Chance Encounter

"Clatter, clatter, clatter, clatter."

Along the empty street, a mule cart rolled slowly onward, the mule's hooves striking the bluestone pavement with a sound especially crisp in the silent night.

Inside the mule cart, Liu Yuanzhou sat facing his paternal uncle, Liu Jiali.

Liu Yuanzhou's head was spinning and aching. He desperately wanted to fall asleep, yet his mind remained unusually clear, his thoughts running wild like celestial steeds soaring through the sky.

Steward Lan, Wang Zhen, Ding Yue, Old Guan, Niu Baoyuan, Zhu Hongcai, Deputy Captain Zhong, Hall Master Ren and his son... one figure after another flickered through his mind.

Before he knew it, he had begun dreaming. In the dream, he became a martial arts master. One punch knocked Deputy Captain Zhong down, and another forced Hall Master Ren back. Steward Lan, his uncle, and the others all wore stunned expressions, while he threw back his head and laughed.

"Whoa—We're home."

Liu Yuanzhou jolted awake.

He vigorously shook his head to clear it, then jumped down from the mule cart and offered his arm to his uncle, helping him down.

Wang San Ge turned the cart around and drove away. Liu Yuanzhou supported his uncle by the arm as they entered the courtyard, where he saw his aunt, Gao Shi, waiting at the door.

After handing his uncle over to Gao Shi, Liu Yuanzhou returned to his room to rest. Nothing happened through the night, and he slept until dawn.

He rose on time in the morning, practiced his stance and punched. Only after estimating that everyone in the courtyard had gradually gotten up did Liu Yuanzhou finish his training.

Training was like rowing a boat against the current: if one did not advance, one fell back. Missing a day or two occasionally did not matter much, but if he stopped training for too long, his hands would grow rusty, and laziness would take root in his heart. Liu Yuanzhou understood this very well.

After breakfast, Liu Yuanzhou decided to stroll around the city. He asked Third Master, but Third Master said he was not going. He had become chess partners with Old Man Gao next door, and they played chess together every day.

Without any particular destination in mind, he left through the main gate, emerged from the little alley onto North Main Street, and wandered along, looking around as he went.

Before he knew it, he had reached East Main Street. Looking up, he spotted a pastry shop called "Old Wang Pastry" and walked over.

At lunch yesterday, his aunt Gao Shi had mentioned that Old Wang Pastry on East Main Street sold delicious Jujube Cake. Upon seeing the shop, Liu Yuanzhou thought of buying some for her.

As soon as he entered, Liu Yuanzhou asked the clerk behind the counter how much the Jujube Cake cost. The clerk said it was ten coppers per packet, weighing around four or five taels.

Liu Yuanzhou bought one packet of Jujube Cake for Gao Shi, then another packet of Rice Jade Crispy Candy for little Shuwen, spending fifteen coppers altogether.

He could not help sighing at how expensive life in the city was. Back in the countryside, his spending money for half a year was only twenty or thirty coppers, yet in the city that was not even enough for three packets of Jujube Cake.

Carrying the pastries, Liu Yuanzhou turned and walked out. Just then, someone hurried toward him from the opposite direction.

"Li Er?" Liu Yuanzhou recognized the man. It was Li Er from the village.

Li Er froze at first, then recognized Liu Yuanzhou as well. He said in surprise, "Second Child, why are you here?"

Seeing that the shop was crowded with people buying pastries, Liu Yuanzhou said, "Let's find somewhere outside to talk."

In an unfamiliar city, running into a fellow villager made Liu Yuanzhou happy despite their past grudges.

Li Er presumably felt the same. He nodded. "All right. Go wait outside first. I'll come out once I've bought my pastries."

Liu Yuanzhou walked out of the shop and waited off to one side.

Before long, Li Er came out carrying several packets of pastries.

"Third Master asked my Uncle Jiali to find me a job in the city. I came here to work." As they walked and talked, Liu Yuanzhou gave Li Er a rough account of how he had come to work in the city, though he did not mention where he worked.

Li Er gave an "oh" and did not ask further. In his view, Liu Yuanzhou was surely far beneath him and could not possibly have found any respectable work. After more than half a year of tempering in the city, Li Er had become much more slick and worldly.

Liu Yuanzhou asked about Li Er's recent circumstances, and that question struck right at Li Er's heart. With some pride, he said, "I'm currently working at the silk-dyeing workshop my cousin opened. Ah, I just manage a few dyers under me."

Liu Yuanzhou exclaimed, "Not bad, Li Er. You've become a manager already."

