Mr. Zhou was a widower who had raised children and lived a thrifty life.
He never ate out, and even now, when he cooked for himself, he was economical, often neglecting the flavor of his food just to fill his stomach.
This morning, he had gotten up groggily, didn’t even wash his face, and had immediately gone to open the store.
Ji Ge was already sitting on the doorstep with a wicker basket.
Perhaps because he had waited too long, he nearly stumbled when the door was opened.
“Oh? Ji Ge! Long time no see! You’re here so early today,” Mr. Zhou rubbed his eyes and let him in.
He thought that the boy was dressed quite properly today, wearing a blue robe with flowing patterns.
The stitching was a bit rough, but the fabric looked new, and his hair was neatly tied up, unlike the usual messy look.
Mr. Zhou yawned and casually asked, “Where’s your sister? Didn’t bring her today? Aren’t you afraid your aunt will scold her?”
“Mr. Zhou, I’ve come to copy books.”
Ji Ge handed the wicker basket in his arms to Mr. Zhou, then took out his writing materials.
Hearing Mr. Zhou’s question, he lowered his head and coughed lightly, still unable to hide his joy.
“My sister has come back and brought us all back. Xiang Jie no longer has to be afraid of being scolded.”
This was unexpected.
Mr. Zhou put the door panel down in the corner and turned around, surprised. “Your sister? The one who married and went to Jinling and never cared about you? She actually came back?”
“Yes,” Ji Ge nodded and, with a familiar motion, picked up a copy of Zeng Guang Xian Wen, laid out paper, and sat down at a desk.
He slowly moistened his brush with water and added, “Mr. Zhou, my sister didn’t actually ignore us.”
In the year after his sister left, he and Xiang Jie often mentioned her, but over time, their longing turned into resentment and anger.
But now, with his sister back, all of that had faded away.
“She was treated terribly by her in-laws, and she went through a lot of hardship. But now that she’s back, everything is fine,” Ji Ge smiled contentedly, his fair and delicate face lighting up.
He pointed to the basket Mr. Zhou had placed aside.
“That’s something my sister made for you. She made it with her own hands. She’s good at everything. It’s really delicious, you should try it while it’s still warm.”
“You’re telling me, Mr. Zhou, I’ve lived for decades—what good food haven’t I tried? You’re just a kid, you haven’t seen much of the world. What could you possibly bring that’s any good…”
Mr. Zhou grumbled, still skeptical.
He thought to himself, how could a sister who sent her younger brother to copy books for a living really be so kind?
What good things could she possibly give?
In the past few years, whenever Ji Ge was beaten, he would always take his sister and escape to the bookstore.
Over time, Mr. Zhou had come to know about the troubles at Ji Ge’s home.
This child had a hard life.
He had lost his parents, his uncle and aunt had no compassion, and his sister, after marrying, only returned for a funeral once and then pawned the shop to her uncle before disappearing.
Although it’s often said that once a daughter is married, she is like water poured out, it’s rare to be so indifferent for three years.
Frowning, Mr. Zhou opened the cotton cloth covering the basket, and a strong scent of baked wheat wafted toward him.
The fragrance was sweet, and before he even realized it, he had swallowed, his hand reaching out automatically.
As soon as he touched it, the bread was so soft that his fingers left an imprint.
“I brought it here in my arms, so it should still be warm.”
Ji Ge was already grinding ink, not even looking up when he spoke.
It was still warm, and not just warm, but incredibly soft.
Mr. Zhou took a bite, then two, and before long, he had eaten half a loaf.
After finishing, he stared at the empty space, disbelieving.
“This is your sister’s handiwork? How old is she?”
He wasn’t exaggerating.
In his youth, he had been a traveling merchant, not a bookstore owner.
He had eaten all sorts of things traveling south and north.
After his wife passed, he no longer wanted to travel, deciding to honor her wish and use his savings to raise his two children.
A few days before his daughter’s marriage, he had even taken her and his son to a restaurant, ordering a table full of delicious dishes.
Among them was a honey bean bun shaped like a longevity peach, which was very charming and delicious.
