CH 13

The lion opens a big mouth.

With Yang Hongjin, Cheng Yun had more time to spare and didn’t have to rush home to cook. They could also have lunch in town before returning home. However, it was only Cheng Yun’s second time in town, and he had to bring along Yang Hongjin, who was like a child. In just one morning, he experienced the feeling of being a mother.

“Sit down and wait for me. I’ll be ready soon, and then we can leave,” Cheng Yun said before leaving with Yang Hongjin. Yang Hongjin was overjoyed and followed Cheng Yun closely. With such a small space, Cheng Yun could easily bump into him, which annoyed him after a few times.

Even when Cheng Yun scolded him, Yang Hongjin remained happy and even held Cheng Yun’s hand, saying, “Wife, let’s go.”

Cheng Yun was amused and annoyed at the same time. After quickly finishing their food and leaving it in a corner to deal with later, Cheng Yun grabbed his money bag and said, “Alright, alright, let’s go.”

Although Yang Hongjin had followed Yang Hongcai into town before, it wasn’t often. Yang Hongcai was afraid that he might get into trouble and always told him to follow him closely. When he was in an unfamiliar place, Yang Hongjin was even more afraid of doing something wrong and being punished.

However, when he went out with Cheng Yun this time, he knew that Cheng Yun wouldn’t scold or punish him, so he was excited and happy all the way. He was like a child going on a field trip, and even when he saw a butterfly, he would shout, “Wife, come and see!”

Cheng Yun was both amused and annoyed, but he let him be happy.

After half an hour, they arrived in town, where the streets were already bustling with people. Yang Hongjin watched a candied hawthorn seller for a long time, even turning around to look after passing by. Cheng Yun teased him, “Do you know what that is?”

Yang Hongjin replied earnestly, “I know, it’s candied hawthorn. It’s delicious.”

“Have you tried it before?” Cheng Yun asked.

Yang Hongjin nodded, reminiscing about the taste. “My brother bought it once before, and it was delicious.”

Seeing that Yang Hongjin really liked it, Cheng Yun estimated that a string of candied hawthorn wasn’t too expensive and they will soon earn some money. So, after some thought, he took him hand and led him back jutted his chin and said, “Come on, pick your own.”

Yang Hongjin’s eyes lit up with excitement, and he happily picked the ones he liked. Then he handed them to Cheng Yun and said, “Wife, try them.”

Cheng Yun was taken aback, blushed a little, took a bite, and then waved his hand to let Yang Hongjin eat it by himself. The seller smiled and said, “You two have a great relationship.”

Cheng Yun quickly paid and nodded at the seller before pulling Yang Hongjin away. After walking for a while, Cheng Yun, embarrassed and annoyed, turned his head to look at the idiot again.

“Wife, want to eat?” Yang Hongjin thought that Cheng Yun wanted to eat candied hawthorn, so he generously offered his own to him.

Cheng Yun instantly lost his temper and took a small bite of it, feeling the sweetness in his mouth and in his heart.

The two of them then arrived at Liu Wen’s restaurant, which had a grand signboard above the entrance with the three big characters “Yueqiong Tower” written on it. Cheng Yun had only passed by outside last time and glanced at it, but upon closer inspection, he found that the decoration at the entrance was extremely exquisite.

There was a small pond to the right of the entrance with a small artificial mountain in it, and several ornamental carp swimming inside. On each side of the entrance were two small but imposing stone lions. On the left-hand side upon entering was the shopkeeper’s counter, where many auspicious items such as Pixiu and Qilin were placed. It seemed that Liu Wen was someone who had studied Fengshui.

Yueqiong Tower had only recently opened, but there were already people coming in to dine one after another, and business seemed to be doing well.

When Cheng Yun and Yang Hongjin walked in holding hands, the shopkeeper’s “Welcome” hadn’t even been completed when he saw their attire and appearance, as well as Yang Hongjin’s demeanor. The smile on his face faded in an instant, replaced with disdain, and the words that came out of his mouth even had a hint of impatience: “How many?”

Yang Hongjin seemed to have encountered similar situations before, so he immediately put away his smile and pulled Cheng Yun with one hand while holding the candied hawthorn in the other, subconsciously hiding behind her.

Cheng Yun frowned, his good mood dampened by the shopkeeper’s words. He said calmly, “I’m here to see Liu Wen. We have an appointment.”

The shopkeeper’s eyes flickered upon hearing this and he stared at Cheng Yun’s face for a while and he almost burst out laughing with a snort.

It was because Cheng Yun’s face looked too young, even if he had a straight face, he couldn’t put up a strong front. Yueqiong Tower was one of the biggest shops in town, and everyone here knew Liu Wen’s name. If anyone came and said they were looking for the boss, would they still be in business?

Blame it on Liu Wen for setting things up too hastily and not explaining the situation to the shopkeeper in advance. No matter how the shopkeeper looked at it, he felt that these two people were scammers, but he wasn’t stupid either. If there was that one-in-ten-thousand chance that these two were really here to see the boss, he couldn’t afford to delay them.

