Chapter 13

Xiao Wanling reassured, “Don’t worry, it sounds like a servant boy from Madam Zhang’s household.”

Shen Qing recognized the voice of the gatekeeper from the Zhang residence. His heart tightened. Were they here to snatch her away? Whether it was the Zhang family or the Li family, if they dared lay a hand on her, he’d throw them out himself.

Without showing a trace of emotion, he followed Xiao Wanling outside and stood beside her.

Xiao Wanling asked, “Did Madam Zhang send you?”

The servant nodded and took a letter from his chest, holding it out with both hands.

Shen Qing took the letter and held it firmly. “I’ll see you off.”

The servant chuckled, “You must be joking. I still have to report back to my lady.”

Xiao Wanling said, “You’ve come all this way and haven’t even had a cup of tea. “At least drink some tea.”

The servant patted the gourd hanging from his waist and smiled, “I have brought my own! I won’t disturb you further.” With that, he mounted his horse and rode off.

Shen Qing bolted the door and handed the letter to Xiao Wanling.

The two returned to their room and opened the letter under the candlelight. Madam Zhang had written a long and flowery message over two full pages. First, she expressed praise and gratitude, then mentioned the Prince of Jin’s mother, Madam Ji. She had once been a concubine of Lord Zhu, who unexpectedly ascended the throne. Madam Ji, due to her son’s title as Prince of Jin, had followed him to his fiefdom in Jin City.

There were many traditional characters in the letter. Xiao Wanling could only half-read, half-guess her way through, but the gist was clear: the newly arrived Prince of Jin lacked a chef in his household, and they were asking if she would be willing to take the position.

Xiao Wanling was quite content with her current life. These were chaotic times; she had no desire to be the personal chef of some noble. She thought of writing a reply, but realizing she’d have to buy paper, ink, a brush, and an inkstone, she decided against it. Perhaps Madam Zhang was simply passing along the message; she could express her thanks next time she was in town.

The grapes hanging by the window had dried. She rinsed the dust off them and soaked them, planning to knead the dough with them the next morning.

Noticing Shen Qing had developed a cold sore on his lip, she decided to brew some cooling herbal tea using licorice root she’d bought and wild chrysanthemums and honeysuckle she had dried herself.

After bathing, Xiao Wanling did the laundry and hung the clothes out in the yard. The clothesline sagged from the weight, so she used a wooden pole to prop it up.

Before dawn the next day, Shen Qing got up and went outside to collect the clothes. Seeing the line had loosened and the clothes were nearly touching the ground, he retied it and moved it higher.

Then he went to loosen the ox’s rope so it could graze on grass farther away. After that, he loaded firewood onto the oxcart, boiled water, fetched more water, and started grinding the soaked rice flour.

Xiao Wanling woke up and glanced at the window. The sky was still dim. She hurriedly got up and dressed.

When she opened the door, she saw Shen Qing mixing rice paste. She rushed over and took the spatula from him. “I overslept!”

Shen Qing smelled a faint lotus fragrance from her. Today, she had her hair tied up behind her head and wrapped in a light purple cloth, held with the wooden hairpin he had bought her. She wore a red jacket and a ginger-yellow skirt. It was the first time he’d seen her dressed so brightly, and she looked even more beautiful.

Xiao Wanling paused and wiped her face with her sleeve. “Do I have something on my face?”

Shen Qing quickly replied, “No! You look really beautiful.”

Who doesn’t like compliments? Xiao Wanling smiled sincerely.

Shen Qing finished loading everything onto the oxcart and even watered the vegetable patch.

Xiao Wanling recalled the starry sky from last night and guessed today would be another scorching day. She thought the clothes might fade if left in the sun too long, so she went to collect them. Not quite reaching them, she stood on tiptoe, stretching.

Suddenly, her body lifted off the ground. A pair of strong hands wrapped around her waist.

Shen Qing asked, “High enough now?”

Xiao Wanling replied, “Yes!” She quickly took down the clothes and landed steadily on the ground.

