The Beautiful Brother of the Orion’s Family (Wearing Book) - 169

 

| TBBOTOF | 169

Tang Erhu's shout startled not only himself but also woke up the sleeping Xiao Bao.

Having not slept enough and being startled awake, Xiao Bao began to cry.

Tang Xu was first startled by his father, and then by the crying Xiao Bao. He quickly started to gently pat Xiao Bao to soothe him.

Unfortunately, it didn't work well; Xiao Bao cried loudly.

Tang Xu held him in his arms and, puzzled, turned to look at Wei Dong, who was about to go outside to see what was happening. "Did Dad just call out Er Bao?"

Wei Dong nodded, "I'll go and check."

In the yard, Tang Erhu was already holding Er Bao's hands and washing them, while the chubby boy stood beside him, carefully scrubbing his own hands as well.

Er Bao's pants and shoes were covered in mud, and there was also a streak of dried mud on his face.

He was filthy.

Wei Dong went over and asked, "What happened?"

"This is really something," Tang Erhu sighed, cleaning off the dried mud from Er Bao's face and washing his face twice more before letting him go off to play. 

Then, he bent down to wash his own face. "He was playing with mud, and with no water around, he decided to urinate on the ground to create more mud."

Wei Dong quickly bent down to get Tang Erhu a basin of clean water.

There was no need to ask further. Seeing the big mud print on his father's face, it was clear that he had been attacked by mud.

The chubby boy finished washing his hands and carefully brought them up to his nose to sniff. 

Not smelling anything, he raised his arms and stretched out his little hands towards Wei Dong, saying, "Father, smell!"

Wei Dong's face remained expressionless, but his eyes were full of disgust.

He had no intention of smelling it.

The chubby boy ran over and hugged his leg, whining, "Smell, smell, does it still stink?"

Er Bao copied him, hugging the other leg and raising his arm with a small hand, saying, "Smell~ it’s fragrant!"

Earlier, Tang Erhu had washed his hands several times, so they smelled nice.

"I'm not smelling it, both of you stink. Hurry and go change your clothes." Seeing the mud on the two of them, Wei Dong frowned deeply.

Tang Xu, who had calmed Xiao Bao down, came out of the house holding him, and the first thing he saw was the scene of Wei Dong being surrounded by his two sons.

Tang Erhu wiped his face dry and turned to go back inside to change his clothes.

After hearing that Er Bao had used urine to mix with the mud, Tang Xu immediately waved his hand, instructing Wei Dong to give the two boys a bath. "Bathe them, then we'll eat."

Wei Dong sighed, feeling exhausted.

He picked up one boy in each hand and took them for a bath.

By the time they finished their bath, lunch was ready.

Tang Xu didn't scold Er Bao. After all, children are bound to do some troublesome things when they're young—it's just a way of expressing their nature. 

However, he still had a talk with Er Bao, explaining that if he wants to play with mud in the future, he should use water, not urine, because urine smells bad.

Whether Er Bao understood and remembered it was unclear at this point.

The chubby boy was thoroughly disgusted with his younger brother. During lunch, he refused to sit next to Er Bao, saying that Er Bao was dirty.

Tang Xu turned to look at him and chuckled, then pointed at Wei Dong. "When you were little, you peed all over your father’s face, but he didn’t think you were too dirty to take care of."

The chubby boy stared wide-eyed in shock, his bright red little mouth hanging open, revealing the tip of his small tongue inside.

"No way!"

"Why not? Ask your father," Tang Xu said, smiling with curved eyes, and then nodded towards Wei Dong, "Go on, ask him."

The chubby boy turned to look at Wei Dong.

Wei Dong chuckled, "Every time I changed your diaper, you would pee on my face—five or six times."

The chubby boy was shocked.

Then he shook his head vigorously, "No, no, no, I was just a baby!"

"Yes, you were little, and so is your brother, so you shouldn't dislike him." Tang Xu smiled and patted his head. "Now, let's eat."

After the meal, Tang Xu went to the front of the store to check on business. He found that the braised noodles and stuffed meat buns were selling well. 

