Great Tang Idyll

Jia Wei'ran was afraid that others would recognize them. If the Zhang Manor knew that his father was there, it would be difficult for them to do things. He turned his head to look at where the sound came from, and saw a person, who was wearing hemp clothes and pigskin boots, smiling at him.

Jia Wei'ran thought about it for a while, but he still couldn't recall who this person was. Judging from the clothing on his body, this man was far from Jia Wei'ran's status, so he asked with a confused voice: "You are...?"

"Brother Jia, why don't you remember me anymore? I'm Ma Liu1. You really did forget about me. Keep pretending, you're pretending aren't you? Last year, the five of us worked together at Little Luo'shui. At the time, didn't you say you wanted to make money elsewhere? Me and Yang Si2 were always there, and then later we ran over here.

What, did you earn money? Hmm, it seems that your clothing is better than mine. Stop putting up an act. I'm not asking you for money. Today, I got them to all come over. Let's all go to the place behind the First Near Water, and roast some meat and radishes. We should also have some stinky tofu and wine.

Why are you still spacing out. Don't you like to eat stinky tofu the most? You would take half a month to finish a piece of stinky tofu. Back then, Niu Wu3 said that he gave you good tofu to eat, and it took you forever to finish eating it, so by the end, the tofu became stinky. Let's go, my treat."

This person who claimed to be Ma Liu came over and attempted to drag Jia Wei'ran over there with him. Jia Wei'ran had never heard of these weird names that seemed to be all related to livestocks. Seeing this person's arm, which was sullied with some unidentifiable color, stretched out trying to grab him, he took a few steps back out of fright. He said,

"Wait, how come I don't remember you? Tell me, what is my name?"

"I already said that I don't need your money, yet you keep asking me this and that. Us brothers were not like this at the beginning. Regardless of how much money you have, we don't want any of it. We make quite a bit of money working at the wharf everyday. Your surname is Jia, isn't it?" Ma Liu was a little dissatisfied, and withdrew his hand back.

"That's right. Then what is my name?" Jia Wei'ran felt that he was suffering from amnesia? He had no impression of this.

"Bah! I don't care if you're Ma Wu or Ma Liu, just stay away from me. I don't know you, you have mistaken me for someone else." Jia Wei'ran was so angry. When did he ever go swimming with others, and when was he ever bitten by a turtle? He glared at him and then sped walked to the where the savory crepes were sold. He vigilantly looked at the person standing there with a face of contempt.

"Sigh~! Since Brother Jia doesn't want to admit it, then forget it. I was wrong from the very beginning. I'm going to go look for Niu Wu now. Someone, prepare the carriage." Ma Liu shook his head regretfully, and he beckoned his hand as he spoke. Three luxurious carriages came over there, each of which was drawn by four horses. From the first glance, it was evident these carriages were not from the carriage services.

Jia Wei'ran watched the carriages stop next to the person who had just talked to him, and two people, a handsome man and a beautiful woman, jumped out of the second carriage. They respectfully greeted him, and the carriages left after he climbed in.

Jia Wei'ran raised his hand, and touched his forehead. He muttered, "It's not hot."

"Who says it's not hot? The savory crepes were just made. Are you going to buy it or not. If not, stop blocking the way. If you are, then give me money. You can use items to trade with me too. Hurry up." The seller thought he was saying that his crepes were not hot anymore, so he spoke with dissatisfaction.

Jia Wei'ran was still perplexed. He took money out to buy the savory crepe, but when he was about to go back, a person suddenly came up to him. When he was about to walk past him, that person said in surprise, "Brother Jia, hahahaha, I finally found you, what have you been up to these days?"

Jia Wei'ran took a step back again, and looked at the person in front of him. He also didn't know him. He thought about the stevedore who left with the three luxurious carriages just now, and then he looked at the person in front of him. He was dressed in light green satin clothes. He didn't dare to neglect the person, so he smiled and replied, "Not much, I'm just hungry, so I'm buying a savory crepe to eat. What have you been busy with?"

He wanted to address him with an honorific, but unfortunately, he didn't know what his surname was.

This person smiled. "Brother Jia, have things been difficult recently? Why are you eating savory crepes? Let's go, follow me to the First Near Water to eat some food. I'll order your favorite stinky tofu. I'll call some other brothers to join us. You were always like this, you would eat four or five pieces of tofu every meal. If there are none, you don't have the appetite to eat. But you always end up so smelly afterwards. Let's go."

"I eat four or five pieces a meal? Didn't it take me half a month to eat one piece?" Jia Wei'ran felt like he was not in the human world right now and he repeated the words of the man from earlier.

The man waved his hand and said, "Could it be that Brother Jia has fallen to this state now? Eating a piece of stinky tofu for half a month? Brother Jia, you...sigh~! Don't worry, brother will find work for you to do. You can't live like this anymore."

"Manual labor of course. Look, if I take off these clothes, what do you think, aren't I suitable for doing manual labor? Being a stevedore is good. You can buy some decent food for a few coins, and you get two meals a day. You coming? " This person took off his clothes, revealing his naked body underneath. His shoulders were covered with callouses.

