The Lady’s Sickly Husband

Translator: Antonia

In the alley of Tianxiang city.

A group of men cornered a thief-like youth, one of them cursing, “Wang Xiangcai, you asshole, where do you want to hide? You’ve taken master Liao’s money but didn’t do things for us? This can’t be settled so easily. Give it to us, where is the recipe?”

“I didn’t get the recipe. That woman is so shrewd that the village elders took her side. I really couldn’t get the recipe. To do the task you gave me, my father even lost thirty taels of silver.”

“You didn’t get it? You father lost money? It has nothing to do with us. Dare you blame it to master Liao? When will you pay us back?”

“Please give me a few more days.”

“More days?”

“Please…”

“Dare you take the money and didn’t do things for me. Come on and beat him to death.”

The men began to punch and kick Wang Xiangcai up while the leading man walked to the depth of the alley, turning a corner, and bowed to a person who looked like a manager.

“Master Liao, it seems that the recipe is hard to get, so…”

“Stupid. Now in our restaurant, as long as people order tofu and we don’t have it, they will leave and go to Baiyunju.”

“What about we hire Xiaotaohong, the top singer-prostitute again?”

“No use. Now Xiaotaohong is very expensive. By our turnover, we can’t afford her. Besides, those women are useless. People have become tired of her. Now they all turn to the story-tellers.”

“Then what about learning from others and hiring some story-tellers too?”

“Stupid idea! All story-tellers in Tianxiang city have signed a contract with him, promising they won’t tell stories in other restaurants. Now they can get one hundred cents per month even they don’t work and sit at home. But if they breach the contract, they have to pay thousands of taels of silver. Who will work with us?”

“What should we do?”

“It’s fine. If we can’t make it with a tough hand, then let’s try a soft way. Boss said that tomorrow he would personally go to Wang village tomorrow…”

*

When Mo Qianxue got back to Wang village, sister Fang had taken three smart wives and a black-faced man waiting in the yard.

In the future, Mo Qianxue planned to spare herself from the tofu workshop, so she decided to totally hand it over to sister Fang and promote her to manager with a raising salary of two hundred cents per month. Fang Datang could be her assistant, helping with carrying and moving. He would be paid six hundred cents per month.

Being a manager didn’t get paid only with salary. Mo Qianxue also promised to give the couple part of the annual income of the tofu workshop at the end of the year, so sister Fang was overjoyed.

Now the couple fully took her side and respected her wholeheartedly, really regarding her as their madam.

Among the four people, two young wives worked together with sister Fang and Guihua to make tofu and other by-products while the black-faced man followed Fang Datang to do heavy labor.

Another young wife Juniang followed Mo Qianxue to be the cook of the restaurant at the dock. She didn’t plan to hire a professional cook who would be expensive but not be able to make new styles of dishes.

All these people were employed after Mo Qianxue’s careful consideration of their family background and personal characters.

The two young wives surnamed Li while the black-faced man surnamed Gao.

Juniang was wife of Li Sanlei, who had carried Mo Qianxue out of the ditch. The other day when the house was in construction, she came to give a hand. She was an honest person who seldom talked and with great culinary skills. At that time, Mo Qianxue had expressed her appreciation and invited her to be the chef.

It would be better if there was a sous-chef. Mo Qianxue thought to herself who was suitable. This person must be quick-handed and willing to work hard.

She didn’t have to hurry, which would be no use, because at the beginning the business couldn’t be too good, so she didn’t need to worry for the moment. There was time for careful consideration.

Thinking through all these, she chatted with the people and directed sister Fang to clean up the workshop and to put everything in place. Tomorrow morning, the workshop would start officially start its operation.

Looking up at the sky, she found it was not early. She was supposed to go through the documental procedure. Ning Shaoqing should be back from downtown too. Mo Qianxue had finished cooking the dinner and waited anxiously at the door for him.

Just now she also specially asked Shuanzi to have a check at the house of the village head, and Shuaizi reported that the village head had been back for quite long.

Shuanzi also said that the village head looked unhappy.

Mo Qianxue murmured to herself, wondering if it was because Ning Shaoqing had behaved in his awkward young lord way again and offended the village head.

