What? Pork Filling?
Upon hearing this, Zhou Yao naturally didn’t want to eat for free, but with a young master standing before him, he didn’t dare make decisions on his behalf. So he lowered his head and stood silently behind the young man.
After waiting for a while without the young man speaking, Zhou Yao looked up in confusion. Only then did he notice that the young man who had been standing in front of him had, at some point, moved behind Shen Xiaoniangzi’s cart.
Watching the noble young man squatting in front of the child with a serious expression was quite amusing. But when Zhou Yao turned his head, he saw the child’s face pale with fear. Yet, because the person before him had just helped his elder sister, the child didn’t dare move, only casting a pitiful, pleading glance toward Shen Zhihe.
Seeing this, Zhou Yao felt his vision darken and thought to himself, “What a handful! Has he had too much to drink today? Why else would he take it upon himself to tease a child for no reason?” With this thought, he turned to look at Shen Zhihe, only to find her calmly wrapping wontons, completely ignoring Shen Zhian’s gaze.
As a regular customer of the Shen family’s stall, Zhou Yao knew well how much Shen Zhihe doted on her younger brother. Under normal circumstances, she would have stepped in to protect him long ago.
His puzzled gaze shifted back and forth between the two. Just as he was about to lose his patience, the young man squatting in front of Shen Zhian finally moved.
To Zhou Yao’s astonishment, the young man reached out and flicked Shen Zhian’s forehead. “Do you realize,” he said, “that if the man taken away by the constables had fallen and gotten hurt at your elder sister’s stall, even if she were as eloquent as a scholar debating a crowd, she wouldn’t be able to clear her name from the accusations he’d throw at her? Your elder sister could have ended up in jail today.”
It was only because he found the young lady’s temperament quite to his liking that he felt compelled to offer this advice.
Upon hearing this, the child’s eyes instantly reddened, and he looked fearfully at Shen Zhihe, who stood in front of the stall. Seeing that she wasn’t smiling and comforting him as she usually did, he panicked and scrambled up from the low stool.
“Elder Sister,” Shen Zhian cried, clinging to Shen Zhihe’s leg and looking up at her with a tear-streaked face, “I only wanted to teach that man a lesson because he was bullying you today.”
The cold wind whistled, and occasional passersby hurried home in the bitter cold, paying no attention to the commotion at the street corner.
Hearing the tremor in Shen Zhian’s voice, Shen Zhihe felt conflicted. Today, he had thrown ice under Mr. Li’s feet when he wasn’t looking. If Mr. Li had been seriously hurt, she would have had no way to justify herself. She knew she needed to scold him for it.
But seeing how pitiful he looked, frightened to tears by the young man, her heart softened. She glared at the young man before pulling Shen Zhian into her arms and soothing him gently.
After finally calming her brother, Shen Zhihe thought to herself, “Zhi An is young and usually obedient. His behavior today is probably because I’ve been spoiling him lately, making him a bit bolder. He needs to be disciplined, but there’s no need to scare him like this.”
Seeing the child he had frightened to tears, the young man rubbed his nose and accepted Shen Zhihe’s glare without complaint.
“Pfft.” Zhou Yao, rarely seeing the young man put in his place, couldn’t help but chuckle. But when he met the young man’s icy gaze, he quickly stifled his laughter, raised his hands, and walked away. “Jinzhi, wait here for a moment. I’ll go find a small table.”
Shen Zhihe glanced at Zhou Yao’s retreating figure, her mind forming conjectures about the youth’s identity as she recalled the deferential attitude the yamen runner had shown him earlier.
Meanwhile, the youth leaned casually against Shen Zhihe’s food cart, paying no mind to Zhou Yao. His downcast eyes followed the girl’s nimble fingers as they deftly shaped a plump wonton. Within moments, the wooden tray before her was filled with dumplings resembling ingots, each tiny and adorable.
“Have you considered sending him to school, miss?”
Just as Shen Zhihe lifted the pot lid, billowing white steam obscured the youth’s expression. Only his clear voice pierced through the vapor to reach her ears.
“Of course I have. But as you can see, sir, I’m merely trying to make ends meet with this stall, yet people often come to make trouble. Without both your help today, my younger brother and I might not have escaped unharmed. How could I possibly spare the resources to send Zhi An to school?” As the steam dissipated, Shen Zhihe maintained her composure despite inner surprise, keeping her head lowered as she slid the tray of wontons into boiling water.
The round dumplings tumbled in the rolling boil. Shen Zhihe retrieved a steamer basket to place over the pot, using frost-reddened fingertips to arrange delicate Xiao Long Bao inside.
The youth tilted his head, watching the ceaselessly moving girl before breaking into a silent grin. How interesting—he never expected to encounter such an intriguing person in this remote town.
Not only did her food suit his palate, but her temperament proved equally fascinating. His lashes lowered slightly, concealing the keen interest in his eyes.
Just as Shen Zhihe ladled the cooked wontons, Zhou Yao approached carrying a small wooden table and stool. “Miss, you might consider preparing two such tables. Now that you’re selling wontons, you can’t have customers eating standing up as before.”
