Dandy Escapes From Marriage - Chapter 4

Chapter 4

 

The weather was scorching hot, and Liu Shu and Hui Shang sat on a bench in front of the stove, fanning themselves with palm-leaf fans. They lazily watched Shen Ke, who was busy cooking.

 

Shen Ke wore rough clothes, with sleeves tied up with ropes. His long fingers expertly sliced potatoes into various sizes and shapes before pushing them into the pot of boiling water.

 

“Aren’t you using oil?” Liu Shu asked curiously.

 

“I don’t eat oil,” Hui Shang replied.

 

“Alright.” Liu Shu really wanted something savory and couldn’t help but gaze at the pot of lard on the stove. It was almost empty, and he couldn’t resist licking his lips.

 

“Hold on, your saliva is about to drip.” Hui Shang reminded him.

 

Hearing this, Shen Ke, unexpectedly tempted by a simple pot of boiled potatoes, gained confidence and increased his cutting speed.

 

After adding some salt to the pot, a plate of potatoes was ready. Hui Shang, who was starving, quickly grabbed the plate and went to eat.

 

“Now what?” Liu Shu looked at Shen Ke.

 

“Do you know how to build a fire?” Shen Ke asked in return.

 

Liu Shu swallowed, and under Shen Ke’s hopeful gaze, he nodded, “Of course!”

 

He picked up some firewood and threw it into the stove, watching as the flames grew larger. He grinned, “See, it’s that simple.”

 

“It’s great to have you here. I don’t have to rush around anymore,” Shen Ke said with relief.

 

Encouraged by the praise, Liu Shu suddenly found enjoyment in this task. He smiled and kept adding firewood to the stove, saying, “I told you I’m clever; these little things are a piece of cake for me.”

 

Before long, the smell of lard began to waft from the pot, making Liu Shu’s mouth water. He stared at the pile of meat in the pot and exclaimed, “What are you cooking? So much oil?!”

 

“I’m rendering some pork fat; Auntie Zhu at the village taught me.” Shen Ke scooped up the lard residue, blew on it, and tasted a bit before raising an eyebrow. “Do you want to try?”

 

“You can eat this stuff?” Liu Shu’s facial expressions twisted in surprise.

 

“Want to give it a try?” Shen Ke saw that Liu Shu was holding firewood and walked over, offering him a piece near his mouth.

 

Liu Shu took a bite without hesitation, chewed a couple of times, and found it crispy with a unique aroma. He exclaimed, “It’s surprisingly delicious!”

 

“Yeah, when you’re hungry, you can have some of this to fill your stomach before the meal,” Hui Shang suggested while fanning the flames.

 

“Hehe, yo?” Liu Shu suddenly started a rhythmic chant, not knowing why. But in that instant, it felt like he was back in a Jiangling tavern, where he and his buddies loved such rhythmic tunes.

 

“Fire, fire, fire.”

 

“Yo, yo, yo.” Liu Shu got into it.

 

…

 

Suddenly, a figure appeared in the center of their view, swiftly removing a few burning sticks from the stove and tossing them into a pile of ashes nearby, extinguishing the flames.

 

“You can’t burn that much firewood at once; you need to leave some space in between,” Hui Shang advised and then casually walked away to continue eating potatoes.

 

Liu Shu suddenly realized, “You should’ve mentioned it was a fire issue.”

 

Shen Ke muttered, “At least twice.”

 

While Liu Shu struggled to maintain the fire, Shen Ke managed to stir-fry some vegetables and make a pot of vegetable soup, which served as their meal.

 

After dinner, it was time to demonstrate their usefulness. Liu Shu volunteered to wash the dishes.

 

In the main room, Hui Shang was discussing the recent events and news with Shen Ke. He said, “There’s a family in the town looking for a schoolteacher. I think you should give it a try. The monthly pay is good. As soon as I heard about it, I rushed back to tell you.”

 

“Teaching?” Shen Ke pondered for a moment and asked, “Are there any requirements, like background or qualifications?”

 

Hui Shang waved his hand dismissively, “What requirements could there be? It’s just a merchant family who wants their children to learn a few words. You’re good with poetry and literature; teaching some kids should be no problem.”

 

“But…”

 

Crash!

 

Both of them turned to the kitchen, where Liu Shu had accidentally dropped something. He picked up the broken pieces and with a mournful look on his face said, “I’m sorry, it was unintentional…”

 

“It’s okay,” Shen Ke reassured him and then turned back to discuss the matter at hand, “But what about the seedlings? I spent a lot to buy those seedlings…”

 

Crash!

 

“Sorry again, my hand slipped…” Liu Shu picked up the broken pieces of a plate and looked at them with a pitiable expression.

 

“It’s fine; just be careful not to hurt yourself,” Shen Ke said.

 

Liu Shu sniffled, feeling guilty for his clumsiness. When he heard them discussing what to do next, he suddenly stepped forward and said confidently, “Leave the planting to me!”

