The boy was stunned for quite a while before stammering, “Lychee paste… lychee paste is mainly made from dark plums, with some ginger juice…”
Fortunately, before Granny Wang could become too troubled, Zheng Biaotou introduced another broker.
He was surnamed Shou, known as Shou Broker, but he looked like a fat man—kind-faced and gentle-eyed, somewhat resembling the Maitreya Buddha, with a round face and a large belly.
As soon as he arrived, he greeted Granny Wang with a beaming smile. Unlike the glib-tongued people they had encountered earlier, who eagerly exaggerated the places they were about to visit, he greeted everyone from Granny Wang to Chen Kuo Cang. Even Yuan Niang was cheerfully acknowledged.
But compared to the previous unreliable broker, Yuan Niang disliked this one even more.
She believed some people were naturally kind and amiable, but too much of a good thing was not good. This Shou Broker gave her a feeling of overly exaggerated kindness, as if it were put on.
So when Chen Yuanniang and Granny Wang got into the sedan chair, and Madam Cen and Chen Kuo Cang boarded the one behind, as they set off together to look at the houses, Yuan Niang leaned close to Granny Wang, her dark eyes darting around, and whispered, “I don’t like him. He looks like he’d deceive people.”
Granny Wang pinched her rosy, tender cheek and chuckled, lowering her voice as well. “I know, I don’t like him either. But you can’t judge things by just one side. As long as you have a plan in mind, it might not be a bad thing. Just wait and see.”
Sure enough, the two houses they looked at next were better than the ones shown by the previous skinny broker. It wasn’t that they were all-around superior, but they didn’t have those glaring flaws, like being next to a coffin shop or surrounded by brothels. However, the other conditions weren’t as outstanding as the previous ones either.
They were passable at first glance, but nothing particularly stood out.
After viewing two houses, Granny Wang wasn’t very satisfied.
As the sun gradually set in the west and the drowsiness of the afternoon crept in, Yuan Niang had lost her earlier excitement. She was as listless as vegetables in November.
When the sedan chair passed by Zhouqiao, Yuan Niang perked up a bit because she saw a vendor selling lychee paste. After someone bought it, the stall owner would mix it with water and add shaved ice. The color was dark with a hint of rose red, resembling the hue of lychee shells, and it smelled sweet and sour.
A country girl like Yuan Niang had never seen such a beautiful and fragrant cold drink.
She had never even seen lychees before, but she had heard the story of the plump imperial consort of the Tang Dynasty from low-quality storytellers at the market. Aside from the lustful old emperor, she remembered how beautiful the plump consort was, how she loved bathing, and how delicious lychees were.
Even the consort, who had tasted all the delicacies of the mountains and seas, loved lychees, so their flavor must be amazing!
She had even secretly discussed with her little friends what lychees tasted like.
They must be sweet!
Much, much sweeter than malt candy.
And then…
She couldn’t think of anything else because the sweetest thing they had ever tasted was malt candy.
Because of this, Yuan Niang had a dream one night. She dreamed she had become the plump consort, and just as she was about to taste the lychees, she turned into a horse transporting them. She tried to twist her horse head to secretly eat the lychees, but just as she was about to reach the basket, she died of exhaustion?
When she woke up, she found Grandma calling her to get up.
Even though she was filled with resentment, she had to swallow it back when she saw the fierce-looking Grandma. Pouting, she tidied her bedding while mourning the lychees that had almost been within her reach.
Now that she finally had a chance to encounter them, how could Yuan Niang not be tempted?
But she glanced up at Grandma sitting beside her, eyes closed in repose yet unconsciously wearing a stern expression, clearly in a foul mood, and decisively suppressed her craving. She had no intention of crossing Grandma when she was upset—compared to food, her own safety mattered more.
Anyway, the stall was right there. Along the way from Zhouqiao, she had seen many vendors selling chilled drinks, some advertising Ke Shui, though they all looked much the same. She could come back to buy some when she had free time.
