Carefree Farmwife: Training the Husband, Raising the Bun - Chapter 45

After the county magistrate announced the court was adjourned, the owner of the carpentry shop, Shopkeeper Li, had his assistant put away the push cart. But when he saw the other one in Ying Su’s hands, his expression turned a little sour. 

The design for that cart had clearly come from his shop, yet the finished product had ended up in someone else’s hands. His heart felt particularly uncomfortable.

And since Ying Su had embarrassed him earlier, he was all the more eager to make Li Dalang suffer. He immediately said to Li Dalang and Liu Chuncao, “That saying about a disciple starving his master isn’t wrong at all. Our shop is too small to hold a Buddha like you. You’d better find another place to make your fortune!”

Li Dalang’s face went pale. He hadn’t expected the shopkeeper to cast aside all sentiment. After all, he had worked in the shop for years, and his whole family relied on the wages he earned there. The only reason his household lived better than other villagers was because of that steady income.

If he were dismissed now, the whole family would have nothing to eat! Just relying on their meager land, they could barely fill their stomachs, let alone pay for Dazhuang’s tuition at the private school!

Li Dalang’s mind went blank. Forcing a smile, he swallowed his pride and pleaded with the owner, “Shopkeeper, this matter really isn’t my fault. Please don’t be angry with me. From now on, I’ll work even harder. Please don’t dismiss me, my family depends on me, I have elders and children at home, several mouths to feed…”

Seeing him beg so humbly and pitifully, Master Li felt a twisted sense of pleasure. He became even more direct and arrogant, “Forget it. Just a single handcart and you’ve managed to stir up such a mess, even causing one of our elders to end up in jail. If something else happens in the future, how could I face the others in the shop?”

From his sleeve he pulled out half a tael of silver and handed it to Li Dalang.

“This is your wages for this month. The month isn’t over yet, but I’ll give you something for the sake of appearances. As for the cart, the blueprint was given to me by Master Zhao. You absolutely cannot build them yourselves. But since this one’s already been made, I’ll be taking it back to the shop. After all, you already extorted fifty taels out of me earlier, fifty taels is more than enough to buy these two push carts!”

As he spoke, he reached out to snatch the wheelchair from Li Dalang’s hands. But before he could touch it, a slender, fair hand seized the chair first. The shopkeeper frowned and looked up.

Ying Su curled her lips into a smile and said bluntly, “Are you daydreaming? That push cart was the one you bought for fifty taels, everything was said clearly, and it was brought up again just now in court. As for this one, it has nothing to do with you. If you think you can take it for free, that’s impossible!”

If Ying Su had spoken more tactfully, Shopkeeper Li could still have shamelessly claimed this wheelchair as his own. But she laid it all out plainly. Though her words were unpleasant, he was a man of status and couldn’t admit openly that he was trying to take advantage.

“The design was given to me by Master Zhao. Even if you make one, it’s useless. It can only be sold in my shop!” Shopkeeper Li said coldly, refusing to back down.

“Master Zhao never said it could only be sold in your shop! In short, if you’re trying to take advantage, let me tell you, no way!” Ying Su lifted her chin slightly and pointed at the wheelchair.

“Take a good look. This is called a wheelchair. It’s miles apart from that crude handcart on your blueprint See this wheel rim?” She pointed at the outer ring. “Do you even know what it’s for? Your blueprint didn’t have it at all! And this brake, do you know what it does? Ridiculous! This wheelchair is at least a hundred times better than your shoddy design. Do you really think we built it following your blueprint? Let me tell you the truth, your push cart design isn’t practical at all!”

“A wheelchair’s seat height, depth, and width all have particular requirements. And what about the leg rests and footrests? They aren’t even on your blueprint! Our wheelchair is far superior to your design, yet you want to cheat us? You don’t even know how it works or what its functions are, and you dare to spout nonsense here? I doubt you can even explain yourself properly to Master Zhao!”

Her words were sharp and unrelenting. Shopkeeper Li’s face turned red, then green, as he scrutinized the wheelchair she spoke of. For a long moment, he couldn’t say a word, half-believing, half-doubting her claims.

In truth, he already believed her somewhat, since there were indeed many differences between the wheelchair and the original blueprint. His face flushed with humiliation, he glared at Ying Su, then finally flung his sleeves and stormed off.

“If you truly don’t know how to use it,” Ying Su called after him loudly, “For brother-in-law’s sake, if you come and ask us nicely, we’ll still be willing to teach you.”

The shopkeeper’s steps faltered briefly, as though her words had hit a nerve. Then he quickened his pace and left.

When they returned home on the ox cart, Madam Li finally relaxed upon seeing that Li Dalang was safe and sound. After hearing Liu Chuncao recount what had happened in court, she repeatedly praised Ying Su, speaking of her virtues in front of Dalang and Chuncao.

Although jail was avoided, losing his job still left Li Dalang miserable. In his heart he couldn’t help thinking, if he hadn’t listened to Cuihua and taken on the push cart job, none of this would have happened. He and Chuncao would still have steady work and wages.

Though it was just a fleeting thought, some resentment toward Ying Su inevitably settled in his heart. Liu Chuncao also wore a troubled face. Without Dalang’s wages, the household expenses would become a burden.

Only Madam Li was more open-minded. She comforted them.

“A lost job is nothing, better than being thrown in jail. Nothing matters more than our family being together safe and sound. This time we owe everything to Cuihua. Without her skills, Dalang, you’d surely be sitting in a cell right now. She stayed up the entire night working to finish that cart.”

Inwardly, Li Dalang grumbled, ‘Wasn’t all this trouble caused by her in the first place?’ He conveniently forgot just how happy he had been when they earned that fifteen taels of silver from selling the wheelchair.

Still, remembering how Ying Su had busied herself day and night on his behalf, much of his resentment faded.

Ying Su, of course, had no idea of Dalang’s tangled thoughts. A different idea was already forming in her mind. She knew his carpentry skills well, they were decent. Opening a furniture shop of their own wasn’t out of the question.

If they had enough capital, a shop in Ten-Li Town could definitely earn them money!

But she frowned slightly. There was a more pressing matter at hand, and she would have to set that idea aside for now.

“If you’re free in the next few days,” Ying Su said to Madam Li, “help me look for some people. The construction on my house is about to begin.”