Chapter 94: If It’s Not Good, You’re Spanked
“Grandpa Zeng, thank you for helping me sell so many talismans. I brought a lot more today—please take a look.”
Su Keke quickly emptied all the talismans from her bag. “There are protection peace charms, blessing-and-good-luck charms, romance-fate charms, evil-expelling and sha-dispelling charms, pain-relief charms… For the more popular ones—wealth-attracting charms, good-luck charms, and home-guarding charms—I drew extra.”
Old Man Zeng took the stack of talismans, nodded in satisfaction, and said, “The talismans you draw are getting better and better, Su girl.”
Su Keke smiled shyly. Then she suddenly thought of something and asked, “Grandpa Zeng, have you been in contact with my master? The old man went treasure-hunting, but I don’t know what deep mountains and old forests he ran into. He can’t even receive my calls or texts.”
Old Man Zeng answered without answering. “When it’s time for him to come back, he’ll naturally come back.”
Su Keke sighed quietly. Looks like Grandpa Zeng and Master hadn’t been in touch either.
“Grandpa Zeng, is there anything you need help with here?”
Old Man Zeng shook his head. “Su girl probably still has things to do. Go on and get busy. My guest will be here soon.”
Hearing that he still had a guest, Su Keke didn’t stay any longer. With her little backpack on, she left the small shop.
Only the last trace of the sunset remained, dragging in long streaks across the ground.
As Su Keke walked, a sudden jingle-jangle sound came from ahead.
She looked up—and couldn’t help freezing.
A woman was walking toward her.
She wore a red, high-waisted ruqun dress and held a red oil-paper umbrella, swaying gracefully as she approached.
The umbrella was pressed very low. Su Keke couldn’t see her face—only a slender, fair neck, a bit of wrist exposed by the umbrella, and… long, delicate fingers.
Her skin was as smooth and tender as silk and milk, making one want to look again and again.
Beneath the umbrella handle hung a small bell, chiming crisply with each step. The sound wasn’t loud, but in this quiet alley it became unusually clear, as if amplified several times.
Before long, the umbrella-bearing woman passed by Su Keke.
In the instant they brushed past, Su Keke caught a faint fragrance.
It was a scent that made people feel comfortable.
She couldn’t help turning her head to look. Now she could only see the woman’s slender back and her long black hair falling to her waist.
The last glow of the setting sun stretched the woman and her oil-paper umbrella into a long shadow.
As the woman turned a corner, that shadow slowly disappeared around the bend.
Su Keke muttered, “That’s the direction of Zeng Qing Hall… Could that be the guest Grandpa Zeng mentioned?”
Daxing had said that lots of girls liked wearing ancient-style clothes these days—it was a cultural trend.
So… did she just run into a woman who liked dressing in hanfu?
Su Keke shook her head and didn’t think about it anymore. She was a country bumpkin—there were too many things she hadn’t seen.
Thinking of the two hundred thousand she earned in the daytime, plus the cut Grandpa Zeng had just given her from the talisman sales, Su Keke’s mood soared. She ran straight out of the old alley with energy to spare and dashed to a nearby noodle shop.
The noodle shop’s owner’s nickname was Hanghang, so the place was called Hanghang Noodle House.
Every month, after Su Keke came to Grandpa Zeng’s place to collect her money, she would go to Hanghang Noodle House for a bowl of noodles. The noodles there were wonderfully springy, and the pickled water radish the owner gave for free was fragrant and crisp—she loved it.
The owner recognized her and asked with a smile, “The usual? A bowl of scallion noodles?”
Su Keke nodded quickly and said with a bright smile, “Put extra scallions.”
She studied the owner’s face for a moment. “Boss lady, you’ll have a happy event soon.”
The owner froze, then sighed. “What happy event? I’ve got plenty of troubles instead.”
Su Keke smiled mysteriously. “There will be. And it’ll be within two days.”
“Haha, alright—I’ll trust you.”
Su Keke ate the noodles in a few big mouthfuls, and even finished the small dish of water radish until nothing was left. Satisfied, she patted her little belly.
Then she suddenly thought of something and pulled out her phone to send her uncle a text:
Uncle, have you eaten dinner? Eat well. When you come back tonight, there’s a reward—something tasty~
One minute passed after she sent it. Two. Three. Four.
At the fifth minute, the reply finally came.
Uncle Qin: If it’s not tasty, I’ll spank your butt.
Su Keke blinked, then burst out laughing.
Uncle had turned bad—he’d learned to joke.
Su Keke strolled over to the pastry shop she often visited. Their mung-bean cakes were made by an old master craftsman—freshly made and sold, especially fragrant.
She decided to share her favorite pastry with Uncle.
But when Su Keke got back, her uncle still wasn’t home.
It was nearly nine-thirty when she finally heard movement. She immediately ran to the door to greet him.
The moment Qin Mochen stepped in, his expression was dark. He carried unfamiliar smells of smoke and alcohol, and Su Keke even caught the scent of a woman’s perfume.
Su Keke wrinkled her nose. “Uncle, didn’t you say you were in a meeting? You smoke and drink at meetings?”
When Qin Mochen saw the little girl, the coldness in his brows and eyes softened slightly. He explained, “Someone waited for me all afternoon. The courtesy I owed, I still had to give. They wanted to apologize, but they chose the wrong way.”
Su Keke asked, puzzled, “So what does that have to do with Uncle smoking and drinking?”
Qin Mochen choked.
After a pause, he replied, “Girl, I only drank one glass of wine and only smoked one cigarette. The smell on me is other people’s.”
Not waiting for Su Keke to respond, Qin Mochen tapped her on the head. “I’m going to take a shower. When I come out, tell me about the fun things that happened today.”
Then Su Keke watched as her uncle took the stairs two at a time and went upstairs.
Sure, the mix of cigarette smoke, alcohol, perfume, and whatnot really wasn’t pleasant, but compared to the stench on Song Yuan today, this was nothing. Did Uncle really need to run that fast?
After Qin Mochen finished showering, he smelled fresh—clean body wash. Su Keke not only forgot to press him about the smoking-and-drinking matter, she was even led by him into talking about what she’d experienced during the day.
The business of making Song Yuan drink talisman water to cure his condition, the business of going to Zengqing Hall to collect her little money—big things, small things, she told him everything.
“…Song Yuan didn’t believe me at first. He only believed after drinking it once. He even wanted to give me one million, but I didn’t take it. I have professional ethics.”
“…Hehe, hehe, my balance got bigger again. Uncle, hurry and give me a reliable donation account. From now on, whenever I earn money, I’ll directly donate half of it.”
“…The noodles at that Hanghang Noodle Shop were so delicious! The pickled white radish the boss lady makes is fragrant and crunchy!”
“Oh right! Uncle, I bought you mung bean cakes. This is the best mung bean cake I’ve ever eaten. Now I’m sharing it with Uncle.”
Su Keke stacked the mung bean cakes onto a plate and brought it over, smiling brightly at her uncle. “Uncle, hurry and taste it—so delicious! I’ve been waiting for you. I held back and didn’t eat any.”
As she spoke, Su Keke took one herself first. With one bite, she immediately showed a satisfied expression and even let out an exaggerated sigh of contentment. “That’s it—that’s the taste. Delicious. So delicious!”
Qin Mochen’s gaze fell on that rosy little mouth that kept moving.
A tiny crumb of pastry clung to the corner of the little girl’s lips.
He suddenly reached out, fingers slightly curled, and gently brushed that bit of crumb away.
When he realized what he had done, he only paused for a fraction of a second before returning to normal. He asked, “Is it really that good? If it’s not good, I’m going to spank your butt.”
