Chapter 19

Not giving it to hold?

Ge Yuan was instantly dumbfounded. He stared at Ye Wanqing in disbelief, looking exactly like a big wolf dog whose bone that was already at its mouth had been snatched away. He wanted to let out a couple of aggrieved howls yet did not dare make a big noise. His eyes were full of grievance.

He had thought that the next moment the little girl would shyly and timidly hand her little hand to him. Then the two of them would quietly hold hands for a bit, immediately eat properly, and after returning home kiss a few more times to make up for it.

Yet the result……

He was still too young!

“……” Ge Yuan’s entire face burned until even the tips of his ears turned red. At the critical moment he simply threw away all face. He fiercely thrust his large hand forward. “I’ll give you my hand to hold!”

If the mountain does not turn, the water will. Who held whose hand—wasn’t it still holding hands? Anyway once held, there was no thinking of letting go.

The smile in Ye Wanqing’s eyes grew even denser. “Then what if……”

Ge Yuan’s heart gave a jolt. His body moved faster than his brain. With lightning speed he snatched the hand she had placed on her knee and gripped it in his palm. Only then did he look at her with a face full of tension. “Held it.”

“This……”

“Already held it!”

“It can still……”

“Can’t let go!”

“Pfft!” Ye Wanqing could no longer hold it in and laughed out loud. Afraid of attracting too much attention, she quickly lowered her head.

Ge Yuan was stunned for a moment and also grinned foolishly.

After laughing for a while, Ye Wanqing straightened up. “All right, hurry and eat, or it’ll all get cold.”

“Okay!” Ge Yuan nodded, yet showed no intention of letting go of her hand. Seeing Ye Wanqing looking at him, he stared straight ahead and calmly said, “I most like eating with my left hand.”

Ye Wanqing held back her laughter. Best if that was the case.

Looking at the tall man’s clumsy appearance as he worked hard to use his left hand to pick up food with chopsticks and shovel rice, she wisely did not expose him.

Holding hands for a long time made them a little numb. Ye Wanqing could not help moving a bit. This small action was immediately “suppressed.” Her hand was gripped even tighter by Ge Yuan. Yet before she could protest, very quickly this restraint relaxed again.

She turned her head to look. Ge Yuan had stopped eating as well and was looking at her with a face full of struggle.

Apparently he knew she was uncomfortable being held by the hand the whole time, yet was unwilling to let go. His inner heaven and man were at war.

Ye Wanqing’s lips curved upward as she asked him with a smiling face, “Brother Yuan, shall I teach you a new way of holding hands?”

“……Okay!” Ge Yuan agreed in one breath, then uncertainly followed up, “Is it both hands together?”

“Guess?”

Ye Wanqing propped her chin with one hand and smiled as she looked at him. Her slender, fair hand slightly left his palm. After having space it slid bit by bit into the gaps between his fingers. Before their ten fingers interlocked, her little finger faintly hooked once in the center of his palm.

Just this light touch—Ge Yuan did not even know whether it was his own illusion—instantly made his entire body go numb and soft, causing his heart to beat wildly of its own accord until it almost made him unable to breathe.

“Brother Yuan, do you like it?”

“……Like!” Ge Yuan uselessly took two large breaths, tried hard to put on a stern face, and made an extremely fierce appearance. “From now on…… from now on you’re not allowed to do this with anyone else! No one is allowed!”

“Okay.” Ye Wanqing agreed with a smile.

Ge Yuan: “……”

Why did he feel that his little girl was coaxing him? Just like coaxing a child.

Forget it. It must be an illusion!

The hands they were holding were blocked by the high-backed chair, so there was no need to worry about attracting strange gazes from passersby. It was just that the movements were a bit awkward.

But Ge Yuan would not give up……

After “laboriously” finishing the entire lunch like this, Ge Yuan reluctantly let go of the held hand.

However, thinking that Ye Wanqing would soon be able to move into Old Zhong’s courtyard, he became happy again and quickly told her about this matter. He had come over at noon precisely to tell her this good news.

Once the residence was confirmed, next they could look for a storefront.

“Brother Yuan, how are you so amazing!” Housing settled so quickly—Ye Wanqing was overjoyed and felt even more at ease in her heart.

Originally she had thought it would take quite a while to find a house and had prepared herself to suffer hardship. She never expected she would only need to spend one night outside…… Looking at it this way, she simply did not need to worry about the lodging problem, nor trouble anyone. Making do for one night in the waiting hall would be fine.

However, she did not plan to tell Ge Yuan about this, lest he worry.

