Chapter 61. I went with the tide, Brother Gu. Thank you.
The reeds along the Bian River are lush and tall, reaching above a person's head.
Rong Dalang, his face full of gloom and impatience, forcefully pushed aside the sharp grass and stomped heavily into the soft mud.
He and Zheng went into the city to see the lanterns, but they couldn't get through the crowds at Jimin Bridge in the outer city. He pretended to be considerate, protecting Zheng with one hand while holding his mother's hand with the other. In his heart, he thought resentfully that he was also unfortunate, having to take care of two burdens and moving forward with such difficulty.
If one is born into a wealthy family, why would one need to scheme and plot?
Suddenly, a reckless fellow, who seemed to come from nowhere, charged towards them shouting and yelling, carrying a burning lamp. Everyone screamed and ran away in fright. In the chaos, someone's arm knocked Zheng's hair out of place, and even the gold hairpin on her head fell off the bridge.
Madam Zheng burst into tears, crying and insisting on going to find it, saying that it was her dowry left to her by her own mother, and she couldn't lose it, no matter what.
Isn't this incredibly foolish? Knowing it's a special day, why would someone wear such expensive things out? What a useless piece of trash.
Rong Dalang was very reluctant, especially since he was going out to see the lanterns tonight. In order to save some money on tea, Rong Dalang did not let the Zheng family's old servants who were in the way come along, otherwise he would not have had to go looking for them himself.
But he quickly suppressed his displeasure, patted his chest and said not to worry, he would definitely find his wife's beloved item. He wiped away her tears and comforted her with many gentle words. Then he asked Aunt Rong to take her to a quieter shop nearby to wait while he went down to look for it himself.
Rong Dalang was only thinking that he would come down to make a show of it, pluck a couple of leaves to stick on his body, get his feet muddy, and kill some time before claiming that he really couldn't find it and would come back. He would tell the servants of the Zheng family to come and look for it themselves tomorrow.
A gust of wind swept by, causing the huge reeds to sway in all directions, casting shadows that resembled wisps of black mist swirling in the wind, rustling softly.
Rong Dalang thought to himself that it was very creepy, and then he ducked inside.
Just as I was about to find a rock to sit on and go back after a short while, I suddenly heard a series of footsteps behind me that were so light they were almost imperceptible.
Like a hunting mountain beast, it is slowly approaching on tiptoe.
"Who?" Rong Dalang's heart tightened, and he subconsciously turned around to look.
As soon as he turned his head, his vision blurred and a smelly, filthy sack was shoved over his head, trapping him inside. He struggled and screamed, but was immediately kicked to the ground in the chest. The pain was so intense that his heart-wrenching screams were choked in his throat, and his eyes almost popped out of their sockets.
Then came a barrage of punches and kicks, leaving him dizzy and disoriented, his face covered in blood from his nose, and two of his teeth knocked out. After that, he could only curl up on the ground, rolling around, groaning and begging for mercy from his grandfather, brother, and father. But all he got in response was the man's heavier and harder fists. He was beaten until he saw stars, and fell backward. The sack covering him had several holes in it, and he could vaguely see clusters of fireworks flying into the night sky, blooming like flowers and sparkling like fire.
People were everywhere, but no one noticed the movement in the reeds. Everyone looked up at the sky, exclaiming in amazement, but no one could hear his screams.
Music filled the air in the entertainment district, a truly joyous occasion for the people.
Gu Tusu stomped hard on his third leg with his last kick, pressing it twice as if afraid he wouldn't break it, and even grinding it from side to side with his toes until the two scrotums were completely flattened under his feet, like broken eggs.
He slowly lifted his eyes to look, and saw that the person who had been rolling around begging for mercy was now dead from the pain and motionless.
After kicking it twice to make sure it wasn't a trick, he finally pulled the sack out.
Rong Dalang lay there limply, his face covered in bruises and blood, looking like a rotten pig's head. There seemed to be a dark patch in the middle of his pants where broken egg liquid had stained it.
Gu Tusu took off his clothes, casually broke off a few blades of grass, twisted them into a rope, tied it to his body, waited a moment, and when he saw a cargo ship coming from afar, he pulled him into the water with him, silently submerged to the stern, and tied his bare arms to the net at the stern.
