Chapter 18: Run Quickly

At six o'clock, Tu Shan pushed her wheelbarrow out to set up her stall.

As luck would have it, she ran into the middle-aged man who was her competitor.

She rushed over excitedly, took the basket of loaches off her cart, and, whether by accident or design, did a lap right in front of him.

She flashed a wide, toothy grin at his basket. "Oh, not full? That's alright, half a basket is still sellable." How provocative.

The man’s weathered face turned black with anger. Why were the young girls these days so petty?

He silently glanced at Tu Shan’s overflowing basket. Not only was it full, but every single loach was fat and large.

The man quietly tucked his own smaller loaches further away. Just wait; he would definitely outsell this little girl tonight.

Tu Shan hummed a little tune, tapping her foot as she unloaded her goods and waited for customers.

"Hey, hey, hey! The wind is blowing, the wind is blowing!" A teenage boy sprinted from one end of the street to the other like a gale, howling at the top of his lungs.

Tu Shan stared, bewildered, as everyone around her began to scramble in a panic.

The man next to her had loaches and some coarse grains.

Upon hearing the shouts, he moved with lightning speed, packing everything up, ready to bolt.

Seeing Tu Shan standing there like a dummy, he grew anxious. "Girl, what are you standing there for? Pack up and run!"

"Why?"

The man stomped his foot, aborted his start, and turned back to help Tu Shan pack. "The inspectors are here! Don't just stand there, pack up and run!"

Tu Shan frowned. How unlucky—she hadn't sold a single thing yet.

She reached out to pack her things, and under the man's urging, she followed the crowd as they fled.

By now, most people had already run off, and Tu Shan’s group was trailing at the back.

"Quick, quick! Block every intersection! Don't let them get away!"

Amidst the chaotic noise, Tu Shan clearly caught a voice that made her blood boil: Tu Liang.

A surge of killing intent erupted. She turned, ready to run toward the sound.

The man was quick-witted and grabbed her back. "Girl, this way! There are too many people over there. Run this way, hurry, hurry, hurry! Those people are heartless. If a young girl like you gets caught, your life will be ruined."

The man dragged Tu Shan in the opposite direction. Tu Shan glanced back at the alleyway behind them—Tu Liang.

Dragged along by the man, Tu Shan ran aimlessly like a headless chicken. She didn't know where they had ended up, but urgent footsteps echoed behind them.

And in front of them was a dead end.

"Damn it." The man looked desperate. "I'm sorry, girl. I led us the wrong way.

In a moment, I'll find a way to stall them. You run, you hear me? You have to run for your life, understand?"

Tu Shan pulled herself out of her hatred and looked at the despair and fear on the man’s dark face. He was trembling all over, yet his eyes were incredibly resolute.

She curled her lips into a smile, gripped the man’s shoulder, leaped onto a crumbling wall, and landed silently on the other side.

"Where are they? They definitely came this way!"

"Damn it, let's go. Check the other intersections."

From a hole in the wall, Tu Shan watched the crowd move away. She saw them snatch a grandfather's mountain goods, beat him half to death, throw him into a corner, and leave with arrogant laughter.

"Animals." She really wanted to smash their heads open to see if there were any crystal cores inside.

"Uncle, they're gone. Let's go too."

Tu Shan picked up her things; she hadn't noticed them falling when she put them down earlier.

When she finished, she heard no response.

"Uncle?"

The man’s jaw had dropped, and he hadn't picked it back up yet.

Tu Shan manually reset it. "What's wrong? Scared?"

The man swallowed hard. "Girl, did we just... fly?"

Tu Shan gave a wicked smile. "That's right, Uncle. Let me take you for another flight."

She grabbed the man’s shoulder and flew again.

The man... *I thank your whole family.*

"Ugh..." He was afraid of heights.

Tu Shan giggled, threw the man’s goods onto her cart, and pushed them along together.

The man followed, feeling lightheaded.

Passing the spot where the fight had occurred, the old man was already gone. Tu Shan let out a breath of relief.

