Butcher Fulang’s Noodle Shop - Chapter 40
After just finishing the banquet, Song Shi’an was worried that something would go wrong in the restaurant if he had to rest for another three days. So, he wanted to have a look first.
While packing up the banknotes, he whispered to Xu Zhongyue that he was not allowed to go hunting secretly without telling him again.
“What if you encounter that black bear again? You are alone, and no one can help you.”
Xu Zhongyue listened to his complaint with a crooked eyebrow, feeling very happy. The wife’s chatter fully proved how much his wife cared about him.
Before going out, Xu Zhongyue changed into a set of clothes, a straight soap-colored robe made of thin bamboo cotton material. The hair was worn close to the body, showing off his good figure with wide shoulders and a narrow waist. The lower part of the robe had a very deep and long slit on the side, convenient for walking, revealing the maroon trousers underneath.
These fine clothes were all made by Song Shi’an with the help of the self-working girls. The wife was familiar with his body size, and the clothes were not too much or too little, making him look smart and sharp.
Sure enough, as soon as he went out, many people looked back at Xu Zhongyue, and Song Shi’an also felt proud that this tall and handsome man belonged to him.
As soon as he entered the restaurant, Song Shi’an let out a long sigh of relief and put his heart back into his stomach.
It was not yet time to welcome guests, so the restaurant door was half open, the tables, chairs, benches, and the floor had been wiped clean, and the herbal medicine packets used to repel mosquitoes had been replaced and hung on the pillars around.
The four employees were well distributed. Ye Du was dusting noodles and making soup in the kitchen at the back. The eels newly transported from Chenliu Village had been marinated and placed in a basin.
The other three were carrying coal and water to fill the three large tanks in the courtyard and were helping to pick vegetables. Seeing him come in, Shen Fusheng took the basket of money over and handed over the account books to Song Shi’an to check them one by one.
Song Shi’an also had an account in his mind. He could roughly estimate how much material was used and how much money should be charged. He picked up a dozen money tied with a string and looked at it. He nodded with satisfaction. “The restaurant is in good order, thanks to you.”
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While he was busy, someone suddenly looked for Song Shi’an at the door. Xu Zhongyue’s sharp eyes saw that the person was the person that Lin Zhihang was trying to please during the banquet, Master Zhang Nanming from Hongwen Academy.
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Xu Zhongyue went to Zhuang Yan to drink and inquired about the origin of this gentleman. He said that he was a gentleman who looked the same inside out. When he was an official in the capital, he had nothing but a married woman. In order to make friends with him, someone sent a beautiful woman to his house, and they were driven out together.
Now, he had settled in Qingjiang Town, and he was very close to his wife. The couple had no children. After dinner, before it got dark, many neighbors saw them taking each other out for a walk.
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For such a person, Xu Zhongyue felt relieved that Song Shi’an could talk to him. After the two of them went out, he moved his arms without leaving a trace and walked around in front of four men, three large and one small.
Ye Du put the basin of noodles on the counter next to the blast furnace facing the street and looked at Brother Xu standing in front of them suddenly.
The other man was even more confused, shouting: “Give way, hey, Brother Xu, please give way.”
Xu Zhongyue pursed his thin lips and simply sat on the clean table, leaning his legs to the side, becoming slenderer and more beautiful.
Shen Fusheng was still smart, so he said, “Brother Xu’s clothes are really beautiful. The style is unique, and the colors match just right. I have never seen such beautiful clothes in the whole town.”
Xu Zhongyue glanced at their clean and crisp ‘work clothes’ and said, “I’m satisfied with it,” he smiled slightly and commented on their clothes, “It’s passable.”
Ye Du finally reacted and said hurriedly, “Such good materials and such fine stitching must be made by my sister-in-law, who specially found someone to customize it for eldest brother. My sister-in-law is really thoughtful!”
