Branded with “Kidney Deficiency” in Public
Seeing the words “Qingluan Poetry Collection” written on the half-torn book cover, Ji Hong felt uneasy. Just as he was about to put it back, a few slips of paper fell out from the book. He picked them up and saw several large handwritten characters, somewhat crooked but evidently written with great care. He gathered the slips and couldn’t help but flip through the book carefully. It was very old, as if it had been read many times, with some characters blurred beyond recognition.
Ji Hong then looked around the room. It was small and simply furnished with only a bed, a cabinet, and a table. However, there were two pots of small, unknown flowers and plants on the window sill and the table. The small flower pots were only palm-sized, full of vitality, but the table was somewhat messy.
He sighed softly and tidied up the desk a bit, finally making it look pleasing.
Not knowing where the young man had gone, Ji Hong, still hazy from the previous night’s drinking, could only recall a warm fire and a sweet-smelling tea bowl. Seeing a small inkstone on the young man’s desk, Ji Hong began to wait for Yu Jinnian to return. In the meantime, he spread out the book, dipped a pen in ink, and carefully filled in the missing characters on the pages, as a way to repay the young man’s care from the previous day.
As he filled in one page, the smile on Ji Hong’s lips gradually froze. He wondered in his heart why his second brother Ji Yan’s poems were also in this book.
Thinking of his second brother made Ji Hong’s expression even gloomier. His second brother was exceptionally talented, a rarity in a century. Ji Hong had heard that in the mountains, there were great monks who could exchange spirits with resentful souls through human mediums, allowing them to return to the world. Over the years, he often dreamed of his brother’s back. He wanted to ask his brother if he hated or resented him, and if he wished to return to the world through his body. But his brother never answered, only stared at him with a faceless, black void before continuously walking away, leaving him far behind.
But last night… Ji Hong lowered his eyes, his dark lashes trembling slightly. Last night, he seemed to have grabbed his brother’s hand. Although he couldn’t remember what he had said to his brother’s spirit, he recalled that the hand he held was not as cold as he had imagined, but warm, like a living person’s. Unfortunately, his brother still didn’t speak, and his face seemed shrouded in a thin mist, making it impossible to see his expression.
At that moment, the faint aroma of rice arose from the backyard of a noodle shop, and the gentle sunlight poured through the window, casting dappled light spots on the open book pages. The room was dark and quiet, but outside, there were occasional cheerful laughs, and someone called from afar, “Brother Xiao Nian,” followed by lively chatter mixed with the sound of a youthful voice full of laughter.
When Ji Hong first met this young man under the osmanthus tree, he was reminded of the day he picked wild osmanthus with his second brother, who was about the same age as the young man, reciting poetry with a charming demeanor. So much so that when the young man with fragrant sleeves walked by, Ji Hong almost thought he was dreaming. But it was still somewhat different, like the sweet flavor of the osmanthus tea yesterday and the lychee wine last night, which always lifted his spirits.
Ji Hong couldn’t help but put down the book, picked up his outer robe, and walked outside.
In the front, a flower vendor held a bowl of sticky rice porridge. Three or four customers stood nearby, sniffing and wanting to taste a spoonful, but the flower vendor wouldn’t share. He took a big sip, almost choking, then wiped his mouth and said comfortably, “Sour and spicy, refreshing! No wonder it’s called Divine Porridge, it warms you right up!”
The three or four customers were displeased, “You’re feeling like an immortal now, share some of that immortality with us too!” They then turned to Yu Jinnian, pleading, “Dear Brother Xiao Nian, make us a couple of dishes too?”
Another persuaded, “In my opinion, with your skills, even the chef at the Spring Breeze Delight restaurant can’t compare! Otherwise, the medical attendant from Shouren Hall wouldn’t have a problem, why work in this small noodle shop?”
“Bah, bah, bah, if Brother Xiao Nian went to Spring Breeze Delight, could rough folks like you afford it?” Another person mocked, making the group regret their words and quickly say, “We couldn’t afford it, couldn’t afford it.”
“Brother Wang,” Yu Jinnian said softly, looking expectantly at the flower vendor who had finished the porridge, “could you make these two pots of cypress pines a bit cheaper for me?”
