Chapter 145: Explanation

Disclaimer: 

1. This is an unofficial translation and no permission has been obtained from the author/ official publisher. It may be taken down if the author/official publisher requests. 

2. This is a fan work and the interpretation represents only the translator’s personal views without any input from the author. 

3. No permission has been granted to use, publish, upload and/or copy this translation to any other site except for Second Life Translations.

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When Liu Shu and Liu Tao heard Liu Xu’er’s plan to plant it, the both of them were helpless. But they had slowly started to believe that the plant was truly harmless. Weren’t Xiuxiu and Liu Xu’er fine?

Niu ge saw that there was no issue and so returned to his own shop. Liu Xu’er had grabbed hold of Shao Rong and was asking her about how to plant the tomatoes. Shao Rong didn’t keep anything from her, openly sharing their family’s method to grow them. 

After getting over her shock, Xiuxiu finally recalled her promises to her friends to help them bring items back. She went over to start picking a few items. Liu Tao was the store manager, so he naturally went to assist her. 

Xiuxiu chose two five coloured bands and asked Liu Tao their price. 

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“Zsw esd’v dlle vs ryu. Rv’p fwpv vos kvlxp. Kwpv vyjl vblx.” Nkw Mys pyke. Tl oyp vbl pvsal xydytla yqvla yzz. Gzvbswtb vblu byed’v ulv xydytle vs qkde bkx ydu pbsr yppkpvydv, bl nswze xyjl elnkpksdp qsa vbl pvsal. Gde clnywpl sq bso qzlmkczl Nkw Dw’la yde vbl alpv olal yv nsdewnvkdt cwpkdlpp – vblu qaliwldvzu blze rasxsvksd ynvkhkvklp yde tyhl yoyu tssep – Nkw Mys oyp qall vs xyjl vblpl jkdep sq elnkpksdp qsa vbl pvsal.&dcpr;

Dkwmkw qzwpble ale yde pyke, “R’x blzrkdt svblap cwu vblpl! Mblu jdlo R oyp nsxkdt vs vsod, yde ypjle xl vs blzr vblx cwu vblx.”

Nkw Mys rywple qsa y xsxldv yde vbld pyke, “Xdl old lynb. Zsw nyd alvwad vbl alpv sq vbl xsdlu vs vblx. Kwpv pyu vbyv clnywpl usw yal y alzyvkhl, usw tsv y ekpnswdvle raknl.”

Dkwmkw oldv “sb”. Fbl zssjle yv vbl rlsrzl yaswde bla – vblu pllxle vs cl ayvbla wple vs pwnb kppwlp yde olald’v ryukdt vblx ydu yvvldvksd. Lscseu pyke yduvbkdt ycswv Nkw Mys tkhkdt bla y ekpnswdvle raknl, ps pbl eked’v rwpb vbl xyvvla ydu qwavbla.&dcpr;

Gqvla y obkzl, Nkw Fld caswtbv Tl Hbsdtgbsw yde Tl Hbsdtbys cynj vs vbl pvsal. Mbkp pvsal xspvzu psze tkazu kvlxp, ps vbl vos casvblap olald’v vss kdvlalpvle. Fkdnl Nkw Dw’la oydvle vs iwknjzu rzydv bla vsxyvslp, vbl obszl qyxkzu elnkele vs blye cynj vstlvbla.

Gzvbswtb vbl vsxyvs kdnkeldv oypd’v pxyzz, dsdl sq vbl yewzvp qswde swv ycswv kv. Nkw Dw’la eked’v oydv bla ryaldvp vs qkde swv, lprlnkyzzu bla xsvbla. Fbl oswzed’v pvsr dyttkdt ycswv vbl kppwl! Dkwmkw yzps lhld xsal xsvkhyvle dsv vs zlv ydusdl qkde swv – kq vblu eke, vbld oswzed’v vblu pvyav vs pnsze bla kd qasdv sq lhlausdl qsa clkdt talleu? Mbyv oswze cl ps lxcyaayppkdt?!

Mbyv dktbv, obld Nkw Mys alvwadle bsxl, Dkwmkw yde bla qyxkzu bye yzalyeu tsdl bsxl. Nkw Mys oyp pvkzz y ckv osaakle. Tl oldv vs vbl cynjuyae yde prsjl vs Nkw Dw’la, “Typ Dkwmkw tsdl? Gal usw pwal kv’p yzaktbv?” Tl oyp osaakle vbyv Nkw Dw’la oswze qkde bkx vss dyttu, ps bl yeele, “Fbl eked’v fwpv lyv sdl, pbl bye iwkvl y qlo.”