Afraid Wang Fang would be too busy, after chatting for a few minutes after the meal Ye Wanqing urged Ge Yuan to leave. She also casually told him about receiving the transfer fee today and asked him again to order a pushcart for the Chen family—exactly the same as hers.

Another pushcart?

Ge Yuan rubbed his nose. A trace of helplessness quickly flashed through his pitch-black eyes as he agreed in one breath.

—

In the afternoon Ye Wanqing did not leave the stall again and sold all the ingredients she had prepared the previous night clean.

She had not been setting up the stall for long, yet had accumulated a group of regular customers and built up quite a bit of good reputation. Most of these regular customers were station employees or passengers who often went on long trips, all with decent spending power.

For these regular customers, Ye Wanqing gave extra large portions this afternoon and also told them that starting tomorrow she would no longer set up the stall, but the Chen family would take over.

“If you don’t set up the stall from now on, where are we going to find such delicious things?” Almost every regular customer who learned the news became depressed. Their worries were all very practical.

Ye Wanqing smiled and told them one by one, “From now on this stall will still sell the same things. The taste of the sour plum drink and oden is also guaranteed to be the same…… How guaranteed? Of course I’ll tell the secret recipes to the next stall owner and teach her hand by hand until she’s skilled.”

Only then did the regular customers become happy again.

Such high-quality and inexpensive good things—they could eat them for a year without getting tired. They absolutely could not disappear after only half a month or a month! If Ye Wanqing went to set up a stall elsewhere, they would still have to search for a while if they wanted to eat—that would be so inconvenient.

The Chen family had quite a few acquaintances at the bus station. Hearing the words Ye Wanqing said while interacting with the regular customers in the afternoon, they instantly felt even more satisfied and had an even better impression of Ye Wanqing.

People’s hearts were built through interaction. Ye Wanqing would consider things for them. They accepted this favor and also thought of taking more care of her in the future.

—

In the evening Ye Wanqing closed the stall.

Ge Yuan came on time to pick her up. The two of them returned to the Ge family’s small courtyard together.

Ge Yue was sitting on the threshold hugging her small water bucket waiting for them. The moment she saw them return she charged to Ye Wanqing’s side like a little cannonball, tugged at the hem of her clothes, raised her head and smiled until her eyes curved into crescents, revealing a mouthful of little white rice-grain teeth.

Ye Wanqing teased her. “Little Moon, are you running so fast because you’re hungry?”

“No. Miss you!”

“Ah…… only miss me? Originally tonight I wanted to make meat. If Little Moon isn’t hungry, then shall we just stir-fry two green vegetables?”

The smile on Ge Yue’s face instantly disappeared. She was dumbfounded.

For the Ge siblings, eating grass…… no, eating green vegetables simply did not count as eating a meal—that was called suffering hardship. Especially Ge Yue. Every time she ate green vegetables she had to bargain, saying three chopsticks worth was three chopsticks worth and absolutely not one more bite.

The meat that was already at her mouth was about to fly away. Ge Yue paused for a moment, then suddenly hugged Ye Wanqing’s waist. Her little face rubbed against her body again and again. “You’re beautiful!”

“You’re fragrant!”

So…… give a mouthful of meat—braised pork!

“Haha……” Ye Wanqing pinched her little face. “Okay, I’ll make it for you! All the green vegetables will go to Big Brother. Little Moon only needs to eat three chopsticks worth.”

Ge Yue: “Hehe.”

Ge Yuan: “……No!”

—

Entering the kitchen, Ye Wanqing looked at the ingredients available at home. Thinking that she had successfully transferred the stall today and…… it could be considered a pretty good thing, she prepared to properly make several dishes.

She gave Ge Yue fifty fen and a glass bottle, telling her to go with her little companions to the supply and marketing cooperative to fill some bulk Five-Star beer and use the remaining money to buy candy. She also told Ge Yuan to kill one of the chickens at home, clean it thoroughly, and chop it into pieces.

After directing the Ge siblings well, she herself soaked the black wood ear mushrooms and green bean vermicelli in lukewarm water and set them aside. She picked out a few potatoes, peeled and cut them into chunks, then scooped up some of the potato slices and lettuce slices Fatty Wang’s mother had already cut, added carrots, and cut everything into shreds.

When Ge Yuan brought the chicken pieces over, she first blanched the blood foam off the chicken pieces with boiling water and rinsed them clean.

Next she heated the wok and added oil, put in ginger slices to release fragrance, then added the drained chicken pieces and stir-fried until the chicken skin slightly curled and became lightly charred. Yellow-orange chicken oil “sizzle sizzle sizzle” came out, filling the kitchen with a fragrant aroma that hit the nose.