All four tables were occupied, and outside the store, there were quite a few people holding bowls, slurping noodles.

"We need to make a few small stools to keep on hand. When there's no place to sit, people can grab one and sit down," Tang Xu said when he returned to the store. 

He spoke to Tang Li, who was washing dishes, "Make sure to rinse these bowls thoroughly with hot water. With so many people coming to eat, we don’t want anyone getting sick and spreading it to others."

The reason Tang Xu was hesitant about offering dine-in service was this concern. After all, those random infectious diseases are invisible, and you never know who might be carrying a virus.

Tang Li nodded, "Auntie said the same thing."

"If it’s too much trouble, just put the bowls in a pot and boil them. I'll have your brother-in-law go to the blacksmith's shop and get a big iron bucket made specifically for boiling bowls." Tang Xu felt this was a good idea and immediately called out to Wei Dong to go to the blacksmith's shop to get an iron bucket made.

Tang Li laughed and shook her head, then turned to Liu Yao, who was tidying up the counter, "Big Brother sure is efficient."

Liu Yao nodded, "I was just chatting with Brother-in-law, and he said that Brother Xu got Tang Qi to start selling spicy strips in the village, and they're selling quite well."

"Brother has a really good heart. If it were me, I wouldn't care about them after what Third Aunt did last time—I was so furious." Tang Li huffed, placing the bowl in an empty basin. "Bring the boiling water over."

Liu Yao fetched a basin of hot water, "I can actually understand Brother Xu's approach."

Tang Li looked at him, puzzled.

"Brother Xu is probably thinking that if he helps Tang Qi's family get on their feet, then Third Uncle's family won't have the energy to cause trouble for him anymore," Liu Yao explained as he helped her rinse the bowls with hot water and place them on the drying rack. 

"It's a way to solve problems without confrontation and still make money. Brother Xu is really smart."

Tang Li shot him a glance.

Liu Yao moved closer to her, "I’m just complimenting Brother Xu!"

"My Brother has always been clever. If it weren't for him, our family wouldn't be doing as well as we are now, making so much money." Tang Li never imagined she would ever be overwhelmed by the sheer number of coins they were earning. 

Now, every afternoon after closing the store, counting coins had become a sweet burden.

Liu Yao agreed. He had never met anyone as quick-witted as Tang Xu, with so many ideas for making money.

Take the food business, for example—others work themselves to the bone, but Tang Xu not only earns money but also avoids exhausting himself.

But it’s also because Tang Xu trusts them. Liu Yao had never seen him count the money they gave him—no matter how much it was, he just put it away. 

If you asked him to count, he'd wave it off, saying he was too lazy to bother, and didn't even check the books.

"If it were someone else, they'd probably check the accounts at least once every ten days, or at least once a month. Do you think Brother Xu is a bit too laid-back?"

Tang Li thought of Tang Xu’s indifferent attitude towards how much money he made, and she couldn't help but admire him.

"I don't care how he is, but we mustn't lose our integrity."

Liu Yao nodded vigorously, "I know, I would never deceive Brother Xu."

After he said that, he leaned closer to Tang Li and whispered in her ear, "Has your father mentioned when we'll get married?"

Tang Li was taken aback, and then her face turned bright red. She immediately elbowed him in the ribs.

Liu Yao was hit in the side, and the pain made him grimace. He bent forward and instinctively pulled Tang Li into his arms.

"Ah Li, I..."

"Ah Li, I was just..." Tang Xu began to say something as he entered but was stunned to see the two of them hugging. 

The rest of his words were swallowed as he awkwardly stopped mid-sentence.

His hand, which was holding the door curtain, was stuck in an awkward position—neither putting it down nor holding it up felt right. He also didn't know whether to step forward or back.

The situation was awkward.

Seeing his sister and future brother-in-law being so close, as the elder brother, he wondered if he should step back and give them privacy.

But before he could retreat, Tang Li, her face completely red, had already pushed Liu Yao away with such force that Liu Yao's back slammed into the counter.

Liu Yao yelped in pain, clutching his lower back, but still grinned foolishly.

