17. Short-Sold Again

This shout drew all the students over. In an instant, they swarmed around Wei Jinyun’s stall, packing it so tightly that not even a needle could pass through, all of them calling out in unison, “Teacher!” and “Master!”

The old gentleman was named Lu Hongcai. He had once served as an official in Bianliang, but having retired to his hometown, he was now employed by the Pingjiang Prefecture Academy. Those who knew him respectfully addressed him as “Master Lu.”

Master Lu clutched his jaw, gasping as the sticky texture of the mint sandwich cake continued to battle with his teeth. Even gulping down a cup of clear tea offered no relief. He had intended to use the moment to lecture his students, but then he heard a crisp “Grandfather” come from behind the crowd.

His eyes widened even further, and he suddenly looked quite at a loss. The path the students cleared for her was even wider than the one they had made before.

“Grandfather, what are you doing here?”

Lu Lantang walked along the path to Master Lu’s side. She glanced at the jasmine cakes on the stall and remarked in a measured tone, “Oh… so Grandfather is here eating… snacks.”

She was dressed in a cyan, straight-collared, narrow-sleeved long shirt with a lake-blue pleated skirt. Her hair was styled in a side bun adorned with an orchid-shaped pearl hairpin. Her features were delicate and refined, exuding an scholarly air.

“Tangtang, Grandfather only had a tiny bite.”

Master Lu had lost all his sternness as a teacher. He gave a light cough and added, “Besides, I haven’t even swallowed it yet.”

He had only tasted one bite, yet his teeth were nearly glued shut, and he had been caught red-handed by his granddaughter. He felt a deep sense of regret.

Silence. The atmosphere was now quieter than any of Master Lu’s lectures.

“Very well.”

Lu Lantang smiled softly. “The doctor told me you don’t suffer from diabetes. You’ve barely touched meat or snacks for the past two months, and I’ve seen you sighing and lamenting. I’ll allow you to eat today, but you must not have too much.”

She placed money into Wei Fuling’s hand and tried a piece of the jasmine cake herself. It was sweet but not cloying; if paired with Water-Moon tea, it would surely be even better. She then scrutinized the exquisite plating, noting the cleverness behind it.

“Really?” Master Lu asked tentatively.

Lu Lantang nodded and gave an affirmative “Mmm.”

“Tangtang is always the best to me.”

Master Lu’s expression shifted in a flash. He turned to Wei Jinyun and said with a hearty laugh, “Then give me ten pieces!”

The surroundings went dead silent. He glanced at Lu Lantang’s face and asked nervously, “Well, would eight be okay… or maybe five… four, four is the absolute minimum.”

The students gathered behind them, watching as the Master Lu, who was always ready to brandish his cane, wilted like a tiny chick in front of his granddaughter.

“I was wondering why the teacher has been so irritable these past two days. Turns out he hasn’t had enough snacks.”

“I hope that after eating something sweet today, he’ll spare me a few strikes of the cane tomorrow.”

The students began to whisper among themselves, with some unable to hold back a chuckle.

“Then buy two portions,” Lu Lantang said, sipping tea to clear her palate. “Pack four pieces for Grandfather, and pack ten for me. I’ll take them for my sisters to try.”

Wei Jinyun efficiently packed the order for them and added a few samples inside. Within a few moments, only about twenty jasmine cakes remained on her cart.

After Master Lu left, the students finally dared to speak aloud.

“This is what they call ‘everything has its master.’ Can we invite Miss Lu to sit in on every lecture?”

***

“Look closely, are there two children beside Miss Wei?”

“What? Could it be… oh, my heart…”

“Look at that. Reading too many books has left you like Brother Tang—utterly delusional. Regardless of anything else, Miss Wei couldn’t possibly have children that old.”

“What are you lot blathering about? Hurry up and try what it tastes like to have a snack glue your teeth shut.”

Scholars never stopped talking. Some had already prepared their comments for the feedback board and held their brushes ready; others leaned over, carefully searching for differences between the sisters Wei Fuling and Wei Fuqu; still others chatted idly with Wei Jinyun.

The cakes sold quickly, but the crowd lingered at the stall. The two pots of tea Wei Jinyun had prepared were nowhere near enough, and they were finished in an instant. Even the herbal drink stall not far away saw a significant boost in business.

“The days of parting always come so quickly.”

One student sighed heavily. “It’s not like being in a teahouse, where you can eat snacks, listen to plays, and sit for an entire afternoon… Miss Wei, can you stay a little longer?”

Wei Jinyun had no tables or chairs here, only two or three small stools meant for her sisters to rest. Once the cakes were sold out, there was no reason for her to stay.

The sisters helped Wei Jinyun pack the plates into the basket under the cart and spent their own pocket money to buy her a bowl of perilla juice.

“No, we cannot.”

Wu Sheng spoke up for Wei Jinyun. “The sisters are tired and need rest. I must take them home.”

Wei Jinyun bid the remaining students farewell and pushed the cart back toward the shop with her sisters. The cakes were sold out again today. The mint sandwich cake samples had been widely praised, so she could add them to her menu tomorrow.

“Ouch.”

A student twirled his folding fan as he watched Wei Jinyun’s receding figure and tapped Wu Sheng on his daydreaming head. “Brother Wu, ‘The graceful ospreys cry on the islet in the river…’ Tell me, does our Pingjiang Prefecture have any other Magistrate Lu?”

The kind that jumps around.

“Huh?” Wu Sheng bit into his egg pancake.

