Dandy Escapes From Marriage - Chapter 14

Just as Hui Shang was pondering whether to let them perish together or to perform on-the-spot deliverance, the door opened.

 

In the dim light, a man lay on the bed, his hair disheveled, lazily rubbing his back, glanced over at them, then averted his gaze.

 

Another man stood by the door, elegant in demeanor, with a steady aura, and smiled faintly at him.

 

“You’re here.”

 

“Mmm… I’m here.” There was no escaping now. Hui Shang took a step back, fervently twirling the Buddhist beads in his hand. “Brother Ke, I respect you as a gentleman, that’s why I hurried over to seek lodging. But you must understand, I am a monk.”

 

“Mmm.”

 

“Do you truly understand?” Hui Shang hesitated, looking at his remarkably handsome face, then quickly resumed spinning the beads, solemnly declaring, “I am determined not to compromise with you, let alone allow you to harm me in the slightest. Even if it means death today, I will preserve my relics from the slightest speck of dust!”

 

“Mmm…?” Shen Ke looked at him bewilderedly, then turned slowly, asking the man lying down, “What’s wrong with him?”

 

“Probably gone mad from hunger.” Liu Shu flipped off the bed, stretched lazily, moved his shoulders, and exclaimed in surprise, “It really works, you pressing like this, the soreness is actually getting better!”

 

“Good to hear.” Shen Ke nodded satisfactorily.

 

“Let me help with the massage too.” Liu Shu patted the bed. “Come.”

 

Though Shen Ke really wanted a massage, there was still a guest present. He turned his head to look at Hui Shang and noticed a trace of cracking in his expression.

 

“Your bedding from last night is in the cabinet in my room. Go get it and make your bed on the floor.” Shen Ke finished speaking and turned to the bed, taking off his shoes and outer clothes, then lay down.

 

“If it hurts, just say so.” Liu Shu rubbed his palms.

 

“You…” Hui Shang, who had been standing at the door for a long time, finally moved closer to the bed when he saw Liu Shu kneeling on both sides, massaging Shen Ke. “Have you been doing this the whole time?”

 

“What else would you think?” Liu Shu turned his head and asked, while Shen Ke also turned his head to look straight at him.

 

“…?” Hui Shang scratched his head awkwardly, circled in place for a moment, then slowly approached the bed. “I think I just heard you guys saying, let me try too? I’ve been on the road for half a day, my whole body is falling apart…”

 

“Aren’t you afraid of us dirtying your relics?” Liu Shu asked displeasedly, looking at him.

 

Hui Shang vigorously shook his head.

 

“Come on.” Liu Shu pushed Shen Ke aside, letting Hui Shang lie down.

 

Hui Shang’s expression brightened, immediately lying down, but then heard Shen Ke softly say, “Take care.”

 

Just as he was puzzled, a heart-wrenching pain surged through his back.

 

“Ahhh!” Hui Shang endured the intense pain, continuously twirling the Buddhist beads, sweating profusely, “Buddha, Buddha, please bless me!”

 

After tormenting the smelly monk for a while, Liu Shu handed him over to Shen Ke, who comforted, “It’s okay, the injury isn’t severe. I’ve been studying medical techniques for bruises and injuries recently, so I can give it a try. You’ve worked hard.”

 

“Not hard… just unfortunate.” Hui Shang felt like crying without tears.

 

*

 

After being busy for a few days, they finally finished planting all the vegetables, but they had no idea what to do next.

 

“Every seed that can be planted has been planted. Since we can’t sell the herbs, there’s no income, and we don’t have money to buy other seeds. We need to find a new way to make a living.”

 

Shen Ke fell into contemplation, realizing that despite years of studying the classics, he had no place to apply his knowledge in this rural area. No one here needed him to recite poetry, discuss politics, and farming clearly wasn’t his forte.

 

“The business of making wickerwork seems to be doing well. I noticed that everyone in the village goes to him to buy things. How about we go and apprentice ourselves to him?” Liu Shu suggested, secretly dreading the laborious work of farming. If they had to choose, it was better to learn a trade that was at least less exhausting.

 

That’s a good idea. The two of them decided to learn, and after dinner, they carried a basket of food and went to seek apprenticeship.

 

“You haven’t finished eating this sweet potato yet?” The wickerworker opened the door, seeing them and paused, looking down at the contents of their basket.

 

Both of them: “…”

 

Oops, it seems this sweet potato was the one he gave them!

 

Liu Shu smiled awkwardly, “We saw the sweet potato and thought of you, big brother, so we came to visit. Have you eaten?”