Standing under the big tree at the front door, Mo Qianxue felt a sense of loss. Ever since she lived here, as long as she went back from outside, Ning Shaoqing would be waiting for her at home.

Her husband wasn’t in good health, and he didn’t have money on him. He didn’t come back together on the carriage. What should she do?

Was he carrying his sick body and walking back from Tianxiang city? Oh, dear heaven! When could this person change his stubborn temper?

Thinking about it, Mo Qianxue couldn’t help complaining against the village head. He was too unkind. Being a head, how could he acted so mean…?

Mo Qianxue thought about this and that, complained and cursed…

When she looked up again, an elegant figure appeared from a distance. In the lingering sunrays of the dusk, he seemed to be wearing a golden ring coat around his body, which rendering him an unrealistic touch like a god descending from the sky.

*

At Baiyunju, Tianxiang city.

Manager Li was as anxious as an ant on a hot pot, “Seventh young lord, it’s said that the old boss of Yingkeju is going to visit Wang village tomorrow to buy the tofu recipe from Mrs. Ning at a high price. What should we do?”

“It doesn’t matter!” The seventh young lord shook his small fan and didn’t move.

“I don’t that Mr. and Mrs. Ning have promised us to provide with us all of the tofu that they make until the end of this year. However, it’s said that the manager of Yingkexuan is taking with him great amount of silver! Though I believe Mrs. Ning will value her words, people may be drunken by money.”

“Right, lord. After two months’ endeavor, our Baiyunju struggled to create such a good result. The owner of Yingkexuan will use whatever dirty methods to give his way. The manager Xue is exactly the father of the beloved concubine of Wu Dafu. I heard that he’s not a person easily dealt with. To stop the good trend of our restaurant, he will definitely spend huge amount of money.”

Alu agreed on manager Li’s words. He remembered how the other illegal young lords of Su family satirized and laughed at the seventh young lord when he first accepted the task of making the restaurant flourish again.

They said that now Baiyunju could survive for a while but when the seventh young lord took over the restaurant, it must be broke within three months. Those laughing faces were extremely hateful. He didn’t want the seventh young lord to become a laughing stock.

Seeing that their lord didn’t express his opinion, manager Li continued to persuade, “She just agreed upon it verbally. Should we send someone to sign an official contract tonight so that it becomes a binding clause?”

Su Qi shook his head and replied calmly, “Unnecessary! Just pretend you know nothing about this. Focus on your own business. Ignore this.” That woman had more ambition than money.

Besides, if she wanted, she would sell it next year even if she couldn’t sell the recipe this year. He didn’t mean to baffle her. Thinking of the sight of the hands full of blisters and the hard life she was living, he would understand her no matter how she would deal with this matter.

“Pretend that I don’t know it?” Manager Li and Alu asked at the same time. Their lord should let them ignore the huge event of being robbed of upstream resources and subsequently source of income? What…what did he mean?

Su Qi didn’t care about their transgression, just picking up a book and waving to them, “Retreat!”

The lord was bewitched again! Alu heavily stamped his feet and left.

They could do no more! Manager Li also shook his head helplessly and followed Alu out. He had expected that this time they would fight to the end against Yingkexuan because he had been swollen anger for a long time.

Shutting the door, Alu stood guarded at the, complaining to himself: my lord, what was wrong with you? Was the woman so good to deserve all you had done for her?

Manager Li stood at the door, frowning and silent for a long time before he breathed a long sigh out and left. The few days ago straight backbone now turned curved again. It seemed that it was time for him to retire and go back to his hometown.

Hearing that manager Li had left with a sigh and Alu’s steady breath outside, Su Qi put down the book in his hand, looking down and tapping the table with the fan, again and again, in tones high and low, just like the unsteady beat of his heart.

Yes, at this moment, his heart was also in a messy uneasiness! He didn’t want to see the picture whether the woman would break her promise because of money. He even didn’t dare to imagine…

No matter what decision she made, he wouldn’t blame her.

However, he would be disappointed.

He feared that she was that kind of people. He feared more of that disappointment.