Chasing Jade (Zhu Yu)

Changning stood on tiptoe to get a better look at the figures in the painting, her grape-like eyes brimming with joy. Her chubby little finger pointed at the image of herself on the canvas as she exclaimed, "Ning Niang is in the picture! Ning Niang likes this!"

Before Fan Changyu could speak, Xie Zheng asked the scholar, "How much for your painting?"

The scholar was momentarily stunned before realizing this strikingly handsome yet intimidating man was inquiring about the price of his artwork. He hurriedly replied, "No charge, no charge! Consider it my gift to the young master and his wife."

Fan Changyu was still slightly embarrassed by the scholar's earlier remarks, though she did find the painting quite lovely. Seeing the scholar adamantly refusing to name a price, she thought for a moment. From the two pieces of cured meat originally intended for Head Constable Wang, she selected the smaller one and handed it to the scholar, saying, "Take this cured meat as our New Year's gift to you."

Then, with a stern expression, she pointed at Changning and clarified, "This is my younger sister."

Receiving a piece of cured meat was an unexpected delight for the scholar, who immediately showered them with blessings: "This humble one was blind not to recognize her. May the young master and his wife be blessed with twin dragon-phoenix children in the coming year, bringing perfect harmony and endless joy with children at your knees."

Fan Changyu: "..."

She considered explaining further, but there was no need to disclose their fake marriage to a stranger.

Even after leaving the scholar's stall with the painting, Fan Changyu still felt awkward, occasionally stealing glances at Xie Zheng, who walked beside her carrying the rolled-up artwork. Only when she noticed his composed expression did her discomfort ease slightly.

Returning to their earlier stall, they packed up their belongings to head to the bookstore for paper and ink. A nearby New Year goods shopkeeper, having observed Fan Changyu selling over twenty pieces of cured meat in less than an hour, grew envious of her brisk business. Waddling out with his portly frame, he called, "Young madam, a moment please!"

Turning at the sound, Fan Changyu saw the plump shopkeeper approaching with a beaming smile. "Will you be selling cured meat here again tomorrow?" he asked.

Tomorrow being the second day of the New Year, Fan Changyu would need to open her family's butcher shop and supply braised meat to Overflowing Fragrance Pavilion, leaving no time to return. She shook her head. "I likely won't have time to come back in the next few days."

The shopkeeper chuckled. "Then how about this? Bring all your remaining cured meat to my shop. We'll sell it on consignment—60% for you, 40% for me. What do you think?"

Fan Changyu mused that this was exactly what Shopkeeper Yu had called "getting a wolf with empty hands"—the man wanted her to deliver the goods without any upfront payment, then take nearly half the profits.

Unlike fresh meat, cured meat could be stored in cool, ventilated areas for over a year without spoiling, making it significantly more valuable. During the New Year period, Fan Changyu priced it at 65 coins per jin, though bargaining might bring it down to around 60 coins.

At the proposed 60-40 split, even if sold at full price, she'd only earn 39 coins per jin—far less than selling it herself.

"I'm not interested in profit-sharing," Fan Changyu stated. "If you genuinely wish to purchase, let's settle the accounts clearly by weight."

The shopkeeper laughed heartily. "Young madam, you clearly don't understand business."Fan Changyu was about to speak when Xie Zheng beside her suddenly said, "Selling on commission is acceptable."

Both Fan Changyu and the plump shopkeeper turned to look at him in unison. Fan Changyu appeared stunned, while the shopkeeper's eyes crinkled into slits as he smiled. "This young brother seems quite business-savvy, with a long-term vision—"

Before he could finish, Xie Zheng gave him a cool glance and said, "Twenty-eight split."

The shopkeeper's smile froze. "Young brother, that's quite an exorbitant demand."

Fan Changyu mentally calculated how much she'd earn from the cured meat with a twenty-eight split. At sixty-five wen per jin, she'd get fifty-two wen; at sixty wen, forty-eight wen.

But she truly hadn't intended to pursue this deal. "What's with the split? Let's just sell by weight and make it a one-time transaction. The wholesale price for cured meat on the market is around fifty wen anyway. I haven't received a single coin yet, and you expect me to deliver the meat first? I'm not comfortable with that. Let's go—we need to buy paper and ink at the bookstore first, then hurry to Head Constable Wang's house for New Year's greetings."

She tugged Changning along to leave. Seeing this, the plump shopkeeper hastily said, "Twenty-eight split it is."

He smiled somewhat helplessly. "Young lady and young brother, you play the good cop, bad cop routine well. It's only because the cured meat you're selling today has such excellent color and smoking—clearly premium goods—that I wanted to do business with you."

He then ushered the three of them into the shop. "Let's draft a contract, and you can deliver the meat later."

When Fan Changyu exchanged glances with Xie Zheng, she still looked dazed, as if surprised the deal had been struck so easily.

Xie Zheng's expression remained indifferent as he said to her, "Go sign the contract."

The shopkeeper, clearly no stranger to such barefaced deals, quickly drafted the contract with practiced ease. When he handed it to Fan Changyu for review, she scrutinized it word by word, unwilling to take any risks, then passed it to Xie Zheng. "Does this look acceptable to you?"

After Xie Zheng nodded, she boldly signed her name.

The shopkeeper handed over one tael of silver as a deposit and cheerfully saw them out.

As they walked, Fan Changyu muttered to Xie Zheng, "Tomorrow morning, I'll have to open the meat shop and deliver braised meat to Overflowing Fragrance Pavilion. The cured meat will probably have to wait until the afternoon."

