Dandy Escapes From Marriage - Chapter 5

While Liu Shu picked at his rice, Shen Ke explained the reason for his non-selection, “They chose someone more suitable.”

 

“Where was he more suitable?” Hui Shang asked.

 

“He’s articulate, and he’s also a distant relative of the county magistrate.”

 

Hui Shang nodded, “That’s not surprising. They are businessmen, and they won’t prioritize virtue in front of power.”

 

As the son of an experienced businessman, Liu Shu had something to say, “That’s true.”

 

“So, that person is more suitable than me.” Shen Ke understood this logic well. Fortunately, he didn’t seem too disheartened. Life had to go on, and he refused to believe that he couldn’t support himself after leaving his family.

 

“What do you plan to do next?” Hui Shang asked.

 

Shen Ke pondered for a moment and said, “The firewood shed is empty; I need to go up the mountain to chop some firewood, plant some vegetables, and buy some eggs.”

 

Liu Shu looked at him in surprise. In such a tight financial situation, Shen Ke still managed to plan everything so meticulously. If it were him in this situation, he would have cried and begged his parents for money.

 

What determination!

 

Liu Shu was genuinely impressed. He wanted to take back the words he had often said before, “Scholars are useless!”

 

This scholar seemed very useful!

 

“Instead of buying eggs, it might be more cost-effective to raise chickens,” Hui Shang suggested. “You can buy some chicks. They will not only lay eggs but also provide chicken meat in the future.”

 

Shen Ke nodded, “Good, let’s do that. But where will the money come from?”

 

The dinner table suddenly fell silent. Liu Shu even felt like he could hear the wind rustling through his hair, blowing in from the northwest.

 

“Tomorrow, come with me to beg for alms,” Hui Shang suggested earnestly.

 

Liu Shu quipped, “I’ve never heard anyone talk about begging for alms in such a pious way.”

 

Hui Shang responded, “Do you have a better plan?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Both of them looked at him, and he raised his chin, saying, “You give me some initial capital, and I’ll go to the gambling den to win us a lot of silver.”

 

Both of them remained speechless.

 

Shen Ke ignored his words and pondered for a moment before saying, “I can go sell herbs. Since I’ve been exposed to the sun enough, I have enough to cure my diarrhea for several years. I can sell the excess and use the money to buy chicken chicks.”

 

“I agree,” Liu Shu was the first to agree.

 

After finishing their meal, Hui Shang left.

 

“It’s already late, and he’s leaving?”

 

“If he doesn’t leave now, he won’t make it to the almsgiving event tomorrow morning.”

 

“…” Liu Shu and Shen Ke sat in the courtyard, fanning themselves with palm leaves. Curiously, Liu Shu asked, “Is his lifelong career all about begging for alms? The monks I’ve seen before usually stay in the temple, waiting for people to donate incense. Some of them don’t even get to meet people.”

 

“That happens when a temple becomes famous, and the people have enough money,” Shen Ke explained. He had learned during his time here that not all temples were as prosperous as those in the capital. Due to the poverty in this area, there was little money left to offer to the Buddha. People could only silently pray in their hearts.

 

The cool night breeze began to blow. Liu Shu put down his fan and rubbed his wrist.

 

“Are you injured?” Shen Ke held Liu Shu’s wrist, examining it in the moonlight.

 

Liu Shu widened his eyes slightly, noticing Shen Ke’s focused and earnest expression. He heard Shen Ke ask, “Is this from planting rice seedlings?”

 

…It was actually from fanning himself too hard.

 

But the truth was even more embarrassing, so he nodded, “Yes, my back is a bit sore.”

 

“Shall we go inside? I can give you a back massage?” Shen Ke suggested.

 

“Can you give me a back massage?” Liu Shu was surprised.

 

“I can’t.”

 

“…”

 

“But I can learn.”

 

“You’re experimenting with me, aren’t you?” Liu Shu realized, seeing a hint of excitement in Shen Ke’s eyes.

 

“No, I’m not,” Shen Ke replied with a slight smile. “I’ve always wanted to understand the acupoints on the back, but it’s hard to do it alone.”

 

“Why don’t you follow Hui’s advice?” Liu Shu asked.

 

“He’s shy.”

 

“Shy?” Liu Shu raised an eyebrow. “Well, I’m shy too!”

