With the matter completely cleared up, the government officers had no choice but to take the severely injured criminals into custody.
Since this entire scheme had been specifically orchestrated to ruin Zuixian Restaurant, Liu Yan naturally had no intention of letting the mastermind get away and accompanied the officers back to the yamen.
Before leaving, he whispered a series of instructions into the shopkeeper’s ear. The shopkeeper nodded repeatedly. Liu Yan then turned to Shen Danyun, cupping his hands and bowing deeply. “Thank you for your timely assistance today, young lady. I shall certainly pay a visit to your home another day to express my gratitude.” With that, he stepped out of the private booth and quickly caught up with the officers.
Shen Danyun waved her hand dismissively and was about to bid the shopkeeper goodbye when she heard him ask, “May I presume to ask for your honorable name and where you reside, young lady? I shall arrange a carriage to see you home.”
“You are too polite, shopkeeper. My name is Shen Danyun, and I live in Dashan Village. There is no need to trouble yourself; our village’s ox cart is waiting for me at the entrance of the town. I shall take my leave now.” Having spoken, Shen Danyun turned to go. She was in a hurry to buy grain and head home, where her two little ones were still waiting for her.
“Please wait a moment, Miss Shen. Inside this pouch is one thousand taels of silver; please accept it as your medical fee. Our young master will visit you in person another day to thank you properly!” the shopkeeper said respectfully.
Shen Danyun did not stand on ceremony. She accepted the silver and slipped it into her spatial dimension. The shopkeeper then added, “I have already prepared a carriage. Let it at least take you to the town entrance.”
“I still need to buy some things on the street, so I can just walk,” Shen Danyun replied.
“If you are going to buy things, it will be much more convenient to have a carriage. Furthermore, there are some items inside the carriage that the Eldest Young Master specifically ordered to give to you. Please be sure to accept them, young lady,” the shopkeeper said with a smile.
Shen Danyun thought it over and decided not to refuse. Since she was unfamiliar with the roads, having a carriage would indeed be helpful.
Shen Danyun climbed into the carriage and noticed three large chests sitting inside, though she had no idea what was in them. She said to the driver, “Driver, please head to the grain shop. I need to buy some grain.”
“Understood, young lady.” Just as the driver was about to start the carriage, the shopkeeper came running out, shouting, “Wait!…”
Shen Danyun lifted the curtain only to see the shopkeeper rushing over, carrying a multi-tiered food box in his hand. He said breathlessly:
“Miss Shen, these are some of our restaurant’s signature dishes; please have a taste. Inside those chests are some fabrics, bedding, and pillows, as well as an assortment of dried fruits and candied treats. If they won’t fit on the ox cart, just have the driver take you all the way home.”
These items truly spoke directly to Shen Danyun’s immediate needs—she was desperately short of clothes and bedding. Refusing them would be ungrateful to their genuine thoughtfulness.
Shen Danyun accepted the food box, glanced at the three large chests in the carriage, and nodded. “Then I shall trouble the driver.”
“No trouble at all, no trouble at all,” the driver replied honestly.
After thanking the shopkeeper, Shen Danyun rode the carriage to the grain shop in the marketplace.
She purchased fifty pounds of polished rice, thirty pounds of white flour, ten pounds of white sugar, ten pounds of brown sugar, and a variety of seasonings. She also bought some vegetable seeds, intending to tidy up the backyard garden plot and plant them once she got back.
On her way, she spotted someone selling candied hawthorns and bought five skewers. She also purchased twenty large meat buns, asking the vendor to pack them into four separate bags of five. Having finished her shopping, she headed toward the town entrance.
Under the massive banyan tree at the town entrance, Old Uncle Wang was still waiting. Several villagers heading back were already seated on the ox cart. Seeing her arrive in a horse-drawn carriage, they were utterly astonished and stared at her blankly.
“Girl Yun, do you still need a ride on this old man’s cart?” Old Wang asked.
“I am sorry to have kept you waiting so long, Uncle Wang. The restaurant shopkeeper sent a carriage to take me back, and since I bought quite a lot of things, I won’t be taking the ox cart. This is the fare for the ride here—please accept it, Uncle Wang.”
Shen Danyun pulled out ten wen and pressed them into Old Uncle Wang’s hand. She then handed him a bag of meat buns and said, “There are a few meat buns in here. Take them home for the children to eat, Uncle Wang.”
“This… this won’t do at all! I don’t need any money for bringing you here, and you already gave me two pounds of pork. How can I take your money? Take these meat buns back to eat with your brother and sister,” Old Uncle Wang protested, trying to refuse.
