Chapter 53: then translation of chapter title

53 So down-to-earth?

Tushan Jiu drank the last sip of fruit wine in her cup.

Having eaten and drunk her fill, she wiped her hands with a napkin, turned her head to look at Lu Ze Yuan again, and said, "Want to pawn a knife? As a friend of Xie Shiyu, I can give you a friend's price."

"What does 'pawn' mean?" Lu Ze Yuan didn't understand.

Tushan Jiu was about to explain when Xie Shiyu spoke: "To pawn a knife, you pawn a knife, and I'll give you a prophecy; once the prophecy comes true, you just pay the fee."

Lu Ze Yuan suddenly recalled that he seemed to have heard Old Master Lu say that the Xie Family had risen again and endured thanks to the help of the knife-pawners.

Moreover, Xie Shiyu's fiancée is also an inheritor of the knife-pawners.

He had just forgotten it momentarily; hearing Xie Shiyu's words reminded him.

Seeing Xie Shiyu speak, Tushan Jiu curled her lips in a smile; she had to explain every time, but she was tired of saying it—those unchanging lines were just those three.

She unwrapped a lollipop, puffed one cheek, then switched left and right, playing with it by herself.

Xie Shiyu caught sight of it in his peripheral vision, gave a low chuckle, and swayed his wine cup, saying, "Lu Ze Yuan, opportunity knocks but once."

Lu Ze Yuan immediately replied, "I'm not stupid, I just didn't react in time."

He plopped down beside Tushan Jiu, keeping a meter's distance, and exclaimed excitedly, "Sister-in-law, how do you pawn this knife? Do we have to go to the old house to get it?"

"No need, I have it on me." Tushan Jiu lowered her head to rummage in her pocket.

"You carry...... it?" Lu Ze Yuan watched Tushan Jiu pull out a tiny nail clipper and set it on the table, then fell silent.

This is nothing like what he imagined!

Lu Ze Yuan picked up the nail clipper on the table, examined it, and saw it was just an ordinary nail clipper you could buy for three yuan at any supermarket.

He scratched his head and asked, "Sister-in-law, for such a mysterious profession as knife-pawners, do you really use something so down-to-earth?"

He thought it should at least be specially made, or bear the exclusive mark of the knife-pawners.

Tushan Jiu didn't understand, thought for two seconds, then said, "If you don't like the small one, I also have a kitchen knife, a sickle, and a bone-chopping knife; you can pick whichever, but then you'd have to go with me and Xie Shiyu to the old house to get it."

But I feel that's unnecessary, because this thing is merely a medium for forming our contract.

With this contract binding them, no one can renege on the debt, whether they are a god or an immortal.

Lu Ze Yuan indicated he understood, "Alright, then how should I store this nail clipper?"

He wondered whether he should find a red cloth to set it up on.

Tushan Jiu wasn't being asked this for the first time; she waved her hand, indicating it didn't matter, "This nail clipper is quite sharp—just don't cut yourself."

Lu Ze Yuan: "......"

Alright, it really is hasty.

On the other side, Qi Chen stared at the nail clipper for a while, pressed his lips without speaking, and when he withdrew his gaze, he took a big gulp of wine.

Xie Shiyu noticed, patted his shoulder, and said, "Time and luck."

Qi Chen nodded in agreement, "Yeah, if only it had been half a year earlier."

As his words fell, suddenly a nail clipper also appeared on the table before Qi Chen and Xie Shiyu.

Both were stunned.

Xie Shiyu: "Xiao Jiu......"

Qi Chen: "Sister-in-law!"

Tushan Jiu simply nodded calmly, "The deal is preliminarily settled."

She turned her head and also said to Lu Ze Yuan, "The deal is preliminarily settled."

They both nodded at the same time.

Tushan Jiu never had patience for candy; she bit it crisply, stood up, and said, "Task done, the set procedure is finished—let's handle the Lu Family matter in order of arrival."

Lu Ze Yuan was named, suddenly nervous, "Alright, sister-in-law, I'm listening."

First, your grandfather is of long life; his recent health issues are entirely due to someone tampering with his diet.

Lu Ze Yuan's face changed dramatically, and he sprang to his feet.

Anger showed on his face as he gritted his teeth and asked, "Who harmed my grandfather?"

Old Master Lu had always doted on him since childhood; hearing that someone wanted to harm his elder, he now wanted to drag that person out and hack them to pieces!

But at the same time, he had a suspect in mind.

The one who hates Old Master Lu most in this household is none other than his stepmother, Han Linran.

When she entered the family back then, Grandfather disagreed.

Moreover, Old Master Lu had warned his father not to have an illegitimate child outside; if he did, don't blame him for severing the father-son relationship and taking back all his shares and rights in the Lu clan.

Thus, even though Han Linran eventually succeeded in marrying into the Lu Family, she never had any children.

Recently, he quarreled with his father and stormed abroad in anger because his father wanted him to transfer one percent of his shares to Han Linran.

I reckon that afterward, Old Master Lu must have stepped in to block it, which is why Han Linran bears a grudge.

"Damn!" he cursed inwardly, his clenched fists making a creaking sound.

Tushan Jiu lowered her eyes and said, "It's not her; someone else harmed your grandfather."

Lu Ze Yuan suddenly looked up, bewildered, "Not that woman? Then who is it?"

"You go install a hidden camera in your grandfather's kitchen later; in two days you'll know, and that will likewise become your evidence and leverage."

Tushan Jiu did not choose to tell him the culprit directly, because first, with his temperament, knowing now would only cause trouble, and second, nowadays everything stresses evidence—without it, acting rashly would alert the enemy.

But she fears that when he sees that person, he won't be able to handle the emotional breakdown.

But there's no helping it; this is also a necessary step in his growth, and when we meet again later, he should have become a different person.

Lu Ze Yuan wore a blank expression; his main suspect had been ruled out—so who could hate his grandfather so much as to want him dead?

Carrying this doubt, he fell into contemplation.

Tushan Jiu glanced over at Qi Chen.

Qi Chen met her gaze, and even his heart tightened—a rare occurrence.

Even when facing a life‑or‑death situation, he had never been as on edge as when Tushan Jiu gave him that look.

Tushan Jiu: "He's not dead, you can relax. On the third of next month at 10:30 p. m., at the border, take people to the no‑man's‑land to rendezvous; you can save his arm."

Qi Chen sat upright, surprise flickering in his eyes, "He went......"

Tushan Jiu cut him off, "Mm, yes."