Mrs. Mei's Survival Diary - Chapter 29

Chapter 29: Soul-Guiding Meeting

Rong Yinshuang went to the teahouse after breakfast. 

Manager Li, who was busy organising things in the teahouse, spotted Rong Yinshuang and exclaimed. “Boss, we had an amazing day yesterday! After you left, customers kept coming in for tea. We didn’t close until 3:30 PM.”

“Did you manage to give away all those fifty taels of pastries?” she asked with a smile.

Manager Li beamed with pride. He puffed out his chest and replied, “Absolutely! Every single one was given away. Not a single pastry was left behind.”

“…”

Rong Yinshuang was smiling, but inside, she felt a pang of regret. She nodded and walked over to the counter. 

Manager Li approached her and inquired, “Boss, are we still giving away gifts today?”

Rong Yinshuang took a deep breath and confirmed, “Yes, for three days! But today, when you go to buy dim sum, just get four flavours. The best and priciest one should be saved for those customers who specifically ask for dim sum. For the other three, pick the cheapest options with regular ingredients. The total should be 20 taels of silver, no more, alright?”

This strategy was inspired by Gu Yean’s tea theory she learned about yesterday. ‘If tea can be categorized, why not dim sum?’

Manager Li listened to Rong Yinshuang’s instructions and reflected on them. Suddenly he appeared to have gained a new insight. Slapping his forehead, he exclaimed to Rong Yinshuang. “Ah, the boss is a genius! Why didn’t I consider purchasing it this way?”

“…”

Rong Yinshuang smiled gently at Manager Li before allowing him to return to his duties while she positioned herself against the counter to draft.

As evening approached, the teahouse became lively. 

Uncle Bao looked through the crowd, noticed Rong Yinshuang at the counter, and waved at her. 

Seeing that Rong Yinshuang promptly asked Manager Li to manage the accounts and gather the payments, then rushed out to welcome Uncle Bao.

Uncle Bao had already done the task assigned by Rong Yinshuang. He pointed to a corner not far from the store where someone was standing with a bundle. 

Rong Yinshuang smiled and nodded at her. 

Yue Niang, looking a bit anxious, slowly approached her.

Rong Yinshuang asked Uncle Bao, “Did everything go smoothly?”

Uncle Bao glanced at Yue Niang, nodded, and replied. “I went straight to Zuixianlou and found the old procuress there. I told her I wanted to buy a wife who could do household work. That woman asked how much I was willing to pay. I held up one finger and said one or two taels of silver. But she got so mad she almost kicked me out! She said the cheapest girl in their place costs one or two taels of silver a night, and that I was a leper wanting to eat swan meat, trying to act  like a master without any money.”

Rong Yinshuang was listening intently when Yue Niang came over. Rong Yinshuang took her hand, smiled at her, and said to Uncle Bao, “Uncle Bao, please go on. What happened next?”

Uncle Bao bowed apologetically to Yue Niang and continued, “So, I threw a bit of a fit there for a while and raised the price up to fifteen taels. The old procuress still wasn’t having it, saying that for fifteen taels, you could only get a low-quality fire-stove woman. I went along with it and said that as long as she was a woman, it didn’t matter if she was of poor quality or not, as long as she was under thirty and could have kids, I’d take her back—not as a wife, but to work and have children. After saying that, I tossed the fifteen taels onto the table at Zui Xiang Lou. The old procuress wanted to laugh at me, so she dragged Miss Yue out.”

After Uncle Bao said that, he bowed to Yue Niang again, still too shy to look at her, and said, “I hope you can forgive me, Miss Yue. I didn’t mean to upset you. I just had to say this to help you out. Those who are familiar with the underworld’s tricks are the best at hiking up prices. If I had mentioned how important you are, or asked for you by name, maybe the old brothel owner wouldn’t have let you go and would have kept you to raise the price.”

Yue Niang was not an unreasonable person, and she could understand why Uncle Bao did that. “My benefactor, you saved me from the pit of fire. I am so grateful that how can I blame you for offending me? You are too kind.”

Uncle Bao waved his hand at her and said, “Hey, I’m not a benefactor. I was entrusted by someone. It was our lady who asked me to redeem you.”

After seeing Rong Yinshuang, Yue Niang understood everything in her heart. She was so grateful to Rong Yinshuang that she wanted to kneel down. 

Seeing this, Rong Yinshuang hurriedly helped her up and said, “Okay, okay, let’s not talk about this for now. Have you had dinner yet? Or you can have some snacks in the teahouse while I’ll let someone buy food for you.”

Rong Yinshuang led Uncle Bao and Yue Niang into the teahouse. 

Uncle Bao was not in a hurry to eat. He looked around a few times, and finally, his eyes fell on Manager Li who was busy keeping accounts and collecting money. He walked to the counter and stared at him for a while until Rong Yinshuang asked someone to arrange seats and served tea.

After sitting down, Uncle Bao said, “Madam, your manager is too honest. Not only is he slow in collecting money, but he is also very messy in keeping accounts.”

Rong Yinshuang was arranging chopsticks for them. When she heard Uncle Bao talking about this, she lowered her eyes and said casually, “I’ve also noticed this problem, but I don’t know how to do it myself. Uncle Bao…can you teach them for me?”