 

“Just eating…” The wickerworker finished, seeing no reaction from them, and after a moment, he continued, “Would you like some more?”

 

“No need, we’ve already eaten.” Shen Ke smiled.

 

“In that case…” Why aren’t they leaving yet?!

 

The two looked at him eagerly, he lowered his head halfway, as if he had made up his mind, and invited, “Then come in and have a seat.”

 

“Okay, we won’t stand on ceremony then.” Liu Shu smiled and quickly entered the courtyard with Shen Ke.

 

This was their first real visit to the wickerworker’s home. Previously, Liu Shu had only glanced from outside, and Shen Ke had been in the yard but wasn’t invited into the house.

 

The house was a bit bigger than theirs, but it was filled with bamboo and bamboo strips piled up everywhere, and there were also various unfinished products in the main hall. Bamboo baskets, winnowing baskets, bamboo chairs and stools, as well as various types of cages and other bamboo utensils, they had never seen so many bamboo items before, almost covering most of the household items they could think of. They marveled as they toured around.

 

“A Ke, look at this winnowing basket, it’s perfect for drying your herbs!”

 

“Mmm, this backpack is also good, it’s labor-saving and won’t strain your shoulders.”

 

The wickerworker: “…” Are they mocking me? Are you guys mocking me?

 

While the two were enthusiastically looking around, the wickerworker silently finished the remaining half-bowl of rice. Even though they were in the same room, it felt like an invisible barrier separated them.

 

The wickerworker observed their movements without a word, discreetly averting his gaze whenever they looked over. After finishing the remaining food, he got up and went to the kitchen to clean up.

 

After waiting for a while without seeing any signs of him coming out of the kitchen, Shen Ke walked to the kitchen door in confusion and asked, “Big brother, what are you doing?”

 

“Washing… washing dishes.” The wickerworker said without turning his head.

 

“But you’ve already washed that bowl three times.”

 

“…” The wickerworker hesitated, “It’s… it’s a bit dirty, just washing it again.” His movements suddenly sped up.

 

After observing for a while, Shen Ke suddenly said, “Big brother, do you not want to see us? It’s sudden for us to visit, we’ll leave now.”

 

“No, no, it’s not like that.” The wickerworker hurriedly stopped him, turned around to look at him, and rubbed his hands, “I’m just not used to having people at home…”

 

Especially with someone unfamiliar, this Brother Ke has been in the village for almost half a year now. Although there hasn’t been much interaction, people have slowly gotten used to having him around. But recently, this Little Wu brother popped up, and he hasn’t quite adapted yet.

 

Shen Ke glanced around the kitchen. There were quite a few things, but they were all placed untidily. Without a female head of the household to tidy up, the house was messy, so people in the village didn’t really like to visit. 

 

The wickerworker himself had a stern face and wasn’t good with words, making him somewhat difficult to get along with. Plus, he was a widower, so women naturally didn’t dare to visit alone to avoid any gossip.

 

So, he had gotten used to living alone, occasionally taking on business from the villagers. Most of the time, he would do his work alone, going to the market to sell things every now and then.

 

Although it looked lonely, he had gotten used to it, and when you’re used to something, you don’t feel lonely anymore.

 

“That complicates things.” Shen Ke pondered.

 

“What do you want from me?” It’s a well-known principle that one doesn’t enter a temple without reason, so the wickerworker naturally understood this. Since they hadn’t spoken up on their own, he had waited until now.

 

“Well, we want to learn some craftsmanship from you. Are you willing?” Shen Ke paused, then continued, “If you find it troublesome, you can just refuse us.”

 

“It’s troublesome.”

 

“Alright.” Shen Ke didn’t want to inconvenience others, so he politely nodded and smiled, “Then we’ll leave you alone.”

 

“Wait.” The wickerworker suddenly stopped him. “What I mean is, this craft is very troublesome.”

 

Shen Ke looked at him slowly, a hint of amusement rising in his eyes. “Are you saying you’re willing to teach us?”

 

“How far have you progressed?” After wandering around for a while, Liu Shu returned and heard Shen Ke’s words. He immediately approached, “Can we proceed with the formalities and kneel down to apprentice ourselves?”

 

“No, no need to kneel.” The wickerworker waved his hand quickly. “As long as you’re willing to endure hardships.”

 

“We can endure hardships, we can endure hardships.” Liu Shu hurriedly replied. If they couldn’t endure hardships, they’d have to endure the northwest wind.

 

So, it was settled. Starting from tomorrow, they would come over to learn the craft. On the way back, the two of them discussed whether they should still give the master-apprentice ceremony once they earned some money.

