Chapter 86 Returning to Ganzhou

Before dawn the next day, Zhu Mingyue woke up to find the caravan already packed and ready to depart.

He didn't have much to pack, so after washing up, he went downstairs and set off with them.

At the end of the hour of Mao (5-7 AM), the group arrived at the city gate. After less than a quarter of an hour, the city gate slowly opened, and Zhu Mingyue moved slowly to the city gate with the sparse flow of people.

He trailed behind the procession, watching the carriages pass through the city gate one by one. He glanced back, pursed his lips, and felt a pang of inexplicable regret before stepping out of the city.

Suddenly, the sound of rapid hoofbeats came from behind.

"Mingyue, please wait!"

It was Li Zhengyang's voice. Zhu Mingyue turned around again and found that Xie Pei had also arrived.

Both men were dressed in military uniforms, looking much more imposing than usual. Xie Pei, in particular, was clad in black armor with his dark hair tied up high, and the long sword hanging at his waist gleamed coldly, making him appear even more cold and domineering.

Li Zhengyang dismounted, panting, and went to the city gate guards to say a few words. There weren't many people leaving the city, so Zhu Mingyue had some time to talk to them.

"Why are you here?" Zhu Mingyue was pleasantly surprised, not expecting them to come and see him off.

Li Zhengyang handed him a letter: "I wrote a letter, can you take it back for me?" After thinking it over, he still felt it was inappropriate to have Zhu Mingyue pass on his message. It was completely different to tell his parents himself and to have someone else tell him. So he asked Sun Kan for some stationery and wrote a letter overnight.

Zhu Mingyue nodded and put the letter into her pocket. "Don't worry, I'll give it to them for you."

“Alright! Brother Li, I’m dirt poor right now. When we get back to Ganzhou, I’ll treat you to a meal at a restaurant.” He realized something was off after he said that. Zhu Mingyue did own a restaurant, after all. He scratched his head awkwardly. “Never mind, I’ll farm for you. I’ll buy all your land.”

Unexpectedly, he made a mistake again and was given a cold look by Xie Pei. It's not like the Xie family doesn't have men who can do the work. It's not his place to help Zhu Mingyue with farming. There's always Xie Pei!

Li Zhengyang was filled with remorse, thinking to himself that he had made a mistake by saying too much. He quickly said, "Haha, you guys chat, I'll go get the horse."

Sure enough, as soon as he left, Xie Pei's expression softened immediately. He took out a bag of pastries from his pocket and handed it to Zhu Mingyue: "Jizhou's specialty crab roe pastries, which are said to not be very sweet. I think you should like them."

The snacks were still warm, and the aroma of crabs couldn't be masked by the oil paper wrapping. Zhu Mingyue had set off with the caravan without having breakfast, and had planned to grab a quick bite of some flatbread on the way out of the city. But the warm snacks Xie Pei brought naturally made her hungry.

He immediately opened the box and picked up a crab roe pastry. The moment it entered his mouth, the fresh flavor spread in layers. His eyes lit up and he exclaimed in surprise, "It's delicious!" He thought it was just like the egg yolk pastry in his previous life, with only a few ingredients mixed in. He didn't expect that it was full of crab roe inside. It was really substantial.

Xie Pei: "It's the season when crabs are plump and delicious in Jihe. Jizhou always has crab roe pastries at this time. If you like them, I'll send them to you later."

"Forget it," Zhu Mingyue shook her head. "This stuff tastes good, but it's not easy to transport and store. It might even spoil by the time it gets to Ganzhou."

He gestured for Xie Pei to have a piece too, but Xie Pei refused. So he fed it to Xie Pei's mouth: "Try it, I bet you've never had one before."

Xie Pei had no choice but to accept it. He had never eaten it before. This snack was famous in Jizhou. Because the production of crab roe was extremely limited, it was in short supply. Anyone who wanted to buy a pack had to get up early and queue up.

After buying the crab roe pastries, Xie Pei went to the inn, only to find that the caravan had already left. He then hurried to the city gate and luckily made it back in time.

Zhu Mingyue ate with relish, his eyes beaming with joy. He looked up at Xie Pei and said, "I will come to Jizhou City to see you again when I have the chance in the future."

Xie Pei's expression turned serious upon hearing this: "Don't come here again. The city isn't what you see now; it's very dangerous."

Once they start fighting the Southern Barbarians, Jizhou will be in complete chaos. He won't let Zhu Mingyue foolishly fall into a dangerous situation.

