Page 46

Xie Ning was swept up in passion, the sounds escaping his throat broken and ragged. He was barely conscious anymore and made no effort to control his volume, giving Zhou Jinian plenty of encouragement.

Fortunately, Zhou Sanfeng and his husband lived in a wing farther away. Only Xie Yao next door suffered, listening to a live erotic performance all night, both embarrassed and longing to get married...

Early the next morning, Zhou Jinian made ginger soup, drank a bowl himself, and went into the bedroom to feed Ninglang another. Only then did he leave with Xie Yao to catch a carriage at the relay station.

Exhausted from the night, Xie Ning drank the soup in a daze and fell asleep again. By the time he woke, it was broad daylight. He put on his padded jacket and hurried out of the room. Only his father and his dad were in the courtyard, busy preparing wonton filling and wrappers.

"You're awake? There are steamed buns keeping warm on the stove. Take them out and eat." Zhou Sanfeng spotted him first and called to him.

"Father, has Jinian left?"

It was Dad Lin Jin who answered. "He has. Your elder brother is keeping him company, so he'll be fine. Just wait for him to come home."

"Oh," Xie Ning replied, feeling a little disappointed.

Once the filling and wrappers were ready, the three of them began moving tables and chairs, getting the stall set up before the midday meal rush. While they were still lighting the fire, regular customers were already coming to wait.

Zhou Sanfeng felt that life was much more comfortable than it had been in the village. Their business was small, but their wontons were substantial and tasty, and the customers all treated him with respect.

As he met more people, he made a few friends too. Occasionally, when rain kept them from opening the stall, he would seek out his friends for a little wine and some storytelling. Life was comfortable and abundant.

It was nothing like the village, where his lame leg meant he could offer little labor even when he went out into the fields, and people looked down on him. Confined to the old Zhou family home, he had no freedom either.

Their wonton stall had expanded to six tables, and by the chou hour, every seat was occupied. Lin Jin was not happy, however, because that fat pig who had come looking for trouble yesterday was sitting at one of them again.

Although they had sent Ninglang home as soon as the stall was set up, Lin Jin kept looking toward the alley as he put wontons into the pot, afraid Ninglang would come to deliver their meal and be spotted and told to peel garlic again.

The prevailing customs of the dynasty did not approve of young husbands and young wives being out in public. They had only relaxed their guard a little because home was close by, the town was small, and they knew the people coming and going.

For Ninglang's own good, they really should not have had him help at the stall. If anything happened, people would only say that Xie Ning should not have gone out, rather than blame the wicked intentions of thugs and rakes.

Zhou Sanfeng washed bowls off to one side. After nearly half a year of running the stall, they no longer needed to greet customers. The diners would call out an order themselves, then sit down to wait for their wontons.

Once Xie Ning had finished cooking, he packed the food into a carrier and left the house with it. Turning into the alley that led outside, he could see his dad wielding a ladle to scoop up wontons from a distance, and he quickened his steps toward the stall.

Lin Jin glanced habitually toward the alley and spotted his son-in-law. He set down the bowl in his right hand, held that hand in front of his chest, and waved, his fingertips pointing down in a gesture shooing him away.

Xie Ning did not understand, but seeing his dad's stern expression, he set the food carrier on the ground and pointed toward home. When his dad nodded, he understood.

Although he did not know what had happened, Xie Ning understood that his dad meant for him not to come to the wonton stall. He simply turned and went home, leaving only the food carrier in the middle of the alley.

A little later, Zhou Sanfeng found a spare moment to fetch the food carrier.

By the yin hour, the last batch of diners had left, leaving only that fat pig and his two companions at the wonton stall. In business, they absolutely could not drive customers away, so Lin Jin called his husband over to sit at a table and eat.

Zhu Dachang waited and waited, but that heavenly-looking young man never appeared. It was cold outside, and he had been sitting there the whole time. By now, he could no longer stand the chill, so he kicked an attendant.

The attendant immediately took out a money pouch. "Shopkeeper, the bill."

Zhou Sanfeng put down his bowl, wiped his mouth, and came over. "Thirty-six wen."

The attendant took out a piece of silver and tossed it over. Zhou Sanfeng caught it. "Please wait a moment, gentlemen. Let me work out your change..."

"It tasted quite good. Keep it as a reward." Zhu Dachang stood, wanting only to hurry to the brothel and warm himself with a girl in his arms.

"Oh, thank you, honored sir!" Zhou Sanfeng swallowed the words "Come again."

Watching the three swagger away, Lin Jin gave a soft snort. "What a piece of work..."

Amused, Zhou Sanfeng reached out to poke his husband and sighed nostalgically. "Ah, how many years has it been since I last heard you curse someone?"

Lin Jin rolled his eyes at him irritably. "You're just asking for it! If you dare provoke me, I'll use my fists. Who has time to waste cursing you?"

"All right, all right, I was only grumbling a little. I wouldn't dare provoke you."

Lin Jin let out a breath, then thought of the younger generation again. "Ah, if our son passes and we move to the provincial capital, let's open a shop too. We can't keep running a stall forever, sweltering in summer and freezing in autumn."

"Of course. Isn't that what our son has planned too?"

"Our younger sister-in-law is expecting again, but there's still no sign of anything in Ninglang's belly. Ah..."

"Why worry about that? It'll happen sooner or later." Zhou Sanfeng gathered up the bowls and chopsticks and tossed them into a basin.

The prefectural examination was held in two sessions, each lasting one day. The first was the main examination, testing two essays and one poem; the second was the follow-up examination, testing one essay and one poem.

The top candidate in the prefectural examination was called the anshou, and those who passed were called xiucai. All who attained xiucai status had to enter the prefectural or departmental academy. Those ranked near the top of the first class in both examinations received a monthly silver stipend to subsidize their living expenses. The prefectural academy had a quota of forty, each of whom could receive four taels of silver a month.

Zhou Jinian was reading at the Tong Family Inn. Xie Yao pushed open the window and saw scholars who had come for the examination everywhere. With a sigh, he said, "Ah, the other inns are bustling, packed with scholars. Then look at ours-it's eerily quiet."

"A quiet place makes for a quiet mind. It's perfect for reading." Zhou Jinian was unconcerned.

Xie Yao chuckled and strolled back to sit down. "What do you suppose the innkeeper was thinking, putting 'Tong' in the name? Apart from the two of us, who are confident of passing, none of the examination candidates dare stay here. They're afraid it'll bring bad luck and they'll still be tongsheng after the exam."

Zhou Jinian continued reading without replying. That was precisely what had drawn him here: no examination candidates stayed at the Tong Family Inn, so it was quiet, allowing him to rest well at night.

On the day of the examination, the two rose before dawn, washed, and took dry provisions with them, then hurried to the departmental administrative seat to meet the elderly stipend-receiving xiucai who was acting as their guarantor.

The old xiucai led the five of them to join the queue. During the long wait, Xie Yao glanced back at the line from time to time. The scholars formed a long, winding queue. Among them were fresh-faced youths who had only just begun wearing adult hair crowns, as well as middle-aged tongsheng with long beards and white strands hidden in their hair.