Once you’ve taken the first step, there’s no need to worry about the next inch or two.
Meng Zhizhang took a half-breath, leaning forward a bit more, eyes fixed on the mulberry, bending his neck around Zhuang Yubai’s slender shoulder. The shoulder was thin, like a blade under the sun, making Meng Zhizhang’s heart ache and feel sour.
Without any contact, this posture… was very much like a hug.
“Thump thump,” Meng Zhizhang seemed to hear his own heartbeat. No, at this moment, he could only hear his own heartbeat. When he came to his senses, the mulberry was already half in his mouth. He bit the stem, but his lips accidentally brushed against the fingers holding the mulberry… soft and cool.
Meng Zhizhang straightened up, his dark hair brushing against a few strands of amber hair, the strands entangled, bathed in the golden glow of the sunset. He leisurely took a step back and stood firm.
The mulberry went down, its taste unknown. Meng Zhizhang’s Adam’s apple was stuck, his ears slightly burning under the sunlight. When he heard the person beside him ask, “Is it tasty?” he instinctively replied, “Tasty.”
It was already midsummer, the shadows of the trees were dense, and the warm breeze was slightly intoxicating.
Today, Zhuang Yubai was indeed more lively and excited than usual. That was because today was indeed a day worth being excited about.
When Zhuang Yubai brought over a large plate of something as fluffy and white as snow, Meng Zhizhang’s eyes suddenly lit up.
“Is this the jade slice?”
To avoid being fed again, Meng Zhizhang took a piece in his hand first. The first impression was light, like a wisp of mountain mist, or a cluster of clouds.
Under the expectant gaze of the other, Meng Zhizhang tried this hard-won jade slice.
“Crunch crunch, crunch crunch—”
The texture was like a crisp snowflake, soft and fragrant, with a fresh taste overflowing. The wheat aroma wrapped with shrimp flavor gave a warm satisfaction from the inside out.
“The rich crab paste flavor is hard to describe, but the sound of chewing jade and snow is somewhat similar. This jade slice is truly extraordinary,” Meng Zhizhang said sincerely.
A few words of praise made Zhuang Yubai’s cheeks blush, his eyes curved with a smile, and he became more talkative:
“Last time it didn’t puff up because there was too much shrimp paste. The puffiness of the shrimp slice relies on starch. If the starch content is insufficient, the puffiness naturally won’t come up. This time, I controlled the variables, adjusted the amount of starch and shrimp paste, made several different base slices, and finally found the best ingredient ratio… Look at this puffiness, this palatability, this crunching sound…”
Meng Zhizhang listened intently to the “birth” process of the jade slice, unconsciously picking up another piece. The sound of soft jade shattering was endless in his ears, and the person in front of him was full of interest, with eyes curved in a smile.
A ray of sunset filtered through the pomegranate tree branches, outlining a halo around Zhuang Yubai’s silhouette. In the soft amber, there was always a hint of red flickering, whether it was the pomegranate flower in the background or the red tear mole at the corner of the person’s eye.
The amber became increasingly clear, and the dream sealed within seemed to become brighter as well. The light was too bright, and Meng Zhizhang withdrew his gaze, not knowing why he had been having strange thoughts lately.
Meng Zhizhang gently rubbed the jade slice in his hand, unconsciously raising his eyes to look at the person in front of him again. Perhaps, in the dark, the heavens truly favored him.
“Ding dong dong—ding dong dong,” a sound of a rattle drum rang out.
“It’s the peddler Zhang!” Zhuang Yubai’s eyes lit up, and he ran out to meet him.
When Meng Zhizhang’s gaze followed, the courtyard was silent, with only the half-open wooden gate standing there, empty and desolate. He thought of the dream sealed in amber just now and hurriedly followed.
Fortunately, as soon as he reached the courtyard gate, he heard Zhuang Yubai talking and laughing with someone as they returned.
It had been a long time since he heard such laughter.
Meng Zhizhang simply opened both doors wide, standing outside waiting for the returning person.