“There will be opportunities in the future,” he said in a deep voice.

Zhu Mingyue was obedient and smiled at him, "Okay! I'll wait for your triumphant return."

It was getting late, and it felt awkward to keep such a large group of people waiting for him outside the city. Zhu Mingyue looked at the city gate and felt inexplicably downcast: "Xie Pei, I should go now. Take care in the future, I'll wait for you to come back."

"Mm," Xie Pei responded softly.

Zhu Mingyue turned to leave, but Xie Pei's voice rang out behind her again.

“If you want to get married in the future,” Xie Pei paused, his voice tinged with an unspeakable unease, “wait for me to come back.”

Zhu Mingyue turned around, a little confused, wondering why Xie Pei would suddenly say such a thing out of the blue, but still nodded.

He waved to Xie Pei and Li Zhengyang, stepped out of the city gate, and followed the caravan further and further away.

Li Zhengyang yawned and walked over: "Captain, stop looking, they're nowhere to be seen, let's go!"

The two then mounted their horses and rode away as the sun rose.

The caravan reached the outskirts of the city, and Wang Zongxiu shamelessly leaned close to him: "Are you eating crab roe pastries?"

Zhu Mingyue nodded. Crab roe pastries were indeed delicious. He was hungry quickly because he had been walking on an empty stomach and had been burning calories. So he took out egg yolk pastries and ate them as he walked.

Wang Zongxiu rubbed his hands together. "Can I have a taste?"

Zhu Mingyue: ...Just say you want to eat it, why all this pretense!

Wang Zongxiu got a piece and ate it with great relish.

“I’ve been craving this for so long,” he exclaimed with delight. “This crab roe pastry is a famous delicacy of Jizhou. Legend has it that every April, the governor of Jizhou would send an urgent message to the emperor to offer this to him. It is because the crabs from the Jizhou River are famous throughout the world that you can’t make this taste anywhere else.”

“I’ve been in this business for many years and have come to Jizhou many times. I heard a long time ago that the Emperor loved Jizhou’s crab roe pastry. I’ve always wanted to buy some to try, but I’ve never had the chance.”

Zhu Mingyue tilted her head, crumbs of pastry falling from the corner of her mouth, and asked innocently, "Why?"

Wang Zongxiu felt frustrated when he mentioned this: "What else could it be? This shopkeeper is an oddball, so arrogant! He doesn't open the shop at all when the crabs aren't fat. He does open now, but not only are they expensive, but he only sells ten servings a day and never accepts reservations. He's not afraid of even the dignitaries from other prefectures and counties. Everyone who comes has to queue up on the same day, first come, first served."

Zhu Mingyue suddenly stopped eating the crab roe pastry, looked at the crab roe pastry in her hand, and then at Wang Zongxiu's outstretched hand. She quickly dodged and wrapped up the rest.

He never expected Xie Pei to buy such hard-to-find egg yolk pastries for him. His heart felt like it was filled with something, a sour and astringent swelling.

"Hey, let me have another piece, I haven't even tasted it yet!" Wang Zongxiu exclaimed.

Zhu Mingyue shook her head and refused decisively: "No, if you want to eat it, go buy it yourself."

Wang Zongxiu retorted, "Do you think I don't want to buy it or that I don't have the money? Didn't I tell you, it's impossible to buy it?"

Zhu Mingyue pursed her lips into a thin line, then said firmly, "Xie Pei has bought them all."

Wang Zongxiu scratched his chin, trying to justify himself: "How can a commoner like me be compared to a cavalry captain like him? Maybe the shopkeeper is just doing it because of him..."

Zhu Mingyue interrupted him: "Didn't you say the shopkeeper wasn't afraid of powerful figures?" He didn't believe Xie Pei would use his status to intimidate people. The rank of Colonel of the Cavalry was neither high nor low in the army, with only a few thousand men under his command, and in the entire Li Dynasty, it was far below the sixth rank. Clearly, it was no match for a pastry chef who could win over the Emperor.

Moreover, he noticed that Xie Pei's eyes were dark and swollen. At first, he thought it was just because he hadn't slept well last night. But now he realized that this fool hadn't slept well at all. He hadn't slept much at all, just so that he could have a hot bite of Jizhou's famous snack this morning.

He regretted letting Wang Zongxiu eat a piece. Putting everything else aside, Xie Pei had bought it especially for him. This kind of pastry was hard to find, and it was full of Xie Pei's good intentions.

