Chapter 147 City Streets 47

Chapter 147: City Life, Part 47

By mid-December, more than half a month had passed since the last incident, and Liu Guyu’s foot injury had fully healed.

However, he was in no hurry to reopen his shop, especially since Zhang Yun’s injuries hadn't fully recovered. Though the pain had subsided and the swelling and bruising had faded, the doctor still advised more rest and continued application of medicinal wine.

With the New Year approaching, Liu Guyu decided to call it quits for the year. In just a few days, once the Xiangshan Academy went on holiday, they would likely pack up and return to Shanghe Village.

Lost in thought, Liu Guyu walked home carrying a vegetable basket.

He wore a plum-green winter robe with a slightly darker green half-cape draped over his shoulders. As a light snow began to fall midway, he pulled up the furry hood attached to the cape and covered his head.

Entering Fruit Alley, he noticed some people chatting.

“Hey, have you heard? The Li family has moved away!”

“Moved? Where to?”

“Who knows? I heard they sold their courtyard and the whole family left! Just a couple of days ago, I even saw a real estate agent checking out the place!”

“Oh, what’s the big deal? Moving over something so trivial? Giving up city life? Could they be moving to Licuo Village? Isn’t the Li family man keeping bees there?”

“Hard to tell. Chen Qiaoyun and her son don’t seem like the type who’d want to live in a village. Maybe they moved to another town?”

…

Despite the cold weather, these women didn’t seem to mind, leaning against the wall while rubbing their hands and chatting, their breath forming puffs of white mist that quickly dissipated in the chilly air.

Someone spotted Liu Guyu and waved enthusiastically, calling out, “Hey, Boss Liu! Is that you? You’re back? How’s your foot?”

They were all residents of Fruit Alley, so Liu Guyu nodded and smiled at them.

That smile turned out to be a mistake.

The next moment, an auntie giggled and pulled him over, immediately stuffing a roasted sweet potato into his hands. The sweet aroma wafted into his nose as the hot, steaming potato, split in half, warmed his palms.

He was forcibly dragged into the gossip group, and the auntie who pulled him asked eagerly, “Boss Liu, we heard the family next door to you moved away? Do you know anything about it?”

How could Liu Guyu not know?

The Li family’s move had been quite noisy, and he had heard it from his own home.

He nodded and replied with a smile, “Ah… I did hear a bit.”

Another auntie chimed in, “Then do you know where they moved to?”

Liu Guyu scratched his nose. “Ah… they didn’t say.”

Then another man joined in, asking, “Hey, I heard Li Youliang is crippled now, is that true? Boss Liu, you live right next to him, you must know, right?”

Liu Guyu’s eyes darted away as he continued to evade the question. “Ah… maybe, maybe.”

That day, Li Youliang had been carried back to the Li family by the bailiffs, but there was no one home. Chen Qiaoyun only returned the next day after being paraded through the streets, only to find her son lying half-dead on the bed, burning up with fever and unconscious beyond waking.

As for her husband, Li Dacai? There was no sign of him!

He had probably gone back to Licuo Village again, obsessed with beekeeping to the point of madness.

With her son disabled and unable to continue his imperial examinations, and Chen Qiaoyun herself having lost face publicly, she felt mocked and ridiculed every time she went out to fetch a doctor or buy medicine for her son, wishing she could disappear into the ground.

How could life go on like this?

No one knew when Li Dacai returned, but once he did, arguments started—daily fights between the couple, and Li Youliang, having lost all spirit, cursed heaven and earth all day long.

After ten days of constant quarreling, they finally quieted down and discussed selling the house and moving elsewhere, where no one knew them, so they could start anew.

Seeing that they couldn’t get any information out of Liu Guyu, the gossipers finally let him go. Liu Guyu hunched his shoulders and hurried off, still hearing their chatter even after he had walked several steps.

“Why bother asking him? He was badly wronged by the Li family—why would he want to talk about it? He probably can’t even stand hearing about it!”

“Oh, if you ask me, that Chen Qiaoyun is quite the actress! She used to act so kind and virtuous! But as soon as she fell out with the Qin family, she turned around and copied their… their soft cheese!”

“Exactly! Serves her right! She tried to steal a chicken only to lose the rice!”

“Hey, is her son really crippled? Who did you hear that from?”

“It’s true! I passed by their courtyard the other day and heard her arguing with Li Dacai! Qiaoyun blamed Li Dacai for not being home, which delayed their son’s treatment, and Li Dacai blamed her for causing trouble, which led to their son being beaten. They were arguing fiercely!”

“That’s right! When they moved away, I saw Li Youliang getting into the carriage… Oh my, in just half a month, he had become so thin he was unrecognizable. His father had to carry him into the carriage.”

…

Liu Guyu overheard snippets of conversation as he made his way home.

“Gu Yu! What did you buy… Oh, you! Buying so many pickled chilies and dried peppers! No wonder you didn’t want me to come along! You’ve been craving this, haven’t you!”