Preoccupied with thoughts of lychee paste, Yuan Niang showed little enthusiasm as they continued viewing houses.
This time, however, the area they entered was noticeably livelier than the previous two. Located in Dunyi Ward near Zhouqiao, the entire street was lined with shops of all kinds—from roadside inns and Chasi to perfumed bathhouses marked by teapots hanging at their entrances—offering everything one might need in daily life.
In front of each storefront were numerous street vendors. Some carried two wooden boxes, with a pot added to their shoulder poles if they sold food, fires burning beneath with wood. Others simply spread coarse cloth on the ground, displaying their wares—delicate needlework or even rough hemp ropes.
The place was bustling and full of life, perfect for doing business. Not only Granny Wang but even Yuan Niang couldn’t help thinking so.
Finally, Shou Broker led them to a closed storefront. Yuan Niang stepped out of the sedan and looked around. To the left was a medical clinic, and to the right, an alleyway that likely led to the back doors of the neighboring houses.
Shou Broker guided them through the alley, past tall white walls, to a small side door. He took out a palm-sized key and unlocked the copper lock.
Just then, a vendor carrying a wooden box and selling Ke Shui stopped nearby. A few children around ten years old, likely from families in the alley, gathered around, waiting to pay for their drinks.
If she could resist earlier, now with the Ke Shui stall right before her, Yuan Niang could no longer suppress her craving for a delicious cold drink, especially her obsession with lychee.
She stared blankly for a moment, falling two or three steps behind Granny Wang and the others.
Finally, as Granny Wang turned to see what she was doing, Yuan Niang mustered her courage and whispered timidly, “Grandma, I want to drink this.”
Unexpectedly, Granny Wang showed no anger at all. She responded casually, even pulling twenty copper coins from her money pouch, beckoning Yuan Niang over and handing her the money.
Granny Wang patted Yuan Niang’s head. “Go ahead.”
Then she turned to the younger Chen Kuocang. “Xi Lang, do you want some?”
Chen Kuocang shook his head. He had long passed the age of indulging in cravings. Instead, he was worried that Shou Broker might try to cheat his family and felt he needed to keep an eye on things.
So Yuan Niang hurried over to the stall, clutching the copper coins, feeling nervous due to her lack of worldly experience. But she wasn’t one to shy away. She widened her eyes and declared loudly, “I want a bowl of lychee paste!”
The vendor wouldn’t mock a customer bringing business—whether loud or soft, anyone bringing copper coins was welcome!
“Coming right up! That’ll be twelve coins per bowl,” the vendor replied just as cheerfully.
Yuan Niang’s eyes widened in delight. Lychee paste sounded like it was made from lychees—could it really be so cheap? Truly, Bianjing was a place of abundance, where even expensive lychees became affordable here.
Filled with joy, she waited eagerly for her bowl of Ke Shui, watching the vendor’s every move intently.
Since others had arrived first, the vendor prepared their portions first. Yuan Niang noticed that the most popular item was Dou’er Water, a dark, murky bowl that was pre-chilled in large batches. Whenever someone bought it, he would pour a bowlful. It was also cheap—five coins per bowl.
However, not everyone used the vendor’s coarse pottery bowls. A round-faced young lady, about Yuan Niang’s age, held a slightly more finely crafted porcelain bowl, which also appeared a bit larger than the coarse pottery ones. The vendor filled it nearly to the brim for her.
Coincidentally, after the round-faced young lady’s bowl was poured, it was Yuan Niang’s turn.
The vendor retrieved a round-bellied porcelain jar from somewhere in the wooden box carried on his shoulder pole, scooped out half a ladle, diluted it with water, then sprinkled some crushed ice. Once the bowl felt cool to the touch, it was ready.
This bowl of lychee paste Ke Shui, priced at twelve coins, ended up in Chen Yuanniang’s hands.
