Crossing the Mountains

Chapter 64 Come to find trouble
Tan Anfu was out shopping, having bought a lot of rouge, powder, clothes, and accessories. Two maids followed her, their hands laden with things. Apparently, she had passed by the original Zhiyun Cloth Workshop and decided to stop by on a whim.

Seeing that the place was cleaned up and looked like it would soon open for business, she was furious. Last time, she was severely humiliated by Tan Huaike in the new cloth shop. She was so unwilling to suffer any loss that she had always wanted to retaliate, preferably by provoking Tan Huaike. Now she had finally got her chance.

Pei'er said cautiously, "Madam Fu, our eldest lady is not here. If you have anything to say, you can wait until she comes back..."

Ignoring her objections, Tan Anfu treated the place like her own home, walking around, touching the table, patting the futon, and then clapping her hands as if she was disgusted by the dirt, saying, "Where did this stupid guy come from? He didn't even clean it up. Look, his hands are covered in dust, and we're about to open. How can this be allowed?"

"We'll clean it up right away." Pei'er didn't dare to talk back and started wiping with a rag.

"Here, here, and here, wow, it's too dirty. My sister has never done any serious business. If it were you, I'd say this restaurant would go bankrupt in a few days." She deliberately pushed over a plum vase on the shelf, "Oh, how are you placing things like this? You're always blocking the customers' way."

With two clangs, the plum vase first hit the table, and the flowers and water inside spilled out, and then fell to the ground and shattered into pieces.

Pei'er was stunned for a moment, then mustered up the courage to say, "Madam Fu, please don't cause us any more trouble."

"Making trouble? You're really wronging me. I'm clearly here to help my sister." Tan Anfu showed no restraint and gestured to the two maids, "Put the things down first and help them clean up."

The maid took the order and, at the master's glance, put the things in her hand on the table that someone had just wiped, grabbed two dirty rags for wiping the floor, and pretended to wipe the table used for dining left and right. The originally smooth and clean wooden surface was immediately left with fine traces of sewage and black dust.

Pei'er was so anxious that she jumped up and down, but she couldn't make the decision and didn't dare to do anything to Tan Anfu. She could only watch them make things worse.

Just then, Tan Huaike came back.

She was first surprised by the noise and bustle in the restaurant, and then when she saw Tan Anfu standing there arrogantly, she roughly understood what had happened.

"Pei'er, come here." Tan Huaike called calmly, "Have you cleaned up the place where the plaque is placed?"

"It's all packed, madam. It's on the shelf at the back." With the arrival of her own madam, Pei'er immediately felt more focused. She stopped entangled with those people and went to lead the way for Ah Shuo and Ah Hui.

Shentu Zhuo directed Ah Shuo and Ah Hui to enter the shop and carefully carried the plaque in. He also saw the scene in the shop, but his eyes passed over Tan Anfu as if he hadn't seen it.

Tan Anfu was furious. How could one or two of them just treat her like she didn't exist? How could they be so arrogant?
She stepped forward, blocking Ah Shuo and Ah Hui's way, and taunted them, "Oh, the plaque is already finished, but what's it called? I think it should be called our Tan family. Sister, do you still remember your last name?"

Tan Anfu brought up this matter intentionally because she wanted to warn Tan Huaike that their family still held her indenture contract and told him not to think that he had really become the big boss because in the end all these would belong to their Tan family.

Tan Huaike was not intimidated at all: "Sister, I advise you to think before you speak. You keep saying that you want to use the name of Tan. Does Mr. Tan want to regret the engagement with the Shentu Mansion? You want to ask me to return the dowry you gave me with your own hands?"

It was they who facilitated her marriage to the Shentu family, which was equivalent to acknowledging her status as a concubine's daughter of the Tan family. If they really exposed each other's secrets for such a small profit, no one would gain any advantage.

Tan Anfu was quite indignant and turned to Shentu Zhuo, "Second Young Master, are you in the Shentu Mansion really going to spoil her like this? Why does your bride have to come out and cause all this trouble when she can't just stay at home peacefully as a widow? Can you afford to lose face like this?"

"My sister-in-law is beautiful, kind-hearted, and good at making money. How can she be shameful?" Shen Tu Zhuo's words were like poison. "I'm actually glad that my brother married her instead of a spendthrift woman like you. You have no real ability and only cause trouble for others. You have nothing better to do than go to other people's shops and make trouble all day. That's what's shameful."

"You!" Being insulted like this, Tan Anfu's pretty face flushed with anger. "Everyone says that the Second Master Shentu is a playboy. I thought they were exaggerating, but now it seems that he is really uneducated!" "Someone came to my door to be scolded, what can I do?"

Shentu Zhuo asked A Shuo and A Hui to go around her and continue carrying the plaque.

Tan Anfu refused to give up and once again blocked the attack with her body, even pushing the signboard with her hands: "You want to be the boss, right? Today I will smash your signboard and see how you can open this restaurant!"

Seeing her grabbing the red silk on the plaque, Shen Tuzhuo quickly pulled her arm away: "What are you doing!"

He knew how much Tan Huaike valued the opening of this new store. To keep to the rules and bring good luck, he wasn't even allowed to see the store's name. This woman, Fu, came up and tried to smash the signboard, which was truly outrageous. Tan Anfu threw a tantrum and ignored him, but he couldn't really hit a woman, so the situation became a stalemate.

"Stop! If you dare to touch my sign, just try it!" Tan Huaike shouted.

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw that Tan Anfu had just bought rouge and powder and she was sweeping them all over the floor. Then she tore open a piece of delicate cloth, picked up a sharp candlestick and thrust it at the cloth, pretending to tear it to pieces.

Tan Anfu screamed, "Ah! Tan Huaike, you shrew! Don't touch my things!"

"I'm going to return the favor. Don't touch my things." Tan Huaike stepped on the rouge box with one foot and pressed the candlestick on the cloth with one hand. "Come on, let's see which is faster, your hand or mine."

"Put it down, let go! Do you know how tight this cloth is?"

Taking advantage of her distraction, Shentu Zhuo pushed her away, allowing Ah Shuo, Ah Hui and Pei'er to escape and carry the plaque to place it there.

Seeing that the sign was no longer threatened, Tan Huaike finally put down the candlesticks and cloth. His earlier ferocity faded, and he had the clerk pack up her things. He said kindly, "Sister, you always come to trouble me, but nothing comes of it. Why bother? Here, take your things. The rouge you stepped on will be considered compensation for my plum vase."

"Tan Huaike, remember this!"

"Sister, please remember that my restaurant will open in three days. You are welcome to come and enjoy it. But we will not be receiving you today. Come on, show us out!"

"Bah! I'd rather starve to death than eat a single bite of your food!"

The four servants forcibly sent Tan Anfu and the two maids away and continued cleaning.

Shen Tu Zhuo praised, "You're really good at giving people a taste of their own medicine. But after what happened, she'll never come to our restaurant again in her life, right?"

Tan Huaike smiled and said, "She will come. On the opening day, I cordially invited my family. My Tan family's 'grandfather' even sent a reply, saying that he would bring his family to attend the event and that he had something important to discuss with me."

Shen Tuzhuo gave her a thumbs up: "Sister-in-law, you really know how to kill people's hearts."

Tan Huaike picked up the rag and started sweeping the floor himself. "That's why I told her to think it over carefully. You still think I'm that Hu slave locked in a cage."
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　Next Chapter: If he really can't get away, there's no need to force it...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)