The scholar, holding a folding fan, was as handsome and elegant as a jade-like figure, with a cool aura emanating from his nostrils. He sat down and asked, "What's there to eat?"
She remembered this person. Lan Yamei sneered, "You audacious thing, daring to come here and freeload! I was just wondering where to get some money, and you delivered yourself right to my door." Without thinking twice, she grabbed the man by the collar, lifted him off the bench, and threatened, "You dare to come here again? Then we'll settle all our scores, old and new."
The scholar didn't retaliate, as if he had seen this kind of thing many times before, and asked helplessly, "Boss, what do you mean by this?"
Lan Ya thought to herself, "What do you mean? Don't you know? Stop pretending."
In the past, as soon as the other party showed his face, the original owner would immediately rush to throw herself at him. The other party was shrewd, but never said that he was interested in the girl. He only came to get some wine and meat, and after exchanging a few words with the original owner, the original owner would be distracted and her body would tremble with desire.
"Let's not beat around the bush! I was ignorant before and let you take advantage of me a lot. Now I regret it. You ate and drank from me without paying me back. Now you have to give me back everything, with interest. In short, pay me back!" Lan Ya Mei grabbed the scholar's collar and wouldn't let go.
While cooking wontons, Grandpa Ouyang glanced over and interjected, "Little Lan, I feel like this person doesn't look like the previous one. Could we have made a mistake?"
Aunt Guan observed for a while and also felt it was different. The man before was glib and his eyes were always glued to women's buttocks. Although this man looked the same, he seemed steady and proper.
"Anyone with eyes can see it, but you still can't?" The scholar smiled wryly, lowered his eyes, and lightly brushed Lan Yamei's hand away as easily as flicking dust off a piece of dirt.
To an outsider, the movement appeared extremely light, but Lan Yamei felt an immense pressure. Her hand, inexplicably, felt its force dissipate and was inexplicably thrown back. Anxious, she wondered, "Does this person know martial arts?" Her arrogance immediately diminished.
But he was absolutely certain that it was this face, grinning and even secretly touching the original owner's hand, yet now it was pretending nothing had happened. How could he not be angry and want to continue arguing?
"Young lady, don't rush." Aunt Guan quickly stopped them, whispering a wink, and then apologetically asked the other side, "May I ask, sir, is your name Qiu Kongkong?"
The scholar straightened his clothes before saying dejectedly, "So my brother came by? Where is he?"
"What brother or older brother? Stop pretending. You came over to freeload the day before yesterday, and now you're acting like you don't know me? All the neighbors can testify that you ate a lot, and you didn't pay once. Most importantly, you even touched my hand." Lan Yamei didn't stand for a loss and spoke her mind.
"He's freeloading again! Did he do anything to you?" The scholar looked Lan Ya Mei up and down, then said, "Judging from your condition, nothing should have happened! Sometimes being plain-looking is a good thing, you're lucky. I'll pay you back whatever silver he owes you."
"You!" Lan Ya Mei was so angry at the other person's words that her nose almost twisted. Who did he think he was? Was he implying that because she was ugly, she was safe?! How could this person speak so rudely? He looked several years older than her, and was a scholar; did he forget his brain?
Seeing that Ya-mei was gritting her teeth and unable to speak, Aunt Guan quickly held up three fingers to the man and said with a smile, "Thirty taels! You owe us thirty taels."
Thirty taels! Lan Yamei's eyes widened. That kid had only come three or four times. How dare he ask for thirty taels!
The scholar didn't take it to heart, put down thirty taels of silver, and said, "This kid! He's really good at causing trouble! When I catch you, I'll skin you alive."
Aunt Guan clutched the silver in her hand and said with a grin, "Sir, our grilled skewers with sorghum liquor are the best in this ghost market. Would you like some?"
The scholar patted his pockets, realizing he didn't have much money left, and said somewhat awkwardly, "No, thank you. May I ask if that young man comes here often?"
Thinking the other person had discovered her little scheme, Aunt Guan quickly lied, "He used to come often, but he hasn't come for the last two days. He should be going to Hua Man Lou more often, why don't you go and look for him?"
"Hua Man Lou?" the scholar repeated the place name.
“Yes, yes, it’s definitely Hua Manlou. He has the scent of Night Chrysanthemum on him, which is Hua Manlou’s exclusive fragrance, and you can’t find it anywhere else. Once you enter this city gate, just ask about Hua Manlou, and everyone will know him.” Aunt Guan spoke quickly and directly.
"Thank you." The scholar bowed to Granny Guan and then turned to walk towards the city gate.
"When did you start bragging so fluently? 'Chrysanthemums in the Dark Night Pavilion,' you talk like you've been there! Don't give people wrong directions, what will you do when they come looking for you?" Lan Yamei fiddled with the charcoal fire, still looking somewhat displeased.
"Send them away first, it's a last resort," Aunt Guan said, showing off the silver in her hand.
"Sigh... One lie leads to countless more. Wait, didn't you say you were orphaned and all alone? How do you know about Hua Manlou? Are you hiding something from me?" Lan Yamei finally realized what was going on.
I first met Aunt Guan on a snowy night.
It was a cold night, with a biting north wind blowing. My ears were red from the cold, and only a few stalls in the ghost market were still open. Lan Ya Mei huddled by the charcoal stove, her hair burnt, sniffling.
At that time, Aunt Guan was only wearing an undergarment, her hair was disheveled, and she walked slowly in the heavy snow like a puppet who had lost her soul.
Despite his own poverty, he still gave Aunt Guan a bowl of warm wine. After learning about her situation, he took her in so they could keep each other company.
"This happened so many years ago, why bring it up again?" Aunt Guan ran to the barbecue grill, pretending to be busy with this and that, but not mentioning the old story.
"Fine, you won't tell me then. I won't tell you any secrets from now on. We're no longer on the same page." Lan Yamei still wanted to understand the situation, so she deliberately hit a sore spot and forced her to talk.
Sure enough, Aunt Guan put down her brush, sighed, and said, "I'll tell you everything when we get home after we close up shop tonight, okay?"
"Okay, tell me the truth!"
Grandpa Ouyang just listened, smiled, and busied himself on the charcoal stove.
Just as the two had finished talking, a commotion broke out at the entrance of the Ghost Market.
Aunt Guan, who loved to join in the fun, immediately put her unpleasantness aside and ran over to join the crowd.
Lan Yamei baked some new dishes and served a plate of peanuts and edamame to Grandpa Ouyang.
Just as she returned to the stove, Aunt Guan came back in a panic and whispered, "It's those bastards from the Bridgehead Gang, they've come to collect protection money. They've doubled their pay this year, from 2 taels a month to 2 taels a month."
Protection fees still exist these days? The ghost market is nothing like the city; you can't earn a pittance, but people still try to cut flesh from an ant's leg? It's true that people in every dynasty have made a living this way. They're pulling teeth and scraping, it's eye-opening.
As they were talking, a bald man with a nine-ringed scimitar slung over his shoulder, big eyes, rough features, and a bare upper body with a blue dragon on the left and a white tiger on the right, walked towards them with a group of henchmen wielding spears and clubs.
The eldest brother led the way, followed by the younger brother carrying a bag, swaggering around, and the surrounding stall owners eagerly threw money into the bag.
Before Lan Ya Mei could ask Aunt Guan for details, the person was already close by.
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