Chapter 27: Let Him Earn Some Money, Don’t Douse His Enthusiasm…

The walk from the riverbank to the Academy took about fifteen minutes.

The street outside the Academy was lined with stalls as well. Unlike the market, there were no stall fees here—it was first come, first served.

The spots closest to the Academy’s side gate were already taken. Su Yi’an wasn’t in a hurry. After looking around, she found a spot with a stone table and benches and set up her stall there.

There were noticeably more stalls here than by the river. He Ningwen stayed close to Su Yi’an, helping with every task.

“Why are you so downcast? Don’t worry, we won’t set up by the river again,” Su Yi’an said, assuming He Ningwen was still shaken by their earlier experience.

He Ningwen shook her head. “Su-jie, what if someone copies us and tries to take our spot?” That was her greatest concern.

Su Yi’an had considered this too. They couldn’t keep running away every time trouble came knocking. Some people were bullies, preying on those who looked weak. If they saw her family as easy targets, they might keep harassing them.

“This is the Academy,” Su Yi’an said, pointing to a nearby courtyard. “No one would dare cause trouble here. I heard that courtyard houses the yamen runners.”

He Ningwen, who was afraid of yamen runners, immediately averted her gaze and sat obediently by the stove, waiting for the bone broth to boil.

They had left in a hurry without eating. Su Yi’an counted out ten copper coins and pressed them into He Ningwen’s hand.

“Go wander around and buy something to eat, fill your stomach,” Su Yi’an urged. Seeing her reluctance, she added, “While you’re at it, check out what the other vendors are selling. Are any of them offering the same food as us?”

Ten copper coins was a considerable sum for He Ningwen. She dared not hold them loosely, afraid of dropping even one and regretting it bitterly.

“I’ll go take a look,” she said, tucking the coins into her hand-sewn pouch and patting it securely before leaving.

With He Ningwen gone, only Su Yi’an and He Yunhuai remained at the stall.

She couldn’t very well send him to attract customers, so Su Yi’an didn’t know what to have him do.

“Why don’t you wander around too?” she suggested, reaching into her purse for more coins.

He Yunhuai paused but didn’t argue. He wasn’t looking for food—he wanted to visit the Study.

Last time he’d been in town, the clerk at the Study had been condescending, so he hadn’t asked about book-copying work. Now that he was near the Academy, there must be another Study nearby. He figured he might as well take a look.

Once everyone had gone and the noise faded, Su Yi’an suddenly felt the silence. When people are idle, their minds wander. She stood up quickly and began kneading dough from her basket. She didn’t want to think about the past.

He Yunhuai headed toward the Academy. It wasn’t early anymore; many scholars had already gone in.

He stood across from the gate, quietly observing the scholars as they passed, trying to glimpse what books they carried.

“Why aren’t you going in? Standing here like an idiot in this cold?”

The voice sounded familiar. He Yunhuai turned to see an old acquaintance—not speaking to him, but to someone slightly behind him.

“Wang Shishu, how could you say that? I waited for you here out of kindness, and you’re so ungrateful!”

“My fault, my fault! Let me treat you to wine at Bright Moon Pavilion after class,” Wang Shishu said quickly. “Brother Gu, please don’t be angry. I’m counting on your feedback on yesterday’s essay.”

He Yunhuai felt a twinge of disappointment when Wang Shishu didn’t recognize him.

As the two walked into the Academy, He Yunhuai turned to leave—

But then someone called out, “Brother He?”

“I thought that back looked familiar! I never expected it was really you,” Wang Shishu said, clapping him on the shoulder.

He Yunhuai nodded in acknowledgment.

“How’s your family these days?” Wang Shishu asked with genuine concern.

“Everyone’s doing well,” He Yunhuai replied, grateful. When his family had been struggling, it was Scholar Wang who had bought his books, saving them from destitution.

Scholar Wang wanted to continue the conversation, but the other scholar pulled him away.

“The master is waiting. Hurry up!”

“Coming, coming. Brother He, I’ll head in first,” Wang Shishu said before ducking back inside.

He Yunhuai’s mood visibly lifted as he watched them go.