With his body tilted to one side, unless he encountered a large wave, his mouth and nose would be above water most of the time, so he wouldn't die.
Soon, he was carried away by the flat-bottomed cargo ship, bobbing up and down. In the blink of an eye, he was out of the waterway gate of Bianjing's outer city. It was likely that by daybreak, when people discovered the ship, it would have already reached some prefecture's dock.
Gu Tusu knew that he was only unconscious from the pain and still had plenty of breath left. Let's see if Heaven will allow this wicked man to be saved.
He was almost entirely submerged in the dark river at night, with only his eyes and nose showing, coldly watching the boat cut through the water and sail away.
When Gu Tusu put the sack over Rong Dalang's head, he had only intended to punch her a few times to vent his anger and then leave it at that. Now that she was doing well, he thought it would be good for her. But for some reason, when his fist struck Rong Dalang hard, a sudden, overwhelming pain surged in his chest, almost crushing him.
It was as if a knife had been plunged into his heart, piercing him through and leaving him bleeding.
He seemed to see again the brimming eyes of his eldest sister when she got married, her gaze curved as she looked at him tenderly, bidding him farewell. She had so joyfully anticipated this, entrusting the rest of her life to this worthless scoundrel, but... she received nothing in return.
He even experienced fragmented hallucinations from the pain: he seemed to see his eldest sister carrying a dirty laundry basket taller than herself, walking unsteadily, washing clothes by the river in the dead of winter, her hands frozen and festering; he saw her being woken up in the middle of the night by her mother-in-law to empty her chamber pot, who pointed at her and scolded her for being lazy, pulling her hair and banging her head against the wall; he also saw her, now as thin as a sheet of paper, curled up on the floor of the woodshed, using her last bit of strength to lift her sunken, empty eyes and look north...
She wanted to go home, but she couldn't.
Gu Tusu felt as if his heart was being pounded by a hammer, his eyes turned bloodshot, and he no longer held back his strength.
Once the cargo ship was out of sight, Gu Tusu went ashore. He wrapped Rong Dalang's clothes and lost teeth in stones and threw them into the river. He then took off his wet jacket and trousers, wrung them out, and put them back on. In the summer, he only wore a thin ramie jacket and shorts, and straw sandals, which dried quickly in the wind.
He stood in the wind for a while. Because he was so dark-skinned, he was almost invisible in the night. Even if someone looked down from the bridge, they could only see the layers of shadows cast by the green reeds. Once the fireworks stopped, it was so dark below that only faint ripples on the river could be seen.
Gu Tusu quietly climbed up the riverbank, pushed the earthen cart hidden in the shadow of the bridge pier again, and blended into the crowd.
When he got home, everyone was already asleep, leaving only an oil lamp for him. He casually drew some water and took a quick shower, carefully washing the mud off his straw sandals and cart wheels before lying down on his bed.
He rested his head on his arms, gazing blankly into the distance. He didn't even know what he was looking at. On the beam was a spider weaving its web in the moonlight, spinning silk tirelessly in circles.
He thought he would be sleepless that night, but he fell asleep very quickly.
Even the sunlight in his dream was hazy, the cicadas chirped incessantly, and the large willow tree at the alley entrance drooped its slender, braid-like green branches. It was as if he had returned to his childhood, when the older girl's candy was snatched by some mischievous boys in the alley. He rushed over, fought them, and returned with one shoe missing. He hopped and skipped to the older girl, whose face was still wet with tears, stretched out his hand, and grinned.
The candy he had snatched back lay in his palm, slightly melted and sticky from being squeezed so tightly.
The eldest sister stopped crying and smiled, taking his sticky hand in her crisp voice:
"Second Brother Gu, thank you very much."
His heart, like that piece of candy, melted softly.
But in the blink of an eye, the figure and voice of the eldest sister from his childhood were scattered and blurred by a gust of wind. In the time it took to rub his eyes, the people standing in the alley were instantly blown tall and grown. This time, standing in front of him against the wind, was once again the gentle and beautiful eldest sister from before she was married.
She smiled at him, still the same gentle, smiling face he remembered.
The last time she saw him, the last words she spoke, still echoed in her ears.
— —Second Brother Gu, thank you very much.
