Chapter 40: Chapter 040: Destined
Translator: 549690339
“Seeing you, things have gone south.” Mrs. Wen glanced at Bai San and said, “Yesterday afternoon, I heard from this girl that they agreed on someone using a bullock cart to help them deliver tofu to the town, and I wondered who it would be. I didn’t expect it to be you.”
“Well, we could call that fate. Yes, fate…”
Bai San gave a guilty smile, but his heart was sour like a bitter herb.
When he learned that the sisters Zhuang Qingning were from Enji Village, he thought of Mrs. Wen’s tofu shop, wondering if Zhuang Qingning had anything to do with Mrs. Wen.
But looking at the Zhuang sisters, who are peaceful and kind, with a friendly temperament, he thought it was highly unlikely they would have any relationship with the prickly Mrs. Wen, so he had no concerns.
Unexpectedly, it turns out that they do have a connection with Mrs. Wen, quite a significant one at that.
This put Bai San in a sulky mood as he felt his face freeze from smiling too stiffly.
“I don’t dare to develop any relationship with you. I wouldn’t want to get any bad luck or misfortune.” Mrs. Wen rolled her eyes again, took her broom, and went to sweep the courtyard.
She seemed to be unwilling to say another word to Bai San.
Seeing this, Bai San murmured Amitabha under his breath, feeling a long sigh of relief. Then he hurriedly helped Zhuang Qingning load the tofu onto the cart, drove the ox away, and left in a hurry.
When the bullock cart finally left Enji Village, Bai San let out another sigh of relief.
Zhuang Qingning was quite curious about Bai San’s acquaintance with Aunt Wen and the fact that there seemed to be some dispute between them. But since he didn’t say anything, she didn’t press him. Zhuang Qingsui, however, being young and unable to retain secrets very well, couldn’t help but ask. “Uncle Bai, do you know Aunt Wen?”
“To say I know her would be an understatement.” Earlier when he met Mrs. Wen, Bai San was completely caught off guard. He thought of the past incidents and was so choked up that he wanted to say something but worried that the sisters might think he was too talkative or ranting, so he didn’t say anything.
Now that Zhuang Qingsui had asked him, he recounted everything like beans spilling from a bamboo pipe, finally making the whole thing clear to her.
This happened a long time ago. Before, Bai San worked as a masonry in town and would take his cart to town early every morning and return in the evening.
One day, Bai San was heading to town as usual. But because he had been too tired and had not gotten enough sleep for several days, plus it was still dark in the early morning affecting his vision, he accidentally drove his cart into the one being driven by Mrs. Wen. Mrs. Wen’s ox got scared and ran forward like a mad animal, ramming a large tung tree not far away and dying as a result.
Bai San admitted his mistake and was certainly willing to compensate for the dead ox and the tofu on Mrs. Wen’s cart. However, Mrs. Wen was not satisfied with that, claiming that she couldn’t find a suitable ox to buy for the moment, which greatly affected her tofu business. Having to fend for herself and her orphaned child, she insisted that Bai San help her deliver tofu to town every day in addition to paying for the ox, so as not to disrupt her tofu selling.
Feeling guilty about killing Mrs. Wen’s ox and hearing that she was a widow supporting an orphan, Bai San felt even more remorseful. He agreed to deliver tofu for her every morning.
However, after several days of doing this, Bai San found that Mrs. Wen had quite a bad temper. If things didn’t go her way, she would question and scold him. If someone dared to pay less for the tofu, she would chase them for miles to get her money back, argue with the townspeople, spit out angry words, and even use inappropriate language…
Bai San felt he had encountered a plague. He just wanted to give Mrs. Wen more money and be done with her, but Mrs. Wen stubbornly refused. She claimed that since Bai San had made a mistake, he would be more dedicated and careful in his work. If she used the money to hire a cart, it would not satisfy her needs. If Bai San refused, she would accuse him of harassing her…
Bai San was simply terrified of Mrs. Wen and had to comply with her demands, until Mrs. Wen finally bought an ox that she was satisfied with. Only then could he be relieved of his burden, always wishing to avoid meeting Mrs. Wen again in the future.
Surprisingly, he still met her again, and it was still about delivering tofu to town.
Bai San felt that perhaps it was because of his surname that he and tofu were destined to be linked.
“This happened a long time ago, and meeting her so unexpectedly has made my scalp tingle.” After Bai San finished speaking, fearing Zhuang Qingning would worry that he felt unjustly done by and would stop him from delivering tofu in the future, he laughed and said, “But you two don’t need to worry about this. After all, it’s an incident from many years ago, and everything that should have been returned or given has been settled. I don’t owe anything to Sister-in-law Wen. She’s always been like that. She stings a little with her words.”
Being criticized won’t cost him any flesh, but helping Zhuang Qingning transport the tofu meant he had tofu to eat at lunch.
As to which was more important, Bai San knew very well.
“That’s quite a coincidence. Thankfully, we are used to Aunt Wen’s daily lecturing. Now we have company.” Zhuang Qingsui laughed merrily.
The child’s innocent comment made Bai San and Zhuang Qingning laugh heartily, making the incident seem like an interesting story.
On their way to town, they settled Zhuang Qingning and Zhuang Qingsui at their usual tofu selling spot. Bai San, driving the bullock cart and holding the big piece of tofu he purchased himself, went cheerfully to his work site.
Looking at the tofu basket today which was fuller than usual, Mrs. Liu couldn’t help but smile, “You’ve finally been willing to grind more, but you didn’t grind much. I’m afraid it’s still not enough.”
“Even if it’s not enough, it’s better. It’ll make people long for it.” Zhuang Qingning returned the smile and winked.
Mrs. Liu immediately understood what she meant, and her eyes also lit up with laughter, “That’s true.”
The sun slowly ascended in the sky, and the streets became busy. Their tofu business was as good as before, with a constant stream of customers.
Zhuang Qingning and Zhuang Qingsui, with smiling faces, greeted the tofu buyers. They were so occupied that they couldn’t even spare a moment to wipe the sweat off their foreheads.
Li Fang, on the other hand, wiped the sweat off his forehead.
It wasn’t the tiredness from work or the heat, but fear.
Ever since someone flipped a table at Fushun Tower, Feng Yongkang had been trying to figure out what made the braised tofu taste different that day. Chef Zhang was also upset about it. Despite their efforts, they hadn’t found a conclusive reason after several days.
Ma Tong had not reported Li Fang behind his back. Li Fang appreciated it and also thought that no one else saw him taking the tofu to the kitchen that day. Even if it was investigated in Fushun Tower, no one would blame him.
But the truth can’t be concealed forever, and there are no walls without chinks in the world. Ma Tong can’t guarantee that he will keep his mouth shut. As the tofu stall on the street was getting more and more popular, more and more people were buying tofu there and tasting it.
If one day Feng Yongkang or Chef Zhang were to taste it…
That would inevitably cause an upheaval in Fushun Tower, and his job would certainly come to an end.
Li Fang shivered uncontrollably, and his face turned grim.
“What’s wrong with you? Your face is so pale, and you’re sweating so much?” Ma Tong, holding a broom, had just finished cleaning the main entrance..
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