Cypress pines weren’t considered good flowers in the Da Xia Kingdom. They often grew wild on rocky hillsides, self-seeding each year and spreading over time, making them cheap. The long, soft vines could be shaped into various forms, such as balls or towers, and wealthy families would use them to create flower screens. In bloom, the small star-like flowers were very beautiful, hence the nickname “Brocade Screen Seal.”
Yu Jinnian didn’t care for opulent peonies or elegant chrysanthemums and orchids. Instead, he favored lively and charming flowers like wintersweet, crabapple, and small roses. This morning, upon seeing the cypress pines on the flower vendor’s cart, he couldn’t move on, wanting to plant two pots in the backyard.
Good-looking people do have privileges. The young man’s bright eyes, slightly furrowed, gave a pitiful look, making him very endearing. The flower vendor’s heart softened, and he quickly agreed, “Alright, alright, for your Divine Porridge, I’ll take off five coins!”
Once he agreed, the other customers who had bought flowers were unhappy, teasing that he was charmed by the porridge and demanding a discount too, causing the flower vendor to awkwardly scratch his head and laugh.
Having succeeded in bargaining, Yu Jinnian happily cradled the flower pots, watching them playfully while laughing.
Ji Hong lifted the curtain and saw a pot of vines pruned into a ball shape, dotted with red and white flowers like stars, making the boy holding the flowers look as dazzling as the stars in the sky.
He was momentarily dazed, and then a small creature darted from under the curtain, leaping into the boy’s arms.
Ji Hong stepped aside and saw the boy take the leaping Sui Sui, place her on a small stool, and pull out a small plate of snacks. Sui Sui’s eyes lit up as it grabbed a golden fish-shaped dumpling, biting off the big tail with a crunch and licking the sugar crumbs from her mouth before slowly swinging her legs and saying, “Hmm… Brother Xiao Nian, what’s that person standing there for?”
“Hmm?” Yu Jinnian turned his head in the direction Sui Sui was pointing and saw a handsome young man leaning against the wall, draped in a jade green outer robe. He smiled and waved at Ji Hong. “Young Master Ji, you’re awake?” He then picked up a plate of fried sugar dumplings and ran over.
The sunlight streaming in from the front hall was dazzling, causing Ji Hong to squint his eyes. His gaze gradually focused on the boy running towards him against the light, with a faint scent of sweet red bean paste in the air. It was hard to tell if the aroma came from the dumplings or from the boy’s hands.
Yu Jinnian pulled him to sit down. “Try this.”
Ji Hong looked at the plate of six small goldfish-shaped dumplings in front of him, shaking their heads and tails cutely. He picked one up, hesitating about where to start eating. Seeing Ji Hong frown, Yu Jinnian thought he was still feeling the effects of his hangover. He quickly remembered the soft, fragrant red date and yam porridge he had simmered in the small kitchen and went to fetch it. Passing through the backyard, he grabbed a handful of dried osmanthus flowers from a bamboo sieve and sprinkled them in.
“Is there anywhere else you’re feeling unwell? Headache, chest tightness, bad taste in your mouth?” Yu Jinnian pushed the porridge bowl towards him. “Have some yam porridge; it soothes the stomach. If you like it sweeter, I also have some date flower honey I made before.”
The white porridge, bright red dates, and golden osmanthus petals, when scooped into a spoon and tasted, were sweet and glutinous enough to awaken Ji Hong’s long-dormant appetite, even without the date flower honey. When Yu Jinnian returned from the kitchen with the honey, he was surprised to see the man had already finished the entire bowl of yam porridge and had eaten several of the goldfish dumplings as well.
Ji Hong gently wiped his mouth, hesitated for a moment, and asked in a deep voice, “It was delicious… May I have another bowl?”
Yu Jinnian smiled. “Of course.”
The entire morning, Ji Hong sat in the shop like an ordinary customer, watching people come and go, listening to the lively conversations, and observing bowls in front of people filling and emptying. He saw the boy occasionally run out to greet customers enthusiastically, meeting their various requests, serving bowls of noodles that seemed similar yet slightly different.
During his comings and goings, Yu Jinnian couldn’t help but notice the silent Ji Hong sitting in the corner, observing this small world quietly like an outsider to the bustling mortal realm. Yu Jinnian had long passed the age of prying into others’ gossip and didn’t want to guess Ji Hong’s backstory. However, perhaps out of empathy, he couldn’t stand seeing a good person looking so forlorn under his watch.
