Chapter 4: 4

 

Transmigrated into Substitute Bride ‘Fu Lang’

Chapter 4: 餛飩

[Wonton ]

When Chen Xing left the Gu family’s gate, he just realized that the scene outside was completely different from what he had imagined.

 

Originally, Chen Xing thought that since the grass was overgrown inside the gate, outside should also be relatively bleak and desolate. However, who would have thought that there was a street right outside the Gu’s family Mansion. Although there were not many pedestrians, he could see that it was not a remote place.

 

Chen Xing glanced back at the Gu family’s dilapidated placard placed above the gate and still could not understand why there was such a big difference between inside and outside of the door. But he soon remembered that he had proper business to attend to, so he did not delay his time any longer and chose a direction to walk in.

 

A quarter of an hour later, Chen Xing saw a busy street two blocks away from the Gu family residence. Looking at the flow of people and all kinds of steaming hot snacks on the street, Chen Xing felt that he had found the right place.

 

After standing at the end of the street for a while, Chen Xing observed that most of the people coming and going here were strong labourers, with the occasional woman passing by with her children. He guessed that there must be a relatively intensive labour force in the area so there was such a scene.

 

After observing the majority consumer group, Chen Xing then turned his attention to the food sold here.

 

Chen Xing went in and scanned all the food on the street. He found that most of the food sold here were buns (baozi), steamed stuffed bread (mántou) and noodles which were cheap and easy to make, while some of the occasional rice vendors did not do as well as the previous type.

 

Chen Xing memorized all of these in his mind, and then found a place with a relatively large number of stalls opposite to each other and closely crowded together. He stood there silently observing what tools they used and how the prices of the food were set.

 

After looking around for another half of the day, Chen Xing finally got a good idea of the prices here and was ready to go to the nearby food market.

 

Just as Chen Xing turned around to leave, an old voice called out to him and at the same time a bowl of steaming wonton appeared in front of him.

 

Chen Xing looked at the arm carrying the wonton and saw a kind face.

 

Seeing Chen Xing facing her, the old woman carrying the wonton gave him a kind smile, “This wonton is for you, eat it and go home early.”

 

Although he didn’t know why this grandma would suddenly give him the wonton, he knew that she was selling this wonton for money, so if he ate one bowl of it, she would sell one bowl less.

 

Chen Xing hastily waved his hand and refused, “No need, no need, this is something that you sell, I can’t take it!”

 

The old woman looked at Chen Xing’s attitude and her face became more and more benevolent. She forced the bowl of dumplings into Chen Xing’s hand and looked at him, “Next time you want to eat, come here and help granny do some work here. Grandma will give you food to eat. Don’t just stand here and watch, your family will be worried if they know.”

 

Hearing this, Chen Xing realized that she had misunderstood. He looked at the wonton that had been shoved at his hands so he did not continue to resist and ate it.

 

The amount of wonton was not much and the taste was average, so Chen Xing finished it in three or two sittings. When he had finished eating, he returned the bowl to the old lady, looked at her and said sincerely, “Grandma, thank you.”

 

The old woman looked at his pretty and charming face which was covered with beads of sweat and smiled as she waved her hand.

 

Chen Xing wiped his mouth and looked at the old woman, somehow embarrassed as he said, “Grandma, I want to ask you something.”

 

“Go ahead.” The Granny handed over the empty bowl to her grandson who was next to her as he was staring at Chen Xing. She then patted him on the head and told him to go and wash it before she turned her head and gently answered Chen Xing’s words.

 

Chen Xing recalled the question and was a little embarrassed, but he asked it anyway, “I would like to ask, how much is a tael of silver here?”

 

Before the grandmother could say anything, her big grandson, next to her, replied to him, “You don’t even know this? You’re not a fool, are you?”

 

As soon as he finished speaking, his grandmother slapped him on the head.

 

When she had finished slapping her loose- tongue grandson, the grandmother turned her head to look at Chen Xing with a complicated look in her eyes, “In an ordinary household, one tael of silver is enough to last for a year.”

 

Chen Xing was dumbfounded, thinking about what Gu Lang had said, a bad feeling gradually rose in his heart. He asked probingly, “Then at least, how much does a shop in East Street cost?”

 

The Granny looked at him with increasing pity, mixed with, ‘This child, instead of working hard, only thinking about what was not there all day.’

 

But even so, the old woman answered Chen Xing’s question, “The shop is not affordable for a person like us, I only know that the cheapest shop there costs five taels of silver a year of rent.”

 

Chen Xing immediately fell silent. He had thought it would be worth a lot of money, but he had never thought it would be that expensive. When he thought of the way Gu Lang looked at him last night when he said he wanted to give the money back, he feared that Gu Lang probably thought he was a little fool who didn’t know anything at all, right?

 

Not knowing what Chen Xing was thinking, she thought he was probably imagining something unrealistic again, patted him on the arm and said in a sincere and serious tone, “You are still young. Being a person, you have to work in a down-to-earth manner, step by step, don’t think about attaining the highest level in one step.1[一步登天: reach the sky in a single bound—have a meteoric rise]”

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Chen Xing knew that the old granny had misunderstood him, but he did not argue and nodded obediently, remembering what he had planned to do, so he directly asked, “Grandma, where is the nearest vegetable market from here?”

