Chapter 196: Xu Damao and the Kua Dan

Wang Meipo hasn't sent a reply yet, Sha Zhu feels like an ant on a hot pan, circling the Old Locust Tree in the Central Courtyard could wander two li away. His house, which originally seemed as if it had been robbed, was for the first time tidied enough to stand in, though the pile of junk in the corner he couldn't bear to throw away is still there, at least the tabletop shows the wood's natural color.

"Brother Li Ping'an, do you think Wang Meipo is reliable? It's been several days and there's not a single sign of movement," Sha Zhu grabbed Li Ping'an, who had just returned from work, and posed the soul‑probing question for the Nth time.

Li Ping'an steadied his bicycle, glanced at him, and said, "Only three days. Do you think buying groceries is a one‑hand‑pay, one‑hand‑receive deal? Just wait." He was clear‑minded; given Sha Zhu's condition, he falls into the "obvious flaws, outstanding strengths" type in the marriage market, so the matchmaker must weigh him carefully.

"I'm just anxious!" Sha Zhu rubbed his hands, "What if the girl thinks I'm a cook..."

"What's wrong with being a cook?" Li Ping'an cut him off, "You earn a living with your skill, you don't steal or rob. Keep your heart in your belly; what's meant to come will come."

He said that, but it couldn't stop the fact that some people in the courtyard can't stand to see others succeed, especially they can't bear Sha Zhu's budding chance to "escape the sea of bachelorhood."

This "Kua Dan" could only belong to Xu Damao.

These past few days, Xu Damao felt like a cat being scratched inside. Watching Sha Zhu's constant cleaning and tidying, he felt completely powerless. Why? A clumsy oaf is already taking the lead in arranging a wife? Xu Damao is good‑looking, has a respectable job, a sharp tongue, and hasn't even gotten anxious yet!

That afternoon, Xu Damao carried a box of film equipment back to the courtyard and happened to see Yan Bu Gui in the Front Courtyard fiddling with his few half‑withered potted flowers.

"Third Elder, busy?" Xu Damao leaned over, handed over a cigarette, and casually asked, "Did you hear? Over at Sha Zhu's side, Wang Meipo sent a reply!"

Yan Bu Gui took the cigarette, his ears instantly perked up: "Oh? There's a prospect? Which family's girl?" His mental abacus started turning again, calculating the bride price and banquet.

Xu Damao lowered his voice, feigning mystery: "A prospect? Ha! I heard that when the girl learns he's a cook, with no elder to support the family and only a sister who's a burden, she shakes her head on the spot! She says... she dislikes the oily smoke scent on him, fearing it'll affect her!"

He was merely speaking off the cuff, fabricating rumors out of thin air, yet he managed to make it sound vivid.

Yan Bu Gui was half‑believing, half‑doubting: "That can't be, Sha Zhu's salary isn't low..."

"What good is a high salary?" Xu Damao curled his lip, "Nowadays girls value respectability! Culture! Tell me, who would want to stare at a big oaf smelling of scallions all day? Besides, how did Sha Zhu get that nickname? He's a scoundrel! Which respectable family would dare push their daughter into a fire pit?"

His words were half‑to disparage Sha Zhu, and the other half, after all, were spoken for Jia Zhangshi, who was listening with ears perked up.

Jia Zhangshi indeed replied, her voice sharp: "If you ask me, Xu Damao's words are reasonable! A cook's job is to serve people, not suitable for the public eye! Unlike our Dongxu, a proper pipe‑fitter, a skilled trade!" She never forgot to elevate herself while putting others down.

Seeing someone agree, Xu Damao grew more vigorous, raising his voice a few notches: "If you ask me, Sha Zhu shouldn't be a toad dreaming of swan meat! If he honestly stays a bachelor, he'll save us some food in the courtyard! Didn't you see, today at the factory, his clumsy spoon shaking so violently he almost fought a worker? With that dogged temper, who dares face him?"

The rumor sprouted legs and within a short time mutated into several versions. Some said the girl despised Sha Zhu's cook background and greasy body; others claimed she saw his sister He Yushui as a burden; and some even spread that the girl's family discovered Sha Zhu had been punished for fighting before, causing them to flee outright.

