Business went fairly smoothly today. People came and went in front of the stall, with customers stopping intermittently to buy a pancake or a bowl of cold noodles. Since it was her first time there, Song Xunchun didn’t really step forward to greet customers; she just stayed in the back helping to tidy up the tables. Lin Yue and Shen Lingzhi—one making pancakes, the other mixing the noodles—worked in an orderly fashion.

No sooner had the stall been set up than Lin Yue picked up a basket of pastries and called out over his shoulder, “Mother, Lingzhi, you two watch the stall while I go around and call out to the customers.”

Shen Lingzhi replied, “Don’t worry, Brother. I’ll keep an eye on things.”

Having been away from town for a few days, Lin Yue had barely stepped out onto North Gate Street when he ran into a regular customer.

“Young Master Lin, it’s been a while. I was just thinking about your cold noodles when you finally showed up.”

Lin Yue smiled and stepped aside. “Thank you for thinking of us, Auntie. We’ve been so busy with farm work these past few days that we couldn’t find the time. We’ve also sprouted some soybean sprouts today—they go perfectly with the cucumber strips in the cold noodles. Would you like to try some?”

“Is that so? Then I’ll go take a look right now—I haven’t had lunch yet anyway.”

“Take your time, Auntie. I still need to go sell some pastries, so I won’t walk you over.”

The woman with the silver hairpin waved her hand. “There’s no need to see me off. It’s just a short walk. Go on with your work.” 

“Thank you for your understanding.”

The first street Lin Yue went to was still Lihua Alley; he visited other places afterward. At first, Lin Yue had worried that the pastries wouldn’t sell well because they didn’t look appealing, but to his surprise, they sold quite well—he sold ten pieces just in Lihua Alley alone.

Apart from selling pastries, the purpose of this trip was to inquire about Butcher Zhou’s family in Qingxi Village. The nearby villages weren’t too far apart, but their accents had subtle differences. Lin Yue had a keen ear; he could usually tell which village someone was from just by hearing them speak.

Unfortunately, this skill didn’t come in handy, as Lin Yue never encountered anyone from Qingxi Village.

After a long while, Lin Yue had wandered all over the town, and most of the pastries in his hands were sold out. Looking at the crowds coming and going all around him, Lin Yue sighed. “Oh well, if I can’t find them, I can’t find them. I’ll just go back and set up my stall.”

Lin Yue was currently on South Gate Street, right at the town entrance. Having made up his mind, his steps lightened, and he called out from time to time, determined to sell the remaining pastries before returning to his stall.

“Freshly made buckwheat and red bean cakes—sweet and delicate! Sorghum and red bean cakes—fragrant and delicious! Two for three wen! Just three wen—take two pastries home!”

Lin Yue walked and called out as he went. Along the way, he’d stop to take a closer look at other peddlers, especially those selling pastries and snacks. If there was no one at the front of their stalls or shelves, he’d approach with a smile and strike up a conversation.

With his round, almond-shaped eyes and a smile that made him look exceptionally sweet, coupled with his smooth talk, no one ever turned him down. Besides, most people in the trade were chatty by nature—once he struck up a conversation, they’d keep chatting.

After walking just two blocks, Lin Yue had already struck up conversations with an uncle selling dried fruit, an auntie selling steamed buns, a young woman selling candied fruits, and finally, an older woman who also sold pastries.

“Auntie, how much are your cloud-flake cakes? They look delicious.”

The vendor was a woman in her forties. When she saw someone approaching, she assumed they were there to buy something and put on a practiced smile, but when she realized it was a fellow vendor, the smile on her lips immediately faded a bit.

“Three wen a piece. Are you a pastry seller too, ger? You look somewhat familiar.”

Lin Yue’s eyes lit up instantly. That accent—it was unmistakably from Qingxi Village!

He immediately flashed a smile, sweetly calling out “Auntie” once more before speaking up: “We’ve set up a stall selling cold noodles at the corner of North Gate Street. Maybe we’ve met there.”