Inside the Academy, Gu Xueyan gave Wang Shishu a sharp twist to the arm, making him yelp.

“What was that for? I already apologized!” Wang Shishu muttered, rubbing his arm. If this man weren’t his future brother-in-law…

“What did your sister tell you? You helped him once and almost got beaten up. Haven’t you learned anything?” Gu Xueyan said with a glare.

If not for a servant intervening that day, Wang Shishu might not be standing here.

“Brother Gu, I know exactly what kind of person He Yunhuai is,” Wang Shishu said firmly. “Just don’t tell my sister about today, alright? I know what I’m doing.”

“You think you know what you’re doing?” Gu Xueyan rolled his eyes and walked off.

Meanwhile, He Ningwen went to the market, her stomach growling, but she didn’t buy the first thing she saw. She listened to people haggle, taking mental notes of the prices.

She counted three soup noodle stalls besides theirs, and two selling wontons. The others charged one more coin: six for plain noodles and eight for meat noodles.

After gathering information, she bought three plain buns and hurried back.

Su Yi’an was sipping bone broth. “Find anything you liked?” she asked.

He Ningwen handed over the buns and change. “Sister Su, plain buns are two coins each now.”

“Why not try a meat bun?” Su Yi’an didn’t take the money or the buns. “Keep the change. Buy what you like next time.”

He Ningwen took a bite. The dough was thick, the filling sparse. Su Yi’an noticed her hesitation.

She ladled some broth and spread a bit of meat sauce on the bun. “Try it now.”

Then He Ningwen asked in a hushed voice, “Sister Su, are we raising our noodle prices?”

“Raising prices?” Su Yi’an leaned closer, her tone conspiratorial. “Aren’t the others more expensive than us already?”

He Ningwen nodded. “There are three stalls, including ours. The others charge one *wen* more.”

Perhaps the cold weather and rising firewood prices were behind the increase. As the newcomer, Su Yi’an couldn’t undercut them too much.

“We’ll match their price,” she decided.

After finishing her bun, He Ningwen looked around. “Where’s Second Brother?”

“He went to explore. He’ll be back soon. Watch the stall—I’m off to fetch water.”

By the time Su Yi’an returned, He Yunhuai had already struck a deal with the bookstore.

He’d visited the closest one, and the clerk had immediately offered him copying work. The store provided materials and paid fifty *wen* per book. Impressed by his handwriting, the shopkeeper offered ten *wen* more.

Don’t underestimate ten *wen*—that could buy two pounds of coarse rice.

On her way back, Su Yi’an bumped into He Yunhuai. Seeing her, he took the bucket from her hands and walked beside her.

“The shopkeeper’s letting me copy books at home,” he said, explaining his new job.

Su Yi’an looked up at him, recalling their last trip to a bookshop.

“So last time, you weren’t buying books—you were hoping to earn money copying them?” she asked.

He Yunhuai nodded.

She wanted to ask how he’d find time to copy books while helping her, but she swallowed the question. He’d finally found a way to earn money—she wouldn’t douse his enthusiasm.

When they got back, two customers were already waiting. He Ningwen didn’t know how to knead dough and was trying to stall with cheerful chatter.

“Sister Su, you’re finally back! Two bowls of meat noodles!” she called excitedly.

Su Yi’an washed her hands and began preparing the noodles. He Ningwen guided the customers to the table and served them bone broth.

For the same price, they got soup on the side—what scholar wouldn’t want that?

Once Su Yi’an started working, she didn’t stop. Business was so brisk even the neighboring auntie bought a bowl.

“Sister Su, we’re almost out of noodles!” He Ningwen gasped, staring at the nearly empty tray.

It wasn’t even past noon.

“We didn’t bring much today,” Su Yi’an said, smiling despite her calm tone. “They’ve never tasted our braised sauce before.”

But He Ningwen’s worry returned. “What if someone copies our recipe?”

“Bring some sausages tomorrow,” Su Yi’an said, patting her head. “The ones at home are almost dry. With something new, we’ll last a few more days.”

Besides, they weren’t the only ones selling noodles—other vendors wouldn’t switch recipes so easily.

Unbeknownst to them, someone had already slipped into Yongyang Village, quietly gathering information about their family…