By the time the two of them strolled out, the entire abandoned residential area had calmed down.

The man had also recovered.

"Girl, that move of yours—is that Chinese Kung Fu? Did you learn it at the Shaolin Temple?" Despite his age, he was as excited as a young boy.

Sure enough, every man had a dream of martial arts.

Tu Shan grinned, showing her teeth. "That's right, Chinese Kung Fu. I learned it at Mount Emei."

The man’s face flushed with excitement. "Emei is good, very good! Truly amazing. I hear learning Kung Fu is very hard. Girl, I couldn't tell you were so capable of enduring hardship! Hey, why don't you tell me more about learning Kung Fu?"

Tu Shan was speechless. "Uncle, what kind of family do you have? Not selling goods anymore? Switching to academics?"

The man’s dream shattered, and he woke up. He glared at Tu Shan. "You really don't know how to talk." Then, he sighed gloomily. "These things won't sell today. Girl, go home quickly. Be smarter in the future; don't be a dummy like you were today."

The man sighed and groaned, full of worry.

Tu Shan wondered, was it really that bad? It was just one day without business; he acted like his family couldn't put food on the table.

"Uncle, sell your things to me."

The man glanced at Tu Shan’s clothes, which were covered in patch upon patch. "Girl, I appreciate your kindness, but your life isn't easy either. I can't drag you down."

Tu Shan also looked at the clothes she had been wearing for days—she had been too focused on eating.

"Don't worry, Uncle. I have regular customers."

The man didn't believe her.

But her customer arrived.

"Oh, girl, I finally found you! I came late today, and as soon as I got here, I saw the place had been raided. I was so worried about you. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Auntie. Are you looking to buy anything today?"

"Yes, I am! I came looking for you specifically. I'll buy whatever you have—all of it, no matter how much." The woman had eaten the peanuts Tu Shan gave her and was completely won over.

The fish went without saying—every one was excellent—and the peanuts were great too. When it came to buying goods, she only trusted this stall.

Tu Shan smiled. "Sure! I have plenty of goods today, but no fish. However, everything else is just as good as the fish. Take a look, Auntie; it's okay if you can't take it all."

Tu Shan played the role of a peddler dutifully, opening the goods for the woman to see. With every item, the woman cheered, "Good, all good! I can take it all, I can take it all! I'll take the peanuts too; just in time to press some peanut oil."

Tu Shan silently pulled back two hundred pounds of peanuts. "These are reserved by someone else. If you want to press peanut oil, Auntie, I'll bring you some fresh ones tomorrow."

The woman felt regret for a second, then became happy again. "That sounds great! Girl, I have a big family. Do you have a lot of peanuts? If you do, can you bring more?"

"Sure! How much do you want?"

The woman gasped. "Even a thousand pounds?"

"I have it."

Everyone was happy.

"Alright, alright, I'll take all of these. Can you help me deliver them to my house? I'll pay you for the trouble."

"Delivery is fine, but keep the extra pay. Oh, by the way, Auntie, this uncle’s goods are also quite good. Take a look."

The man hadn't expected Tu Shan to pull him in. He was flustered and pushed his goods forward. "Take a look, please, just take a look. They aren't as good as the girl's, so it's fine if you don't want them."

The woman took a look. They were indeed not as good as Tu Shan's. "How do they taste?"

Taste?

The man was a bit confused.

Tu Shan praised, "Of course they're just as good! We dug the loaches from the same patch of land. As for the coarse grains, eating them occasionally is good for your health."

To avoid false advertising, Tu Shan silently infused some of her ability into them.

The woman trusted Tu Shan deeply. "Alright then, I'll buy them all."

The man was overjoyed. "Thank you, thank you!"

Tu Shan nimbly loaded the man’s goods onto her cart. "Let's go, Uncle. You head home on your own. See you if fate allows."

The man watched Tu Shan’s skipping back and wiped his eyes. What a good person.

(End of chapter)