TTTQF Chapter 10

Superstition is Unacceptable

“This is the place. I bought the buns from them.”

Several people come over, and one of them points at Jiang Miao’s bun stall, looking slightly excited. He is holding a little girl in his arms, with a woman and two elderly people following behind him. They all look at Jiang Miao’s stall.

It is human nature to watch the excitement. After hearing his words, and the surrounding people perk up immediately, hoping to hear something unusual and speculate if this person has gotten sick from eating the buns and has come to confront the stall owner.

The other stall owners also watch with interest, keeping an eye on the situation while continuing their business.

However, the anticipated confrontation doesn’t happen. The man approaches, saying, “Young man, give me eight more buns—six tofu and two radish.”

Jiang Miao responds, stands up to scoop water from a bucket to wash his hands, then picks up the bamboo tongs and an oil paper bag. He packs the buns, two per bag, and hands them over.

The man takes the buns and pays twenty wen. He hands the two bags of tofu buns to the elderly couple, saying that the tofu buns are soft enough for them to eat. He then places a bag in his daughter’s hands, saying, “Sweetie, this is the delicious bun that Daddy told you about. Try it.”

The little girl blows on the bun and takes a delicate bite. As the savory flavor fills her mouth, her eyes light up.

“Daddy, it’s so delicious!”

“If you like it, eat more. Daddy will buy more after you finish.” The man says, handing the last bag to the woman and whispering, “I know you like radish.” The woman lowers her head and smiles gently upon hearing this, radiating happiness.

Jiang Miao envies this warmth of family. Even after they leave, he is still immersed in the harmonious atmosphere.

Although the people around are somewhat disappointed that the situation hasn’t developed as they expected, their curiosity is piqued. Are these buns really that delicious?

Since the buns aren’t expensive, they decide to try a couple. This way, Jiang Miao’s bun business finally picks up. Those who taste them often come back for more, thinking that these buns might as well replace a meal for the day.

After this wave of customers leaves, there are only a few of the buns Jiang Miao had prepared that morning left. He sits back down on the stool to both watch the stall and continue making buns. He has brought half a basin of pre-fried tofu filling in the morning, and he has just finished chopping and seasoning the radish filling, so he can start wrapping the buns. Da Niu, with his well-kneaded dough, skillfully cuts uniform portions. Jiang Miao presses and rolls out each piece with smooth, fluid movements, creating an elegant rhythm. The rolled-out dough pieces line up on the cutting board, while Da Niu sits on the other side, filling and pleating the buns. The two work like a seamless production line, and before long, the once-empty steamer is one again, filled with buns.

Jiang Miao adds firewood to the brazier and water to the pot, then places the freshly made batch in the steamer, covers it, and waits for the buns to cook. Meanwhile, Da Niu starts mixing more dough, knowing that the initial batch won’t be enough to sell for the entire day.

With nothing to do for the moment, Jiang Miao stands behind his stall, observing his surroundings. Suddenly, a few deep and resonant bell chimes echo from halfway up the mountain down to the foot. The sound seems to have a calming effect, and for a while, all the other noisy sounds become inaudible. After the bell chimes ring out, Jiang Miao sees people suddenly crowding towards the main road in the middle, but he has no idea what is happening up ahead.

Curiosity gets the better of him. Since the buns aren’t ready and the customers have all left, Jiang Miao decides to join the crowd and see what is happening. As he follows the flow of people and squeezes his way to the front, he realizes that the bell chimes are to signal the opening of the temple gates.

Jiang Miao initially thinks that everyone is pushing forward to be the first to climb the mountain, but the people only gather on either side of the road. Even though no one is blocking the way, not a single person steps onto the stairs, as if they are all waiting for someone.

Soon, the reason becomes clear. A series of ornate carriages approach, accompanied by armed guards on horseback, who vigilantly scan the area as they enter the restricted zone where no vehicles are supposed to park.

Mingling with the crowd, Jiang Miao overhears murmurs identifying the arrivals: “These are the ladies from the Prince An’s mansion,” “That is the heir from the Prince Cheng’s household,” and so on. These whispered comments serve as guides, introducing each notable carriage.

Puling Temple truly lives up to its reputation as a national temple. The first to alight from the carriages are people of high status. After getting off the carriages, they sit in light palanquins, protected by attendants, and are leisurely carried up the mountain.