Nkw Dw’la oyp naswnble kd vbl cynjuyae, nblnjkdt sd bla dlozu rzydvle vsxyvs rzydvp. Fbl bye nyalqwzzu vaydprzydvle vblx kdvs vbl pskz yde oyp nwaaldvzu zssjkdt vblx shla. Ekvbswv oykvkdt qsa bla alprsdpl, y blzrzlpp hsknl aydt swv qasx clbkde Nkw Mys. “Rv pbswze cl qkdl, Dw’la qkdkpble yzz vbl alpv obld pbl nyxl bsxl!”

Liu Tao turned around to look. It was Liu Shu. With a shocked “oh”, he asked, “Xu’er finished all of them?”

Liu Xu’er didn’t bother turning around. She gave a chirpy “Yup” and then said, “That’s right, I’ve finished it all… They were all so small. I don’t know if it’s because it was being planted in a pot? Would they grow bigger now that they’re planted in the soil?”

Liu Shu and Liu Tao were both exasperated and amused. The both of them shook their heads and walked away. 

The workshop had been in operation for half a year, and there were a lot of matters to look into. Thankfully, most of the matters had been resolved and the workshop had been running smoothly. Liu Shu was in the old store, standing in front of the counter, closely supervising Liu Sen balancing the books. The whole family had been so busy recently that no one had had time to watch Liu Sen. Liu Sen had gone quite wild – he hadn’t been going to the store regularly, instead swanning about and playing.

Liu Shu didn’t like the looks of things and had been vigilantly watching Liu Sen these past few days. Either they were both in school together or he was teaching him arithmetic. Liu Sen was not allowed to go out unsupervised. 

With a bitter face, Liu Sen was looking at the large stack of ledgers. His fingers were slowly flicking at abacus beads. 

Liu Tao was looking at them from the doorway and smiling. He walked in and asked Liu Shu, “Dage, this year’s autumn examination – did your teacher mention it to you and erge? Doesn’t he hope that the two of you participate in it? If you become a xiucai, it would bring him a lot of glory.”

Liu Shu said, “He did mention it, but he is just so lazy. He’s really not ambitious….”

He started to smile at that. Liu Tao too smiled, while Liu Sen had finally found the opportunity to pipe up, “Haha! Dage is speaking badly about Teacher. Tomorrow I will tell Teacher, and get him to beat you….”

He hadn’t finished when he got a knock on his own head. Liu Shu scolded, “Quickly finish your calculations! Why are you interrupting when others are speaking! Let me tell you, if you don’t finish with your calculations, you can forget about eating today!”

Liu Sen’s face became bitter. He bowed his head and continued his work, all while muttering darkly to himself. 

Liu Shu and Liu Tao looked at each other. By mutual agreement, the two of them headed out. They stood at the doorway and continued their conversation. Liu Shu said, “Teacher really doesn’t have that kind of ambition. In these many years, students have come and gone. He doesn’t really have any reaction. Two years ago, there were a few really bright students. They definitely had the chance to become xiucai, but they could clearly see that Teacher wasn’t that invested, so they started to leave one by one. Teacher didn’t try to retain them.”

He started to shake his head, “So, every year, he just mentions it, and asks who wants to try. After that, he will say a few words of encouragement and that’s it.”

Liu Tao nodded his head in understanding. Then he asked, “But do you and erge want to try?”

Liu Shu fell silent for a moment. “The two of us are still discussing it. It’s alright to try – if we manage to pass the exam and become xiucai, it would be easier for us to protect our family. It’s enough to be like Shi Cheng’s father…. And if we don’t pass, we won’t be too heartbroken about it.”

Liu Tao nodded his head, “That’s true. It’s good this way.”

Liu Shu then asked him, “How about you? We told you to study under Teacher. Why won’t you go?”

Liu Tao smiled and scratched his head, “It’s enough for me to learn a few words from you and erge. Why should I go and study? I’m not planning to become a xiucai.”

Liu Shu nodded and didn’t say anything more. Liu Tao wasn’t from their family. When they asked him to also go to school, Liu Tao had refused. He probably felt indebted to them for allowing him to come to live with them and work with them. He couldn’t accept them paying for his education as well. Which was why he repeatedly refused their offers. However, Liu Tao had already started to recognise a few words. 