He had heard it was made by an old baker with decades of experience.
He had thought that flavor would last him a lifetime, but today, he had tasted something even better.
He then heard Ji Ge casually say, “My sister is twenty-one this year, but she should be twenty-two in the traditional way.”
Just over twenty!
So young, and with such impressive skills!
Mr. Zhou, who had seen much in his years, was still sharp in his old age, but he had to admit that the bread was extraordinary.
He ate another half loaf in a few quick bites.
Then, for the next half hour, he sat back in his chair, sipping tea from his pot, eating until his stomach was full and satisfied.
Ji Ge had copied several pages.
Hearing Mr. Zhou’s burps, he suddenly remembered he hadn’t eaten.
Looking up, he was shocked to see that the two big loaves of bread he had brought had nearly vanished, with only crumbs left.
He asked, his voice trembling, “Mr. Zhou! I haven’t eaten yet…”
Mr. Zhou, rubbing his full belly, looked up at the reproachful gaze from Ji Ge and froze for a moment, then awkwardly smiled, “Oh, I didn’t mean to… uh… I’ve also made some rough rice porridge in the kitchen. I’ll bring it out to you.
Oh, you don’t need to look at me like that. Alright, from now on, you don’t need to pay me when you copy books. How’s that?”
Ji Ge could only reluctantly accept, but when he saw the porridge Mr. Zhou brought him, he was dumbfounded—there was even ash in the porridge!
The large bowl of watery gruel looked like the kind of slop they would feed pigs.
Ji Ge stared at it for a long time, not daring to take a bite.
He suddenly realized how good his meals had been these past few days.
After all, his sister could even make millet porridge thick and golden, with a layer of rice oil forming as it cooled.
Even without any additions, just a sip of it was full of the fragrance of rice, and the oil left a comforting, rich taste in his mouth.
Thinking about his sister’s porridge, Ji Ge silently pushed the bowl of gruel further away.
Luckily, he had gotten used to waking up early these past few days to help his sister with the fire, chopping cucumbers, and washing vegetables.
His sister always gave him some of the fried meat and pancake crusts, so he wasn’t too hungry.
Looking at the gruel… he decided not to eat it.
He focused on copying his books.
At Liu Fuzi’s home, he had finished the Thousand Character Classic and other basics, but when they were about to start learning Youxue Qionglin and Zengguang Xianwen at the private school, he was expelled for fighting.
So, these days, he planned to copy these two books first and read through them.
If there were any difficult parts, he could come to the bookstore for help.
Some down-and-out scholars came here to read, and Ji Ge hoped to ask them for advice on the things he didn’t understand.
The older boys in the private school were reading these two books, and Ji Ge felt that following their example would be fine.
So, he spent the whole morning, only leaving to relieve himself once.
His dedication made Mr. Zhou, watching from behind the counter, unable to sit still.
He stood up, stretched his old limbs, and said loudly, “It’s already noon, don’t you want to go home? I’m not going to feed you lunch!”
He had already planned to cook in the back, but this kid was still lingering here.
Ji Ge heard this and slowly raised his eyes, “Mr. Zhou, you’re saying that, but if you hadn’t eaten the bread I brought for breakfast, I would’ve already had my lunch by now.”
Ji Ge, being so thoughtful, thought his sister had given him the bread to eat part in the morning and part at lunch.
His sister worked tirelessly from dawn till dusk.
Although she never complained, he could see it, and he knew how to be frugal.
He hadn’t realized that the bread was only meant for breakfast.
Mr. Zhou was a little embarrassed by the boy’s words, but he grinned and said, “Alright, come into the kitchen with me. If you’re too picky to eat the porridge, I’ll make you a bowl of hot soup dumplings…”
Just as he finished speaking, the door curtain was lifted by a slender hand.
“Xiang Jie… is it here?”
A gentle face peered in, scanning the room before she spotted the boy sitting in the corner copying books.
She smiled and walked in, the sunlight from the noon hour pouring in behind her, surrounding her in a warm golden glow.
She waved at the boy, “Ji Ge!”
