Not long after, Meng Zhizhang came out carrying a bucket of milky white water. His sleeves were rolled up high, his tunic tied around his waist, and his steps were quick yet steady, not a single drop of water spilled from the bucket. He placed the wooden bucket in the kitchen, then filled a half basin of clear water and brought it back to the room.
“Brother Meng, quick, quick… save me! My wrist…”
Zhuang Yubai was so anxious that he was stomping his feet. With a loud “splash,” water splattered everywhere as a large lump of white and yellowish dough was thrown heavily into the basin of clear water that Meng Zhizhang handed over.
“My wrist… it’s about to break.”
Zhuang Yubai complained, pulling a dark blue coarse cloth towel from Meng Zhizhang’s waist to wipe his hands, then tucked it back into Meng Zhizhang’s waist as if nothing had happened. He then started rubbing his own wrist, looking aggrieved.
“…” Meng Zhizhang seemed to be frozen, staring intently at his waist, his eyes dark, his tongue stiff, and his whole body motionless.
“What’s wrong? I just borrowed your towel, why are you so nervous? It’s not like I won’t return it…”
Following Meng Zhizhang’s gaze, Zhuang Yubai noticed the strong and firm waist, the belt tied meticulously, and the towel he had casually stuffed in looked out of place.
Zhuang Yubai immediately put on a cheeky smile: “…Oh, the towel is crooked. Sorry about that.”
Before he finished speaking, his hands had already reached over, clumsily tidying up around Meng Zhizhang’s waist.
Meng Zhizhang’s abdomen tightened, and he stiffly stepped back, his whole body tense, his lips pressed into a line, and after a long while, he squeezed out two words:
“No problem.”
“How can it be no problem? I used your thing, I should return it as it was.” Zhuang Yubai insisted, stepping forward and trying to adjust the belt around Meng Zhizhang’s waist.
“Really, no need.” Meng Zhizhang’s waist felt like it had been burned by a hot iron. He turned and stepped out of the room, his steps unsteady, causing the basin of water soaking the dough to spill.
The crescent moon in the sky slowly quieted down, slowly turning red. The night breeze gently blew, brushing over Meng Zhizhang’s slightly flushed earlobes hidden under the night.
When Meng Zhizhang returned, Zhuang Yubai was already lying on the bed, his amber hair spread over the pillow, his feet tied, arms stretched out, waiting for Meng Zhizhang to tie the cloth rope around his hands.
“Brother Meng, I’m so tired.” Zhuang Yubai yawned lazily, “We just washed out all the flour we ground today, but these fried golden balls are only enough for the peddler Zhang to take tomorrow morning. As for the quantity ordered by the academy, we still need at least 30 more pounds of wheat… It seems like we’re running low on grain at home.”
“No problem. I asked Er You to send a message back, asking Uncle Niu and Aunt Niu to lend us some grain first, and we’ll return it right after the summer harvest.”
Meng Zhizhang bent down, skillfully wrapping the rope around Zhuang Yubai’s delicate wrist, tying it gently with a slipknot: “You’re not strong, don’t do this kind of work next time. I’ll do it, you just watch.”
“You do it while I watch? That would be too embarrassing.” Although he said this out of politeness, Zhuang Yubai’s mouth was already grinning from ear to ear, “I can still help with some things. After all, we’re good brothers who share blessings and hardships together!”
Meng Zhizhang glanced at Zhuang Yubai, saying nothing.
Zhuang Yubai didn’t understand why every time he mentioned the word “brother,” Meng Zhizhang’s expression was always strange.
What’s wrong with being good brothers? Is the word poisonous? Wasn’t it you, Meng Zhizhang, who spread the word that I’m your cousin? Of course, we’re good brothers.
At this moment, Zhuang Yubai couldn’t think about anything too complicated. He turned over, facing the inside, and closed his eyes contentedly.
“Rustle, rustle,” Zhuang Yubai rubbed his face against the pillow. At this moment, he declared it the most beautiful sound in the world.
