Chapter 111 City Streets 11

Chapter 111: The City Streets of the Prefecture 11

The prefectural city was nothing like the small towns—it was a maze of bustling streets and markets, with thoroughfares extending in all directions. Liu Guyu and his companions stayed on Heyan Street, while Xie Baozhu led Li Anyuan and his brother to South Street.

Though these two streets weren’t worlds apart within Jiangyang Prefecture, walking from one to the other still took over half an hour.

Jiangning Prefecture was lively. Vegetable farmers carrying their goods on shoulder poles walked along the bluestone-paved roads, while a man driving a mule cart passed by, the hooves clattering rhythmically against the stones. Vendors lined the riverbanks, setting up stalls along the water’s edge.

Qin Banban’s seasickness wasn’t severe; after disembarking and breathing in the fresh air for a while, she had mostly recovered. Now, captivated by the novel sights of the prefectural city, she came back to life, eager to take in every detail.

Jiangzhou was rich in waterways. Fushui Town had the Luodai River flowing through its villages, and within Jiangning Prefecture ran the Danshui River, wider and greener than the Luodai. As the early spring ice melted, the river took on a faint duck-egg blue hue.

Beyond the city lay the Mei River, vast and expansive—the very route they had taken by boat to get here.

A few small, black-canopied boats drifted along the Danshui River in the city, some even hosting stalls selling assorted trinkets.

Liu Guyu, his stomach still churning, listlessly glanced around, thinking the prefectural city resembled a water town, quite picturesque and charming.

Beside him, Banban exclaimed in amazement, “Wow! They even set up stalls on boats?!”

No sooner had she spoken than a young boy, around ten years old, dashed past. He wore a pink shirt with a green belt tied around his waist and carried a bamboo basket on his back, from which spilled an abundance of flowers—pink, red, white, yellow… as if he carried spring itself on his shoulders.

He was a young flower seller, even wearing a colorful floral wreath on his head. Dressed in vibrant shades of pink and green, he looked like one of the blossoms from his basket come to life.

“Wow! So men can sell flowers too!”

Qin Banban exclaimed again.

Back in Fushui Town, flower sellers were occasionally seen in spring, but they were always young girls—never men!

A nearby auntie overheard and laughed heartily. “Why can’t men sell flowers? If women can run clinics and practice medicine, of course men can sell flowers!”

At these words, Qin Banban forgot all about the flowers.

She asked eagerly, “There are female doctors in the prefectural city?”

The auntie replied, “There’s one. On Apricot Grove Street—that’s where all the clinics are. Lady Fang is a physician at Huichun Hall! Her skills are excellent, no less than any man’s. She cured my daughter’s rash!”

Qin Banban was both astonished and delighted, itching to rush to Apricot Grove Street right away. But then she glanced at Liu Guyu, who looked as wilted as frostbitten cabbage, and could only thank the auntie before turning to Qin Rongshi:

“Brother, how much farther? Brother Liu doesn’t look too well—he can barely walk.”

Liu Guyu lacked energy but couldn’t resist a quip. He weakly raised a hand and said, “That’s putting it mildly. I get it—do I look as pale as if I’ve been dead for three days?”

Qin Banban fell silent.

Cui Lanfang, supporting Liu Guyu, couldn’t help scolding him: “Child, must you always speak so recklessly?”

Qin Rongshi also shot him a glare and said irritably, “I think he’s got plenty of energy left.”

Despite his words, Qin Rongshi glanced around and finally spotted an empty ox-cart passing by. He quickly stopped the driver, paid him a few coins, and asked him to take their group to Heyan Street.

The driver, a straightforward man, became even more agreeable after accepting the payment. After hastily tidying the cart, he waved them on. “No problem! Hop on!”

They rode for another quarter of an hour before arriving at the rented courtyard.

“This is the place. Just stop by the gate, thank you.”

“No trouble at all! No trouble!”

After a brief exchange, they disembarked, and the driver continued on his way.