After setting down the furniture—evidently heavy given his panting breath and flushed cheeks despite the cold, with fine sweat beading his forehead—Zhou Yao added, “Thank you for the reminder, sir. That was an oversight on my part.” Shen Zhihe placed the bowl of wontons on the table before turning to fetch the Xiao Long Bao.
She missed the mischievous glint in the youth’s eyes.
“Please enjoy your meal,” she said while setting down the steamer basket. After a moment’s thought, recalling how some people later developed a preference for vinegar with Xiao Long Bao, she fetched an empty dish and poured some vinegar for their table.
The aroma of lard oil wafted forth, instantly capturing the youth’s attention. His gaze fell upon the ceramic bowl where hot white broth shimmered with oil droplets and scattered green scallions, creating a distinctive charm.
Picking up a spoon sterilized in boiling water, he stirred the bowl. The plump wontons bobbed with his movements like miniature boats his uncle once gifted him in childhood.
He scooped one up, blew on it briefly, and popped it into his mouth. His eyes brightened the moment his teeth pierced the thin wrapper, releasing a burst of savory broth that flooded his senses.
Though he ate rapidly, his movements retained innate elegance born of long habit. After swallowing the wonton, he picked up a thin-skinned, generously filled Xiao Long Bao.
As it touched his lips, his eyes fell upon the vinegar dish. After a contemplative pause, he inquired, “Might I ask, miss, what is the purpose of this vinegar?”
“To answer your question, sir, this vinegar is for dipping the Xiao Long Bao. If you’re going to eat them, you must be careful. These Xiao Long Bao are also called soup dumplings, filled with hot broth inside. You can see it right here.” Shen Zhihe quickly stepped closer, pointing at the bottom of the dumpling.
“Elder Sister is right. When Zhi An ate them yesterday, the broth dripped all over his clothes.” Shen Zhian hid behind Shen Zhihe, clutching the hem of her garment with his small hand while peeking out to address the two men.
Hearing this, the young man looked surprised. He had thought the child would still be frightened after being reduced to tears earlier—while children might not hold grudges, he hadn’t expected the boy to initiate conversation so soon. His gaze shifted from the child’s face to Shen Zhihe.
Meanwhile, several men followed the aroma through the cold wind from a distance. Spotting Zhou Yao seated at the stall from afar, they quickened their pace.
“Young Master Zhou, long time no see! How is Elder Zhou doing?” The leading man’s hearty laughter arrived before he did. As he approached, he noticed the refined young man sitting across from Zhou Yao. “And who might this be?”
“A cousin from my family. He’s fallen on hard times and is staying with us.” Knowing his companion disliked crowds, Zhou Yao made a swift decision. “Gentlemen, I’ve just remembered urgent matters at home. I must take my leave now. Another day, I’ll host you all at Desheng Tower—my treat.”
He casually tossed down a substantial-looking piece of broken silver. “Miss, I’ll send someone from my residence later to collect the food. Please prepare five portions each of the soup dumplings and wontons.”
Before the words fully left his mouth, the young man before him had already strode several meters away. Zhou Yao immediately followed in large steps, worried the troublesome one might go searching for alcohol again.
Shen Zhihe watched the two figures recede into the distance, then glanced at the wooden table in front of her stall and sighed inwardly. She still needed to return that table, but at least Zhou Yao had been generous. Without him, she likely wouldn’t have sold a single portion today.
Picking up the broken silver from the table, her eyes curved into happy crescents. This piece is probably worth five taels, she thought, enough to cover several days of stall earnings.
“Miss?” The leading man, dissatisfied with her distracted state but remembering Zhou Yao’s lavish spending, suppressed his impatience and spoke again.
Snapping back to attention, Shen Zhihe tucked the silver into her waistband and smiled at the men. “What would you gentlemen like to eat?”
“Same as what Young Master Zhou just ordered—one set for each of us.” The man sat decisively at the wooden table, appraising Shen Zhihe. Though this girl has some charm, she’s rather young, he thought. Could it be the young master of Zhou family prefers this type? Otherwise, why would someone of his status bother with such a humble stall? Satisfied with his deduction, he grew more confident about seeking the Zhou family’s assistance.
“Your wontons and soup dumplings are ready. Be careful, they’re hot.” Unaware of their thoughts, Shen Zhihe served the food before returning to her cart to pack Zhou Yao’s five portions into a lunchbox.
She reflected that the wontons were raw and the dumplings half-cooked—the Zhou family’s cooks should have no trouble finishing them, though the broth seasoning might not match hers exactly. Hesitating briefly, she decided against sharing her recipe. After all, it was her current means of survival.
“Young lady, what kind of meat did you use for this filling? How is it so tender and fresh?” The man bit into the xiao long bao, and the savory-sweet broth trickled from the corner of his mouth, disappearing into his dark beard.
Without time to wipe it away, he pursed his lips and quickly slurped, barely stopping the broth from dripping further. After sucking all the broth inside, he cautiously took a bite of the meat filling. The tender texture was astonishing, and he chewed for a long time, reluctant to swallow.
Squinting his eyes, he sighed inwardly, thinking he had wasted over thirty years of his life, only tasting such delicacy today.
The young girl standing behind the cart smiled faintly at his words. “It’s pork filling.”
A chilly wind blew, and the flags along the street fluttered in the breeze. A dead silence fell over the few people at the street corner.