Volume 6: Dream Record Chapter 404: One Step, One Sound and One Step, One Thought
"I'll go inside and sit for a while!"
After standing outside the house and watching the Persian dance for a long time, and talking with Song Yinzhang and others for a long time, Zhao Pan'er felt a little tired, so she told them that she wanted to go inside and sit for a while. Although the Persian dance was new, it was not as good as listening to Zhao Pan'er's vivid description of how she used her superb Cuju skills to subdue the hooligans in Tokyo. Therefore, Song Yinzhang and others followed her into the house. After Zhao Pan'er sat down at the table in the living room, Song Yinzhang and others also sat down around her. Song Yinzhang asked curiously:
"Sister, what does Chi Yanei do? Is he really a Yanei?"
"I don't know either, but seeing that he is dressed in luxurious clothes and surrounded by a bunch of little bastards trying to please him, it should be close to true!"
Zhao Pan'er poured herself a cup of tea and drank it. At this point, she glanced at the sky outside the window. It was almost noon, but there was still no sign of Yuan Xudong. She suddenly felt unhappy and couldn't help but curse in a low voice:
"Bad guy, liar, he hasn't come yet, could he have left us and ran away secretly?"
"How is that possible?"
Seeing Zhao Pan'er sitting there, complaining in a low voice, half angry and half happy, about Yuan Xudong not coming over yet, Sun Sanniang smiled and said:
"Pan'er, Master Xiao likes you so much. You, Yinzhang, and Yinping are all beautiful girls. How could he bear to leave you and run away secretly? I think he must have been delayed by something and will be here soon!"
After Sun Sanniang finished speaking, Song Yinzhang immediately nodded and agreed:
"That's right, Sister Sanniang is right. Fanlang must have been delayed by something. He will be here soon!"
"Yes, Miss, you are right. The young master must have been delayed on the way. He will be here soon!"
After Song Yinzhang finished speaking, Yinping also nodded in agreement. After that, she looked at Zhao Paner and smiled:
"Sister Pan'er, before coming to Tokyo, the young master said that he would give our young lady a villa in Tokyo, and also give her and Yinping a piece of white jade each. Could it be that the young master was delayed while buying these things?"
When Sun Sanniang heard Yinping's maid say that Yuan Xudong was going to give Yinzhang a villa in Tokyo, and would also give Yinzhang and Yinping each a piece of the finest white jade, she couldn't help but marvel at Yuan Xudong's generosity. On the one hand, Zhao Pan'er was happy for her sister and congratulated her, but on the other hand, she suddenly became a little unhappy because Yuan Xudong had not said what gift he would give her. Could it be that Yuan Xudong liked Yinzhang more?
…
At noon, Yuan Xudong had not yet arrived at the Sanyuan Inn. Zhao Pan'er and the others were already starving. Just as they were about to go downstairs to eat, a sound of footsteps suddenly came from outside the house. Zhao Pan'er and the others thought that Yuan Xudong had finally arrived. Sun Sanniang was closest to the door, so she quickly opened the door and said with a smile:
"Mr. Xiao, why did you wait until now... Oh, why are there so many people here?"
Seeing Yuan Xudong standing outside the door with a group of servants , who were holding food boxes of various sizes, Sun Sanniang was startled. Yuan Xudong smiled and said:
"Sanniang!"
"Mr. Xiao, please come in quickly. Pan'er is waiting anxiously and thought you had sneaked away!"
"Okay!"
After entering the room, Yuan Xudong asked the servants to put the food boxes in their hands on the table in the living room, and then asked them to leave.
"Fan Lang!"
"Young Master!"
Song Yinzhang and Yinping girl bowed slightly towards Yuan Xudong and greeted him.
"Yin Zhang, Yin Ping!"
Looking at Song Yinzhang and Yinping girl, Yuan Xudong responded, then he looked at Zhao Paner with a cold face and smiled:
"Pan'er!"
“Hmph~~”
Hearing Yuan Xudong greeting her, Zhao Paner just snorted coldly and didn't want to pay attention to him. Seeing Zhao Paner like this, Yuan Xudong hurriedly pulled her over and said in a flattering way:
"Pan'er, I specially ordered these dishes for you from Yuezhoulou. They make the best Jiangnan-style dishes in Tokyo. You can try them later. If you like them, I'll order more for you!"
"Thank you, Master Xiao, for arranging these!"
