Chapter 42
Yunkai didn't believe Yueming hadn't done it on purpose. But he had been walking for a while under the scorching sun when Yuman handed him the bowl of pea flour soaked in papaya vinegar. His mouth was dry now, so he didn't bother to criticize her. He took it and drank a mouthful of the vinegar without even mixing the ingredients.
Seeing this, Yueming hurriedly handed her the remaining half bowl of papaya vinegar he had drunk, and said in the Dai language he had taught her earlier, "First, Jin Nan." Then he pointed to the large earthenware bowl in Yunkai's hand and said, "Then Jin Hao."
Yun Kai took the bowl of papaya vinegar and drank it all in one gulp. He fully affirmed her learning ability and said, "Not bad. You are now good enough to play with the kids on the street."
Yueming was feeling proud that he didn't bother with him. He laughed and turned to Yuman and said loudly, "Madam, please pay the bill."
Yuman was washing dishes. Upon hearing this, she stood up and wiped her hands on the linen towel hanging by the table. She said to Yueming, "Thank you for your patronage, Miss. It's 60 cents. If you return the bamboo tube when you're done, I'll give you five copper coins."
Yue Ming was surprised and asked, "I wanted to ask before, do you still accept copper coins?"
Yuman smiled and said, "Not just copper coins, but dimes, half-coins, silver dollars, and small change are all accepted. Paper money is not accepted."
In Yunxiang's territory, paper money is not as real as heavy silver dollars, and it is not easy to keep. Common people usually use valuable metals to make transactions.
Yueming handed her a silver dollar, and Yuman asked with a smile, "Miss, how would you like your change? Dime or copper?"
Yueming glanced at Yunkai, who was eating heartily, and smiled meaningfully: "You can give this money to the Second Young Master later. I don't know if it will be enough!"
Although Yuman felt strange, how could the Second Young Master eat several bowls of pea flour with only five copper coins? But she didn't say anything, smiled and agreed, and then went on to do her own thing.
Yueming took advantage of Yunkai's inattention and quietly moved to the bicycle by the wall. She gently straightened the bicycle, stepped on it, and pedaled hard. She said to Yunkai, whose back was facing her, "Second Young Master, I'm going back now. Take your time eating."
Yunkai was startled by the sound. "She's here again?" He grabbed his bowl and tried to chase her, but Yueming pedaled away like a monkey. He was so foolish he'd been tricked twice! Yunkai slammed the bowl to the ground in anger. Everyone eating at the stall was terrified by his action, and they all took their bowls and moved their food to the side, fearing they would incur the Second Young Master's bad luck.
Yuman stared at the mess on the ground in amazement, and finally understood what Miss Lan meant when she said she didn't know if it was enough.
Yueming rode his bicycle to the gate of the Tusi Mansion and handed it to the doorman, asking him to take it back to the second young master's courtyard. Not daring to delay for a moment, he ran back to his own courtyard. As soon as he stepped through the gate, he hurriedly shouted to Ai Ye and Ye Hu, "Close the door quickly, close the door quickly."
Seeing the young lady running breathlessly like a dog, Ai Ye and Ye Hu, who were carrying a bucket to water the flowers, were startled. They put down the bucket and ladle and quickly closed the door and bolted it. Feeling unsafe, Ai Ye fetched a stick from somewhere and propped it against the bolt. He clapped his hands and was about to ask Yue Ming what had happened, but he found Yue Ming, his face drenched in sweat, collapsed on the ground with a bunch of things in his arms, laughing.
Ai Ye and Ye Hu looked at each other in bewilderment. Was the young lady so angry at the Second Young Master that she lost her mind? Or had the Second Young Master set something bad on the young lady? (1) How could she laugh like this?
Ye Hu bent down to pull Yue Ming: "Miss, don't sit on the ground. It's all dirt."
Yueming stood up obediently, but she couldn't stop laughing. Ai Ye was so worried watching Yueming's silly smile that she dusted herself off and asked angrily, "Miss, did the Second Young Master play a trick on you again?"
No, no, no, this time your lady has turned the tables! Yueming's eyes sparkled with excitement. She showed the two of them the food in her hand and said, "I brought you some delicious food. Eat while you listen to me."
The two sisters went to get water for Yueming to wash her face, while the other went to get a plate. Yehu wrung out a towel and handed it to Yueming, who took it and wiped her face roughly. Yehu wanted to take the towel and wring it out for her, but Yueming threw the towel into the basin and chased her away, saying, "Go eat yours first. I have to take a shower later. Just wipe yourself for now."
Ai Ye brought a plate and put the pea flour wrapped in banana leaves on it. He untied the hemp rope and smelled the pea flour with the fragrance of peas. His mouth was watering. He mixed it with chopsticks and ate it without adding vinegar.