When the gossip reached Sha Zhu's ears, it had become "Sha Zhu was rejected in a blind date; the girl thought he was both poor, arrogant, and sloppy."

Sha Zhu was chopping potatoes when, hearing that, he slammed his cleaver onto the board with a clang— his face turned as red as pork liver, his chest heaving wildly. "Xu Damao! I damn you, you bastard! It must be you spitting filth!" He grabbed a rolling pin and lunged outward, but was blocked by several kitchen helpers.

"Zhuzi! Zhuzi! Calm down! It's nothing, why hold a grudge against him!"

"Let go of me! Watch me smash his teeth! Let him keep spreading rumors!"

Sha Zhu was fuming and stomping his feet, while Xu Damao, back at home, hummed a little tune triumphantly, pouring himself a small drink. Sabotaging Sha Zhu's good fortune gave him a twisted sense of pleasure.

But in the Xi Kua Yuan, it was a different scene.

Li Ping'an returned from work and saw Lin Xueqing setting a meal on a small stone table beneath the crabapple tree in the courtyard. Simple congee, flatbread, and a plate of verdant stir‑fried greens. The evening breeze brushed by, carrying the faint, elegant scent of crabapple blossoms, mingling with the steam of the food, creating a tranquil, warm atmosphere.

"Back? Wash your hands and eat." Lin Xueqing looked up, smiled at him, the afterglow of the setting sun coating her in a soft light. The emerald‑green bracelet on her wrist settled into a warm, restrained sheen in the dusk.

Li Ping'an hummed "mm," and went to the sink to wash his hands. The icy water rinsed his hands, washing away a day's fatigue and diluting the foul fumes he had brought back from outside.

The two sat beside the stone table, quietly eating dinner. From the Central Courtyard, Sha Zhu's angry shouts and, over at Xu Damao's side, faint operatic singing drifted, unrelated to this little world.

"I heard Zhuzi's blind‑date matter was messed up by Xu Damao?" Lin Xueqing picked up a piece of greens with her chopsticks and asked softly.

Li Ping'an took a sip of congee, his tone even: "Just a clownish stunt. Wang Meipo didn't send a reply, he messed up his own footing first; you can't blame others for taking advantage of the void."

"Should we go and advise him?"

"No need. Let him calm down on his own. This little storm won't last; once he settles down, the trouble will be greater." Li Ping'an saw through it, "As for Qin Huairu... I heard the reaction was huge, Jia Zhangshi even resorted to petty tricks against her."

Lin Xueqing sighed, "Severe morning sickness is normal; it needs nutrition and rest. The Jia family's behavior... sigh, it's truly sinful." As a woman herself, she couldn't help feeling some sympathy, yet she also knew that courtyard affairs were not theirs to meddle in.

Li Ping'an fell silent. He watched his wife's calm profile in the dusk, listened to the noisy yet distant disputes in the courtyard, and felt that the simple meal before him, this tiny courtyard, was the only real and precious thing.

"These crabapple blossoms are really splendid this year," he suddenly said.

Lin Xueqing followed his gaze; the pink‑white petals appeared slightly hazy in the deepening night. "Yes, they smell wonderful."

Nightfall completely enveloped the Siheyuan, and every household lit its lamps. Sha Zhu's room stayed lit all night, likely because his anger kept him awake. Xu Damao's room also stayed lit, occasionally echoing his smug humming. Over at the Jia family, faintly could be heard Qin Huairu's suppressed sobbing and Jia Zhangshi's occasional curses.

Only the Xi Kua Yuan had its lights out early, leaving a hush. The crabapple fragrance drifted silently in the night breeze, as if silently cleansing the courtyard's stagnant air.

Li Ping'an lay on the kang, listening to his wife's even breathing, and thought: These days are like these crabapple blossoms—he blooms his own flower, he scents his own perfume. As for the weeds growing wild beside them, the insects chirping, as long as they don't hinder him, let them be. Yet Sha Zhu's path to a match seems destined not to be smooth. And that pregnant woman struggling to survive in the Jia family—where will the courtyard's hidden currents carry her fate?