Taking a Bath

Seeing him like this, the shopkeeper gulped in fear.

Shu Botong looked at the pile of ready-made clothes behind the man, he thought for a moment before saying, “Give me a set of ready-to-wear clothes and shoes that I can wear. I also want some underwear.”

To be honest, it had been a long time since he had money to buy underwear. Those he had were so worn out that he wouldn’t use it as toilet paper.

The shopkeeper looked at him strangely. “Why was this lunatic acting strangely today?”

However, for the sake of the money on the table, the shopkeeper did not say a word. He turned around and started looking for some clothes for him.

Why should he care about what was wrong with the man? As long as he could make some money.

Following the business principle of not turning down any opportunities to make money, the shopkeeper quickly took out a set of ready-made clothes, undergarments and a pair of shoes, before placing them on the table for Shu Botong.

“What do you think? The workmanship, fabric, stitching, not to mention the color and style… You can’t find this anywhere else…”

After the shopkeeper’s sales pitch, Shu Botong was a little tempted. Based on his previous experience of living a lavish lifestyle, this set of clothes were definitely costly.

However, he was short of money. The only silver he had did not belong to him. After the shopkeeper’s recommendations, Shu Botong said excitedly, “I want the cheapest one.”

“…”

“If you miss out on any money-making opportunities, you’re a fool. If you miss out on any money-making opportunities, you’re a fool. If you miss out on any money-making opportunities, you’re a fool.”

The shopkeeper recited his business principle silently a few times. In the end, making money was still his priority.

“Wait a moment. I’ll find it for you now!”

Compared to the shopkeeper’s smiling face, Shu Botong’s expression was much harder to describe.

He touched the beautiful clothes that the shopkeeper had yet to put away. The material and workmanship were no different from the countless others that used to fill his wardrobe, most of them mean nothing to him. He would basically discard them like junk after wearing them once. But now, they were beyond his reach…

“Sigh…”

As he thought about this, Shu Botong couldn’t help but sigh at his fate.

The shopkeeper, who was rummaging through the clothes, thought that he was getting impatient. Afraid that he would leave, he quickly sped up his movements and said, “Wait a moment. I’ll find it soon.”

“There’s no hurry.”

After saying that, Shu Botong continued to stroke the clothes on the table. He wanted to spend more time with this set of clothes.

“Sigh, okay…”

The shopkeeper, however, thought otherwise. He believed that Shu Botong was getting impatient, so he didn’t dare to stop and quickly searched for the garment.

He finally found a set of cheap ready-to-wear garments from the bottom of the box.

“I’ll take it.”

Shu Botong paid for the garments without even looking at them.

At this moment, he only had eyes for the luxurious garments on the table. Compared to them, everything else was lacking and unsatisfactory, but he had no other choice.

The shoes and underwear that he bought were also from the cheaper range. Upon checking out, they only cost as much as two sleeves of the silk garment.

Carrying the change and the clothes and shoes that he had just bought, Shu Botong happily headed towards the bathhouse.

His next plan was to wash off the dirt on his body. Now that he was clear-headed, he almost gagged when he took a whiff of his body odor.

Excited by the thought of getting clean, Shu Botong couldn’t help but hum and skip while making his way to the bathhouse.

The shopkeeper behind him watched him leave with a strange gaze. He shook his head and sighed. “He has gone crazy again.”

In the next instant, he almost fainted when he was just about to put away the clothes on the table.

What was that ugly black stain on his originally beautiful and pristine blue garment?!

“Ah… Oh my god… I’ve suffered a huge loss…”

Shu Botong, who was already walking away and heading towards the bathhouse, paid no attention to the screams coming from behind him.

When he arrived at the entrance of the bathhouse, he looked around curiously.

Why didn’t he know that there was a bathhouse here? It looked pretty good.

Without another word, Shu Botong took out the silver in his hand. Having this would come in handy during negotiations.

Just as the shop assistant at the door was about to chase him away, he was suddenly blinded by a flash of light. When he saw the money, he immediately smiled and welcomed his customer in.

He shouted enthusiastically, “One customer for a bath!”

“I need a body scrub too.”

It was not Shu Botong’s first time at a bathhouse, so he naturally knew what services were available here.

When the shop assistant heard this, he became very happy. After all, the more jobs they did, the more money they would receive. As a newly opened business, they needed money the most.

“Okay, one guest for bathing and scrubbing…”

After shouting, he brought Shu Botong to the bathroom.

“Take a bath first. When you are ready for a scrub, let us know. The waiter will come right after.”

Shu Botong nodded. After the attendant left, he let himself loose.

First, he scooped up the warm bath water with his hand. Then, he smelled the fragrance essence and soap that were placed on the side. Intoxicated, he narrowed his eyes and sighed.

He hadn’t smelled such a lovely fragrance in a long time. This was the smell of cleanliness.

Unable to contain his excitement, he quickly took off his worn and tangled clothes before throwing them on the ground. He then got into the bathtub naked.

As soon as his skin touched the water, Shu Botong couldn’t help but sigh in relief. He wasn’t in a hurry to do the scrub because he knew that he had not bathed in a long time. The dirt was already fused with his skin and had become a part of his body. The only way to scrub the dirt off was to soak in water for a longer period of time.

After soaking for a while, he rang the bell and called for the attendant who had been waiting for him for some time.

Perhaps the attendant knew that it was a “big job”. Normally, there was only one attendant for each customer, but when it came to him, they arranged for two attendants to serve him.

When the two men at the door heard the bell ring, they put on their masks and looked at each other firmly, as if they were about to face something terrifying.

After getting themselves mentally prepared, the two of them pushed the door open and entered as if they were facing a great enemy.

Not long after the door closed, a shrill scream came from inside. The people outside stopped what they were doing and looked curiously at the direction of the voice, trying to guess what was going on.

The scream seemed to have turned on a certain switch. Not long after, screams started sounding one after another.

They sounded so horrifying that even passersby could feel chills running down their spines.

After a long time, the screams slowly became weaker. It made one wonder if the person had run out of strength or something.

When the door opened again, the two attendants came out with a basin filled with murky water. Although they were sweating profusely and looking tired, their expressions revealed a sense of joy.

“That was a satisfying scrub!”

“That’s right. It feels so good to see strips of dirt fall off his body!”

“I must have removed at least five kilograms of dirt off that man.”

“It has to be more than that. I think there’s at least ten kilograms. The floor in the room was filled with so much dirt that it was almost impossible to walk.”

“Sigh, if it weren’t for the fact that his skin was looking so raw, I really would have carried on.”

“That’s right. How I wished that his skin was thicker so that we could keep scrubbing until we were satisfied. I can scrub him for a day without getting tired.”

“Haha, if he comes again, the two of us will give him another scrub together!”

“Okay, okay!”

“Hahahaha…”

The voices of the two men reached the ears of Shu Botong, who was lying still, and it was truly hard for him to bear.

At this moment, he was lying in the bathtub with his body twitching. His entire body was burning with pain. The skin from his face to his heels were all red, looking like he had just been scooped out of hot water.

At this moment, his soul had yet to return to his body. Although his body was soaked in water that had been changed three times, his soul seemed to still be enduring the punishment he had just received. His body twitched and convulsed, looking both pitiful and ridiculous.

—-

“Go back?”

Jiang Danhe saw that it was almost noon and there were still children waiting for them at home, so he asked.

Xiaoguo looked at the sun and then out the window. She had overestimated him after all.

She couldn’t help but sigh and nod at Jiang Danhe. “Let’s go back.”

“Wait!”

Xiaoguo was about to get on her horse when she was stopped by a hoarse male voice.