Yueming pointed to the small bamboo tube and said, "That's vinegar, aren't you going to add it?"
Ai Ye sucked his lips and said, "It tastes better this way."
Yueming smacked his lips and said, "If you don't want it, give it to me. I think it's quite delicious, sweet and sour."
Ye Hu handed the bamboo tube to her. Ai Ye was eager to listen to Yue Ming's story and asked anxiously, "Miss, please tell me what happened when you went out with the Second Young Master. Why are you so happy?"
Yueming pulled out the banana leaf that was blocking the hole, drank two mouthfuls from the bamboo tube, and then began to tell them how she had cleverly and bravely tricked Han Ershu twice today.
Ai Ye and Ye Hu didn't even bother to eat. They just listened with their mouths open as Yue Ming gesticulated and talked about her heroic deeds of the day.
Hearing that the second young master walked five or six miles under the scorching sun today, Ai Ye and Ye Hu felt very relieved and kept praising Yue Ming for a good job.
After being happy and rational, Ye Hu asked worriedly, "If you don't provoke him normally, the Second Young Master will come to you. Now that you are teasing him like this, will the Second Young Master become even more aggressive?"
Ai Ye, who had just laughed so hard that he almost cried like a goose, suddenly became sad again after hearing what his sister said. He advised: "Miss, the second young master has suffered such a great loss and he doesn't know how to take revenge on you. Let's run!"
Yueming nearly choked to death on the papaya vinegar. She felt her two maids were overthinking things. She thought Han Yunkai often acted inappropriately, but he was still magnanimous enough not to argue with the little girl. She had learned two skills from him during this time: shamelessness and self-righteousness. She planned to use them on him as well.
Didn't he want to be good friends with her? If a good friend joked with him, he shouldn't be so petty as to hold a grudge, right?
She said with a nonchalant expression, "Why are you running? Where can you run to? Don't worry, everything will be fine." Then she remembered the clothes Feng Xiaosai sent her today and asked, "Have you finished altering the clothes Secondhand gave me today?"
"It's done." Ai Ye went to the closet and took out the clothes: "Miss, do you want to try them on now?"
Yueming waved her hand, "Try again after dinner." Shaking the two empty bamboo tubes she had drunk, she said regretfully, "I don't know if I can return them tomorrow. How much can I get back from these two bamboo tubes?"
Ai Ye gasped when she heard this: "For these two bamboo tubes, the jelly seller asked you for five copper coins? Why didn't she just rob him?"
Although he had a bad impression of the charming proprietress before, seeing how gentle she was towards the child today, Yueming felt that anyone who was kind to children couldn't be a bad person. And the proprietress had also said that she would refund the money if she returned the child!
So she said objectively: "It's not a sale, it's just like a deposit. Can't I just return it?"
Ai Ye put the clothes back into the closet while chattering, "But what if you don't return them? She'll just give you five copper coins for nothing. There are so many bamboo tubes on this mountain that you can cut them without spending a copper. And she'll charge you five copper coins just to tie a hemp rope around them. Five copper coins can buy you two pieces of roasted bait and you'll still get a penny!"
Yueming was puzzled. Was she wronging the two girls in terms of food, clothing, and other expenses? Otherwise, why was Ai Ye so obsessed with these five copper coins? Isn't it obvious? Ordinary people who can't bear to part with it will definitely return it. Those who don't return it definitely don't care. If they don't care, why do you care whether they spend money or not?
She pointed at the two bamboo tubes and said to Ai Ye, "These two are yours as a reward. If you return the five copper coins, they will be yours. This will save you from nagging."
"Really?" Ai Ye was about to reach out to take it with a joyful look on her face, but Ye Hu glared at her fiercely, causing her to withdraw her hand in disappointment.
Ai Ye said to Yue Ming, "How can we go out casually while you are in the mansion? Let's give these two to the little mute who drives the carriage! He can't serve you as closely as we do in the outer courtyard, so his food and clothing will always be worse. This child is not very willing to spend money, so these few coins are just to supplement his income."
Yueming had never ridden a carriage before and had only met the little mute once. Curious, he asked Yehu, "He can obviously speak, but he has a big tongue. Why do you call him a mute?"
Ye Hu laughed and said, "It's because he has a big tongue and doesn't like to talk. Whenever his father gets drunk, he calls him a dumb person. Everyone follows his lead and calls him that, so much so that they forget his real name."
Yueming felt that this father was truly awful. Instead of comforting his own child, he scolded him harshly. She felt pity for the child and said to Yehu, "Please take good care of him. If we don't finish all the snacks and fruits here, please send them to him."
Talking about other people's fathers, she also missed her own father. She leaned her head against the window, looked at the clouds, and sighed. Where is Dad now? Will he be able to come back for the Dragon Boat Festival? Did my senior brother take good care of him along the way?
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