Chapter 22

Meeting the young woman’s tear-filled, desolate eyes, Ye Wanqing still shook her head and refused.

“I’m sorry. I can’t help you. I don’t want to get involved with these matters anymore. If your family is heartless, you can still go find your friends. You and I are only strangers. Actually, I’m even very surprised you would come to me.”

The only connection between them was that both had been disgusted by Wang Jiabao, yet this could not become a reason for her to step in and help.

If she helped, and the woman had an accident at the hospital or elsewhere—what then?

If the Wang family and this woman’s family came looking for her for the person later—what then?

Without relatives or connections, she did not want to take on the burden of one person’s life.

Rejected, the last faint light in the young woman’s eyes scattered.

She did not speak vicious words, nor was there resentment on her face. She only lightly nodded and softly apologized, “I’m sorry. It’s me who didn’t consider……”

The words had only reached this point when a sudden cry of surprise rang out. “Shen Qiang, how did you come to the county town?”

Two young and spirited girls stood arm in arm one meter away. Both held large and small bags in their hands, looking as if after shopping in the county town for a whole day they were preparing to go to the bus station to take a bus home. One round-faced girl was looking at Shen Qiang—that is, the young woman who had sought help from Ye Wanqing—with a face full of surprise. It seemed they were acquaintances.

Then Ye Wanqing saw a flash of anger rapidly appear on Shen Qiang’s face. She angrily shouted at her, “You said you wouldn’t cling to Wang Jiabao anymore. You’d better remember that sentence!”

After speaking, Shen Qiang turned and left. Her footsteps were a bit unsteady, yet her pace was very fast.

The moment she left, the two girls could not help gossiping.

“Shen Qiang is simply a madwoman.”

“Her family took three hundred yuan from the Wang family and drove her out of the house, saying they no longer acknowledged this shameless daughter. Her older brother said he wanted to drown her in a pig cage. Wang Jiabao was harmed by her into going to prison, yet she still thought she could go to the Wang family and become a rich wife!”

“If I were her, I would just commit suicide and be done with it.”

“Exactly. She still has the face to warn others—where does she get such thick skin?”

After the two girls finished speaking, both looked Ye Wanqing up and down with faces full of curiosity and a bit of sympathy.

Ye Wanqing forced a tug at the corners of her lips toward them and turned to leave.

That sentence Shen Qiang had just shouted was shouted for those two to hear. She knew Ye Wanqing did not want to cause trouble, so she actively clarified the relationship?

This way, no one would think Shen Qiang had come to seek help from her. They would only think Shen Qiang had come to make trouble for her. Whatever happened to Shen Qiang later would have no connection to her.

Thinking of this, Ye Wanqing softly sighed. Her heart felt very uncomfortable.

—

After eating dinner at the Ge family’s small courtyard, Ye Wanqing returned to her own small courtyard and saw basin after basin of cut vegetables placed in the kitchen. Fatty Wang’s mother had already prepared the ingredients needed for the next day.

Thinking that the new shop would open tomorrow, she finally pressed her lips into a smile.

Having taken over a new storefront, selling tea and oden again was clearly no longer so suitable. In all aspects it was not cost-effective.

Ye Wanqing decided to open a restaurant.

The bus station had large passenger flow, yet the customers also had one characteristic: those rushing for buses were relatively hurried, and those who had just gotten off the bus with empty stomachs were also in a hurry to eat. So after thinking for a long time, Ye Wanqing decided to sell steamed dishes and braised foods.

For the steamed dishes, portions of dishes were stir-fried in large woks in the back kitchen, then divided into small bowls. The small bowls were then arranged in the steamer, kept warm by the steam in the steamer. When customers came they took whatever dishes they wanted to eat. After taking them, they scooped a bowl of rice and could start eating.

This way not only did customers save time—Ye Wanqing, busy in the back kitchen, would also be much more relaxed and not so flustered.

Braised foods need even less saying. The already-braised pork and cold dishes were simply sliced, then mixed with seasonings, chili oil, garlic, cilantro and such. Spicy and appetizing. As long as the brine was adjusted well, deliciousness was guaranteed.

Steamed dishes made the next morning would have better texture. It was not late to make them after the ingredients were delivered to the shop. But meat and eggs needed more time to absorb the flavor of the brine. The brine had to be prepared today, so Ye Wanqing had to start preparing tonight.

She took out the thirteen-spice seasoning she had prepared early from the cupboard, matched it according to her own habits, put it into the already-prepared fine gauze bag and tied it tightly, then dropped it into the large aluminum pot she had specially bought.