—Second Brother Gu, I'm leaving. Take care of yourself.
Despite it being such a rare and wonderful dream, his heart ached terribly. Gu Tusu slept soundly, but a tear slowly slid down from the corner of his closed eye, seeping into the pillowcase and leaving an indelible tear stain.
***
At first, Madam Zheng and Granny Rong didn't realize anything was wrong. They waited anxiously for Rong Dalang in the teahouse for an hour, but as the night wore on, they began to realize something was amiss. They searched frantically all night, but still couldn't find any trace of Rong Dalang. They and their servants asked every passerby, but no one had seen him. Everyone said he was definitely gone, as many people had fallen into the river and drowned in the crowds the previous night.
Rong Da Niang immediately sat down on the ground, crying and screaming, and even frantically tore at Zheng Shi, saying that she was a jinx and that if she hadn't sent Rong Da Lang to find the hairpin, how could such a disaster have happened?
Now things were really messed up. Zheng was so frightened by Rong Da Niang's true colors that she burst into tears. Fortunately, she still had a few loyal old servants left by her mother. They quickly grabbed sticks and surrounded Zheng, scolding her, "You mother-in-law are so unreasonable! The matter is still unresolved. How can you ruin your own daughter-in-law's reputation like this? Do you want to force your daughter-in-law to die? Stop spouting nonsense. Do you think my Zheng family is easy to bully?!"
After the chaos, Aunt Rong got nowhere and could only glare at Zheng Shi with venomous eyes, cursing and swearing incessantly.
Zheng was terrified. She had never seen such a person before. She was truly afraid of Aunt Rong. She felt dizzy and disoriented. In an instant, her good mother-in-law had become a shrew, and her good husband had disappeared. This beautiful world had turned into a hideous place.
An old servant of hers was a sensible man. Seeing Rong Da Niang's appearance, he immediately became suspicious of the Rong family's previous statements. So, on the one hand, he reported Rong Da Lang's disappearance to the authorities, and on the other hand, he sent someone to the inner city to inquire about the Rong family's divorced former daughter-in-law, wanting to verify the facts from both sides.
As luck would have it, the Zheng family servant who was making the inquiries ran into Aunt Li, who was pushing a cart to buy ducks for the Shen family.
Aunt Li immediately perked up and talked non-stop for half an hour.
A while ago, when Shen Miao was holding a fish-collecting lottery, she often had Gou'er help her read the fortune slips. She even gave Gou'er money and grilled fish to eat. These days, when she's selling roast duck, she doesn't forget to help her neighbors. She not only bought all the ducks raised by each household in the alley first, but also asked Aunt Li, who was good at selecting poultry, to find good ducks for her at various duck farms. Aunt Li immediately became Shen Miao's good aunt and good neighbor, and from then on, she never said a bad word about Shen Miao again.
The way people addressed Shen Miao changed from "that Sister Shen" to "our eldest sister".
When the Zheng family came from afar to inquire, Aunt Li launched into a tirade, embellishing her account of how her wicked mother-in-law had bullied Shen as if she had witnessed it herself. She also vividly described how Rong Dalang shamelessly slept with his mother every day, as if she had been standing by the bedside watching.
The servant of the Zheng family nearly fainted upon hearing this.
Having learned the truth about Rong's previous divorce, Zheng's servant returned to the inn with a grim face. Knowing his mistress's weak nature, he held back his anger, only advising her not to linger in Bianjing and to return to Mingzhou immediately: "Yuanniang, you can't be of any help staying in this unfamiliar place. Your mother-in-law is crazy and erratic, completely different from before, and untrustworthy! I don't care about others, I'm only worried about Yuanniang. Anyway, we've already reported it to the authorities, and they will investigate Rong Langjun's whereabouts. Whether he's alive or dead, there will be a conclusion. We can't just waste a day here if we can't find him, or a year if we can't find him. Going home and waiting is the same."
Zheng was a person without a backbone, but she knew that the servant who had protected her since childhood was a good person. Seeing Rong Da Niang's foul language every day made her feel uneasy. So she listened to the old servant's words and immediately planned to hire a carriage and a boat to return to Mingzhou.