Zhou Nianzhen smiled as she took a closer look at Lin Yue. “So that was your stall? I just went there a few days ago to eat cold noodles, and I even took a bowl of wheat gluten home.”

So they’d actually crossed paths before? If Lin Yue had initially thought there was a fifty-percent chance he’d be able to track her down, now he was at least eighty percent certain.

Lin Yue relaxed considerably and asked tentatively, “Really? Then we really are meant to meet. Are you from Qingxi Village, Auntie?”

“Huh? How did you know I’m from Qingxi Village? Could it be that you’re from our village too? But that doesn’t make sense—I haven’t heard of any happy events in our village lately.”

Seeing her looking so puzzled, she was about to scratch her head, Lin Yue quickly explained, “I’m not from Qingxi Village—I’m from nearby Yushui Village. I just thought your accent sounded like it was from Qingxi, so I couldn’t help but ask.”

Zhou Nianzhen visibly relaxed, and a smile returned to her face. “I thought I’d missed a wedding invitation from somewhere. That gave me quite a scare! You’ve got sharp ears, ger. The accents in the villages around here aren’t that different.”

Lin Yue smiled but didn’t respond. Instead, he took a step forward, glanced cautiously around, and asked in a low voice, “Auntie, can I ask you something?”

Zhou Nianzhen perked up immediately. “Go ahead. When it comes to these kinds of anecdotes and stories, there’s nothing I don’t know.”

Lin Yue lifted the burlap cloth covering the basket, unwrapped a pastry in oil paper, and handed it to her. “Here, Auntie, try this pastry I just made. Let’s chat while we eat.”

“Not bad—you’ve got good instincts.” Zhou Nianzhen didn’t hesitate; she took it and took a bite. “Oh, this pastry doesn’t look like much, but it tastes pretty good.”

Lin Yue offered a couple of modest remarks before getting straight to the point: “Auntie, I’d like to ask about the youngest son of the Butcher Zhou’s family in your village. To be honest, the Zhou family hired a matchmaker to approach my maternal aunt’s sister-in-law, hoping to arrange a Fulang with his nephew. However, the young ger has a rather timid disposition, and they’re worried he might not get along with his in-laws. So they asked me through a mutual acquaintance to help inquire about the situation.”

Zhou Nianzhen was bewildered by this tangled web of relationships. After pondering for a moment, she pushed the matter to the back of her mind. As for the Zhou family—the butcher’s—though they were her own kin, they were, frankly, not much to speak of.

Lin Yue saw that she was hesitating to speak and had a hunch, though he didn’t let it show. “Don’t worry, I’ll just ask around. If it’s inconvenient for you, it’s perfectly fine.”

Zhou Nianzhen had a favorable impression of Lin Yue. After some deliberation, she whispered, “Just don’t say I told you.” Lin Yue nodded immediately. “Rest assured, I promise not to reveal a single word.”

Only then did Zhou Nianzhen relax. “As for the Butcher Zhou’s family… a few years back, they were doing quite well. The old man was a decent fellow—capable and hardworking. The younger one seemed like a fine lad too—well-fed, tall and strapping. Such a pity.”

Lin Yue: “What’s so tragic about it? Auntie, please don’t keep me in suspense.”

Seeing Lin Yue’s eager expression gave Zhou Nianzhen a strange sense of satisfaction. She cleared her throat and continued, “It’s a shame he’s a good-for-nothing who drinks, gambles, and chases women!”

Lin Yue’s eyes widened. How dare Shen Fangchu do that? He actually had the nerve to come knocking on their door to discuss a marriage proposal? Wasn’t he afraid of getting beaten up?

“That’s just too…”

Zhou Nianzhen shot Lin Yue a look that said, “You’re so naive,” then clicked her tongue twice, her voice tinged with disgust.

“At first, his family kept it all under wraps. We all thought Xiao Zhou was a decent lad—several families wanted to arrange a match for him. When he turned eighteen, he set his sights on a girl from the neighboring village, and they were already engaged. But when Xiao Zhou snuck in through a backdoor at a gambling den, he was caught red-handed by the girl’s older brother. He got beaten up on the spot. Right after that, it came out that he gambled, drank heavily, and had even gotten into physical fights with his own parents. The girl’s family called off the engagement immediately, and the whole story spread throughout our village.”