Feeling angry, Zhao Pan'er deliberately didn't look good to Yuan Xudong. Seeing Zhao Pan'er throwing a tantrum, Sun Sanniang was worried that she really annoyed Yuan Xudong, so she quickly interrupted:
"Master Xiao, there are so many delicious dishes. How can we finish them all?"
As she spoke, Sun Sanniang brought out the Jiangnan dishes from the food box one by one and placed them on the table. Looking at the table full of Jiangnan dishes, which were obviously carefully selected by Yuan Xudong, and looking at the foolish man who was trying to please her, Zhao Paner's heart couldn't help but soften, and a touch of emotion flashed in her eyes. She had originally intended not to look at Yuan Xudong well, but now, looking at the silly Yuan Xudong, Zhao Paner couldn't hold back the cold expression on her face, and suddenly burst out laughing:
"You are such a fool, such a fool, such a blockhead!"
After scolding Yuan Xudong, Zhao Pan'er walked briskly to the table and sat down. Yuan Xudong followed and sat down beside her. Song Yinzhang, Sun Sanniang, and Yinping girl also sat down. This was all thanks to Yuan Xudong. At his request, although Yinping girl was still Song Yinzhang's maid, her status was much equal. Whatever he and others ate and lived in, Yinping girl would have the same.
Perhaps she could feel that Yuan Xudong really liked and cared about her, and was not just a maid who could be bought and sold at will, so Yinping also liked Yuan Xudong very much. She did not dare to expect too much. As long as she could be Yuan Xudong's concubine, she would have a man to rely on in this life and would not have to worry about her future life. She also did not have to worry about being bought and sold by her master at will, or used as a gift, or used to entertain relatives and friends. She had seen with her own eyes that a little girl who had just come of age was used by her master to entertain a white-haired old man with whom she had a good relationship. Just like people sang, the eighteen-year-old bride and the eighty-year-old groom, the white hair and the red makeup, the mandarin duck quilt together at night, and the pear blossoms overshadowing the crabapple tree.
Everyone sat around the table, eating the Jiangnan-style food made by Tokyo's Yuezhoulou. Song Yinzhang picked up a piece of his favorite crispy yellow sole and said with a happy smile:
"Great! There's crispy yellow radish. This is my favorite dish. Thank you, Fan Lang!"
"You're welcome, eat more if you like!"
Looking at Song Yinzhang who was laughing happily, Yuan Xudong smiled and gave her a piece of crispy yellow sole. The little girl blushed with shame and buried her head to eat the food. She was too embarrassed to look at Zhao Paner and others. Sun Sanniang on the side said with a smile:
"Mr. Xiao, you really put a lot of thought into this and even specially ordered Jiangnan cuisine for us!"
Just as she finished speaking, she suddenly saw Song Yinzhang put down his chopsticks and frowned slightly. Sun Sanniang couldn't help but ask:
"What's wrong? It's not delicious?"
"This crispy yellow radish tastes weird and a bit disgusting!"
Song Yinzhang frowned slightly, and looked at Yuan Xudong cautiously and said:
"Fan Lang, I'm not being picky on purpose. This crispy yellow tangerine peel tastes really weird. I really can't eat it. You won't blame me, right?"
"Of course not!"
Looking at the somewhat delicate Song Yinzhang, Yuan Xudong couldn't help but stretched out his hand to pinch her cheek and said with a smile:
"I like picky young ladies. Yinzhang is so delicate, which is just what I want!"
“Ahem~~”
Sun Sanniang glanced at Yuan Xudong and Song Yinzhang who were busy flirting. She couldn't help coughing, her face slightly red, then she picked up a piece of crispy yellow and ate two bites and commented:
"Hmm, the taro is too old, and it's not crispy enough when fried. The Torreya powder on the outside has an astringent taste. Is this how Jiangnan cuisine is made in Tokyo?"
"No way?"
Zhao Pan'er was surprised to hear Sun Sanniang's comments. She originally thought that Song Yinzhang was just picky about his taste. She picked up a piece of crispy yellow and tasted it twice. Seeing that everyone was looking at her, she said calmly:
“It’s not bad, but it’s not delicious either!”
Seeing that Zhao Pan'er and others didn't like these Jiangnan flavors, Yuan Xudong couldn't help but said angrily:
"Just now, the shopkeeper of Yuezhoulou told me that their Yuezhoulou is one of the 72 official stores in Tokyo, not just any foot shop. But they set up this place to scare me. No, I'm going to settle the score with them!"
"Don't go. Forget it. Just don't go to their !"
