Snatching Apples

After leaving the pharmacy, Shen Jingchuan tucked the wrapped ginseng into his clothes and went straight to the Zhenyuan Escort Agency. The guards by the gate already knew him. They hurriedly greeted him with broad smiles and led him into the courtyard.

Lin Weiyuan was standing beneath the covered walkway, wiping down an iron-framed bow. Hearing the commotion, he looked up and saw who it was. He immediately leaned the bow against the wall and strode over to greet him:

"Young Master Shen? What brings you here today?"

"I came into town to buy a few things and stopped by to see you."

Shen Jingchuan cupped his hands and asked, "By the way, are Brother Lin Shan and Brother Lin Yue still away on an escort job?"

"Ah, they went with a team escorting a shipment to the provincial capital. Judging by their pace, they should be back in town the day after tomorrow."

As he spoke, Lin Weiyuan led him over to sit at a stone table. "Why? Do you need them for something, Young Master?"

Shen Jingchuan sat down and said casually:

"It's nothing important. I moved into a new residence a while ago, and I've been meaning to invite you and your sons over for a meal, to liven the place up and warm the house.

"Since they'll be back the day after tomorrow, how about three days from now? There's nothing much to do in the evening, so we can have a couple of drinks."

He calculated the timing in his head. The saber and sword he had asked someone to buy a few days ago should arrive around then too, so having everything fall on that day would be just right.

Lin Weiyuan was delighted to hear it and agreed without hesitation:

"Of course! Your move is a happy occasion, Young Master. We'll certainly come and trouble you for a meal. It's settled, then. Three days from now, at dusk, I'll bring those two boys over on time!"

When Shen Jingchuan returned to the residence, he had just entered the ornamental gate leading into the second courtyard when Yue'er, Su Qingshu, and Su Qinghua came to meet him. They curtsied in unison and followed at his side toward the rear courtyard of the third compound.

Before entering, he had quietly activated his space and moved an entire crate of large red apples from storage into the large backpack he carried. The pack hung heavy, its straps weighing down on his shoulders.

Once in the rear courtyard, he set the backpack on the flagstones and gave an instruction:

"Go fetch a large wooden basin."

Yue'er was the quickest to answer. Lifting her skirts, she ran to a side room. By the time Shen Jingchuan had strolled over to the stone table, she had already come running back with a wooden basin scrubbed to a shine. Panting, she said:

"Young Master, here's the basin."

Shen Jingchuan lifted the backpack by its bottom and tipped it over. Apples came tumbling out with a clatter, filling more than half the basin.

Each was as big as a fist, its skin a bright, translucent red beneath a thin bloom. They looked sweet and juicy.

The three girls' eyes lit up. They had tasted them once before, and they still remembered that sweet, crisp bite.

"Young Master, where did you buy these?" Yue'er couldn't resist leaning over for a look. "I've never seen any this good at the fruit stalls in town."

Shen Jingchuan glanced at her with the hint of a smile. "Why so many questions? Do you want one or not?"

Yue'er blushed and immediately pressed her lips together, saying no more. She hurriedly reached for the basin:

"I'll go wash them right away!"

Once the apples had been washed until they glistened with water, Shen Jingchuan waved a hand. Qingshu and Qinghua lifted the basin and followed him toward the western courtyard, while Xiaoyue trailed behind, puzzled. Did they have to go to the garden to eat fruit?

Beyond the garden, they passed through a moon gate and came to the stables.

Liu Hu, who tended the horses, was crouched beside a trough adding fodder. Hearing footsteps, he looked up and saw Shen Jingchuan. He hurriedly stood, wiped his hands, and bowed:

"Young Master, you're here."

The horses in the stable weren't tethered. The tall black stallion was the first to notice them; his ears twitched at the sound, and he immediately trotted over.

Two slightly smaller black mares followed, covering three steps in two as they crowded up to Shen Jingchuan. They rubbed their great heads against his shoulders, their breath warm.

The three girls had come to see the horses every day for the past few days, but they had only dared watch from a distance.

Seeing three such huge horses charging straight toward them, they all recoiled half a step, clutching the corners of their clothes and not daring to come forward.

Shen Jingchuan laughed and rubbed the black stallion's forehead. Turning, he picked up apples from the basin and offered them to the horses one by one. The three horses crunched as they chewed, their tails swishing briskly. They clearly loved them.

Before he knew it, Shen had fed them he didn't know how many apples. Then he heard Yue'er call softly beside him, "Young Master..."

He turned to look and saw all three girls gazing longingly at the apples left in the basin. Qingshu and Qinghua were too embarrassed even to look him in the eye. Their gazes were glued to the fruit, their craving written all over their faces.