 

The granny not only gave him direction but also told him all about the recent prices of vegetables there, fearing that he would be lied to.

 

Chen Xing was extremely grateful for her help, so after he thanked her, he left in such a hurry.

 

Only when Chen Xing was gone and they couldn’t see his shadow anymore, did her grandson look up at the old woman and say in dissatisfaction, “Grandma, why were you so kind to that person? Made us lose a bowl of wonton.”

 

The grandmother stroked her grandson’s head with her big and rough hand then said dotingly, “That boy has been standing here for half a day, only looking but not buying, so he must have drool over the sight of food but did not have money to buy. He looks quite pitiful.”

 

The grandson pouted his lips, he was still somewhat unhappy.

 

The old lady looked at her grandson who was sulky by himself, she only smiled as she shook her head. She didn’t say anything anymore to him, but turned around and went to clean up the table. As soon as she turned her head, she saw a few copper coins on the table, no more and no less, it was the exact money for the bowl of wonton that Chen Xing had eaten.

 

Chen Xing gave the old lady the last of his savings and after finding the market, he only took a look around the market to find out the types of food and prices before he went back to Gu Family’s house empty-handed.

 

Chen Xing went to his room to change his sweaty clothes and he only went to the kitchen when it was almost time to cook. Before he entered the kitchen, at first glance, he saw Qiu Jiu standing in the middle of the kitchen staring blankly at the wooden barrel.

 

When he heard the sound of Chen Xing entering, Qiu Jiu raised his head with a whoosh and looked straight at him.

 

Chen Xing felt that it might be his misperception but he always felt that Qiu Jiu’s eyes lit up the moment he saw him.

 

Qiu Jiu looked at Chen Xing who had entered and said excitedly, “You come here quickly, I’ve prepared the ingredients for lunch. Look, do you know how to make it?”

 

Chen Xing walked over and looked at the ingredients he mentioned, a fish in the water, a pile of fresh green vegetables and a basket of eggs.

 

Chen Xing thought about the price he had just asked at the food market and then looked at the ingredients in front of him, he always felt something was strange. He was at a loss for a moment, but still hesitated and asked, “Do you guys often eat these things?”

 

At first, Qiu Jiu didn’t respond to Chen Xing’s question and why he even asked something like this, but when he saw Chen Xing staring at the ingredients with a complicated look on his face, it suddenly occurred to him that something was wrong there. He had just told Chen Xing this morning that his family’s young master was very poor, so how could he have come up with so much food in the blink of an eye?

 

Qiu Jiu immediately felt anxious, Qiu Jiu suddenly thought of something and his eyes lit up as he said this to Chen Xing, “That fish, I caught it in the river and the eggs were given to me by the auntie next door when I saved her grandson while catching the fish.”

 

As he said that, he stared at Chen Xing and nodded his head calmly, in order to increase the credibility of his words.

 

Although Chen Xing still felt that something was strange there, he did not pursue the matter further as he saw Qiu Jiu’s expression as if he was about to swear to the heavens. He looked at Qiu Jiu and said somewhat embarrassedly, “Well, can you help me with the fire? If I do it alone, I might not have enough time.”

 

Seeing that Chen Xing did not pursue the matter, Qiu Jiu immediately became happy and assured him, “No problem, just leave such a small thing as tending the kitchen fire to me!”

 

While Qiu Jiu was enthusiastically working on the two stoves, Chen Xing took a look at the ingredients and gradually he had an idea in his mind.

 

With the help and suggestion of Qiu Jiu, it took only an hour for the two of them to prepare the steamed eggs, fried vegetables and fish soup.

 

Because they were the only three living people in the Gu Residence at the moment, on top of that, they were not outsiders so they did not eat separately.

 

During lunch, Chen Xing saw this young master of the Gu family who was in dire straits for the second time, and looking at his complexion which was a little better than last night, he felt that he looked even more good-looking than the first time he saw him.

 

The time Chen Xing was staring at Gu Lang, Gu Lang suddenly raised his head and met his eyes straight on. The corner of his lips curled up and he said in a low voice, “What’s wrong?”

 

Gu Lang’s slightly magnetic voice attracted him, Chen Xing couldn’t help it as his ears became red so he hurriedly moved his eyes away.

 

Gu Lang stared at the tips of his red ears, thinking that this little ger was a bit interesting.

 

Until everyone sat down to eat, only then the heat on Chen Xing’s ears subsided for a while, and then he remembered what he had planned to do next and began to hesitate again.

 

During the meal, Chen Xing was particularly in a dilemma while eating. He looked at Gu Lang again and again. Until they had all finished eating and Qiu Jiu began to clear up the table, Chen Xing still didn’t know how to start to talk.

 

After finishing his meal, Gu Lang looked at Chen Xing who was sitting opposite him, and asked indifferently, “Is there something on my face? During the meal, you have already looked at me no less than ten times.”

 

Chen Xing’s face heated up at his words and he looked a bit embarrassed, but after mutterring for a while, he finally summoned up his courage and said, “Precisely, there is something that I want to discuss with you. Can you lend me some money?”

 

1[一步登天: reach the sky in a single bound—have a meteoric rise]

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