Aunt Rong naturally refused, but no matter how much she fussed, she couldn't win against the several burly servants of the Zheng family. They made it clear that she could stay and wait as she pleased, but the Zheng family would never stay in Bianjing any longer.
Initially, Rong Dalang, concerned about Rong Da Niang's reputation for tormenting her daughter-in-law having spread throughout Jinling, had her sell their house and land in Jinling and move to Mingzhou to buy a smaller house so he could marry Zheng Shi. The purchase of the house exhausted their savings, and the mother and son, just like before when they lived off Shen Da'er's dowry, now depended entirely on the Zheng family for food, clothing, and other necessities. Now, without her son, this old widow with little money dared not remain alone in Bianjing.
In the end, all he could do was cry and curse as he followed them back to Mingzhou.
The Zheng family and Rong's mother argued and quarreled all the way back to Mingzhou. As soon as the servants returned home, they revealed the inside story of Rong's divorce. The Zheng family then sent people to Jinling to inquire again, and the two families soon started arguing about divorce again. Rong's mother was outnumbered and was beaten out by the Zheng family with sticks. But that's another story.
As for Rong Dalang... the cargo ship sped for a day and a night and finally docked at a wharf in Zhengzhou. When the ship was moored, the Maritime Trade Office came to inspect the ship and the cargo. Only then did the captain realize that a naked person had fallen onto the stern of his ship! The person's chest was still heaving, and he was mumbling something incoherently. His lower body was covered in blood and flesh, and his hair had turned white and swollen from being soaked in water.
"Damn it! How did I get entangled with a water ghost in the river?" He quickly ordered his men to untie him. Since he was still breathing, they didn't throw him back into the water. Instead, they tossed him into a corner of the dock where rotten wood and fishing nets were piled up, so that the officials wouldn't see him and ask questions, thus delaying his business.
Afterwards, he bowed and scraped as he paid the taxes to the Maritime Trade Commissioner, received a generous red envelope, replenished the ship's firewood, charcoal, and rice, and then hurriedly sailed away.
After that, no one knew Rong Dalang's whereabouts.
***
Shen Miao was completely unaware of this thrilling night of the Lotus Viewing Festival.
She woke up after a good night's sleep to find that Aunt Li had brought over thirty live ducks that were squawking loudly. Tang Er and Fu Xing were squatting on the ground, butchering and bleeding the ducks. The stove in the kitchen was already lit, and the aroma of mutton and pork bone broth wafted into the front room.
As Atao walked out, she bit her hairband to tie it up, casually making a round topknot, and then began to remove the door panels to open the shop.
After a while, the first guest of the morning had come in and was sitting by the window drinking hot mutton soup.
Chen Chuan and Xiang Jie'er were still asleep, the two children covered with a light blanket. At first glance, their sleeping postures seemed quite upright, but when we went into their room and lifted the blankets, we found that Xiang Jie'er's body and legs were twisted into a pretzel, and Chen Chuan was also sleeping diagonally.
Isn't it uncomfortable to sleep like this?
Shen Miao took Xiang Jie'er's foot off her armpit and couldn't help but sigh, "Children are so flexible, their ligaments are amazing."
After washing up, Chen Miao started her business day as usual.
Inside the Biyong Academy, Shen Ji was scraping the last bit of salted vegetable from the bottom of a jar with a worried expression.
The good things his older sister brought him were devoured by the pack of hungry wolves with green eyes as soon as he entered the school dormitory. The dried peaches and cricket cakes were devoured on the same day, and the instant soup noodles were also eaten up in two or three days. After that, the food supplies brought by his classmates from their families also quickly ran out.
He had no choice but to cook some porridge and rice on a small stove, which he ate with pickled bamboo shoots and cured meat.
Thankfully, the day off is almost here again.
Shen Ji ate his pickled vegetables and porridge, his face showing his eagerness to return home.
Like him, Ning Yi and Xie Qi, students in the Imperial Academy, were also eagerly awaiting their day off.
The cicadas chirped and the banana leaves swayed. It was a quiet afternoon. Shang An and the other students in the dormitory were taking a midday nap. Only Ning Yi, who was craving something sweet, and Xie Qi, who had just gotten up after a short nap with his cat, were still awake.