The younger sisters loved to stick the small pinwheels she had bought for them onto the cart. The wind spun them, and the two ran and jumped in front of the cart. Helping Wei Jinyun at the stall today, they didn’t show the slightest sign of fatigue.

“We’ve come out, but Grandmother must be bored at home alone.”

Wei Fuling finished running and returned to Wei Jinyun’s side. “Back in Gaochun Town, Grandmother used to keep Sister company every day.”

“Then what does Grandmother like most?”

“I know,” Wei Fuqu said, lost in thought.

The silkworm market at Fengmen was tucked away in an alley. In the sixth month, it no longer held the bustle of the spring silkworms from the third month, with only two or three elderly women watching over their stalls.

Inside the bamboo trays, tender yellow mulberry leaves were spread out, upon which fat, white silkworms crawled—some raising their heads and swaying, others lying on the stems and munching, creating a rhythmic rustling sound.

Wei Jinyun crouched down, her fingertips hovering over the tray as she taught her sisters how to identify them. “You have to pick the ones that look shiny and crawl fast. Those are the ones that eat well… Let’s buy some for Grandmother to raise.”

Granny Li, who sold the silkworm seeds, saw that despite her youth, Wei Jinyun knew the trade well. Waving her cattail fan, she laughed, “Your grandmother wants to raise late-season silkworms? You have to change the mulberry leaves diligently in this weather.”

***

“We know. Grandmother used to love raising silkworms at home. I also know that you can’t let the mulberry leaves get wet with dew.”

Wei Fuling’s gaze rested on the silkworms Wei Jinyun had pointed out, mimicking her tone perfectly.

“Even a little child like you knows that.”

Granny Li chuckled. She used a thin bamboo strip to pick out twenty or so sturdy silkworms and put them into a paper bag lined with mulberry leaves. “I’ll give you a discount—thirty wen. I’ll even throw in two bundles of freshly picked mulberry leaves; that’ll be enough until tomorrow.”

Raising silkworms was all about the timing; ideally, one would start selecting seeds from the Spring Equinox. Now in the sixth month, it was too late to start from eggs, so buying half-grown silkworms saved the delicate effort of tending to the larvae—it was all about convenience.

Besides, the group simply wanted to ensure their grandmother wouldn’t be bored at home.

Wei Jinyun haggled and settled on twenty wen, then also bought three catties of plump, dark purple mulberries.

When they returned home, Wang Qiulan was sitting in the courtyard embroidering a new garment. Seeing them return, she rose immediately. “I was just hoping you’d be back. I’ve stewed some mung bean soup. Let me go fetch it for you to cool off.”

“Don’t rush, Grandmother.”

Wei Fuqu carried out a flat basket; the silkworms beneath the leaves were moving gently. “We brought these for you, Grandmother. From now on, when we go out with Sister, these little silkworms will keep you company.”

The cicadas in the old locust tree were noisy, but the rustling in the basket was gentle.

Wang Qiulan looked at her three granddaughters gathered around the silkworm tray and smiled. “What can twenty-some silkworms do? Well, Grandmother will think of something… maybe stuff them into the ear warmers I’m making for you all for the winter.”

The sisters spent two days helping their grandmother set up a new home for the silkworms. Wei Jinyun drank a bowl of mung bean soup, took a jar, and walked a few steps to the farmer carrying a shoulder pole under the arch bridge in front of the Tianqing Temple to weigh out half a catty of milk.

She had promised to make ginger milk curd for Qu-jie’er today.

But just as she returned, she saw a crowd gathered around her shop. She hurried forward, clutching the jar, only to hear a harsh, grating shout.

“Zhao Xiangping, pay your debts! It’s only right and proper! Your husband ran off, but does this debt just rot in the ground?”

Clutching the jar, she squeezed through the crowd. Two burly men were forcefully shoving the door of Li’s Delicatessen, making it creak and groan as if it were about to fall apart.

There were still customers inside the shop. Zhao Xiangping was shielding Meng-ge’er, who was huddled in fear, a dishcloth still in her hand from cleaning the table.

Her face was deathly pale, but her voice remained steady as she forced herself to speak. “Can you give me a few more days of grace… once I pool together the money from these past few days of duck sales, I will pay you back…”

“Grace? You’ve been asking for grace since Qingming, and now it’s Summer Solstice! Your dead-beat husband has probably already run off to Bianliang!”

The leader of the men spat as he spoke, kicking over a duck cage at the shop entrance. Meng-ge’er burst into tears, and Zhao Xiangping hurriedly hid him behind her.

More onlookers crowded in beside Wei Jinyun. Some clicked their tongues in pity, while others whispered to each other, “Old Li used to be so honest; how did he end up with gambling debts and run away? It’s truly disgraceful.”

“Poor mother and son. They tend to this delicatessen, working from dawn till dusk. Everyone in the neighborhood has tasted their braised duck and goose—they’re delicious. Sigh.”

But while they enjoyed the spectacle, no one dared to step forward. The men all had short clubs tucked into their waistbands, and their faces were filled with menace; one look and you knew they weren't to be trifled with.

Seeing that Auntie Li wouldn’t budge, the men began to force their way into the back room.

“Search it! See if there’s anything valuable.”

The leader overturned a low stool by the stove, and the others tore down the salted ducks hanging on the wall. The oil-soaked strings snapped, and the ducks fell to the ground, covered in a layer of dust. Zhao Xiangping rushed to stop them, but one of the men shoved her. She stumbled and hit the duck oven, her forehead striking the iron edge and drawing beads of blood.

Meng-ge’er cried even harder, tugging at the man’s pant leg and screaming, “Don’t you dare bully my mother!”