After weighing the pros and cons, the shopkeeper had the waiter lead them inside and arranged for them to sit in a corner that was the least conspicuous.

The waiter didn’t know about their hidden agenda and served them as usual. Cheng Yun had already had breakfast, so he didn’t order anything except for a pot of tea. He sat there with Yang Hongjin, waiting for Liu Wen to arrive.

When the shopkeeper heard from the waiter that the two had only ordered a pot of tea, his suspicions were further confirmed. These two were just here to take advantage of them. He stared at Cheng Yun’s table and thought that even if they left, they had to pay for the tea first!

Yang Hongjin held a half-eaten candied fruit skewer in his hand as he sat down next to his wife, pressing close to him. He looked like a child who had done something wrong, making Cheng Yun both distressed and helpless.

“Be good, we didn’t do anything wrong, don’t be afraid,” Cheng Yun rubbed his head and let him eat his candied hawthorn in peace. Seeing Yang Hongjin’s hesitant and troubled expression, Cheng Yun took the initiative to bite the skewer and said, “See, I’m also eating it.”

Encouraged by his actions, Yang Hongjin smiled again and offered him the skewer generously. “Wife, have some.”

Finally coaxing him back to normal, Cheng Yun was very glad he had bought the skewer earlier. Seeing him sitting obediently there licking and eating, he felt much better than he did just a moment ago.

As they sat there waiting, Cheng Yun had nothing else to do but to chat with Yang Hongjin, who took every question seriously and put down the skewer to answer each time. When he finished speaking and saw his wife wasn’t asking any more questions, he would pick up the skewer and continue eating.

Cheng Yun became addicted to teasing him and laughed at his reactions each time. Yang Hongjin didn’t mind and let him continue. After Cheng Yun pinched his face once, he stopped teasing and asked him to finish eating.

However, the shopkeeper seemed to completely ignore their conversation and no one went to inform Liu Wen. Cheng Yun sat there for almost half an hour and no one came to refill their water. If he didn’t understand what was going on soon, then Cheng Yun felt like he had been living his whole life in vain.

The sense of powerlessness from waiting made him restless and even the good mood from teasing Yang Hongjin was washed away.

On one side, there was anger from being toyed with, and on the other, there was irritation from being looked down upon. Mixed within this sorrowful anger was also a bit of confusion about the future path.

The journey thus far had been too smooth for Cheng Yun, causing him to take everything for granted.

Liu Wen might have just been putting on an act to save face for his father. It was already generous of him to show up and have a meal with them. Yesterday, he didn’t make it clear that they would definitely collaborate. Furthermore, looking at the attitude of the shopkeeper today, what was there still to be confused about?

It was just that he was humiliated for no reason, and the most frustrating thing was that he had no room to refute. This anger lay heavy in his heart, making him very uncomfortable.

He wiped Yang Hongjin’s face and hands, not wanting to waste any more time. He called the waiter over to settle the bill, but it turned out to be the shopkeeper who came.

“You want to settle the bill, is that it?” The shopkeeper walked over in a grand manner, with no sign of the proper courtesy one would expect when treating a guest. His chin was raised high, and the way he looked at Cheng Yun was like he was dismissing a beggar.

Cheng Yun was still hopeful that he could ask about Liu Wen’s whereabouts, but the attitude of the shopkeeper made him red with anger. He slammed his hand on the table and said, “Settle it!”

The shopkeeper snorted contemptuously, smirked, and took out an abacus, pretending to say, “You only drank one pot of tea, but you occupied our table for almost half an hour. We’re here to do business, and we can’t handle more people like you.”

Cheng Yun was humiliated and turned red and green with anger. He had no way to refute and could only glare at him.

The shopkeeper humiliated him and couldn’t be bothered to say much more. He casually said, “Ten yuan in total,” and opened his hand to ask for money from Cheng Yun.

Cheng Yun’s heart sank. Ten yuan was enough to buy a jin of rice. This person was clearly a swindler. However, he didn’t want to give the shopkeeper a chance to continue humiliating them. He gritted his teeth, took out enough money from his purse, and slammed it on the table before pulling Yang Hongjin up and walking away.

The shopkeeper laughed and shouted behind them, “Don’t let the door hit you on the way out!” Some regular customers laughed along with him, and someone even joked that the shopkeeper was bullying people again. The shopkeeper shamelessly said, “Everyone wants to come here and stir up trouble. They don’t even look at themselves and see what kind of people they are.”

Cheng Yun was furious, thinking to himself that he would never come here again to be humiliated. However, just as he was about to leave the restaurant, he heard Liu Wen’s voice behind him.

“Hey, Cheng-Ge’er, I’ve been waiting for you for a long time!”

Author’s note:

Wishing everyone a happy and healthy Dragon Boat Festival! Enjoy your delicious zongzi~