Seeing that Yuan Xudong was going to Yuezhoulou to cause trouble, Zhao Paner quickly pulled him back, and Yuan Xudong sat down again. He was just pretending. In fact, the Jiangnan style of Yuezhoulou was not bad, or even good, but it was more suitable for the taste of Tokyo people, not necessarily for real Jiangnan people. After Yuan Xudong sat down, everyone started to eat again. Although it was not to their taste, it was still edible. While eating, Sun Sanniang belittled Yuezhoulou and said:
"What is this? It's not as delicious as mine!"
Hearing Sun Sanniang say this, Song Yinzhang's eyes lit up, he put down his chopsticks and smiled:
"Sister Sanniang, I have a good idea. You are so good at cooking Jiangnan cuisine. Why don't we just open a restaurant in Tokyo, just like Yuezhou Restaurant. Sister Sanniang will be the shopkeeper, and I will be the chef. How do you think it is?"
After listening to Song Yinzhang's words, she didn't hear any projects that she needed to be responsible for, so Yinping asked hurriedly:
"Miss, what am I responsible for?"
"you……"
Looking at the expectant girl Yinping, Song Yinzhang didn't know what to ask her to do for a moment. At this moment, Yuan Xudong laughed and said:
"We don't need waiters in our restaurant. We only need young and pretty ladies as waitresses to serve tea and water to customers. For those jobs that require door-to-door delivery, we will recruit some boatmen and cartmen, as well as fast-footed servants. Along the Imperial River and the main streets that extend in all directions, our restaurant will deliver food to customers' homes and charge an additional delivery fee. All these people will be managed by Yinping. Is this arrangement okay?"
“That’s a good idea!”
After listening to Yuan Xudong's words, Sun Sanniang's eyes lit up, as if she had seen the day when business would flourish and money would flow in. She put down her chopsticks and smiled:
"I'll be in charge of cooking, Pan'er will be the shopkeeper, Yinping will be in charge of people, and there's also Yinzhang. She plays the pipa so well. When she was in Qiantang, there were always a lot of people around to listen to her. This is a really good idea. We can definitely make a lot of money!"
Seeing that Sun Sanniang and the others were getting more and more excited, and they almost wanted to go to the street to buy a shop and open a restaurant, and then open the door to welcome customers to make money, Zhao Pan'er couldn't help but pour cold water on them and said:
"Forget it. We are unfamiliar with Tokyo and do not understand the market. We are completely in the dark. If we open a restaurant, we will open it. Do we really think it costs nothing? What if we lose money?"
"This is easy!"
Seeing Zhao Pan'er, who was obviously tempted but afraid of losing money, Yuan Xudong smiled and said:
"If you make money, you guys can keep it and spend it. If you lose money, I will make up for the loss until your restaurant turns a profit. How about that?"
"Not so good, your money is not money anymore?"
Looking at Yuan Xudong who wanted to help cover the bottom, Zhao Paner couldn't help but glared at him and said:
"Besides, if the restaurant really keeps losing money, you keep pouring money into it, it will be like a bottomless pit. I won't be able to pay back so much money in the future!"
Staring closely at Zhao Pan'er who had always been keeping a distance from him, Yuan Xudong said in a low voice:
"Did I ask you to pay me back?"
"It is only natural to pay back a debt. You may not want to, but I will pay it back!"
Being stared at closely by Yuan Xudong, Zhao Paner lowered her head, not daring to look at him, but still said stubbornly:
"Although I don't have much money, I can still open a teahouse in Tokyo. I 'll start with a small business. When I make money and get familiar with the business environment in Tokyo, it won't be too late to open a restaurant. As for your money, I won't take it. Who are you to me? Why should I ask you to spend money to support me? Am I your mistress who is kept in the inn?"
After listening to Zhao Pan'er's words until the end, Yuan Xudong finally understood what she meant and couldn't help laughing:
"Pan'er, are you blaming me for letting you live in this inn instead of taking you to live in my house?"
"No, that's not what I meant, don't talk nonsense!"
Zhao Pan'er blushed shyly, and unknowingly, she had spoken out all the complaints in her heart. Although Sanyuan Inn was one of the top inns in Tokyo, and the room they stayed in was the best room in the entire Sanyuan Inn, it occupied an entire floor. Standing in the corridor outside the house, leaning on the railing, the scenery and streets around the inn were in full view. Although the environment was good, after all, they were living in an inn instead of Yuan Xudong's house. There was still a big difference. What if Yuan Xudong and Ouyang Xu were the same, and just wanted to support her, Zhao Pan'er, temporarily instead of really wanting to marry her? Even a newly-minted Jinshi Ouyang Xu despised her for having been from a lowly family, let alone Yuan Xudong, the eldest son of Prime Minister Xiao's family?