After Xie Qi got up, he silently picked up a book and started reading, while Ning Yi... Ning Yi rolled around on his bed.
Ever since Ning Yi snatched some roast duck from Xie Qi a few days ago, he's been obsessed with it, to the point of almost losing his appetite.
After rolling around a few times, he lay weakly on the bed, his eyes lifting to look out the window. Xie Qi was sitting at the desk by the window, with several books piled on the left side of the desk. On the top of the books was a shallow, round wicker basket, in which a Qilin lay, its tail drooping down and swaying.
On the other side of the desk sat a delicate, miniature bamboo-jointed ceramic incense burner, filled with cypress incense. Wisps of smoke curled upwards, releasing a subtle and lingering fragrance. Xie Qi held a half-rolled book in his hand, engrossed in reading. The bamboo curtain was half-rolled up, and with the bright midsummer light outside the window, it was as if orchids and magnolias were growing inside the room.
Ning Yi glanced at Xie Qi for a while, then at the cat wagging its tail, and then idly counted on his fingers—there were only two hours left before he could leave the academy.
He's made up his mind. Instead of going home on his day off, he'll go to Shenji and order a duck!
Just as he finished counting, he saw the Qilin suddenly stand up from its den, stretch its front paws, yawn, and nimbly jump off the pile of books. It raised its round cat eyes to peek at Xie Qi, and seeing that the human hadn't noticed it, it quickly stuck its head into Xie Qi's Jun porcelain teacup to drink water.
Ning Yi saw it all and was about to speak up to remind Xie Qi, but Xie Qi didn't dare turn his head, afraid of startling the cat, and only shook his head slightly at him. So he shut his mouth. After a while, the Qilin drank its fill of water, jumped off the table and started wandering around the room, and even sharpened its claws on the chair leg where Xie Qi had tied a rope.
Xie Qi then turned around and said helplessly, "Qilin doesn't like to drink water, so I've already given it that cup. I deliberately put it there for it to drink from today."
It's strange, though. There was some clean water in its basin, but it refused to drink from it and wouldn't even glance at it. But if Xie Qi put a teacup on the table, it would stick its head in and take a sip, even if it was just passing by.
“The heart of a fox is hard to fathom.” Ning Yi shook his head. “But you are beyond redemption. You have now completely become a slave to the fox.”
"I am happy to be a slave to a cat!" Xie Qiyi retorted righteously, ignoring him, and beckoned Qilin over. He hugged the fluffy cat, first scratching its chin, then took a sandalwood comb and combed its golden scales and spots. He combed off a large clump of loose fur, but didn't throw it away. He gathered it up and put it in his pouch.
When you get home, ask the embroiderer if you can use the wool from the Qilin to make thread, and even better, use its cat hair to embroider two small cat-head screens. That way, you can preserve the Qilin's adorable appearance as a cub forever.
After they were finished, one was placed in his study, and the other was sent to Madam Shen's house...
Lady Shen.
Qiu Hao said that Madam Shen was very happy to receive the picture of the roasted duck and thanked her repeatedly. But why didn't she reply with a letter, even just a few words? ...I wonder how Madam Shen is doing these days, and whether she went out to see the lanterns yesterday?
Xie Qi stroked the Qilin's glossy, smooth fur, but his mind was no longer on the cat. The Qilin squinted its eyes in enjoyment, but his mind was filled with thoughts of "How is Madam Shen? How is Madam Shen..."
Seeing that he was holding the cat and lost in thought, completely ignoring her, Ning Yi felt even more lonely. So she simply got up and called for her page to grind ink: "I can't take it anymore, I'm going to write an ode to Peking duck! I'll definitely compile a book of food miscellanea, write down all the delicious food I've ever eaten, and then publish it. It's better to be hungry together than to be hungry alone!"
Wow, what lofty ambitions! If the young master at home knew, he would probably faint from anger.
The young servant boy of the Ning family was speechless. He silently laid out the paper and began grinding ink with a few drops of water.
When the bell rang to signal the start of classes at the academy, everyone reluctantly went to the school for the last two lessons. Finally, the break for the summer vacation arrived. With the long chimes of the bell, the students were like birds released from their cages, eagerly fluttering back to their homes.