Jia Wei'ran shook his head, "No."

"You sure? Well, then eat your savory crepes then. I'm leaving now. Sigh, another two ships came. Brother Jia, see you another day." The man ran over there as he spoke and took off his shoes.

Jia Wei'ran stood there, holding the savory crepe in his hand, blinked, and didn't know what to do. After a while, he remembered that he was buying something for his father. When he raised his head, there was no one at the place his father was once standing. He looked around, but he couldn't find his father's figure.

He was really dumbfounded this time. Where was his father? He was still there just now. Panicking, Jia Wei'ran began running around looking here and there, but he still couldn't find his father.

"Brother Jia, what are you looking for?" Just when Jia Wei'ran was anxious, a voice rang behind him.

"Don't try to deceive ... deceive... Brother Zhou, why are you here?" Jia Wei'ran knew this person. It was Zhou Xi'hu, Just now, he thought that it was someone who was going to treat him to eating stinky tofu again.

Zhou Xi'hu took a closer look at Jia Wei'ran and said, "My house is here. Where can I go if I'm not here? Seeing how anxious Brother Jia looks, could it be that the beautiful lady accompanying you has disappeared? Brother Jia, tell me, what does she look like? I'll help you look for her."

"Is it that Brother Jia is unable to describe her appearance? How about you go to the First Near Water? Beauties love going there since there are a lot of scholars there." Zhou Xihu continued to persuade him, preparing to take Jia Wei'ran there.

"No, no. I'm-- I'm just wandering around. I'm not looking for anyone. Brother Zhou, you can go ahead." Jia Wei'ran didn't dare to reveal the truth. He could only try to suppress the anxiety in his heart and come up with some random answer.

Zhou Xi'hu didn't force him, and said, "Alright, if Brother Jia encounters any issues here, you can go to the First Near Water and ask someone to find me. As long as I can help, I will definitely not decline. Oh, there is a new fried stinky tofu at the First Near Water. Brother Jia should try it when you have time."

After speaking, Zhou Xi'hu walked away. Jia Wei'ran was stunned again. Why did everyone who saw him talk about stinky tofu?

His father was gone, so naturally he had to go search for him. Jia Wei'ran began to expand the scope of his search and walked to the place of the Administrative Office. Along the entire way, he didn't see his father. Then, he turned around and went to the Qian'chang Town on the other side. He still didn't see his father, so he turned around. He went to the innermost shop on the wharf, but he still didn't see him.

Seeing that it was getting dark, Jia Wei'ran had no choice but to walk towards the First Near Water. He wanted to get some to ask Zhou Xihu for help. If something happened to his father, it would be serious.

"Young Master Jia, you're here too? Do you want to eat the restaurant's stinky tofu? Master Jia, please come in." The waiter who was at the wharf waiting to welcome customers greeted Jia Wei'ran with the same line.

Jia Wei'ran was already numb to this. He stepped onto the boat, without saying a word and he let the boat take him to the restaurant. He walked through the doors, and went to the second floor. Immediately, another waiter came over and said to Jia Wei'ran, "Master Jia, it's been a long time since I've seen you here. The stinky tofu has been prepared for you. It's in the room number three the third floor."

Room number three on the third floor. Jia Wei'ran knew that this was the room he always went to back then. As he walked up with the waiter, he asked, "How would I find Zhou Xi'hu?"

"You're looking for Young Master Zhou? Young Master Zhou was still here just now. Is it urgent?" The waiter asked with concern.

"Yeah, I'm looking for someone." Jia Wei'ran felt a little bit exhausted after running around for so long.

"What a coincidence that Master Jia is also looking for someone. Just now, there was another person who came here with the surname Jia too. The Recorder and Magistrate Assistant from the Administrative Office came here with him. They said they were looking for someone. They went to room number four together. The Recorder and Magistrate Assistant called him as their ‘lord'. I wonder what kind of official he is." The servant replied.

"Yes, does Master Jia know that person? Please tell me." The guy replied excitedly.

"Take me to room four. Forget it, I'll go by myself." Jia Wei'ran ran over there as he spoke.

The waiter shouted from behind, "Master Jia, should I bring your stinky tofu over there too?"

Where did Jia Wei'ran care about the stinky tofu. He rushed to the place and opened the door just to see his helpless and anxious father. There were two other people sitting there to accompany him. It was the Recorder and Magistrate Assistant of the San'shui County.

"Father, why did you go here?" Jia Wei'ran heaved a sigh of relief and asked suspiciously.

"Sigh. It's good that you're here. Eat something first. I'm going to take office tomorrow." Magistrate Jia said with a sigh.

Translator's Notes

1. Ma Liu 马六

Ma means horse, and liu means six.

2. Yang Si 羊四

Yang means sheep and si means four.

3. Niu Wu 牛五

Niu means cow and Wu means five.

4. Jia Yu 甲鱼

Jia Yu means soft shell turtle.

5. Turtle 王八 (wang ba)

Wang ba is another name for turtles, but it could also mean bastard.