Uncle Bao picked up the chopsticks, waved his hand modestly, and replied, “Oh, I can’t. I’m not in charge. Even if I try to teach them something, they won’t listen.”

Rong Yinshuang took a seat and addressed Uncle Bao earnestly, “Uncle Bao, if you’re up for it, I can make you the deputy boss. If the teahouse profits, we can split it 50-50. What do you think?”

Uncle Bao’s eyes sparkled for a moment but then dimmed quickly. He chuckled and said, “Madam, you’re just teasing me. How could a boss agree to share the profits 50-50 with someone else?”

Rong Yinshuang noticed he was still interested, which made her happy, and she said, “I’m serious. Uncle Bao, if you join us, we’ll share the profits 50-50. This teahouse will be yours to run, and you’ll handle everything. I won’t interfere, how does that sound?”

Uncle Bao realised Rong Yinshuang wasn’t joking, and a look of uncertainty crossed his face. He held the chopsticks and thought for a moment before replying, “Well… Madam, let me consider it.”

Rong Yinshuang smiled and said, “Alright, take your time to think about it, Uncle Bao.”

After that, she noticed Yue Niang had set down her chopsticks after just two bites of dessert.  Yue Niang lowered her head as she avoided the gazes of those around her, feeling self-conscious because she had drawn the attention of nearby guests. She bit her lip and fidgeted nervously.

Seeing her like this, Rong Yinshuang took her hand and asked, “Yue Niang, is the food not to your taste?”

Yue Niang shook her head and said, “How can the snacks at Tianxin Pavilion not be to my liking? It’s just that my mood is too complicated today…” After saying this, Yue Niang pulled Rong Yinshuang with her backhand, and her eyes showed true feelings, and said to Rong Yinshuang. “Madam, I want to go to the backyard to take a look again, can I?”

Rong Yinshuang saw the woman’s urgency in her heart, so she nodded and said to Uncle Bao, “Uncle Bao, then you think about it carefully. I will take Yue Niang to the backyard to see her former residence first.”

Uncle Bao was thinking seriously, and perhaps he hadn’t even heard what Rong Yinshuang said just now, so he nodded decisively. Then he continued to immerse himself in thinking about the problem in his own world.

Rong Yinshuang took Yue Niang away from the crowd and walked out of the back door in the centre of the teahouse lobby. The outside was suddenly quiet as if it were a world away.

Opposite the back door was the main door to the backyard. It was not locked after Rong Yinshuang went in. She pushed the door open first, then stood in the yard and invited Yue Niang in.

Yue Niang entered the courtyard with tears in her eyes. As the familiar scene touched her, she covered her mouth to prevent herself from crying, but tears kept falling.

Rong Yinshuang closed the courtyard door, then picked up the lantern hanging behind the door, and lit it with a tinder.

Yue Niang cried all the way and came to the main room. When she saw the brick under the long table that was lifted up, she immediately knelt on the ground, crying out her dead husband’s name.

Rong Yinshuang couldn’t help but wipe her eyes when she realised the woman’s pain. When she was wiping her eyes, she caught a glimpse of the pale and terrifying ghost standing by the door.

The ghost floated into the main room and stood beside Rong Yinshuang. Under the background of the lantern, the face with blood holes looked even more shocking. Rong Yinshuang couldn’t bear the visual impact, so she turned her head and set her eyes on Yue Niang who was crying sadly.

A hollow voice sounded beside her. “Once she starts crying if no one comforts her, she can cry all day and all night without stopping.”

Rong Yinshuang suppressed her fear, turned her head and looked at him, and suddenly an idea popped up in her mind. She waved to the ghost and said, “You go to the yard and wait. I will use the soul-calling spell to let you meet each other. You can say goodbye.”

The ghost looked at Rong Yinshuang in shock but also understood that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He immediately listened to Rong Yinshuang’s words and teleported to the yard.

Rong Yinshuang came behind Yue Niang, pinched her fingers, and silently recited the soul-calling spell. A golden light appeared from her fingertips. She cast a spell on Yue Niang, and Yue Niang became quiet while crying. After a while, she fell to the ground and fell asleep. Following the guidance of the golden light, Yue Niang’s soul sat up from her lying body, and Rong Yinshuang sent her to the yard.

The couple never thought that they would meet again under such circumstances. They hugged each other without saying anything. They just looked at the wounds on each other’s faces without blinking and choked for a long time.

Rong Yinshuang sat on the threshold of the main hall, watching the scene of this special couple reuniting after a long separation.

Although she couldn’t hear what they were saying, she could see the excitement and joy. Rong Yinshuang couldn’t help but imagine in her mind the scene when she reunited with her husband. Would her husband hug her? What would her husband say to her?

All kinds of imaginations occupied Rong Yinshuang’s mind. Looking at Yue Niang and the others, she was extremely envious, but she couldn’t help but feel a little sad.

Her husband…may have crossed the Naihe Bridge, drank Mengpo Soup, walked through the Wangchuan River, and left all the memories of her on that piece of fiery red Manjusaka.

‘This heartless man, is it true that he has no attachment to this world?’

End of chapter 29

Have a nice day!