Amidst Wang Zongxiu's regretful sigh, he sniffed and carefully licked away the crumbs from the corner of his mouth.

Sigh, can't waste it, it's so expensive!

On their way back to Ganzhou, they stopped in Yong'an County to pick up Guan Jing, who was recuperating in the county town. Guan Jing had been seriously injured, but after a few more days of rest and recovery, he was much better, though still unable to exert himself. So they put him in the carriage.

After he came back to life, his personality remained unchanged; he was still cheerful and chatted with Zhu Mingyue constantly on the way. He even said that Zhu Mingyue was like a second parent to him, and that without her, he would have been trampled to death if not hacked to death.

He wasn't afraid of dying, but he was afraid of dying a pathetic death. He would definitely be unwilling to be trampled to death. Fortunately, Zhu Mingyue helped him escape the fate of becoming a dead soul under the feet of bandits.

She also said she must repay him. Seeing his frail body, Zhu Mingyue couldn't bear to say anything to discourage him. She could only comfort him and tell him to take good care of his injuries and talk to him again when he was fully recovered.

This time, the caravan deliberately bypassed Maling, where they had previously encountered bandits, and chose a longer route. This delay cost them nearly a day, so their return journey was a day later than their trip to Jizhou. Fortunately, the journey was smooth, and they did not encounter any unpleasant incidents.

Unfortunately, it rained on and off for two or three days. Fortunately, Zhu Mingyue was well aware of her own health condition and took good care of herself, so she didn't get sick this time.

More than half a month later, the caravan finally arrived in Ganzhou.

Wang Zongxiu stood inside the city and laughed heartily: "Ganzhou is still the best! The liveliness on the streets is real, and it feels so full of life."

Zhu Mingyue glanced at him, thinking to herself: That's a really harsh thing to say. It's true that Jizhou isn't very lively, but there aren't dead people on the streets.

“Brother Wang, I’ll be leaving now. This trip has been quite troublesome. If you don’t mind, you can bring your brothers to our town. I run a dumpling shop there, and it’s fairly well-known. You can eat as much as you want; it’s on me.”

Wang Zongxiu quickly said, "No trouble at all, you've helped us a lot!" If it weren't for Zhu Mingyue's timely fire, they might not have been able to escape Maling unscathed, and they wouldn't have been able to take the goods with them.

Despite his gratitude, the temptation of getting a free meal for his brother was too great, and he couldn't refuse. He chuckled and said, "Definitely, definitely. You know how much we brothers eat on this trip, so don't be too picky!"

Zhu Mingyue was already used to his shamelessness and found it amusing: "Don't worry, I'll make sure you eat your fill."

After saying goodbye, Zhu Mingyue went to a shop in town.

To be honest, it would be a lie to say I wasn't worried at all. No matter how capable He An and Xiao Cui are, they're just teenagers, even younger than him!

As he entered the street carrying large and small packages, he saw a steady stream of customers coming and going from his shop, which made him feel much more at ease.

As he got closer, he realized something was wrong. He thought he heard a young boy's voice shouting something like "discount on vegetables."

What the hell? He quickened his pace, and heard it more clearly.

The voice belonged to Xiao Cui's younger brother, who was shouting in a hoarse voice: "Today, if you spend 200 coins or more, you will receive a free serving of fried meatballs or dumplings. If you spend 300 coins or more, you will receive a 10% discount."

Zhu Mingyue was shocked. He had only been away for less than two months, and the shop had already developed to this extent?

"Hey!" Xiao Cui's brother suddenly exclaimed. He met Xiao Cui's gaze and for a moment forgot to call him. Instead, he ran back to the shop to call for help.

Before long, He An came up, panting, still clutching the account book he had forgotten to put down in his haste.

"Shopkeeper, you're finally back." He An looked at Zhu Mingyue, who was standing in front of him unharmed, and his eyes welled up with tears. For more than forty days, he had been living in fear, afraid that something might have happened to Zhu Mingyue on the way or in Jizhou.

"I'm back," Zhu Mingyue smiled and spun around in front of him. "I'm perfectly fine, nothing's wrong, don't worry."

He Anxin said with satisfaction, "You must have eaten well along the way, right? Your cheeks have gotten quite round."

Zhu Mingyue was terrified and wanted to touch her face on the spot, but her hands were full of things, so she could only compromise: "Let's go inside and talk."

During the days he was away, the shop had already developed a clear division of labor, with everyone performing their duties. Although busy, everything was in an orderly manner.

