Gu Yun rose to his feet.
The woman introduced herself as Jailer Feng’s wife. Everyone called her Madam Feng. Smiling warmly, she instructed servants to bring tea and pastries for him.
Not long afterwards, Jailer Feng emerged looking completely relaxed. After greeting Madam Feng, he hurried off to the yamen for duty. Every morning, the county office conducted roll call.
Lin Yue and Gu Yun bade Madam Feng farewell and headed for the worksite.
Lin Yue arrived late, but fortunately the old craftsman did not hold it against him.
As before, Gu Yun stayed obediently beneath the tree at the mouth of the alley, waiting for Lin Yue. By sunset, Lin Yue had finished work, and Gu Yun immediately went over to him.
The sun had been particularly harsh that day. Lin Yue was drenched through with sweat. The moment Gu Yun approached, he was driven back several steps by the strong smell.
Covering his nose, he recoiled.
Lin Yue glanced at him. “What do you want to eat? The matter with Jailer Feng can be resolved, so there’s no need to worry about money. Eat whatever you like.”
Gu Yun hesitated briefly. “My clothes…”
“We’ll redeem them before the weather turns cold. Until then, focus on recovering your health.” Lin Yue said calmly, “We can’t afford a physician, but we can still manage proper food and nourishment.”
Gu Yun stared at him in surprise. Lin Yue actually had his health in mind. This man was far too good.
For a rare moment, Gu Yun felt an impulse to tell him the truth. Yet almost immediately he crushed the thought. His instinct for survival would not permit even the slightest such urge.
After serious thought, Gu Yun considered what he wanted to eat. He remembered yesterday’s delicious mixed stew soup.
“Let’s eat…” The words mixed stew soup nearly left his mouth, but once his fingers touched the coins in his pocket, he struggled fiercely with himself before swallowing the words back down. “…nothing in particular.”
“Was the mixed stew soup tasty?” Lin Yue asked.
Without hesitation, Gu Yun answered, “Average.”
Lin Yue turned to look at him. “Understood.”
Understood what exactly?
Gu Yun shuffled along beside him. When he realised Lin Yue was walking towards a restaurant, he craned his neck to look at the menu prices inside and nearly jumped in shock.
Ignoring the sweat smell entirely now, he grabbed Lin Yue’s hand.
“Husband… are you sure you’re not mistaken about the place?” he asked tactfully.
“No mistake.”
Are you secretly some sort of disabled fool?
Unable to stop him, Gu Yun simply wrapped both arms around Lin Yue’s neck and hung off him bodily to drag him back. This tactic finally proved effective. Lin Yue stopped and looked at him helplessly. “Really not going in?”
“What would I even do in there?” Gu Yun ground out through clenched teeth.
“You said the mixed stew soup was only average. If you want something better than that, surely only restaurant food qualifies.”
Gu Yun nearly exploded. “One meal in a restaurant and we’ll have to sell ourselves into servitude to repay the debt! Do you think being a servant is easy? With appearances like ours, we’d probably be toyed with to death before we even realised what happened!”
As he spoke, he clung stubbornly to Lin Yue. If the man dared continue forward, he fully intended to bite him.
Yet Lin Yue remained utterly unmoved. “Was the mixed stew soup tasty?”
“Tasty!” Even Gu Yun was not stupid enough to miss the point by now.
“So, you want some?”
“Yes!”
A faint smile tugged at the corner of Lin Yue’s lips. Pinching Gu Yun’s chin, he turned his face gently from side to side. “What do you see?”
Gu Yun looked around blankly before answering seriously, “People. Lots of people. They’re all staring at us.”
Lin Yue looked directly into his eyes. “And you still want me taking you around like this while we eat?”
“……”
Gu Yun abruptly released him, leapt back onto the ground, and retreated several steps.
Lin Yue resumed walking. After a second’s delay, Gu Yun hurried after him once more.
One bowl of mixed stew soup. One bowl of plain noodles. Two sorghum flatbreads.
The mixed stew soup was for Gu Yun. The noodles and flatbreads belonged to Lin Yue.
Gu Yun originally wanted to share half the soup with him, but Lin Yue refused. Only then did Gu Yun discover that Lin Yue disliked the stew soup altogether, finding it rank with a fishy, gamey smell.
Gu Yun could not taste that at all.
To him, it was delicious, every mouthful rich with grease and flavour.
Since he had done nothing particularly strenuous that morning, one full bowl of stew, broth and meat included, filled him perfectly.