Just like that day when he gave the flower lady in the carriage some candied fruit, he grabbed a plate of sunflower seeds, walnuts, candied winter melon, and honey tangerine peel to give Ji Hong a little snack.
Yu Jinnian recalled a young girl he met in a previous life who always had various snacks in her drawer and always smiled as if she knew no sorrow. When others asked her the secret to her happiness, she would pull out a bag of snacks and say, “Just eat away your worries!”
Maybe food really did have such a magical charm. Thinking this, he felt the plate of nuts might not be enough to dispel Ji Hong’s unhappiness. Just as he turned around, Sui Sui had followed him unnoticed. Taking the opportunity, he used two thin crispy biscuits as bait, coaxing Sui Sui to deliver the plate of nuts to Ji Hong.
Thin crispy biscuits were one of Sui Sui’s favorite snacks. Across the noodle shop, at the mouth of Baihua Alley, there was a Sun’s Biscuit Shop, whose thin crispy biscuits were always in high demand. The method wasn’t complicated: just oil and sugar mixed with well water to knead the dough, then made into thin round biscuits and sprinkled with sesame seeds before baking. When they came out of the oven, the warm, crispy biscuits smelled so fragrant they could attract people from miles around. Whenever Yu Jinnian asked Sui Sui to run errands for these biscuits, the little girl never complained.
Sending Sui Sui off with the plate of nuts, Yu Jinnian dove into the kitchen to make something special for the unhappy “ice block.”
He took out the dried tofu he had bought earlier, fresh bamboo shoots, radish, and mushrooms, slicing them finely. He crushed the freshly cracked walnuts with the back of a spoon, then soaked bean curd skins in water. He planned to make a dish called “Vegetarian Yellow Finch.”
This dish was vegetarian, meaning it wasn’t real yellow finch but an imitation made with vegetable strips stir-fried with soy sauce, sugar, and salt for flavor, then used as filling. Yu Jinnian cut the bean curd skins into squares, rolled the vegetable filling into the skin starting from the corner, and tied the rolls into small knots, forming “yellow finches.”
The knotted yellow finches were pan-fried until golden brown, resembling the yellow belly feathers of real finches. Finally, he simmered the remaining vegetable strips in the pan with some sauce, added the fried yellow finches to braise for a while, and once the sauce thickened, drizzled sesame oil over them before plating.
On a plain white porcelain plate, the yellow finches lay solitary. Yu Jinnian quickly blanched some green vegetables and arranged them around the plate to create the impression of “yellow finches carrying branches.”
He brought out the dish along with a pot of refreshing mint tea, made from green tea, mint, and honey.
As soon as he stepped into the front hall, he was taken aback. The little girl, who had been reluctant to deliver even a plate of nuts earlier, was now sitting obediently next to the “ice block,” her hands holding her cheeks and biting on a piece of candied winter melon, waiting expectantly for Ji Hong to crack open walnut shells for her.
Ji Hong, on the other hand, had found a short stool leg from somewhere and was lining up walnuts on the ground, cracking them one by one with expert skill. The thin-skinned walnuts cracked open with a precise seam, and Ji Hong picked them up, gently squeezed them, and a whole walnut kernel fell into his hand.
Sui Sui happily took the kernels, ate a couple, then left the rest on her little plate in front of her and started shelling sunflower seeds.
Ji Hong wiped his fingers and asked, puzzled, “Why aren’t you eating anymore?”
Sui Sui swallowed the walnuts and, suddenly timid, shook her head and whispered, “I’m saving them for Brother Xiao Nian. He hasn’t eaten anything since he woke up this morning…”
Ji Hong was silent for a moment, reached out to touch Sui Sui’s head, pushed the small dish in front of her, and said, “You eat, I’ll knock more for you and your brother.” With that, he laid out four more walnuts on the ground and picked up the bench leg again.
Seeing this, Yu Jinnian, carrying a plate of vegetarian yellow finch, approached them.
With a bang, bang, bang—just three knocks, the last walnut was misaligned and rolled away. Ji Hong reached out to chase it. Yu Jinnian also bent down, grabbed the runaway walnut, and handed it back with a smile, saying, “I made some vegetarian yellow finch, would you like to try it?”
