If Ah Chun behaved, Brother would kiss Ah Chun at night.
In front of a noodle shop, Yu Jinnian was unloading a cart and unhitching a donkey. He was talking to Ji Hong about being followed. Qing Huan overheard and, rolling up her sleeves, said, “Brother Nian, leave this to me. I’ll catch that little slut and have her for Brother Nian to enjoy with his wine.” She accidentally let some vulgar words slip from the brothel. She glanced at Ji Hong, saw his indifferent and cold expression, and quickly blinked away.
Yu Jinnian chuckled, carried a basket of fish and seaweed, and walked into the noodle shop. The front hall was already swept clean, the tables and corners wiped shiny. A few wildflowers in a long-necked vase on the counter added a touch of warmth. The aroma of hot food filled the shop, the familiar warmth banishing the chill from their bodies, making them feel extremely comfortable.
Since Yu Jinnian was not around this morning, Qing Huan took the liberty to steam buns and cook porridge with small dishes. She knew her cooking skills were not up to Brother Nian’s standards and feared ruining the shop’s reputation. Surprisingly, shortly after opening, many people came in. They were dressed uniformly in blue-grey servant attire, with leg bindings, and spoke quickly with varying accents, mostly northern. This group was efficient and undemanding, even praising Qing Huan’s simple dishes. Their presence made the shop less desolate and managed to uphold its reputation.
Yu Jinnian glanced at the group, and Qing Huan quickly explained, “A large entourage moved into Fulai Inn yesterday, apparently important people from the capital, though their exact identity is unknown. While their master stays at the inn, the servants are out looking for food.”
“I see,” Yu Jinnian nodded and hurried to the backyard to prepare for the midday business.
Ji Hong passed through the front hall, frowned slightly at the group of servants.
The noodle shop specialized in noodles, so there was always a pot of bone broth simmering in the kitchen. The leftover bones from making meat sauce were slowly boiled, the top layer of oil skimmed off, leaving a rich and flavorful white broth. At the fish market earlier, he had bought a large bag of small shrimp skins. Though lacking in meat and with a fishy taste, shrimp skins were not favored compared to plump shrimp and crabs or the rich taste of fish and shellfish. Inland cities, where seafood was not popular, especially disdained them.
However, shrimp skins were actually excellent for enhancing flavor. With them and bone broth, Yu Jinnian planned to make shrimp skin noodles. While thinking this over, he couldn’t resist pinching a bit of shrimp skin to eat raw.
Chewing the shrimp skin, he chopped green onions and sautéed them in oil, then added a handful of shrimp skins to stir-fry. Since shrimp skins were naturally salty, he added little salt and a bit of dark soy sauce for color. The once pale shrimp skins turned crispy golden and emitted a savory aroma.
As the fried shrimp skins were taken out of the pan, Ji Hong, having changed his clothes, came in to help.
Yu Jinnian instructed Ji Hong to line up empty bowls and ladle half a spoonful of bone broth into each, then went out to fetch some cabbage, washed it, and sliced it on the chopping board. Ji Hong came over, suddenly blocking his light. Yu Jinnian looked up to tell him to move, but Ji Hong cupped his chin, their lips meeting again, sticking together, sucking with unusual tenderness.
Caught off guard, Yu Jinnian froze, like a goose in shock. His slightly parted lips gave Ji Hong the chance to invade, his tongue exploring boldly, even licking his palate before retreating, saying, “Fishy.”
Yu Jinnian snapped back, covering his mouth and jumping back, feeling like his mouth had been licked by a poisonous snake, his entire mouth and throat tingling with Ji Hong’s taste.
Ji Hong, unfazed, continued serving bone broth as if nothing had happened.
Yu Jinnian glared at him, fuming, “Don’t kiss me suddenly.”
Ji Hong’s eyes twinkled with amusement, “So it’s fine if it’s not sudden?”
“…” Yu Jinnian choked, turning away from him, chopping cabbage in silence.