The prepared meats, eggs, and bean products went into the water together. Then she added scallion, ginger, and garlic, rock sugar, two small cups of Huadiao wine, and several ladlefuls of clear water to cover the ingredients by one finger’s depth, then brought it to a boil over high heat.

When the water in the pot “gurgle gurgle” bubbled and the fragrance came out, Ye Wanqing reduced the fire in the stove a little and slowly cooked over low heat, letting the braising flavor seep into the ingredients bit by bit.

After cooking like this for about one hour, the fire could be turned off.

The braised foods would stew in the pot overnight and would be very flavorful the next day. At that time she would scoop them out of the pot. Whether mixing a plate to pair with morning clear porridge or pairing with large white rice at noon—both were excellent choices.

After finishing these things, the time was already late. Ye Wanqing raised a hand to wipe the sweat from her forehead, took clothes, and took a bath. After washing, she sat clean and refreshed in front of the dressing table, twisted open the lid of the snow cream, smeared some on her hands, and moisturized her face.

These things had also been prepared by Ge Yuan. As a stubble-faced, aesthetically bizarre iron straight man, it was rare that he could consider such detailed places. When Ye Wanqing used them, her heart carried a few points of sweetness.

In her previous life when she lived alone, she did not feel men were particularly important. She even thought that even without a man she could live very well alone, no worse than women with families. Later after marrying Ge Yuan she was extremely well cared for in daily life by him, yet the vacancy in feelings still existed.

In this life after tasting the flavor of mutual affection, she only then understood that a beautiful and healthy relationship was a kind of fortune for both parties in the relationship and could bring great happiness.

As for bad relationships……

Thinking of this, Ye Wanqing again recalled the matter of Shen Qiang.

Shen Qiang’s pair of despairing and dim tear-filled eyes floated up in her mind—deep and clear. Ye Wanqing recalled her disheveled appearance as she turned and walked far away, and softly sighed once.

The more closed the thinking, the more harsh the criticism toward women. A situation like Shen Qiang’s in this era…… truly had difficulty ending well.

—

Five o’clock in the early morning.

Ye Wanqing, covered in cold sweat, abruptly woke from a dream and sat on the bed for a long time without being able to recover her senses.

Perhaps what one thought of during the day one dreamed of at night—she had actually dreamed of Shen Qiang.

It was the Shen Qiang spoken of by others.

Back then she had already felt resistance toward Wang Jiabao in her heart. After learning that the person Wang Jiabao had always been thinking of was Ye Mingzhu, she decisively proposed divorce. Under the curses of the Wang family she picked up her small bundle and resolutely left. The total time she stayed at the Wang family did not exceed five days.

In those five days her understanding of the Wang family was not much, and after leaving she paid no attention to the Wang family at all. Yet afterward the Wang family caused a major incident. Even she who was a substitute teacher in another town had heard of it.

According to rumor, the Wang family was entangled by a six-months-pregnant madwoman. That madwoman failed to die by jumping into the river, and in the end actually charged to the Wang family’s door with a knife and died at the Wang family’s door in an extremely tragic way, frightening the Wang family into moving house directly.

That madwoman’s surname was Shen. Because the rumor also had one sentence like this: The Wang family ah—truly unlucky. Not only did they attract bad luck for nothing, they were also blackmailed by the Shen family for a large sum of money.

Shen family…… Shen Qiang!

Rumors grew more and more distorted the more they were spread. The Wang family actually changed from perpetrators into innocent victims. Yet the main character in the rumor would not change…… And the fact that Wang Jiabao was unable to marry a wife for so many years afterward—was there also the influence of that incident?

The more she thought, the more cold sweat appeared on Ye Wanqing’s body.

She took a deep breath, abruptly threw off the quilt and got out of bed. With trembling hands she put on clothes and shoes, then mindlessly hurried toward the Ge family’s small courtyard.

Five o’clock in the early morning. There was only a thread of light on the horizon.

Ye Wanqing numbly knocked on the door in the dim dawn light. When Ge Yuan opened the door with furrowed brows, she could not speak a single word and directly threw herself into his embrace. Feeling his body temperature gradually surround her, only then did she feel at ease.

Seeing the person who came was her, the morning grumpiness on Ge Yuan’s body all turned into worry. “What’s wrong?”

“Brother Yuan……” Ye Wanqing’s voice was low. “There’s a matter. I don’t know what to do. My heart is very uneasy. Help me think of a way.”

“Okay!”

—

Regarding Shen Qiang’s matter, Ye Wanqing did not step forward herself.

