Neither Su Ping nor Cai Zhi were literate, so of course they didn’t recognize the name of the shop written on the signboard above the door.
By now, they were both hungry and cold, wanting nothing more than a good hot meal to drive away the chill and warm their bodies.
Though they had two guan in their hands, they were reluctant to spend it. Seeing the half-person-high stacks of steamers on the long counter at the front, with steam billowing up, it had to be a bun shop.
Buns they could afford—eating a couple wouldn’t cost many copper coins. And if they were brazen enough, they could even ask the shopkeeper for a bowl of clear broth.
Both thinking the same thing, they exchanged a look and strode over without hesitation.
Su Chi had just been inside serving two bowls of vegetable congee to customers and hadn’t noticed the arrival of two familiar faces he didn’t want to see. When he turned around and spotted them, he froze, his brows knitting slightly, his expression souring—like spotting an annoying fly.
At the shop entrance, Su Ping was putting on a show of reading the wooden signboard listing the menu, squinting hard as if trying to decipher the characters. Though she couldn’t read, she made quite a performance of it—anyone who didn’t know better might have thought she was literate.
It wasn’t until Cai Zhi beside her exclaimed in surprise that she snapped out of it, following his gaze inside.
“Well, well, isn’t this Chi-ge’er?” Su Ping’s eyes went wide when she recognized the shopkeeper inside, the words slipping out before she could stop herself.
Could this shop be…?!
She quickly put it together, pointing at the establishment and asking Su Chi: “You opened this shop?”
Her tone was astonished, and a little sour.
Wang Wen was a tight-lipped man—you couldn’t pry anything out of him with a saw. He never told them anything about his family, so how were they supposed to know his son had opened a proper shop in town?
She wasn’t the only one feeling sour. Beside her, Cai Zhi was surveying the shop inside and out, his eyes dripping with envy as he said acidly: “How grand. No more street stall—now you have a real shop. Chi-ge’er, you’re so lucky.”
Even though it wasn’t morning rush, the bun shop was still doing good business. If that wasn’t luck, what was?
Su Chi ignored their snide remarks. He was alone right now—if he engaged with them, they’d only get more worked up. Better to say nothing and let them be.
They’d agreed never to associate with each other again, yet these two seemed to have lost their memories—one moment spouting harsh words, the next forgetting what they’d just said.
Su Chi completely ignored them and walked over to the five-spice egg pot, scooping out a few eggs into small dishes for customers.
As soon as the pot was opened, the rich braised aroma hit the two of them square in the face. They sniffed with their eyes closed for a long moment, and their stomachs simultaneously let out strange, rumbling growls.
Cai Zhi craned his neck to peer into the pot, quietly swallowing: “So fragrant! Chi-ge’er, what’s in that pot of yours? Your aunt and I have been traveling all morning and we’re exhausted. What a coincidence that we happened to stop right in front of your shop—just bring us one of everything, we’ll eat whatever.”
With that, the two made as if to walk inside, shivering outside in the cold.
They’d been standing out there freezing, stamping their feet and rubbing their red hands, desperate to get inside and sit down while Su Chi waited on them with good food and drink.
But now all the seats inside were taken. They couldn’t go in, yet they couldn’t just stand there either. They rarely came to places like this and hesitated at the door, uncertain.
The shop was much warmer inside—a thick cotton curtain hung over the door, installed by Xie Yushu a few days earlier.
That thick curtain blocked out the freezing air outside. In the back kitchen, pots bubbled away, steam drifting through the shop. The people inside were eating hot food, sweating from the warmth—they looked so cozy.
Their unwelcome, sizing-up gazes returned to Su Chi. He wore a padded jacket underneath, topped with a thick yet not bulky outer robe. The light color made his skin look fair, and the fabric was worlds better than their own clothes—washed stiff and patched over and over.
Su Ping felt bitter inside, barely managing a dry smile: “Chi-ge’er, your life has really turned around since you got married.”
Not to mention how much that fabric on his back cost—even this modest shop must have taken a good amount of silver to set up.
Where did these two poor wretches get the money? That Xie woman didn’t have a proper livelihood either. Their family had been waiting to see the couple make fools of themselves—who would have thought that in just a few days, they’d opened a shop?