As soon as Liu Guyu entered, he was met with Cui Lanfang’s scolding. He rubbed his ear and chuckled, “Mom, I’m really better now! Let me have some spicy food! I’ve been eating so bland lately, my mouth has no taste!”

“And you’ve been stewing pig’s feet every day—with kidney beans and peanuts the day before yesterday, with white radish yesterday… Look, I’ve gained weight! I’m even developing a double chin!”

Liu Guyu dramatically hunched his neck, pretending to show off a double chin even though he didn’t have one.

Though he was exaggerating, he had indeed put on some weight—his face had rounded out and even looked a bit fairer.

Cui Lanfang laughed at his antics and pinched his cheek, finding it soft and pleasant to the touch.

She chuckled, “It’s cold outside—putting on some weight helps for winter! Alright, don’t look so pitiful. At most, you can have meatless days for a couple of days. You’re not one to sit idle—once you get busy again, you’ll lose the weight quickly… Let me see, what else did you buy?”

Liu Guyu coughed and handed her the basket. “Ahem… I bought some meat, thinking of making boiled pork slices. There was also some fresh chicken gizzards, so I bought a bit. They’ll taste great stir-fried with pickled chili and garlic! Cough… and, and I saw someone selling fried duck—the smell wafted halfway down the street! Cough… so I bought half a duck.”

Cui Lanfang laughed even louder. Boiled pork slices, stir-fried chicken gizzards with pickled chili, and fried duck—all spicy dishes. It seemed her son had truly been craving bold flavors.

She smiled and said, “Alright, alright! Let’s eat! Our Gu Yu isn’t fat. If you don’t believe me, wait until Rongshi and Banban come back and ask them—they’ll surely say you’re not fat either.”

“Fine, hand it over. You want boiled pork slices and stir-fried chicken gizzards with pickled chili, right? I’ll make them for you!”

But Liu Guyu didn’t hand over the basket. Instead, he clung to Cui Lanfang’s arm and said, “Mom, let me cook today. It’s been so long since I last cooked! If I don’t do it soon, my skills will get rusty!”

Cui Lanfang paused and instinctively glanced at Liu Guyu’s foot, feeling a bit uneasy. But then she remembered that he had already made the trip there and back to the market, and Doctor Fang had confirmed that his foot was fully healed.

After a moment’s thought, she nodded. “Alright, your cooking is better than mine anyway! I’ll assist you.”

Liu Guyu grinned. “Not at all! Your braised pork and steamed pork belly are much tastier than mine! And your pickled radishes, young ginger, and garlic are more flavorful too!”

The two chatted and laughed as they entered the kitchen. The two cats, smelling the meat, sneaked in after them, rubbing against Liu Guyu’s ankles, meowing, and rolling over to show their bellies.

“Are they hungry?” Liu Guyu asked.

Cui Lanfang laughed and said, “Not a chance! The big cat caught a huge rat not long ago, didn’t even eat it, but gave it to her two kittens. It was a very long rat, quite plump, so they must be full! They’re just tempted by the smell and have a case of the munchies!”

Even as she said this, Cui Lanfang still sliced a few pieces of meat and scooped up a spoonful of chicken gizzards, quickly boiled them, and put them in a small dish to feed the cats.

The two cats meowed and ran over, tails straight up, purring while they ate.

But indeed, they were already full; after a few bites, they stopped eating and ran off to play on the cherry tree, swatting at each other's tails and nipping at each other's ears.

Lucky, who had been sprawled lazily by the door, wandered over, lapped up the meat and veggies from the dish.

Soon, smoke rose from the kitchen chimney, and the spicy aroma quickly spread, so enticing it made your mouth water.

Qin Rongshi and Qin Banban returned one after the other and smelled it as soon as they entered the house.

"Mom! What's that amazing smell?"

Qin Banban ran into the kitchen but saw Liu Guyu standing in front of the stove, with an apron tied around his waist, holding a large ladle as he stir-fried a pan of cabbage.

Cui Lanfang looked up from the stove and said with a smile, "Brother Liu made it. He can't sit still. His foot's just better, and he's already busy again."

Qin Rongshi followed closely behind and saw a few dishes already set out on the counter.

He glanced at Liu Guyu and still said, "You still need to take it easy."

Qin Banban added, "Yes! My teacher also said you shouldn't stand or walk for too long! Brother Liu, you should rest. This is all stir-fried; I'll take care of it."

Liu Guyu didn't need to be asked twice, stepping aside and telling Cui Lanfang to sit down before quickly taking a seat at the table himself.

He said, "Now that everyone's here, let's get ready to eat! I'm starved!"

He wasn't exactly starving, but he had a craving, especially with the spicy, fragrant smells making him even hungrier. He'd already snuck a few bites earlier, loving the spicy kick.

The food was served: a large bowl of water-boiled sliced meat, red and piled with chilies and scallions, sizzling with hot oil poured over top. The thin slices of meat were tender and smooth, cooked perfectly with a quick dip in the broth, and the smell alone was enough to whet the appetite.

