The mature-looking Su Ting, with his clear and sharp eyes, spoke up: "That means we need to help Elder Sister set up her stall a few more times!"
It was rare to see Su Ting acting like a mischievous young boy.
Of course, Su Xi had no objections to this, as it would still take a few days to gather the exorbitant tuition payment.
Having opened up to each other about Su Ting’s studies, both felt a weight lifted from their hearts. Just as they were about to take another piece of flatbread, they looked down and saw that the plate, which had held three or four pieces of savory sauce flatbread, was now completely empty.
Su Xi was still processing what had happened.
Su Ting immediately turned to Su Cheng: "Ah Cheng!"
Hearing his name, Su Cheng blinked his long eyelashes and licked the sauce from the corner of his mouth, looking innocent and earnest as he said, "Elder Brother, Elder Sister’s flatbread is just too delicious—I couldn’t help myself!"
His words left Su Xi both amused and exasperated.
Su Ting was also left speechless, staring repeatedly at Su Cheng’s soft, harmless face.
Watching the "little adult" revert to a childlike state over a piece of flatbread, Su Xi couldn’t help but laugh. She reached out and lightly tapped each of their heads.
"Don’t be upset, Ah Ting. I’ll make you a jianbing guazi later. As for Ah Cheng, your punishment is to watch Ah Ting eat it."
Su Cheng didn’t quite understand the meaning of punishment. He tilted his head, his two little tied-up buns swaying adorably.
"Ah Ting, you’ll clean up the dishes later."
Su Ting nodded. Su Xi stood up and headed to the kitchen to prepare the ingredients for the jianbing guazi. Halfway there, she remembered something and turned back to say, "Tomorrow, let Ah Cheng come with us to the stall."
The Fang family had been causing trouble, preventing the village children from playing with Su Cheng, so Su Xi wasn’t comfortable leaving him alone in the village.
Su Ting could understand this as well.
He gave a slight nod, then turned to Su Cheng and said, "When you come to the stall tomorrow, you’re not allowed to cause any trouble. You have to help Elder Sister with the work."
Su Cheng obediently nodded.
And so, the next day, customers who came with their cards to buy jianbing guazi noticed something: "Huh, why is there a 'living advertisement' at the jianbing guazi stall?"
Ma San was one of those who noticed this "living advertisement."
He was a supervisor at the ferry port, overseeing the laborers who loaded and unloaded cargo. As a minor manager, his job was to supervise the workers without doing any heavy lifting himself.
The ships coming and going at the ferry port belonged to merchants who were quite generous, paying the port supervisors well. Unlike others who indulged in drinking, gambling, or other vices, Ma San managed to save most of his wages. His only hobby was enjoying food, especially new and unique dishes.
Thus, upon hearing yesterday that a new jianbing guazi stall had opened at the morning market near Zhouqiao, Ma San hurried over as soon as he could.
But who would have thought that halfway through the line, the stall ran out of batter for the jianbing guazi.
Just as he was feeling annoyed, he heard the young female stall owner’s apology and offer of free items, which eventually eased his frustration.
It was because of that incident that Ma San had someone keep an eye on the corner early this morning. As soon as the jianbing guazi stall was set up, he rushed over.
Ma San was third in line. He had heard about the differences between the "basic version" and the "deluxe version" of jianbing guazi.
So when it was his turn, Ma San was about to say, "I’ll have the deluxe version," but as he looked up, he saw a three-year-old child next to the young stall owner, utterly engrossed in eating a jianbing guazi filled with meat.
"Miss, is that young gentleman also eating Jianbing Guazi?" Ma San, tempted by his eating manner, asked curiously.
"Yes, that's the deluxe upgraded version of Jianbing Guazi with double eggs and extra meat, eight coppers each," Su Xi answered with a smile upon hearing his question.
After hearing the explanation, Ma San made his decision swiftly and decisively, directly tossing out the copper coins along with yesterday's bamboo token: "Give me two deluxe upgraded Jianbing Guazi."
Su Xi nodded in agreement, then quickly scooped the batter and spread it into pancakes.
Su Ting, meanwhile, took the copper coins and bamboo token from him and said, "Sir, the bamboo token entitles you to an extra side dish—you can choose between Chinese cabbage or pickled vegetables."
"You really do give it away!" Ma San was slightly astonished, then pointed to the pickled vegetables.
The people behind him in line, seeing this, asked him what was going on.
Ma San explained the matter of yesterday's bamboo token to them, not forgetting to add, "The young lady is honorable and trustworthy in her business. We should all support her well in the future!"
The crowd agreed.
Su Xi flipped the pancake, hearing their discussion at the edge of her ear, a slight smile curling at the corner of her mouth.
Before long, Ma San emerged from the front of the stall holding two steaming, freshly made Jianbing Guazi. Originally, he had intended to take them back to eat, but halfway there, the aroma of the pancakes wafted straight into his nose.
He couldn't resist, truly couldn't resist.
Ma San took a bite of the pancake. With just that one bite, his stomach was conquered by the Jianbing Guazi—crispy on the outside, with a filling rich with the fragrance of eggs, meat, and sauce.
"Damn, this is delicious!" he exclaimed.
He suddenly regretted buying only two Jianbing Guazi. He thought if the line wasn't too long, he'd queue up again for two more. But when he turned around, he saw a line even longer than yesterday's.
Ma San: …
He suddenly had a bad feeling that in the future, it would be even harder to get a spot at this young lady's stall.
The ebony carriage rolled over the bluestone road, its axle emitting a dull creak.
Xiao Jinyu reclined on the soft couch inside the carriage, a case file placed to his left, and a Boshan incense burner emitting wisps of smoke to his right. The carriage walls were hung with dark-patterned brocade curtains, and the flickering calming incense could not suppress the bustling market atmosphere drifting in from outside.
Suddenly, the carriage came to a halt.
"Young Master, ahead is the East Gate morning market. Should we instruct the coachman to take a detour?" an attendant outside whispered in request.
Xiao Jinyu did not answer immediately. Instead, he reached out to lift the carriage curtain and looked outside, his gaze sweeping past the street vendors hawking their wares along the roadside.
In the vendor's basket were steaming soup-filled buns, with thin wrappers and generous fillings, their translucent skins gleaming. The scent followed the air into the carriage.
It was something that, at a single whiff, would make anyone eager to stuff it into their mouth and indulge their appetite. Yet, Xiao Jinyu glanced at it and felt nothing.
No appetite, no sense of taste—as if chewing wax.
Xiao Jinyu found it utterly bland. He lowered the carriage curtain and said in a deep voice to the attendant outside, "No need to detour. Proceed directly."
The attendant outside, hearing this, first instructed the others to continue as usual, then wore a troubled expression as he turned to the person beside him and whispered, "Is the imperial physician's medicine in the carriage?"
"Yes," the person beside him replied softly, also with concern in his eyes. "But these past few days, the Young Master has taken it several times, and it doesn't seem to have much effect."
The two exchanged a glance, both sensing the same worry in each other's eyes.
Xiao Jinyu was unaware of the thoughts of the two attendants outside the carriage. He lowered his gaze to the grayish-brown medicinal broth before him, then raised his hand and poured it into the small stove.
The carriage suddenly jolted, causing the medicinal liquid to splash onto his sleeve. Xiao Jinyu instinctively frowned.
But at that moment, a rich aroma of pancakes—crispy, wheaty, and thick with savory sauce, mixed with the scents of eggs, scallions, and pickled vegetables—suddenly pierced through his nose, which had long been numb to smells.
What was that scent?!