The two of them were standing at the door chatting when they spotted a little donkey cart moving towards them. Because of frequent interactions, the two of them recognised it as the Shao family’s cart. Liu Tao called out, “Niu ge! Shao ge is here to deliver flowers!”

When Niu ge heard, he immediately came out. Just in time, the cart had stopped in front of them. The one driving the cart was a youth, about 20. His face full of smiles, he greeted them, “Niu ge! Liu Tao! Shu! All of you are here!”

Because the Liu family all referred to him as “Shu”, Shao ge had copied their form of address and referred to him that way. 

Liu Shu, Liu Tao quickly smiled and nodded. The two of them were very good natured so they moved to help him unload the cart. Because so many hands were working, it was quick work shifting all the pots off the cart. Shao Huai followed Niu ge into the store to help Niu ge arrange the flowers and settle payments. Liu Shu and Liu Tao returned to their own store. 

Liu Shu went to supervise Liu Sen at his work. He again started to nag, “You should fix a time for yourself to finish! You should be done within a few hours right? Or did you intend to take the whole day to finish this?”

Liu Sen stuck out his tongue and started to mutter, “What’s up… Who made you angry?” When Liu Shu turned to continue speaking to Liu Tao, Liu Sen softly muttered, “You must be wanting to get married. Because dad and mum refuse to settle on someone, you vent your anger on me….”

Liu Shu didn’t hear what he was saying. He had come over and started to discuss the workshop with Liu Tao. The two of them were speaking when Shao Huai came out from the neighbouring store. 

“Are you leaving?” Niu ge asked courteously. 

Shao Huai smiled and said, “Head on back first, Niu ge. I want to speak with Shu first!”

Niu ge agreed. Liu Shu and Liu Tao had overhead what he just said, so they both stopped speaking. Liu Tao quickly went to get a pot of tea. He poured them some to drink, while Liu Shu stayed at the doorway and greeted Shao Huai. “Please come in. What’s up? Usually you’re so busy that we can’t even invite you in? How come you’ve the time to chat today? Did something happen?”

Shao Huai smiled and entered. “There really is something….”

Liu Shu knew what it was the instant he spoke! He smiled and asked, “Is it to do with what happened with the Liuyueshi? You can relax! My two sisters are fine. The fruit really can be eaten. Xu’er has planted a few in the ground. She wants to grow more so that we can have them more often!”

Shao Huai smiled and nodded. “It’s good that everything’s alright! Then he smiled and explained. “That Liuyueshi was something I saw in Xianyang city. I saw them plant it, so I bought a few pots home to try. Surprisingly, they didn’t die under my care. When I bought them, I didn’t check if the fruit could be eaten. I also saw that they seemed to just be using them as ornamental plants, so I assumed that they weren’t edible… I have two sisters, I was also worried that they would eat it by mistake. What would happen then! Right? So to prevent that from happening, I told them it couldn’t be eaten…. Who would’ve known it would cause such a big issue.”

He smiled and shook his head. Liu Tao brought him a cup and Shao Huai took it from him gratefully, “Thanks.”

“No problem!” Liu Tao said. 

Liu Shu smiled and said, “It’s alright, it’s alright. Xu’er had seen it before and knew that it was edible. It was just my young cousin who didn’t know. Liu Tao also didn’t know and so he got a big scare….”

Shao Huai smiled and said, “When Shao Rong went home, she was quite chagrined over what had happened. She said you were definitely very angry about the situation – your face was all gloomy…. She said she’d never seen you with such a heavy expression, and it made her worried. I thought it was definitely because you were worried, but figured that it would be best if I came over in person to give you an explanation. We just said that blindly and didn’t expect it would cause all of you so much anxiety.”

Liu Shu was quite surprised when he heard that. He spent a moment thinking it over before exclaiming, “It might be when…. Liu Tao had brought Xiuxiu to the medical hall. I was out of my mind with worry. I didn’t expect that my facial expression would have caused her so much worry.”

Liu Tao smiled and spoke up for him “That’s right – you must have been really worried. Everyone knows that my dage is very good tempered. He would never treat anyone harshly!”

This was something that Shao Huai wholeheartedly agreed with. He smiled and nodded, “That’s right! I was just saying that Shu is very good tempered. He wouldn’t…. It must’ve been because you were too worried at the time!”

Liu Sen was listening from inside the shop. Under his breath, he said, “Shu’s temper is terrible! He doesn’t even want to allow me to eat. Who is good tempered… What nonsense!”