Chapter 50: A Chance Encounter with Xu Mo

After Ning Yongqiang had expressed his gratitude to the three men, he took his sister and Ling’er back to the city.

Xu Mo, however, was in no rush to return. He stayed in Gushan Village with Chen Miaoyi for three more days.

During those days, Xu Mo helped his uncle repair the house while discussing with everyone the future structure and layout of the workshop.

It wasn’t until the morning of the fourth day that Uncle Xu Tieshu urged Xu Mo to head back to the city to handle business and complete the formalities for the woodland deed.

After breakfast, Xu Mo set out with Qin Muto and Xu Ping’an.

Xu Ping’an was in charge of driving the mule cart, while Qin Muto was to ensure everyone’s safety.

Before leaving, Xu Mo specifically asked Qin Muto to bring along the handleless bronze hammers for repair.

The journey back to the city went smoothly, and around midday, their mule cart rolled through the city gates.

Once inside, Xu Mo found a noodle shop, where they had a simple lunch.

After the meal, Xu Ping’an said he needed to buy some things for his father, so he parted ways with Xu Mo and Qin Muto, arranging to meet later at home in Sweetwater Alley.

Once Xu Ping’an had driven off with the cart, Xu Mo intended to take Qin Muto to the blacksmith’s shop to have the bronze hammers repaired.

Qin Muto quickly said, “Master, there’s no rush with the hammers. We should go to the county office first and get the deed sorted out.”

Xu Mo smiled and replied, “Muto, it’s already noon. There’s no one at the county office at this hour—we’ll need to go later. In the meantime, we might as well get the hammers fixed.”

“Oh,” Qin Muto nodded, a little sheepish.

The two of them strolled down the street, inquiring at any blacksmith’s they passed.

Finally, in an old, well-established smithy, Xu Mo agreed on a repair price of three strings of cash.

The moment Qin Muto heard the price, he protested, “Master, the last place I asked wanted only two strings. This is a whole string more!”

The smithy’s owner, a burly middle-aged man, gruffly replied, “Young man, I can do it for two, but I’ll use a wooden handle, not a bronze one. If that’s fine by you, two strings it is!”

Xu Mo didn’t let Qin Muto respond. He quickly said to the owner, “Don’t listen to him—I want the bronze handle, not a wooden one. Here’s the silver!”

As he spoke, Xu Mo took out a piece of broken silver and set it in front of the owner.

The owner weighed the silver in his hand and gave it a small bite.

Seeing the mark of his teeth, the owner nodded in satisfaction.

He then measured the silver on his scale, finding it weighed three and a half taels. He fetched a pair of shears, snipped off a bit, and weighed again.

Once it was exactly three taels, he returned the leftover piece to Xu Mo.

“Come pick it up in ten days,” the owner announced in a booming voice.

Xu Mo thanked him and left the smithy with Qin Muto.

No sooner had they stepped out than Qin Muto said, “Master, honestly, a wooden handle would work just fine. There’s no need to spend the extra cash.”

Xu Mo disagreed, his expression serious. “Muto, those bronze hammers are your life’s weapon, and they were your master’s last gift to you. If we’re fixing them, we’ll do it right and do it once.”

Qin Muto opened his mouth to argue, but Xu Mo cut him off, “Didn’t you catch a robber a few days ago? Think of the repair bill as my personal reward to you!”

Qin Muto shook his head, protesting, “That won’t do, Master. That’s three strings of cash! You should take it out of my wages!”

Xu Mo ignored him and headed toward the Zhenxiu House.

There was still time before the county office opened, so Xu Mo thought he’d drop in at Zhenxiu House, since it wasn’t far from the county office anyway. He could go over once the staff were back.

As he walked, Xu Mo suddenly spotted a wine banner with the characters “Fenghua Restaurant” emblazoned on it.

He stopped, glanced around, and quickly found the restaurant itself.

Qin Muto noticed and asked, “Master, you want to go in?”