The vendor was eager to set up his stall ahead and wasn’t worried about his bowl being taken, so he simply instructed Yuan Niang to return the bowl to the round-faced young lady after drinking, as he would collect it later. Yuan Niang then learned that the round-faced young lady was the granddaughter of the Xu Family Medical Shop next to the house Grandma and the others were viewing.
Yuan Niang wasn’t timid by nature, but being new here, she couldn’t help feeling restrained. Thus, she merely nodded at the round-faced young lady, suppressing her usual demeanor to smile demurely and shyly with pursed lips.
The round-faced young lady, however, grinned openly with a bright smile, revealing neat, white teeth—clearly indicating she brushed her teeth or chewed willow twigs daily. Given Bianjing’s prosperity, the former seemed far more likely.
Yuan Niang instantly felt a liking for her.
In the village, many were still struggling for basic sustenance, rarely having spare time to chew willow twigs, let alone buy those bothersome toothbrushes. Consequently, their teeth were yellow when they spoke, and older folks had blackened, hollow teeth, with many starting to lose them by forty or fifty.
Because of this difference, villagers often gossiped behind Yuanniang’s family’s back, calling them pretentious.
However, Yuan Niang’s girlfriends were influenced and later began chewing willow twigs, especially after Wu Taoniang boasted about her city cousins using toothbrushes daily and even gifted her a bone-handled toothbrush. The other girls unanimously saved up to buy toothbrushes and tooth powder.
Of course, a bamboo-and-wood toothbrush with horsehair bristles wasn’t expensive—just over ten coins for one.
In short, Yuan Niang’s girlfriends all brushed their teeth.
The round-faced young lady also brushed her teeth.
Thus, Yuan Niang’s gaze toward her instantly grew two shades warmer.
But since the family hadn’t yet decided to buy this house, Yuan Niang restrained her inner excitement and lowered her head to taste the long-awaited lychee drink.
Upon the first sip, she felt the icy chill, followed by sourness and sweetness. Before her teeth could ache from the sourness, a mild spicy sensation swept from her tongue to her forehead. Chen Yuanniang had never tasted such a flavor and involuntarily frowned, squinted, and stiffened her face. Yet, since it was expensive—a full twelve coins per bowl—she steeled herself and took another sip.
It was the same taste, but this time the intensity was much milder, likely because her palate had adjusted. The aftertaste carried an indescribable fragrance, reminiscent of wood yet also fruity, quite addictive.
She couldn’t resist drinking sip after sip. It didn’t seem purely sweet and delicious, yet she couldn’t stop.
After finishing the bowl, she felt refreshed, and the day’s scorching heat baked into the stone slabs of the street seemed to dissipate with the wind.
Yuan Niang wiped nonexistent sweat from her forehead, content and satisfied.
She approached the round-faced young lady, following the vendor’s suggestion, first entrusted the bowl and spoon to her, and politely thanked her beforehand.
The round-faced young lady did not refuse, warmly taking the bowl into her hands, intending to carry it home.
Yuan Niang, fearing awkwardness, casually chatted, “The lychee drink is really delicious. I always thought lychees were sweet.”
Before the round-faced young lady could speak, a boy around eleven or twelve years old standing nearby immediately burst into laughter, “Ha ha ha ha, outsiders are just outsiders, thinking there are lychees in lychee paste!”
He expected Yuan Niang to be embarrassed and flustered, but she wasn’t. Yuan Niang stood gracefully, her expression unchanged, and asked openly, “I came from Ningzhou and haven’t tasted lychee drink before. I didn’t know there were no lychees in it; I just misunderstood from the name. You’re a true Bianjing native, right? Perfect for asking advice. May I ask what it’s made from?”
Even if she weren’t ashamed but scolding him, the boy could handle it.
But Yuan Niang asked openly and modestly, even saying she sought advice, which instead made the boy himself flustered.
He thought Yuan Niang standing there, head raised, questioning back…
looked really beautiful!
The boy hesitated for a long moment, stammering, “Lychee… lychee paste is mainly made from dark… dark plums, and also ginger juice…”