Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Height of Several Floors

“Business is still slow…”

At the snowy intersection, Ning Yi spoke with a smile as he ate the pancake in his hand. Beside him, Nie Yunzhu glanced at the unsold pancakes left on the cart, pursed her lips slightly, and then clapped her hands with a helpless sigh. “On a snowy day like this, hardly anyone comes out to buy.”

“I told you before, didn’t I? You should have waited until spring to consider this. Now you see the downside.”

“It took me so long to make up my mind and decide. Of course, once I did, I wanted to get started right away. If I waited several months, who knows if I’d become lazy, or what I might end up thinking by then.”

“Oh, I think you just wanted to experience what it’s like to set up a street stall…”

Though Ning Yi hadn’t visited Nie Yunzhu’s stall since she started, he still insisted on his daily exercise regardless of the snow. Every morning, they would chat for a while on the steps in front of the small building, and by now, their conversations had become casual and comfortable. Ning Yi was well aware of the stall’s poor business—earlier, he might have offered words of comfort, but now, after some time, he couldn’t help but tease her a little.

As he said, Nie Yunzhu wasn’t running this stall out of desperation—though perhaps that played a small part—but mostly, it was simply her attempt to adapt herself to a more ordinary way of life. Her family wasn’t truly impoverished, not yet at least, and for now, she found some joy in it.

“Yesterday, I saw a few people fall over across the street, almost came to blows—they said they were from an escort agency… And a few days ago, a shop sign fell and nearly hit someone… Walnut usually helps me here, but just now Erniu came by, so I sent them off to buy rice and flour. I made up some errands to send them all the way to the east market, so they’d have more time alone together…”

As Ning Yi ate his pancake, Nie Yunzhu chattered on about the little incidents she’d observed over the past few days. He joined in the conversation, and after a while, still no customers appeared. Ning Yi brushed the snow off his clothes with a laugh. “Let’s pack up for today. You only sell a few in the morning anyway—no need to keep waiting out here.”

He picked up a small stool and tossed it onto the cart. Nie Yunzhu waved her hand. “Not yet—maybe I’ll sell a few more. Besides, I can’t push this cart by myself in this snow. Erniu comes to help every morning and evening.”

“I can push it.”

“Master Ning, you really don’t care about appearance, do you? What kind of refined scholar does this sort of thing?”

“What’s appearance got to do with it?” Ning Yi laughed. “Besides, the task I asked you to help with is almost done—let’s go see how it turned out. If it works out well, maybe your stall will be saved.”

“It’s only a few salted duck eggs, and you didn’t even use enough salt…” Nie Yunzhu pouted and smiled, but since Ning Yi brought it up, she didn’t argue further. She went over to ask an old lady selling pastries nearby to watch her things for a moment, then came back to help Ning Yi pack up. After a while, she spoke again, sounding both wise and a little proud.

“Honestly, I’m not really familiar with these things, nor is Walnut. It’ll take quite some time to figure out how to sell well and make money. So I figured, if I start in winter and make just a few every day, I’ll use up less flour and rice. By spring, maybe I’ll be turning a profit. But if I waited until spring to start, I’d waste more ingredients, and I might not get the hang of it until summer. So the sooner I start, the better.”

“You’re pretty clever,” Ning Yi chuckled. “But I think you’re just anxious to marry Walnut off, aren’t you?”

“That’s part of it,” she admitted with a small laugh as they pushed the cart homeward through the snow. “In the old days, it was just the two of us, sisters depending on each other. But that can’t last forever. Now that she’s found happiness, I’m glad for her. When she and Erniu first started seeing each other, she tried to keep it from me. It wasn’t until Erniu finally worked up the courage to propose that I found out. She worried I couldn’t look after myself, so she wouldn’t agree to marry. But since I treat her as my sister, I couldn’t let her be held back for my sake.”

“Hehe, perhaps one day you’ll both end up marrying Erniu together…”

Nie Yunzhu didn’t shy away from such jokes. She pressed her lips together in a smile, appearing to consider it seriously before shaking her head. “I don’t think so. Erniu is honest and good—a fine man—but we don’t really talk much. If I married him, we might get along politely for a few years, but after that, I’d probably end up getting scolded or hit. It would only make things harder for Walnut.”

“Too much difference,” Ning Yi nodded.

