Lanke Chess Edge
Chapter 55: A Laughable Story?

Ji Yuan was puzzled. What was going on? Could it be that this piece came from Wei Wuwei from before?

But when he had previously told him about Yuhuai Mountain, nothing had happened. At the time, Ji Yuan had inferred that it was either because the target was a “human,”¹ or because he hadn’t influenced him to a significant degree.

After thinking about it for a while, Ji Yuan overturned the possibility of it being from Wei Wuwei’s side. This wasn’t like playing an international online game with lag times.

‘Could it be Master Yin? ’

Ji Yuan remembered the letter he had left behind. From yesterday until now, he had only done one active thing that would have an impact on others, and the timing also matched.

. . .

In front of Yin’s house, Yin Qing looked at his father in confusion.

“Mom, what’s wrong with Dad?”

Mother Yin, who had just come out of the inner room, looked at her husband. She was about to call him over, but she suddenly felt that her husband was very eye-catching at the moment, and her face turned red.²

“Don’t disturb your father, go wash up!”

“Oh……”

Yin Qing originally wanted to ask his father what Mr. Ji had written, but thinking of the lessons he learned over the past few days, he decided it was safer to be more obedient and ask during breakfast.

“Qing’er, Mr. Ji has left!”

“Ah…”

Yin Zhaoxian smiled and raised the key that was in the envelope.

“We’ll go pick jujubes later!”

This proposal immediately attracted Yin Qing’s attention. He was so excited that his mouth started watering. However, he suddenly remembered that Mr. Ji was no longer in the small pavilion, and the sense of loss came back again.

. . .

In the early morning, the Sun Ji Noodle Stand on the street opened early. Mr. Sun was usually busy with breakfast and lunch throughout the day. Wontons, noodles, and offal were the main ingredients. In the afternoon, he would close the stall early and go home.

He often went to bed shortly after dark, and got up before dawn to prepare the materials for the stall. As people got older, they would go to bed earlier and get up even earlier, which suited his schedule.

After setting up the canopy, arranging the tables and chairs, and wiping them down, the old man waited for customers to arrive. He also pondered the price changes of flour and meat, and the cost of sending his grandson to study in the county school.

As the flow of people on the street began to increase, the stall gradually attracted more business. As he was busy working, he looked up and saw Master Yin from the county school walking towards the stall with Yin Qing, carrying small baskets in their hands.

“Hey, it’s Master Yin and Young Master Yin here!! Are you here fore breakfast? We have the best wontons and Yangchun noodles!”

Yin Zhaoxian smiled and bowed, saying:

“No, no, I have already eaten at home…”

Having said that, Yin Zhaoxian handed over the basket in his hand and lifted the cloth covering it.

“This is the fruit of the jujube tree in Mr. Ji’s house. Before he left, Mr. Ji said that he would share them with his neighbors. Since he often came here to eat, he felt he should also give a portion to the old man.”

Old Man Sun was stunned for a moment as he looked at the fresh jujubes. He wiped his hands on his apron several times.

“Uh, how embarrassing, how embarrassing…”³

Having said that, he honestly reached out to take it. Only after receiving the basket did he realize what Yin Zhaoxian had said just now.

“Mr. Ji is out? When will he be back?”

“I don’t know yet. Well, put the red dates⁴ in the cart. I’ll take the basket back!”

“Oh, oh, right!”

Old Man Sun hurriedly poured the small basket of jujubes into a pot on the noodle cart, and handed the bamboo basket back to Yin Zhaoxian.

“Master Yin, your basket!”

“Well, I won’t disturb you any longer, you must be busy!”

“Alright, Master Yin, take care!”⁵

After looking at Master Yin Zhaoxian’s gradually receding figure, Old Man Sun took a closer look at the jujubes in the pot.

“Old man Sun, what kind of fruit is this?”

“Yeah, can I have a taste?”

Some diners couldn’t resist their curiosity and stood up to look at Old Man Sun’s wooden cart.

“Strange, is this a jujube? It’s not even the end of Mangzhong yet, but the jujube tree in Mr. Ji’s yard is already bearing fruit?”

Old Man Sun marveled at it, handed one to the diner beside him, then took one himself, wiped it on his clothes, and took a bite.

A sweet taste bloomed in his mouth and on his tongue, and a faint fragrance permeated the air.

“Oh! It’s delicious!!! Old Man Sun, give me a few more!!!”

“This smells delicious, let us have a taste, too!!”

Old Man Sun was still savoring the taste when he heard everyone’s request. He quickly stuffed the other half of the jujube in his mouth, protected the pot with his hands, and carefully placed it back into the wooden cart.

“No, no more! There are only a handful left. I have to take them home for my grandson to eat. No more!”

. . .

In addition to the Sun Ji noodle stall, Doctor Tong from Ji Medical Hall also received a share of jujubes, and quite a large quantity at that, about two or three catties.⁶ After giving some to the apprentices in the store to satisfy their cravings, Doctor Tong decisively hid them for himself and to take home to enjoy with his family.

. . .

By evening that day, every household in the neighborhood of Tian Niu Lane received one or two handfuls of jujubes. Their taste was truly unforgettable.

The jujube tree in Ju’an Pavilion had actually bore mature fruits several months in advance, which the residents of Tian Niu Lane discussed with great relish. By the next day, the entirety of Ning’an County was amazed by this incident.

At noon the next day, Wei Wuwei, who was having lunch at Yunlai Inn, heard the a watier chatting with the owner about the jujube tree in Ju’an Pavilion. He couldn’t help but grow curious, but he couldn’t clearly hear what they were saying.

“Waiter, what did you just say about the fruit of the jujube tree? Could you tell me more about it?”

When it came to something like gossip, the one spreading it and the one listening to it almost always enjoyed the same level of pleasure. How could the waiter refuse? He happily ran to Wei Wuwei’s side.

“Sir, you don’t know, but a strange thing happened in this county’s Tian Niu Lane. There is a small house called Ju’an Pavilion there, and there’s a jujube tree in the yard with dense branches and leaves. The jujubes should take several months to mature, but unexpectedly the jujubes on that tree are fully ripe now. Everyone on Tian Niu Lane has been given fresh jujubes to eat.”

The waiter savored his words for a moment.

“My sister married into Tian Niu Lane, and her family also got a share of the red dates. She gave me three of them. The taste was amazing, so fresh and sweet. I have never eaten such delicious jujubes in my entire life!”

The waiter saw that he had attracted the attention of many diners in the lobby, and felt a little smug, so he deliberately raised his voice a little.

“Speaking of this, there is one more strange thing. It is said that the jujube in this Ju’an Pavilion ripened overnight. The day before, half of Tian Niu Lane could still smell the fragrance of the jujube flowers, but then it suddenly disappeared. Some people said that the jujubes had ripened at that time!”

“Oh! Does such a strange thing really exist?”

“Waiter, you’re not talking nonsense, are you?”

“That’s right, how can it ripen overnight? Could it be that some immortal cast a spell?”

The guests at a few nearby tables were booing, which made the waiter grow angry.

“Hmph, that’s because you outsiders don’t know. Listen carefully so you can go back and brag to your friends! The person living in Ju’an Pavilion on Tian Niu Lane is a strange man from this county. When he moved in, the jujube tree in his courtyard bloomed and emitted a strange fragrance.”

At this, the waiter kept the continuation in suspense, and only went on after seeing that everyone was listening attentively.

“The following is what I’ve heard from others. They say that Mr. Ji planned to leave the county for a long trip the day before yesterday. When he said goodbye to Master Yin, he sighed in the courtyard, saying that it was a pity that he could not eat the jujubes this year… ‘What a pity, what a pity~…’”

The waiter acted pretentious, reciting an imaginary, refined line, then wiped his expression.

“Guess what? That night, the jujube tree began to bear fruit. When Mr. Ji woke up in the morning, he opened the door and saw that the jujube tree in the garden was full of ripe jujubes!! Haha, it’s amazing!!”

“Is there such a thing?”

“Hey, waiter, it’s a waste of your talent to be an inn waiter. You should be a storyteller instead!”

“That’s absolutely right! According to your words, the person living in Ju’an Pavilion might be an immortal. Hahahaha!”

There was a burst of laughter in the lobby of the inn, and the innkeeper also shook his head with a smile.

Only Wei Wuwei’s heart raced. He hurried to the counter to settle the bill for his meal, then ran quickly towards Tian Niu Lane.

Even with Wei Wuwei’s martial arts skills, he was slightly out of breath when he arrived at Ju’an Pavilion, showing how anxious he was.

“Hu… hu… hu…”

While calming his breath, he looked up and saw that there were no flowers on the jujube tree in the small pavilion. Only a few jujubes were still on the lower branches, while there were still quite a lot hanging on the higher branches.

As he approached the small pavilion, he saw a copper lock hanging on the courtyard door.

A mixture of annoyance and secret arose in Wei Wuwei’s heart.

‘Mr. Ji really left after all!’

Immediately, Wei Wuwei changed his mind and looked at the jujube tree.

‘Well, I have to find a way to collect a few dates to try! ’

As for climbing directly over the wall to pick the rest? He would never dare!

1. i.e. not a spirit like Lu Shan or Hu Yun ↩︎
2. Lit: “was a little peach blossom” ↩︎
3. Refusing for politeness’ sake – kind of like saying “you shouldn’t have” ↩︎
4. Jujubes are not a kind of date, but they are often called red dates or Chinese dates. You’ll probably see it used interchangeably, though I’ll try to put “red” in front of it. ↩︎
5. Lit: “walk slowly!” ↩︎
6. 1 catty = 500g = 1.1 lb = a small-ish bag ↩︎