Then she added salt and soy sauce for seasoning, added a little white sugar to enhance freshness, stir-fried the chicken a moment longer, then added enough water to cover the chicken pieces. She put in the cut potato chunks and brought everything to a boil over high heat. When the pot “gurgle gurgle” bubbled she turned to low heat, covered it, and simmered.

She started another pot of water and brought it to a boil. The slightly yellow potato shreds, emerald-beautiful lettuce shreds, and red carrot shreds went into the water together to be blanched, then were rinsed once in cold water. This could make the texture of the three shreds a bit crispier.

After the three shreds were taken out of the pot she added vinegar, minced garlic, salt, soy sauce, and a tiny bit of white sugar, mixed them evenly, then added a spoonful of her homemade bright-red chili oil and the dish was complete.

The cold-dressed three shreds made this way were crisp, spicy, and appetizing. They would definitely make the Ge siblings who did not like eating grass pick up a few more chopsticks.

After finishing this dish, Ye Wanqing minced some meat and set it aside, preparing to make a plate of ants climbing a tree.

She heated the wok and added oil, released the fragrance of a small half-bowl of minced garlic and minced ginger, added the minced meat and stir-fried until it turned yellowish-brown, then added a bowl of clear water. She put in the soaked green bean vermicelli, brought it to a boil over high heat, added salt for seasoning, added chili oil, then sprinkled some emerald green onion flowers and took it off the heat.

By this time the braised chicken pieces simmering in the pot had also released a rich aroma. Ye Wanqing lifted the pot lid, tested with chopsticks, and found the chicken was already soft and tender. She put the washed black wood ear mushrooms in to continue simmering.

By the time Ge Yue returned hugging the glass bottle full of beer, several dishes were all finished.

The rich-smelling braised chicken—the chicken pieces soft and falling off the bone, the potatoes coated in the rich sauce especially soft and glutinous and delicious, the black wood ear mushrooms crisp and fragrant—made people want to keep eating after eating.

The cold-dressed three shreds were refreshing and appetizing. The ants climbing a tree had the meat fragrance and vermicelli matching perfectly. Both were excellent.

The moment Ge Yue saw the chicken on the table her eyes lit up. She put down the glass bottle, climbed onto the chair and sat properly. Her two little claws rested on the edge of the dining table as she looked eagerly waiting for Ge Yuan to hand her chopsticks. She could not look more well-behaved.

Once they started eating, Ge Yue buried her head even more into the bowl, completely forgetting herself.

Ye Wanqing poured two cups of beer—one for Ge Yuan and one for herself. Her almond eyes held a smile as she looked at him. “Brother Yuan, I toast you a cup.”

The wine cups collided, yet Ge Yuan shook his head. “Toast me for what? I didn’t do anything……”

What he did was all what a man should do.

“Toast you for being so attentive. Recently your kissing technique has gotten better and better.” Ye Wanqing did not play by the usual rules. She mischievously leaned close to the tall man’s ear. Her lowered voice carried continuous threads of smiling meaning. “Want to continue practicing and improving?”

Ge Yuan: “……Want!”

“Better not think about it. We’re eating.”

Ge Yuan: “……”

This little girl!

He poured the wine in the cup into his mouth in one go. His Adam’s apple slid up and down as his eyes burned while staring at her. He only felt that no matter how delicious the dishes or how strong the wine, they had all lost their flavor.

His eyes and heart held only this one person.

Want to kiss—want to kiss her to death!

“Cough……” Ye Wanqing lightly coughed and sat properly. “Eat the dishes, eat the dishes. I made so many. Look at Little Moon—how well-behaved she is eating.”

The unknowing spectator Little Ge Yue raised her head from the bowl. Her face was stained with white rice grains as she revealed a foolish smile—extremely happy, extremely satisfied.

Ge Yuan: “……”

“Come, let’s also eat.”

A true killer never looked back at the explosion. Ye Wanqing unscrupulously picked up her bowl and did not look at how large an amount of energy the two clusters of black flames that had ignited in Ge Yuan’s eyes beside her could explode with. She seriously and properly ate—one chopsticks of chicken, one chopsticks of cold-dressed three shreds—eating especially fragrantly.

Ge Yuan stared unblinkingly at her rosy lips and suddenly fell into a nameless yet deep despair.

He always felt……

Days as hard to endure as this would definitely not be few in the future!

—

After the meal Ge Yuan escorted Ye Wanqing back to the bus station dormitory.

He still could not rest easy. “Where are you sleeping tonight?”

