Chapter 8: Shumai, Shumai

Huo Xiangli slumped onto the bed and could not help swallowing.

A grown man over eight chi tall, his phoenix eyes slightly widened, his gaze darting uncontrollably, his ears like boiled red prawns—even his cheeks seemed flushed from the heat of his ears.

Seeing him look at her as if she were a flood or a savage beast, Xu Ning could not help laughing inwardly. He was simply… too cute.

She could not resist gently stroking his head and smoothing the stray hairs on his forehead, then lifted her chin at him and said gently, “Put your clothes away properly.”

She turned around. Her expression could not be seen, but her voice was somewhat cold. “If I see your things thrown carelessly around the room again, then you won’t be getting them back.”

As her words fell, she walked into the bathing area partitioned off by a cloth curtain and began to wash up.

Huo Xiangli was still dazed, not understanding what she meant—until the palm he had propped on the bed touched his inner garment.

Only then did he understand Xu Ning’s meaning. He sat silently by the bed for a long while.

In the past, he had never needed to worry about such things. When he lived at the prince’s mansion, there were people to tidy up for him. When he went out to investigate cases, his subordinates would organize things for him. Even if he threw his clothes around the room, no one would say anything.

But now, living under someone else’s roof, he could no longer have his former freedom and spontaneity, at least for the time being.

Even if this marriage had been forced upon him, he could not deny that he had indeed bowed to Heaven and Earth with her and become husband and wife. Perhaps before long he would even have to perform the rites of union with her.

Only at this moment did Huo Xiangli finally have the concrete sense that he was married. He would share a room with his female bandit wife, sleep in the same bed with her, and endure everything about his wife.

For the first time in his life, he missed his elder brother so much. Even if he wanted to leave, he had to wait until the female bandit agreed to let him go—otherwise his life would be forfeit.

While he was pondering, Xu Ning had already come out of the bathing area, wearing only a light inner garment.

The graceful curves came into his view, and he sprang to his feet, turning his head to one side and saying quietly, “I—I’ll go wash up first.”

With that, he brushed past Xu Ning without looking back, as if something unclean were chasing him from behind.

When he came out of the bathing area, he had an extra layer wrapped around him. Seeing this, Xu Ning rolled her eyes and said speechlessly: “Husband, aren’t you hot?”

June was the hottest time in Lingnan. Even in a single thin inner garment she felt stifled—yet he had worn so many layers. Even if he wanted to guard against her, there was no need to go this far.

Seeing him turn on his side and lie down on his own, Xu Ning paid him no more attention. Kind words could not save a ghost who insisted on dying—since he had decided to do this, let him.

Xu Ning fell asleep not long after lying down, and slept soundly almost the whole night.

But Huo Xiangli, lying beside her, was not so comfortable. Three layers of clothing had stewed him into a sweat; his whole body was like a steaming basket.

Sometime in the latter half of the night, Xu Ning seemed to feel the heat radiating from him. She frowned and unconsciously gave him a slap.

It instantly scattered the sleepiness he had barely gathered. He stared dry-eyed, his face full of anger, at Xu Ning, who was sleeping sweetly.

As he watched, his gaze unconsciously drifted to her full lips, and he suddenly remembered the softness he had felt when he kissed her lips yesterday.

An inexplicable restlessness suddenly rose in his body, and his breathing gradually grew rapid. He suspected his aphrodisiac was about to act up.

He had no choice but to strip down to only his inner garment, turn his back to Xu Ning, and close his eyes. He thought about all sorts of random things to distract himself, and only began to fall asleep around the fifth watch.

The next day, when Xu Ning got up, she saw the dark circles under his eyes—he clearly looked like he had just fallen asleep not long ago. She did not disturb him. She got out of bed, tidied herself up, and went to the kitchen.

Xu Shu had gotten up a little later today. By the time she arrived, Xu Ning had already put the glutinous rice chicken in the steamer.

“Good morning, Shu’er.”

“Good morning, Elder Sister.” Xu Shu said with a smile.

But today she was clearly somewhat distracted, and nearly poured salt into the sweet potato syrup. Fortunately, Xu Ning reminded her in time.

Only then did Xu Shu focus.

After Xu Ning let out a breath of relief, she finally began making shumai.

She poured oil into the wok, first stir-fried the diced shiitake mushrooms a few times, then added the corn kernels and diced carrots and mixed them together. At this point, the unique aroma released by the three ingredients filled the air.

Because she planned to make half vegetarian and half meat filling, she first set half the vegetables aside, then poured in the diced meat and sauce. After cooking for a while, she added the pre-steamed glutinous rice. Once stir-fried evenly, the filling was ready. The vegetarian filling followed the same steps, just without the meat.

Finally, she wrapped the filling in thin wrappers and pinched them into pretty shapes, then steamed them.

Once everything was ready, Xu Ning prepared to set out. Today Feng Xiwen stayed home, while Li Xiufang and Huo Xiangli went to town with Xu Ning.

——

After the things were set up, customers came to the stall one after another. Xu Ning called Huo Xiangli over to pack the glutinous rice chicken.

It was his first time doing such a thing. His distinctively knuckled hands picked up the paper bag and examined it closely—it was quite novel. Among the five little figures, he recognized his sinister, crafty wife at a glance. She was actually… quite cute.

“What are you thinking about, husband?” Xu Ning interrupted his thoughts.

He snapped back to himself, as if he had done something wrong, and stammered, “N-nothing.”

Xu Ning nodded and reached out to pinch his fingertips. “Pay attention. A customer’s here.”