What Ge Yuan meant by handling it was having his brother Houzi make a trip to check the situation. Ye Wanqing gave Houzi one hundred yuan. If Shen Qiang indeed had need, Houzi would give Shen Qiang the one hundred yuan without showing his face. Afterward the matter would have no relation to them.

Ye Wanqing only hoped that the Shen Qiang who in her previous life had no way out would in this life gain one more choice because of this and not end up walking that dead-end path.

—

In the early morning when the mist had not yet dispersed, Ye Wanqing and Fatty Wang’s mother together delivered the ingredients to the shop and methodically began the preparatory work.

At a little past ten in the morning she opened the shop door, lit a long string of firecrackers in front of the shop door, and raised a shallow smile amid the “pop pop pop” of the firecrackers.

The firecracker sounds attracted the attention of quite a few people. Many people walked over to watch.

Ye Wanqing’s small shop was different from many shops at this time—very unique.

Above the shop door hung a wooden plaque with the two characters of the shop name “Zhen Wei” written on it.

The wooden plaque was not the proper square-and-upright style. Instead it looked as if it had just been cut from the forest, carrying a bit of rough interest. The characters “Zhen Wei” painted orange-yellow were also not elegant traditional calligraphy. Instead they were written plump and chubby, looking endearingly clumsy.

Besides the shop name, the plaque also wrote the varieties the shop operated: delicious steamed dishes, fragrant spicy braised foods.

Looking at the shop interior, the shop of only a little over thirty square meters was not large, yet the walls had all been painted white and looked clean and refreshing.

Inside the shop a total of eight sets of tables and chairs were placed against the walls on both sides. White-and-yellow checkered tablecloths were pressed under glass. On the tabletops were placed wooden chopstick holders and glass jars containing red chopped chili. Looking exquisite.

At the shop entrance, on the left was placed a large steamer cabinet. Below was an iron sheet box; above was a movable structure made of wooden frames and transparent glass. Pedestrians on the roadside could clearly see the stacks of steamed dishes that were complete in color, aroma, and flavor arranged inside the steamer cabinet.

If some pedestrians were afraid the consumption was high and did not dare enter the shop—no problem…… Directly in front of the steamer cabinet hung small wooden plaques one after another with the prices of various steamed dishes and braised foods written on them—honest with young and old alike.

This shop arrangement was very ordinary in later generations, yet right now it was full of clever thought.

Because of curiosity toward novel things, and because the prices were clearly displayed as affordable, plus the young and pretty proprietress’s face still carried a bright and generous smile, the moment Ye Wanqing’s shop opened it attracted quite a few customers over.

It was not yet mealtime—no problem. Buying some braised foods to eat was also good.

When mealtime arrived, because the steamed dishes could be eaten the moment they were brought to the table, and there was also a bowl of seaweed and pork rib soup given free, and the prices were also very affordable, customers once again filled the place to capacity.

Ye Wanqing led Fatty Wang’s mother and Zhou Sao, whom Fatty Wang’s mother had newly “recruited” and who also lived near the Ge family’s small courtyard, in busyness. Even with three people, when busy times came they were busy enough.

At eight in the evening Ye Wanqing closed the shop on time.

Fatty Wang’s mother and Zhou Sao were responsible for the cleaning and finishing work. Because she was concerned about Shen Qiang’s matter, Ye Wanqing returned home early and did not stay at the shop until the end.

Unexpectedly when she returned home Ge Yuan said Houzi still had no news. She simply washed up, then while sitting at the table calculating accounts waited.

This day was a bit tiring—several times more tiring than when setting up the stall. Yet one calculation of the accounts also stunned Ye Wanqing.

The entire day’s income was actually over five hundred!

After deducting various costs, the gross profit was at least four hundred fifty…… One day of opening the shop was equivalent to her previous five days of setting up the stall!

Of course, this might also be because it was the new shop opening, so there were especially many new customers. After the shop had been open for a while, people trying something new would not come every day to buy braised dishes or eat at the restaurant. Income might drop a bit.

However, this was already very good!

Ye Wanqing was especially satisfied.

She calculated that because the steamed dishes were proper meals, the largest passenger flow was at noon and evening for a while. Yet the braised foods that could be carried away sold reasonably well the whole day. This afternoon the stock had been sold out.

It seemed that if she wanted to further increase turnover, the best method was to increase the sale of braised foods.

Having a bottom line in her heart, Ye Wanqing recorded the plan in her notebook. Just as she was preparing to drink a mouthful of water, the door was suddenly opened.

Ge Yuan stood at the doorway. “Houzi is back.”

“Back?” Ye Wanqing quickly stood up and asked while walking, “How is the situation?”