 

“Don’t judge him by his stern appearance. I think he’s actually quite nice. He doesn’t accept gifts, nor does he fear teaching his disciples starving his master to death.” Liu Shu said.

 

“Yeah, so we must learn well.”

 

“Okay!”

 

The next day, the two of them went to the wickerworker’s house with great ambition, and the first thing they did was to follow him up the mountain to cut bamboo.

 

On the way, the wickerworker remained silent, leading the way in front, while Liu Shu and Shen Ke followed behind, chatting away.

 

“A Ke, A Ke, look, there seems to be a dragonfly over there! I really want to go catch—” 

 

“No, you don’t want to.” Shen Ke pointed to the wickerworker ahead, signaling him to keep up.

 

Liu Shu ran a few steps forward, a piece of bamboo leaf already in his mouth, and like a pair of brothers, he hooked his arm around the wickerworker’s shoulder, “Master, how much farther is it?”

 

The wickerworker froze all over, unable to move.

 

Shen Ke shook his head, pulled him back, and the wickerworker was finally free to walk briskly ahead, saying without looking back, “Almost there.”

 

Liu Shu couldn’t help but laugh, whispering to Shen Ke, “Why is he so easily embarrassed?”

 

“Probably not used to it.” Shen Ke said.

 

“What’s there to not get used to?” Liu Shu hooked his arm around his shoulder again, “See, it’s natural!”

 

Shen Ke paused slightly, then slowly turned his head, looking at his exuberant smile. Without a word, he calmly turned back and continued walking forward.

 

Upon reaching their destination, the wickerworker gave each of them a machete, then walked over to a bamboo tree without caring whether they were watching him or not, and began, “There are many types of bamboo, and the flexibility of moso bamboo is best suited for weaving. This is a moso bamboo forest, although there are occasionally a few other types of bamboo, so you need to be careful to differentiate.”

 

Shen Ke nodded on the side.

 

“Alright, let’s begin.” After the wickerworker finished speaking, he swung his machete down, creating a crack, and then made one or two more cuts around it. The top of the bamboo tree started to sway, and the bamboo fell downward.

 

Seeing this, the two followed suit, each finding a bamboo tree. Soon, Shen Ke had chopped down a tree, suddenly feeling a strange sense of satisfaction. The bamboo in his eyes was no longer just a type of plant; it was now a means of sustenance.

 

He looked around and saw Liu Shu crouching with his back to him, waving the machete vigorously, but the bamboo didn’t budge. He asked, “Xiao Wu, have you finished cutting?”

 

“Guess what good thing I got!” Liu Shu excitedly held up what was in his hand for him to see. “It’s bamboo shoots! We can eat bamboo shoots!”

 

“That’s great.” Shen Ke suddenly paused. “But, I don’t know how to cook bamboo shoots.”

 

“…Forgot about that.”

 

Liu Shu quickly comforted him, “It’s okay. You don’t know how to cook other dishes either, but you still manage to make them, right?”

 

“…True.” Shen Ke thought for a moment and realized that was indeed the case. “Alright, let’s fry them today.”

 

After watching for a while, the wickerworker couldn’t help himself and walked over, saying, “You’ve damaged all the shoots.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“Besides the part sticking out, there’s still a root below. You have to dig around it and unearth the root.” The wickerworker demonstrated once, and Liu Shu finally understood, digging back in.

 

An hour later, the wickerworker had chopped the bamboo into several pieces and carried them on his shoulders, ready to go home.

 

Shen Ke also followed suit, moving a bit slower, but he managed to remove the small branches from the bamboo and carried it forward.

 

“Xiao Wu, let’s head back.”

 

“Coming.” Liu Shu, holding several bamboo shoots, caught up, his gaze following Shen Ke’s figure. Seeing his shoulders slightly bent under the weight of the bamboo, his long fingers holding onto the bamboo, panting along the way, he felt a pang of pity, thinking he shouldn’t be doing this kind of work here.

 

After a moment of contemplation, Liu Shu suddenly shouted, “A Ke, I know what you can do!”

 

“What?” Shen Ke instinctively turned around, and the bamboo on his shoulder swung as well.

 

Caught off guard, Liu Shu quickly ducked down to avoid the swing.

 

“Sorry.” Shen Ke apologized.

 

“It’s okay. I mean, I suddenly came up with a good idea, perfect for you.”

 

Liu Shu stood up, and the bamboo swung again as Shen Ke turned back. He instinctively leaned back to avoid the attack.

 

The wickerworker turned his head and saw this scene, a look of envy and nostalgia flashing across his stern and taciturn face—indeed, youth was flexible.