"I want another bowl!" While the young man was still savoring the aftertaste, the girl, craving more, had already shouted out.
Hearing this, Si was about to reply when the young man hurriedly stopped her. "Aren’t we going to Yongtong Bridge? If you like it, we can come back and have some later, okay?"
"Then... alright." Hearing him say this, the girl nodded, albeit with a bit of hesitation.
"Take care, you two. Please come again when you have the time." Seeing that the couple had reached an agreement to see Yongtong Bridge first, Si didn’t try to hold them back and simply cupped his hands in a beaming, warm farewell.
"We’ll definitely be back!"
Although they were eager to see Yongtong Bridge, the two of them thoroughly enjoyed Si’s tea-whisking skills and the uniquely flavored whisked tea—mostly because they had never experienced anything like it. So, they weren’t just being polite when they said they would return; they genuinely meant it.
Bidding farewell to Si, the couple left Li’s Tea House and hurried in the direction of Yongtong Bridge.
"By the way! Did you notice earlier? That server called those bowls ’zhan’?" the girl suddenly asked the young man beside her. She was still reminiscing about that cup of whisked tea as they walked along the tranquil Ancient Rhyme of Qinghe Street.
Hearing this, the young man didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he pulled out his phone and started searching.
A moment later.
He flashed his phone screen at the girl. "I just looked it up. It really is called a ’zhan.’ It was a highly popular type of teaware in ancient times, especially during the Song Dynasty."
"Wow, this scenic area is so meticulous, isn’t it?" Glancing at the screen, a look of amazement flashed in the girl’s eyes. "That server... no, wait, I should call him a traditional attendant, right? From greeting us to seating us, preparing the whisked tea, and finally seeing us out, I felt like I actually took a stroll through an ancient tea house!"
"Indeed..." Recalling their recent experience, the young man couldn’t help but nod. "Although it’s very empty, the atmosphere of this street—including that tea house and the live-action NPC—makes for an incredibly immersive experience."
Marveling at the various details they had noticed since entering Qinghe Street, the couple unknowingly arrived near Yongtong Bridge.
Before they even reached the bridgehead, a mouthwatering, savory aroma wafted over. They instinctively looked ahead. In a small clearing to the right of the bridge, four old wooden pillars supported a cloth awning. Beneath it sat an oil vat, bubbling and SIZZLING over a wood fire.
A woman in a gray cloth tunic stood beneath the awning, using bamboo tongs to drop something into the hot oil. The doughy food, which looked like a cross between a wonton and a dumpling, hit the hot oil with a loud HISS, instantly intensifying the appetizing scent. A tattered cloth banner hung across the eaves, bearing the character "Yu" written in thick black ink.
Exchanging a glance, the young couple felt like two fish out of water. They hadn’t recognized the whisked tea from earlier, and now they had no idea what this fragrant fried food was, either.
"It smells so good! Let’s go check it out!" The girl was the type who would stop dead in her tracks at the sight of good food and drinks. Smelling the wafting aroma, she had already completely forgotten their original plan.
"I mean, the bridge is right at our feet—" Being dragged toward the stall by the girl, the young man’s face was filled with helplessness.
"What’s the rush? The bridge isn’t going anywhere," she replied without looking back, dragging him right up to Miss Yu the Third’s stall.
"Au... Hello, Miss. What is this?" she asked, pointing at the Guduo tumbling in the oil vat. The girl had opened her mouth intending to call her "Auntie," but upon closer inspection, she realized the female vendor didn’t look much older than herself, so she quickly corrected her address.
"Fried Guduo, fresh out of the vat. Would you like a skewer, young lady?" Keeping the True Master’s instructions strictly in mind, Miss Yu the Third didn’t show a hint of surprise—despite the couple’s clothing and accents being vastly different from her own world—and replied with a beaming smile.
"Fried Guduo? What a strange name." Hearing Miss Yu the Third’s introduction, the girl repeated it to herself, her reaction almost identical to Chen Yan’s back then.
Meanwhile, the young man glanced at the price list on the corner of the stall and asked, "Um... do you have the lamb-filled ones? If so, we’ll take two skewers, please."
"We do, sir." Upon hearing this, Miss Yu the Third moved nimbly, immediately picking out two freshly fried skewers from a nearby bamboo mat and handing them over. "Please eat slowly. The freshly fried Guduo is still a bit hot," she hastily reminded them, suddenly recalling how Chen Yan had burned his mouth earlier.
Nodding to show they understood, the girl quickly blew on the golden-brown fried Guduo in her hand a few times before taking an eager bite!
"HSS—"
As the slightly scalding meat juices burst in her mouth, the girl sharply inhaled. She hurriedly fanned her mouth with her hand but still didn’t forget to praise, "Delicious! This is so good!"
Seeing this, the young man also took a tentative bite. Then, his eyes suddenly lit up. Like a starved ghost, completely ignoring the heat, he wolfed down the entire skewer of fried Guduo in just a few bites!
Finishing the first skewer, he clearly hadn’t had enough and immediately asked the vendor for two more.
A moment later.
After the young man had demolished four skewers of fried Guduo in a row and the girl had finished two, the couple finally felt a wave of satisfaction. Their minds couldn’t help but drift back to Li’s Tea House from earlier—they wondered how wonderful it would be to have another cup of whisked tea right now.
But they quickly snapped back to reality.
They had come to Ning’an Ancient City to see Yongtong Bridge, but what about now?
From the moment they stepped onto Qinghe Street, their attention had been constantly hijacked by new and fascinating novelties. The whisked tea, with its lingering charm and complex techniques, seemingly made through purely ancient methods. The crispy, golden-brown fried Guduo, with an aroma that wafted for a hundred meters and a taste so addictive they couldn’t stop eating. Plus the traditional attendant in the tea house, whose acting was so superb they couldn’t distinguish reality from fiction, and the delicate-featured, nimble vendor standing before them.
Everything seemed to be telling them one thing—
Yongtong Bridge wasn’t the only attraction on this street.
"Check, please!"
Taking a deep breath, the young man decided that no matter what other novelties they encountered next, they absolutely had to visit Yongtong Bridge first. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his ten copper coins.
However, Miss Yu the Third simply pointed at the price list and smiled at them. "Is this your first time here, guests? The first skewer is on me. The other four skewers will be a total of eight copper coins."
"Oh... that’s very kind of you."
They hadn’t spent a dime to taste the whisked tea earlier, and now they had wolfed down so many skewers of Guduo, only to find out the first one was free. Beyond their surprise, the couple couldn’t help but feel a rush of warmth in their hearts.
They knew this was a common tactic used by merchants to secure repeat customers. Yet, whether it was the attendant at the tea house or this woman calling herself Miss Yu the Third, their tones were completely natural. They didn’t give off any sleazy mercantile vibe, but rather exuded a genuine sense of familiarity and ease.