They walked on, passing through the bustle of the marketplace where steam rose into the air, past courtyards and gates rimmed with snow, along the Qinhuai River where silver trees glittered with frost and pleasure boats were moored, icicles hanging in rows like a dragon palace of ice. The crowds thinned, and their conversation drifted along, relaxed and meandering, like a young couple who, after closing up their breakfast stall, were heading home—the husband a scholarly sort in a fine robe, helping out in the snow, the wife diligent and thrifty, running the stall to support the household while hoping her husband might one day pass the imperial exams and bring honor to the family.

As they made their way down a road, a carriage came rushing up behind them, the driver snapping his whip. “Hyah! Hyah! Out of the way—out of the way!” Ning Yi steered the cart and Nie Yunzhu to the roadside, and as the carriage passed, the driver shot him a fierce glare. Ning Yi exhaled and called after him, “Well, ex~cuse~me~!” Nie Yunzhu ducked her head, a quiet laugh escaping her lips.

Humming a mess of tuneless melodies, Ning Yi pushed the cart onward. Nie Yunzhu watched his back for a while, then hurried to catch up, pushing from the other side.

“I often hear you humming these tunes, Master Ning. I wonder what sort of songs they are?”

“Just nonsense—like the folk songs you hear in the mountains. Ballads, I suppose…”

Nie Yunzhu laughed. “Folk ballads, you say? I used to learn a few of those… ‘Hey, why hasn’t my brother come home…’” She sang a line, voice soft and clear as water, melodious and pure. But as the street wasn’t the place for singing, she only sang quietly, her cheeks flushing before she covered her mouth with a laugh.

Ning Yi nodded, then glanced at her. “I heard you’re quite skilled at singing and playing instruments, is that right?”

In the past, though Nie Yunzhu had claimed to make her living by entertaining with her looks, she’d never seemed entirely comfortable discussing such things. Ning Yi had never visited any brothels or pleasure houses, and though he suspected she was a famous courtesan, he never knew just how famous. By now, it hardly mattered, so he finally asked the question. Nie Yunzhu nodded. “Yes, I actually put a lot of effort into it.”

“So, you’re really good? An expert?”

She smiled, amused by his bluntness, then put on a mock-serious face and nodded. “Yes, I’m an expert!”

“Oh? Just how much of an expert?”

Her serious expression broke into laughter. “Several stories high, at least!” Recalling Ning Yi’s earlier jokes, she added, “But really, what are you getting at?”

Just then, as they joked, the cart reached the street in front of Old Qin’s house. To their surprise, Kang Xian was arriving as well, his sedan chair just pulling up. Old Qin had come out, and the two elders looked over, eyebrows raised in surprise before breaking into smiles and exchanging words. Ning Yi waved a greeting. Kang Xian called out, “Liheng, what’s this? Need a hand?” His attendants were nearby and ready to help if needed.

Ning Yi stopped the cart a few yards away and shook his head. “No trouble.” Then he gestured to the woman beside him. “Nie Yunzhu… Old Qin, Elder Kang… We play chess together sometimes.” Introducing her thus, Nie Yunzhu offered a respectful bow and exchanged brief greetings. Ning Yi asked, “Will you be staying for a while, Elder Kang?”

Kang Xian nodded. “I brought a few treasures with me and will be here all afternoon. If you’re free, you and Miss Nie can come by later to enjoy some paintings and calligraphy.”

Ning Yi laughed. “Perfect. I happen to have something good to show as well. We can study them together.”

“Excellent.”

With the pleasantries exchanged, Ning Yi took his leave and pushed the cart onward. After they turned the corner, Nie Yunzhu’s smile faded. “You asked about music just now…”

“Oh, I was just thinking—if I have some songs to sing, maybe you could help compose the tunes for them?”

Nie Yunzhu nodded, a confident smile on her lips. “That shouldn’t be any problem. When it comes to setting poetry or ballads to music, or even those folk tunes you just mentioned, if I can’t manage it, I doubt anyone in Jiangning City could.”

“Wow, so you really are several stories high…” Ning Yi now had a sense of her skill, and glanced at her sidelong, feigning admiration.

“Yes, at least four or five stories. Fall from that high and you’d die,” she joked.

“Then I’m reassured,” Ning Yi said, thinking for a moment before adding, “But the lyrics might be a little odd—just something for a few friends to sing in private, nothing that would suit formal occasions. Just be prepared.”

Nie Yunzhu nodded. “Alright.”

Soon, the riverside house came into view.