“The peddler Zhang is here! Look what he brought!” Zhuang Yubai waved from afar, holding a bundle of green in his hand, calling out to Meng Zhizhang.
Meng Zhizhang took a few steps forward, seeing the seedlings in Zhuang Yubai’s hand, he first greeted the peddler Zhang with a salute, wishing him well, and then took the seedlings from him.
The peddler Zhang, who had been chatting and laughing with Zhuang Yubai, suddenly became reserved upon seeing Meng Zhizhang. He tugged at his clothes, imitating a salute to the literary star in his eyes.
Zhuang Yubai had finally gotten the seedlings he had been longing for, and his small vegetable garden was half a success. There were small cabbages, radishes, celery, and some carrot seeds and soybeans. The cabbage and celery could be on the table in a week, and even if he was kicked out in a month, the radishes would repay the scholar’s kindness for taking him in. As for the soybeans, he had his own clever use for them.
“And there’s more good news,” Zhuang Yubai said, full of joy, looking at Meng Zhizhang. Like a child wanting to create a surprise, he held back for a while, but couldn’t help but laugh first, so he simply revealed it all.
Meng Zhizhang knowingly asked, “What good news?”
Zhuang Yubai smiled and said, “‘Golden Balls’ have repeat customers now! They’ve ordered 5 packs at once. Although it’s not much, it’s a beautiful start, isn’t it?”
The peddler Zhang quickly added, his dark face full of smiles: “The other day when I went to town, two women saw these gluten balls, oh right, the young master said they’re now called Golden Balls. Those two women found these Golden Balls intriguing, wanting to buy but hesitating. In the end, they each bought a pack…”
At this point, the peddler Zhang chuckled awkwardly.
“In our line of work, the last thing we want is customers causing trouble. I thought the woman bought the Golden Balls reluctantly, with a bit of coercion, worried it might cause trouble. So next time, I deliberately took a different street, avoiding the usual one. Who knew one of the women chased me for several streets… To cut a long story short, she’s been eagerly waiting for me these days, saying everyone at home loves the Golden Balls, asking me to come often, and even paid for 3 packs in advance. Hearing her praise, others also paid. That’s 5 packs in total.”
The peddler Zhang became more and more excited, unknowingly grabbing Zhuang Yubai’s sleeve, shaking it in excitement: “Young master, I need to take 10 packs of Golden Balls this time, do you have stock?”
Zhuang Yubai was also delighted, casually placing his hand on the peddler Zhang’s wrist: “Not just 10 packs, even 20 packs are available! Give me an hour, I’ll make them for you!”
Meng Zhizhang looked at the two, stepping over to place the plate of jade slices between them: “With ‘Golden Balls,’ how can we miss ‘Jade Slices’? This is the ‘Jade’ from Gold and Jade Full House, try it and see how it tastes.”
The peddler Zhang quickly let go of the sleeve he was holding, smiling as he picked up a slice, “crunch,” he took a bite, then “crunch crunch” two more bites.
He didn’t speak for a long time, just widened his eyes.
“What’s wrong… is it not tasty?” Zhuang Yubai, seeing the peddler Zhang’s expression, became less confident in his tone. He took a slice himself, “crunch crunch.” The jade slice was still delicious, but why was the peddler Zhang’s reaction so calm, even indifferent?
The peddler Zhang seemed not to hear Zhuang Yubai speaking to him. After a long while, he reached into his sleeve and pulled out a cloth.
“It’s okay, if it’s not tasty, you don’t have to eat it.” Zhuang Yubai forced a smile, trying to comfort the peddler Zhang.
It’s hard to please everyone, maybe some people just don’t like puffed food. Zhuang Yubai also comforted himself in his heart.
“No no no, it’s tasty! It’s tasty!” The peddler Zhang hurriedly waved his hand, “This… jade slice is indeed a good thing. It’s just that I’ve never eaten something so interesting. I thought of taking the remaining half slice back for my wife… to try.”
The peddler Zhang carefully placed the half slice he saved on a gray coarse cloth, his hands, which looked young but were covered in calluses, slowly folded the corners of the cloth, wrapped it up, and carefully tucked it into his sleeve.
