Chapter 22 Amidst Peril, Bonds Arise (Part 5) The shopkeeper is a good person! ...
The night was as dark as ink, but the long street outside Qiankunfang was brightly lit.
The bloodshed and clamor of the arena seemed to be separated by an invisible door, leaving only the evening breeze carrying the lively atmosphere of the marketplace.
Ye Yixiang took a deep breath. The air was filled with the aroma of baked flatbread, the rich flavor of stewed meat, and a faint, sweet scent of roasted chestnuts, which finally diluted the nauseating smell of blood in her lungs.
Uroju's stomach rumbled, its sound particularly clear in the relatively quiet street corner.
Her ears turned bright red with embarrassment, and she instinctively hid the small, thin figure behind her even further. Ye Yixiang lowered her eyes and looked at the child who was tightly clutching the hem of Wuluozhu's clothes.
He was about seven or eight years old, but his height only reached Wuluozhu's chest. He wore a coarse cloth short jacket that was obviously ill-fitting and faded from washing. He lowered his head, and only a whorl of hair and a thin, fragile neck could be seen, as if it would break with the slightest bend.
"Hungry?" Ye Yixiang softened her voice, trying to sound gentle. She knew that she probably didn't look well at the moment; the thrilling events that had just transpired and the unpredictable attitude of the Master of Zheyu Pavilion still left her unsettled.
Upon hearing the sound, the child trembled violently. Instead of looking up, he shrank his entire body behind Wuluozhu, revealing only one eye. He glanced timidly and quickly at Ye Yixiang, his eyes filled with the fear of a small animal.
Urozhu quickly shielded her younger brother and answered for him, "Sister, we...we're not hungry yet." Before she could finish speaking, her stomach rumbled again, completely betraying her.
Ye Yixiang understood immediately; the two children probably hadn't eaten properly in a long time. She didn't ask any more questions, but said softly, "Let's go find something to eat first. What would you like to eat?" Her gaze swept across the bustling street.
Along both sides of the long street, the shouts of vendors rose and fell, weaving together a vibrant ode to the everyday life of ordinary people.
"Freshly steamed meat buns! Thin skin, generous filling, and eighteen pleats!"
"Wontons! Hot, fresh pork wontons! The broth has been simmered with an old hen all day!"
"Sugar painting! Sugar blowing! They're beautiful and delicious!"
"A flatbread from the Western Regions! It's fragrant, crispy, and full of sesame seeds!"
The various aromas became even more intense and intertwined.
Uluzhu's eyes involuntarily followed a child running past, laughing and playing with a candied hawthorn skewer in hand, until the bright red fruit disappeared into the crowd. Only then did she reluctantly look away and whisper, "Sister, just eat...eat wontons." The child behind her nodded very slightly, still not daring to look up.
Ye Yixiang noticed the child secretly swallowing. A pang of sadness struck her, and without a word, she grabbed Wuluozhu's wrist: "Just eating wontons isn't enough. Today... it was a close call, so we should eat something good to calm our nerves."
She led the two to a wonton stall with a spacious canopy and many customers, then went straight to a steamed bun shop next door that was brightly lit. "Boss, six meat buns, the kind with thin skin and lots of filling," she said in a clear voice, with a deliberately relaxed tone.
"Alright! Please wait a moment, young lady, this basket will be ready soon!" The owner, wearing a greasy apron, spoke in a loud voice, deftly lifting the lid of the steamer. Instantly, an even more surging plume of white steam, carrying a rich aroma of meat, rushed out, almost engulfing everyone.
Uroju and the child behind her both involuntarily took a deep breath. The child even tiptoed slightly, as if trying to see more clearly, but then quickly withdrew as if burned.
Ye Yixiang paid with copper coins and took the piping hot meat buns wrapped in oiled paper. The warmth seeped through the paper and soothed her slightly cool fingertips, dispelling some of the chill in her heart. She first took two and handed them to Wuluozhu, then took two more, bent slightly, and offered them to the boy who had been hiding behind his sister.
"Here, this is for you." She spoke very softly, "Be careful, it's hot."
The boy suddenly raised his head, revealing a pale, thin face with large, sunken eyes due to fear and malnutrition. He looked at the plump, soft buns in front of him, which emitted an enticing aroma, then glanced quickly at Ye Yixiang, his eyes filled with an incredulous longing. Instead of taking them, he shrank back behind Wuluozhu.
Wuluozhu quickly took the buns, stuffed one into her younger brother's hand, and whispered, "Wuleci, quickly thank your sister."
The child clutched the warm bun tightly, as if grasping at a lifeline, and whispered, "Thank...thank you, sister."
"No need to thank me, eat up." Ye Yixiang straightened up, took a steamed bun for herself, and took a small bite. The dough was soft, the filling was plump, and the hot soup instantly filled her mouth, making it fresh and delicious. She was indeed hungry.