Xu Zhongyue’s eyebrows and smile deepened, and just when he was about to speak, the man mopping the floor answered in a puzzled manner, “We also have these clothes. My sister-in-law asked someone to make them. He can only cook, but he can’t do needlework. It’s not like he sewed it himself, so what… Hey, you are such a big man standing here. Ah, why are you stepping on my feet?”
Ye Du looked at the sky speechlessly, retracted his feet, and continued to pray in his heart.
“Can we be the same as Brother Xu? Our work clothes are exactly the same. Brother Xu’s clothes cost a lot of effort for my sister-in-law. My sister-in-law really loves his husband to the core and loves him with the bottom of his heart!”
The man mopping the floor still wanted to pour cold water on him, but under Ye Du’s sharp eyes, he muttered twice and mopped the floor elsewhere.
Alas, Ye Du curled his lips. It turned out that all bachelors relied on their strength.
Only people like him and Xu Zhongyue could become each other’s confidants.
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Song Shi’an came back with a happy face and told Xu Zhongyue exactly what Zhang Nanming wanted to do. Xu Zhongyue listened to him with a gentle look on his face. The two of them always had discussions.
“It turns out that Mr. Zhang’s elder brother, Zhang Nanyan, now works in the Yanyuan of Yuezhou City. Their old mother lives with Mr. Zhang Nanyan, not far from our Qingjiang Town. His mother will be sixty years old in three days. On his birthday, Zhang Nanyan should have held a big banquet to celebrate his birthday.”
“Mr. Zhang didn’t want to go to the birthday banquet, but he missed his mother. He asked me to make two things that his mother liked to eat, and he would find someone to send them to Yuezhou City.”
“He also gave me a tael, but I didn’t ask for it.”
Xu Zhongyue nodded and said, “Zhang Nanming looks like he is not well-off financially, and he is also a scholar. He doesn’t look down on our merchants. Let’s give him a few favors. The food is nothing.”
Song Shi’an chuckled and said, “That’s the truth, and it’s not a free gift!”
He spread his hands, revealing a good wolf-hair brush and a volume of books. Xu Zhongyue was already literate, and upon first glance, the scroll with iron paintings and silver hooks turned out to be a copybook handwritten by Zhang Nanming himself.
Song Shi’an said bitterly, “Mr. Zhang said that I have wisdom, and it is a pity to waste it. He also said that my writing is as good as dog crawling. Since I don’t charge him money to help him cook for his mother. He added me as a student and asked me to review the papers at least a hundred times and show him my homework so that he could correct it for me! Oh my god, I have to do my homework again!”
Xu Zhongyue laughed heartily. “Just wait, I will buy you good pens, inks, paper, and inkstones. This is very good.”
Seeing Xu Zhongyue smiling happily, he made sure to ask the man study together.
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When he went back at night and wrote under the lamp. Song Shi’an was not happy to write alone. So, he dragged Xu Zhongyue to accompany him.
He thrust the brush into Xu Zhongyue’s hand and said, “You write it first, I would like to see how’s the writing?”
Xu Zhongyue sat down and wrote an article seriously to boost his wife’s morale. After finishing writing, Song Shi’an was speechless.
He didn’t study in calligraphy, but he could see that Xu Zhongyue’s handwriting was free and bold, yet graceful.
Later, when he was tired of writing, he asked Xu Zhongyue to help him write two articles. Xu Zhongyue suddenly opened his mouth and made excessive demands that could not be put on the table.
For two nights, Song Shi’an was tossed about by him, and he had to actively move up and down, making Song Shi’an unable to lift his tired arms.
As a result, the man refused to help Song Shi’an and said, “My handwriting is much better than yours, and it will be revealed as soon as I write it for you.”
Song Shi’an was so angry that he waved his fist and punched him on the shoulder.
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The day before the birthday of Zhang Nanming’s mother, Old Madam Zhang, Song Shi’an packed up the two prepared dishes and set off for Yuezhou City with Xu Zhongyue to start a rare three-day ‘paid vacation’.