Wisteria vines climbed over the courtyard wall, spilling from within and draping over the gate like a cascade of pale purple blossoms, as if thousands of tiny flowers had bloomed at once—a veritable floral waterfall.

“So beautiful,” Qin Banban murmured.

Qin Rongshi immediately took out a key, unlocked the door, and stepped inside. “The main room is on the right, with a larger bed. Mother and Banban can stay there. Brother Liu, take the first room on the left.”

Cui Lanfang asked, “Erlang, what about you?”

At her question, both Qin Banban and Liu Guyu turned to look at him.

Qin Rongshi pointed to the room next to Liu Guyu’s. “I’ll stay in the study.”

Liu Guyu didn’t respond but headed straight for the left-hand room. After two days on the large boat, he’d slept poorly, eaten little, and felt as though the constant rocking had nearly shaken him apart. Everyone assumed he would rest immediately, but instead, he went to the study Qin Rongshi had mentioned.

Upon opening the door, he saw a desk and chair set, with a narrow cot against the wall—even smaller than the beds in his modern dormitory.

Frowning, Liu Guyu turned to Qin Rongshi. “It’s too short. Wouldn’t your legs hang off if you slept there?”

Cui Lanfang also expressed concern. “It is a bit small… Erlang, you should take the main room! You have exams coming up—you need proper rest!”

Qin Rongshi simply said, “No need. I’ll be studying in the study, so it’s more convenient to sleep there. When I traveled for study with my teacher before, I used this room. I’m used to it.”

His reasoning seemed sound. Besides, Qin Rongshi was no stranger to hard, cramped beds—this room was far better than their living conditions a few years ago.

Convinced, the others stopped insisting and turned their attention to Liu Guyu.

“Gu Yu, you should rest now.”

“Yes, Brother Liu, go lie down for a while.”

Liu Guyu wasn’t one to push himself when unwell. He nodded and entered his room, with Cui Lanfang following closely.

The courtyard had clearly been recently tidied; both inside and out, everything was spotless, without a speck of dust. The bed, however, was bare. Cui Lanfang helped lay out the bedding and placed Liu Guyu’s luggage on the table for him to organize later when he woke.

Liu Guyu undressed and lay down but still felt a bitter taste in his mouth and no drowsiness.

After lying there idly for a while, he suddenly reached under his pillow and pulled out a small pouch. Unwrapping a piece of hard candy wrapped in oilpaper, he popped it into his mouth.

The candy had been given to him by Qin Rongshi the day before. When their large boat had docked briefly, Qin Rongshi had hurried ashore to a nearby clinic and bought these medicinal candies to soothe nausea.

Made from ginger, mint, dried tangerine peel, licorice, and other ingredients, the candy had a refreshing, cool taste and mild properties—suitable even as an occasional treat.

Sucking on the candy, he lay back down, his mind inexplicably drifting back to the previous night when Qin Rongshi had brought him the candy.

At the time, Liu Guyu had been lying half-dead on his bed, muttering to himself, “Still hanging in there today.”

Just as he’d survived another day, a knock came at the door. Thinking it was Cui Lanfang bringing food because he’d eaten little at noon, he remained sprawled on the bed, too lethargic to move. “Mother, I’m not hungry. I don’t want to eat.”

To his surprise, Qin Rongshi’s low voice sounded from the doorway.

“It’s me.”

Liu Guyu sat up, shoved the ceramic basin by his bed underneath it, and called out, “Erlang? Come in.”

Qin Rongshi pushed the door open and came in, frowning as he looked at Liu Guyu. "Did you not eat again?"

Liu Guyu had a bowl of porridge and two plain mantou in the morning; for lunch, he had rice, sautéed pork with greens, and rice soup—he only ate half of the vegetables and didn’t touch the rice or meat at all. As for dinner, he didn’t even want to look at vegetables.

Liu Guyu shook his head listlessly, leaning back against the pillow. "No appetite."

Qin Rongshi frowned and watched him for a while without saying a word. He simply sat down on the small stool by the bed and took out a small pouch from his sleeve.

"Try two of these."

Liu Guyu: "?"

