Chapter 197 - 139: The Loveliest People of Those Years
The young man before him wore a brand-new suit and a traditional magua jacket, cutting a dashing and spirited figure.
In him, Zhou Yan saw the Grandmaster’s likeness.
The resemblance!
The resemblance was uncanny!
But according to Zhang Shufen’s memory, this man was supposed to be Wang Yu, the fourth young master of Suji’s wealthy Wang Family. The Blue and White Porcelain Bowl he carried, which she remembered so clearly, was indeed exquisite and beautiful.
’Could they be related? Is that why they look so much alike?’
"You got it. I’ll pack it perfectly for you," Zhang Shufen said with a beaming smile as she accepted the Blue and White Porcelain Bowl. She picked up a pair of chopsticks and began arranging the sliced beef in the bowl, piece by piece, in concentric circles. It did look rather nice.
The servant boy following behind handed over a wooden lid, placed it carefully on the bowl, and then put the bowl into a food container.
Zhang Shufen looked at Wang Yu and asked with a smile, "Young Master Wang, is this for your fiancée again? You’ve been bringing her these for a year. When’s the wedding? Will we get to come and celebrate with a drink?"
The other customers in line joined in the good-natured teasing, all of them smiling.
"Soon, soon. I’m sending the betrothal gifts in a few months, so you’ll definitely get your wedding drink next year. Zhang and Zhou, you both have to be there." Speaking of his fiancée, the smile on Wang Yu’s face brightened. He took out a silver dollar and handed it to her. "Keep the change."
"Thank you! We’ll definitely be there!" Zhang Shufen’s smile grew even wider.
Zhou Yi, at her side, looked up and smiled. "Count on it!"
Carrying a birdcage, Young Master Wang walked toward a horse-drawn carriage parked nearby. His servant scurried after him with the food container.
Zhou Yan instinctively tried to follow, but he discovered his body wouldn’t move at all. He could only watch as the carriage receded into the distance.
That’s right...
This was Zhang Shufen’s memory, so Zhou Yan’s movement was confined to her field of vision.
With no other choice, Zhou Yan stared at Young Master Wang’s face, memorizing the mole on the right side of his neck. ’I can check with the Grandmaster tomorrow to confirm it.’
He glanced up at the clear blue sky, where a line of red text was starkly visible: June 21, 1937.
Zhou Yan reached out to touch the railing, and his hand passed right through the stone.
He opened his mouth but found he couldn’t make a sound.
Clearly, he couldn’t interfere with this memory; he could only observe.
Or rather—he was reading it.
Shufen really hadn’t been exaggerating. Business at the marinated meat stall was incredible. The long line of customers lasted for over an hour, by which time they had sold out of more than a hundred jin of marinated meat.
The servants from wealthy families bought the marinated pig’s head and beef by the jin, and they spent lavishly.
Zhou Yan even felt that business was easier to do here than in the Suji of 1984.
’The filthy rich really had money, and they were happy to spend it.’
’Unlike in 1984, when a town mayor’s monthly salary was barely over a hundred yuan, and anyone with ten thousand yuan was considered incredibly wealthy.’
Zhou Yan noticed two little tykes squatting beside the meat stall, one about five and the other three. They were completely engrossed in watching a colony of ants carry away tiny scraps of fallen meat.
Zhang Shufen would glance over at the two of them from time to time, a smile on her lips.
’My granduncles?’ Zhou Yan mused. They really did resemble Fanwa. They were sturdy boys with round, chubby faces, a clear sign that the family was doing well.
Once the marinated meat was sold out and the customers had left, Zhang Shufen and Zhou Yi started to pack up their stall.
A middle-aged man in a brown long gown and a yellow round cap got out of the nearby carriage. He hurried over, a broad smile spreading across his round face. "Zhang, have you thought about my offer for the exclusive rights to your marinated beef? I’ll pay you 100 silver dollars a year, and I’ll even give you a ten percent discount on the cost of your raw beef. I’ll need at least fifty jin a day, as long as you guarantee that Feiyan Restaurant is the only place in all of Jiazhou City selling your marinated beef."
Zhang Shufen replied with a gentle smile, "Of course, Boss Huang. With such a sincere offer, and since we’ve already been partners for a year, let’s consider it a deal."
’This is... Huang Silang?’ Zhou Yan thought, looking at the middle-aged man who was a dead ringer for Huang He. ’He must be Huang He’s father, Huang Silang. So he really was a long-term partner of Zhang’s.’
"Wonderful!" Huang Silang clapped his hands, then quickly glanced from side to side before lowering his voice. "I’ll have my cousin bring the money when he comes to Zhou Village for the meat tomorrow. Here, take a look at this contract. If it’s all good, go ahead and sign it."
"Boss Huang, you know me and how I operate. There’s no need for this," Zhang Shufen said, not taking the contract. Her expression grew serious. "If I say I’ll only sell my marinated beef to you in Jiazhou City, then I won’t sell a single ounce to any other restaurant in the city. I may be a woman, but my word is my bond."
"Alright! I trust you." Huang Silang put the contract away. After confirming the price for the marinated beef with Zhang Shufen, he turned, boarded his carriage, and left.
"Mama, I’m hungry."
"Me too, hungry!"
The two little tykes ran over, craning their necks to shout up at Zhang Shufen.
"Come on, Mama will take you to buy some puffed rice candy. There’s a marinated pig’s trotter saved for you at home, it’ll be delicious heated up for lunch!" Zhang Shufen took one child in each hand and smiled at Zhou Yi. "I’m taking the kids to do some shopping. You can finish up here."
"Alright. I’ll come meet you once everything’s packed," Zhou Yi nodded with an honest smile, loading the cutting board and cleaver onto their flatbed cart.
"Time for puffed rice candy!" The two little tykes wriggled out of her grasp and ran happily down the stone-paved road.
A smile on her face, Zhang Shufen followed them at an unhurried pace. She warmly greeted the vendors she passed, stopping at a tofu stall to buy a block, picking out two crucian carp from a fishmonger, and haggling over prices. Before long, her hands were full of groceries.
Zhou Yan’s body followed her automatically, the corners of his own mouth turning up into a smile. ’The old lady was so beautiful when she was young,’ he thought. ’Such a lively woman, always smiling.’