“Oh, all right.” Huo Xiangli awkwardly withdrew his fingertips, his face hot, not daring to look directly into Xu Ning’s clear, gentle eyes.

“Shopkeeper, give me two of each. Quickly now.”

Xu Ning looked at the customer and smiled. “All right, young sir. One moment.”

The newcomer was none other than Laifu. After returning yesterday, he had kept thinking about this shop’s food. Plus, with the young master’s instructions, he had gotten up early and come to the market. From afar he smelled that special fragrance he had never encountered before, and standing in front of the stall, he could not tear his eyes away.

The round, plump shumai were brightly colored. The colors of the filling showed through the thin white wrappers—some yellow corn kernels, orange diced carrots, and shiitake mushrooms dotted the tops of the shumai. Just looking at them made one’s mouth water.

The sweet potato syrup and glutinous rice chicken were no less impressive. The variety of foods left him dazzled. He simply ordered two of each—one for him and one for the young master.

Xu Ning quickly prepared two portions of sweet potato syrup, packing them in boxes she had specially commissioned from a woodworking shop.

Li Xiufang and Huo Xiangli quickly finished packing the rest.

“Young sir, that’ll be forty-six wen in total. Here you are!”

Xu Ning handed the things to Laifu. He quickly paid and, before he had gone more than a few steps, took out a shumai and began eating.

One bite, and the thin yet chewy wrapper gave way to soft, sticky glutinous rice. As he savored it, the sweetness of the corn, the umami of the shiitake mushrooms, and the savory-but-not-greasy diced meat burst forth together in his mouth—the texture was incredibly rich!

He ate bite after bite, finishing both shumai in no time. He smacked his lips—he had not had enough! How were they gone already? Tomorrow he would definitely buy two more.

He would save the other two foods to savor slowly after delivering them to the young master.

When he reached the Jia Character Class at the academy, he saw his young master already reading. He hurried over and gave the food to Dai Bo’an.

“Just leave it there.” Dai Bo’an nodded, sitting immovable in his seat, not shifting his eyes as he continued to review his books.

“Hey, Brother Bo’an, you like the food from this breakfast shop too?”

Tang Shanbai happened to pass by his seat and sharply spotted the familiar packaging. He spoke up at once.

Dai Bo’an looked up at the words, startled. In the past he and Tang Shanbai had not had much interaction, so when he came over to chat, he did not know how to react for a moment.

Fortunately, he quickly adjusted. A faint smile appeared on his warm, jade-like face, and he said politely, “I bought a portion when I passed the stall yesterday. The taste is indeed good.”

Tang Shanbai had been hesitant at first, not knowing how to bring it up, but the hunger in his belly kept reminding him it was time to eat breakfast.

Tang Shanbai scratched his head sheepishly. “I got up a bit late today and didn’t have time to buy breakfast. I wonder if Brother Bo’an could spare me one.” He pointed at the shumai on the table.

He suddenly remembered something and hastily added, “Don’t worry, I won’t eat for free. I’ll pay you whatever the price is.”

Hearing this, Dai Bo’an did not hesitate much. He picked up one of the shumai and said with a smile, “It’s fine. Go ahead and eat. No need to pay.”

Though his father did not value him highly, he still had no lack of the dignity due him. His monthly allowance was quite generous, and he did not take such a small sum to heart.

Tang Shanbai took the shumai. “How can that be? Tomorrow I’ll bring you breakfast.” With that, giving him no chance to refuse, he turned and walked back to his seat.

Dai Bo’an was startled, but after thinking it over did not decline again. He had intended to continue reading, but seeing the good-looking shumai, he suddenly felt his stomach was empty.

So he picked up the shumai and began eating. Savouring it carefully, he found this food also had its own distinctive flavor, on par with the glutinous rice chicken and sweet potato syrup he had eaten yesterday.

By now quite a few people had arrived at the Jia Character Class. They had just woken up and were still yawning, when a rich, irresistible fragrance suddenly wafted through the air. Everyone perked up their noses and began searching for the source.

“Brother Shanbai, where did you buy this food?”

The speaker was a round-faced, slightly plump young man. His eyes were fixed unblinkingly on Tang Shanbai’s food, and he unconsciously licked the corner of his mouth.

After he asked, quite a few people pricked up their ears, silently thinking they would buy a portion tomorrow too. This food smelled so good it made their mouths water uncontrollably.

“I bought it at the market on East Street. The vendors are a young lady and a married woman. Every day I go there are quite a few people at the stall—if you go, you should spot it at a glance,” Tang Shanbai answered vaguely while eating his shumai.

The little fatty nodded thoughtfully, thinking he would go feast tomorrow too.

——

The family, having just sold out their breakfast, had no idea that tomorrow a large wave of academy students would descend on their stall. After packing up their things, they planned to go first to Doctor Chen’s house in Xinghua Lane, and then look at houses together.

East Street was some distance from Xinghua Lane. The group walked about two quarters of an hour, asking directions along the way before they found the place.

Xu Ning raised her hand and knocked on the door. “Is anyone there?”

For a long time no one answered.

Xu Ning knocked again. Before she could speak, the door opened without warning.

A young, delicate face came into Xu Ning’s view.

“Young lady, is Doctor Chen at home?” Xu Ning asked with a smile.

At Xu Ning’s words, the person burst into laughter. The laughter did not diminish her beauty at all—instead it made her hibiscus-like face even more alluring.

She answered brightly: “I am Doctor Chen of Xinghua Lane!”

Author’s Note: