Give an inch, take an ell
Zhang struggled with all her might but couldn't break free. Her face red with anger, she scolded: "I'm going to call Xing'er!"
"Go ahead and shout, but I don't even know who used my body as a heater that night."
Zhang lowered his head and whispered in protest: "They were like that because they were sick, besides, I don't remember anything."
"Let me help you recall the scene back then."
Zhen Ming bitterly said, his hand went around her small waist.
His relentless pursuit made Zhang somewhat panicked, and his tone was tinged with pleading: "Zhen Gongzi, you can't bully me like this."
Zhen Ming bitterly saw that she was really afraid of having skin contact with him, couldn't bear to force herself on him, let go of her hand and sat down on the stool on the other side.
"Thank you." Zhang looked at him with a grateful face.
"Is Boss Zhang's wife staying up so late just to thank me?"
Zhang saw that he had kept his distance and finally returned to normal, smiling and saying: "The thing you said about opening a store today, I thought carefully, it's better for you to find someone else, I don't think I'm quite suitable."
Zhen Mingsu Qidao said: "Why? This idea was thought up by me after lying in bed for half a month."
Mr. Zhang remained silent, apparently having some concerns.
"If you don't like to show your face in public, it's actually okay not to go to the store. As long as you can guarantee that the snacks in the store are authentic Zhang's Tofu Stall's original flavor, I'll take care of other things and find someone to help. The boss's wife can continue to grind soy milk every day like before..."
"Zhang shook her head gently and said, 'It's not like that. I've been following my Lin father to sell tofu since I was a child, and I'm already used to being in the public eye. Mr. Zhen helped me regardless of everything, saved me three times, almost lost his life, and now he still provides for my food and shelter. I owe him so much already, I can't...'
Zhen Ming suddenly stood up and interrupted her, saying: "I'm going to sleep."
As she spoke, she turned around and walked towards her own room, yawning as she went, saying: "If you feel like you owe me, then work hard to be a good boss of this store, earn some money and pay me back."
Zhang sat there, somewhat dazed, staring as Zhen Ming entered his room and closed the door. After a while, he smiled sweetly, got up, and returned to his room.
……
A few days later, at the gate of Zhang's family courtyard.
Yang Dang stood in the dilapidated courtyard, a gust of autumn wind blew by, and fallen leaves fluttered down from the trees by the road. He looked at the chaotic courtyard with a shocked expression.
He had just left Luoyang for a month, who would have thought that the Zhang family's home would become like this.
He stood there for a while, then turned around and rushed into the Zhen's house in a hurry. Xing Er and Huan Er were in the courtyard learning to make various Western-style desserts according to the recipe given by Zhen Ming Su.
Sun Langzhong was in a corner of the courtyard decocting medicine, occasionally scooping up a spoonful to taste the flavor.
The courtyard was filled with the aroma of butter and Chinese herbal medicine, which combined to create a unique flavor that greatly stimulated one's appetite.
Yang Cong sniffed with his nose, and he smelled this flavor, similar to the Portuguese egg tart that Zhen Ming had given him before, but also slightly different, as if some special spices had been added, sweet but not greasy, fragrant but not thick.
Alone, I have not yet seen Zhenming's bitter fate.
He asked in doubt: "Isn't this Zhen's home?"
Xing'er turned her head back and looked at him with a frown: "Who are you? What do you want with Zhen Gege?"
Yang Cong's eyes lit up, the girl in front of him was about 13 or 14 years old, looked lovely and charming, with a white creamy face and two eggs in her hand, looking adorable, he couldn't help but ask: "Beautiful sister, what's your name?"
Xing'er had already been accustomed to being criticized and scolded, but it was the first time she had been praised for her beauty by a handsome young man. She suddenly felt a good impression of this handsome young man and smiled: "My name is Xing'er, do you have something to ask Gege? He went with Zhang Jiejie to the stone carving shop to make a signboard."
Yang Zong came back to his senses and hastily asked: "The Zhang sister you mentioned is Tofu Xishi Zhang, isn't she?"
"Yes," Xing'er nodded, suddenly realizing: "Ah, I remember, Sister Zhang mentioned you to me, you are Yang Dou!"
"Hehe, has Sister Zhang mentioned me to you? Just call me Ah Tong, okay?"
Yang Dang couldn't help but smile, and his heart, which had been hanging in the air, finally fell back into place. But then he tensed up again and hastily asked: "Is Zhen Ge with her? Which stone carving shop did they go to?"
"It's called Yan's Painting Boat... Hey, you don't even know how to say thank you? You rude guy!"
Before Xing'er finished speaking, Yang Zong had already turned around and ran out of the yard, mounting his horse and galloping away...
……
"Boss, what I want is to give people a sweet feeling in their hearts. The words you wrote are too masculine and not suitable for a signboard, they're more suitable for a tombstone."
"I'm just helping people make tombstones here."
Zhen Ming was in a stone carving shop, explaining to the boss what kind of signboard style he wanted. He described how the words on the signboard should be written, but unfortunately, the boss of the stone carving shop was a middle-aged man over 40 years old, with a wooden expression and a rigid attitude towards work. The shop only accepted orders for traditional Chinese fonts such as ancient seal script, Han Li, and Wei Bei, and rejected all other customer requests.
"Actually, you can make some adjustments, it doesn't have to be so sharp and angular all the time, looking like you're at odds with someone. Think carefully about the person who makes your heart feel sweet like honey, the one you want to melt into their arms... like your wife..."
The boss's face was expressionless: "My wife ran away with someone, I thought she was already dead."
"Where is your daughter?"
"She got married and never came back to see me once, I thought she was already dead."
"Where is your son?"
"He died in battle."
"Is anyone alive?"
"No."
"Go ahead and carve your own tombstone, good luck with that."
Zhen Ming let out a sigh of frustration and turned around to leave the stone engraving shop.
At this time, Zhang was selecting a stone mill in a store next door. She didn't want people to know that she came with him, nor did she want them to know that she knew him, let alone that he had held her hand, touched her beautiful leg, and kissed her small mouth.
This is a market for art paintings and carvings, with dozens of carving and painting shops in the alley. There are many artists who are talented but unknown, with superb skills, and jewelers from all over come here to find craftsmen to make collectibles.
The owner of this shop he just inquired about is a professional who specializes in making various couplets, tombstones and memorial archways for the funerals of some high-ranking officials and wealthy families.
This is what he knew after entering the store.
In addition to these shops, there are also many simple stalls at the entrance of the shop, some selling antiques, some selling calligraphy and painting, some helping people engrave seals, and some helping people interpret dreams, everything is available.
These people are mostly some frustrated and unsuccessful literati, helping others write letters and paint is their only means of making a living.
As soon as Zhen Ming left the store, several middle-aged men who looked like scholars but were actually down on their luck surrounded him and asked if he wanted to buy a few landscape paintings, beauties' portraits, or copies of Wang Xizhi's Preface to the Orchid Pavilion, completely adopting the mannerisms of street performers.
One of them, a slender young man around eighteen or nineteen years old, caught his attention.
