Chapter 52

Chapter 52

Pei Mu keenly sensed the gaze on him and turned to look. Seeing what appeared to be the host family seeing off a guest, he withdrew his gaze and turned away.

They had prepared a large stock of goods today, but they all sold out, and the sun hadn’t even set when they closed up shop.

The walk back was easygoing and light. The backpacks and baskets no longer held incense products, only two heavy money boxes. But what weight was that? Both of them wished the boxes were even heavier.

And what made Zhong Yizhu even happier, of course, was the news that Pei Mu no longer needed to take medicine to recuperate. The shadows of the past had finally cleared, and they no longer had any lingering worries.

He took Pei Mu’s hand and couldn’t help skipping as they walked.

Pei Mu had been polishing wooden boxes these days, making his palms a bit rougher. With the doctor’s clearance, he would probably still go up the mountain, but he had promised Zhong Yizhu not to go deep into the woods. He would just set some traps on the outskirts to hunt game and return every day.

That was good enough.

Zhong Yizhu recalled a thought that had flashed through his mind a few days ago. He pulled Pei Mu’s hand and asked, “Pei Mu, how about I teach you to read?”

Pei Mu turned to him and replied, “Okay.”

Nowadays, common people sent their children to study to pass the imperial exams. If not for that, few would specifically send their children to learn characters. Zhong Yizhu had prepared a whole speech ready for when Pei Mu asked why they should learn, but all his persuasive words remained unspoken.

Zhong Yizhu cocked his head to meet Pei Mu’s eyes. “Why do you say yes to everything?”

He felt Pei Mu spoiled him more than anyone in the world, so much that sometimes he got scared—scared Pei Mu was only nice to him because it was still fresh, and what if one day the novelty wore off and Pei Mu stopped treating him so well? Just the thought made his heart race.

Pei Mu’s gaze hadn’t left Zhong Yizhu’s face. Seeing the inexplicable uncertainty in his eyes, he copied his tone and said, “Because I like you.”

Zhong Yizhu watched him say that with a straight face and burst into laughter. The silly worries in his head were blown away by the wind. Even though he knew no one else was around, the tips of his ears turned pink. He leaned in, tugged Pei Mu’s finger, and whispered back, “I like you too.”

Pei Mu held his hand, which felt as soft as jade, thinking he had been standing all day, and gently squeezed his waist and back. “Want me to give you a piggyback ride?”

“No.” Zhong Yizhu shook his head. Tired as he was, he was bursting with energy. As they walked, he started planning with Pei Mu what to stock for next time.

Thinking about their shop plan slowly becoming real, he felt full of energy.

...

Ten days later, it was market day again.

Zhong Yizhu stocked the same amount as last time. Since the incense beads and sticks sold well the first time, he brought extra this time.

The same stall, the same lively scene—and to top it off, an unexpected bonus.

When Liang Meng’s young maid showed up, Zhong Yizhu recognized her right away. He smiled and said hello, “Hello, miss. Does your young lady need anything?”

The maid gestured with her chin, took out the box of perfume cream that Zhong Yizhu had sent, opened it, and pointed to a few scents. “Give me one bottle of each of these scents. Can you pack the stick incense and beads the same way you did before? One of each scent, all in one box.”

Zhong Yizhu usually separated stick incense and incense beads by scent, and customers mostly bought them that way, but hearing the maid’s request, he nodded without hesitation. “Of course. I’ll get a new box and prepare it for you. It’ll be quick.”

The maid smiled, looking pleased. “Then two boxes of each. You’re sharp in business, way more fun than those old fuddy-duddies. But most importantly, our young lady likes the incense you make.”

While packing the boxes, Zhong Yizhu said cheerfully, “As long as Miss Liang and you are happy.”

When he handed over the box filled with various incenses, he still remembered to remind her, “Mixing them like this will make the scents blend a bit on the surface, but it won’t make a big difference when you burn them. Make sure to tell your young lady.”

“Got it. From now on, when you bring the incense pills, also bring two more sets of sticks and beads. Here’s the payment this time.”

The prices of these incense products were not cheap. The maid handed over a silver coin; Zhong Yizhu weighed the coin and made change, and helped arrange the items in her basket. Then she picked up the basket and left.

Someone nearby saw the maid’s mix and said they wanted the same. Zhong Yizhu explained that mixing would blend the scents, but since the customer insisted, he mixed it up for them too.