Between him and the wall was a pouch containing 1000 wen, bulging and full of reassurance.
*
April 28th, clear.
The sunlight slanted across his eyelashes, the light spots shimmering. Zhuang Yubai was half-awake, half-asleep, vaguely hearing someone outside the north window talking about “wedding date” and “using grain to offset money.”
He stretched lazily, got dressed, and was about to go see what was going on when he saw Meng Zhizhang coming back, holding a pitchfork for turning the compost and a piece of paper.
“The clan leader just came by.” Meng Zhizhang handed over the paper, “The neighbors we met at the mill yesterday were going to come to the house, but I was afraid they’d scare you, so they all went to the clan leader’s house. This is the order list.”
Zhuang Yubai took a look, a long list of names and numbers: “One five is five, two five is ten… Jade pieces 124 packs, golden balls 72 packs!”
Before one order was even started, new orders were already coming in. Zhuang Yubai estimated that this order could bring in over 1500 wen.
“They’re all neighbors, so I discussed with the clan leader not to take a deposit. Those who are short on cash at home can use grain to offset the money. Do you think that’s appropriate?”
“Appropriate! This way, we don’t have to buy more grain. But I’ve been thinking about something,” Zhuang Yubai’s eyes rolled, “If people are coming to order, it means they recognize us. Since it’s almost the Dragon Boat Festival, maybe we could include a blessing card with each order. It doesn’t have to be too complicated, just ‘Gold and Jade Full House, Dragon Boat Festival Peace,’ how about that?”
“Gold and Jade Full House, Dragon Boat Festival Peace. Very good.” A soft look passed over Meng Zhizhang’s eyes, “I’ll ask the peddler Zhang to help find some colored paper.”
The two of them were busy in the kitchen until the sun was high in the sky. In between, they sent off the peddler Zhang after discussing the colored paper. Zhuang Yubai looked at the sky and then at Meng Zhizhang, who was still in his short tunic: “Why haven’t you changed your clothes yet? You’ll be late for school.”
“There’s a half-day off at school today. I’ll go in the afternoon. Since we’re busy at home, I’ll do more.”
The pomegranate tree stood under the sun, clusters of bright red flowers peeking out from the deep green oval leaves.
Meng Zhizhang turned over the starch in the sieve to dry it, then washed out about the same amount of dough as last night. Without Zhuang Yubai’s “help,” he seemed to be working faster.
The milky white starch bucket swayed, disturbing the reflection that had been still in the water for half a day. Meng Zhizhang came back to his senses, remembering the clan leader mentioning the wedding, possibly because Aunt Liu saw the tear mole at the corner of the amber eye yesterday.
In the eyes of outsiders, even though he’s a “cousin,” he’s someone who’s about to get married, yet he spends all day living and eating with a Ge’er… People are scary, so the clan leader subtly brought up the wedding.
But speaking of the wedding, a layer of dark and fierce shadow suddenly covered Meng Zhizhang’s eyes, like a leopard lurking in the dark, secretly calculating the timing to strike.
However, this cold light quickly melted away. Whether it was the pomegranate flower or that tear mole, a touch of red rippled in Meng Zhizhang’s eyes.
“Brother Meng, these shrimps are really big today, each one is plump.” The person by the pomegranate tree was using a homemade thin bamboo skewer to pick out the shrimp line, and seeing Meng Zhizhang’s gaze lightly or heavily falling on him, he quickly smiled and raised the shrimp in his hand towards him.
“Good.” Meng Zhizhang’s sword-like eyebrows relaxed, but then he thought of something, his brow furrowed, his expression serious, his tone deep, “Amber…”
Zhuang Yubai’s heart tightened, being called by his name in broad daylight didn’t seem like a good thing. Could it be that his background had been discovered, and they planned to send him back?
“Hmm? What’s up, Brother Meng.” Zhuang Yubai maintained a nonchalant face, still wearing a cheeky smile.
Before Meng Zhizhang could continue, a guest arrived at the wooden gate.
