was also forced into slavery by human traffickers. Otherwise, she would not have to compromise and marry a dead man under a false name.

Recalling this, he couldn't help but ask with concern, "You...who has your indenture now?"

Unexpectedly, he brought this up so suddenly that Tan Huaike paused for a moment before replying, "It was originally in Tan Anfu's hands, then it was taken away by Master Tan. They're using this to control me."

"I'll help you redeem it and destroy it!" Shentu Zhuo volunteered.

"How do you redeem me? Tell Mr. Tan that you've discovered I'm an imposter, and that your brother and I are now off on our marriage. Then, buy me back to the Shentu Mansion as a servant, and when you're in a good mood, cancel my indenture and allow me to leave?"

"Why not?" Shen Tu Zhuo suddenly thought this method was very feasible. "I don't need you to be my maid. I will restore your freedom right here and now. But you don't have to leave right away. If you can't be my sister-in-law, you can still be... be... continue to be the boss. Are you going to abandon the shop you just opened? I'm still waiting for you to share the profits with me."

"Sure, at worst, the Tan and Shentu families could completely fall out, and the selection of the imperial merchant can be left to their own devices," Tan Huaike said deliberately. "There's no need to investigate the cause of your brother's death. Just reveal the story of the attack on me when I entered the pass. This will expose the truth about the complete annihilation of the marriage party, and let those assassins and their accomplices come after us all at once."

"..." Shentu Zhuo was speechless, and everything he had imagined turned into nothing.

"We won't have to worry about the chaos at the border by then. Whether Daxuan and Mohe will continue their alliance or go to war is something the Zhenxi Army and the officials should worry about. You just need to wait for my restaurant to make a lot of money."

"Oh, alright, alright, you're too good at mocking me." Shen Tu Zhuo didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "I just wanted to redeem you from slavery and let you live the life you want."

"I appreciate your kindness, uncle." Tan Huaike said with a smile, "But as you said, I've been stuck in this situation for too long, and it's no longer possible to escape. As for that indenture, it's not important at the moment. I believe that one day, I will be able to redeem my true self from Master Tan."

Looking into her calm and determined eyes, Shen Tuzhuo suddenly realized that he had underestimated her. He had hoped that he would rescue Tan Huaike himself, which was a kind of condescending charity.

He lowered his head in reflection and couldn't help but murmur to himself, "It turns out that Zari and I are the same..."

"Huh? What's the same?" Tan Huaike didn't hear clearly.

"Nothing much. Let's continue with Zhali's story," Shen Tuzhuo said. "If he insists on not coming to our restaurant to be the head chef, what will you do? Are there any other candidates?"

"There are other options, but I still don't want to give up on Uncle Zhali," Tan Huaike said thoughtfully. "Besides, it's ultimately not feasible for him to express his longing by sending firewood. It only adds to the suffering of both of them. This matter needs to be considered carefully... By the way, is there any way to treat his leg injury? Perhaps we can repay his kindness with something?"

"Since then, he has refused to associate with me. I don't know the extent of his leg injury. But he's been limping for nearly a year now, so it seems he's not going to be cured."

"We have to try it to know if it's curable. My herbal medicine shop is almost in good shape, so I need to hire a skilled doctor. I'll ask Uncle Zhali to come and take a look."

"Okay, whatever you say." Shentu Zhuo said with interest, "Don't blame me for not warning you. Zhali is notoriously difficult to deal with with his stubbornness and bad temper. If he weren't such a great cook, he would have been beaten to a pulp a thousand times already."

"This makes it even more worthy of my challenge." Tan Huaike looked at him meaningfully, "Come to think of it, uncle, you didn't just want me to buy good firewood from the beginning, right? You just felt guilty and couldn't bring yourself to do it, so you wanted to take the opportunity to use me to help Uncle Zhali, right?" "How could that be? Am I bored?" Shen Tu Zhuo flatly denied it.

"I don't think my uncle's temper is that good either," Tan Huaike said jokingly. "They say people become soft-hearted when they eat, but some people's mouths are always so hard no matter how much delicious food they eat."

"I'm not……"

"My uncle has been so generous this time, lending me money to open a restaurant. Could it be that he's planning on having me hire him as a chef? This is truly a huge investment."

"That's really not the case. Why would I go through so much trouble? I did it for you..." Shen Tu Zhuo's tongue almost got tangled, but after he managed to straighten it out, he said, "Humph, I'm attracted by your business skills and I'm counting on you to make money to support our Shentu family. I'm just going to place a bet on you, maybe I can win a royal merchant."

"Then I accept your good advice."
-
The two of them had a great chat, and Tan Huaike had a pretty good understanding of Zari's affairs.

It was getting late, so Shentu Zhuo stood up and said goodbye.

Tan Huaike stopped him, "Uncle, wait a minute." He took out a few fumigated outer garments and handed them over, saying, "I fumigated them with the quill-feather incense you bought last time. Do you like it?"

Shentu Zhuo held the clothes and sniffed them, only to find that the fragrance was light and elegant, just right, but he said, "Hmm, it's okay."

"It's a pity that the clothes that fell into the compost pile before can't be fumigated even if I want to." Tan Huaike sighed falsely.

"...Hmm." The dress was clearly still hidden under the closet, yet he had said he'd burned it, never to be seen again. Shen Tu Zhuo regretted it deeply. Why had he made up such a lie? He was truly wasting his life trying to save face.

After appreciating his expression of having something stuck in his throat, Tan Huaike saw him out of the hospital: "Goodbye, little uncle."

As the night wind blew, Shen Tu Zhuo suddenly smelled the same incense scent, wafting from the person next to him. It reminded him of a line from a poem: "Who says I have no clothes? I share my robes with you..."

Although they were not comrades in arms, upon closer inspection, they were indeed traveling companions.

Still has the same breath.

Shentu Zhuo was filled with joy and suddenly didn't want to leave in a hurry.

He stopped and looked back.

Tan Huaike was puzzled: "What's wrong?"

He put the pile of clothes back into Tan Huaike's arms, rolled up his sleeves and said, "I have nothing to do, so I'll wash the dishes."

Pei'er, who was cleaning up the dishes, asked: "???"

It can be seen that the second young master is indeed quite idle.
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　Next chapter: Sister-in-law, are all the merchants in Mohe as cunning and treacherous as you?

　　
　
(End of this chapter)