"This morning, Old Man Sun brought us two jars of peanut butter. We’re having hot pot for lunch. Dong Xiao went to buy ingredients," Tianmiao said, eating chestnuts.
"Huh? Kong Hou said we’re having a roast whole lamb for dinner," Xu Lang said, looking up while peeling chestnuts.
"Yeah, do these two conflict? One’s at noon, one’s at night," Tianmiao asked seriously.
Xu Lang: "..."
No conflict, not at all.
But, Boss Tian, isn’t your food a bit too lavish?
Shen Hanshu chuckled, "Boss Tian really knows how to live. We get to enjoy the benefits too."
"Just remember to pay," Kong Hou threw the words over his shoulder as he walked to the backyard after paying for the chestnuts.
"Sigh, talking about money really hurts feelings," Shen Hanshu said, shaking his head playfully.
"Three years without business, one big sale feeds you for three years. You guys just gave our shop a boost, you know," Tianmiao said meaningfully.
Xu Lang and Shen Hanshu exchanged a glance, feeling complicated, as if they were the ones being swindled. They started to doubt again if this shop was really not a shady business?
Before dinner in the evening, Old Man Sun brought some boiled peanuts again, and Tianmiao packed a jar of wine for him to take home for his son. Old Man Sun happily put it in his basket, thanked Tianmiao, and headed home.
"Off you go, be back for the roast whole lamb," Tianmiao whispered to Xu Lang and Shen Hanshu.
The two exchanged a glance, nodded lightly, then went into the backyard, changed clothes, and slipped out through the back door.
The young prince saw them leave and wanted to follow.
"Come back, help prepare the condiments for the roast whole lamb," Tianmiao had the young prince sit back down.
"Huh? What do I need to do?" the young prince asked with interest. He wasn’t one to shy away from work; otherwise, he wouldn’t yearn for a roaming life. But he’d never made roast lamb before, so he was quite intrigued.
"Go wash the scallions and ginger, they’ll be stuffed into the lamb’s belly soon," Tianmiao instructed.
"Alright, alright." The young prince rolled up his sleeves, ready to get to work.
...
Before the roast whole lamb was ready, Xu Lang and Shen Hanshu returned, accompanied by another person—arrest officer Cao Zhengying.
The young prince was a bit happy to see Cao Zhengying, "Officer Cao, are you done with your work?"
Cao Zhengying cupped his hands in salute, "Young Prince," then looked at Tianmiao, "Boss Tian, sorry to intrude. I know your rules, I’ll pay the silver tael shortly."
"No need to be formal, have a seat," Tianmiao said with a slight smile and nod.
Xu Lang and Shen Hanshu didn’t look so pleased.
"Did the criminal escape again?" the young prince noticed their gloomy faces and asked.
Xu Lang and Shen Hanshu’s expressions turned even darker. The word "again" struck a nerve.
"Where’s Old Man Sun?" Tianmiao asked.
"He’s safe, sent back. The criminal put Old Man Sun in a sack and that’s when we rushed in. He threw the sack down and fled. We gave chase but didn’t catch him, ran into Cao Zhengying. He was chasing too, but still couldn’t catch him," Xu Lang explained sullenly. They had finally lured the snake out, yet failed to catch it.
"And you just so happened to bump into Officer Cao?" Tianmiao glanced at Cao Zhengying, saying indifferently.
Cao Zhengying frowned, looked at Tianmiao, and asked in a deep voice, "What do you mean by that, Boss Tian?"
"Boss Tian, are you suggesting Officer Cao is suspicious? No, that can’t be," the young prince interjected, shaking his head, "Officer Cao is a man of integrity; he can’t possibly be the criminal."
"Yes, we’ve known Zhengying for years, we know his character well. He can’t be the criminal. Boss Tian, you’re overthinking this," Xu Lang and Shen Hanshu both shook their heads in explanation.