The road into the market wasn’t too long.
Chen Changsheng looked at it carefully for a long ti. He saw the wild grasses by the roadside had changed. But at least the road itself was still there.
People were much the sa.
At dusk, it wasn’t particularly lively, but that sense of leisure remained constant.
The wine tavern stood by the bridgehead. As the sun set, many drinkers filled the tavern.
So sat under the tree outside after drinking just two liang of wine, chatting idly. Others drank heartily inside the tavern. Still others hung their heads low, as if suffering so kind of defeat. All human expressions—joy and sorrow—were contained within this single wine tavern.
The waiter busily attended to the guests. Seeing soone enter, he hurried forward to greet him. At first glance, the face looked unfamiliar – probably a traveler from elsewhere, he thought.
“Please co in, sir.”
Chen Changsheng glanced at the waiter. Several years had passed in the blink of an eye. This waiter had a beard now, and his voice was much deeper.
Chen Changsheng looked up. His gaze fell upon a piece of calligraphy frad on the tavern wall – the very one he’d left for Xiaoliu years ago.
Chen Changsheng paused. “Has the manager changed again?”
The waiter hesitated for a mont. “The manager now is Master Fei. In the old Jing days, a Manager Zhang ran this place. I’m afraid I don’t know when you last visited, sir.”
Chen Changsheng looked at him. “I ca here once during the second year of the Xinglong era. You were here then too.”
The waiter tried hard to recall. Six years had passed, since it was now the eighth year of Xinglong. People and matters from that long ago were truly difficult to rember.
Afraid to lie, the waiter apologized. “Ah, sir, I’m terribly sorry. It’s just too long ago. I really can’t recall now. Please forgive .”
“Just ntioning it in passing. I don’t bla you.”
Chen Changsheng smiled slightly. “Do you still have Autumn Moon Brew?”
The waiter shook his head. “My apologies. Other wines we have in stock, but the Autumn Moon Brew…”
Chen Changsheng nodded. “Be so kind as to tell your manager that soone has co to claim the wine promised for next year.”
The waiter seed puzzled but didn’t ask further. He agreed and went to find the manager.
Manager Fei was tallying inventory in the wine shop when the waiter told him this.
“‘Wine for next year?’”
Manager Fei frowned. “What else did the person say? What did he look like?”
“He ntioned coming here during the second year of the Xinglong reign… as for appearance…”
The waiter described, “He looked very refined. Wore a blue robe, like a scholar-teacher.”
Manager Fei understood imdiately.
“Ah, him…”
Manager Fei had assud the man would never return.
He told the waiter to fetch the jar of Autumn Moon Brew stored in the cellar.
“I’ll take it myself.”
Manager Fei said this, then the waiter nodded and left to attend to other custors.
Manager Fei carried the jar to the main hall and spotted the gentleman in the blue robe imdiately.
Chen Changsheng saw him approaching. As their eyes t, a slight smile appeared on Manager Fei’s face.
But when he got closer, shock hit him like a thunderbolt.
This man…
Hadn’t changed at all!
Manager Fei didn’t know if it was a trick of the eye, but this person before him seed identical to the one in his mory.
“It’s been a long ti, Manager Fei,” Chen Changsheng said.
Manager Fei snapped out of his daze. “Sir, you’ve kept waiting a great while! Said you’d co for it the next year, but six years just vanished like that.”
“I was delayed,” Chen Changsheng replied with a chuckle.
Manager Fei sat down and placed the jar of Autumn Moon Brew on the table.
Once seated, they chatted easily.
“Speaking of which, sir… you look the exact sa.”
“Unchanged?”
Chen Changsheng thought for a mont, then smiled. “Maybe just the appearance? Nothing stays the sa in this world.”
Manager Fei nodded. “True, sir. Turning around, all these years have passed… white hair shows on my head now. My mind isn’t as sharp as it was back then.”
Chen Changsheng laughed. “Maybe not. Do you still rember things from the past? Seems only your looks have aged a bit.”
“Exactly, exactly.” Manager Fei chuckled, then broke the clay seal on the jar to pour Chen Changsheng so wine.
Chen Changsheng took a sip. The taste seed slightly different than before. He asked, “Has the Autumn Moon Brew recipe been changed?”
“No.”
Manager Fei shook his head. “The river water changed. So years ago, floods struck. Though Autumn Moon Market itself was spared, channels elsewhere were broken open. When that water mixed in, the taste… suffered. It couldn’t be helped.”
Chen Changsheng sighed softly. “Well, if that’s the case, then it truly couldn’t be helped.”
“Please understand, sir.”
Chen Changsheng waved it off – it wasn’t a big deal. He turned to look at the calligraphy on the wall. “I rember, last ti I was here, that piece wasn’t hanging in the tavern, was it?”
Manager Fei looked towards it and gestured. “Sir, your mory is excellent. That piece was indeed hung later.”
“The forr manager urged to hang it back up. He said the writing possessed a wondrous effect. I didn’t believe him at first, but… well, once it was back up, business improved significantly. So it hasn’t co down since.”
Manager Fei went on, “Co to think of it… sir, you were friends with Manager Zhang back in the day, weren’t you?”
Chen Changsheng nodded. “Indeed. How has he fared lately?”
Manager Fei thought. “After he ca back… things haven’t been easy for him. Barely escaped with his life from the frontier passes. But the tis we’re in… the Xiang people hold sway now. And him? Forr border army soldier? After returning, he had to change his identity entirely… lost his official registration too.”
“Without registration, he struggled everywhere. To avoid causing trouble for his wife and son, he pretends not to know them. Works odd jobs here and there, barely scraps by. Lives poorly…”
Chen Changsheng looked puzzled. “I thought he sold this tavern to you. Presumably, the money was left to his family? Why would he fall on such hardship?”
“That… is a long tale…”
Manager Fei sighed heavily. “Back then… everyone from the top down in Anning County got replaced. After Prince of Xiang suppressed the rebellion, he put Xiang people in power. When the newly appointed governnt officer investigated household registrations in Autumn Moon Market, he learned Manager Zhang once ran a wine tavern. Developed crooked intentions.”
“Used his excuse that Zhang had been in the old Jing army to confiscate his ho. His wife and child had to survive by selling baked pancakes in the Civic District. I quietly helped them get by these years.”
A frown creased Chen Changsheng’s brow. “So harsh? That even a county seat had to change hands?”
“Exactly…”
Manager Fei shook his head in resignation. “Nothing to be done about it now. Those days… the Prince of Xiang swept his blades southward! Who knows how many he killed? Blades gleaming cold, the marks of blood… everyone feared for their own safety. Who dare resist? This is just how things are.”
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