88 Keep a Secret
“Now that you mentioned it, I misunderstood big time yesterday.” Zhao Chuchu couldn’t help but feel awkward and embarrassed about that. “The owner did not try to scam me.”
“If he dares to do that, I’ll deal with him.” Gan Maosheng grinned.
“Okay.”
“Heng, Chuchu, if you need anything in the future, have someone send a message to me from the village. Even if I’m swamped, I can still let Gan Quan and Gan Lin help you guys out.”
“Thank you, Grandpa Gan.” Xie Heng bowed.
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Gan Maosheng then asked the couple about other things. After learning that there was a big chance for Xie Heng’s eyes to be healed, even he was happy for the young man.
“Heng, are you still going to pursue your studies once your eyes are healed? How about I find you a teacher?” Gan Maosheng asked Xie Heng. “You are born to be a scholar. It would be a waste for you to give up now.”
“If my eyes can be healed, I’ll continue to study. But I’m not planning to find a teacher for now. Thank you for your offer.”
“Is that so? Alright then. Just let me know if you ever need one.”
“I will. Thank you.”
The breakfast was soon served.
Xie Jun looked at the table filled with food and couldn’t help but gulp.
Gan Maosheng noticed it and smiled. He even served the young boy the restaurant’s famous shrimp dumpling.
“Boy, here. Try this.”
Xie Jun did not touch his food right away. Instead, he turned to look at Zhao Chuchu.
“Try it before it gets cold,” Zhao Chuchu urged with a warm smile.
Only then did Xie Jun start chomping down on the dumpling happily.
Zhao Chuchu wasn’t holding back either. Since she had to take care of Xie Heng, Gan Quan and Gan Lin took responsibility for putting food on the young boy’s plate.
Niu An was a little anxious at first. However, after seeing how the people from the Gan clan weren’t putting on airs, he also eased up a little and started eating.
The owner had brought too much food for them. Even if most of them were still young, they could not finish the food.
Zhao Chuchu decided to have the remaining food packaged so she could take them home with her.
No matter how high Gan Moasheng’s position was, the battalion was still filled with work. He only took a short leave to treat Zhao Chuchu and her companions to a meal.
He had to return right after the meal. Before he left, he instructed Gan Quan and Gan Lin to show the guests around the county.
Zhao Chuchu understood that Gan Maosheng was really looking out for them, but she still refused him. She excused herself, saying they needed to return to the village before sunset.
After seeing the grandsons of the general off, Zhao Chuchu then brought Xie Heng and his younger brother to a clothing store to buy a few new clothes for them.
Xie Heng refused without thinking twice.
Yet, Zhao Chuchu ignored him and still took them to the store.
She would not miss the chance to help dress such a good-looking man up like a real-life dressing game when she finally had the money to do so.
After buying the clothes, she then went to purchase quite a lot of rice, noodles, and pastries.
It took them the whole morning to finish their shopping. The sun was already high in the sky when they returned to the inn with Niu An’s help.
Zhao Chuchu then took out ten silvers for Niu An.
“Mr. Niu, here. Take these.”
“Why are you giving me money? Didn’t you already buy me food?”
Niu An refused to accept the money.
“Mr. Niu, you’ve helped a lot with transporting the tiger corpse to the county. If you don’t take it, Chuchu might not ask you to help again in the future.”
“But, treating me to a meal is enough. It’s not that hard of work anyway…”
Zhao Chuchu shoved the silvers into Niu An’s hand. “I’ll also need you to keep this a secret. I don’t want to tell anyone how much the tiger was sold. I’m afraid they might try and hunt tigers themselves in the mountain and lose their own lives.”
Knowing how terrifying a tiger could be, Niu An could understand why Zhao Chuchu needed him to keep the money a secret. If people learned that she had sold the tiger for 800 silvers, it would become a huge problem. It would’ve been fine if they simply just tried to hunt tigers, but it would be worrisome if they attempted to cause Zhao Chuchu some trouble because of the money.
“I understand. No one will learn about it, but I still won’t take the money…”