Chapter 15: Tugging and Pulling
Because of the previous incident with the Zhou family, the Ye family had offended the matchmaker. In the entire Qingtian Village, there was only this one matchmaker. In the future, when Ye Zhu and the third son were to be matched, they would still rely on her arrangements. So Mother Ye thought she had to swallow her pride, go and plead, and say some flattering words.
Father Ye and Mother Ye brought a small basket of eggs to her home. The eggs were covered with cloth, to avoid bumping or breaking them, and just at the doorstep, they happened to encounter the matchmaker.
The matchmaker looked at Father and Mother Ye, rolling her eyes sharply. Just the other day, she had nearly helped the Zhou family trick a decent family because she hadn’t clarified the situation properly. Now, it seemed as if Ye family owed her eight hundred strings of coins. The ironic part was that Father and Mother Ye also felt too ashamed to lift their heads—though they were in the right, they still felt guilty.
“Oh my goodness—” the matchmaker said in a mocking tone, “what wind blew you here? Isn’t this the Ye family, even the Zhou family wouldn’t touch! In all of Qingtian Village, a unique case!”
Father Ye looked embarrassed, and Mother Ye forced a smile, saying, “This matter… look, we’re all from the same village, and in the future we need to look out for each other. We’ve come to apologize on behalf of Ning Ger.”
“Hmph,” the matchmaker sneered, “Ning Ger? I can’t accept that! Ning Ger is busy as it is, how could he possibly think of me?”
Her mocking tone grew even sharper. “You probably don’t know, right? Ning Ger isn’t the same anymore. No wonder he could reject the Zhou family. Now his noodle stall has reopened. Ah, on the surface it’s selling noodles, but behind the scenes… oh my, he’s getting all cozy with those men. Who knows what he’s really doing while selling noodles?”
Father and Mother Ye were stunned. Their first reaction wasn’t to defend their family but to believe everything said, immediately sinking into shame and blushing deeply.
Mother Ye stammered, “Th-this… you must be mistaken? Ning Ger has been timid since childhood; how could he be involved with multiple men?”
“Haha!” the matchmaker laughed and waved her hand. “Old Liu! Old Li! Come over! The Ye family wants to ask you—did you see correctly? How could Ning Ger be involved with multiple men?”
Two villagers just happened to be passing by and were stopped by the matchmaker. Weren’t they the same villagers who had tried to freeload at the stall the other day, gossiping, and were chased away by Ye Ning?
The two villagers, after returning home, had grown angrier and angrier. They had been embarrassed by a mere Ger, and now, seeing an opportunity, they spread rumors about Ye Ning, saying he seemed to sell noodles but secretly interacted with many men, doing improper things, grabbing and tugging at anyone who came by.
The matchmaker, loving a good story, listened intently. Wasn’t this just perfect—having the two villagers confronted? The villagers, obviously uneasy, hesitated briefly. Little did they know, their gossip had reached the stall itself.
“Speak up!” the matchmaker pressed, prodding them. “Tell me, is this really what happened?”
Cornered, the two villagers could not take it back. They nodded, forcing themselves: “Yes… yes! It’s true! We saw it with our own eyes. Ning Ger… oh, I can’t even say… at the noodle stall, he was grabbing and tugging at men, and…”
The more they spoke, the more elaborate their lies became. Soon, even they believed it themselves. They slapped their thighs in despair, exclaiming, “He even pulled men into the stall, closed the door behind them, and it took a long time before they came out. What do you think they were doing?”
“Oh my goodness—” the matchmaker covered her face. “Ning Ger is truly skilled!”
Father and Mother Ye were even more ashamed, unable to lift their heads. Completely humiliated, Father Ye dropped the basket of eggs and immediately turned toward the northern village, Mother Ye following.
The two, full of grievance, arrived at the noodle stall and saw many people in line for noodles. They walked straight through, and onlookers who didn’t know the situation thought they were trying to cut in line.
Father Ye squeezed up to the stall and shouted at his son, scaring the customers into trembling, unsure what had happened.
He raised his cane as if ready to strike and yelled, “Why haven’t you closed this messy noodle stall yet?!”
Ye Ning had no idea what had happened. There were still many people waiting in line, and he couldn’t stop even for a moment. He continued working, saying, “Father, what do you mean? Weren’t you and Mother the ones who sent me out to open this stall in the first place?”
Originally, Father and Mother Ye had sent Ye Ning out to avoid trouble. Qingtian Village was small. The northern side of the village, being Jiang family land, saw fewer villagers passing by. Living at the noodle stall allowed Ye Ning to avoid the villagers, giving his parents some comfort.
Father Ye thrust his cane hard on the ground. “I sent you to watch over the stall, not to… not to…”
Ashamed, he couldn’t finish his sentence and finally said, “To do these pointless, shameful things!”
Ye Ning put the noodles into the pot and finally asked, “Father, what exactly do you mean by these ‘pointless, shameful things’?”