Shen Qing said, “Next time, just ask me.”

Xiao Wanling hesitated. That felt a bit too intimate, but his strength really was impressive. While she was still spacing out, Shen Qing had already climbed onto the oxcart, giving her an innocent look.

Xiao Wanling shook her head. Maybe she was overthinking it. He was always respectful and never forced anything.

Now that the mountain path was repaired, it took less than fifteen minutes to reach the teahouse.

The freshly brewed tea was cooled in water baths, with bamboo tubes already filled with grass jelly and syrup.

Xiao Wanling poured Shen Qing a cup of cooling tea. “This is to reduce internal heat.”

Shen Qing held the cup and grinned foolishly. Just thinking about her made his heart feel like it was filled with honey until an eyesore appeared at the teahouse.

Chen Gui loitered around the stall, craning his neck to see under the bamboo curtain and mesh cloth.

Shen Qing asked coldly, “Buying tea? If not, get lost.”

Chen Gui chuckled. “I thought you two were out of business! Well, I rented the stall right next to yours. We’ll be seeing each other a lot, so be polite.”

Xiao Wanling set down her cup, puzzled. “You’re setting up a teahouse here? Aren’t you from Dayan Village?”

Wasn’t the commute inconvenient? Why not sell in his own village?

Chen Gui raised his chin. “Yep! I even paid the taxes.”

He had tasted Xiao Wanling’s rice cakes, bought at a high price, and thought they were bland and hard. People praising her in front of him were just trying to get cheaper tea and snacks. Did they think he couldn’t tell?

Since he was now competing with her, Xiao Wanling quickly reconsidered—this was already a done deal. Perhaps more stalls would turn the place into a proper market in the future.

She pulled Shen Qing to sit down. Shen Qing gave Chen Gui a cold glance, then sat and ate the rice cakes while sipping the tea she made especially for him; his irritation started easing.

Chen Gui saw they weren’t getting angry and felt bored. He paced to the left of the teahouse, measuring the space with his steps. Standing tall, he looked off into the distance and loudly said, “Why haven’t the builders arrived yet?”

Coincidentally—or not—Xiao Wanling’s brick and tile delivery was also scheduled for today.

A group of workers passed by the teahouse. “Madam Xiao, you haven’t sold tea for a few days. Everyone misses it!”

Xiao Wanling smiled and explained, “I had something to take care of. So the orders for tea and snacks were delayed by two days.”

The lean uncle grinned. “That’s great! A one-day delay was fine. Shen Qing even delivered rice cakes and tea to us!”

Xiao Wanling replied, “Consider it as a gift. It’s my fault for not setting up. How were the snacks the past few days?”

The lean uncle stole a glance at Shen Qing and mumbled, “Not bad.” He walked off, munching rice cakes. After eating Xiao Wanling’s, Shen Qing’s tasted like wax.

Customers came and went in a steady stream. Chen Gui was getting bitter watching. He stared down the road like a stone, waiting for his wife.

“Moo~”

At the end of the road, an oxcart appeared, piled high with goods. Chen Gui clapped his hands—then winced in pain. “They’re here!”

Xiao Wanling packed up rice cakes and handed them to Aunt Wu. “Auntie, please deliver a message. I’ll bring lunch, tea, and snacks to the tea fields.”

Aunt Wu grinned. “No problem! You can relax.” Just thinking that she didn’t have to eat those awful rice cakes today, her steps became lighter.

Steward Sang passed by and caught the scent of the rice cakes. He turned back, surprised. “Madam Xiao, you’re back?”

Xiao Wanling turned and replied politely, “Just got back. Thank you for thinking of me.”

Steward Sang replied gruffly, “That’s great.” He glanced at Chen Gui, then happily hummed a tune as he walked toward the mulberry fields.

Far away, Xue Cui frowned, tearing up foxtail grass by the roadside and glaring at Xiao Wanling, trying to kill her with her gaze.

Shen Qing shot her a warning look, and she bolted in fear.

Whether by coincidence or design, Chen Gui stuck out his foot, making Xue Cui trip, and she fell flat.

