Chang'an (Part 3)
As we came down from Yan Tower, I felt a bit absent-minded all along the way. Wei Tan kept holding me and constantly reminded me to watch my step. We were walking slowly, step by step.
Just now, on the Yan Tower, Wei Tan asked me if I was willing to join him in rebuilding Chang'an.
I hesitated and wavered, but hope sparked amidst the weeds, gradually igniting a bright light. I nodded slowly, and a profound smile formed on Wei Tan's face as he embraced me tightly…
My face was still flushed with heat.
He held my hand in his palm, and it felt so warm. I realized that I had never paid such close attention to the feeling of holding his hand before.
On the way, I saw a partially damaged building being repaired. Bamboo poles and wooden boards were used to construct scaffolding around it.
"If you don't abandon it, it won't abandon you..." My heart felt as though something had touched it, and I couldn't help but glance at Wei Tan. He was looking ahead, seemingly enjoying the snowy scenery.
After leaving Huguo Temple, I was about to get into the carriage, but Wei Tan said to the servant, "Take the carriage and horses back; Furen and I will walk home."
The servant responded and turned to walk away.
"The residence is not far from here, would Furen accompany me for a little walk?" Wei Tan turned to me and said.
He had already given instructions to the servant before asking me. I smiled and replied, "En."
On such a bitterly cold day, people naturally preferred to stay indoors, and there were very few pedestrians on the streets. Wei Tan held my hand as we walked, attracting many curious glances. However, Wei Tan seemed completely unaware of it all and continued to swagger through the street.
I glanced back and saw the two trailing servants standing several yards away, pretending to look elsewhere. I felt embarrassed and pinched Wei Tan's hand. He turned to look at me, a gentle smile forming on his lips, and he tightened his grip on my hand even more.
Coming towards us, a peddler carried a load of sesame seed balls for sale, followed by a group of eager-eyed children.
"Move aside, move aside!" the peddler shouted as he walked, waving his hand.
"Want some?" Wei Tan asked me.
I hadn't had sesame seed balls in Chang'an for a long time, and just now, watching them, I couldn't help feeling a bit tempted.
"Does Fujun have money with you right now?" I asked.
Wei Tan smiled and pulled me along as we walked over to the peddler.
"How much is the sesame seed balls per jin?" he asked.
"Ten coins," the peddler replied.
"Ten coins?" Before Wei Tan could speak, I couldn't help but say, "Your sesame seed balls are quite expensive. With ten coins, I can buy noodles and oil, enough to make more than five jin of food."
The peddler replied, "Five jin? Furen, have you seen how expensive rice and flour are in the market these days? My sesame seed balls are made with the finest ingredients and fried to a crisp perfection. You won't find such quality elsewhere."
I didn't waste any more words and said, "Six coins, if not, I'll walk away."
I pulled Wei Tan and started walking away.
"Seven coins! Seven coins!" the peddler hurriedly called out, "Furen, let's meet halfway! Neither of us should go any lower!"
"Deal," Wei Tan said.
I was taken aback, staring at him in surprise. However, he continued speaking to the peddler, "We'll take all of them, wrap them up."
The peddler's face lit up with a big smile, and he eagerly agreed, quickly packing the sesame seed balls in dried bamboo leaves.
"How are we going to carry all of these after buying so many?" I asked Wei Tan.
Wei Tan grinned, "Weifu have One's own ways."
After all the sesame seed balls in the small basket were divided into several smaller packages and weighed, they amounted to a total of twenty jin. Wei Tan called a servant over and poured a heap of coins from the money pouch.
The peddler counted the coins, but his mouth couldn't close from the astonishment.
A heap of wrapped sesame seed balls was placed before us. I glanced at Wei Tan and the servant, thinking that Wei Tan might also negotiate to buy the basket from the peddler.
But Wei Tan had a different idea altogether. He turned to the group of children who had been eagerly watching nearby and waved at them, saying, "Come over here, each of you take a package of sesame seed balls."
Upon hearing his words, the children's eyes lit up with excitement and hesitation.
Wei Tan picked up one package of sesame seed balls and handed it to a child nearby. Immediately, the other children eagerly crowded around, and Wei Tan gave each of them one package.
"Gongtai is a kind-hearted person, and will surely be blessed with longevity and prosperity," the peddler said with a smile.