Just as he was blanching the cabbage, Qing Huan limped over—her legs had mostly healed, but she was left with a limp, given the limited medical technology at the time. Yu Jinnian had no better solution. Luckily, Qing Huan was cheerful and didn’t mind—she came over excitedly, “Brother Nian, we caught it!”
Yu Jinnian was puzzled, “Caught what?”
Qing Huan said, “The little guy who was following you, here he is. I took a walk and saw him sneaking around at the mouth of the alley opposite, peeking towards us.”
Yu Jinnian then noticed the young boy hiding behind Qing Huan, trembling and too scared to show his face. He observed the basket in the boy’s hand and suddenly remembered, saying in surprise, “It’s you?”
It was the young boy selling silk flowers whom he had bumped into at the fish market that morning.
The boy buried his face in Qing Huan’s back, clutching her clothes with one hand. Despite his short stature and cute appearance, he was clearly a boy, making his clinginess to Qing Huan inappropriate. Qing Huan, annoyed and embarrassed, said, “You little rascal, taking advantage of your sister, aren’t you?”
“N-no, I wasn’t,” the boy stammered, even more embarrassed, refusing to lift his face.
Although he was only a few years younger than Yu Jinnian, the boy’s speech and actions were still like those of a child. Yu Jinnian softened his tone, bent his knees slightly, and asked, “You don’t need to hide. We can all see you. What’s your name, and why are you following us?”
The boy shyly revealed his eyes, blinking as he replied, “Chun.”
Yu Jinnian felt puzzled, “Your name is… Chun?”
The boy nodded.
Alright, Chun it is, thought Yu Jinnian, patiently continuing, “Then tell me, why are you following me?”
Xiao Chun looked up at Qing Huan, seemingly gauging her reaction. Qing Huan couldn’t help but laugh, “Why are you looking at me? Do you think there are words on my face?” Though her tone wasn’t harsh, Xiao Chun’s face wrinkled, and tears started falling as he blinked, letting go of his basket, scattering the silk flowers everywhere.
Qing Huan exclaimed in shock, “Hey, am I that scary?”
Yu Jinnian felt a headache coming on, wondering how he had ended up with such a troublesome crying child. He couldn’t just let the boy cry, so he went back to the kitchen, ladled a bowl of hot bone broth, sprinkled some shrimp skins and a few cabbage leaves, and coaxed the boy to sit on a round stool in the courtyard. “Alright, if you keep crying, you won’t look good. Did you eat anything this morning? Here, have some soup.”
At the mention of not looking good, the boy immediately stopped crying, sniffling as he held the bowl, drinking the soup in small sips. He then asked, “Ah Chun isn’t crying anymore. If Ah Chun doesn’t look good, Brother won’t be happy. If Brother isn’t happy, Ah Chun won’t be happy either… Does Ah Chun look good now?”
Yu Jinnian, unsure where he found the patience to comfort the crying child, said, “You look good, Ah Chun looks the best.” Finally making the boy smile, Yu Jinnian’s back was aching from bending over. Just then, a hand gently massaged his waist, then brought a stool for him to sit down.
He smiled at Ji Hong and turned back to ask the boy, “Ah Chun is happy now, so can you tell me why you followed me?”
The boy blinked his big eyes, staring at Yu Jinnian for a moment before timidly saying, “You can cure people, right?” Fearing Yu Jinnian might deny it, he quickly added, “I saw you! By the river, you saved someone! That person couldn’t move, and you saved them. My brother can still move, so you can save him too, right?”
“This…” Yu Jinnian thought, realizing the boy had come to ask him to heal someone.
Seeing Yu Jinnian hesitate, the boy thought he was unwilling to treat his brother. He quickly jumped down, picking up the scattered silk flowers one by one and putting them back in the basket. He then pushed the basket towards Yu Jinnian, seriously saying, “Ah Chun’s silk flowers are the best and most valuable. Brother said they’re worth a fortune! Ah Chun doesn’t want them anymore. You can have them all if you treat my brother, okay?”