"Yeah?"
Seeing the blushing Zhao Pan'er, Yuan Xudong naturally understood what she was thinking. She was once a slave, and although she was now freed from slavery and was considered a daughter of a good family, she had been a singing girl for several years and worked in the Jiaofangsi. This was a past that no one could erase. Zhao Pan'er could never get over this hurdle in her heart, and she looked down on herself. She wanted to be the wife of a Jinshi, and wearing a phoenix crown and a bridal robe might have had some psychological impact in this regard. Thinking of this, Yuan Xudong looked at the slightly stunned Song Yinzhang and Yinping Yatou and smiled:
"Yin Zhang, Yin Ping, go get some paper and pen!"
“Oh~~”
Hearing Yuan Xudong's voice, Song Yinzhang and Yinping girl hurried to the study to get the pen, ink, paper and inkstone, and put them on the table. Yinping girl poured water to grind the ink, and Yuan Xudong picked up the brush and spread out the white paper. After Yinping girl had ground the ink, Yuan Xudong picked up the brush and dipped it in ink. Directly in front of Zhao Pan'er and others, he wrote a marriage contract. The words were written in black on the white paper, and the force was so strong that it could be seen through the back of the paper. The two parties to the marriage contract were Yuan Xudong and Zhao Pan'er. All this was done in front of Zhao Pan'er, so she naturally knew what Yuan Xudong wanted to do. After Yuan Xudong wrote the engagement letter, he signed his name at the end, and then took out the white jade seal he brought with him and stamped it. He handed the half-finished engagement letter to Zhao Pan'er and smiled:
"Well, compared to the vows of love, a contract written in black and white is more sincere. Pan'er, are you willing to marry me?"
"Fan Lang, I..."
Being abandoned at Sanyuan Inn by Yuan Xudong and him not coming for a long time, Zhao Pan'er couldn't help feeling resentful, so she said a few words to complain about Yuan Xudong, but she didn't expect that Yuan Xudong actually wrote a marriage contract on the spot. As long as Zhao Pan'er wrote her name and stamped it, or put her fingerprint on it, she and Yuan Xudong would be officially engaged. Under normal circumstances, they could not break off the engagement easily. In other words, she and Yuan Xudong were both husband and wife in reality, and in name only. All that was left was the final wedding, and then she would be the daughter-in-law of the Xiao family!
Looking at Zhao Pan'er, whose eyes were slightly red and filled with tears, Yuan Xudong smiled and said:
"Why, you don't want to? Or do you want me to give you a betrothal gift first before you agree to marry me?"
"Hate~~"
Hearing Yuan Xudong teasing her, Zhao Paner said shyly:
"In this world, is there anyone like you who comes here to propose marriage without any preparation, and in an inn?"
"Who said I wasn't prepared?"
Seeing Zhao Pan'er looking at him with her beautiful eyes, Yuan Xudong took out a string of bells from his arms and stuffed them into Zhao Pan'er's pocket, saying with a smile:
"Pan'er, this is for you!"
"Bell?"
Zhao Pan'er looked at the golden bell tied with a red string in her hand and shook it gently. It jingled and she seemed to have thought of something. Her face flushed and she said angrily:
"Have you ever given a golden bell to any other young lady?"
"No, I only gave you this one!"
Yuan Xudong said seriously. As he spoke, he took the golden bell from Zhao Paner's hand, squatted down, tied it to the pink belt around her waist, and said with a smile:
"Pan'er, try taking two steps!"
“Hmm~~”
Zhao Pan'er nodded gently and walked obediently. As she moved her lotus steps lightly, the golden bell half hung in the air and swayed, ringing with every step. The sound was crisp and pleasant, and it was very pleasant to hear. Looking at the affectionate Yuan Xudong and Zhao Pan'er, Song Yinzhang was full of envy and murmured:
"Every step I take makes a sound, every step I take makes a thought. Sister, you are so lucky. Yin Zhang really envies you!"
"What's that sound with every step?"
Looking at Song Yinzhang who was full of envy, Sun Sanniang who was standing next to her said puzzledly:
"It's just a golden bell. What's there to be envious of?"
"Sister Sanniang, you don't understand!"