Wei Tan also smiled, "It's hard to say whether a kind-hearted person will be blessed with longevity, but as long as we live a content and balanced life, that is enough." After saying this, he asked the servant to take the remaining packages of sesame seed balls and continued walking ahead.
I looked back at the still cheerful children and asked Wei Tan, "Does Fujun always carry so much money when going out?"
"En?" Wei Tan glanced at me. "Isn't it said, 'If you don't have a hundred coins, don't travel to Chang'an'?"
I was taken aback for a moment, feeling like I had heard this saying before.
"Seven coins per jin for sesame seed balls," Wei Tan said, "I remember they used to be four coins per jin in the past."
"Qie also finds it expensive," I looked at him, "but Qie can't stop Fujun when you're so decisive."
"We're not lacking in that amount of money," Wei Tan smiled, "and on such a cold day, it's not easy for him to be out here selling his goods."
He had truly become a kind-hearted person.
"He must be making a good profit," I said, determined to settle accounts with Wei Tan. "The wheat flour in Yongdu is priced at 120 coins per dan, and sesame oil is 10 coins per jin. With the government's policy of equal distribution, the prices in Chang'an shouldn't be much higher. Considering the cost of oil and sesame seeds, each sesame seed ball should cost no more than three coins to make. Qie already offered him six coins earlier, which was quite generous."
"Oh?" Wei Tan said, "Furen seems quite knowledgeable about the price of grains?"
I humbly smiled, "As the lady of the household, it is One's duty to be familiar with matters of grains and firewood."
"Seems like skilled in accounting too," he replied.
"In One's maiden home, Qie often assisted Muqin in examining the accounts," I explained.
Wei Tan's gaze deepened, "And also can negotiate prices."
I was a bit taken aback by his remark, but I quickly found a reason to explain myself, "Since Qie knows its costs, it's only natural to negotiate."
Wei Tan looked at me, his expression neither disapproving nor approving. After a moment, he smiled and spoke earnestly, "In that case, having Furen manage the household brings Weifu great comfort."
I found his words pleasing to the ear and smiled in acceptance, "Thank you, Fujun."
Continuing forward for about ten more steps, we arrived at an intersection.
Wei Tan stopped and looked around before asking me, "Hungry?"
I nodded, "A bit hungry." It had been a couple of hours since I left the house, and now it was already past noon.
"Has Furen been to the South Market?" Wei Tan asked.
"Yes," I replied, but after a moment, I felt it wasn't quite right, so I added, "One had passed by it before."
Wei Tan seemed to have no reaction to the difference between my two answers and said, "There is a place there that sells tofu soup. The owner is called Yao San Niang. Has Furen tried it before?"
I shook my head. Although I used to go out often, I knew that every market had some famous snacks. However, I didn't like tofu soup, so I had no impression of what he mentioned.
Wei Tan looked disappointed, "'Furen has been in Chang'an for such a long time, yet haven't tried Yao San Niang's famous tofu soup."
I pursed my lips, "In the past, Qie strictly followed the customs of the women's quarters and never paid close attention to what the South Market looked like."
Wei Tan looked at me and chuckled softly, "In that case, today Weifu should take Furen to experience it." With that, he put his arm around my shoulder and led me towards the side road.
"There's someone..." I felt embarrassed and quickly looked around while trying to pry his hand away.
"We are husband and wife, what is there to fear?" Wei Tan tightened his grip and continued walking with me by his side.
Back then, I lived in the north of the city, where there was the North Market. However, there were too many familiar faces, and I was afraid of being recognized, so I often frequented the East and West Markets. I had also visited the South Market a few times, but it wasn't as lively as the East and West Markets, and there wasn't much fun there.
In the South Market, most of the shops used to sell various kinds of fabrics and silk, offering a wide range of choices from damask, silk, and satin. However, due to the difficult times, even though today was a market day, many shops remained tightly closed, and the once dazzling and colorful banners and signs were now few and far between.
In the open area, many nearby villagers carried their local products to sell. Since it was already past noon, some of them were starting to pack up their goods and leave.
As Wei Tan walked with me, he reminisced, "In the past, on days like this, I used to come to the South Market often to eat tofu soup, paired with candied sugar and baked cakes. It was truly delicious."
"I see," I replied. I hadn't tried this way of eating before as it was more common among the lower-class people, which I rarely interacted with. Looking ahead, I said, "With so many years of turmoil, how does Fujun knows if that shop is still there?"
Wei Tan said, "I'm not sure either, but I've heard that the South Market didn't suffer much damage." As he spoke, he suddenly pointed ahead and smiled, "There it is."