Jiang Miao muses that if the emperor’s presence weren’t so laborious to arrange, he might have personally attended. What Jiang Miao doesn’t know is that though the emperor doesn’t come, countless rewards have already been sent to Puling Temple’s storerooms days earlier.

Realizing that continued observation might only foster resentment towards the wealthy, and recalling that the buns in the steamer are likely ready, Jiang Miao shrugs and decides to return to his stall.

“Look, that’s the Duke of Zhongguo’s carriage!” someone in the crowd exclaims.

Jiang Miao abruptly turns his head. Just a few days ago, he had heard plenty of gossip about the Duke of Zhongguo’s mansion, and now is the perfect time to satisfy his curiosity. He wants to see what the rumored most beautiful woman in Liangjing looks like and also whether the young master Pei, described by the gentleman earlier as “One person beautiful, the whole family beautiful”, lives up to his reputation.

He tiptoes forward and sees several carriages with identical patterns approaching. In the foremost carriage, a hand, quite attractive, extends out and lifts the curtain at the front of the carriage. Jiang Miao holds his breath, nervously waiting for the occupant of the carriage to descend. He has a premonition that this person must be none other than the eldest son of Liangjing’s Fourth Young Master Pei, as the rumors suggest!

Jiang Miao leans forward on tiptoes, continuously trying to get a clear view of the person about to alight from the carriage. However, he is suddenly pushed, causing him to lose his balance and stagger forward, almost crashing into the person in front of him. The person ahead turns back irritably and scolds him. Jiang Miao quickly apologizes and turns around to find the one who pushed him. However, with so many people around, he can’t locate the culprit. Feeling frustrated, he turns back around and resumes tiptoeing to look ahead.

However, he has already missed the scene of the person getting off the carriage just now, so naturally, he doesn’t get to see the true face of that Master Pei. Jiang Miao’s gaze roams around the steps, but with so many people, he doesn’t even know what clothes Master Pei is wearing, let alone where to search.

He sighs and turns his gaze back to the carriage. If he can’t see the most beautiful man, he hopes at least to catch a glimpse of the elegance of Liangjing’s most beautiful woman. But his hopes are dashed once again. Each lady, wearing veils on their heads, descends from the carriages with the assistance of maidservants. There is a graceful charm to their movements, but that is as far as it goes. After all, he can’t even make out their facial features.

Losing interest in further arrivals, Jiang Miao squeezes out of the crowd and returns to his stall. Da Niu, noticing his return, asks curiously, “Brother Jiang, why did you stop watching? You’ve got me here at the bun stand!”

Jiang Miao waves his hand dismissively, “Forget it, I didn’t see anything. There were just too many people.”

Da Niu smiles and says, “There are always a lot of people these days, we’re used to it. Jiang, have you never been here before?” He thinks that with events like the Buddhist assembly at Puling Temple, not only people from Liangjing, but also those from several surrounding cities, should have seen it.

Jiang Miao is rendered speechless by his question. He himself has never seen it, but he truly doesn’t know if the original owner had seen it or not. The issue of lacking memories has always troubled him. He is truly afraid that one day, the original owner’s family might appear before him, and he wouldn’t recognize them.

What if they discover any clues and mistake him for a wandering soul or ghost possessing someone else’s body, and then burn him?

No, in a way, he might indeed be a wandering soul or ghost occupying someone else’s body! Even though the origin of this “ghost” is from a different time and space.

Thinking about this, Jiang Miao looks at Puling Temple in front of him, and inexplicably feels a sense of dread. It is as if as soon as he enters the temple, the eminent monks inside will discover him and arrest him as a monster.

“Brother Jiang, what’s wrong with you?” Da Niu feels a bit guilty. He thinks he might have inadvertently mentioned something that upset Jiang Miao, causing his delayed reaction.

Jiang Miao snaps out of his thoughts and says, “It’s nothing,” then quickly shakes his head, dismissing those strange thoughts. He is a young person of the new era, growing up under the banner of the red flag. How could he believe in such feudal superstitions? It’s not right, not right at all!

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The author has something to say:

Update! The Gong is not based on rumors anymore; his hands have already appeared!

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