Chapter 18: 18

 

Transmigrated into Substitute Bride Fu Lang

Chapter 18: 山楂糕

Hawthorn Cake

As soon as Chen Xing and Gu Lang came out of the restaurant, a drizzling rain fell in the air, not very heavy but extraordinarily troublesome.

 

Gu Lang picked up the umbrella beside him, opened it and lifted it up, above their heads, covering them both from the rain.

 

The Chen family’s fourth young lady, standing by the fence on the second floor, could clearly see that Gu Lang had deliberately tilted the umbrella towards Chen Xing’s shoulders when he opened it, covering Chen Xing entirely underneath.

 

It was only when the two figures disappeared into the hazy rain that Chen family’s fourth young miss slowly withdrew her eyes and said to the curious maid beside her, “It’s nothing.”

 

The maid looked at her own young lady’s not-so-good expression and reminded her as she whispered, “Young lady, madam said that the Zhao family’s madam would be coming as a guest tomorrow and asked you remember to go to Yan’s Shop to buy some new rouge back today.”

 

After saying that, the little maid saw her young lady’s expression immediately change and glared at her fiercely. The little maid drew her neck back and dared not make another sound.

 

Chen Ling’er was disgusted as soon as she thought of the Zhao family’s madam’s fat and chubby son, especially when she knew that her mother had the intention of betrothing her to that man, her heart was even more displeased.

 

When she thought of Gu Lang who had just appeared, the contrast became more and more obvious.

 

The moment Gu Lang appeared, the fourth young miss from Chen family who was standing on the second floor, immediately recognized him, for it was rare to find a man as good-looking as him, even if he was only wearing a simple and coarse cloth, he still showed a different poise from other men.

 

She didn’t know what her young lady was thinking about, she just stood still and stared blankly in there, not moving at all. The maid beside her finally couldn’t help but raise her head to look at her, also couldn’t help but say again, “Xiao Jie?”

 

Chen Ling’er pulled away her memories and looked at the trembling maid beside her. Her tone was a little impatient, “I know, then let’s go to Yan’s Shop to buy rouge first.”

 

“Yes.” Seeing that the young lady had finally relented, the maid let out a long breath and went to ask the waiter to inform their sedan-chair bearer to wait outside the restaurant.

 

While the little maid was doing this, Chen Ling’er’s gaze went back to the direction where Gu Lang and Chen Xing had left, not knowing if there would be any chance to meet Gu Lang again in the future.

 

The weather was getting hotter and hotter every day and the rain was getting less and less every day.

 

It was in a certain one morning when Chen Xing woke up from the hot temperature that he finally realized that the hot summer had arrived.

 

And along with the hot summer came also a drop in customer traffic; after all, when it was getting hotter, foods that were steaming hot were not so popular.

 

Fu Gongzi came to Chen Xing’s little stall near noon and while wiping the sweat from his forehead, he complained to Chen Xing, “Little boss, your family’s this kind of food can only be eaten when it’s hot, otherwise it won’t taste good. But the weather is just too hot, even the delicious food can’t stand the intense heat of summer!”

 

After saying that, Young Master Fu let out a long sigh, eating this kind of hot food in the high temperature or weather seemed to be really difficult for him.

 

Chen Xing had a few good impressions towards this simple and straightforward young master. He handed him the meal he had just made and said with a light smile, “I will find a way to get something cooler to eat, then it won’t be so hard anymore.”

 

Hearing Chen Xing say that there would be a new menu, Fu Gongzi’s eyes immediately lit up as he looked at him excitedly and said, “Little boss, you have to keep your word! I will definitely come to support you by then.”

 

Chen Xing looked at him and smiled, “I always keep my word.”

 

With Chen Xing’s assurance, Young Master Fu took his own meal and happily went to find a seat to sit.

 

When Fu Gongzi left, Chen Xing was ready to serve food to the next customer, but when he looked up, he felt that this customer looked very familiar, but he couldn’t remember who he was, yet he looked at the customer and smiled, “What would you like to order, sir?”

 

That customer was coming here for the first time, so when he heard Chen Xing’s question, that customer bowed down to look at the food on the stove, before then raised his head, met with Chen Xing’s clear eyes and said with a gentle smile, “What do you have here?”

 

Chen Xing carefully introduced the three dishes he had here to him, highlighting the difference in spiciness between soft bean curd rice and mapo tofu.

 

After listening, that customer thought for a while in silence and finally chose the soft bean curd rice dish and a less spicy sauce.

 

Chen Xing responded and ordered Qiu Jiu to serve the rice, while he made a less spicy sauce for him.

 

As Qiu Jiu poured the meal, he secretly looked at the customer who was smiling at Chen Xing. He then took a look at Chen Xing who was ignorant and unaware, while he himself struggled to say something, but in the end he couldn’t say anything at all.

 

The man took the tray from Chen Xing’s hand, looked at Chen Xing and suddenly asked, “Is your business here still good?”

 

The man’s question was abrupt and kind of rude but Chen Xing had been here for a long time and had often met all kinds of people, so he answered him calmly and frankly, “The customer traffic here is not bad, I am doing very well here.”

 

The man narrowed his eyes slightly, seemingly happy with Chen Xing’s answer. After smiling at Chen Xing, he went to look for an empty seat to eat with the tray in his hand.

 

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It was close to noon, and even though Chen Xing’s little stall was covered by a roof, the air around it was still very hot, so not many people came here to sit and eat, most of them just took their food back and ate it at home.