The pickled pepper chicken gizzards were the perfect dish to eat with rice. A generous amount of oil was used to fry the sour-spicy red chilies, shredded pickled radish, and pickled ginger until fragrant, the wok sizzling. Then, the cleaned and marinated chicken gizzards were added and stir-fried over high heat, seasoned with salt, a splash of sesame oil was added, and finally tossed with garlic shoots a few times before plating.

The pickled peppers were tangy and refreshing, the red oil glistening, paired with the fresh, crisp tenderness of the chicken gizzards—so spicy it makes your mouth tingle and sour enough to stimulate the appetite, you could easily eat two big bowls of rice with it!

The roasted duck was bought from the market, where a stall run by a couple in their fifties specialized in it. They'd apparently been selling it for over thirty years, with excellent skills and many regular customers.

The duck was crispy, tender, and fragrant. The duck skin, fried until the fat rendered out, was left thin and so crispy it flaked apart, without a hint of greasiness, and coated with a special spicy seasoning that made it numbing, spicy, and incredibly fragrant.

With the meat dishes taken care of, they couldn't forget the vegetables. Liu Guyu stir-fried some cabbage and made a plain winter melon soup.

The family was about halfway through their meal when they heard someone knocking at the door.

"Who is it?"

Cui Lanfang muttered.

The annoying neighbors had moved away, so it shouldn't be anyone visiting at this hour.

Qin Banban, sitting closest to the door, quickly put down her chopsticks and said, "I'll go see!"

She ran out, calling as she went, "Who is it?"

The person outside paused for a moment before answering, "It's me, Chen Sanxi."

Qin Banban's eyes lit up, and she ran even faster. Meanwhile, Qin Rongshi, who was eating, also heard the voice and put down his chopsticks to head outside.

The door opened, and sure enough, Chen Sanxi was standing outside.

"When did you get back? Weren't you supposed to be on an escort mission?"

Chen Sanxi: "Just returned to the city. This time, while on the escort, I had someone pick up a packet of grape seeds for me. You mentioned it last time, said you wanted to plant some, so I brought them back for you."

"The person who helped bring the seeds said grape seedlings are easier to grow, but the weather's too cold now, so seedlings are hard to find. You can try these in spring. If they don't sprout, I'll look for grape seedlings for you."

Qin Banban's eyes sparkled as she happily took the seeds from him, saying delightedly, "I only mentioned it once, and you remembered!"

"Thank you so much!" Qin Banban added, "Hey, since you just got back, have you eaten? My family made a lot of delicious dishes today. Come in and have some!"

As she spoke, she stepped aside and pointed toward the kitchen.

She didn't point out the kitchen but instead pointed right at Qin Rongshi.

Chen Sanxi and Qin Rongshi exchanged a glance before Chen Sanxi slowly replied, "No, I already ate with my brothers outside the city. I just came to deliver this."

After a pause, he asked, "I plan to go back to the village this year. Now that I've earned some money, it's time to repair my godfather's grave. Auntie, are you all going back this year?"

His last question was directed at Cui Lanfang, who tilted her head, first nodded saying they would go back, and then immediately invited Chen Sanxi in to eat.

Chen Sanxi still insisted he had already eaten.

Cui Lanfang said, "That's great! We're all going back. Let's set a time and go together!"

Chen Sanxi nodded and replied, "Whatever you say, Auntie."

Qin Rongshi suddenly said, "We're taking the official road, not the water route. It'll be a day or two slower."

Chen Sanxi simply said, "I'm fine with either. The official road is fine too."

Qin Rongshi fell silent.

Qin Banban, however, was excited and said cheerfully, "Great, great! Then let's all take the official road! Last time we came to the city by boat, Brother Liu got seasick and felt awful. I was queasy for a day too."

Chen Sanxi didn't say anything, just looked at Qin Banban as she spoke.

Qin Rongshi: "...Sanxi must be tired too. You should go back and rest first. We can discuss details later. Banban, go back and finish your meal."

Qin Banban: "Okay, right away... Hey, where did you go this time? Was it far? Is the place big? How does it compare to Jiangning Prefecture? Any interesting stories?"

Qin Rongshi: "...Banban."

Qin Banban pouted, glanced back at Qin Rongshi, and muttered quietly, "Brother, since when did you learn to nag like a monk."

Qin Rongshi: "..."

Chen Sanxi chuckled and finally said, "You're still eating, so I won't disturb you. Interesting stories... yes, I have some. I'll tell you on the way back to the village."

After exchanging a few more words, Chen Sanxi finally left.

Qin Rongshi expressionlessly closed the door and pulled Qin Banban back to the kitchen.

Qin Banban didn't dwell on what had just happened but instead happily showed the grape seeds to Liu Guyu, talking about planting them next year and, with luck, enjoying fresh grapes in a couple of years.