Tang Xu also smiled at him, but for a moment, he didn't know what to say.

Tang Li rubbed her face and, with her cheeks still flushed, asked Tang Xu, "Brother, what did you just say?"

"I said I’m going to Fuyun Restaurant with your Brother-in-law. Can you watch the kids for me?" Tang Xu grinned and winked at her. "You two can carry on. I’ll just let Aunt know."

After saying this, he lifted the curtain and turned to leave. 

Tang Li was stunned for a moment before realizing what he meant by "carry on." She stomped her foot and chased after him, shouting, "Brother, it’s a misunderstanding!"

"It's fine, it's fine, I didn't see anything," Tang Xu said as he dashed off.

Tang Li turned around, glaring at Liu Yao with a mix of embarrassment and annoyance. "It's all your fault!"

Liu Yao, feeling wronged, hugged her and tried to console her, "We’re about to get married. Brother Xu knows that, so what’s there to worry about?"

"It's so embarrassing!" Tang Li gave him a slap on the arm and ran off, her face still red.

Liu Yao chuckled to himself, then finished rinsing the remaining dishes and tidied up before leaving.

Tang Xu and Wei Dong went to Fuyun Restaurant mainly to check on the sales of the marinated dishes. 

When Boss Wu saw them, he started smiling in a way that could only be described as particularly obsequious.

Tang Xu was so unsettled by his smile that his hair stood on end. Unable to resist, he rubbed his arms and asked, "Boss Wu, what are you smiling about?"

"Do you have any idea how popular your marinated dishes are?" Boss Wu asked, motioning for the two of them to follow him upstairs, his smile beaming.

"I know," Tang Xu nodded.

Boss Wu waved his hand, "Last month, the young master of the main household came to check on the store and tried the marinated dishes. He really liked them." 

After saying this, he gestured to Tang Xu, "When the young master left, he even took several servings with him."

"Ah..." Tang Xu was taken aback. Seeing Boss Wu’s excitement, he hesitantly asked, "So, does that mean they want to sell these in the prefecture city as well?"

Boss Wu's eyes lit up, "Yes, exactly!"

Tang Xu furrowed his brows slightly. The prefecture city was too far away, and if they wanted to sell the dishes there, providing spice packs wouldn’t be feasible.

And to be honest, if this business deal went through, he wouldn't be the one making the most profit.

If he couldn’t keep the recipe to himself, he could forget about earning money from it in the future.

Seeing Tang Xu’s silence, Boss Wu rubbed his hands together, realizing that what he was proposing might be difficult.

As expected, after a moment of silence, Tang Xu shook his head, "I currently have no plans to open a shop in the prefecture city." 

This was a direct refusal.

Boss Wu sighed, "Then could we make the marinated dishes into a dried version? At least they would have a longer shelf life."

Tang Xu spread his hands, "There's no way to do that. Drying them would take too long. We don't have the manpower or the space, so please don't make things difficult for me."

Boss Wu sighed deeply, "I was really hoping to expand this business."

Tang Xu chuckled silently, thinking to himself that the business might indeed grow, but he would end up working for free—did they think he was foolish?

After a short conversation, Boss Wu settled the payment for this period with Tang Xu. The two of them took a bag of loose silver and headed back home.

When they got home, Tang Xu was called into a room by Wang Cuicui.

"Is there something you need, Auntie?" Tang Xu asked as he sat down on a chair, looking at her with some curiosity.

Wang Cuicui craned her neck to glance outside the window. 

In the yard, Tang Erhu and the others were playing a game of "Eagle Catches the Chicks" with the three children.

The air was filled with laughter.

She sat down on the chair opposite him and lowered her voice, "Earlier, when we closed the shop, Dongzi helped me clear the tables. At that moment, an old woman begging for food came to the door. We had some leftover noodles, and I thought it would be a shame to waste them. She looked like a pitiful soul, so I asked Dongzi to help give them to her. But as soon as the old woman saw Dongzi approach, she got so scared that she dropped the bowl and ran away."

Tang Xu was startled, "What?"

Was his man really that frightening?

That didn't seem right.

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