Tilting his head, Liu Guyu muttered, "What is this?" as he fished out two medicinal candies wrapped in wrappers from the pouch.

He followed the suggestion and took two. They tasted slightly sour, cooling and refreshing, quickly suppressing the churning acidity in his stomach.

Qin Rongshi: "How is it?"

Liu Guyu nodded, murmured in agreement before saying, "Not bad."

Qin Rongshi gave a slight nod as well, then suddenly reached out toward him and said, "Let me see your hand."

Liu Guyu: "?"

Liu Guyu tilted his head again, still muttering, "What for?" but extended his hand anyway.

Qin Rongshi didn’t say anything, just held his arm and lowered his gaze, massaging several pressure points through the thin sleeve.

The pressure was perfect. Whether it was psychological or actually effective, Liu Guyu actually started feeling better.

He looked at Qin Rongshi in surprise.

Qin Rongshi didn’t look up, his voice low as he said, "My father taught me this. It should work fairly well."

He continued for a while longer, rubbing until Liu Guyu became drowsy and eventually fell asleep slumped against the pillow.

After a long while, Qin Rongshi finally pulled back his hand and sat on the chair, gazing at Liu Guyu for quite some time.

Bundled under the blankets, Liu Guyu was still frowning. Qin Rongshi gazed so intently, almost reaching out unconsciously to smooth the frown from Liu Guyu’s brow. Just then, footsteps sounded outside the door.

Coming back to himself, he quickly withdrew his half-extended hand, stood up, and slipped out quietly.

Cui Lanfang was standing at the door. Seeing her son emerge from Liu Guyu’s room, her eyes widened in shock.

Pointing at the closed door, she stammered, "Er-Erlang? You… you… how did you…"

Cui Lanfang was so startled she couldn’t get her words out.

But Qin Rongshi remained calm, as if he had done nothing wrong, his expression completely guiltless.

He even countered with a question: "Mother, I bought some medicine for nausea after I got off the boat earlier. I originally intended to ask you to give it to Brother Liu, but I couldn’t find you in your room. I was worried Brother Liu might be uncomfortable, so I had to deliver it myself."

Cui Lanfang said "Ah," puzzled. "I was in Banban’s room. She wasn’t feeling well either."

She thought it was strange! Both Gu Yu and Banban were unwell, and she had been going back and forth between them—surely Erlang knew that!

Qin Rongshi nodded, then pulled out another pouch from his sleeve. "Oh, I bought some for Banban too. I’ll take it to her and see if it helps her."

After saying this, he walked away. But after a couple of steps, he seemed to remember something suddenly and turned back. "Mother, Brother Liu is asleep. There’s no need to check on him. You should go rest too."

Cui Lanfang stared blankly as he turned and left, muttering to herself, "This child, so odd… must've studied himself silly."

But clearly, it wasn’t Qin Rongshi who was silly—he had managed to steer Cui Lanfang off track with just a few words.

Liu Guyu overheard the conversation between mother and son. He hadn’t been sleeping deeply and woke up when Qin Rongshi opened the door, but his mind was foggy. He only vaguely caught a few words before drifting back to sleep.

That night, Cui Lanfang came again to bring him food. Liu Guyu originally had no appetite, but he soon caught the sour and spicy aroma. Cui Lanfang brought in a bowl of hot and sour noodle soup.

The dish was made with chopped pickled peppers, chili flakes, and pickled vegetables stir-fried until fragrant, then boiled with water. A large bowl of sweet potato noodles was cooked in the broth, with a handful of chive segments added.

Seeing Liu Guyu’s interest, Cui Lanfang immediately smiled. "Erlang had the right idea! He said you’ve lost your sense of taste, and bland food would only make it worse! He suggested I borrow the kitchen to make something appetizing! Try it!"

Liu Guyu didn’t finish the entire bowl of noodles, but he ate half of it. Full and satisfied, he went back to sleep and didn’t wake until the next afternoon.

The boat had also docked by then.

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Author’s note: …No implication that Cui Lanfang is silly.