 

Shen Ke was surprised, “What?”

 

Liu Shu replied, “You can become a teacher, and I’ll help you with planting.”

 

“Do you know how to plant?”

 

“What’s so hard about it? You just put the seedlings in the ground, right?”

 

Just as Shen Ke was about to agree, Hui Shang interjected, “It’s in the field.”

 

Shen Ke’s neck stiffened slightly, but he calmly withdrew his agreement. Liu Shu nodded repeatedly, “Got it, got it, it’s in the field, same principle.”

 

Time was of the essence, and being a schoolteacher was a good opportunity. Hui Shang urged Shen Ke to head to town immediately to avoid someone else taking the job.

 

Before Shen Ke left, he gave Liu Shu another reminder, “If I’m not back before dark, make sure to apply the ointment yourself, and if you can’t reach some areas, let Hui Shang help.”

 

“I got it, I got it. You should go quickly,” Liu Shu urged Shen Ke, as if he could already see a bright future. He smiled and said, “If you get hired, remember to bring back some eggs.”

 

“Alright.” Shen Ke smiled briefly, his gaze sliding over Hui Shang’s expressionless face. He suppressed his smile, became serious, and said, “You take care.”

 

Hui Shang replied with a casual “Heh.”

 

Shen Ke donned his straw hat, braving the sun, and left the house.

 

Liu Shu sighed with relief, rolled up his sleeves eagerly, and said, “Let’s go, let’s start planting the seedlings!”

 

“What do you mean ‘we’? It’s just you,” Hui Shang hurriedly clarified.

 

“What do you mean? Weren’t you staying to help?”

 

“Of course not, I’m just taking a break, and I have other things to attend to.”

 

“What other things?”

 

Hui Shang raised one hand and held it solemnly in front of his chest, speaking with gravitas, “Begging.”

 

“…Beggars lack brains for not doing what you did, shaving their heads and going directly to people’s doors for food.”

 

Liu Shu and Hui Shang sat in the house for a while, feeling less hot, before heading to the corner of the yard to fetch the seedlings. Liu Shu asked, “You know where his field is, right? Show me.”

 

“This way, please.”

 

Hui Shang led the way, but Liu Shu, carrying a tray of seedlings, got tired after a few steps and shouted, “Master, help me carry this, will you?”

 

Hui Shang pretended not to hear.

 

“Help! A bald donkey is murdering someone!”

 

Hui Shang suddenly turned around, “You! Spouting nonsense, exaggerating the truth, truly despicable!”

 

Liu Shu raised an eyebrow, “Stop acting all high and mighty. Are you going to help or not?”

 

“…,” Hui Shang took a few steps back and, with a sigh, helped him carry the tray. They finally reached the field, and with a wave of his hand, Hui Shang said, “There you go.”

 

“This is quite a large area!” Liu Shu looked around, seeing fields stretching as far as the eye could see, and his legs began to tremble in fear.

 

“No, it’s just this small piece.” Hui Shang made a small circle in the air with his hand, indicating the tiny plot of land in front of them, about the size of the courtyard of the thatched-roof house. But that seemed to cheer Liu Shu up.

 

“Isn’t this easy?” He waded straight into the field, but as soon as he realized his lower legs were sinking into the mud, he belatedly rolled up his pant legs and stared at the field for a moment before looking up at Hui Shang. “Aren’t you coming down?”

 

“I’m a man of the Buddhist path; I neither enter the palace nor the fields,” Hui Shang replied calmly.

 

Liu Shu gritted his teeth, increasingly convinced that this “master” wasn’t really a master at all—more like a lazy and cunning charlatan!

 

Relying on his intuition, he picked up a seedling, bent down, and inserted it into the mud. Then he planted a second one, feeling quite satisfied, saying, “This isn’t so difficult.”

 

“Pay attention to the spacing. If you plant them so closely together, do you want them to cluster and die?” Hui Shang asked.

 

Liu Shu frowned and instinctively wanted to curse at him, but with a quick glance, he noticed that the other fields were indeed planted with a bit of distance between the seedlings.

 

Fine, let’s start over.

 

He rearranged the positions, bent over, and planted all the seedlings. When he stood up, he felt like his back was about to break, and he rubbed his waist in pain. At this moment, an elderly man came by, leading a cow.

 

“Moo—”

 

A burst of hot air blew past his cheek, and as he turned his head, he found himself locking eyes with eyes the size of small bronze bells. He unconsciously tilted his head back.

 

“You, young man, it seems this field hasn’t been plowed, and you’re already planting seedlings?” the old man suddenly said.

 

“Plow the field?”

 

“Yes, do you have a cow at home?”

 

It’s all in my stomach, ah. He was craving fresh beef again.

 

Seeing him remain silent, the old man shook his head, sighed, and urged the cow to his own field.

 

Liu Shu lifted his robe, crouched on the edge of the field, and observed for a while before he figured out what plowing the land meant. Taking advantage of the old man’s rest, he approached with a friendly smile, “Sir, could I borrow your cow to plow the field for a bit?”

