In the night, beside flowed the shallow waters of the river, and though the evening breeze was cool, holding a bowl of sweet, smooth syrup in my hands, its steamy heat hit my face. Taking a small sip, the rich warmth spread from my lips and teeth down my throat to my feet, and I didn’t feel cold at all.
Hua Xiaomai’s mood soared with the idea that suddenly popped into her head, and she stared intently at Grandma Sun’s syrup stall with wide eyes.
What chef doesn’t dream of owning their own restaurant? The place needn’t be large, nor the decor extravagant, and it wouldn’t even matter if it wasn’t always full of guests. Just being able to see the diners enjoying the als she painstakingly prepared brought a satisfying sense of pleasure.
Moreover, with good cooking skills, one needn’t worry about a lack of custors, and in the long run, inco would beco more stable, wouldn’t it?
With Hua Xiaomai’s current financial resources, she naturally couldn’t afford to rent a space yet, but with those ten Silver, setting up such a small stall would surely be more than enough.
The more she thought about it, the more excited she beca, her cheeks and ears flushing red. Several thoughts spun through her mind in a mont, and she couldn’t make up her mind. Guan Rong, who had been sitting next to her and wanted to continue sharing her feelings, turned her head and saw Hua Xiaomai foolishly daydreaming. Sohow, the words that reached her lips couldn’t co out, and she had to swallow them back with a sense of loss.
The two of them silently ate their syrup, and the villagers coming to buy snacks were also mostly very quiet, occasionally whispering a few words. During this peaceful mont, a disturbance suddenly arose in front of the syrup stall.
...
Wen Huaren felt very desolate.
He had passed the imperial examination at the age of thirteen or fourteen and thought his career would be smooth sailing from there. Yet, failing the provincial examination twice in a row plunged his life into increasing hardship. His parents had died early, his elder sister had married far away, and with no one to take care of, and lacking even the strength to truss a chicken, he watched his living conditions deteriorate day by day.
In the long cold nights, most villagers enjoyed the warmth and joy of family, while he had to study by the window, unable to afford charcoal for the heater, his hands and feet ice-cold as if they weren’t his own.
Most importantly, for several days he had only nourished himself with coarse flatbreads and a little pickled vegetable, leaving a taste as bland as plain water in his mouth, fervently wishing for a bowl of steaming soup to comfort his whole body.
The news that Grandma Sun had co to Fire Knife Village to set up a stall spread quickly. Wen Huaren’s ho was not far from the riverbank, and through the window, he could easily see the elderly, stooped figure and the steaming pot in front of her. He was imdiately tempted, his mind filled with the idea of "getting a bowl of syrup", and couldn’t concentrate on reading. He simply jumped up and hurriedly ran out.
"Grandma, I want a bowl of red bean and coix seed soup." Finally standing in front of the syrup stand, Wen Huaren felt a surge of excitent, swallowed hard, and hurriedly reached for his money pouch, "How much?"
"Six copper coins," Grandma Sun said, smiling warmly at him.
"Six copper coins..." Wen Huaren opened his pouch and shook it, pitifully only five copper coins fell out. Feeling discontent, he frantically searched all over his body but couldn’t find another coin.
"But Grandma, I only have five copper coins..." his heart ached as he blinked innocently at the old woman in front of him, muttering softly.
Unfortunately, Grandma Sun was hard of hearing and didn’t catch what he said at first, so she furrowed her brows and leaned in closer, "What? Five Nuts? That’s a mooncake filling, only available on August 15th!"
"I said I have five copper coins!" Wen Huaren gathered his courage, raised his voice, and said with a forlorn face, "Could you sell a bowl anyhow? I really want it..."
His loud shout drew everyone’s attention, whether they were sitting at tables or standing under trees waiting, all turned to look at him, whispering among themselves.
It was exactly then that Hua Xiaomai snapped back to reality. Glancing up, she saw Wen Huaren bargaining with Grandma Sun, his face wrinkled as if about to drip with sorrow.
"What’s wrong?" she asked Guan Rong, "Isn’t he that ’self-hanging southeast branch’?"
Rembering what she had seen in the low woods, Guan Rong also found it sowhat amusing, snorted with laughter, cleared her throat, and recounted the whole event.
"How can this be allowed?" Hua Xiaomai imdiately raised an eyebrow, "Grandma Sun has to co out and do business late at night, it’s not easy, if everyone acted like him, taking advantage so shalessly, she’d certainly be running at a loss!"
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