Chapter 46, The 46th Inn: The Valley at Night
Golden sunlight filtered through the leaves, and cicadas chirped along with the rustling leaves. Yunyin and Fu Wang stood facing each other. She looked at the motionless Fu Wang and raised her eyebrows, saying, "You make the first move."
Fu Wang put the sword at his waist aside and said to Yun Yin, "Let's stop here."
Seeing that she had put down her sword and didn't intend to use her whip, Yunyin laughed and said, "Alright, let's have a little sparring session."
Fu Wang took a step forward, his fist coming towards Yun Yin's face. Yun Yin dodged to the side and reached out to probe his vital points.
Fu Wang raised an eyebrow at the move, bent down to dodge it, and quickly got up to approach Yun Yin. But she smiled slyly and stepped forward instead. He was caught off guard and brushed past her. By the time he reacted, Yun Yin was already behind him, put her hand on Fu Wang's shoulder, and whispered in his ear, "Young Master Fu, you lost."
Fu Wang's ears turned slightly red. He stopped his attempts to resist, pulled away from Yun Yin's grasp, and rubbed his slightly numb hands, saying, "Yes, you won. Yun Niangzi's martial arts are very agile. Many of her moves look simple, but they are very powerful. She captured me in an instant."
Yunyin smiled and said, "It's alright, after all, I've been learning for so long." She has been learning martial arts since elementary school, and she has explored both traditional and modern martial arts, gradually integrating them into her own style. She is also very talented, so it's no wonder that her father has placed all his hopes on her.
The two chatted about martial arts, occasionally sparring a bit. Meanwhile, Zhang Lin and Zheng Guilan heard the commotion. Zhang Lin looked up into the distance but couldn't see anything. He frowned and asked, "What's going on?"
After a moment of contemplation, Zheng Guilan said, "I heard that Young Master Fu wants to have a martial arts contest with Madam."
Zhang Lin only heard the word "martial arts contest" and thought the two of them were fighting, so he quickly ran over to check the situation. Zheng Guilan followed him, and the two of them ran over together and saw the two of them gesturing.
"Wife, are you alright?" Zhang Lin glared at Fu Wang, then walked to Yun Yin's side and asked, "Did he bully you?"
Yunyin withdrew her hand, wiped the sweat from her forehead, and shook her head, saying, "We were having a competition, why did you come over?"
Fang He, who was playing with Hei Dou, also ran over at this moment. Looking at Yun Yin's graceful and agile figure, she said with envy in her eyes, "Yun Niangzi is really amazing. She can cook and does martial arts. I wish I could be that amazing too."
Hearing her daughter's exclamation, Zheng Guilan patted her hair and said, "Yes, our Ahe will be just as amazing."
Fang He looked at Zheng Guilan with her round eyes and asked expectantly, "Mother, what do you think about me becoming Yun Niangzi's disciple?"
Zheng Guilan paused slightly, looking at Yunyin who was talking to Zhang Lin in front of her. After thinking for a while, she said, "We should ask Madam Yun if she is willing to take on a disciple. If not, we should not force her."
Fang He nodded vigorously and said, "I know, I will ask for Lady Yun's consent."
Just then, a mule cart came from afar. Yunyin, with her sharp eyes, recognized the driver as an acquaintance and quickly interrupted her conversation with Fu Wang: "We have guests here, let's stop here for today."
Fu Wang looked at the people walking towards him from afar, narrowed his eyes and said, "Then let's stop here for today. We'll have another match another day."
Yunyin raised her voice: "I'm always ready."
She walked over to Wan Leqiao in a few steps and said, "You're here. Everything's ready here. Come with me."
Wan Leqiao brought a lot of things, and Yunyin helped her carry them to the kitchen. She directed them to bring over the broth that had been prepared earlier and said to Wan Leqiao, "The broth needs to be prepared in advance, so I prepared it first. But you probably already know how to make this clear broth. I'll explain it to you and you'll understand."
After she finished speaking, she washed her hands and went to the kitchen to get busy. Wan Leqiao quickly followed, and the two of them busied themselves in the kitchen. For a while, all that could be heard was their conversation.
Fu Wang washed his face and hands, took a cup of tea and sat under the big tree. Watching Yun Yin who was busy all the time, he picked up the tea to cover the smile on his lips. Even when he went to bed at night, he could still recall the bits and pieces of his time with her. He tossed and turned in bed and couldn't sleep. Afraid of disturbing Zhang Lin, he went straight out the door.
Walking under the starlight across the empty fields, he stared at the stars in the sky, wondering if Lady Yun was already asleep and what delicious food she would make for breakfast tomorrow. Thinking about her every move, his heart was restless, and he couldn't even hear the footsteps behind him.
"Young Master Fu, what are you doing here so late at night instead of sleeping?"
Fu Wang was startled by the sudden sound. He coughed lightly to cover his pounding heart. "Uh, I couldn't sleep, so I came out for a walk. Why is Lady Yun out so late?"
Yunyin pointed to the paddy fields in the distance and said, "Come and check if there's anything wrong with the things I'm raising."
Fu Wang sat down on the edge of the field and said to Yun Yin, "Would it be convenient for us to sit down and chat? It seems like we haven't had a proper conversation before."
Yunyin plopped down, rested her chin on her hand, and tilted her head to look at him: "What do you want to talk about?"
Fu Wang looked up at the twinkling starlight and asked curiously, "Where is Lady Yun from? I've never heard you mention your hometown before."
Yunyin turned to look at the rice paddies in front of her and whispered, "My hometown is a very far away place, so far that I can no longer find my way home."
"Have you forgotten the way?" Fu Wang asked. "Perhaps you can tell me, and I can help you find it. After all, I've traveled all over the country and been to many places over the years."