Li Er was pleased with himself, but he said aloud, "Ah, what manager? It's a hard job too. I have to keep an eye on those dozen or so dyers all day and watch them work. If something goes wrong with the silk, I suffer along with them."

Liu Yuanzhou smiled. "It's your own family's business. What suffering is there to talk about?"

As they talked, they turned a street corner. On their left was a noodle shop.

Li Er invited Liu Yuanzhou in for a bowl of noodles. Liu Yuanzhou looked up at the sky. It was not yet noon, and he was not hungry, so he wanted to decline.

Without waiting for an answer, Li Er pulled him into the noodle shop. Since it was not yet mealtime, there were barely any customers inside.

After ordering noodles from the owner, they found a table by the window and sat down. Li Er said with feeling, "This meal is on me. Back in the village, we were both young and ignorant, bickering all day. Looking back now, it was truly childish."

He was treating Liu Yuanzhou to noodles partly because it was rare to encounter someone from his hometown, which made him feel close to him. Partly because he considered himself to be doing fairly well now, earning nearly one tael of silver a month. And partly because he wanted to expand his network. Since Liu Yuanzhou had also come to work in the city, fellow villagers could look out for one another.

Liu Yuanzhou nodded, deeply agreeing with him. Having come to this much broader city, when he looked back on those things from the village, they were nothing but chicken feathers and garlic skins. What was there worth dwelling on?

There was another reason as well. He wanted to mend relations with Li Er. After all, Li Er's eldest uncle, Li Fusheng, was a registrar at Shi Fu County Yamen. Only now had Liu Yuanzhou learned that a registrar was considered the County Yamen's third-most important figure, wielding immense authority. He had no wish to make such a formidable enemy for nothing.

Seeing the pastries on Li Er's table, Liu Yuanzhou made conversation. "You bought so much. Can you finish it all?"

Li Er explained, "I'm going to my eldest uncle's house for dinner tonight. I didn't have much to bring, so I bought some pastries for my aunt and cousins. Later, I'll go to the market and buy some fresh fruit to take over too."

Liu Yuanzhou asked about Li Mingzhong, and Li Er replied that he was renting a room in the city and diligently studying.

The noodles were served quickly, and neither of them stood on ceremony as they picked up their chopsticks and began eating.

They finished the noodles quickly. Liu Yuanzhou wanted to take out money to pay the bill, but Li Er beat him to it.

Liu Yuanzhou laughed. "Heh, this is the first time I've openly eaten a meal paid for by your Li family."

Li Er looked utterly confused. "What do you mean, openly? I treated you this time. Next time, you can treat me."

Liu Yuanzhou smiled and nodded without speaking.

They took their pastries and left the noodle shop. Just as they were about to part ways, Li Er suddenly said, "Second Child, there's something I think I should tell you. Around the end of March, I ran into Er Ni at Treasure Pagoda Mountain."

Liu Yuanzhou's heart tightened, and he hurriedly asked, "Really? Where is she now?"

At the mention of Er Ni, Liu Yuanzhou's feelings became incomparably complicated. After more than a year without any news of her, he had in truth given up hope for their future. Now that he had suddenly heard news of her, the flame he had extinguished in his heart began blazing again.

Li Er did not beat around the bush. "That day, I ran into her and her younger brother Gou Wa at Treasure Pagoda Mountain. There was another man climbing the mountain with them. I went up to greet them, and Er Ni said she was currently working at her uncle's Weaving Factory."

"Which weaving factory? Do you know?" Liu Yuanzhou asked.

Li Er shook his head.

Liu Yuanzhou was deeply disappointed, but since he knew she worked at a Weaving Factory, he could slowly ask around. Sooner or later, he would find some news.

Li Er added, "But I thought the man with her seemed to care a great deal about her. I barely exchanged a few words with Er Ni before he came over to urge her along several times. In the end, we hurriedly parted ways."

Liu Yuanzhou nodded distractedly to show that he understood.

In truth, Li Er had his own selfish motives in bringing this up. Er Ni had once been the village's single flower on its branch. What young man had not fantasized about her? Li Er had been one of them. Later, when Er Ni left, he had put those thoughts to rest.

Unexpectedly, he had run into Er Ni again some time ago, and Li Er's thoughts had stirred anew. But the man at Er Ni's side was clearly no ordinary person, and Li Er believed he was not yet a match for him.

Telling Liu Yuanzhou about this had been a spur-of-the-moment decision. Back in the village, he had heard that Liu Yuanzhou and Er Ni seemed to share an unusual relationship. If Liu Yuanzhou clashed with the man beside Er Ni, would he, Li Er, not become the fisherman reaping the benefit?

Li Er chuckled to himself.