Republic of China, 1928: Starting from a Wonton Shop

The room fell silent.

Li Chunsheng lay on the hard ground, unable to sleep at all.

He listened to the howling wind outside the window and the occasional noises from next door, but he felt very calm.

He recalled his past life, when he worked himself to the bone to buy a house and pay for a car loan. Now, in this Republic of China era, although he was penniless and his future was uncertain, he felt that things were actually pretty good.

Slowly, in this chaotic world, in this small house, the two people, one big and one small, fell into a deep sleep, accompanied by the sound of wind and snow outside the window.

"Thump! Thump! Thump!"

Early in the morning, a series of urgent knocks woke Li Chunsheng, who was still fast asleep.

"Chunsheng! Chunsheng! Open the door!"

Li Chunsheng groggily sat up from his cot on the floor, his mind still a bit foggy. He glanced out the window; it was just getting light.

"Knock knock knock!" The knocking continued.

Ya Ya, who was in bed, was also startled awake. The little girl rubbed her eyes and sat up, still half asleep.

"Don't be afraid," Li Chunsheng said softly, quickly putting on his cotton-padded coat and rushing to the door.

He recognized the voice; it was Yunniang.

So early in the morning, unless something serious has happened, Yunniang would never dare to knock on a single man's door like this.

Li Chunsheng pulled the bolt and opened the door.

"What's wrong? What happened?"

Before he could finish speaking, Li Chunsheng froze. Then, he abruptly turned his head and closed his eyes.

The person standing at the door was indeed Yunniang.

But at this moment, Yunniang looked rather disheveled.

Her hair was disheveled, her face still had smudged rouge, and her eyes were red, clearly she had just been crying. What was most alarming was that she was only wearing a tattered cotton-padded jacket with her arms open, and underneath... underneath was only a red undergarment!

The bodice was quite old, and the mandarin ducks embroidered on it had turned white, barely covering the patch of snow-white spring light. With her rapid breathing, her chest heaved violently, and that touch of red stood out particularly glaringly in the cold morning wind.

"This..." Li Chunsheng felt his throat go dry. He silently recited the proverb "Don't look at what you shouldn't see," quickly closed his eyes, and lowered his voice, saying, "Sister-in-law! You! Put your clothes on first!"

Yunniang didn't care about shame at all at this moment. She had just woken up and found that the man had left, but when she went outside to look for Yaya, she found that the corner of the wall was empty!

The tarpaulin was covered with a layer of snow, and there was no sign that anyone had slept on it.

In that instant, Yunniang felt like her world had collapsed.

She frantically searched the yard and finally thought of Li Chunsheng. Although she knew it was inappropriate to knock on the door at this time, she didn't care about anything else for her daughter's sake and rushed over without even buttoning her clothes properly.

"Chunsheng! Yaya... Yaya is missing! Have you seen Yaya?" Yunniang's voice trembled violently as she gripped Li Chunsheng's arm tightly with both hands.

Li Chunsheng felt a stinging pain in his arm, and his heart softened.

She's a woman with a tragic fate.

He didn't open his eyes, but pointed to the bed behind him and said softly, "Sister-in-law, don't worry, Yaya is inside. It was windy last night, and I saw that the child was freezing, so I let her stay here for the night."

"In...inside?"

She looked in the direction Li Chunsheng was pointing.

In the dimly lit room, on the wooden bed, a girl was looking at him and whispered, "Mother..."

"Ya Ya!"

She no longer cared whether Li Chunsheng's eyes were closed or open, rushed into the room, pounced on the bedside, and hugged Ya Ya and the blanket tightly in her arms.

"You scared me to death... You scared me to death... I thought you were lost... I thought you froze to death..."

Li Chunsheng stood at the door with his back to them, listening to the crying. His heart ached, and he closed the door slightly.

After a while, Yunniang's crying gradually subsided.

She released Ya Ya, looked her up and down, and saw that her daughter's face was rosy and her body was warm, before she finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Chunsheng..." Yunniang wiped away her tears, stood up, and wanted to kowtow to Li Chunsheng to express her gratitude, "Thank you... I really don't know how to thank you enough..."

As she spoke, she was about to kneel down.

Hearing the commotion, Li Chunsheng quickly turned around to help her up, saying, "Sister-in-law, don't do this! It's nothing..."