Zhong Yizhu himself hated mixing different incenses. With his keen nose, he could easily detect the impurity in mixed scents, which made him uncomfortable. However, most people couldn’t really tell much difference when burning.

Therefore, he wouldn’t sell perfume creams in separate scents, but he would sell mixed incense sticks and beads. On his principle, as long as the customer liked it, that was fine.

After setting up the stall for half a day, Zhong Yizhu noticed that their business today was even better than last time. He figured it was because they had gained new customers.

He exchanged a glance with Pei Mu and couldn’t help feeling excited—the little incense stall had finally found its footing.

But while they were happy on their end, others were not.

At the end of the month, Liu Zhenhan, the boss of Liu’s Fragrance Shop, flipped through the account book with an ugly expression and cast a cold look at Manager Huang before him.

“I thought I had seen wrong that day. Liang Mansion has ordered incense from us for so long, and it gets snatched away just like that by some unknown stall? Are you all useless?”

Manager Huang looked at Liu Zhenhan with sweat on his forehead and a bitter taste in his mouth. Before, that young man’s stall only sold incense pills, which didn’t affect them much. When his husband Xu Lan suggested letting the young man make incense in the shop, he wasn’t too keen. Later, when the young man dared to refuse, he thought the other was ungrateful but still didn’t take it seriously, believing that the man would eventually regret it.

But now, it was he who regretted it deeply.

A while ago, the incense shop’s business had been poor. He hadn’t paid much attention at first; they weren’t selling daily necessities, so fluctuations were normal. It wasn’t until he saw a former regular customer passing by the door holding stick incense and perfume cream from someone else—one, two, three…—that he sensed something was seriously wrong and hurriedly sent a clerk to investigate.

Through the inquiry, he learned that the young man had actually created so many incense products and run his stall so vigorously that he had snatched away a considerable number of their incense shop’s customers.

That stall was small, only set up on big market days and festivals, so naturally it couldn’t cause severe damage to them, but on the accounts, it still looked unfavorable.

Now, being questioned by the boss like this, he felt embarrassed for having business stolen by a young man and also thought himself unlucky—why did the boss have to witness the loss of the Liang Mansion business?

The boss usually didn’t bother much with this shop.

Manager Huang could only assure Liu Zhenhan, “Don’t worry, boss. I will find a way to solve this.”

Liu Zhenhan, however, impatiently threw the account book at him.

“It’s been half a month and you haven’t come up with any good plan. What use are you? Tell Ashun to go to Spice Street and inform those bosses that if they still want to do business with my Liu’s Fragrance Shop in the future, they are not to sell spices to that stall.”

“This…” Manager Huang hesitated. “Wouldn’t that be bad for our reputation?”

Liu Zhenhan was the Third Master of the Liu family. Previously, Lord Liu had personally controlled all the family businesses. After Lord Liu fell ill a few months ago, this incense shop was handed over to the Third Master. Manager Huang had served Lord Liu for many years; although Lord Liu had used some disreputable methods, generally he wasn’t extreme. He never imagined that Liu Zhenhan would remain inactive until now and then strike so viciously.

But his reminder seemed superfluous and grating to Liu Zhenhan.

These days, Liu Zhenhan had been socializing everywhere and suddenly came to check the shop accounts because his father was clearly on the verge of death.

He had several brothers, all from different mothers. Now that the old man was about to leave, everyone wanted to compete fiercely, to show Lord Liu who was the most suitable person to take over the Liu family businesses.

At this critical juncture, he wouldn’t allow anyone to affect the shop entrusted to him.

Liu Zhenhan laughed scornfully. “If you don’t do it, I’ll find someone else. All this dithering and womanly sentimentality—no wonder you can’t even deal with a young man.”

Manager Huang’s face flushed red, but in the end, he agreed.

Who knew—maybe this man would indeed be his direct boss from now on. If he didn’t listen to the boss, who could he listen to? Countless people were waiting to snatch his manager position. His son Lin’er’s tuition had to come from his salary; he absolutely could not lose this job.

-----------------------

Author’s note: The person who delivered the incense pills to the Liang Mansion at the end of the previous chapter has been changed to Pei Mu. It’s a small change, no need to re-read. Thank you for the nutrient solution~ Mwah.