“I first have to go to the Chen family to teach their daughter how to make oden and sour plum drink. If it gets late, I’ll most likely sleep at their place. If it’s inconvenient at their place, I’ll go downstairs to Grandma Chen’s and stay one night. There are many acquaintances here. I always have a place to sleep. Don’t worry.”

Ge Yuan always felt this was unreliable, yet still nodded. “Okay. You go busy yourself first.”

Night mist filled the air. There was no one around.

Ye Wanqing rose on her tiptoes and kissed the tall man once on the chin, smiling brightly. “Brother Yuan, hurry back. Incidentally remember to miss me.”

Ge Yuan answered hoarsely. “……Mm!”

He fiercely hugged her once before letting go.

After watching Ye Wanqing enter the stairwell, he took out the cigarette case and matches from his pants pocket. His long fingers pinched a match and struck a small cluster of flame, lighting the cigarette held between his lips.

Yet he did not leave.

When Ye Wanqing arrived at the Chen family she received a warm welcome.

Chen Jianguo exchanged a greeting with her and then went out, giving the space at home to the women. Chen family daughter-in-law Zhou Mei warmly invited Ye Wanqing to sit down, called her daughter Chen Ying out to keep her company, and herself entered the kitchen to fry ginger-salt tea.

Chen Ying was a straightforward girl. The moment she saw Ye Wanqing she extended her hand. “Hello!”

Ye Wanqing shook hands with her and pressed her lips into a smile. “Hello.”

“My mom said the oden you sell is very profitable—earning over a hundred a day. Is that true?”

“It’s true.”

“Then I have to learn well. I like money!” Chen Ying’s face was full of longing.

Zhou Mei brought out the tea. Seeing the two of them chatting well, she could not help smiling. “Yingzi, you have to learn more from Wanqing. In the future when you earn money yourself, you’ll also be able to buy yourself a few more sets of clothes.”

“That’s exactly the principle.” Chen Ying kept nodding.

The Chen family had prepared the materials very completely according to Ye Wanqing’s requirements. The teaching could begin directly.

Chen Ying was a very smart person. The process of boiling sour plum drink was not complicated. It was only that the oden seasonings were more particular. Ye Wanqing led Chen Ying through making it once, wrote the proportions of the oden soup base seasonings in detail on paper, and the taste that came out was about the same.

By the time she took her leave from the Chen family it was already half past nine in the evening.

She walked quickly out of the stairwell. A cool night breeze blew over, making her short hair fly up.

She used her hand to smooth the blown-messy hair. Her footsteps became even faster as she wanted to quickly walk to the waiting hall. She simply did not see the point of flickering scarlet firelight not far away, nor the tall man standing in the shadows.

Ge Yuan pinched out the cigarette butt, furrowed his brows, and followed Ye Wanqing.

Seeing her walking toward the outside of the dormitory area, a vague guess rose in his heart.

When he saw her truly walk into the bus station waiting hall, fumble in the dark to find a chair in an inconspicuous corner and sit down, looking as if she planned to spend the night just like this, his heart felt as if someone had fiercely scratched a bloody mark on it—extremely uncomfortable.

He had long been uneasy about this little girl. He never expected she would truly be this disobedient!

Saying there were plenty of places to sleep—and then sleeping here?

Truly deserving of a beating!

Holding a belly full of fire, Ge Yuan lifted his feet and was about to walk in. Yet after taking only one step, his footsteps stopped.

He abruptly turned and sprinted madly toward the outside of the bus station.

—

The night was like water.

After getting used to the darkness inside the waiting hall, everything before her eyes gradually became clear.

Actually this kind of darkness was not unfamiliar to Ye Wanqing.

In her previous life every time she made Liu Lizhen angry and could not return home, or had a dispute with Ye Mingzhu and was hurt by her sentence “You get out—this is my home,” she would make do for a night in the waiting hall.

Later the Ye family began setting up a stall. Because at the beginning they had not managed to obtain a stall in the waiting hall yet still wanted to earn money, they could only set up outside the bus station. Every early morning they had to go early to occupy a spot, otherwise the good locations would be snatched by others.

She had to get up at three every early morning, carry the tea-water shoulder pole to wait outside the bus station, and wait for daybreak together with the other stall owners. Winters were bitterly cold with fierce winds; summer nights had mosquito bites. Before she went to become a substitute teacher, this bitter job had always been hers.

She had grown used to the darkness countless times, had boredly watched the sun rise and set countless times, yet never once like this had her heart been without confusion, without grievance, without lost direction…… She felt happy.

As long as she thought that tomorrow she would be able to have her own independent space, thought that by her side there was such a tall, towering, full-hearted man, she felt happy.

In her previous life she had gone around in circles. In this life she would be firm and unwavering.