Could the money have come from what Su Chi had saved from his stall before?
The moment this thought surfaced, Su Ping felt both anxious and resentful, her chest tight with discomfort.
This craft really made money. If only this craft belonged to her family.
She hated the father and son duo with a burning passion, though she didn’t show it too openly—but the resentment grew stronger with each passing day.
Why had her eldest sister passed down the bun-making craft to her son?
He wasn’t even a daughter—why didn’t she pass it directly to her? Had she lost her mind?
When Su Hui was alive, Su Ping hadn’t dared to ask. After she died, she’d certainly thought about taking the craft back from Su Chi—but how?
She could think about it all she wanted, but she knew it wouldn’t be easy. That was the skill he depended on for his livelihood—he wouldn’t just hand it over.
She understood all of this perfectly. She wasn’t going to get the family craft back. But since she couldn’t have it, she couldn’t let herself lose out either. All these years, she’d taken advantage of Su Chi’s family without a shred of shame, never feeling thick-skinned about it. After all, their family owed her—so what if she took a little?
Yet looking at this warm, busy shop, and the fine fabric on her nephew’s back, the resentment still stuck in her throat, impossible to swallow.
Ignoring whatever was going through his wife’s mind, Cai Zhi’s eyes were fixed on Su Chi’s clothes, gleaming with desire. He reached out to touch them, but before his hand could even brush the fabric, Su Chi dodged away. He could only withdraw his hand awkwardly.
Seeing that Su Chi wasn’t going to acknowledge them at all, the couple felt a bit uneasy.
It seemed this time, they wouldn’t be getting a free meal.
Cai Zhi touched his nose, not daring to meet Su Chi’s eyes, lacking confidence: “Then two bowls of wontons, four big meat buns, and four of those fragrant black eggs.”
The wontons were bigger than at other shops—they looked delicious.
Su Chi didn’t even look up: “That’ll be forty-four wen. Pay first.”
He knew his aunt and uncle’s ways all too well. If he didn’t collect the money upfront, he’d never see it again. He wasn’t about to let them take advantage of him anymore.
At that price, Cai Zhi couldn’t contain himself. He shrieked from outside the shop: “What! We only ordered a few things and it’s already half a qian? Are your goods made of gold?”
Then he edged closer to Su Chi: “Besides, we’re your elders. You’re going to charge us for eating a little something? If word of this gets out, people will laugh at you!”
“Small business. No credit.” Su Chi sat on his low stool, fingers flying as he wrapped wontons, not bothering to give them another glance.
His tone and attitude made it perfectly clear.
Take it or leave it.
Su Ping and her husband weren’t so easily dismissed. Their freeloading instincts kicked in—even after being rebuffed, they still tried to use their status as elders to pressure Su Chi, standing at the door and going on and on about how ungrateful he was.
Su Chi thought he’d just let them finish their tirade and leave. But then he reconsidered—there were customers inside. If they kept this up, the customers wouldn’t be able to eat in peace. He needed to figure out how to get rid of them.
Just then, a customer asked him what was going on with the two people at the door—were they beggars? Maybe just give them a bun to send them off, so everyone could eat in peace.
Su Chi stood up and headed for the door. The moment he stepped out, he spotted two people passing by from the end of the street.
It was Aunt Hu and her son. They seemed to have just come from home and happened to be passing by.
Hu Yuan had sharp eyes. He noticed the two people at the shop entrance chattering away, their tone and attitude clearly off. Looking up, he recognized the husband who had come to their house to buy vinegar—he was the one arguing with them at the door.
Hu Yuan immediately came over to Su Chi’s side: “Husband Su, are they causing trouble?”
He was certain of it. Husband Su was clearly good-natured—the type who would never quarrel with anyone. If there was trouble, it could only be these two causing it.
They didn’t look like good people.
Watching someone being targeted and harassed at their own shop—it struck a chord with Aunt Hu. It reminded her of something. She stepped forward and confronted the two of them.
“What are you doing? Bullying?” Her face was naturally stern, her voice not loud but cold as ice, her eyes fixed on them mercilessly.
