The Female General's Little Childhood Sweetheart Chapter 2.1

Translator: azha_

UNEDITED

This time, when Li Shi returned to the capital, he brought his dowry with him too. Although they were not considered wealthy in Lingnan, they could still get by.

After returning to the capital, Li Shi was not willing to rely on his mother-in-law to support their family. Moreover, his sweet candied fruit will grow up. As a father, he needed to prepare a dowry for his son. So, to both support their family and prepare a dowry, he decided to work and earn money.

He talked to Zhang Shi about the matter, and although he didn't oppose the idea, he said that he and his mother-in-law could still support the two of them. It didn't matter how much money he made; what mattered was Li Shi finding something to do.

Before coming to the capital, most of Li Shi's attention was on Xu Mu's body. However, his wife's pa.s.sing was always in the back of his mind. Although he no longer grieves for her like before, he often wakes up in the middle of the night to sneakily wipe away tears.

But this time, when Xu Mu caught an illness, Li Shi had finally put all of his attention and heart on his son. He became less depressed and wholeheartedly began to put all of his efforts into making their lives more comfortable.

After seeing this change in his father, Xu Mu's heart finally relaxed. When he was around 12 years old, his father became seriously ill. The main reason for his illness was the many years of depression and lamenting. Now that Li Shi has more hope and meaning in life, of course he wouldn'twon't ruin his own body.

Li Shi used his own dowry money to open a small pastry shop named "Sweet Tastes" at the corner of West Street. The name representeds the many flavors of life; as long as you awerere willing to try, you couldcan always taste the sweetness.

(T/N: I kinda had a tough time with translating this. The name is 甜百味 for whoever can come up with a better one :3. Or should I just leave it in pingying "Tian Bai Wei?" The whole meaning thing is basically when life gives you lemons, make lemonade type of thing.)

Near the end of the year, every family and household would give holiday greetings to one another with baskets full of food and gifts. During this time, the business of "Sweet Tastes" was not bad. Often times, Li Shi was unable to handle everything by himself.

Xu Mu, taking advantage of this busy time period, cleverly asked to help out around the shop. Because of his sudden and serious bout of illness, Li Shi was constantly worried and didn't want his precious Mu'er to get sick again in all the snow and ice outside.

Li Shi looked down and saw Xu Mu's tilting head, shining eyes, and gaze full of expectation. Stuck by his son's cuteness, he didn't have the heart to refuse. So, knowing that his son wasn'tisn't a naughty child, Li Shi brought him along with him the next day.

The two of them still live in a courtyard with Xu Mu's maternal grandparents. It was not too far from "Sweet Tastes," but it is still natural to get up early to open up the shop. When Li Shi the courtyard, the sun had still yet to come out.

In the cold weather, Li Shi couldn't bear to let Xu Mu get up so early. He decided to let Xu Mu sleep a little longer, and when the sky turned bright, Zhang Shi would bring him to the shop.

Xu Mu was still lying in bed as he squinted his eyes and snuggled deeper into the warm covers. He gave a yawn and squeezed out a few tears at the corners of his eyes.

When Li Shi left, he made sure Xu Mu was sleeping soundly and was covered snugly. However, the moment Li Shi stepped out of the door, Xu Mu kicked open the covers and climbed out of bed. Whenever he thought of possibly seeing Lu Feng, he became restless. As a result, he barely slept at all last night.

He thought about meeting Lu Feng today over and over again. What should he do when he sees her? What should he say to not scare her away? Now, whenever he thinks about the person that was so warm and pampering to him being alive once more, Xu Mu's chest would feel stuffy and his heart would twinge with pain.

Quickly putting his shoes on, Xu Mu ran in front of the closet. He pulled open the door and started to pick out clothes. He grabbed all of his new clothes out of the closet and spread them out one by one on his bed. Biting his fingers, he carefully decided what to wear. …Looking exactly like someone getting ready to meet his sweetheart.

After careful consideration, he finally settled on a red colored robe that looked extremely lovable on a child at this age.

He sat on the bed, contemplating. In this life, Lu Feng definitely wouldn't recognize him. How can I get her to remember me? Is it even possible?

Having no ideas come up even after Zhang Shi knocked on the door to wake him up, he finally decided to give up for now. He sat up, and started to change.

Zhang Shi saw Xu Mu come out, and dotingly held his hand to go and eat together.

Wearing red robes, Xu Mu's already youthful face seemed to be even more tender and delicate than before. Since young, it was already clear that Xu Mu would grow up to be a charming, beautiful man. Zhang Shi was especially happy; smiling, he said, "Later, when we go to your dad's shop, don't run around and just stay in the shop. West Street is full of important officials; their kids are probably more naughty as well. What if they see that you're new, and bully you?"

Xu Mu appeared to be obedient and well-behaved, however, his mind had long flown away. If not for Zhang Shi by his side, he would have already been rushing towards Lu Feng's estate.

They did not walk for long and soon reached "Sweet Tastes." Business was also good today, and before they arrived, Li Shi was so busy he had no time to pause for even a moment. Before, they didn't think that their small pastry shop would become so popular in such a short time, so Li Shi had no plans for hiring anyone.

Now, it seems like hiring some extra help is a must.

Zhang Shi greeting customers in the front, Li Shi was busy in the kitchen, and Xu Mu, with his bright black eyes, earnestly scanned every customers' face. In his heart, he kept hoping that the next customer to arrive would be his Lu Feng.

However, the greater the hope the greater the disappointment. As more and more guests were seen coming and going, Xu Mu had still yet to see Lu Feng's familiar face. Li Shi had already stopped making new pastries and was preparing to close up shop. At this time, Xu Mu could no longer wait anymore.

He told Zhang Shi that he would go out and play for a while, and that he wouldn't go far. Zhang Shi reluctantly agreed. After all, Xu Mu was still a child and he was very obedient the entire day. He reminded Xu Mu, once again, to not run too far. 

Of course Xu Mu, who has already been impatient for an entire day, wouldn't listen to Zhang Shi. Instead, he dashed towards the Lu Estate. Despite knowing that he may not even be able to see Lu Feng at all, he still couldn't control his own two feet from racing forward.

As he gasped for air in front of the gates of the Lu Estate, Xu Mu raised his head to look up at the painfully familiar golden plaques. His heart clenched and his eyes burned.

This was once his second home. Now, he can't even step through the gates.