Xie Zheng said, "If you're too busy, I can hire a cart to deliver it for you."

Fan Changyu felt a bit embarrassed. "Should I pay you wages then?"

Xie Zheng shot her a glance, and Fan Changyu sensed—correctly—that he seemed displeased again.

Changning, carefree as ever, skipped ahead. Whenever she spotted a trinket she fancied but didn’t dare ask Fan Changyu to buy, she’d gaze imploringly at Xie Zheng.

Xie Zheng ended up buying her an assortment of small things. Changning clutched them in her chubby arms, barely able to hold them all.

Fan Changyu scolded her half-heartedly, "Ning Niang, if you keep wanting to buy everything you see, I won’t bring you to the county market next time."

Changning hung her head, staring at her toes in chastened silence.

A cool, detached voice came from beside them. "I was the one who bought them for her."

Fan Changyu felt as though this man was deliberately opposing her. Pressing her lips together, she said, "Children don’t understand restraint. If we indulge them endlessly, how can we possibly buy everything they fancy on the streets? Some principles must be taught for them to learn."Xie Zheng fell silent, and as the three of them continued walking, even Changning could sense the strange tension between Fan Changyu and Xie Zheng.

She glanced between the two of them, then at the pile of trinkets she was holding in her arms. Suddenly, she stopped in her tracks, turned around, and shoved everything into Xie Zheng’s arms. Clutching the hem of her clothes with her chubby little hands, she said, “Ning Niang doesn’t want them anymore. Brother-in-law can return them.”

Fan Changyu saw the tears welling up in the little girl’s dark, grape-like eyes and sighed. She crouched down, patting Changning’s head gently. “Since we’ve already bought them this time, we’ll keep them. But don’t do this again in the future, understand?”

Changning nodded tearfully, then stretched out her chubby arms, asking to be held.

Fan Changyu pulled the child into her embrace and patted her back soothingly, her tone a mix of fondness and exasperation. “Why are you crying? I didn’t even scold you.”

Changning sniffled. “Elder Sister, don’t be mad at Brother-in-law. Ning Niang knows she was wrong.”

Fan Changyu glanced at Xie Zheng, who was standing to the side holding all the little trinkets, and sighed even more helplessly. “I’m not angry with him.”

Changning insisted, “You’re ignoring Brother-in-law.”

Fan Changyu couldn’t help but laugh. “When have I ignored him?”

Changning’s tears wobbled precariously in her eyes. “You’re not talking to him anymore.”

Fan Changyu thought to herself that she didn’t usually talk much to Yan Zheng anyway. But seeing her little sister on the verge of a full-blown meltdown, she coaxed, “We were just talking earlier. It’s just that we’re not talking right now.”

A single tear, as big as a bean, finally rolled down from Changning’s dark, grape-like eyes and splashed onto the ground. “Elder Sister is definitely angry.”

Fan Changyu surrendered. “What do I have to do for you to believe I’m not angry?”

Changning thought for a moment, then declared, “Hold hands! Holding hands means you’ve made up!”

Fan Changyu paused for a second before offering, “What if I talk to him the whole way back?”

Changning, stubbornly adhering to the logic of children, insisted, “Holding hands means you’ve made up.”

Fan Changyu exchanged a glance with Xie Zheng. His expression was unreadable, but she felt inexplicably awkward.

She tried to reason with the child. “Look, your brother-in-law is holding so many things, and I’m carrying things too. If we both use only one hand, wouldn’t that be too heavy?”

Changning finally relented, though as she walked ahead, she kept glancing back at them.

Afraid that Changning might come up with another strange demand, Fan Changyu spoke to Xie Zheng. “Kids can be so fussy. Don’t take it to heart.”

Xie Zheng replied, “I don’t think she’s fussy. I’ll probably be leaving after the New Year, so I wanted to buy her more little things.”

Fan Changyu hadn’t expected that his reason for spoiling Changning was because of this.

Hearing that he was leaving soon, a strange emotion rose in her chest. “I’m sorry. I misunderstood you earlier.”

Xie Zheng turned his head slightly to look at her. “Why apologize?”

Fan Changyu said, “I misunderstood you and spoke harshly. Of course I should apologize.”

She pressed her lips together, then asked, “You’re leaving so soon? Won’t you wait until your injuries are fully healed?”

Just as Xie Zheng was about to answer, a group of mounted soldiers came charging recklessly down the street, knocking over pedestrians and vendors’ stalls in their path.

As the warhorses thundered toward them, Fan Changyu instinctively crouched down to shield Changning, while Xie Zheng raised his cloak to block the mud and debris kicked up by the horses’ hooves.After the group of soldiers swaggered away, many pedestrians who had been knocked over or splashed with mud on the street were cursing angrily.

Fan Changyu looked up to see Xie Zheng's cloak half-covered in mud and frowned, asking, "Are you hurt?"

Xie Zheng shook his head, but his gaze still followed the distant soldiers, his eyes harboring a dark, icy glint.

A peddler whose stall had been overturned spat fiercely in their direction and cursed, "Those damned officials! Can't even let us have peace during the New Year!"

Fan Changyu asked, "Why have soldiers come to Qingping County again? Are they here to suppress bandits?"

The peddler replied, "Suppress bandits? These are debt-collecting demons—here to seize grain! Haven't you heard about what's happening in Taizhou? The frontlines are short on food for the war, and when the army can't requisition grain, they just rob the people. If you refuse, they beat you to death."

An older man nearby added, "Judging by the way things are going, it won't be long before they start conscripting soldiers too."