As he said this, he turned to leave.
"Hold on!" Young Master Xue called out to him.
Manager Gou, thinking there might be a change in fortunes, felt a surge of joy and with an ingratiating smile on his face said, "If there’s anything Young Master wishes to command, this servant will surely take care of it for you!"
Young Master Xue, impatiently said, "You go and call Manager Song for this young master. Soone as useless as you is only fit for running errands!"
Manager Gou was filled with resentnt, and his smiling face almost faltered as he said through gritted teeth, "This servant will go right away, right away!" With that, he turned and quickly left.
At that mont, Manager Song was leisurely lying under the eaves, basking in the sun. Next to him on a small table sat a pot of fragrant tea. This tea was a top-quality Pu’erh, a precious gift from Young Master Xue.
Upon entering, the first thing Manager Gou saw was this scene, and his already fiery temper flared up. In a sarcastic tone he said, "Manager Song truly is a man of taste. Your days are even more leisurely than our masters’."
Hearing this, Manager Song, raising an eyebrow, did not get angry. "The capable ones do more work! I certainly can’t compare with Brother Gou."
His attempt at mockery having backfired, Manager Gou’s anger surged. He wanted to beat up the man who had stolen his favor, but he restrained himself and said through clenched teeth, "Young Master is in the study. He wants you to go there imdiately. If you delay it, don’t bla for not reminding you, hmph!"
Unsurprised, Manager Song stood up, made a respectful gesture towards Manager Gou and said, "Many thanks for the reminder, Brother Gou. I’ll go there right now."
Manager Gou glared at him hatefully and then turned to leave. He had to hurry ho to his spouse and have her go to the inner court to pass a ssage to their beloved daughter, to sweet-talk Young Master Xue and speak well on his behalf; otherwise, with that Song fellow around, he wouldn’t have a place to stand with the young master!
Watching Manager Gou hurry away, a hint of cold mockery flashed across Manager Song’s face. He flicked away non-existent dust from his garnt and strode towards the study of Young Master Xue.
Unlike Manager Gou, who had risen up the ranks through familial connections, Manager Song had earned Young Master Xue’s trust through his capabilities and aptitude, making him one of the most trusted among all managers.
Mo Yan was oblivious to the cutthroat infighting of the Xue Family. To guard against any further trouble from them, she had stayed in the shop for the past few days. However, three days had passed, and no one from the Xue Family had co, nor had there been any disturbances in the shop. Everything was eerily calm.
"Grandfather Li, what does the Xue Family an by this?" Mo Yan was perplexed; she didn’t believe the Xue Family would just give up so easily.
Lizhong felt sowhat uneasy: "The Xue Family could be plotting sothing. It’s better to be cautious."
Mo Yan, hearing this, nodded gravely and, not feeling reassured, gave Tie Tou and the others a few instructions, telling them to pay attention to the custors’ words and actions and to report anything suspicious promptly.
Having received their instructions, Wang Pangtou took them seriously, suspecting there was a problem with everyone who ca in. If a custor asked one too many questions, he beca wary. Knowing his own limitations, Tie Tou just smiled foolishly with a "haha" whenever he was asked anything, leaving people both amused and frustrated.
This morning, there were quite a few custors buying grain, and seeing that items like cornal and wheat flour were running out, Lizhong gave the storeroom key to Wang Pangtou so that he and Tie Tou could fetch so more.
At the sound of driving the cart again, Wang Pangtou happily took the key and hastened to take Tie Tou with him. He was quick-witted; Lizhong had taught him how to drive the cart, and he had picked it up in just a few days, thoroughly enjoying it. Although his driving skills were not polished, fortunately, Little Black had Spiritual Wisdom and was steady-natured; so even with Wang Pangtou’s rudintary driving skills, the grain would be safely transported back.
Wang Pangtou chattered away while driving the cart at the front, and Tie Tou, sitting in the back, didn’t quite understand and started to lose interest, so he began counting the people passing by on the road to practice his arithtic.
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