There were two ways to go to Yuezhou City, land and water. The sun was shining these days, and the leaves of the trees were all wilted by the sun. Taking a mule cart all the way there was not as comfortable as the boat ride at dusk.
Xu Zhongyue didn’t want to wrong his wife, so the boat he chose was naturally a big boat with two floors, with small rooms for sleeping.
This kind of boat was similar to the prototype of the ferry of later generations. It ran long distances and would stop at the shore to pick up and drop off passengers along the way.
Xu Zhongyue held Song Shi’an’s hand on the boat, gave the captain two coins, and asked for a cabin.
It was the first time for Song Shi’an to ride down the river in this kind of wooden boat, and his face was full of excitement. Xu Zhongyue joined him on the deck to watch the surging river water.
The setting sun shined on the water, and the light spots were layered and gorgeous. As the boat moved forward, the weeping willows and sycamores on both sides gradually disappear, and the rows of houses hidden in the green shade also gradually disappear.
The market scrolls were replaced by landscape paintings. The scenery along the way was extremely beautiful, with rugged and rugged mountains in the distance. The mountains were like bamboo shoots poking up into the sky, creating twin shadows, as if there was a mysterious world in the water.
While Song Shi’an was admiring the scenery, he took out the tube of sweet rice wine that had been filled with rice wine and gave it to Xu Zhongyue to eat.
The meatloaf sandwiched in the middle of the meat bun was extremely thick, but it was cut very finely with a flower knife. The sauce was so delicious that the meat juice explodes in your mouth after taking a bite. Facing the refreshing river breeze, both of them feel relaxed and happy.
It wasn’t until the dead of night, when everyone on the deck fell asleep, that Song Shi’an said goodbye to the beautiful scenery and went back to the cabin with Xu Zhongyue to sleep.
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The cabin at this time was extremely narrow. Not to mention a big man like Xu Zhongyue, even Song Shi’an could not straighten up.
They took a quick shower, and it was cool on the river without sweating. They quickly turned off the lights and hugged each other and slept soundly.
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Early the next morning, when the sky was still dim and green, the boat stopped at the pier outside Yuezhou City. Song Shi’an and Xu Zhongyue got off the boat and lined up to wait for the city gate to open.
August 15th was coming soon, Song Shi’an also made some salty and sweet mooncakes. He took a mooncake filled with salted duck egg yolk and gave it to Xu Zhongyue.
Xu Zhongyue took two bites with his hand, and the towering city gate was in front of him. Everyone’s eyes slowly opened in anticipation.
The team entering the city was not fast because the soldiers guarding the city gate were very strict. Everyone’s identity card was carefully checked, and anyone with problems was kicked out.
When they arrived, Xu Zhongyue handed over their wooden identity cards and protected Song Shi’an behind him, with only half of his beautiful face showing. The guard guard took one more look at him and waved to let them in.
Compared with the small Qingjiang Town, Yuezhou City was indeed much more prosperous. Not to mention anything else, the road into the city was wide and flat, and could accommodate six carriages passing at the same time.
Xu Zhongyue found a horse rental shop and rented a good horse before taking Song Shi’an to stay in the inn and settle his luggage.
This time he came to Yuezhou City mainly to have fun with his wife. Xu Zhongyue chose the best inn in the city and asked for an elegant upper room. When paying for it, Song Shi’an was dumbfounded.
A room cost a lot per day, three taels?? The cost of Yuezhou City was indeed more than that of Qingjiang Town!
It also proved that the spending power of the people in Yuezhou City was far better than that in Qingjiang Town!
They put down their luggage and asked the waiter to bring them a bathtub and hot water. They both took a good wash.
Fortunately, the weather was hot and their hair dried quickly after washing. They both put on new and good clothes and went first, to send Zhang Nanming’s gifts for his mother.