Pine Nut Candy

The old master was getting on in years and only had two apprentices working in the shop. He still had orders for several customers and worked slowly on the qipaos. It was agreed that Xia Jiao would return in two weeks to try it on and see if any adjustments were needed. In another two weeks, she could pick up the finished product.

When taking measurements, Xia Jiao wore a thin dress provided by the master. After the fitting, she changed back into her own clothes. The shop had many fabrics but no strong scents like perfume or incense, just a light touch of bergamot. Xia Jiao caught a faint pleasant aroma and walked out of the changing room, hearing Wen Chongyue and Chen Zhuren chatting.

Wen Chongyue asked, “When are you delivering it to her?”

Chen Zhuren replied, “In the next couple of days, depending on when she’s free.”

As Xia Jiao walked out, the two cousins shook hands and said their goodbyes. Chen Zhuren had to head back that evening, so Wen Chongyue didn’t insist on him staying. He held Xia Jiao’s hand, glanced at the time, and looked outside—the people were leaving in a rush, autumn had arrived, and the ginkgo trees were golden.

He asked, “Do you want to eat lamb?”

Xia Jiao was surprised, “Huh?”

Actually, during the National Day holiday, the smell of lamb had already filled the streets of Tai Cang’s Shuangfeng Street. It’s known as the “Hundred-Year Lamb Town.” The Yangtze River flows out of Jiangsu, passes through Shanghai, and heads toward the sea. Many years ago, Zheng He set sail from here on his voyages.

Tai Cang’s foreign trade economy is prosperous, and it holds the title of Jiangsu’s largest port. Most investors are from Shanghai. The city is relatively quiet, and the old town is often visited by people who come to eat lamb or enjoy a leisurely vacation.

By now, it was too late to go to Shuangfeng Town for lamb, so they went to a lamb restaurant run by a Tai Cang master. They ordered the classic Tai Cang red-braised lamb. Since Xia Jiao’s stomach wasn’t very strong and lamb isn’t easy to digest at night, Wen Chongyue had a private chat with the master and made some simple home-style dishes for Xia Jiao.

The porridge was homemade by the restaurant staff and wasn’t available for takeout. Wen Chongyue smiled and negotiated with them, paying the market price. The owner brought over two bowls of porridge and placed them in front of Xia Jiao.

Xia Jiao was amazed, “…Are they also your friends?”

Wen Chongyue chuckled, “I don’t have friends all over the world.”

“No,” Xia Jiao said, “Your actions make it feel like if you threw a mattress down from the building, you’d hit three of your friends.”

Wen Chongyue burst out laughing, “I should remind you, Jiao Jiao, high-altitude dropping is illegal.”

As they spoke, the owner brought out the lamb. It wasn’t exquisitely presented, but it had a rustic, delicious beauty. Xia Jiao couldn’t wait to try a bite. It was perfectly braised—rich but not greasy, fragrant with no strong mutton smell, tender but not falling apart. Lamb is perfect for autumn and winter, but it’s important to drink enough water and avoid too much heat. Wen Chongyue heated the ceramic cup with hot water, emptied it, and refilled it, placing it next to her right hand.

“The lamb here is mountain goat meat, a bit fattier than East Mountain lamb,” Wen Chongyue explained. “If you find this taste too mild, we can go to Taoyuan for lamb next time; their lamb has a stronger flavor. By December, we’ll have Cangshu lamb, which is imported from Shandong and Henan. It makes great soup too.”

Xia Jiao sighed, “Eating so much lamb, the sheep from Green Meadow must hate me.”

Wen Chongyue’s childhood wasn’t filled with that cartoon, but he had heard of Happy Sheep. He smiled, rubbing Xia Jiao affectionately, “It’s fine, you’re the greedy wolf.”

Xia Jiao looked up, “Teacher Wen, could you use a slightly cuter animal to describe me?”

Wen Chongyue thought for a moment, “The greedy little fatty wolf?”

Xia Jiao sighed, “Forget it.”

She lowered her head and continued eating seriously.

Elsewhere, at a hotpot shop on the street, a four-section hotpot was ordered. One section had spicy oil, another with mushrooms, and the remaining two had clear water. The fatty beef slices had already been cooked, and the cabbage was briefly blanched before being removed.

“Forget it,” Yu Qingzhen sighed. She took the cabbage from the red oil hot pot, dipped it in the clear water pot to rinse off the excess oil, and then placed it in the dipping sauce dish filled with sesame paste. After rolling it up, she pressed it down and slowly took a bite.

“Why are you giving me money?” Yu Qingzhen asked, puzzled. “You’re just a child, where did you get so much money?”

“I’m not a child,” Red hair—oh no, Zhu Mengcheng insisted. “I’m eighteen.”

Yu Qingzhen couldn’t help but laugh, considering that, to her, someone his age was still a child.

The hot pot had begun to boil, bubbling away, yet he ate very little. When he saw Yu Qingzhen eating from the spicy pot, he kept dipping food into the clear water pot and the mushroom pot, as if afraid she would find it dirty.

Yu Qingzhen didn’t mind.

She threatened Zhu Mengcheng to call the police, and only then did he tell the truth.

Last time when they ended up at the police station, Zhu Mengcheng heard a volunteer officer mention that Yu Qingzhen had been scammed out of sixty thousand yuan, and he came up with a foolish plan to transfer the money to her.

The money came from his father, as his living expenses and pocket money, through legitimate means.

“Fine,” Yu Qingzhen asked, “But why give me money? Is it compensation for harassing me? If that’s the case, I can’t accept it. I’ll transfer it back to you later at the bank. Don’t think that giving me money will make this harassment issue disappear.”