"You three greedy girls," Shen Jingchuan said with a laugh, pointing at them. "Aren't you ashamed to snatch fruit from my horses? You're just taking advantage of the fact that they can't speak."

Exposed, the three covered their mouths and laughed bashfully, their cheeks red.

He turned and patted the black stallion's neck, putting on an expression of helplessness. "There's nothing for it. There are only this many, and they want some too. We'll have to share."

The black stallion seemed to understand. He actually stopped eating and held his head high, looking proud and disdainful of fighting over them.

The two mares tilted their heads too, fixing their dark, shiny eyes on the three maids. As they sized the girls up, there seemed to be a hint of rivalry for favor in their gazes.

The three girls grew even more flustered under the horses' stares and retreated a little farther. Shen Jingchuan laughed and waved his hand:

"All right, all of you go back to the rear courtyard."

The moment he finished speaking, Yue'er and the other two seized their chance. Each quickly grabbed an apple and backed away two steps, clutching it tight. Then, as if afraid the horses would chase them, they fled like the wind.

Only two apples remained in the basin. Shen Jingchuan picked one up and offered it to Liu Hu. "You have one too."

Liu Hu looked at the black stallion and hurriedly waved his hands. "Young Master, I don't like these. You keep it..."

"Take it." Shen Jingchuan stuffed it straight into his hand, leaving no room for refusal.

He held the last apple out to the black stallion, but the horse turned his head and nudged his nose toward the two mares beside him, refusing to open his mouth.

"You're quite the man," Shen Jingchuan said with a chuckle. He broke the apple in half and fed it to the two mares, then raised a hand to smooth the manes of all three horses.

Shen Jingchuan looked at the three sleek, glossy black horses and rubbed his chin in thought. He couldn't keep calling them the black stallion and the little mares all the time. They didn't even have proper names; it wouldn't do to tell people that.

He looked up at the tall stallion and said, "I'd like to discuss something with you. How about I give you all names?"

At his words, all three horses turned their heads and gazed steadily at him with bright black eyes. The tips of their ears twitched slightly, as though they really could understand.

The black stallion gave a low whinny and nodded his head slightly. His expression was so proud that he looked for all the world as if he were saying:

"You finally remembered."

Amused, Shen Jingchuan stared at the black stallion for a long while without coming up with a good name. He was hopeless at naming things, and only when he was truly out of ideas did he clap his hands:

"I've got it! I'll give you an especially nice name."

The black stallion's eyes lit up.

"Your black coat is shiny enough to reflect light, so let's call you Big Black."

The moment the words left his mouth, the black stallion let out an earth-shaking snort. He tossed his head, stamped a hoof heavily on the ground, and turned to walk toward the back of the stable, swishing his tail. His retreating figure was disdain from head to hoof.

"Nice, isn't it?"

Shen Jingchuan laughed and went after him, reaching out to stroke his mane. "Why are you running? Big Black sounds so impressive. Big Black it is, then. Settled."

The black stallion wheeled around, reared high, and kicked twice in the air. A long, muffled whinny rumbled from his throat as he stiffened his neck and confronted Shen Jingchuan, looking for all the world as if he were arguing his case.

Shen Jingchuan folded his arms and watched him make a fuss. Only when the horse had finished and stood with his head drooping, dejected as if all the air had gone out of him, did Shen Jingchuan suppress a laugh and nod:

"I knew you liked it. Look how happy you are."

The black stallion's head snapped to one side. He wouldn't so much as glance at Shen Jingchuan from the corner of his eye, and his whole body radiated the aggrieved air of someone who had nothing left to live for.

Shen Jingchuan turned to the other two mares. They had just been standing together watching the commotion, but now they both stepped back at once. Their hooves rooted to the ground, they had "fear" written in their eyes.

One was black all over and slightly smaller; the other was ink-black from head to hoof, except for four snow-white hooves that looked as though they had picked up a layer of frost and snow.

Shen Jingchuan reached out and drew the all-black little mare closer. Running his fingers down her smooth mane, he reassured her gently:

"Don't be afraid. I'll give you a nice name too. You're a size smaller than him, and you're black as well, so let's call you Little Black."

Hearing this, the little black mare jerked backward and kept retreating until she reached a corner of the stable, with nowhere left to go. Only then did she stop, pawing anxiously at the ground and shaking her head like a rattle-drum, utterly unwilling.

"Don't hide. Little Black sounds lovely."

Shen Jingchuan took two steps forward, pointed at her, and insisted with a perfectly straight face:

"See? You're pawing the ground and nodding, so that means you agree. It's settled."

The remaining mare, with four snow-white hooves, stood where she was, watching her companion's "fate." A hint of despair showed in her eyes. Her rump was pressed tightly against the wall, and she had nowhere left to retreat.