However, as soon as he turned around, Li Chunsheng's gaze fell once again on Yunniang's open cotton-padded jacket and that glaring red color, and his movements instantly froze.

Yunniang was also stunned for a moment, and looked down following Li Chunsheng's gaze.

"ah!"

Yunniang's originally pale face flushed red instantly. She had been so focused on finding her child that she had completely forgotten about her disheveled appearance.

Only now, under the young man's gaze, did she suddenly realize how indecent and wanton she looked.

She frantically clutched the hem of her cotton-padded coat, trying to cover her body. Her hands trembled as she buttoned it, but the more anxious she became, the more her hands shook, and the harder it was to button it.

A deep sense of shame welled up inside me.

She was only with other men for money; it was a transaction, and she was numb to it all. But in front of Li Chunsheng, this side of her made her feel utterly filthy.

Li Chunsheng quickly turned around again, coughing to cover his embarrassment: "Um... Sister-in-law, please put your clothes back on first. Since Yaya is alright, let's take her home quickly."

Yunniang hurriedly fastened her buttons, the blush on her face still lingering. Then, her brows furrowed tightly, and her expression became even more unpleasant than before.

She glanced at Ya Ya on the bed, then at Li Chunsheng's makeshift bed on the floor, which had clearly been used by someone.

A lone man and a lone woman, alone in a room.

Although Ya Ya is only seven years old, and Li Chunsheng sleeps on a makeshift bed on the floor.

But this is a tenement courtyard.

Her banging on the door just now was so loud, it must have alerted the neighbors.

If someone sees Ya Ya and herself coming out of Li Chunsheng's house...

"Chunsheng..." Yunniang's voice trembled with a sob, "Just now... just now, did someone see me come in?"

Li Chunsheng was taken aback, then realized what she was worried about.

He peeked out through the crack in the door.

Sure enough, at Aunt Zhang's house diagonally across the street, the curtains moved slightly, and a figure was peeking furtively in their direction.

"Sister-in-law, it's alright." Li Chunsheng turned around, his expression calm. "A clear conscience fears no accusation."

"You don't understand..." Yunniang bit her lip, tears welling up again. "You're a man, you're not afraid, but Yaya... Yaya will get married someday... and you, you haven't married yet. If people spread rumors about your ambiguous relationship with us orphans and widows, what respectable girl would be willing to marry you?"

The more she thought about it, the more frightened she became, and the more she felt that she was the one who had harmed Li Chunsheng.

"It's all my fault...it's all my fault..." Yunniang slapped herself hard across the face. "How could I be so foolish! Why didn't I look carefully first!"

"Mother!" Ya Ya was so frightened that she rushed over and hugged Yun Niang's hand.

Looking at the self-reproaching woman, Li Chunsheng felt a sense of helplessness. This was the tragedy of this era, or rather, more than just this era: spittle can drown a person.

He walked over and grabbed Yunniang's wrist, which was about to slap him.

"Sister-in-law! That's enough!"

He stared into Yunniang's panicked eyes: "Sister-in-law, listen to me. This is our life, not something we live for others to see. I, Li Chunsheng, have a clear conscience. Last night, in that situation, if I didn't let Yaya in, that would be letting her die!"

"As for what others say..." Li Chunsheng sneered, releasing his grip and straightening his collar. "They can talk, let them say what they want! If anyone dares to gossip to my face, I, Li Chunsheng, am not someone to be trifled with!"

Yunniang stared blankly at him.

In this courtyard, no one had ever said such things to her. Those men were either lusting after her body or looking down on her background.

"Alright, stop thinking about useless things." Li Chunsheng turned around, picked up the half-eaten dough from last night, and weighed it in his hand. "Since you're all awake, don't just sit around. Yaya, go wash your face. Sister-in-law, if you're free, could you peel these scallions for me? I'll make breakfast for you guys later!"

Outside the window, the sky was just beginning to lighten.

The door to Aunt Zhang's room next door opened, and Aunt Zhang came out carrying a chamber pot, her triangular eyes glancing this way.

Li Chunsheng, carrying a basin of water used for washing vegetables, poured it directly onto the open ground in the yard without even looking at anyone.

He stood at the door, holding a kitchen knife, his gaze fixed on Aunt Zhang, and gave a cold smile.

P.S.: Yunniang is not the female lead.