“You! You!” Mother Ye pointed at him. “What have you done yourself, and now you come asking us? Our Ye family may be poor, but we still have our dignity! Look at what you’ve done—an unmarried Ger, not at home managing a household or raising children, and yet here… here, getting cozy with men…”
At this point, Father Ye could no longer maintain his composure. He bellowed, “Enough! Aren’t you ashamed enough already?!”
Hearing Mother Ye’s words, even though it was only half a sentence, Ye Ning immediately understood. Apparently, Father and Mother Ye had jumped to conclusions, believing that his opening a noodle stall and interacting with others in public had ruined the family’s reputation.
Zhang Zhiyuan hurried over and said, “Uncle, Auntie, perhaps there’s some misunderstanding?”
Father Ye was already angry and didn’t spare Zhang Zhiyuan any kindness. He pushed him aside and said, “Mind your own business. This is Ye family’s matter!”
Then he turned to Ye Ning. “Are you coming or not?! Come home with me!”
Ye Ning replied calmly, “I haven’t done anything wrong. I’m running this noodle stall properly. Why should I go home?”
Father Ye stomped his foot in fury. “So many people are watching, and you’re not ashamed? I’m the one who should be embarrassed! What? Do I have to kneel in front of everyone before you’ll follow me home?!”
Ye Ning, far less hot-headed, raised an eyebrow and said evenly, “If you think kneeling in public is not embarrassing, then there’s nothing for a junior like me to say.”
“You!!” Father Ye shouted. “You unfilial child! How did I raise such an unfilial child!”
“Shame on the family! Shame on the family—”
Since morning, Cheng Zhao’s stomach had been rumbling constantly, as if a greedy worm had taken residence, thinking non-stop about the slices of river fish at the noodle stall. He had also heard they now had freshly roasted dried fish—he simply had to try it.
Finally finding a moment, Cheng Zhao slipped out through the small side gate of the Jiang residence, preparing to get some noodles. From a distance, he immediately noticed Father and Mother Ye causing a scene—crying, shouting, even threatening to kneel. Even from afar, it could be heard clearly.
Cheng Zhao’s eyes flicked. He didn’t want noodles anymore and immediately turned to run back.
“Master! Master!”
Cheng Zhao ran back into the small courtyard and pushed open the door. Yu Yuan was standing nearby, while Jiang Changxin was practicing calligraphy. As a simple-minded and somewhat foolish child, he usually couldn’t practice calligraphy openly, only when no one was around.
Jiang Changxin glanced at him lightly and asked calmly, “What is it?”
Cheng Zhao’s expression was full of curiosity, enjoying the spectacle. “Master, it’s chaotic outside. That Fang Niulao from the Ye family has come to the noodle stall, stubbornly insisting that Ning Ger go home with him!”
Cheng Zhao recounted everything—the crying and shouting of Mother Ye, and Father Ye wanting to kneel. Yu Yuan frowned slightly. He disliked noise and chaos.
Jiang Changxin paused in his calligraphy, narrowing his eyes at the name Ye Ning. Since his rebirth, those two words had been appearing far too frequently in his ears…
Cheng Zhao said, “Master, it’s stuffy in here. Should we go see the commotion? What if Ning Ger really gets taken away by his parents? Then where would we go for noodles?”
Yu Yuan finally spoke: “You’re just craving noodles, that’s all.”
Cheng Zhao protested: “Our Master has already tried Ning Ger’s noodles, and he ate at least three bites! Whose food could make our Master eat three bites?”
He grinned, a mischievous smile tugging at him. “Ah, yes, of all of us, only you haven’t had the pleasure. You haven’t tasted the fish strips yet!”
The last time Cheng Zhao had brought back fish strips as a takeaway, they were intended for Yu Yuan. But by a twist of fate, Jiang Changxin ended up tasting them, and eventually even the maids following the matriarch had enjoyed the fish strips. Yu Yuan, however, had not tasted a single bite.
Yu Yuan: “….”
Click. Jiang Changxin gently set down his brush and said calmly, “It doesn’t hurt to go take a look.”
“What?” Cheng Zhao could hardly believe his ears. Their Master actually wanted to go watch the commotion! Jiang Changxin was famously uninterested in idle matters.
The only time he had intervened previously was when the Zhou family sent enforcers to the estate. That incident was related to Ye Ning. Now, Jiang Changxin was going to watch another commotion, which also involved Ye Ning.
“What’s the matter?” Jiang Changxin asked. “You don’t want to go?”
“I do, I do!” Cheng Zhao hurriedly nodded, his eyes darting around. He mused to himself that his Master’s attitude toward Ye Ning was truly unlike his attitude toward anyone else…
The noodles were still boiling in the pot and needed a little more cooking.
Finally, Ye Ning found a free moment. He set aside what he was doing, wiped his hands, and asked, “May I ask, Father, Mother, exactly what happened to make you so anxious, rushing here in front of so many customers and disrupting my noodle stall?”
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