The three of them sat down at the wonton stall and ordered three bowls of fresh pork wontons, one large and two small. While waiting, Wuleci held the buns in both hands, eating them in small, precious bites, glancing around cautiously after each bite, as if afraid someone would snatch them away. Wuluozhu ate a little faster, but her demeanor remained refined; only the eager gleam in her eyes betrayed her hunger.
Ye Yixiang placed her untouched bun onto the empty plate in front of Wuleci. Wuleci was stunned for a moment, staring blankly at the extra bun, then looked up at Ye Yixiang, his big eyes filled with confusion.
"Eat up, it's all yours." Ye Yixiang smiled.
The steaming hot wontons were served quickly.
Bright green scallions and a few golden drops of oil float on the clear broth, while thin-skinned wontons bob gently, releasing an enticing aroma.
Uroju blew on the soup, carefully took a sip, and a satisfied expression immediately appeared on her face.
Following his sister's example, Wuleci first cautiously licked the spoon, and only after finding it wasn't hot did he take small sips. As the warm food went down his throat, his tense shoulders and back seemed to relax a little.
Ye Yixiang looked at them, her heart filled with mixed emotions. Just now, inside Qiankun Workshop, wasn't she also a pawn, a chip in a gamble?
However, she was far luckier than the shadowy figures in the arena, or those gamblers who lost everything, for she encountered an… unfathomable “old friend.” Zhe Yu’s meaningful gaze, his words “next time”… were like a veil of mystery, lingering in her heart.
“Sister,” Urozhu’s voice interrupted her thoughts, her tone filled with gratitude and lingering fear, “I really owe you so much today. If it weren’t for you, I… I really don’t know what I would have done.” As she spoke, her eyes reddened again, and she reached out to hug her younger brother’s thin shoulders tightly.
Wuleci trembled slightly, forgetting even to eat the wontons, and simply leaned close to her sister in dependence.
Ye Yixiang put down her spoon and gently patted Wuluozhu's hand: "It's all in the past. What are your plans for the future?"
Urozhu wiped her eyes. "Of course we'll follow our sister. Our parents are dead. If our sister doesn't want us...we..."
Although she took someone away today, she might already be part of someone else's scheme. What role did that Jade Folding Pavilion Master play? Was that "old friend" a real person, or the beginning of another, more dangerous game?
She subconsciously touched her wrist, where a fine white jade bracelet had once adorned, but now it was bare. Though she hadn't truly lost, the New Year's Eve promise… the scenery beyond the Great Wall… what exactly would the price be? She had no idea at this moment. The shopkeeper's thoughts were more unfathomable than the deepest sea.
"How could I not want you?" Ye Yixiang suppressed her doubts and unease. The most important thing right now was to comfort the two children. "You two should settle down with me first. There will always be a way."
Seeing that Ye Yixiang's expression was not good, Wuluozhu assumed that the Qiankun Fangzhu had made things difficult for her, and quickly asked with concern, "Sister, did that Qiankun Fangzhu say something unpleasant to you? Or perhaps..."
Ye Yixiang smiled and shook her head, interrupting her: "No, he didn't make things difficult for me. He was just... a little tired."
Wu Leci, who had been silently eating wontons, suddenly looked up and whispered, "The keeper is a very good person. He takes in some starving refugees and unwanted children."
Upon hearing this, Urozhu pinched his ear in exasperation and scolded, "What do you know! What kind of good person could he be? He's just trying to make money off this! I shouldn't have gone with my sister to rescue you; I shouldn't have let you stay in that wolf's den!"
Wuleci shrank back in pain, but dared not argue with her sister, only rubbing her ears in grievance.
As they were talking, a sharp, piercing cry of a woman suddenly broke the silence of the night.
"My child! My child! Has anyone seen my child?!"
The sound was shrill and desperate, like the mournful cry of a wounded lone bird in the cold night. Ye Yixiang involuntarily looked in the direction of the sound and saw a woman in a tattered red dress, her hair disheveled, stumbling through the crowd. The bright red of her dress was jarringly bright, standing out starkly against the night, adding to the overall sense of desolation.
The woman looked like a bride, but she was disheveled and emaciated, her makeup long gone, revealing a haggard face. Her eyes were bloodshot and red, and she was acting erratically, crying and frantically grabbing at passersby, who all scrambled to avoid her as if she were some kind of plague.
The proprietress served the steamed buns, and Ye Yixiang seized the opportunity to ask, "Auntie, who is that woman? Why does she look like that?"
The proprietress sighed and lowered her voice, saying, "Alas... she is a famous madwoman in the neighborhood named Jinniang. She was originally a pitiful person. She was a qin player at Qiankun Workshop. She played the qin extremely well and was also very beautiful. Back then, countless men would spend a fortune just to see her."
"Later, she redeemed herself from her servitude for a man, hoping to elope with him. Unfortunately, she met the wrong person and was swindled out of all her money, and she also became pregnant. When the man saw that she was no longer of any use to him, he left her."
A note from the author:
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I'm hungry and want to eat wontons. My mouth is watering as I type this.
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