Xu Mo shook his head with a smile. “No, I’m just curious—having a look.”

Unaware that Xu Mo was helping Zhenxiu House compete with Fenghua Restaurant, Qin Muto scratched his head and muttered, “There’s nothing special about that place. What’s Master so curious about?”

At that moment, the entrance of Fenghua Restaurant was desolate. The challenge events that once imitated Zhenxiu House were gone, and the greeter looked listless and dejected.

Xu Mo couldn’t help but smile, thinking the place had completely given up.

Since there were no customers, he saw no reason to linger, and continued on with Qin Muto.

Just then, Li Huo stepped out of Fenghua Restaurant and immediately spotted Xu Mo passing by.

Li Huo was instantly displeased and cursed inwardly: Damn, I’ve been looking for you for days. I thought you were dead!

While Xu Mo was away at Gushan Village, Li Huo had his men watching his house daily, hoping to catch him alone and give him a beating. But Xu Mo simply wasn’t home.

Now that he’d finally caught sight of him, there was no way he’d let him get away. Li Huo slipped after him, plotting how to teach him a lesson.

Suddenly, Li Huo noticed a familiar face dozing at a roadside tea stand.

An idea struck him. He hurried over and gave the man a rough shake.

“Zhang Black Dog, wake up! I’ve got a job for you—come on, wake up!” Li Huo kept his voice low, but his tone was urgent.

This Zhang Black Dog was the very same man Xu Hui had mentioned.

He had spent all night gambling and was napping now. Startled awake, he was instantly irritable.

“Damn it, who’s got the nerve to wake me up?” he growled, ready to slap the table.

But when he saw it was Steward Li from the Wang family, his hand froze and his irritation vanished.

“Steward Li, what brings you here?” he asked, immediately standing and putting on a fawning smile.

Li Huo wasted no time, stuffing a sizable piece of silver into Zhang Black Dog’s hand. “Zhang Black Dog, give someone a beating for me. Do it right, and this silver is yours!”

Zhang Black Dog cheered up at the prospect, tucking the silver away and asking, “Who do you want me to rough up, Steward Li? I’ll make sure he regrets ever being born!”

Li Huo pointed at Xu Mo in the distance. “Him!”

Zhang Black Dog craned his neck, then recognized Xu Mo. “That gambling fool from Jiming Alley?”

Li Huo nodded vigorously. “That’s the one! Follow him, and teach him a lesson. I want you to beat him so badly even his wife won’t recognize him!”

“Don’t worry, Steward Li, I’ll handle it!”

Zhang Black Dog had been worried Li Huo might send him against someone dangerous, but seeing it was Xu Mo, he was delighted, thinking the silver was as good as a gift.

Meanwhile, Xu Mo and Qin Muto continued down the road.

Suddenly, Xu Mo saw a shop with a red notice posted: “Freshly arrived: Hand Moisturizing Fragrance.”

“Hand Moisturizing Fragrance…”

Xu Mo knew what it was—a kind of hand cream people used in ancient times.

At that moment, he thought of Chen Miaoyi’s hands, always red and dry from washing dishes and chores, as if they’d crack at any time.

“Muto!” Xu Mo called, heading straight into the shop selling the hand cream.

Soon, he emerged with a small box of the cream and a satisfied smile.

Qin Muto, trailing beside him, couldn’t understand why his master would spend several hundred coins on such a tiny box.

“Master, you…”

“Enough! I don’t want to hear it—it’s not your money!”

Xu Mo cut him off before he could finish.

Just then, Xu Mo noticed a few men blocking their path ahead.

“Well, if it isn’t my old friend Xu! Haven’t seen you in days—you must be rolling in silver now!” said the leader, none other than Zhang Black Dog.

He eyed the fine robe Xu Mo wore and made up his mind: he’d find an excuse to give him a beating, then extort a hefty sum as compensation. What a perfect opportunity!