As Shen Ji was leaving, he happened to run into the Xie family's carriage. Xie Qi invited him to ride with him and gave him a ride back to the inner city, saving him the trouble of squeezing into a long carriage at the city gate.
The Xie family's carriage was large and tall. Once inside, Shen Ji realized that he only needed to bend down to fit. A table was placed in the middle, with seats on either side. He thanked them and sat down, only to find a "cat seat" opposite him—the small wooden shelf Xie Qi had used to store ancient books. The books were gone, and now it was bound with hemp rope, covered with brocade cushions, and had a small silk quilt. A small cloth curtain painted with cats chasing butterflies hung on the shelf, with a small lacquered wooden plaque engraved with the characters "Qilin" (麒麟). The cat lay inside, lazily yawning.
The cat on the curtain looks exactly like a qilin... Judging from the brushstrokes, it was probably drawn by Ninth Brother himself.
Xie Qi ordered tea for him and gently discussed his studies with him. Shen Ji had learned a lot along the way. Then he heard Shen Ji ask, "In previous years, the county examination was in February and the prefectural examination was in April. But this year, the emperor has issued an edict to 'add examinations,' moving the county examination to August and the prefectural examination to October. Do you want to give it a try?"
This question startled Shen Ji.
At this time, to become a Xiucai (a successful candidate in the county-level imperial examinations), one had to first pass the county-level examination, then the prefectural-level examination, to qualify as a Tongsheng (a student who has passed the lowest level of the imperial examinations). Only after passing the prefectural-level examination could one be called a Xiucai. Although passing the Xiucai examination was only the most insignificant hurdle on the road to the imperial examinations, it was still a very difficult hurdle for ordinary people to overcome in order to leap over the dragon gate.
Shen Ji lowered his head slightly: "I've only been studying for a few days, how can I possibly participate?"
Xie Qi said, “I think you should go. Going to take the exam is not about passing it, but about observing the exam system and experiencing the process firsthand. Although your knowledge is not yet deep enough, you must not be afraid of the exam. After taking it once, you will know what the imperial examination is all about. After taking the exam, you will be less likely to be biased or anxious when you study the Four Books and Five Classics in detail. This is my idea. You should discuss it with your elder sister later.”
Shen Ji listened attentively, nodding thoughtfully, unaware of Xie Qi's slight pause when he mentioned "your elder sister" and his shifting gaze.
After Xie Qi finished speaking, he didn't say anything more. In fact, it wasn't just the county and prefectural examinations; the imperial court had just issued an edict to expedite the examinations, and all the prefectural and county examinations were to be held before winter. Such an urgent schedule of three examinations a year was something that would never have happened before.
The fact that the government expanded the number of candidates for the imperial examinations and even added additional examinations shows that the government is becoming increasingly eager to promote those from humble backgrounds.
Xie Qi had already passed the county and prefectural examinations, but was stuck on the provincial examination due to repeated bad luck. Xie Qi calmly thought that the year before last, he had finished writing an entire essay when his pen suddenly broke, staining the paper with ink, and he didn't have time to rewrite it; the year before that, a soldier delivering charcoal tripped and fell, and the charcoal brazier fell on his desk, burning his exam paper; last year, the examination hall collapsed with a crash. He wondered what new kind of bad luck would come this year?
As he and Shen Ji were both lost in thought, the carriage slowly came to a stop.
Shen Ji snapped out of his daze and figured they must have arrived at the Xie family's gate. He quickly got out of the car, thinking he could walk back home in a minute.
After thanking Xie Qi, he hurriedly got out of the carriage, only to find it parked in the street. Looking up, he saw the large characters "Chen Ji Tangbing Shop" hanging on the signboard. Startled, he turned to thank him, but Xie Qi, carrying the cat, also got out of the carriage.
He stood there for a moment, and his elder sister came out with a big smile: "Ji-ge'er, you're back! You're so early today... Ah, Ninth Brother is here too, you all came back together? Qilin! You've grown so much! You're so cute with that round head, let me hug you, oh dear, why is your belly so big?"
Xie Qi's expression softened immediately. He looked at Shen Miao, who was holding the cat, stepped forward past Shen Ji, and stood beside her. He also reached out to pet the cat and explained in detail, "I noticed it too. I even took it to Wen Shiqi Niang's veterinary medicine shop on Ma Xing Street to have it checked out. The cat and dog doctor said that it doesn't have any problems. The fat on its belly is just from eating too much, which is why it looks big."