 

“No, you’re not,” Shen Ke said. “You let me see your butt; now you’re afraid for your back?”

 

“…I showed you my butt to save my life and let you apply medicine! I can’t suddenly be shy now, can I?!”

 

“Alright, alright.” Shen Ke returned to his room and fetched a medical book, flipping to the acupoint chart. He watched Liu Shu attentively.

 

“…”

 

Shen Ke continued to stare at him.

 

“I want to eat scrambled eggs tomorrow,” Liu Shu suddenly said.

 

“Sure!”

 

“Hehe.” Liu Shu grinned, then quickly and willingly took off his clothes, lying down on his stomach, ready to be a test subject.

 

Before long, loud screams that resembled a pig being slaughtered echoed, “Ah ah ah—!”

 

“It hurts, it hurts!”

 

“Ow ow ow ow, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, you’re making me laugh, stop it!”

 

As the candlelight gradually dimmed, Shen Ke closed the book and draped Liu Shu’s clothes over him. “Thank you.”

 

“Huff huff…”

 

Shen Ke glanced over and realized that Liu Shu had fallen asleep at some point. He felt a mix of amusement and exasperation. He reached over to help remove Liu Shu’s pants.

 

Feeling a sudden cold sensation on his buttocks, Liu Shu’s eyes snapped open, and he widened them, turning his head to see Shen Ke. “What are you doing? Being a pervert?”

 

“No, I’m applying medicine.” Shen Ke held up his hands, showing Liu Shu the herbs.

 

“Oh… sorry, I woke up,” Liu Shu apologized with a sheepish smile.

 

“No problem,” Shen Ke smiled as well. “A bit of caution is always good.”

 

“But you don’t need to be cautious,” Liu Shu said. “Even though you’re a scholar, you’re a good person, different from others.”

 

“What do you mean?” Shen Ke asked curiously.

 

“This story goes way back.”

 

“Can you give me the short version?”

 

“Alright, let me shorten it. It all started when I was three years old—”

 

“Okay, that’s enough,” Shen Ke interrupted. After applying the medicine, he got up and walked away, closing the door behind him. “Rest well.”

 

Lying alone in bed, Liu Shu chuckled for a while, gradually suppressing his laughter. Whenever he thought of his childhood experiences at the academy, he couldn’t help but feel annoyed and roll his eyes.

 

At first he didn’t resist going to school, but it happened that a few of his classmates were the sons of officials, and they talked a lot about it, but they openly and secretly scolded him for being a girly boy. The most annoying time was when a few people secretly said that he was the son of a businessman’s concubine. They were all bitches, and he was so angry that he rushed over to settle the score with them. However, he was unable to fight with his fists and was pushed into the pool, almost drowning.

 

He was not dealt with after the incident. After all, there were officials backing him, so he could only suffer this bullying in vain. So far, he no longer wants to study, and he hates every scholar equally.

 

Except Akko!

 

After thinking about it, it might be because Akko is not in school right now, so strictly speaking, he is not among those he hates.

 

The next morning, Liu Shu got up in the familiar smoke again. He had only been here for two or three days, but he seemed to have lived here for a long time. He went to the kitchen to fetch water by familiar means, yawned and asked, “What are we cooking today.”

 

“Porridge, we only have a little rice at home.” Shen Ke coughed a few times and covered his nose.

 

Liu Shu quickly left the place with the basin in hand. After washing his face in a hurry, he ran back and squeezed him away: “I’ll light the fire.”

 

Shen Ke felt guilty: “Sorry, I can’t seem to do anything well.”

 

“How could you say such a thing?” Liu Shu held the fire tongs and stirred on the stove for a while. Finally, the smoke was gone, and then he continued, “It’s a miracle that you survived alone until now! ”

 

Shen Ke’s mouth twitched slightly: “Yes, yes.”

 

“Oh no, I mean it’s great that you’re alive!”

 

“Um……”

 

“Oops, what I mean is -” Liu Shu got stuck. If he had known better, he would have studied more and wouldn’t have lost his meaning. He shouted wildly, “You are already very good! Everyone has their own What you’re not good at! Although you can’t make a fire, you are good at cooking… but it doesn’t seem to be very tasty…”

 

The more you talk about it, the harder it sounds.

 

Liu Shu gave up, suddenly giving up and rubbing his head. At this time, he heard a chuckle and a big hand touched his head.

