Wang Cheng spoke of local specialties, and indeed, they were local specialties.
Items like dried abalone, dried sea cucumber, and dried squid, as well as Western gadgets such as telescopes, compasses, and red wine, and so on.
Not involving any money, Yang Ge was, of course, very happy to accept the gifts from Wang and Zhou Fu...
For the following half month, the Yuelai Inn often filled with the savory aroma of the sea, as everyone, including the "salted fish," feasted thanks to Yang Ge’s generosity.
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Time flies when you’re not paying attention, and soon the heavy snow season was upon them. With the Chinese New Year approaching, the "salted fish" at the inn began to bid farewell to Yang Ge in small groups, setting off to return home for the festival.
Only a few homeless "salted fish" remained, braving the wind and snow daily to meet up at the inn.
The inn finally quieted down...
Perhaps influenced by the lull, Zhao Cha, who normally was cheerful and lively, began to languish. Taking over Yang Ge’s spot, she would listlessly lay her head on the counter day after day, too despondent to care about the exciting gossip the "salted fish" discussed in the front hall.
One day, as Yang Ge walked into the front hall from the backyard with freshly baked dried squid in hand, he instantly noticed Zhao Cha laying her head on the counter staring blankly outside the door, her cowlick standing erect, motionless...
He couldn’t help but smirk, tip-toeing over, he tore off a piece of the dried squid and slowly fed it towards Zhao Cha’s mouth.
Her eyes still fixed on the door, Zhao Cha’s mouth honestly followed the enticing scent, "Nom," she bit into the squid and chewed, finally a spark of light reappearing in her bewildered gaze...
"What’s this?"
She turned her head to look at Yang Ge and forced a smile, "It’s really good."
Yang Ge, continuously tearing and eating the dried squid, asked dryly, "What’s the matter, homesick?"
Zhao Cha paused for two seconds, the light that had just appeared in her eyes dimming once again as she lay back on the counter and muttered insincerely, "I’m... I’m not!"
Yang Ge "tsked" and said, shaking his head, "What about your stingy, penny-pinching dad, not inviting me to his birthday is one thing, but how could he forget his own darling daughter?"
Zhao Cha "huh’d" and looked up in confusion, "Yeah, why didn’t he invite Second Brother to his birthday celebration?"
Yang Ge curled his lip, "What else? He’s probably afraid I’d go and end up wanting to hit him!"
Zhao Cha: ...
She lay down again, speaking listlessly, "I don’t miss him. Anyway, I never see him during his birthdays. I just miss my mother a bit. I’ve been out for half a year now... I wonder how she’s doing inside. Does her chest still hurt..."
Yang Ge "tsked" again, laughing, "Your mother is enjoying her life inside the palace; don’t make it sound like she’s serving a prison sentence, okay?"
Zhao Cha didn’t respond, just sighed unhappily.
Seeing her pitiable state, Yang Ge also felt upset and said, "If you want to go home, go. No one is stopping you... Tomorrow I’ll ask the guards from the Upper Right Guard to accompany you and send you back to the palace."
Zhao Cha abruptly looked up at him, "What about you if I go back?"
Yang Ge was perplexed, "What about me?"
Zhao Cha, "If I go back, won’t you be all alone for the New Year? Without anyone to talk to..."
Yang Ge: ...
He said without words, "I was just wasting my time talking to you... Just like that, pack your things, you’re heading home first thing tomorrow morning."
Having said that, he turned to leave.
Zhao Cha grabbed his sleeve and tugged at him, her eyes flickering as she said, "You wouldn’t be thinking of sending me away and getting rid of me, would you? Say it ain’t so?"
Yang Ge broke free from her grip and muttered lowly, "Damn brat, go if you want, come if you like!"
Although he was scolding her, Zhao Cha happily followed him, snatching the dried squid from his hand, "I knew Second Brother wouldn’t bear to part with me!"
Yang Ge, "I knew it, you just want my body, you lecher!"
Zhao Cha, "That’s still better than you. You don’t lust after my body, you eunuch!"
Yang Ge, "Yuck... where did you learn all this?"
Zhao Cha, "Look, he taught me!"
Yang Ge followed her glance and saw the rascal who was playing mahjong, who was frantically winking at Zhao Cha.
"So it’s you, you rascal!"
Yang Ge, fuming, snorted through his nostrils and rolled up his sleeves, striding with purpose, "If I don’t whoop you till your face blooms today, you won’t understand why flowers are so red!"
The rascal tossed his hand aside and scrambled under the table, "Spare me, Second Master! The Shopkeeper forced us to teach her, we are innocent..."
Yang Ge reached for his leg, pulling him from under the table, when suddenly his ears caught a keyword, "Forced?"
He sharply glanced up, a cold smile directed towards Xiao Baoqi and the others’ evasive looks.
The three of them met his gaze, terror striking them all at once as they leaped back a whole yard, "Spare us, Second Master! We didn’t say a word!"
"Slander, he’s slandering us, Second Master!"
"You have insightful discernment, don’t be deceived by this scoundrel!"
The rascal, poking his head out from under the table, shouted, "So it’s you guys! You ingrates! It was clearly you who started saying Second Master abstains from women because his martial practice harmed him... I even spoke up for Second Master, said he definitely has someone in his heart and wouldn’t spare a glance for mediocre beauty!"
Yang Ge’s face turned red, grinding his teeth, he squeezed out a sentence, "Good for you guys, deceiving me. I’ve treated you well, feeding you day after day, and you talk behind my back, stirring up trouble. If I don’t beat the crap out of you today, it’s because you are too clean-cut!"