Yu Jinnian raised his hand and said, “Wait, how much is each flower?”
The boy responded matter-of-factly, “Each flower is worth a thousand gold pieces! That’s what my brother said.”
“…” Yu Jinnian asked, “How many have you sold?”
At this, the boy pouted unhappily, “I haven’t sold a single one…”
Well, that made sense. Who would be foolish enough to buy a silk flower for a thousand gold pieces? Yu Jinnian scrutinized the boy, growing more worried as a realization dawned on him—the boy was probably not very bright.
However, the boy’s soft clothing, well-nourished complexion, and chubby wrists indicated he hadn’t suffered much hardship. And given his constant mention of his brother, it seemed he came from a somewhat well-off family. Perhaps his brother was indeed seriously ill, leaving him to venture out to sell silk flowers to make money.
Yu Jinnian wasn’t overly sentimental, but he couldn’t ignore this silly boy wandering the streets. Moreover, with his cute appearance, there was a risk that he might end up in the hands of human traffickers. That would be truly tragic.
Taking the boy’s basket, Yu Jinnian placed it beside him, gently soothing him to stay put and not run around or follow people on the streets. He asked, “Can you tell me where your brother lives?”
“In Huaishu Alley,” the boy stood up excitedly, grabbing Yu Jinnian’s hand, “Are you going to see him? To treat him! I’ll take you right now!”
Yu Jinnian smiled helplessly, “Not right now. You see, I have a lot of business to attend to. I’ll go in the afternoon when there are fewer people.”
The boy looked back at the bustling front hall, surprisingly didn’t throw a tantrum, and instead nodded understandingly, “I know, there are many people buying things, and it’s busy. My brother used to be busy selling things too, and I’d wait at home. If Ah Chun behaved, Brother would kiss and hug Ah Chun at night.” He boasted, “But Ah Chun always behaves, so Brother hugs Ah Chun every day and sleeps with Ah Chun too!”
So, his brother was also a businessman. But wasn’t it a bit odd for brothers to kiss and hug so much? Or perhaps they weren’t really brothers?
He patted the stool seat, saying earnestly, “Ah Chun will sit here and wait for you. You hurry and sell your things. After you’re done, you must call Ah Chun! Even if Ah Chun falls asleep, you must wake Ah Chun!”
“Alright, alright, I’ll definitely call you,” Yu Jinnian agreed, patting his head. He then turned to Qing Huan, “Keep an eye on him, don’t let him run around.”
“Got it, Brother Nian. I’ll watch over him,” Qing Huan replied.
Yu Jinnian returned to the kitchen, instructing Ji Hong to hang up the sign for shrimp skin noodles. Soon, Qing Huan’s voice was heard calling out orders. In the kitchen, Yu Jinnian prepared fresh, hot white noodles for each bowl, added half a ladle of bone broth, a few cabbage leaves, and a spoonful of fried green onions and shrimp skins—the shrimp skin noodles were ready.
The noodle shop often introduced new dishes, even noodle varieties, with a touch of creativity. Today’s shrimp skin noodles’ aroma attracted many food lovers. Yu Jinnian set up a bowl of fried shrimp skins and a bowl of blanched cabbage, then taught Qing Huan how to make the noodles before taking a bowl to the front hall himself. Ever since Aunt Xu stopped managing, he was practically a co-owner and needed to listen to customers’ feedback.
The front hall was lively. The group of servants hadn’t left, having turned the noodle shop into a tea house after their morning meal. Approaching noon, they felt a bit guilty and each ordered a bowl of today’s special shrimp skin noodles, eating heartily with chili.
One person exclaimed, “I didn’t expect these tiny shrimp skins to be so delicious!”
Another mocked him, “You’re new here and haven’t had good food, have you? Though these shrimp skin noodles are tasty, they’re still simple fare. If you follow the Third Master long enough, you’ll get to eat all sorts of exotic delicacies!”