 

“Okay, there are sparks in your hair. I understand what you mean, thank you.” Shen Ke couldn’t help laughing.

 

Liu Shu looked up at his clear face without any impurities. The hand was so warm that even his cheeks seemed to feel the warmth. He quickly slapped his hand away and turned to look at the fire in the stove. The light reflected the fire. His face turned a little rosy: “It’s so hot.”

 

“Then please help light the fire, and I’ll prepare the things for going up the mountain.”

 

Shen Ke turned around and went outside. Liu Shu quietly raised his eyes and stared blankly in the direction where he disappeared. Suddenly, he jumped in surprise: “Oops!”

 

The pot was dry.

 

A pot of porridge was cooked into batter, with a shallow layer of rice crust at the bottom.

 

Shen Ke accepted it well. Perhaps he was used to bringing out all kinds of weird food from the kitchen at any time. He ate it quickly without looking rude as he gobbled it up.

 

“Hey, actually I can’t do anything well!” Liu Shu said disappointedly.

 

Shen Ke smiled and said: “How could it be? If it weren’t for your help, I wouldn’t be able to plant all the seedlings and the fire wouldn’t burn well. As you said, everyone has something they are not good at. Why don’t you tell me what you are good at? Something about?”

 

“Does fighting against crickets count?” Liu Shu asked cautiously.

 

“…Forget it.”

 

Liu Shu was encouraged: “Then I am also good at fighting, watching plays, and teasing the officials’ children!”

 

“…?”

 

Shen Ke’s smile became somewhat fragmented, and he gained a new understanding of Liu Shu. Despite trying to hold back, he couldn’t resist asking, “About this last one, ‘harassing the offspring of officials,’ what does that mean?”

 

“It’s about people like the local officials’ children who are really annoying. I just find ways to tease them a bit,” Liu Shu explained with a smirk.

 

“I see, they are called the offspring of officials,” Shen Ke breathed a sigh of relief, suddenly realizing that he himself was an official’s son.

 

With the sun just rising over the mountains, Shen Ke prepared to go collect medicinal herbs and gather some firewood.

 

“Is there anything I can help with?” Liu Shu volunteered, “I can accompany you to collect medicinal herbs.”

 

“Your injury hasn’t fully healed yet, it’s not convenient to go up the mountain. Just rest at home,” Shen Ke advised.

 

“How about I help you with planting vegetables?” Liu Shu remembered Shen Ke mentioning it the previous night.

 

Planting vegetables was something Liu Shu could handle since it mostly involved sowing seeds. Shen Ke handed him the vegetable seeds and took him to a vacant area in the backyard. “This is the vegetable patch. Just scatter these seeds here and water them. It should be straightforward.”

 

“Great, I’ve got this.” Liu Shu confidently took the seeds and examined them. He asked, “What kind of vegetables are these?”

 

“Vegetable seeds.”

 

“What kind of vegetables specifically?”

 

“To be honest, I’m not sure. A while ago, I helped a woman treat her diarrhea, and she gave me a few packets of seeds without asking for payment. Then she just ran off,” Shen Ke explained.

 

“I see. Since it’s a gift from the lady, they must be edible, and who knows, they might be something locals really enjoy,” Liu Shu chuckled.

 

Shen Ke nodded. “Then I’ll leave this to you. I’m heading up the mountain.”

 

“Alright, I’ll wait for you to come back.”

 

Shen Ke hesitated for a moment, then turned around, seeing Liu Shu standing by the field, waving and smiling at him. This sight lightened his mood, and he couldn’t help but smile back. “Okay.”

 

Following Shen Ke’s instructions, Liu Shu scattered the seeds on the ground and watered them, making several trips to ensure they were properly irrigated. Don’t ask why he didn’t use a bucket; just know that he couldn’t lift one.

 

After finishing this task, he leaned against a nearby tree to cool off, looking up at the rising sun. He thought about how he and Shen Ke were planting vegetables and gathering firewood, and how they both had a bright future ahead of them.

 

“Hey, young man, what are you planting here?” A middle-aged woman who was passing by stopped to take a look at the crops. She seemed curious.

 

…Chili peppers?!

 

Liu Shu’s face turned pale as he realized he’d be eating chili peppers every day in the future. This was going to be a real “pain in the butt”!