The Amusing Adventures of a Directionally Challenged Dad and Daughter-Chapter 142

The two of them ahead didn’t have to worry about being caught and rushing to escape, so they walked a bit up the mountain to let the mule cart pass first.

Once they were farther away, Old Gu Six began lecturing Chang'an, "My dear daughter, you mustn’t end up like that girl just now. It would break your old father’s heart."

"I’m not saying you can’t fall in love, but you must keep your eyes open and see whether the person is genuine or a scoundrel. Don’t let emotions cloud your judgment, and never abandon your own father for a man."

"At the very least, you should wait until you’re an adult before getting involved in romance. Don’t you think that’s reasonable?"

Becoming an adult would take a long time—dragons weren’t considered adults until twenty thousand years old. Quite the surprise, huh? fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm

But Chang'an didn’t know that. She assumed he meant she had to wait until her coming-of-age ceremony before finding a boyfriend, and she thought Old Gu Six’s worries were unnecessary.

"Dad, don’t worry about this. Everyone has their own way of living. I’m not interested in marriage or anything like that, so you don’t have to keep fretting that I’ll be tricked by some man or whatever."

She spoke earnestly, hoping her father would accept having a daughter who didn’t want to marry, so he wouldn’t start pressuring or worrying about her the moment she came of age.

Old Gu Six couldn’t have agreed more. Perfect.

With that, the topic was dropped.

The leaves began to wither, and the weather turned cooler—autumn had arrived, yet they still hadn’t reached home.

As they passed through the fields, they saw people bustling about everywhere, working hard.

Though exhausted, every face was lit with smiles. It seemed to be a bountiful harvest year.

They, on the other hand, had slacked off this year, and their own fields were likely overgrown with weeds. If they wanted to plant next year, they’d have to clear them first.

On the journey home, they took in the sights of autumn harvest all around. In the small town closest to home, they unexpectedly ran into someone.

It was the man who recognized Old Gu Six first, happily chasing after the mule cart.

Old Gu Six saw that it was Dazhu, A'qing’s son, and quickly tightened the reins to stop the cart.

Dazhu ran over, panting, his smile like clouds parting to reveal sunshine—infectiously bright and optimistic.

"Uncle—Uncle Gu, I never thought I’d run into you here!"

"Dazhu? What are you doing here? Who did you come with? Where’s your father?" Old Gu Six glanced behind him but didn’t see A'qing.

Dazhu scratched his head sheepishly. "I came with some folks from the village to buy seafood to sell back home. We’ve opened a food shop together in our hometown’s county town, selling specialties we gather from different places."

"Let’s talk at the teahouse up ahead," Old Gu Six said, driving the cart forward first.

Dazhu happily bounced on his feet a couple of times before hurrying after them.

His companion caught up and asked in confusion, "Dazhu, you know them?"

The young master’s demeanor was anything but ordinary, and it suddenly reminded him of the guest he’d once seen from afar at Dazhu’s house.

Dazhu nodded and turned to give instructions. "You all go ahead and gather the goods—just remember to buy dried ones so we can transport them. We’ll meet up at the teahouse later."

With that, he quickly left, while his companions went off to make their purchases.

In the teahouse, Old Gu Six and Chang'an were already seated, having ordered a pot of good tea and two plates of snacks.

When Dazhu arrived and sat down, Chang'an stood to pour him a bowl of tea.

"Thank you," Dazhu said shyly.

"Since I don’t know your tastes, I just ordered two of the teahouse’s signature snacks. Try these shrimp cakes—they’re quite good."

Old Gu Six slid the plate of shrimp cakes toward Dazhu.

"Thanks, Uncle Gu." Dazhu didn’t hold back—they had arrived in town that morning, and it was now afternoon without a proper meal, just a steamed bun to tide him over.

They had spent the time scouting locations and haggling over seafood prices, so busy they’d lost track of time. Now that he was sitting, hunger hit him hard.

He unceremoniously ate three shrimp cakes in a row, then downed the tea in his bowl in one go.

Chang'an refilled it for him.

Once he’d eaten his fill, Old Gu Six asked, "How’s your father’s health?"

"Dad’s doing well. He’s helping out at the shop in town now."

"You mentioned the shop is run by the whole village?"

Dazhu’s eyes held a rare sincerity.

"Yeah. When we were poor, everyone lived about the same. If our family suddenly got rich, wouldn’t that just invite jealousy?

So ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‍I figured, why not pool resources with the village? We all contribute shares, and profits are split. Besides, the uncles and aunties in the village have always been good to us. Since I needed help anyway, why not lift everyone up together?"

"Smart," Old Gu Six said, thinking A'qing’s son was a clever lad with a bright future.

Then he added, "I’ll buy you another plate of shrimp cakes to take back. See if you can recreate them—it might be another business opportunity."

Chang'an explained in detail how to fry shrimp balls, but seeing Dazhu still looked a bit lost, Old Gu Six asked the waiter for pen and paper and wrote down the recipe on the spot.

They used dried shrimp, so the taste wouldn’t be as good as with fresh ones—but since no one had tried the fresh version, that didn’t matter.

The novelty alone would make it the best version they’d ever tasted.

Once the ink dried, Dazhu carefully folded the recipe and tucked it into his pocket.

This was treasure. He planned to open another shop eventually—sooner or later, they’d have to split paths. He had brought the villagers this far; the rest was up to them.

Now, he was already thinking about how to preserve food for long-distance transport. He wanted people everywhere to taste it.

Chang'an offered a reminder: "Focus on the ground beneath your feet first. Build a solid foundation. Whether you go into food processing or open branches elsewhere can come later."

She also had Old Gu Six write down a mooncake recipe for Dazhu. Whether he could actually make it would depend on his own efforts.

These two recipes alone would give him plenty to work with. Chang'an didn’t write more—mooncakes could have endless variations, and that was for him to explore.

She was just pointing the way. How far and wide he could go depended entirely on his own wits.

Whether he could protect these recipes was also up to him. They wouldn’t interfere—these were the trials he needed to grow.

Old Gu Six had the waiter pack another order of shrimp cakes for Dazhu. Learning he still hadn’t eaten lunch, the father-daughter pair took him to a noodle stall for two more bowls.

After some thought, Old Gu Six asked, "Want to come visit us for a couple of days?"

Now Dazhu hesitated. If he went, what about his companions?

But refusing felt awkward.

So he asked, "Uncle Gu, where do you live? Is it far? The thing is, there are five of us here, and they’ve gone to gather goods. I can’t just leave them behind."

"No worries. There’ll be other chances. You focus on your work—next time you’re around, you can visit."

Old Gu Six didn’t mention where they lived. Instead, he went to a clothing shop and bought a set of clothes each for A'qing and his family, telling Dazhu to take them back.

Since the local specialty was seafood and Dazhu was already here to buy it, Old Gu Six figured clothes would be more practical than anything else.

Dazhu saw them off at the town entrance, bidding them farewell before carrying his bundle to meet his friends.