Shen Danyun said, “I bought too many meat buns and we won’t be able to finish them all anyway. I have several bags left, so please keep this one. As for the money, you must take it. In the future, whenever I hunt game, I will inevitably need to ride your cart often. If you don’t accept payment, I would be too embarrassed to ride it again.”
“Even so, it doesn’t cost ten wen. One wen is enough.” As Old Uncle Wang spoke, he pulled out one wen and tried to hand the rest back to Shen Danyun.
Shen Danyun did not take it. “Just keep it, Uncle Wang. You hauled so much wild game for me on the way here and even helped me deliver it to the restaurant. That is equivalent to chartering your whole cart; ten wen is actually too little.”
Seeing that she would not take no for an answer, Old Uncle Wang had no choice but to accept it. They then parted ways and headed home.
The carriage traveled swiftly. By the time it arrived back at Dashan Village, a fair number of young wives were sitting under the large banyan tree at the village entrance doing needlework, while the elderly sat nearby chatting and enjoying the cool breeze.
Seeing Shen Danyun return in a horse-drawn carriage, everyone looked at her with envy. Grandma Zhang called out to her, “Girl Yun, whose carriage is this? Why did they send you all the way home?”
“Grandma Zhang, this is a restaurant’s carriage. I sold my game to them, so the shopkeeper had someone drive me back,” Shen Danyun said with a smile.
“Who are you trying to fool with that story? Since when does anyone get driven home just for selling some goods? If you ask me, she’s just like her slut of a mother—learning how to go out and seduce men at such a tender age,” Madam Liu-Chen said, her tone dripping with malice, clearly having forgotten the pain of her previous lesson.
The carriage ground to a sudden halt. A whip sliced through the air and came cracking down fiercely right over Madam Liu-Chen’s head. With a sharp CRACK, the whip struck her squarely across the body, eliciting a pig-slaughtering shriek of agony from her lips.
Only then did the crowd notice Shen Danyun standing atop the carriage, holding the driver’s whip in her hand. She glared down and cold-snapped, “If you dare keep spouting filth from your mouth, I don’t mind throwing you into a cesspool to wash it out.”
Serves her right! The villagers secretly rejoiced. This Madam Liu-Chen had always been sharp-tongued and mean-spirited. If she wasn’t mocking one neighbor for failing to bear a son, she was cursing another’s child. She had offended nearly the entire village, and the crowd wished she had been whipped a few more times just to see if she would ever dare use her wicked tongue again.
Shen Danyun instructed the driver to pull straight into the Shen residence. The driver helped her unload all the items, and Shen Danyun handed him a bag of meat buns and ten wen. The driver thanked her profusely before driving the carriage away.
After locking her front gate, Shen Danyun carried a bag of meat buns and several skewers of candied hawthorns over to Uncle Shitou’s house.
The moment she stepped into the courtyard, she saw several children playing together. Spotting his big sister’s return, Shen Wentao joyfully stampeded forward on his short little legs and threw himself into her arms. “Big Sister! You’re finally back! Taotao missed you so, so much!”
Shen Danyue also ran happily to her sister’s side, clutching her hand and calling out, “Big Sister!”
“Mmhmm.” Shen Danyun held up the candied hawthorns in her hand and said, “Look what Big Sister bought for you.”
“Candied hawthorns! Fantastic! Big Sister, I love eating these!” Little Wentao was so excited he practically bounced off the ground.
“Here, one skewer for each of you.” Shen Danyun smiled as she handed the treats to the two of them. She then looked over at Goudan and his older sister, Zhaodi. The two children were staring longingly at the candied hawthorns, constantly swallowing their saliva, yet they sensibly remained in place without stepping forward.
It seems Uncle Shitou and his wife have raised these two children very well! Shen Danyun approved silently. She gestured to the two of them, saying, “Goudan, Zhaodi, you two come over and get some candied hawthorns too.”
“Big Sister Yun, do we get some too?” Goudan asked, hesitating as he walked toward her.
“Of course. Come along, take them and eat with Danyue and Wentao,” Shen Danyun said with a smile.
At that moment, Danyue pulled Zhaodi over to her sister’s side. “Big Sister, give Sister Zhaodi a skewer of candied hawthorns.”
With their candied hawthorns in hand, the children huddled together to one side and began to happily munch away.
“The candied hawthorns are so sweet! This is delicious!” Goudan felt that this was the most wonderful thing he had ever tasted in his life.
Watching the others eat continuously, Zhaodi carefully extended her tongue and took a tiny lick of her own skewer. It was incredibly sweet!