An older woman beside him, also waiting for wontons, turned at the sound of his voice. The moment she saw Yun Qing's face, her eyes lit up with the eager gleam women her age shared whenever they spotted a handsome young man.
She looked Yun Qing up and down. The young man had gentle features and a tall, slender frame. His clothes were plain but clean, and a jade pendant of decent quality hung at his waist. Her gaze grew still more eager.
"Oh! What a handsome young fellow! Haven't seen you before. You're not from our Blackwater Town, are you?" The woman leaned forward slightly, and the floodgates of conversation opened at once.
Liu Niang set a steaming bowl of wontons in front of Yun Qing, green scallions and a few golden droplets of oil floating on the broth.
Yun Qing picked up his spoon and answered with a smile, "That's right. I moved here a couple of days ago and opened a little shop not far from here."
Hearing that he even owned a business, the warmth in the woman's gaze climbed several more degrees, and she gave Yun Qing another thorough once-over.
Young, handsome, a business owner, and pleasant-spoken. In Blackwater Town, this was a prospective son-in-law you couldn't find even with a lantern!
She leaned farther forward. "What do you sell? Oh, young man, are you married yet? My Niuniu is so pretty! Her face, her figure-you won't find another like her on all of West Street-"
The wonton in Yun Qing's spoon stopped in midair.
Without changing his expression, he put it into his mouth, chewed, swallowed, and said with a smile, "Used books, brushes and ink, medicinal herbs, umbrella repairs, letter writing. A little of everything."
"Quite a jumble you've got in that shop."