Ge Yuan shook his head. “The person is fine.”

Noticing that Ge Yuan’s expression was not very good, Ye Wanqing felt a bit worried.

—

Arriving at the main room, Houzi was sitting at the dining table shoveling rice in large mouthfuls, looking as if he was extremely hungry. Seeing Ye Wanqing come, he quickly stood up and greeted her.

“Sister-in-law!”

“……Mm.” Glancing at Ge Yuan, Ye Wanqing nodded a bit embarrassedly, then quickly asked, “Houzi, what happened on Shen Qiang’s side?”

Houzi first drank a mouthful of water and shook his head with emotion. “Don’t mention it. Her family’s parents and older brother are all not human!”

Today after Houzi finished collecting goods he went to find Shen Qiang. Unexpectedly he heard people say Shen Qiang had been called away by her older brother. He followed the path over to look and from a distance saw the Shen siblings arguing by the river. When the quarrel reached an intense point, Shen Qiang’s older brother fiercely pushed her and actually directly pushed her into the river.

Then he turned a blind eye to Shen Qiang struggling and calling for help and directly left.

This was murder!

With no one around, Houzi went into the water and rescued Shen Qiang. Only after hearing Shen Qiang speak did he learn that the reason the siblings argued was because Shen Qiang’s older brother told her to commit suicide to correct the family morals and recover the reputation the Shen family had lost, yet Shen Qiang was unwilling.

As for the Shen parents, their attitude toward this was indifferent. They simply did not care about Shen Qiang’s life or death.

Afraid of being seen by people, Houzi did not say much more to Shen Qiang. He said he was entrusted by someone and gave her one hundred yuan before leaving.

Ye Wanqing furrowed her brows. “How can her family be so heartless? That’s murder!”

Houzi said with disdain, “Shen Qiang originally did not want anything with Wang Jiabao. It was Shen Qiang’s family who told her to use the child to bind Wang Jiabao and even locked her and Wang Jiabao in a room…… Unexpectedly the Wang family refused to acknowledge it. After Shen Qiang lost her usefulness she was driven out of the house, and her family even calculated her older brother’s broken engagement onto her head, saying it was because she was improper that the woman’s side looked down on the Shen family!”

Ge Yuan’s sword-like brows tightly furrowed. “This kind of beast is simply not human!”

“……There are still such people?!” Ye Wanqing was both angry and amazed.

She truly had not expected that Shen Qiang’s so-called suicide by jumping into the water back then was not suicide at all, but her older brother’s completely heartless ruthless hand.

No wonder she felt that Shen Qiang’s toughness of grasping every opportunity to live on simply did not look like someone who would lightly take her own life.

—

Ye Wanqing thought the matter of Shen Qiang was over, yet later heard a bit of follow-up.

First the county public security bureau received a real-name report letter from Shen Qiang reporting that Wang Jiabao had committed the crime of hooliganism—every word blood and tears, evidence conclusive—which accelerated the public security bureau’s case judgment.

Actually under the guidance of experts the Wang family, having no way out, had originally planned to turn back and find Shen Qiang and take her into the family.

They wanted to settle this matter of Shen Qiang, then use public opinion to say that the matter involving Ye Wanqing was not Wang Jiabao’s attempted rape of Ye Wanqing at all, but Ye Wanqing deliberately beating the drunk Wang Jiabao. As a result…… now it was good. Shen Qiang’s report letter was delivered into the public security bureau. Although Wang Jiabao was not sentenced to execution by shooting, he was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Afterward the Shen family also received retribution. When Shen Qiang’s older brother went out at night to find people to drink, he was put into a sack and beaten once. Both legs were directly broken—the kind that could not even be set.

The Shen family altogether only had one son and one daughter. Now the daughter was missing and the son had become a cripple. Even if the Shen couple did not go crazy they were not far from crazy.

Quite a few people guessed these two matters were done by Shen Qiang, yet also felt a woman would find it difficult to accomplish such major matters.

In the end an insider said that after Shen Qiang and her older brother went to the riverside she never appeared again. Perhaps she had been murdered and her wronged soul had returned for revenge…… This explanation was believed by the most people……

Hearing these pieces of news, Ye Wanqing softly sighed once. Her heart was filled with mixed feelings.

What she could do ended here. The road afterward Shen Qiang had to walk herself. She could only hope she could walk a bit more smoothly.

Ye Wanqing did this matter entirely according to her own heart. Actually there was also the meaning of wanting her own heart to be at ease. What she did not expect was that this bit of goodwill at this time not only saved a life—the return at the critical moment was also very, very large.

