Mulan - Shan Yu Returns

Chapter 9: Favor

A/N: As Korean, I do celebrate Lunar New Year! Got an excuse to eat a lot of good traditional Korean food and now I'm writing this as I have food coma!😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣 I really hope you enjoy this chapter! I know I should've published this earlier... it's late now... but still! Happy Lunar New Year! 새해 복 많이 받으세요!

Shan Yu rested well that he overslept than usual. He was lying down on his left side with his left arm under the pillow, cuddling his blanket, and snoring with his mouth a little wide opened. He snored so loud that his snore echoed throughout his room. He woke up as the sunshine hit him in the eye. He yawned as he stretched and raised his upper body. As he scratched his waist and smacked his mouth, he realized he overslept. "Oh no! It's way past breakfast!" Shan Yu hurried and ran out to greet the Fa family as he rubbed the sleepiness out of his eyes. 

"What's the rush, Shan Yu?" Mulan asked, who was behind Shan Yu.

"Oh! Fa Mulan! I'm so sorry!" Shan Yu apologized. "I didn't mean to oversleep! I don't know why but I just couldn't wake up as early as usual!"

"It just what happens when your anxiety dies out," Mulan said. "You must've been so nervous during the trial."

"I guess I was," Shan Yu said as he scratched his head.

"Now, why don't you help me prepare some meal for dinner?" Mulan asked.

"Dinner? Already?" Shan Yu asked.

"It's Lunar New Year, Shan Yu," Mulan said. "It's the year of the pig!"

"Oh, that's right, Lunar New Year," Shan Yu said.

"Yao, Ling, Chien-Po, and several other families are joining us for the feast tonight," Mulan said. "So we need to prepare a lot."

"What do you need?" Shan Yu asked.

"Chop the ingredients, and steam the fish," Mulan said. "Don't forget to place some herbs on the fish while steaming the fish. Do you understand?"

"Right on," Shan Yu said as he ran to the kitchen, washed his hands, pulled up his sleeves, grabbed a knife, and chopped the vegetables and meat, and steamed the fish as he placed few leaves of herbs on the fish.

"Great! You're much better than when you first did it," Mulan complimented.

"Hehheh, thank you," Shan Yu said as he smiled nervously and put one of his hand behind the back of his head

"Now, Shan Yu, I am going to go harvest some bamboos and bamboo shoot to cook some special rice, care to help me?" Mulan asked.

"Of course, but what about the ingredients?" Shan Yu asked.

"We'll take care of it," Fa Li said as she entered the kitchen with Grandmother Fa. 

"Oh, all right," Shan Yu said. "Let's go, Fa Mulan."

"Right on," Mulan said. "Shang! Can you get the saws, shovels, and baskets?!"

"Do you have experiences with chopping bamboos?" Mushu asked.

"No, at least, I don't remember if I do or not," Shan Yu replied. 

"But it'll be easy, I bet Mulan and ol' Shang-hai can help you with it," Mushu said.

"Thank you for your encouragement, Mushu," Shan Yu said. 

"I'll stay with you," Mushu said and hid inside Shan Yu's shirt.

********

Mulan, Shang, and Shan Yu all arrived at the bamboo forest. Mulan and Shang were holding a saw with their left hand, shovel with their right hand, and a basket behind their back, while Shan Yu was holding a saw with both of his hand, and a shovel and a basket behind his back. "It would be easier if we chopped down some bamboo first." Mulan looked around to observe which bamboo would be good to cut down. "This one... and this one," Mulan said as she tapped on the two bamboo trees that she believed was good to be cut down.