Lu’s steamed bun shop had been doing good business lately. It was just around mealtime, and the small shop was packed with a bustling crowd of customers.
Liu Cui Jin was busy serving customers with steamed buns and soup, while Lu Shi was in the kitchen kneading dough. Mother and daughter were so busy they could barely stand still.
Only Liu Cui Rong sat cross-legged on the heated brick bed in the inner room, cracking melon seeds she’d somehow acquired, enjoying them with gusto.
“Oh, Cui Jin, hurry and call your sister out to help! The stove is almost out of firewood!” Lu Shi shouted.
Liu Cui Jin wiped the sweat from her brow and rolled her eyes towards the inner room. “My sister? My sister is a useless piece of trash, good for nothing. She just waits to eat ready-made meals all day, acting like a pampered princess. . .”
As she spoke, Liu Cui Jin went out to grab a bundle of firewood, kicked it apart, and shoved it into the stove.
The dying embers were finally revived, and steam began to rise from the steamers.
“Cui Jin, what are we going to do? Your sister doesn’t do any work, and she doesn’t listen to a word her mother says. As her sister, you should try to persuade her. Even marrying off to an old bachelor, or a blind man, or someone with kids, or someone with bad legs would be fine. What’s the point of her staying at our home all day? Sigh. . .”
Lu Shi complained as she lifted the pot lid. A wisp of steam drifted out. The plump, white steamed buns on the tiered steamers were ready.
There were pork and sauerkraut filling, Chinese cabbage filling, and chive and egg filling. Three tiers of steamers could serve quite a few customers.
Liu Cui Jin snorted. “I won’t say anything. Let her do whatever she wants. I wouldn’t care even if she died!”
“Tsk!” Lu Shi clicked her tongue and glared at her. “What are you saying? She’s your own sister. Don’t say such unlucky things from now on!”
Liu Cui Rong stirred the sauerkraut soup in the pot with a spoon. “So what if she’s my sister? All she does is eat and sleep, or go out showing off. I even saw her take a carriage to Dashui Village this morning. Hmph, she was kicked out by Er Man, why is she still bouncing around Dashui Village? Doesn’t she feel ashamed. . .”
As the saying goes, careless words can have unintended consequences. Lu Shi paused slightly after hearing this. “Cui Jin, what did you just say? Your sister went to Dashui Village again?”
There were too many customers eating steamed buns that morning, so she hadn’t noticed.
Liu Cui Jin nodded. “Yes, she went to Dashui Village and came back not long after!”
“What, what did she go there for?” Lu Shi was bewildered.
“How would I know? Mother, why don’t you ask her. . .” Liu Cui Jin picked up the steamed buns into a basin and then served them to a customer.
Lu Shi’s heart pounded. Since they had severed ties with the Yun family, they shouldn’t bother them anymore. That was basic decency.
If they angered them, her steamed bun shop might not be able to stay open.
Just then, Yun Er Man walked in, furious.
He clenched his fists and, without regard for the customers, began to curse loudly. “Liu Cui Rong, you shameless wretch, get out here! If I don’t break your legs today, I’m not surnamed Yun!”
All the customers: “. . .”
What was going on so early in the morning?
Liu Cui Rong peeked outside by lifting the curtain of the inner room.
Seeing that Yun Er Man was still so tall and handsome, and his build was strong, Liu Cui Rong felt as if grass was growing in her heart, itching and making her feel incredibly fond of him.
She had just dressed up carefully, waiting for Yun Er Man to come find her.
If he said a few nice words and she obediently admitted her mistake, Er Man would surely change his mind and take her back.
She had been eating and drinking well at the steamed bun shop during this time, which had made her plump and fair, looking quite prosperous.
Er Man had said before that he liked plump and fair women, so Liu Cui Rong was trying her best to become the kind of woman Yun Er Man liked.
Lu Shi heard the commotion and ran out, quickly pulling Yun Er Man outside. “Er Man, Er Man, what’s wrong? Let’s talk things through properly!”
“Talk my foot!” Yun Er Man shoved her away, panting with anger. “Liu Cui Rong, if you don’t come out, do you believe I’ll set fire to your steamed bun shop?”
“Oh, you can’t set fire to it!” Lu Shi was in a panic. “This steamed bun shop is mine, it has nothing to do with Cui Rong. . .”
Alas, what had Cui Rong done to make Yun Er Man so angry?
Liu Cui Jin curled her lips. “Serves her right! Let her show off!~”
It would be good if she were beaten to death, so she wouldn’t be an eyesore here every day.
Liu Cui Rong giggled behind the curtain. “Burn it, it’s not my steamed bun shop anyway, hmph!~”
Er Man looked handsome even when he was angry, like a handsome man in a painting.
“Liu Cui Rong, you’re not coming out, fine, you wait!” Yun Er Man rushed into the kitchen, grabbed a rolling pin, and ran out.
Seeing this, the customers were so scared they threw down their chopsticks and fled, not even paying for their meals.
In a short moment, the steamed bun shop was emptied of diners.
Lu Shi’s expression almost cracked. She chased to the doorway and shouted loudly, “Oh, you thunderstruck people, you haven’t paid yet! Sigh, sigh. . .”
Her morning’s work had been in vain.
“Er Man, if you have something to say, say it. Put down the rolling pin!” Lu Shi pushed him. “I’ll go in and call Cui Rong out. If she’s done something wrong, you settle the score with her, but don’t implicate my steamed bun shop!”
“And what good are you?” Yun Er Man shot her a glare and threw the rolling pin to the ground with a clang. “Look at the good daughter you’ve raised. She even came to give us a funeral bell. Shan Shan and I just got married yesterday, and she came to cause trouble for us. What is she? Huh?”
Lu Shi was completely bewildered and had no idea what Yun Er Man was talking about.
“Funeral bell? What funeral bell?” Lu Shi asked.
Yun Er Man didn’t bother talking to her and pushed Lu Shi aside. “I can’t talk to you. Move aside. . .”
He strode into the inner room. As soon as he lifted the curtain, Liu Cui Rong, like a piece of sticky plaster, hugged Yun Er Man’s waist and rubbed her face against his chest twice.
“Er Man, my Er Man, I’ve missed you so much!” Liu Cui Rong said dreamily.
Yun Er Man froze for a moment, then felt a wave of nausea. He grabbed Liu Cui Rong by the collar and, with a slight pull, yanked her away.
“You dead thing, get away from me!” Yun Er Man cursed.
Liu Cui Rong cried out ‘ah’ and fell to the ground, covering her face and sobbing. “Wuwu, Er Man, I’ve already apologized to you, what else do you want? You’re holding your new bride on your wedding night, why. . . why don’t you consider my feelings, wuwu!”
Yun Er Man: “. . .”
Shameless wretch. Consider her feelings? It would be better if she were dead and rotten.
“I’m asking you, did you send that bell?” Yun Er Man asked angrily.
Liu Cui Rong suddenly stopped crying, raised her head, and glared at Yun Er Man, shaking her head. “It was me, it was me! If you have the ability, kill me! Make yourself angry to death!~”
Yun Er Man: “. . .”