The seven-foot-tall man, with a face weathered by wind and sun, blushed, and the peddler Zhang awkwardly nodded in thanks to Meng Zhizhang and Zhuang Yubai: “Sorry to make you laugh.”
“Ha!” Zhuang Yubai let out a long breath, “I thought you didn’t like it, wait a moment.” Zhuang Yubai took the plate from Meng Zhizhang’s hand, and as he spoke, he returned, folding the lotus leaf wrap in his hand, “There aren’t many from this trial, some have been eaten, take this half pack home for your wife to try.”
The peddler Zhang dared not accept, retreating repeatedly, his hands waving like shadows: “No no no, this half slice is enough. He’s not been eating well lately, I’ll coax him to eat half a bowl more of rice.”
“It’s just a little food, not worth much, if you don’t take it, it’s like you’re looking down on it.” Zhuang Yubai insisted, forcibly stuffing the half pack of jade slices into the peddler Zhang’s hand.
“10 packs of Golden Balls are no problem, I think if sold together with these jade slices, forming ‘Gold and Jade Full House,’ it would also be a business. As for the price of the jade slices… let’s do this, I’ll calculate it carefully tonight, and when you come tomorrow morning, I’ll make a batch for you to try the market.”
The peddler Zhang gratefully accepted the lotus leaf wrap, promising to come early the next morning.
Hearing that Zhuang Yubai was running low on lotus leaves, the peddler Zhang immediately took on the task, saying that his family had plenty of lotus leaves, grown naturally, and they dried many every year. He would bring some over the next morning for Zhuang Yubai to use freely.
After sending off the peddler Zhang, Zhuang Yubai, holding the seedlings, walked lightly to the back garden, humming a little tune along the way.
In the evening, when the sunlight was less intense, the survival rate of transplanted seedlings was higher.
In the southeast corner of the vegetable garden, a small nursery two meters square was set up. The humus “borrowed” from the mountain last time, mixed with wood ash, had already been used as a base fertilizer in the nursery. Zhuang Yubai used a small shovel to turn it over, the soil was loose, moist, and a few shades darker than the surrounding land.
Since it was just for seedlings, Zhuang Yubai didn’t make ridges, simply dividing it into three small sections and planting the seedlings in the nursery. In a few days, when the vegetable garden was ready, another round of transplanting would be needed.
The seedlings had only three or five leaves, a patch of green, looking soft and unable to stand against the wind. It was okay, just a temporary lack of water, a normal phenomenon.
Zhuang Yubai fetched water and slowly watered the seedlings. Tomorrow, with the sun shining, they would perk up.
“Little seedlings, nice to meet you. Drink up, have a good sleep, see you tomorrow! La la la…”
Planting the seedlings into the soil by hand, watching them grow leaves bit by bit, witnessing life growing in an orderly and controlled manner… this sense of control over the surrounding order, the sense of reality and security brought by this control, was very important to the newly transmigrated Zhuang Yubai.
After saying goodnight to his “new friends,” Zhuang Yubai got up to go home.
Just as he was about to turn around, he found a wall behind him, blocking out the sky and sun.
“Oh, it’s Meng,” Zhuang Yubai accidentally bumped into the wall, hard and wide, hmm… warm. He grabbed the “curtain” hanging on the wall, staggering a few steps to steady himself.
The other didn’t speak, handing over a blue-gray handkerchief: “Forehead.”
“Huh?” Zhuang Yubai didn’t react for a moment, following Meng Zhizhang’s gaze, he must have accidentally smeared mud on his face. He quickly thanked him, taking the handkerchief to wipe his brow, raising a smiling face to ask, “Is there more?”
Meng Zhizhang didn’t speak, his firm lips pressed together, pausing for a moment, he directly took the handkerchief from Zhuang Yubai’s hand, raising it to wipe off the dark brown mud spots on the fair skin, and along the way, tucked a few strands of amber hair behind his ear.
Zhuang Yubai’s vision blurred for a moment, probably from squatting for too long just now.
Author’s Note: