To each his own

"Crack! Crack! Crack!"

"Shopkeeper Liu, congratulations!"

"And congratulations to you, too! Come inside and sit down, Shopkeeper Wang. The tea's already brewed-we've just been waiting for you..."

Scarlet firecrackers burst amid billowing gunpowder smoke. The ill-fated Welcome Inn had finally reopened.

Wearing the festive new clothes he had worn on the day of Liu Mang's betrothal, Shopkeeper Liu stood beaming at the entrance, welcoming the neighbors who had come to support him.

Inside the front hall, Yang Ge, who served as shopkeeper, waiter, and order runner all at once, greeted customers and relayed their orders to the kitchen, so busy his feet barely touched the ground.

"Congratulations, old shopkeeper..."

"Please come inside and take a seat, sir."

Amid the bustle, Yang Ge suddenly heard a familiar voice. He turned to glance over and saw Fang Ke, dressed like a wealthy young gentleman, swaggering through the door with a group of Embroidered Uniform Guard enforcers disguised as laborers.

He hurried forward with a forced smile and gestured invitingly. "Please, gentlemen, take a seat!"

Fang Ke cupped his hands, all smiles. "Congratulations, Shopkeeper Yang! Sorry for the trouble, but we brothers will be counting on you to look after us!"

Yang Ge shot the fellow a covert glare, but said aloud, "Not at all, Foreman Fang. You're too kind. Please sit down. What would you like to eat? I'll have the kitchen prepare it right away. I guarantee you'll be satisfied!"

Fang Ke ducked his head and forced a smile. "Anything's fine. We're working men-as long as it fills our bellies... There's room over there. Let's sit there!"

Hearing their exchange, Shopkeeper Liu stepped back to the counter and asked quietly, curious, "Young fellow, do you know these gentlemen?"

Yang Ge answered vaguely, "The one leading them is a foreman for the towmen along the Bian River. We've had a few dealings. I don't know him well."

Shopkeeper Liu patted his shoulder approvingly. "Have a few more dealings and you will. Tell the kitchen to give them generous portions. Men who earn their bread through hard labor are bound to have big appetites."

Yang Ge acknowledged him and went to take Fang Ke and his companions' orders.

That left Shopkeeper Liu alone at the entrance, muttering curses. "That plague-stricken Wang Dali-where's he run off to?"

Yang Ge approached Fang Ke's group and poured them tea as he spoke. "What would you gentlemen like? Our pig's head meat and Bottle-Penetrating Fragrance are second to none... What are you doing here?"

Fang Ke said, "Then we'll have two jin of pig's head meat, four vegetable dishes, three jin of Bottle-Penetrating Fragrance, and two baskets of steamed buns. Make it quick-we brothers still have to get back to work... You've been promoted to shopkeeper. Of course we had to come show our support!"

Yang Ge said, "Right, coming up... Well, I certainly have you to thank!"

He turned to leave, but Fang Ke used a pat on his arm to slip something discreetly into his waistband.

Yang Ge stopped and looked at him.

Without a word, Fang Ke pointed at the ceiling.

Yang Ge's face darkened. Muttering, "Still haven't given up your scheming," he turned and jogged toward the kitchen.

Only once he was out of sight did he take the object from his waistband and examine it... A thumb-thick bamboo tube, sealed with wax, with Shen Fa's seal stamped over the opening.

He quickly checked that the seal was intact, then crushed the tube and shook out a small roll of cloth. His eyes swept over it: "Between the hours of the rooster and the dog, the enemy chief will pass through."

Now knowing what to expect, Yang Ge closed his large hand around the cloth and bamboo fragments and strode into the kitchen. "Master Lu, another table of customers has arrived. Two jin of pig's head meat, four vegetable dishes, and two baskets of steamed buns. The old shopkeeper said to make the portions generous. They're regulars."

As he spoke, he tossed everything in his hand into the stove's firebox, burning it all to nothing.

"Got it! I'll call you when it's ready!"

"All right!"

Yang Ge turned and strode out of the kitchen. Just as he passed through the courtyard gate, he saw Wang Dali, dressed up to look almost respectable, swaggering through the inn's entrance with a strut that acknowledged neither kin nor friend.

"Where have you been showing off?"

The sight of him immediately riled Shopkeeper Liu, who had been working the abacus behind the counter. He came around and swung a habitual slap at Wang Dali's head. "Go change your clothes already..."

Wang Dali leaned back, dodging the slap, and grinned smugly. "Shopkeeper, I'm not here to work as a waiter today. See? I'm here for a meal!"

With a smack, he slapped a piece of silver the size of a little finger onto the counter and loudly made his announcement.

Shopkeeper Liu glanced at the silver, and a smile swiftly spread across his old face. "Oh my, look at these old eyes of mine! I had eyes but failed to recognize gold-inlaid jade! Please come inside and sit down, Master Wang. Just say whatever you'd like to eat. Today, let this old man treat you as a humble token of respect!"

The old man's abrupt switch from arrogance to deference was rather comical, but the neighbors seated in the hall all regarded Wang Dali with knowing amusement.

Wang Dali began to lose face, too, and gave an awkward laugh. "Aren't you shaming me with all that? I just wanted to come back and have a look, that's all. Nothing more!"

Shopkeeper Liu's smile grew even more deferential. Bowing at the waist, he invited Wang Dali inside. "What are you saying, sir? Please, take a seat of honor..."

Just then, Yang Ge approached with an odd expression and drew the old shopkeeper back behind the counter. "Shopkeeper, let me handle this!"

Back behind the counter, Shopkeeper Liu continued his earnest instructions. "All right, but make sure you take good care of Master Wang for me. We mustn't neglect our inn's courtesies!"

Yang Ge nodded and gestured Wang Dali inside. "This way, Brother Wang. I'll find you a good seat!"

Wang Dali's expression eased. Following Yang Ge toward the private seating upstairs, he grumbled as he walked, "Why does the old shopkeeper look down on people like that? Can't I, Wang Dali, amount to something..."

He did at least realize that the old shopkeeper was making a pointed jab at him.

After settling Wang Dali in, Yang Ge returned to the counter and found the old shopkeeper rattling his abacus with a thunderous face. Smiling, he went over and quietly soothed him. "Still angry? It's not as though you only met him today!"

Shopkeeper Liu sneered. "Kind words can't turn back a ghost bent on a violent death!"

Yang Ge chuckled. "To each his own. You can't force these things!"

Shopkeeper Liu waved a hand. "Let him go to his death. Once he's finished this meal, that fellow won't have so much as a copper coin's connection to our inn!"

Both men were shrewd. Neither needed to ask what the fellow had been doing or where his money came from. They could have guessed with their toes that it was nothing good.

Once a restless young man of Wang Dali's age plunged headfirst down a crooked path, there was usually no coming back...

"As long as you can let it go!"

He untied the apron around his waist. "The rush here is over for now. I'll go see how Brother Fu Yu's doing. I'll be right back!"

Shopkeeper Liu smiled. "No hurry. I can manage here. If he isn't busy, tell him to come over for lunch!"

Yang Ge acknowledged him and strode out the door.

Seeing this from the front hall, Fang Ke, with a steamed bun in one hand and pig's head meat in the other, hurried after him. "Shopkeeper Yang, wait! I have something to discuss with you."

Shopkeeper Liu saw him from behind the counter and called cheerfully, "Sir, is our food to your liking?"

Still walking, Fang Ke raised a thumb. "Couldn't ask for better!"

The two left the inn one after the other, then walked side by side.

Keeping his expression unchanged, Fang Ke lowered his voice. "Shopkeeper Yang, what does home say?"

Yang Ge likewise kept his expression unchanged as he replied quietly, "Immediately investigate every soldier patrolling the city tonight. Put all the officials in charge, high and low, under surveillance. Wait for word from me!"

Fang Ke said, "Yes... All right, then. We'll talk more later!"

He patted Yang Ge's shoulder, then turned and went back into the inn, munching on his steamed bun, to finish his meal.