He An was in charge of collecting payments and keeping accounts, Xiao Cui was entertaining guests, and his brother was acting as a loudspeaker at the door to greet guests. The three chefs filled the kitchen to capacity, and it was bustling with activity inside. Zhu Mingyue put down her luggage and wanted to help, but found that she couldn't squeeze in anymore.

After a long wait until closing time, the group finally had some free time. The three chefs each brought out a dish from the kitchen and placed it on the dining table. Xiao Cui's younger brother cheered, "Finally, we can eat!"

Xiao Cui slapped away the chopsticks her brother had just picked up and looked at Zhu Mingyue: "The shopkeeper probably hasn't eaten yet, so please make do with this!"

Zhu Mingyue looked closely and realized that he understood the reasoning, but this was just too much of a compromise!

His lips twitched: "Is this all you're eating?"

The three chefs he had personally trained failed to serve a single decent dish. The green vegetables were wilted and droopy, with the edges and corners probably yellowed and picked off. In short, they looked rather stale.

Two more plates of the same leafy greens were stir-fried, and the last dish was a soup made with overcooked fried meatballs, dark in color but still topped with green vegetables.

He didn't even understand why Xiao Cui's brother was cheering so excitedly.

The oldest chef, Lao Zhang, explained to him with a kind and enthusiastic tone, "These two dishes look the same, but they taste different!"

Zhu Mingyue ruthlessly exposed: "The taste depends on what the last customer ordered, right?"

"Hehe, the dishes the customers ordered are all quite oily, and there's so much oil stuck to the pan, it would be a waste not to use it."

Zhu Mingyue suddenly realized something and exclaimed in horror, "You wouldn't skip washing the pot just to save oil, would you?!"

The three quickly waved their hands: "Don't misunderstand, shopkeeper. We only cook for ourselves. We wash the woks very clean when we cook for the guests. The food won't taste right if we don't wash the woks."

Zhu Mingyue was relieved. He could understand as long as no one made a mistake that violated principles. But was his shop about to go bankrupt? Why were the employees' meals so meager?

Xiao Cui's younger brother was swallowing his saliva frantically, so Zhu Mingyue could only let them start eating first.

He also took a bite of greens, but they were too old and he couldn't swallow them. He almost choked to death and burst into tears on the spot.

After finally getting rid of the food stuck in his throat, his "second apprentice" was still up for business. He shakily pushed another plate in front of him: "Boss, you eat this one, it's tenderer."

Zhu Mingyue swore he would never listen to these people's nonsense again. He looked at the dishes and had no appetite at all. No wonder He An said he was eating well; he was right. He had eaten better food on the road than this.

He turned his gaze to He An: "Tell me, what exactly happened?" The revenue these days has all been in He An's hands. I never expected that this kid would be so ruthless as to even cut back on his own food.

“I’m innocent!” He An turned his head and looked at Xiao Cui.

Xiao Cui: ……

She ate two bites of vegetables without changing her expression, muttering, "They're quite tender!"

He then explained, "These vegetables were leftovers from the aunties on the street, and I thought it would be a waste to throw them away, so I brought them back. I was just lucky these past few days; they're not usually available."

"Unbelievable!" Zhu Mingyue said sarcastically, "The vegetable-selling auntie thinks grain is so precious, yet you still pick up vegetables that others don't want. That's bizarre."

"Shopkeeper, what's 'weirdo'?" Old Zhang asked timidly.

He An nudged him with his hand and whispered, "Don't ask, it's not something nice to say anyway."

Zhu Mingyue: ...

Well, it's understandable that Xiao Cui, having lived a hard life as a refugee, is overly concerned about food. It's just that these people shouldn't let her have her way.

He put down his chopsticks and ordered, "From now on, you're not allowed to skimp on lunch. Eat the same way you ate when I was working at the shop. If you don't eat properly, how will you help me make money?"

Making money! These two words were paramount to He An, so he immediately switched sides: "We really need to eat better, otherwise we won't have the strength. Xiao Cui, don't bring back rotten vegetable leaves from outside next time."

Xiao Cui smiled and agreed in front of Zhu Mingyue, but in her heart she had already cursed He An hundreds of times. She wondered who it was that had praised her for being thrifty when she came back from picking vegetables the day before yesterday.

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Author's note: Xie Pei: You must wait for me to come back before you get married.

Zhu Mingyue: Why?

Xie Pei: If I don't come back, where will you get your groom?

Zhu Mingyue: ...