Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Cabbage hearts, celery stalks, and whole bundles of scallions are finely chopped.

Fresh pork is minced into a savory filling, mixed with greens and seasonings, then wrapped in thin skins of dough.

The skins are dusted with flour, holding a meat filling that is both springy and tender.

With a splash, they are dropped into a pot of chicken broth. The plump, white wontons tumble back and forth in the boiling water.

Once the skins are cooked until translucent, they are scooped out into bowls and garnished with chopped scallions and cilantro.

On an early spring morning, a bowl of wontons provides a comfort so deep it makes one break into a pleasant sweat.

This morning, just as the white steam began to rise from the pot, the customers arrived.

Peddlers wandering the streets, craftsmen from under the overpass, coachmen traveling from north to south… they are all my patrons.

At five wen a bowl, these wontons are a steal in a place like the capital, where every inch of land is worth its weight in gold.

While the stream of customers was constant, a few figures stood at the street corner, peeking over surreptitiously.

I looked closely and realized they were scholars who had just arrived in the capital yesterday. They were all staying in the communal bunks at Uncle Li’s place around the corner.

Uncle Li’s communal quarters were converted from a woodshed. The weather at the end of the first lunar month was gloomy and cold; the windows let in whistling drafts, yet even that couldn’t blow away the sour stench inside the room.

But it had the advantage of being cheap, costing only ten wen a night.

The scholars staying there were short on silver. A five-wen bowl of wontons was enough to buy three days’ worth of dry rations.

I sighed and waved them over.

“Come on over. I allow credit here.”

The scholars looked at each other. After a long pause, they finally approached with awkward, hesitant steps.

In the corner of the stall stood a small tree I had planted myself three years ago.

In these early days of spring, tiny buds had already begun to sprout on its branches.

I motioned for them to sit at the table beneath the tree, then took out several bowls and served them each a portion of wontons.

“Eat in peace. After so many years of studying hard by the cold window, don’t let your health fail you at this final hurdle.”

Seeing that some were still frozen, hesitant to pick up their chopsticks, I changed my tone and put on a fierce expression.

“I’m keeping a ledger. Once you all see your names on the golden roster and become high-ranking officials, I’ll definitely go door-to-door to collect.”

“If you refuse to pay up then, I’ll go to the Capital Prefecture and beat the drum to sue the new Jinshi graduates for failing to pay back their wonton debts!”

One of them let out a sudden laugh, but in the next blink, his eyes had turned red.

Droplets fell into the soup, creating tiny ripples on the surface.