Chapter 200 - 139: The Loveliest People of Those Years
"Mom, thank you." Zhang Shufen looked at Li Zhen, her eyes red.
"I’m your mother, what is there to thank me for?" Li Zhen smiled and reached out to stroke her head, saying dotingly, "I still often think of what you looked like as a child. In the blink of an eye, you’ve become a mother of three."
"Grandma, I want to eat too." The two little turnip heads scooted closer.
Li Zhen said with a smile, "Wait until I’m done feeding your mother, then I’ll get some for you. She needs to rest for a bit after she eats."
"Okay, okay." The two little turnip heads nodded obediently.
Zhou Yan smiled, standing to the side. ’It’s good to have a mother around. At least in her most vulnerable moments, she has the person who loves her most by her side.’
...
The scene gradually blurred, then came back into focus.
On the wall, the time read: 7:30 AM, June 15, 1938.
Zhang Shufen, a cloth wrapped around her head, was strolling in the courtyard.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.
"I’ll get it!" Li Zhen hurried out to open the door.
Standing outside was Huang Silang, holding a live hen and a packet of brown sugar. A year had passed in the blink of an eye, and he looked somewhat older; his once-pudgy cheeks had thinned out.
"Boss Huang, why are you here again? This is the third time. I told you, you have to wait for Shufen to finish her postpartum confinement," Li Zhen said with a sigh.
Huang Silang put on a placating smile. "Mrs. Li, I came because I calculated the timing! I can’t help it. My customers keep asking when the braised dishes will be back. I haven’t sold any for a month, and I’m about to lose them all. You know how it is, business is tough in times like these..."
"Boss Huang, have your men come pick up the braised meat tomorrow. Just tell me how much you need, and I’ll write it down for now," Zhang Shufen said with a smile as she walked over.
"Excellent! That’s wonderful! Zhang, if you hadn’t come back to work soon, it wouldn’t just be our Feiyan Restaurant on the brink—the foodies in town would be heartbroken." Huang Silang’s face beamed with joy. "The usual for the braised pig’s head and all that. And I’ll need a hundred jin of braised beef. So many customers have pre-ordered with me, the requests are piling up."
"Alright," Zhang Shufen nodded, glancing at the items in his hands. "You should take these things back. You already brought gifts the last two times you came."
"Nonsense, I can’t take them back. Keep this old hen for yourself, you need the nourishment. I’ll be going now." Huang Silang placed the items on the threshold and left.
"Shufen, you..." Li Zhen looked at her, a little worried.
"Mom, my confinement period is officially over today. It’s time to get back to work. I should earn as much as I can while I still can. Who knows what the world will be like later? We need to save more money to raise three kids." Zhang Shufen interrupted her with a smile. "Could you go get Lin for me? With her help, it saves me a lot of effort."
"Alright." Li Zhen nodded and went out.
Zhou Yan watched Zhang Shufen, who had gained about twenty jin after her confinement. Her figure was still well-proportioned, but her face was fuller, giving her a kinder look. Her skin was also fair and tender.
Zhang Shufen stood before the water vat in the courtyard, studying her reflection for a long time, as if she had just made some kind of decision.
...
11:40 AM, August 16, 1939.
「Suji Stone Bridgehead.」
A few customers were scattered in front of Zhang’s Braised Stand. After buying their food, they would hurry away.
The once bustling and lively bridgehead market was now occupied by only a few old men selling handmade bamboo dustpans and straw sandals. The proprietress of the noodle stall sat with a frown on her face, the owner who used to cook noodles beside her nowhere to be seen. A single glance was enough to see how desolate it had become.
Standing behind the braised food stall was a dark, heavyset woman. Zhou Yan had to look closely before recognizing her as Zhang Shufen.
In just one short year, she had become much darker and much heavier, looking to be at least 160 or 170 jin.
Her short hair was sloppily cut, and she had lost the sharp, crisp look she’d had when he first saw her. She was the type of person you wouldn’t look at twice in a crowd.
Next to the two little turnip heads was an even smaller one, sitting in a special carrier basket, watching their two older brothers play hopscotch.
"Boss, I’d like one jin of braised beef." A gentle female voice pulled Zhou Yan from his thoughts.
He turned to look, a hint of surprise on his face. The woman dressed in a black qipao, her eyes slightly red and her face haggard but still beautiful—wasn’t this Miss Qiu, Qiu Qi, the one he’d caught a stunning glimpse of that day?
She was holding a Blue and White Porcelain Bowl, which she offered to Zhang Shufen, saying in a low voice, "Please put it in here."
Zhang Shufen froze for a moment looking at the Blue and White Porcelain Bowl. She hadn’t seen it in two years, but she clearly recognized it. She took the bowl, glanced at the beautiful young woman before her, her lips moved, and then she nodded. "Alright."
Lin picked out a piece of beef shank and was about to slice it, but Zhang Shufen washed her hands, walked over, and took the knife. "Lin, let me."
She sliced the beef and carefully arranged the pieces in the Blue and White Porcelain Bowl, circling them just as she had done for her two years ago.
Qiu Qi took the Blue and White Porcelain Bowl with both hands. She stared at the neatly arranged beef inside for a long time, then looked up at Zhang Shufen and said softly, "Thank you."
Cradling the Blue and White Porcelain Bowl, she turned away. Her shoulders trembled slightly as she walked, step by step, toward a waiting carriage.
Zhou Yan saw a tear slide down her cheek and fall onto the green slate of the Stone Bridge Head.
A maidservant stepped forward, handed over a silver dollar, and hurried to catch up.
Zhang Shufen clutched the silver dollar, her gaze lost on Qiu Qi’s retreating figure. After the carriage had disappeared into the distance, she murmured to herself, ’Two years. I wonder if Young Master Wang ever wrote to her.’
"Mama..."
The child’s cry broke her from her thoughts. She quickly wiped her hands on her apron, picked up the baby, and began to soothe it.
’Exactly two years to the day. She came in person, with the Blue and White Porcelain Bowl, just to buy braised beef. Does it mean something?’ Watching the carriage disappear from view, Zhou Yan suddenly grew curious about what Wang Yu had written in that letter.