A faint smile hung at the corners of her lips. Sleepiness came. Ye Wanqing tightly hugged her arms around her body, curled up on the chair, and carefully closed her eyes…… Yet very quickly she heard a burst of hurried footsteps, and they were heading in the direction of the waiting hall.

What was the situation?

Had something happened?

She quickly stood up and looked toward the entrance of the waiting hall in panic, yet was dazzled by a beam of flashlight light. She subconsciously used her hand to block the direct beam of that light, yet could not block the familiar voice that drilled into her ears.

“Comrade Ye, we’ve come to keep you company!”

“I brought knitting wool. Later I’ll knit clothes while chatting with you all.”

“What knitting? I brought cards, and also the sunflower seeds I roasted myself!”

“I support playing cards. No playing for money—how about diving under the table?”

“Hahaha, I think that’s fine!”

“……”

The cold and empty waiting hall instantly became lively.

By the time Ye Wanqing reacted, she was already surrounded by people. Candles had also been lit. All around were kind smiling faces and clusters of jumping candle flames. That last bit of cold in the not-too-cold night was also driven away.

Fatty Wang’s mother spread newspapers on the ground, then spread a thick quilt on top. She called for the others to sit down, then came to talk to Ye Wanqing.

Ye Wanqing dazedly chatted a few sentences with them, then suddenly raised her eyes to look forward: the tall and big man stood not far away in silence and firmness, a pair of pitch-black eyes looking at her.

Tears suddenly filled her eye sockets like this, completely impossible to restrain.

She could not control it!

These tears seemed to have self-awareness. She told herself to be strong, that she could not cry and did not want to cry, yet…… the tears simply would not stop, making that tall and upright figure in her eyes become blurred.

Fatty Wang’s mother pushed her. “What are you spacing out for? Go talk to him! We’re all very open-minded!”

“That’s right. The Ge family’s little guy was afraid you’d be bored alone here, and also afraid you’d be gossiped about by people, so he specially dragged us over to keep you company. He’s really thoughtful toward you.”

“In this day and age, men who treat the women of their family this well are not commonly seen. Little sister, hold on tight.”

“All of you say a few less words. Other people’s little girl has thin skin—do you think everyone’s the same as you? Look, you’ve made her cry.”

“Aiya……”

Amid the teasing of the group of people, Ye Wanqing’s cheeks burned red like peach blossoms on March branches that had been washed by rain. Embarrassed, she lowered her head and used the back of her hand to wipe away the tears.

She stood up and walked toward Ge Yuan. The “aiyo, aiyo” sounds behind her grew even louder.

Hadn’t they agreed not to tease her and to say a few less words?

Yet she simply could not care about that many things anymore.

Let them laugh. She just wanted……

She had only just walked in front of Ge Yuan when her wrist was locked. He looked at her heavily. “Let’s go outside.”

“……Okay.”

The two of them walked outside. Only when they stood still under the tree shadows did Ye Wanqing unable to hold back from throwing herself into the tall man’s embrace. Both hands tightly circled his lean and powerful waist. Her reddened cheeks also tightly pressed against his chest.

Perhaps because she had drunk a few cups of beer at dinner, she felt she had become even more bold and passionate. Yes—it should be the alcohol that made her unable to control wanting to get close to him.

Ge Yuan: “……”

He was conflicted.

With her like this, how was he supposed to open his mouth to lecture her? He……

“Brother Yuan, I want you to kiss me.” Ye Wanqing suddenly raised her head. Her voice carried the hoarse choking after crying, yet was still unbelievably sweet. “Don’t just space out. Are you going to kiss or not?”

“Kiss!”

After Ge Yuan answered concisely, he threw the idea of properly giving the little girl an educational lesson so that she would not dare to be this bold and disregard her own safety in the future completely to the nine heavens. He lowered his head and fiercely sealed her lips, completely abandoning resistance.

Clearly before coming he had thought again and again and steeled his heart that he must scold her until she cried.

Who told her not to be good? Not treating her own safety as a serious matter, clearly having him by her side yet not knowing to rely on him—he particularly wanted to grab her to his side and give her a good beating.

Yet now…… she truly cried, and his heart softened so much that it simply had no way to harden.

He lowered his head and could not help slowing his force. Cupping her face he carefully and gently kissed away the tear traces on her face, kissed again and again, and finally returned to her sweet soft lips, sucking and kissing back and forth.

He thought that kissing like this until the end of time would be the best reward for him. Yet once again the little demon’s voice drilled into his ears.

“Brother Yuan, shall I teach you a new way of kissing?”

“Tongue kiss, okay?”