 

Chen Xing took a look at the empty street, and then at the almost empty barrels then said to Qiu Jiu who was next to him, “Let’s close the stall and go back early.”

 

“Okay!” Qiu Jiu replied and cleared up the things neatly.

 

When Chen Xing turned his head to tidy up the tables and chairs, not knowing since when but the man who was sitting there eating had quietly left, leaving behind the empty bowls that had been eaten and the sauce with a little bit of chilli that had become less.

 

Chen Xing silently put away the empty bowls and as he was finishing the last bowl, his mind suddenly flashed and his eyes suddenly widened as if he had thought of something,so he said to Qiu Jiu at the other end, “Qiu Jiu, I remember it now!”

 

Qiu Jiu, who was carrying a wooden bucket and emptying the rest of its contents, looked at Chen Xing in confusion.

 

Chen Xing slapped his thighs, looked at him somewhat particularly upset and said, “That man, just now is the County magistrate! Why didn’t I recognise him? I shouldn’t have taken his money. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t have gotten such a good booth.”

 

The last time Chen Xing saw the County magistrate, he was dressed in an official uniform, but today, he was dressed in ordinary cloth. However, he would never have mistaken his face which had a slightly scholarly look to it.

 

Just as Chen Xing was upset, Qiu Jiu next to him was extraordinarily calm as he said, “Since he can come this time, I’m sure he will come again next time. When he comes next time, why don’t you just invite him to eat again?”

 

Chen Xing froze slightly and felt that Qiu Jiu was right, he could wait for the County magistrate to come next time and then invite him to eat!

 

Thinking like this, Chen Xing no longer dwelled on it, instead, he actively packed up his things and prepared to close his stall early and go back.

 

By the time the two of them returned to the Gu Mansion, the sun was already very poisonous (fig.for when the sun is shining brightly and temperature is too hot) in the sky. In case it was too hot and they didn’t have much of an appetite, Chen Xing didn’t cook rice, but cooked a pot of lean meat congee instead, accompanied with the spicy and sour radish which was described as tasty and refreshing.

 

When he had finished eating, Chen Xing digested his food for a while and then took a bag of hawthorn that he had bought from an old grandpa who had passed by on the road and handled it.

hawthorn

Shortly after Chen Xing started to handle the hawthorn, Gu Lang slowly slipped into the backyard and moved a small bench to sit next to Chen Xing.

 

Sensing Gu Lang’s approach, Chen Xing looked towards him suspiciously, but saw Gu Lang smiling at him before saying in a warm voice, “I have nothing to do, so I’ll help you with it.”

 

Chen Xing did not disagree, handing him the rest of the pocket knife and telling him to be careful before showing him the step how to make the hawthorn.

 

Gu Lang watched for a while and felt that he should know how to do it, so he picked up a soaked hawthorn and started to cut it seriously.

 

When Chen Xing had finished with the two hawthorns and wanted to see how Gu Lang was doing, he saw Gu Lang staring at the hawthorn in his hand with an unusually serious expression and a slight frown on his brow, while the hawthorn in his hand that needed to be remove the center of it had already been hollowed out quite a lot by him.

 

Chen Xing suddenly found it funny when he saw Gu Lang who was skilled with everything, being defeated in this kind of matter, but when he looked at Gu Lang’s serious look, he held it back.

 

Gu Lang put the processed hawthorn in his hand into a clean basin, looked at Chen Xing who was holding his laughter next to him as if he felt something.bWith utmost certainty, he said.”You’re laughing at me.”

 

Chen Xing pursed his lips and shook his head desperately, trying to try to prove that he wasn’t.

 

Gu Lang narrowed his eyes slightly, the ever-pale face showing a bit of threat.

 

Chen Xing finally couldn’t help but let out a loud laugh, “Okay, I admit it, I was laughing. But it’s your first time handling something like this, so it’s normal that you can’t handle it well. Don’t be discouraged.”

 

Gu Lang stared at his face for a long moment before lowering his head again without saying a word and picking up a hawthorn again to tinker with it. He didn’t believe it, there was still something he couldn’t do.

 

Chen Xing looked at his pursed lips, not saying a word while secretly fighting with the hawthorn. Suddenly, he felt that Gu Lang, who was not at all like his usual gentle and elegant self, was a bit childish and cute at the same time!

 

But soon, Chen Xing remembered that he also had to continue, otherwise depending on Gu Lang alone, he would not know how long it would take to do it, so he stopped looking at Gu Lang and buried his head in dealing with the hawthorn.

 

When all the hawthorns were clean, Gu Lang followed Chen Xing to take all the processed hawthorns to the kitchen. Looking at Chen Xing pouring the hawthorns into the pot, he asked with some curiosity, “What are you going to do with these hawthorns?”

 

Chen Xing measured the amount of water in the pot and said without raising his head, “I’m going to make some hawthorn cake. That haw jelly cake can whet the appetite and help digestion. Perhaps after you eat it, you will be able to eat more rice.”

hawthorn cake

Gu Lang looked at Chen Xing’s serious look and looked slightly stunned, as if he had not expected to hear such a reply.

 

When Chen Xing raised his head, he saw Gu Lang staring at himself with a complicated face. He thought that Gu Lang was thinking about the sour taste of hawthorn, so he reassured him like the way he coaxed a child, “Don’t worry, I will add a lot of sugar to this, it won’t be sour.”

 

Gu Lang looked at him with pursed lips and did not say anything, but his gaze deepened a few points. Such a person, how could he be willing to let him go.

 

 

 

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