Ji Hong looked up and saw Yu Jinnian. His expression froze, holding the unpresentable bench leg, unsure whether to lift it or put it down.
“Let me try.” Yu Jinnian sat between them, picked up the walnut Ji Hong had cracked, and tried to imitate his technique. He had always been a walnut crusher, never managing to keep one intact, often teased by Aunt Xu for scavenging crumbs from the shells. Watching Ji Hong’s refined method, he felt confident he could master it too. Naturally, the result was infuriating; the walnut seemed to have a grudge against him, shattering into many pieces. Still, Yu Jinnian wouldn’t admit defeat and continued with the last walnut.
Ji Hong, perhaps unable to bear it, suddenly reached over, applying slight pressure to Yu Jinnian’s hand.
“Oh…!” With a light exclamation from Yu Jinnian, a whole walnut kernel appeared. Excitedly, he examined it from every angle, as if discovering something great.
Sui Sui had already started eating the dish without any courtesy. Ji Hong also bit into one; the golden tofu skin contained a delightful combination of flavors—mushrooms fresh, radish vibrant, and walnuts adding a perfect crunch, making him want to lick the sauce from his chopsticks.
After finishing one, Ji Hong saw Yu Jinnian still inspecting the walnut cracking technique, with many walnut corpses piling up in front of him. Ji Hong picked up a yellow finch and handed it over, saying helplessly, “Stop playing. Eat something, and I’ll teach you later.”
Yu Jinnian reluctantly nodded, but his annoyance quickly dissipated with one bite of the yellow finch, making him feel light-hearted again.
At the other end of the noodle shop, the middle-aged flower seller had finished his meal, having sold most of his cheap flowers and plants. The remaining expensive ones had to be taken to the wealthy eastern part of town. After finishing his noodles and leaving money on the table, he looked around as if searching for someone. Soon, he laughed loudly, waving his hand, and said, “Thank you for the divine porridge, Xiao Nian!”
Yu Jinnian looked up and waved back with a smile, “Come again next time.”
Contentedly, the flower seller left the noodle shop, leading his proud gray donkey that had been admired all morning. Watching him leave, Ji Hong thought of something and said quietly, “That divine porridge…”
Yu Jinnian: “Hmm?”
Ji Hong frowned lightly, “Though called porridge, it’s also medicine. Do you understand medical principles?”
Yu Jinnian smiled without answering.
Ji Hong continued, “A healer once said, ‘All flavors in food can be medicinal, and all flavors in medicine can be part of food.’ That porridge seemed like a simple, cheap soup but was precisely the right remedy, curing the flower seller’s ailment. Remarkable.”
Sipping his mint drink, Yu Jinnian curiously asked, “Is Young Master Ji knowledgeable in medicine too? I wonder what kind of medicine could cure your ailment?”
Ji Hong didn’t answer, instead chuckling lightly, “I’ve heard healers have compassionate hearts, feeling sorrow for the hungry and distressed at the sight of suffering. These past days, I’ve been grateful for your care, suggesting you too are a person of boundless kindness, quick to help others in need…”
Yu Jinnian frowned. The more he listened, the stranger it sounded. He hadn’t hidden his medical skills in the months he’d been at the noodle shop. Occasionally, neighbors with headaches or fevers, unable to seek proper medical attention, would knock on the shop’s door. Most were anxious or desperate, some even treating it as a last resort.
Only Ji Hong, with his noble demeanor, would first engage in half an hour of literary and philosophical exchanges, praising him as if he were a living Bodhisattva. This was indeed a first.
“Young Master Ji,” Yu Jinnian said, propping his chin on his hand in boredom, wishing he could ascend to immortality right then. “I can tell you’re weak in energy and suffering from lung and kidney deficiency, but I didn’t notice you had a problem articulating your thoughts.” He switched hands to continue propping his chin. “What exactly do you want to say?”
Unfazed by being publicly labeled as having “kidney deficiency,” Young Master Ji calmly sipped his sweet tea, his demeanor elegant and composed, displaying the grace of a noble family. He stared at the floating tea leaves in his cup, sighed lightly, and said, “To be honest, I… have no home to return to.”
Yu Jinnian: “…???”