After hearing that, she saw Zhu Mengcheng finally show a flustered side. His face, neck, and even behind his ears turned red, as if someone had thrown a basin of hot water in his face.

“N-no, it’s not harassment,” Zhu Mengcheng stammered, flustered and helpless, eager to prove his innocence. “It’s not harassment… I saw you fall, face down. The teacher said… people who drink too much can choke on their own vomit… I… I wanted to help you clean it up.”

Yu Qingzhen looked at him, expressionless: “Keep lying. Go on.”

“I’m not lying!” Zhu Mengcheng’s face turned as red as his head, “You believe me, if you don’t, we can go to the police station and request to see the surveillance footage. I’m not lying to you. If I’m lying, let me be hit by a car the moment I step outside.”

Yu Qingzhen scolded him, “What’s with the vicious oath at your age? Then tell me, why were you following me?”

Zhu Mengcheng fell silent. He lowered his head and ate a piece of meat, then drank a full glass of water.

He said, “Don’t you remember me?”

Yu Qingzhen was confused. “What?”

“We’re from the same hometown,” Zhu Mengcheng said, mentioning a city’s name. “You’re a student from No. 1 High School, right? There’s a small park next to the square by the school. You used to go there often to memorize vocabulary, by the small lake in the park…”

Yu Qingzhen: “Hmm?”

“Do you remember?” Zhu Mengcheng looked at her. “One winter, you helped a little boy. He was pushed into the lake by some older students. You pulled him out and beat up those older students with a branch until they wet their pants.”

Yu Qingzhen was stunned: “They wet themselves? …Wait, I think I helped a girl… your sister?”

Zhu Mengcheng said, “That’s me.”

Silence.

The red oil hot pot was boiling, bubbling and splashing, tinting the surrounding clear water pot with a touch of red.

Yu Qingzhen gasped: “You… had a sex change?”

Zhu Mengcheng: “…”

He rubbed his hair, letting out a deep sigh.

At the same time, Xia Jiao also sighed.

But it was just a contented burp.

Her stomach was full, warm and soft. On their way, they passed a stall selling desserts and candies. Wen Chongyue stopped the car again, bought classic zongzi candy, peanut candy, and crisp candy, packed them up to be carried in her bag for later.

At 7:30, the two went to Guangyu Book Hall to listen to Pingtan. The afternoon and evening sessions were a bit different here. Afternoon tea was cheap, and by buying a cup of tea, one could listen to two hours of storytelling. In the evening, the consumption was higher, as it was a point-and-sing format, with additional fees.

Wen Chongyue didn’t mind the price differences. Tonight’s Pingtan was performed by a master, but Xia Jiao didn’t quite understand it, though she listened attentively. After it ended, she walked slowly with Wen Chongyue towards home. The road was full of lights, and Xia Jiao tilted her head to look at the bright moon in the sky.

But now, she didn’t need to look up.

Her moon was right there on her left hand side, just an arm’s length away.

Back at the flower shop, when the topic of Yu Qingzhen’s recovered sixty thousand yuan came up, the other person just smiled as usual, saying nothing. The only strange thing was that when they saw Zhu Mengcheng lingering outside the shop again, Yu Qingzhen didn’t show that strong aversion. She just sighed and casually said to Xia Jiao, “He’s just a poor kid. His mother passed away early, and his dad remarried, not caring about him… forget it. I told him to study well, but I don’t know if he’ll listen.”

Xia Jiao felt that the boy had probably listened.

At least for the past four days, that boy had been sitting quietly outside the flower shop around 5:40 PM, after vocational high school finished, and then he would leave.

Xia Jiao wasn’t sure if it was just her imagination, but she felt like his uniform had started to look cleaner, no longer worn messily, and he had begun to zip it up.

It might also be because the weather had gotten colder, and the low temperature didn’t support him sloppily wearing his uniform.

On Friday night, they returned to Beijing with Yu Tan. They arrived late at night, and the next morning, Wen Chongyue drove them to Tan Zhi Temple to worship Buddha.

There’s an old saying in Beijing: “First came Tan Zhi Temple, then came the city of Yanjing.” This temple has been here since the Jin Dynasty and was given the name “Xiu Yun Temple” by Emperor Kangxi, making it extraordinary.

At the temple, the group split up. Wen Qiming went to meet his old friend, and Yu Tan went to pray, leaving Wen Chongyue and Xia Jiao to wander freely.

Wen Chongyue laughed, saying, “Old Qin says this temple is very spiritual. It’s surprising, considering he’s almost thirty and suddenly believes in gods and Buddha.”

Xia Jiao solemnly said, “Don’t speak disrespectfully here in the temple.”

Wen Chongyue looked surprised and carefully examined his wife. “What’s this? Jiao Jiao believes it now?”

Xia Jiao took out her phone and started scrolling. “I didn’t believe it at first, but you said Old Qin believed it. That means the wish he made here came true. I should take it more seriously—better to believe than not, you know? Ever heard the saying? ‘The son does not speak of strange forces or gods.’”

Wen Chongyue nodded. “I’ve heard of it. But, Jiao Jiao, why are you opening Alipay?”

“I found it!”

Xia Jiao opened the page. She pulled her ID card from her pocket and pressed it against her phone, holding them together tightly. With her hands folded in prayer, she said earnestly to Wen Chongyue, “Didn’t they say this place is very effective? I’m going to pray to Buddha later, hoping he’ll make me rich overnight.”

“To make sure he doesn’t miss me, I’ve already prepared my ID card and payment code.”