Her basket of tea and food tumbled out, hitting her in the back of the head. She got up, spitting dirt, her clothes covered in food and leaves. She burst into tears, rubbing her eyes and smearing dirt across her face.

Workers passing by saw it all. They glanced between Shen Qing and Xiao Wanling, but no one noticed the true culprit.

Jiang Ting heard the crying and pushed through the crowd to help Xue Cui up, brushing the dust off her. “What happened?”

Xue Cui cried even harder. To lose face in front of her crush and a girl she looked down on, she wanted to die!

Chen Gui laughed so hard he doubled over, pointing at her. “Hahahaha! And you call yourself a lady?”

Shen Qing told Xiao Wanling, “It was Chen Gui who tripped her.” Strange, I thought they were on the same side. Why did he target her?”

Jiang Ting shielded Xue Cui and shouted at Chen Gui, “You call yourself a man? Laughing at someone else’s misfortune?”

Chen Gui’s smile vanished. He stomped over to Jiang Ting. “What did you say? You think you can lecture me?”

Jiang Ting stood tall and unafraid. “Instead of causing trouble, why not try making tea and snacks people actually want to eat? Even dogs wouldn’t touch your stuff!”

The onlookers started muttering.

“Picking on women? That’s really tough of you.”

“She’s right. It tastes awful. What business does he have selling anything?”

Humiliated in front of so many people, by a woman, no less, angered Chen Gui. He raised his sleeves, ready to fight.

Just then Xiao Wanling nudged Shen Qing’s arm.

Shen Qing walked over, grabbed Chen Gui’s arm, and gave it a light push. Chen Gui stumbled back two steps, his face red with anger. “Shen Qing, what are you doing? Everyone’s watching!”

Shen Qing dragged him off a bit before letting go. “Don’t block my business.”

Jiang Ting gave Shen Qing a grateful nod, then helped the miserable Xue Cui back to the village to change.

Chen Gui opened his mouth but thought better of it. No use getting hurt now. Just then, the oxcart finally neared. He jumped up and waved. “What took you so long? You’re late!”

The two drivers looked at each other, confused. “Who’s this guy?” they said in unison, both shaking their heads.

Chen Gui started doubting himself, but with so many eyes on him, he had to save face. He walked over and grabbed their sleeves. “I placed the tile order yesterday. Let’s get moving—daylight’s wasting.”

The drivers thought the teahouse in Qishan Village matched the order and began unloading bricks and tiles.

The dust flying everywhere made it hard to boil tea or bake snacks, so Xiao Wanling and Shen Qing packed up and returned home to prepare food. They would then bring the prepared tea and snacks to the teahouse before lunch.

Unloading took two full hours. The workers asked Chen Gui to sign and pay the remaining balance so they could leave.

Then, in the distance, two more oxcarts appeared, also loaded with supplies. Children from the village ran circles around the carts out of curiosity.

Chen Gui looked from one set of deliverymen to the next, then withdrew his hand just as he was about to sign. He wiped his fingers on his pants.

The two sets of deliverymen stared at each other. “Whose order are you delivering?”

“Madam Xiao’s place.”

“Madam Xiao’s place.”

They were delivering to the same customer. The earlier pair turned to look at Chen Gui.

He grew uneasy. “What about the builders I hired?”

The workers glared. “So you’re not even the stall owner, and you’ve been bossing us around?”

One of the later drivers said, “I know where Madam Xiao and Shen Qing live. I’ll go fetch them. You keep watch over the goods.”

Chen Gui’s face turned green, then pale. He shook his sleeves and left. All four carts of bricks and tiles belonged to Madam Xiao. Then why hadn’t she said a word before, letting him embarrass himself?

At the Shen home, Shen Qing was building a cabinet when he saw the Zhang residence’s servant approaching again. His face darkened. He turned and went back inside, pretending not to see.

Cultural Notes:

• • Stone Waiting for Wife: A metaphorical term for someone constantly watching or waiting obsessively. Used humorously here.