Chapter 131: Wanxiang's Letter

For several days running, business at Chicken Bites had been exceptionally brisk. Apart from their curiosity about the novel style of the establishment, the most important reason was that the food sold there was both simple and delicious. A hamburger with a portion of fries cost less than a tael of silver—a true bargain for such good food. What was more, customers could eat in the restaurant or take their meals away. Wrapped in oiled paper, the hamburgers could be carried through the streets and eaten on the go. Before long, strolling through Kyoto with a hamburger in hand had become the latest craze.

At the same time, the restaurant had prepared a number of toys especially for children and displayed them inside. Whenever an adult passed by with a child, the child would begin clamoring to go in. Soon enough, the little ones could be seen holding a pinwheel in one hand and a hamburger in the other, sitting inside the restaurant and eating with immense delight. Before long, children everywhere were tugging at their parents and crying, “Chicken Bites! Chicken Bites!” Even without any further advertising campaign, the restaurant’s fame had already spread far and wide. Among the city’s young people, it even became fashionable to greet one another with, “Have you had chicken today?”

This spectacular success sent shock waves through the merchant community. The frozen treats previously introduced by the imperial clans’ merchants immediately began losing customers. The merchants scrambled to study the methods behind hamburgers, fries, and fried chicken, but no matter how they experimented, they could not reproduce the flavor of Chicken Bites.

The key lay in the ketchup. Though it seemed simple enough to eat, making it was another matter entirely. Many merchants had already realized that it was made from tomatoes, yet none of them could achieve the same thick consistency as the ketchup served at Chicken Bites.

Thus, Gou Ye’s enterprise thoroughly won over the merchant community. Even Lu Yuanheng, though deeply unwilling to admit it, could only stare in impotent frustration at the sight before him. In order to expand Chicken Bites more quickly, the merchants opened three more branches in Kyoto one after another. They all bore the same name, and their interiors were decorated in exactly the same style.

At nearly the same time, expansion began in other regions as well. With the first Kyoto branch as their model, Chicken Bites restaurants gradually opened elsewhere, and just as in Kyoto, they caused an enormous sensation.

Since the venture was still new, its profits could not yet be assessed. But in terms of influence and publicity, it had already achieved the effect the merchants had envisioned. Lord Xiao was extremely pleased with Gou Ye and was now determined to keep him in the merchant association permanently.

As a gesture marking the beginning of their sincere cooperation, Lord Xiao returned the hundred thousand taels Gou Ye had paid as a deposit when he joined. Gou Ye did not accept it. Instead, he asked the Yongan Merchant Association to send one hundred thousand taels to Zheng’an County, to a young woman named Wanxiang.

“I never imagined you would be such a sensation in the county. Now that you’ve come to Kyoto, you’re exactly the same. As for the things you do, I’ve grown completely accustomed to being astonished. Even if you became the chief of the entire merchant association one day, I wouldn’t find it surprising in the least.”

Gu Shen sat with Gou Ye beside the river, watching the boats drift past as he spoke.

Gou Ye, following his usual habit, pulled up a blade of grass, rolled it into a thin stem, and held it between his lips, moving it from side to side as he replied, “Kyoto is where the finest scholars in the realm gather. It’s a place full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers. I still believe it’s better to keep a low profile, but unfortunately, my abilities won’t allow it.”

Having learned the habit from Gou Ye, Gu Shen curled his lips. “What do you call that? In your own words, aren’t you just showing off?”

The two of them burst into laughter. In the midst of it, Gu Shen reached inside his robe and handed Gou Ye a letter.

“Here. It’s from Wanxiang. I haven’t had a chance to be alone with you these past few days, and I was worried Yun-niang might see it and misunderstand, so I didn’t give it to you sooner.”

Gou Ye accepted the letter. The handwriting on it was delicate, and he could almost still catch the familiar fragrance lingering upon the paper. Slowly, he opened the envelope and unfolded the letter.

This time, unlike her previous letters, Wanxiang had written entirely in plain language. That saved Gou Ye the trouble of puzzling over classical phrases.

“Gou Ye,

“It has been so long since you left, yet you have not sent me even a word. I wonder how you are doing in Kyoto. Are you eating well? Have you grown accustomed to your lodgings?

“Kyoto is not like the county town. Its relationships are intricate and complicated, so you must be especially careful. I know that you are proud and ambitious, but do not insist on taking the lead in everything. It is enough to do what lies within your abilities. Nor should you constantly compare yourself with others. Keeping your feet on the ground is itself a kind of shortcut.

“Ever since you left, I have felt that something is missing from this county town. Every day, I look at the poems you wrote upon the walls and play the melodies you composed. Whenever I do, I miss you more and more.

“Since your departure, Zheng’an County seems to have lost all its liveliness. I no longer hear the strange happenings and amusing stories that once filled the town. I feel so lonely.

“Writing all this makes it sound as though I am sending you a love letter. But I cannot help it. I have no way to restrain my thoughts. In any case, I cannot see you, so I have written everything down in this letter.

“I no longer work at the pleasure house. I rented a place of my own and moved out. I have also had your shop turned into a rouge shop. Every day, when I go there, I seem to see your smiling face on the street, waving at me.

“I can no longer bear to live such a stagnant life. So I have made a decision. Once I have put everything here in order, I will go to Kyoto and live there. Who knows whether we can be together, but being able to see you often would be enough.

“Did that frighten you? Ha-ha. You must live well in Kyoto. When I arrive, if I find that you have lost weight or failed to take proper care of yourself, just wait and see how I punish you.

“Wanxiang.”

After reading the letter, Gou Ye smiled and carefully put it away. Then he let out a long breath.

Gu Shen said, “Wanxiang truly is devoted to you. Even after you left the county town, she still cannot stop thinking about you. I saw her several times after I returned. Every time, she asked about you. I could feel that she has genuinely fallen for you.”

Gou Ye gave a soft laugh. “How could I fail to notice? What young woman would empty her entire fortune to produce a hundred thousand taels for you? My heart isn’t made of iron. The fact that she has remained so devoted to me has stirred something in me, but I always feel that I have wronged Yun-niang.”

“A true man may have three wives and four concubines. What is so unusual about that? Besides, you are not abandoning anyone, nor are you doing anything to betray Yun-niang. Matters of the heart can never be explained clearly. You have feelings for her, and she has feelings for you. That is enough.”

After hearing Gu Shen’s words, Gou Ye rose to his feet and patted the dirt from his trousers. Spitting out the grass stem, he said, “We’ll see. Everything depends on fate.”