Shen Ji inexplicably stepped aside, feeling as if something was amiss, when his elder sister raised her face slightly, her eyes crinkling as she looked at Xie Qi and said, "Ninth Brother, you've come at the perfect time. We were just discussing making Bo Bo Chicken. Ninth Brother, do you eat spicy food? Would you like to have dinner with us?"
"Bo Bo Chicken?"
"Ah...actually...it's somewhat like a cold mixed vegetable dish called 'Bo Xia Gong' [Note], and 'Bo Bo Chicken' is a name I just made up."
"No, this name is very interesting."
"Why don't you stay and eat with us, Ninth Brother? It's kind of you to go out of your way to bring Ji-ge back. By the way, do you need to go home first?"
"No need, Qiuhao, just go back and tell your mother."
"That's great! Ninth Brother, please come in. We're just cutting vegetables to make skewers! Come and see if it suits your taste. I made a cold soup with rattan oil and chili oil. It's the most refreshing thing to eat in the summer. It's spicy and refreshing."
"Okay, I'll help too."
Shen Ji stood there blankly, watching them chatter away, petting the cat as they went inside.
No…what…what happened? Has he suddenly been forgotten?
He slowly turned his head, and Qiu Hao, carrying a book box on his back, smiled at him and cupped his hands in greeting: "Young Master Shen, I'll head back now." Then he boarded the carriage.
The coachman, Zhou Da, patted him on the shoulder, barely suppressing a laugh. Even the Xie family's chestnut horse snorted at him.
After the Xie family's cars had all left, the older sister, carrying a bowl of vegetables, suddenly remembered him. She poked her head out from the doorway connecting the backyard and the front shop and asked in confusion, "Ji-ge'er, what are you still standing there for? Come in quickly!"
Xiangjie also poked her head out from under Chenmiao's arm: "Brother, come in quickly!"
"Here I am!" Shen Ji immediately put the strange feeling from earlier to the back of his mind, picked up his book box, and ran quickly into the house.
He lifted the curtain and ran into the much more spacious backyard, where he was immediately enveloped in the rich aroma of food.
It has the aroma of roast duck, the aroma of soup noodles, and the strong aroma of Sichuan peppercorns.
The familiar and delightful taste instantly relaxed him. He put down his bookcase, washed his hands, and then moved a stool to sit next to Chen Chuan, learning to skewer vegetables with a thin bamboo stick. His older sister brought over more dishes, gently introducing each one to him: the one who talks to the vegetables while chopping is Tang Er, the one busy cooking soup is Fu Xing, and the one sharpening the skewers is A Tao…
As dusk fell, dappled sunlight streamed under the eaves, and bamboo wind chimes tinkled from the corners of the eaves.
He greeted them with great joy, especially Tang Er, who kept talking to him. Then Xiang Jie'er also kept talking to him like they were in a competition, and he was almost too busy to keep up.
So he didn't notice.
Everyone sat in the courtyard, with various chopped vegetables and bamboo skewers in the middle. The elder sister put down a basin of freshly washed vegetables and meat, turned around and went inside to bring a stool over. Xie Qi then casually asked Fuxing to move aside, and then turned to ask the talkative Tang Er to move as well, quickly making room for him.
Before he even noticed, his elder sister had naturally taken her seat next to Xie Qi.
He didn't even notice that Xie Qi, who had been so adept at skewering food when his sister went to wash the vegetables, had suddenly become clumsy and inept, occasionally pricking his hand or dropping vegetables. His sister noticed this, leaned slightly over, took the skewers from his hand, and softly instructed him: "Ninth Brother, when skewering food, start with the firmer ingredients, like a mix of vegetables and meat. First, skewer a piece of taro, then a piece of meat, then a piece of vegetable… Don't skewer them too densely; leave gaps so they soak up the sauce faster…"
The two stood close together, their sleeves touching, their knees occasionally brushing against each other.
Xie Qi's ears were flushed red. He lowered his head, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw a strand of her hair being blown by the wind and falling onto his shoulder.
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