Lin Yue was so astonished that his jaw nearly dropped. He’d heard rumors about a backdoor in town, but didn’t know exactly where it was—he never imagined anyone actually went there.

“Great. A scoundrel like that actually dares to go courting a decent family’s ger? Does he think the two villages are so far apart that no one will find out about his misdeeds?”

Seeing Lin Yue’s rage boiling over, Zhou Nianzhen quickly patted him on the back and comforted him, “Don’t get so worked up. At least we found out now. Just go tell your relatives tomorrow. It won’t affect the engagement at all—don’t worry.”

Lin Yue took a few deep breaths before his emotions finally settled. He looked at Zhou Nianzhen with gratitude. “Thank you, thank you. If it weren’t for you, my relative might have walked right into a trap. Logically, we should at least treat you to a meal. But since this involves a marriage arrangement, my relative’s family will likely handle it privately. We’re also worried about dragging you into it, so we can only offer you a few pastries. Please don’t look down on them.”

Zhou Nianzhen waved her hand dismissively. “It’s nothing. I’m just glad I could help that ger out. You must stay far away from that Zhou family. To be honest, it’s just bad luck for the Zhou family—they’re all decent people, yet they’ve ended up with such a debt collector on their hands.”

“You’re such a kind person. It’s our good fortune to have met you.”

Lin Yue took a few pastries from the basket and handed them over, insisting that Zhou Nianzhen accept them. He thanked her repeatedly before taking his leave. The moment he turned around, Lin Yue’s expression turned cold. He forced himself to walk past that intersection and strode purposefully toward his own stall.

Shen Lingzhi and Song Xunchun were busy attending to customers. Seeing Lin Yue return in a rage, their hearts skipped a beat.

Shen Lingzhi was the first to react. He had never wanted to get married in the first place, and he wasn’t close to Shen Fangchu, so he wasn’t particularly upset at the moment. He immediately turned to block the others’ view, pulled Lin Yue aside, and Song Xunchun followed suit.

“Brother, calm down first. It’s fine—it’s actually better if it doesn’t work out. I don’t want to get married anyway.”

Lin Yue was so infuriated by these people’s shamelessness that he nearly fell over. He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths before lowering his voice to briefly recount what had just happened.

Song Xunchun was wringing the dishcloth in her hand so hard she was nearly tearing it to shreds, but she still managed to keep her wits about her. Since they were in town, she could only urge, “Let’s talk about this when we get home tonight. There are still people at the stall; we don’t want to scare them.”

Lin Yue: “I know, Mother. I’ll help right away.”

Business was slow in the afternoon, and Lin Yue and the others had lost their patience. As soon as the sun began to set, they packed up the stall and headed home. As soon as they entered the kitchen, they saw Shen Zhengchu, who was just as furious. His face was dark and stormy, and he looked as if he were about to strike someone.

The moment their eyes met, both sides knew the other was in the know.

Shen Zhengchu snapped, “When Yunchu told me, I was so furious I wanted to rush out and teach Shen Fangchu a lesson. He’s not a relative—he’s practically an enemy.”

Song Xunchun, who had been holding back her tears until just now, finally let them fall.

Lin Yue and Shen Lingzhi were flustered, scrambling first to calm Shen Zhengchu and then to comfort Song Xunchun; the two of them were so busy they didn’t even have time to be angry. In the end, it was Lin Yue who spoke a single sentence that finally brought them some temporary peace.

“Father, Mother, Shen Fangchu said just yesterday that he’d come to our house again. We need to figure out a way to resolve this first. It’d be best to cut ties with this family altogether, so he can’t drag us into this anymore.”

Shen Zhengchu nodded emphatically and said in a grave tone, “Yue is right. We must think this through carefully; we can’t let it affect Ling’er.”