Niu Dayou brought in a person.
The visitor was about twenty years old, tall and slender, wearing a blue long robe that didn’t look like a villager’s attire, suggesting he had some background. His triangular eyes were hidden under two short eyebrows, looking sharp and shrewd.
“This is Master Xing Er, responsible for purchasing for the backyard of Wu Yuanwai’s house.” Niu Dayou introduced the visitor, and although they were about the same age, Niu Dayou still followed everyone in calling him “Master.”
Purchasing for a wealthy family was a lucrative job, and being able to take on this role at a young age usually meant having some skills or strong connections. This Master Xing Er, though young, was quite accustomed to and enjoyed being called “Master.”
Xing Er originally came to the nearby villages and towns to purchase pigs and sheep for a longevity banquet. The lady of the house had heard about this “Gold and Jade Full House” from somewhere and instructed him to bring some back. Xing Er inquired for a long time, and everyone said it was being sold by a traveling peddler. Unable to find the peddler, he could only trace the source and find his way to Meng Family Village.
Of course, he didn’t come for nothing. The Niu family’s house, which delivered firewood and charcoal, was in Meng Family Village, so Xing Er went directly to the Niu family, took advantage of them a bit, and was then brought to Meng Zhizhang’s house with his nose in the air.
Later, Zhuang Yubai only learned from Niu Er’s unintentional complaints that Xing Er had taken a 50-wen kickback just for the charcoal and firewood for the longevity banquet. The Niu family had worked hard to produce a few carts of charcoal, barely making any profit, and he was there to take a cut. This time, he came with the excuse of checking the progress of the charcoal and firewood, directly asking for 20 wen.
Anyone with a bit of power, even just a little, tends to wield it like a command, especially targeting the weak.
“So, this is the one who makes ‘Gold and Jade Full House’… Amber?” Master Xing Er dusted off the non-existent dust on his lapel after entering, standing with his legs apart in the courtyard, his eyes disdainfully scanning around.
Meng Zhizhang stepped forward, his broad body shielding Zhuang Yubai. If it weren’t for Niu Dayou’s sake, Meng Zhizhang wouldn’t have let such an arrogant and snobbish person in.
“I’m Meng Zhizhang. May I ask what brings Master Xing Er here?” His voice was neutral, neither welcoming nor hostile.
Xing Er looked up at the person blocking his way, tall and strong, with a handsome face, but so what? Just like Niu Dayou, he was just a simple-minded, physically strong country bumpkin.
Xing Er caught sight of the tear mole at the corner of Zhuang Yubai’s eye, snorted coldly, and before he even spoke, his disdainful gaze was evident. Just a Ge’er, what kind of decent food could he make? “Gold and Jade Full House,” “Silver and Jade Full House,” just names. Like these two people, they were just pretty on the outside, useless.
But he still had to carry out the master’s orders, so he pinched a corner of silver from his money pouch: “Give me 3 packs each of the golden balls and jade pieces!”
Zhuang Yubai didn’t take the silver: “Master Xing Er, you came at a bad time. We’re sold out. There’s only half a pack of golden balls and half a pack of jade pieces left. If you don’t mind, you can take them.”
Xing Er, used to being greeted with smiles and good words wherever he went, felt no warmth since entering this wooden gate. He thought Zhuang Yubai was trying to brush him off, and his anger flared, his eyes wide with rage: “Are you trying to send me away like a beggar, or do you think I can’t afford it? You should find out, in these ten miles and eight villages, who dares not to give me, Xing Er, face?”
Meng Zhizhang coughed, stepping even closer to Master Xing Er, not saying much, just casually rolling up his sleeves, clenching his fists, the joints cracking loudly.
Indeed, things that can’t be explained with words are often easier solved with fists.
While Xing Er was arguing with Zhuang Yubai and the others, his mother, Ma Pozi, was at home cursing the heavens. Ma Pozi made a living doing makeup for people, and after doing makeup for a living dead person for a river sacrifice, her business had completely dried up recently.
Author’s Note: