Chapter 84

Song Yulan looked at the destitute man in front of her, devoid of any warmth in her eyes, and even a hint of mockery.

"Yulan, I truly acknowledge my mistakes. For the sake of Da Bao, can you forgive me? Let's live well together in the future. Da Bao can't grow up without his father, right?" Xu Dashan knelt at the entrance of Baiwei Zhai, crying profusely.

Song Yulan signaled to her assistant, saying, "Take him far away, don't disrupt our business."

The two assistants nodded and started dragging Xu Dashan outside.

Xu Dashan struggled desperately, shouting loudly, "Yulan, Yulan! The ties between husband and wife should be cherished. Da Bao can't grow up without his father."

"What's going on here?" Onlookers crowded around, pointing and whispering about Xu Dashan and Song Yulan.

Song Yulan kept her head down, busy with the abacus on the counter as if she didn't care about the gossip and chatter nearby.

"Xu Dashan, how dare you come here to cause a scene? Get lost!" Song Hutou rushed over and kicked Xu Dashan to the ground before rolling up his sleeves to hit him. "You still have the nerve to mention Da Bao? Let me tell you, Da Bao's surname is Song, he has no relation to your Xu family!"

"Xulan, I truly know my mistakes, I truly acknowledge my mistakes!" Xu Dashan crawled around on the ground, continually yelling, "All those things before were done by my mother, nothing to do with me, Yulan, you can't be so heartless to let Da Bao grow up without his father."

"Xu Dashan, do you think that nobody in this county knows about the things your family did?" A plump auntie jumped in, addressing the crowd, "Oh, I know about it. You caused a stir in the town before, had many acquaintances there, but got driven out. And now, you've come to stir up trouble in the county? Thinking no one here recognizes you?"

"Auntie, what's the matter?" Curious spectators asked loudly.

Auntie raised her voice, "Let me tell you about this Xu family... the one who had their heads chopped off by the emperor, the whole family was a mess. Xu Qiang was engaged to the county princess but cheated on her, causing a scene and finally backing out of the engagement."

"What's the result? Those who rushed to the front were sent to nun, and Xu Qiang, who was a government official, lost his head. The whole Xu family couldn't study for the rest of their lives. And then there's Xu Dashan, this whole family is a mess, constantly asking his wife for money to suck up to Xu Qiang, yes, his former wife was the manager of Baiwei Zhai, and also the county princess's sister.

"And back then when the county princess wasn't a princess yet, their Xu family relied on having a government official and treated people badly. The wife had no money and was constantly abused, even suffered a miscarriage due to the abuse.

"Oh my goodness, what happened next?"

"And then guess what this family did? On a cold winter day, they didn't feed or give water to their child, a four or five-year-old, and kicked the child out of the house. The child wanted their mother and tried to go to the mother's family, but ended up collapsing in front of the county princess's house due to the cold! Who does things like that? If they had found the child later, it would have been a loss of life!"

Song Yulan sighed and said a few words to the assistant nearby. The assistant nodded and walked towards the back kitchen.

"Later, the people in the county princess's household were kind-hearted, afraid the child might die, so they spent a lot of money to buy the child back. From then on, he didn't use the Xu surname, but changed it to Song."

"Thus Xu Dashan divorced not long after and married another wife, had two daughters, but unfortunately, he abused her so much that his new wife couldn't conceive anymore, only then did he remember he had a son, perhaps because he saw that Manager Song had some status? He has been entangled since the town and now came to the city!"

A basin of dirty water splashed onto Xu Dashan, and a young woman scolded, "What a filthy thing! Get lost, don't dirty my doorstep. Thinking about the grace of husband and wife now, why didn't you think about what you did before? Go, go, go!"

Xu Dashan, flustered by the attack, shouted as he fled, "Yulan, if you don't forgive me, I will come back!"

After driving away Xu Dashan, the assistant walked into the crowd holding a large teapot and smiled, "Folks, you all must be thirsty. Why not come to Baiwei Zhai to sit and have some tea?"

With that, he led the group of people into the restaurant, while Song Yulan, who had been busy with accounting at the counter, had already left.

A tall, bearded man stood nearby, observing the commotion. He watched Xu Dashan run away, then glanced towards the Baiwei Zhai counter, and walked away.

As nightfall approached, the bearded man returned and asked, "Do you still have noodles?"

"Oh dear guest, we are closing up..." the assistant replied hesitantly.

The bearded man looked towards the counter again, pursed his lips, then suddenly said, "That person won't come back anymore."

Song Yulan looked up in surprise at him, but he blushed suddenly, turned around, and walked out.

"Would you like some noodles, sir?" Song Yulan asked.

The bearded man stopped in his tracks and uttered a sound of affirmation.

Song Yulan closed the account book and said, "I'll go cook some noodles for the guest." She then turned and entered the kitchen.

The assistant quickly brought a stool from the table, wiped the table, and said, "Please sit here, sir. Let me pour you some tea first."

In the kitchen, Song Yulan cooked braised eggplant with meat cubes and served it over the noodles. She brought the dish out and said, "The chefs have gone back, so I made this bowl for you. Please don't mind."

The bearded man looked at the large bowl of noodles and asked, "How much?"

"Five coins," Song Yulan replied.

The bearded man took out five coins from his pocket and placed them on the table one by one.

Song Yulan quietly took the money and returned to her accounting.

Every night before closing, the bearded man would come for a bowl of noodles, regardless of the braised topping, it was always a large bowl for five coins, sometimes even with a braised egg as a bonus.

"Sister...I heard..." When there was nothing to do at night, Song Dingxiang specifically went to Song Yulan's yard. But before she could finish her sentence, her sister continued, "Yes, that's correct."

Song Dingxiang chuckled and said, "What? I haven't said anything yet, and you're already saying it's correct, what's correct?"

Song Yulan gave her a look and said, "There's a man who comes every night to eat a five-coin bowl of noodles made by me, which is true."

Song Dingxiang:...

She snatched the account book from Song Yulan's hand and said, "I know who that bearded man is, he's one of the bodyguards under Zhou Ge, who has also performed meritorious deeds. He followed Zhou Ge here and became the caretaker at the General's residence because of a hand injury. He's quite a decent person; Zhou Ge said he even saved him before."

Song Yulan responded with a sound of acknowledgment.

"Oh, sister!" Song Dingxiang seemed a bit anxious, she kicked off her shoes and climbed onto the kang, leaning over to Song Yulan. "Oh, what 'oh'? Is there something going on?"

Unable to see the account book, Song Yulan reached into her sewing basket and replied, "What's going on? If you want drama, go to the Yuetai Courtyard. Why come looking for me? Should I sing for you instead?"

"Sister, you know exactly what I mean. Let me tell you, that bearded man surnamed Li, his family is almost gone, in his thirties and still unmarried. They say his family used to be very poor, and he had been in the northern region for over ten years before returning. I think that man is not bad, heard he even beat up Xu Dashan, broke his leg, now he's probably too scared to come back."

Song Yulan sighed softly, "Otherwise, why do you think I only sell him a bowl of noodles for five coins?"

Song Dingxiang really couldn't understand her sister's cunning, "But why would you charge him after he helped you? Why ask for money?"

Song Yulan rolled her eyes, "Go away, you don't get it. Stop bothering me with your nonsense, take care of the child in your belly."

"Sister, what are you thinking? Are you really planning to stay single for life? Even if you marry, you'll still be the boss of Baiwei Zhai, I won't fire you." Song Dingxiang was truly puzzled.

Song Yulan explained, "Do you know why I prefer to be a boss rather than help you in the workshop as you suggested before?"

Shaking her head, Song Dingxiang indicated she didn't know. She had wanted Song Yulan to take on more profitable work and even offered her some shares, but Song Yulan had declined.

"I always thought I would get married, but once married, I belong to someone else's family. Even if the man is good, who knows about his relatives, his parents? That's why I rejected your offer for shares," Song Yulan said.

"What?" Song Dingxiang, pregnant and feeling a bit slow on the uptake, said, "I think I understand, but what does a bowl of noodles for five coins have to do with this?"

Song Yulan explained, "I only charge him five coins for a bowl of noodles that I made. It's already the cheapest. If he hadn't helped me, do you think he would have had the chance to eat my handmade noodles? Dream on."

"Eh?" Song Dingxiang became even more confused, "He helped you, why didn't you just give him the noodles for free?

"One doesn’t know the value of firewood until one has learned the prices of stews, firewood, oil, salt, vinegar, and noodles. I just ask for the cost, and have always asked for it. Besides, if I offer free noodles to everyone who helps me, what if more people start helping me in the future? Can I afford that? Go back to your room now, your man will be looking for you soon," Song Yulan replied.

"Ugh..." Song Dingxiang pouted and left reluctantly, unable to get the information she wanted.

Song Yulan sat idle for a while, then went to the next room to check on Da Bao, who was studying.

Da Bao looked up and asked, "Mom, are you planning to find me a new dad?"

"Don't talk nonsense, focus on your studies," Song Yulan said as she touched the teapot. "Let me pour you some hot water."

"I'm not talking nonsense, I'm just saying if you do find me a new dad, be sure to be clear about it. But I'm not worried now, I've learned some skills from my uncle, he says most people can't beat me..." The boy, now in his teens, spoke like an adult.

"Just focus on your studies, I don't need you to worry about my affairs," Song Yulan said as she walked out with the teapot. She heard her son say, "I'm not planning to worry, I just want a little brother or sister, mom, when will you consider..."

Song Yulan felt a bit overwhelmed, she thought that Da Bao's temperament was exactly like her second aunt's, difficult to handle.

The bearded man had been eating noodles for two months, and Song Yulan had been making noodles in various styles for two months. On this particular day, when the noodles were served, the bearded man took out not copper coins, but a few sheets of paper.

"I just bought a small courtyard and a few acres of land. The courtyard is not far from here, although it only has two entrances, it has quite a few rooms. The land is a bit far, but since we don't have time to cultivate it, I have rented it out. I originally wanted to buy a shop as well, but I realized I don't understand the business and I need to set aside some money for my future wife, so I didn't buy it," the bearded man explained.

Song Yulan looked at the pieces of paper, then at the bearded man, and said, "Why are you telling me this? I don't even know what you look like now, why should I listen to you?"

After a moment of silence, the bearded man placed five coins on the table, took back the property deed, and walked away.

The next day, as closing time approached, the assistant stood at the door with crossed arms, wondering if the bearded man would come for noodles today. If he didn't show up soon, he would close the shop.

Just as he was thinking this, a tall figure stood in front of him and said, "I'm here for noodles."

The assistant looked up and was stunned. Who was this delicate-faced guy?

His voice sounded familiar, but his appearance... oh my, could it be...

"After eating the noodles, he still took out those two sheets of paper. Now with the bearded man gone, his nervous expression was clearly visible, especially his blushing face. This lack of security made him even more anxious.

Song Yulan had been puzzled since he walked in. As he ate the noodles, she kept glancing at him, feeling a sudden unease.

"You should probably keep the beard in the future, it suits you," Song Yulan took the two pieces of paper and said, "I don't need the rest."

"I'm Li Xiaosheng," the young-looking man in his thirties smiled broadly, "I look forward to your guidance in the future."