—

In the blink of an eye half a month passed. Ye Wanqing’s small shop’s business not only did not decline but instead built a reputation and the business grew better and better.

Each portion of the steamed dishes she made was only a small bowl, so the pricing was not high either. Meat dishes were uniformly one yuan, vegetable dishes fifty fen. An adult eating one meat and one vegetable could be full. Adding the daily soup, it could be called high quality at a low price.

If one wanted to eat a bit better, taking a few more dishes and slicing a stack of braised foods would make a very abundant meal. Treating guests to a meal was also very face-giving.

People’s lives grew better and better, and they were much more willing to spend on eating. Ye Wanqing’s small treasury grew stronger and stronger. Recently when she walked she carried wind and was especially energetic.

The only flaw was that because she also had to do business in the evenings, Ye Wanqing had no way to go to the Ge family’s small courtyard every day to cook for the Ge siblings and Old Zhong.

The two adults still wanted face and only silently cried in their hearts, feeling sad for a bit that they could not eat the delicious food Ye Wanqing made.

Ge Yue who could not hide her thoughts—this day when Ye Wanqing was about to go out—directly extended her little hand and tugged at the hem of her clothes. A pair of large eyes looked at her wetly, simply melting her heart.

“Little Moon, what’s wrong?”

“Beautiful Sister-in-law, I’m so good!”

“……Mm.” Ye Wanqing squatted down and pinched Ge Yue’s little face. “You’re the best.”

“I bathe every day, and I’m fragrant!”

Ye Wanqing nodded. “Mm. You’re fragrant.”

The moment Ge Yue saw she nodded, the little face that had grown baby fat from being raised by Ye Wanqing during this period bloomed with a brilliant smile. She directly threw herself over and hugged her neck, soft and coquettish. “I’m good, and fragrant. Giving you a hug. Beautiful Sister-in-law make meat for me, okay?”

Ge Yuan standing to the side also spoke coolly, his voice full of grievance. “Otherwise, we can also go to the shop to find you.”

“……” Ye Wanqing could not help laughing and also realized that she had been too busy recently and truly neglected this whole family. She quickly nodded. “Okay. Tonight I’ll come back earlier and make you a delicious meal! Spicy chicken cubes, sweet-and-sour fish, pearl meatballs, beer duck…… whatever you want to eat I’ll make. Let you eat until you’re full—okay?”

The moment her words fell, the Ge siblings’ faces instantly revealed identical smiles—equally foolish.

Ye Wanqing: “Wipe the drool.”

Ge Yuan: “……”

Ge Yue: “……”

Both raised their hands and wiped their faces once. The movements were so standard they looked as if measured with a ruler, looking even more foolish.

Ye Wanqing truly laughed out loud.

Because she had made a promise, this day Ye Wanqing prepared the steamed dishes early and handed the shop matters over to Fatty Wang’s mother and Zhou Sao. She herself hurried home a little past five.

Unexpectedly she returned too early. Only Old Zhong and Ge Yue were at home.

“Where did Brother Yuan go?”

“He’s at the blacksmith shop at the very end of the alley. If you’re looking for him go over there.”

“Blacksmith shop?” Curiosity rose in Ye Wanqing’s heart.

The steamers had already been made. What was Ge Yuan still going there to look at? Could it be to urge the blacksmith to quickly finish the stall custom-ordered for the Chen family? Also…… this matter had been delayed for more than half a month—it was a bit long.

While thinking she walked toward the blacksmith shop.

Arriving at the blacksmith shop she did not see anyone. She called several times with no response, so she walked past the shop into the interior. With this one look she actually saw Ge Yuan standing bare-armed on the open ground of the shop’s back courtyard, preparing to take a shower.

Perhaps because he was extremely hot, Ge Yuan’s back was covered with sparkling sweat beads. He lifted a bucket of water and poured it over his body.

Clear water washed away the sweat on his body. He comfortably sighed once, took the soap and randomly worked up a bit of lather on his body, rubbed a few times, then extended his hand into his pants to clean the key area. His movements were rough and wild. Relying on there being no one he was even somewhat open about it. The waistband of his pants was pulled down a section by his movements, hanging loosely on his lean and powerful waist.

Ye Wanqing: “……”

This…… seemed a bit too explosive.

Her face flushed with shame as she took a step back, preparing to leave this place without anyone knowing. Who would have thought that Ge Yuan would abruptly turn and look in her direction.

“Who?”

Ye Wanqing: “……”

Ge Yuan: “……”

Their eyes met. Ge Yuan awkwardly pulled his hand out of his pants and silently turned back around.

Ye Wanqing: “……”