Seeing that someone had come to Su Chi’s defense—and such a fierce woman at that—Su Ping and Cai Zhi, who had been so loud just moments ago, were suddenly like ducks with their throats squeezed, unable to make a sound.
The two exchanged glances, as if both asking, “Who is this person?”
In the end, they got no food and only ended up colder than before. Su Ping left with Cai Zhi in a huff, shooting Su Chi one last vicious glare before she went. But Su Chi didn’t even look at them.
With the annoying flies finally gone, he lifted the thick cotton curtain and warmly invited the Hu mother and son to come in and warm themselves. He offered to get them some vegetable congee and five-spice eggs, but Aunt Hu waved her hand, said it wasn’t necessary, and pulled her son away.
Hu Yuan walked behind his mother, quietly turning back to wave at Su Chi.
Su Chi smiled and waved back.
·
At noon, Su Chi made enough food for three. Besides his and Xie Yushu’s portions, Ye Youchun would also be joining them for lunch.
That morning, Xie Yushu had been called away by Ye Youchun. They’d gone together to meet the casual buyers who wanted to purchase dried kelp from her.
Ye Youchun had done well with this—she’d kept a list of everyone and arranged for them to meet at a restaurant at the ferry today.
After the deals were settled, Xie Yushu wanted to treat her to a good meal. But the food outside didn’t meet Xie Yushu’s standards, so she invited Ye Youchun to eat with them instead.
She’d seen how Ye Youchun ate at the ferry—a dry flatbread with a gulp of cold water. Those dry, hard things were truly unappetizing. Many people at the ferry got by like that every day just to save a few mouthfuls of grain for their families.
Before leaving, Xie Yushu had stopped by the shop to let Su Chi know. He’d kept it in mind and, when meal time approached, made three dishes and a soup, waiting for them to return.
The three of them sat at the innermost table in the dining area, eating and talking about the day’s events.
Su Chi didn’t want to keep anything from Xie Yushu and told her slowly about what had happened that morning.
“They came looking for trouble with you?” Xie Yushu’s expression twisted with disgust, like she’d seen something filthy.
Su Chi picked up a deep-fried meatball, crispy and browned, dipped it in sauce, and placed it in Xie Yushu’s bowl, saying casually: “It wasn’t too bad. They left quickly—it wasn’t really trouble.”
He also explained that Aunt Hu from the Hu family had happened to pass by and kindly helped him out, saying she was a good-hearted auntie.
Xie Yushu took his hand and squeezed it: “Good. Next time I’ll go thank her in person.”
“And if you run into them again, have someone call Youchun at the ferry—I’ll know and come back as soon as I hear.”
Su Chi looked at her with amusement. By the time she got back, those two would already be long gone. Still, he didn’t want to dampen her enthusiasm. He curved his eyes in a smile and said, “Alright.”
These weren’t private matters between the couple—they spoke openly, letting Ye Youchun hear everything.
“I’ll remember,” Ye Youchun acknowledged.
She also knew that Su Ping was an unprincipled person. She hadn’t expected that even after Su Fūlang got married, they’d still be so shameless—coming all the way just to cause trouble for him?
Ye Youchun didn’t say much more after that, just kept her head down and ate. Bite after bite, she couldn’t seem to stop her chopsticks.
The food was simply too delicious. She’d never eaten anything this good before—Su Fūlang’s cooking was truly unmatched. No wonder everyone back in the village sang his praises.
She ate fast and swallowed fast, quickly scraping her bowl clean without a single grain of rice left behind. Clearly still hungry, she picked up a few more bites of the other dishes.
Xie Yushu noticed. With her build and strength, there was no way one bowl would fill her up. She told her to get more rice: “Have another bowl. There’s more in the steamer.”
“It’s right there—I made a lot. Enough for both of you,” Su Chi said, pointing to the steamer in the back kitchen.
Caught looking like a starving ghost, Ye Youchun felt a little embarrassed. But after a moment, still red-eared, she went to the back and added several large, tightly packed scoops of rice to her bowl.
Su Chi held back a smile and ladled soup for them.
Seeing Xie Yushu eating with such relish, he found himself eating more rice too.
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