Chapter 61: Grandmother Lu’s Heavenly Wares

Chapter 61: Grandmother Lu’s Heavenly Wares

The older man, who introduced himself as Zhang Muchen, was apparently one of Grandmother Lu’s house staff. Sen knew that Master Feng had left Grandmother Lu some money, but he hadn’t thought that it would be enough to hire more staff. Still, he was happy that she had people around to look after her needs. Of course, there was the matter of her shop. Sen couldn’t quite wrap his head around the idea. Grandmother Lu’s mind had still been very sharp when he left, but she had struck him as very frail. Her hands had seemed to hurt her all the time. He did recognize that some of his struggle with the idea was a simple lack of information. He’d never been inside a shop before.

Oh, Aunt Caihong had been careful to describe how shops worked to him, the protocols involved, but that was all from the perspective of the customer. Sen didn’t understand what was involved with owning a shop, but it seemed likely to him that it called for at least some physical labor and likely some paperwork. He didn’t like to think of Grandmother Lu hunched over paperwork, wincing with every brush stroke. He’d hoped that she would spend her days at ease, taking that ease as some small reward for her kindnesses to him. If anyone had earned that rest, in Sen’s opinion, she had.

Looking back, he understood better just what a risk she had taken by letting him into her home and sharing her food with him. For all she had known, Sen might have turned on her like some kind of wild animal. Sen wouldn’t have done that. Even then, he’d had gratitude in his heart, if not true understanding. Yet, she couldn’t have known that about him. She might have guessed, even hoped that he wouldn’t, but she couldn’t have known. She had gambled her life that he was better than he had any right to be. At least Sen could take some tiny bit of satisfaction that she’d won that gamble.

“Young master, was your training successful?” Asked the old servant.

Sen blinked a few times and forced his thoughts back into the present. Zhang Muchen had been rambling on about Grandmother Lu’s many virtues, and Sen had mostly stopped listening. He’d been getting by with positive noises every so often for about five minutes. Sen glanced at the older man who looked very apprehensive for some reason. Sen briefly thought about how to answer the question.

“Yes, Uncle Zhang. I did experience some small success in my training.”

Relief oozed out of the man as he offered Sen a bright smile. “That is wonderful news, young master. Wonderful.”

Sen gave the man a smile. “Let us hope that Grandmother is as pleased with my progress.”

The servant gaped at Sen for a moment before he laughed. “Oh, the young master is having a joke at my expense. Mistress Lu always sings the praises of her grandson. I do not believe she would tolerate a bad word to be spoken of you.”

“There you go. No harm done. I even saved the mooncake,” said Sen, holding up the treat and taking a bite. “Mmmm, is that red bean paste? It’s really good.”

The flustered girl took the plate from Sen’s hand and said, “My mother made it.”

Sen was a little amused by the fact that she hadn’t answered his question, but he played along. “She did an excellent job of it. Give her my compliments.”

The girl seemed to realize that something nonsensical had fallen out of her mouth and turned bright red. There was a half-amused, half-exasperated noise from the door. The girl spun, lost control of the plate again, and Sen was forced to save it from destruction a second time. He put the plate back in her hands as she turned even redder.

“Go on, Bai. There are customers.”

“Yes, Mistress Lu.”

The girl pulled the plate against her chest with both hands and rushed past the figure in the door.

“Now, grandson, I don’t remember you being quite that charming before. What did that old goat have you getting into up on that mountain?”

Sen stared in slack-jawed amazement at the woman in the doorway. She looked the way that Sen might have imagined that Grandmother Lu’s daughter would look. She wasn’t young, but she wasn’t ancient either. She looked like a healthy woman in her middle years. If Sen hadn’t seen Uncle Kho’s transformation, he wouldn’t have believed his eyes. “Grandmother Lu?”

She gave him a warm smile and opened her arms. “In the not-so-withered flesh. Now, come over here and let me get a look at you. My goodness, what did they feed you? You’re huge now.”