Water Margin: Did we kill Zheng Tu today?

Chapter 105 Good Food

Zheng Tu rode forward and arrived at the entrance of the tavern.

That seductive woman was none other than the shrewish Sun Erniang.

When Sun Erniang saw the burly man riding alone to the foot of the slope, she was overjoyed: What a fat sheep! This deal is probably going to be done!

He immediately stood up to greet her.

She wore a bright red silk skirt, her face was covered in rouge and powder, and her chest was wide open, revealing a peach-colored gauze bodice underneath, with a row of bright yellow gold buttons on it.

As for what this woman looked like, there is a poem to prove it:

Her brows were furrowed with murderous intent, her eyes flashed with a fierce light. Her waist was as limp as a wheelbarrow, her hands and feet as mallet-like as mulberry bark. A thick layer of powder concealed her mischievousness; two smears of rouge were applied heavily, reaching into her disheveled hair. Beneath her red skirt was a colorful bellyband, and a gleaming gold hairpin adorned her blond hair. Bracelets bound her arms like a witch, and her red robe reflected the image of a demon.

This shrewish Sun Erniang was not particularly outstanding in appearance, and could even be described as coarse and ugly, but she possessed an extremely seductive demeanor.

She swayed forward, smiling before speaking, and said sweetly, "Sir, you must be tired from your journey! Please dismount and rest. We have fine wine and meat, and if you wish, we even have huge steamed buns!"

After saying that, she deliberately puffed out her chest, squeezing out her white flesh even more, flaunting her charms to Zheng Tu.

Zheng Tu remained unfazed, dismounted, and without even glancing at the white flesh, tossed the reins to Sun Erniang and walked straight into the house.

"Tie the horse up, feed it the finest feed, mixed with some lightly salted water. Take good care of it!"

No matter what, Master Zheng had just enjoyed a delicious meal in Qinghe County, so why would he look down on a vulgar woman like Sun Erniang, who was like a shrew?

Sun Erniang instinctively caught the reins and was momentarily stunned.

This guy has such a big attitude!

Immediately, a surge of anger rose within her: "You foolish idiot! How dare you speak to me like that! You're crossing this crossroads alone, like a moth drawn to a flame, inviting disaster! I'll teach you a lesson you won't forget, and see how you die!"

However, horses are valuable items, and a live horse can earn a lot of money by changing hands.

Sun Erniang, however, couldn't bear to waste the horse, so she led it to a big tree and tied it up.

As for what kind of concentrated feed or lightly salted water?

Don't even think about it! Just surviving is good enough.

She tied up her horse and was plotting how to deal with the man when she suddenly sensed something amiss behind her.

He turned around suddenly.

"Oh!"

He was startled and couldn't help but scream.

It turned out that Zheng Tu had been silently standing behind her at some point, his face gloomy and his eyes fixed on her with a sinister look.

"Innkeeper, what were my instructions just now?"

"I told you to take good care of this horse, with the finest feed and salt water! Did you not heed my words at all?!"

Finally, he asked in a stern voice.

Sun Erniang was truly startled by Zheng Tu's uncanny ability to appear and disappear, and she thought to herself in surprise, "This thief has such skillful movements! I clearly saw him go into the tavern just now, how did he appear behind me without making a sound?!"

Right now, she was the only one in front of this thief, and her husband Zhang Qing was not in the shop. If she made a move now, she might not be able to subdue him. With his excellent agility, it would be easy for him to escape.

Wouldn't that mean the deal would fall through? And I'd end up getting humiliated by this jerk for no reason!

That won't do!

We must first calm him down, and then slowly prepare the medicine after he has taken the sleeping potion!

I must skin this bastard alive, cut him to pieces, and chop him up to make meat bun filling before I can vent my anger!

Sun Erniang's mind raced, but she forced a smile and said, "What are you saying, sir! I just tied up the horse and was about to go get the fine feed and salt water! Please come inside and have some food and drink to rest. I'll go and get it right away. By the time you've finished eating, the horse should have been fed too."

Zheng Tu shook his head, only frowning as he said:

"Madam, I'm worried. If you just feed the horse some dry hay and coarse fodder, and then charge me for better feed later, how can I explain that? Just go and get it, and feed it in front of me. Once the horse has eaten, I can go have some wine."

Seeing that this fellow was a stubborn person, Sun Erniang's desire to chop him into mincemeat grew even stronger.

"What a blockhead! Has his brain been filled with grease? It's rare to see someone so stubbornly clinging to reason!"

She suppressed her anger and said with a smile, "What you say makes sense, sir! I'll go get the concentrated saline solution right away. Please keep an eye on it."

While retrieving items from the back of the tavern, he had already devised a wicked plan.

Once this fellow enters the house and takes the drugged wine, I'll definitely give him a good beating for amusement.

Don't rush to kill him. First, gouge out his eyes and cut out his tongue, so he'll know what it means to wish he were dead!

Zheng Tu leaned against the old tree, watching Sun Erniang sway her hips as she went to get feed, a meaningful smile on his face.

He reached out and patted the horse's neck: "This time, you're in for a treat."

Sun Erniang was quick and efficient. In no time, she brought over a basin of coarse ingredients, a mixture of millet and wheat bran, added water to it, and symbolically sprinkled a few grains of salt on top.

She carried the feed basin to the horse and was about to pour it into the trough.

Zheng Tu stopped him, his face displeased. "Wait! I told you to add salt water, but there's far too little salt. This horse has been running all day and has sweated a lot; it needs more salt."

Sun Erniang's face stiffened, but she remained silent, carrying the basin of ingredients back to the kitchen.

He came out a moment later, grabbed a handful of salt and sprinkled it into the basin in front of Zheng Tu, then stirred it vigorously.

Zheng Tu remained unconvinced, frowning as he said, "Your restaurant is incredibly dishonest! Where's the glutinous rice flour and broken wheat kernels in this 'refined' seasoning? Even if you don't have those, you should at least add some soybean meal and sesame cake. Are you trying to fool me with ordinary coarse ingredients?"

Sun Erniang was taken aback, then forced a smile and said, "Sir, you may not know this, but water and food are scarce on this mountain. The things you're talking about are very precious. Our shop..."

"Precious?"

Zheng Tu took out a silver ingot weighing about two taels from his pocket and weighed it in his palm.

"Is this enough? If you don't have enough, I'll go to the town ahead and buy some myself."

Sun Erniang's eyes lit up immediately!

This thief had quite a bit of money on him.

Judging from his bulging bags, he probably has even more! Doing one business deal with him would probably be enough to keep our business shut down for three to five months!

How could you let him run away?

He immediately put on a warm smile and said repeatedly, "Yes! Yes! Please wait a moment, I'll go get it right away!" He then turned and hurriedly went back into the kitchen.

This time she really brought back some valuable items.

Glutinous rice flour, broken wheat kernels, and sesame cakes are all refined grains that she herself usually can't bear to eat.

She gritted her teeth, mixed all of it into the seasoning, and then grabbed a handful of salt and sprinkled it on top.

Although my heart aches, I calm myself down.

Once I've drugged you, you thieving scoundrel, all this money and valuables will be mine.

Zheng Tu nodded and watched as she carefully mixed the ingredients and poured them into the trough.

The horse lowered its head and sniffed, then began to eat heartily.

"That's the right thing to do, Madam."

Zheng Tu stood with his hands behind his back and said calmly, "It must be treated like a beloved master to be worthy of the money I spent. If it is mistreated and something goes wrong on the road, I will hold you accountable."

Having said that, he stuffed the silver ingot back into his pocket, showing no intention of paying it.

Sun Erniang's smile faltered.