Yunyin shook her head: "No need, I can't find it, I can't go back anymore."
Fu Wang fell silent, his heart heavy. He wanted to have a good talk with Yun Niangzi and learn more about her, but he kept bringing up her sad stories and upsetting her. For a moment, Fu Wang didn't know how to start the conversation.
As the two fell silent, the croaking of frogs also fell silent. Fu Wang couldn't help but say, "You already have a home. In another month, your home will be completed."
Yunyin looked up at him, smiled, and nodded, saying, "You're right, I have a home now." She asked Fu Wang, "What about you? Do you plan to keep traveling around like this, escorting goods? Don't you want to settle down?"
Fu Wang looked at her quietly and said, "I hadn't thought about it before, but I'll think about it carefully after today."
Yunyin met his gaze and was captivated by the earnestness and tenderness in his eyes. For some reason, she suddenly felt a little flustered and quickly stood up, saying, "It's getting late, and I have a lot to do tomorrow, so I won't bother you any longer. You should get some rest too."
Fu Wang watched her retreating figure and smiled. All his previous anxiety was now soothed, and he could finally get a good night's sleep.
The next day, Yunyin, who hadn't slept well all night, kept thinking about Fu Wang's look from the previous night. She didn't know what he meant, and it kept bothering her. Even when she saw Fu Wang sitting at the dinner table, she still couldn't figure it out.
She stopped thinking about things she couldn't understand and went to the kitchen. Zhang Lin had already lit the stove and was boiling water. She looked at the ingredients in the basket and said, "Let's make a loofah and egg soup this morning. Summer is all about eating melons. Tomorrow we'll eat winter melon."
Speaking of winter melon, Zhang Lin scratched his head and said, "I still have a winter melon in my room, but I forgot to take it out."
Yunyin looked over curiously: "Why did you put the winter melon in your room?"
"Hehe, it's too hot at night, so I'm sleeping with this on my arm, it's so cool."
Yunyin was surprised that Zhang Lin was sleeping while hugging a winter melon. She turned to look at Fu Wang, who shook his head and denied it: "I don't feel hot, I don't need to sleep while hugging a winter melon."
Yunyin imagined Fu Wang sleeping with a winter melon in his arms and burst out laughing. When he looked over in confusion, she quickly composed herself and went to deal with the loofah.
After finishing his breakfast, Zhang Lin went to take charge of the breakfast stall. As the weather got hotter, they stopped selling soup noodles, and even the fried sauce noodles were selling less. Only the scallion oil noodles were still popular. Nowadays, the breakfast stall only sells various cold noodles, in addition to locust leaf cold noodles and cold rice noodles. It's cucumber season, so the noodles, served with cucumber shreds and mung bean sprouts, are very refreshing.
Yunyin tidied the table and saw off the last group of guests. She had just sat down to rest when someone else came. She got up to greet them and, seeing that it was someone she knew, asked in surprise, "What brings you here, Sister Qian?"
Aunt Qian walked over to Yunyin with a basket in hand, looked at the food stall, and asked, "How's business, Madam Yun?"
"It's alright." Yunyin poured Qian's sister-in-law a cup of iced tea and asked her, "Did you come to see me for something?"
Sister Qian took the things out of the basket and said, "I came to bring you a fish, and I have some things to tell you."
Yunyin looked at the still-alive bass and refused repeatedly, saying, "What are you doing, sister-in-law? You could sell this fish for several dozen coins."
Sister Qian handed the fish directly to Zhang Lin, then turned to Yun Yin and said, "You don't want my fish because you look down on me. You didn't ask us for anything, but you taught us how to make money. Now our family grows a lot of mushrooms, and I don't have to worry about the children's school fees. I'm just giving you a fish, and you're making excuses. Do you not want to associate with me anymore?"
Yunyin couldn't argue with her, so she could only agree: "I'll accept it this time. Sister-in-law, you don't need to bring anything next time. I have everything I need. Besides, I benefited from teaching you how to grow mushrooms myself."
Aunt Qian rolled her eyes at her and said, "Didn't you pay for the mushrooms? Okay, let's not talk about that. I came here to tell you something. The county issued a notice saying that in a few days, they will be drawing people to repair water conservancy projects. This year, the number of people conscripted for military service will be increased, and even female households will not be exempt."
"I'm here to tell you that if you don't want to serve in the military, you have to pay two strings of cash, otherwise the county won't come to arrest you."
Upon hearing this news, Yunyin's brow twitched. "Didn't we capture a group of refugees to repair water conservancy projects before? Why do we need more people now?"
Sister Qian sighed, "Who knows? Anyway, every household in these villages has to contribute someone, and no one can afford two strings of cash. It's only halfway through the year, and we've already had two service terms. Who knows what the second half of the year will be like?"
Seeing Zhang Lin's unease out of the corner of her eye, Yun Yin pressed him for more information: "Is a temporary household registration required?"
Sister Qian looked at Zhang Lin and shook her head, saying, "I haven't heard anything about it yet, but it's best to keep him from going out too much lately. If he gets arrested, there'll be no one to reason with him. Although my grandfather is the village head, there's nothing I can do to help you. You can only be extra careful lately."
Yunyin nodded and said, "Thank you so much, Sister Qian, for bringing us this news. We are truly grateful."
"Yes, the list needs to be submitted by the day after tomorrow at the latest, so you need to make a decision as soon as possible."
Yunyin: "I know, I will prepare as soon as possible."
Just then, a group of people carrying baskets and dressed simply walked over. Sister Qian looked at the group and said to Yunyin, "Then I won't bother you. You go ahead with your work. I'll be going now."
After seeing Sister Qian off, Yunyin looked at one of the men and said, "Chen Silang, what brings you here today?" Her eyes lit up when she saw the basket on his back, and she invited the men to sit down and talk.
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