 

“Go ahead, go ahead.” The old man handed him the cow’s rope.

 

He nodded, pulled the rope, and started walking forward. He walked and walked… but couldn’t move forward.

 

He turned back and saw that the cow hadn’t budged either. He tugged at the rope for a long time with no success. So, he pulled the rope over his shoulder and used all his might to pull it forward.

 

As evening approached, Shen Ke rushed back from town. From a distance, he saw a small patch of light green sprouting in the field. He quickened his pace and first noticed Hui Shang, dressed in a monk’s robe, squatting by the field. He approached and asked, “Are you picking wild vegetables?”

 

“What wild vegetables? These are arrowhead plants, they taste great,” Hui Shang replied with focus.

 

“What about Xiaowu?”

 

“He’s still battling with the cow,” Hui Shang said without turning his head.

 

“What?” Shen Ke looked in the distance and finally noticed a cow and… a mud-covered figure?

 

Liu Shu’s hands were getting calloused, and he still hadn’t budged the cow. Instead, the cow seemed to grow unhappy and turned around, dragging him into the field and making him roll a few times.

 

“I’m so frustrated! Do you believe I’ll butcher you!” Liu Shu shouted.

 

“What did you say?” the old man asked.

 

“…” Liu Shu immediately shut up.

 

“Xiaowu.”

 

Hearing the shout from the field, Liu Shu looked over and saw Shen Ke had returned. He was both happy and aggrieved. He had just run a few steps when the old man shouted at him, “Don’t step on my seedlings!”

 

He backed off, climbed onto the field ridge, and ran towards Shen Ke. “You’re finally back! You have no idea how annoying that cow is!”

 

“You’ve worked hard,” Shen Ke said, feeling guilty. In just a short time, the person who had been clean at noon had turned into a mud-covered figure. He raised his hand and wiped the mud off Liu Shu’s face with his sleeve.

 

Liu Shu was slightly stunned, his gaze wavering. He stared at Shen Ke’s hand, and when Shen Ke pulled it back, Liu Shu raised his own hand and blinked, saying, “This part is dirty too.”

 

Shen Ke cleaned his hands again.

 

Liu Shu raised both hands, saying, “My clothes are dirty too.”

 

“Go wash up.”

 

“Okay.” Liu Shu agreed cheerfully. The earlier frustration caused by the cow had dissipated in Shen Ke’s warm smile.

 

Suddenly, there was the sound of a whip cracking nearby. “Snap!” The whip landed on the cow’s backside, finally getting it to move. The old man shouted, and the cow began to plow the field.

 

Liu Shu muttered, “…is asking for trouble!”

 

After returning home, Liu Shu took a quick bath. Bathing here was quite straightforward – he scooped water from a bucket and scrubbed himself clean with a cloth. It was nothing like his usual baths, where he lounged in a tub, enjoying fruits, snacks, a maidservant’s massage, and a servant’s jokes to keep him entertained.

 

His own clothes were still not dry, so he borrowed some of Shen Ke’s. Seeing how slim Shen Ke was, the clothes were slightly loose on Liu Shu, particularly around the shoulders and waist, and a bit longer in length.

 

While Shen Ke was taking a bath, dinner was prepared. Shen Ke cooked, and Hui Shang handled the arrowhead plants.

 

The three of them sat around the table, and Liu Shu looked down at a large plate of cold dish, puzzled. “What’s this? Can we eat it?”

 

“Yes, it’s arrowhead plants. People here like to eat them, it’s quite delicious,” Hui Shang said as he took the first bite, savoring the taste.

 

Liu Shu cautiously picked up a little, chewed a few bites, and made a bitter face. “Pah, what is this? Even dogs wouldn’t eat it!”

 

After saying that, he noticed that Shen Ke had suddenly stopped chewing and seemed quite pleased.

 

Shen Ke asked, “…”

 

Liu Shu stammered, “No, I didn’t mean it that way, I was just…”

 

“Being plain rude,” Hui Shang continued.

 

“Exactly,” Liu Shu nodded and proactively picked up some food for Shen Ke, saying, “You should eat more. Don’t let the bald donkey eat it all.”

 

Hui Shang ate quickly and shot him an annoyed look.

 

“Oh, did you buy the eggs?” Liu Shu couldn’t stand this strange dish and planned to cook an egg to eat with his rice.

 

“No,” Shen Ke hesitated, then sighed in front of their puzzled gazes, “I didn’t have the money to buy eggs, and I wasn’t selected.”

 

“Why?” Both of them asked simultaneously.

 

Hui Shang was surprised. “How high are their standards for selecting people?”

 

Liu Shu was baffled. “How expensive can eggs be?”

 

Young Master Liu, who had never faced the difficulty of finding eggs, had finally tasted the frustration of not having one. It was truly a “cracking” experience. The pain was unbearable!