“Nonsense! It’s called deer tail bird’s nest! What’s fish nest? How could you not know that and still talk about it? Why don’t you just chew on mud?”
“Hahaha! Yes, yes, I’m also inexperienced!”
The group laughed heartily.
After the laughter subsided, someone asked, “Where is Third Young Master Min going this time?”
“Who knows? Except for a few close attendants around the Third Young Master, no one knows where he is headed. Don’t worry about it; just follow along. You won’t be short of food, drink, clothing, or shelter. We should be content. In the Min household, besides Third Young Master Min, who is easy to get along with? Third Young Master Min is a carefree soul, always wandering about, which is better than being beaten or sold off in the manor, right?”
“That’s true,” nodded the new servant, whispering, “But isn’t the Second Young Master also known to be a gentleman? Why don’t we see him often in the manor?”
The older servants quickly shook their heads and looked around, saying, “Our Second Young Master has been troubled lately!”
The new servant asked, “How so?”
One of the older servants mouthed, “Do you know that family? Their Third Young Master is ill, and our Second Young Master has been more concerned than their own family, looking for doctors and medicines everywhere and hardly staying at home. But that one is always sick, so it’s not a big deal… If you’re looking for our Second Young Master, just send someone to their house, and you’ll naturally find him in their Third Young Master’s room!”
“Is that so? They must be extraordinary friends then.”
The older servant nodded, “Of course. Everyone in the capital knows that the Second Young Master and that one have been close since childhood.” He clicked his tongue, “But it’s strange. In the past, whether sick or not, our Second Young Master would be at that house every day. Now everyone says that one is critically ill, yet the Second Young Master hasn’t visited even once. He just sends medicines through servants. Who knows if their relationship is good or not?”
Another person sighed, “Don’t worry about it. Let’s eat our noodles!”
Yu Jinnian, busy cleaning up the noodle shop, heard most of the conversation. Carrying a stack of dirty bowls to the back, he saw Ji Hong tending to the flowers in the courtyard and asked curiously, “Ah Hong, why are you messing with the flowers? Come help in the front hall!”
He placed the bowls in a basin and went to find Ji Hong, squatting beside him and gossiping, “I heard from the customers that the person who came is the Third Young Master Min from the capital. They also said the Second Young Master from their family is close friends with the seriously ill Third Young Master from the Ji family…”
Ji Hong suddenly looked up, frowned, and grabbed Yu Jinnian’s hands, silencing his chatter with a kiss.
He said calmly, “Mind your own business.”
Yu Jinnian, covering his mouth, protested, “… You kissed me again suddenly!”
“How about if I ask first? Can I kiss you?” Ji Hong lowered his head, his fingers gently caressing Yu Jinnian’s soft, rosy lips. The young man didn’t answer, so Ji Hong kissed him again. Yu Jinnian, murmuring, turned his head and saw Ah Chun staring at them from the other side of the courtyard. Instantly embarrassed, he thought, what should I do now that an outsider has seen us!
“Don’t be afraid.” Ji Hong let go, pinching his hand, “Alright, go back to work.”
Yu Jinnian, angry enough to want to throw a bowl at Ji Hong’s head, found no bowl at hand. So, he ran over, picked a silk flower from Ah Chun’s basket, and hurried back to stick it in Ji Hong’s hair, threatening, “Leave it there! Don’t take it off!”
Ji Hong chuckled, “Alright, I won’t take it off.”
Yu Jinnian, looking back every few steps, saw Ji Hong indeed wearing the flower. The person and the flower complemented each other, making the person even more beautiful than the flower. His anger quickly dissipated, replaced by joy, and he returned to the front hall to continue working.
After lunch, as customers dwindled, the group of servants also left.
Yu Jinnian and a few others had lunch at the noodle shop. After cleaning up, he packed his things and followed Ah Chun home to see his brother.