I looked over and saw a very small shop by the roadside with a sign hanging under the eaves that read "Yao San Niang's Tofu Soup." However, the shop door was only half-open, and there were cloth tiger lilies hung on it, indicating that it might not be open for business.
Wei Tan walked over and called out at the door, "San Niang! Is there any tofu soup?
With his loud voice and the bustling market around us, fortunately, nobody paid much attention to us.
"Today, we're not open! We don't have any!" A woman's voice, not any less loud than Wei Tan's, came from inside. Soon after, a plump woman in her fifties walked out. Her round face was flushed with a healthy glow.
When she saw Wei Tan, she froze for a moment.
"Don't recognize me?" Wei Tan raised an eyebrow.
The plump woman looked at him for a moment and then smiled, "Of course, I recognize you! You are the former Yulin Guard who used to come here often!" After saying that, she turned and shouted inside the shop, "Dangjia! The Xiao Langjun who used to flirt with the ladies has come!"
Wei Tan: "....."
Me: "....."
Wei Tan's face looked a bit awkward, and he said, "I had intended to bring my wife here to try the tofu soup, but since San Niang is not open today, we can come another day."
Yao San Niang smiled and waved her hand, saying, "Why wait for another day! My daughter-in-law gave birth to a grandson last night. Today, we might not have tofu soup, but we have wine dregs and egg soup. Come in and have a bowl!"
"Turns out there are happy occasion," Wei Tan said with a smile. Then he looked at me and asked, "Wanna try it?"
I smiled and nodded in agreement.
Yao San Niang looked at me and winked at Wei Tan, "Is this the Furen? Xiao Langjun has already taken a wife!"
Wei Tan chuckled and looked at me.
I smiled too. Despite her coarse and vulgar language, I didn't feel disgusted.
Yao San Niang welcomed us into the house and shouted, "Dangjia! Two bowls of wine dregs and egg soup! We have guests!"
The small shop was crowded with seven or eight tables. An old man in plain clothes, with white hair and beard, came out holding two steaming bowls of soup. He smiled warmly and said, "Sit wherever you want."
Wei Tan thanked him and led me to sit down at one of the tables.
"Xiao Langjun, it's been many years since we last met," the man said with a smile after placing the bowls on the table.
Wei Tan nodded, "Indeed, Gongtai and San Niang still look the same as before."
The man smiled and rubbed his hands together, looking at me. "Is this the Furen? When Xiao Langjun used to come to the shop, there were always girls following him to steal glances. At that time, I told my wife that with Xiao Langjun's character, he would surely marry a fairy-like beauty in the future. And it turned out to be true!"
I blushed slightly. Glancing at Wei Tan, this mas was also followed by girls? It was hard to believe…
"It's all matters of the past, Why did Gongtai bring it up?" Wei Tan looked at me and smiled at the man.
"What Gongtai? Don't praise him too much, Xiao Langjun!" Yao San Niang said as she tended to the charcoal stove, "He can't even read the big characters."
The man glared at her and huffed, "Can't read? Aren't the words on the shop signboard written by me?"
"You can only write a few characters, and you even had to get the characters copied from Lao Wang."
"You can? Write your name and see, you wouldn't even know where to start with the first stroke…"
The two of them continued their lively banter as they went to the back of the shop, leaving me and Wei Tan looking at each other, dumbfounded.
"They've always been like this. When they start bickering, you can hear them from a mile away," Wei Tan said.
"I see," I smiled and gently stirred the soup with the spoon.
Wei Tan blew on the hot soup in his bowl and said, "This place used to be bustling. If One arrived late, One could only stand outside and eat."
I responded and used the spoon to scoop up a mouthful, blowing on the surface gently before placing it in my mouth. The wine dregs had a sweet and rich flavor, and the egg was tender and fragrant, just perfect.
"Is it delicious?" Wei Tan asked.
I nodded.
Wei Tan scooped out some of the egg from his bowl and put it into mine.
"No need... it's too much," I hurriedly said.
"If it's delicious, then eat more." Wei Tan said, "That way, you can share in the joy."
I was taken aback, and my face suddenly felt warm.
"Ah Jin, let's have a child too," he whispered softly in my ear.
I kept my head down, eating the soup, and the warmth seemed to intensify. I couldn't tell if it was because the wine dregs were too strong or if the hot steam from the bowl was too scalding…