Ji Ge looked up in surprise, quickly standing up to greet her, “Sister? What are you doing here?”
His voice was filled with so much joy, it almost overflowed.
Mr. Zhou, who was quite old, was momentarily stunned by her beauty, but he quickly realized that this was the older sister who had left Ji Ge and Shen Xiang behind at their uncle’s house for three years without a word.
Hmm?
She didn’t seem like the kind of person who could be so heartless.
“I’ve brought you lunch. How’s your day? Is it hard?”
Shen Miao raised the two-tiered wooden lunch box in her hand, bent down slightly, and gently wiped a few spots of ink from Ji Ge’s cheek with a handkerchief.
Then, turning to Mr. Zhou, she said, “This must be Mr. Zhou? Ji Ge often mentions you. You’ve taken care of him a lot these years. I thank you for all your kindness.”
She bowed deeply.
Which bookstore would hire a child to copy books?
Even if a child’s handwriting was neat, it could never compare to an adult’s.
When you thought about it, it was clear that Mr. Zhou, being kind-hearted, had taken care of Ji Ge and given him a chance to eat.
“You’re too kind!”
Mr. Zhou quickly waved his hand.
“This child is quiet and doesn’t get in the way of my business.”
Shen Miao didn’t continue to be overly polite.
Seeing that Mr. Zhou was old and that the back kitchen was empty, she smiled and opened the food box she had brought. “I made extra today, thinking that this child has been bothering you for so long, it must have been a hassle. If you don’t mind, would you join us for lunch?”
Mr. Zhou remembered the freshly baked bread from earlier and immediately smelled the aroma wafting from the food box.
He quickly agreed.
Shen Miao set the food on the table in the back room and, after retrieving bowls and chopsticks, served Mr. Zhou a bowl of mixed grain rice.
She also served Ji Ge a bowl and said, “Mr. Zhou and Ji Ge can eat first. Xiang Jie and I have already had lunch at home.”
“Ah, Madam Shen, you’re too kind…”
The food smelled so good that Mr. Zhou couldn’t say anything else.
He quickly grabbed a chopstick and took his first bite, savoring the stuffed shiitake mushrooms with tofu and chicken thigh meat.
The chicken was tender and juicy, while the tofu and mushrooms absorbed the delicious broth.
After tasting it, he couldn’t stop eating.
Since his wife passed away, it had been decades since Mr. Zhou had tasted food so delicious that he didn’t want to stop eating.
After he had eaten his fill, he sat quietly on the stool for a while.
When he looked at the remaining rough rice porridge he had made himself, an unexpected thought popped into his head: “Could it be that the food I’ve been eating all these years has been nothing more than slop?”
***
Ji Ge had finished two full bowls of rice for lunch.
And because Mr. Zhou was picking up the dishes so quickly, Ji Ge was worried that if he didn’t eat fast, Mr. Zhou would finish it all before he could take two bites.
So, he ate greedily, both old and young eating with great speed, devouring their meal almost like a whirlwind.
While they were eating, Shen Miao took the opportunity to go to the nearby oil shop to buy a few pounds of soybean oil.
When she returned with the bamboo bucket, Ji Ge had already eaten his fill, a sheen of sweat on his forehead.
He poured himself a cup of tea and leaned back in his chair, panting.
Xiang Jie, watching them eat, was so shocked by their ferocious eating that she didn’t regain her senses until Shen Miao returned.
She muttered, “So scary.”
“What did you say, Xiang Jie? Ji Ge, we’re leaving now. Remember to come back and copy more later when it’s time.”
Shen Miao came in, took Xiang Jie, and reminded Ji Ge to come back before nightfall.
Then, she left, carrying the oil back home.
On the way back, she passed the fabric shop where she had bought cloth before and picked up a few more rolls.
She planned to make new clothes for herself, Xiang Jie, and Ji Ge.
Right now, the two children only had the clothes they wore when they first came and the two sets of clothes Shen Miao had made later.
They had to alternate wearing just those two sets, and if there was a stretch of rainy days where the clothes didn’t dry, the two kids would end up without anything to wear.
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