Chapter 140: Meeting Young Master Zhan Congwen Again

Carrying the basket filled with pastries, Dusong led his two younger sisters away from the bus station and headed straight for the shop where he worked.

Standing at the entrance of a three-story Western-style building, Duyun looked up at the handsome European-style structure, feeling that it appeared both grand and luminous.

"Brother, is this the shop you were talking about?" Looking at the endless stream of people coming and going in front of the small building, Duyun immediately knew that business here must be exceptionally good. With such a large establishment and so many customers, she felt that calling it a mere shop was far too modest; it was practically a miniature department store.

"Yes, this is Zhan's Emporium!" Clearly very proud of being able to work in such a grand establishment, Dusong smiled broadly as he spoke.

"It's so huge!" Duyun exclaimed with an admiring smile, looking up at the bold, sweeping calligraphy on the plaque mounted against the white facade. The black signboard stood out strikingly, bearing two golden characters: Zhan's Emporium.

"Come on, let's go in from the back." Instead of taking Duyun and Duzhi through the main entrance, Dusong led them toward the rear of the building.

To avoid disrupting the normal operations of the store, Zhan's Emporium had strict regulations. The entrance used by the staff was different from the one used by customers, preventing any interference with retail activities caused by loading and stocking goods.

"Wait here for a while. I'll go log the pastries into the inventory and be right back." Dusong ushered Duyun and the others into a large room furnished with several tables and matching chairs, though currently unoccupied. Leaving behind those hurried words, he shouldered his basket and left.

Duyun completely understood her brother's actions. After all, although the colorful pastries were delicious, they spoiled far too easily in weather like this and needed to be properly stored. She simply sat down in the spacious room with Duzhi, watching the bustling crowd outside the window and taking in the street view while waiting for him.

"The building where Eldest Brother works is so pretty! It's dazzling to look at," Duzhi whispered, leaning in close to Duyun's ear with a smile once Dusong had gone and no one else was around.

"Yes, this place is really nice," Duyun agreed with a nod. Putting everything else aside, just this pristine white three-story building was vastly superior to any other mercantile establishment in the county town they had passed by earlier.

Secretly, Duyun was plotting how to make her eldest brother take the two of them on a thorough tour of the shop later. Since the place was so vast and luxurious, they might even find a dress she liked to give to their older sister.

Before long, Dusong returned accompanied by Duzayang. "Must be hungry, aren't you? Since it's nearly noon, let's go out and get something to eat."

"What? We're going out to eat?" Hearing that they were going to a restaurant, Duzhi was so startled she almost jumped off her stool. She waved her hands frantically and said, "Eldest Brother, there's no need to go out. Restaurant food in the city must be terribly expensive; we can just buy some sesame flatbreads by the roadside."

"You've come all the way to the county town, and your eldest brother is just going to brush you off with a roadside flatbread? Where would I put my face!" Dusong put on a stern expression, looking at Duzhi's anxious and hesitant demeanor, which made her look so constrained she seemed ready to burrow into the ground.

"Ah?" Startled by her brother's reaction, Duzhi stared blankly at Dusong, not knowing what to do for a moment.

"Eldest Sister, just listen to Eldest Brother. Since this is our first time in the county town, he naturally wants to treat us properly!" Duyun suppressed the urge to laugh and persuaded her, seeing that her eldest brother wasn't truly angry, merely trying to frighten their sister. Her eldest sister was wonderful in every way, but perhaps due to their family's poverty, she sometimes appeared far too small-minded. If she went to her future husband's family with such habits, she would easily be looked down upon.

"Exactly, exactly! Now that you're here, Eldest Sister, how could Eldest Brother not treat us? Our family's colorful pastries have brought in plenty of profit for the shop, and they even gave Eldest Brother a bonus. I've been waiting for ages to eat these delicious things!" Duzayang chimed in with a grin.

"Oh, all right..." Duzhi looked from her eldest brother to her younger siblings. It seemed everyone else agreed on going out for a proper meal, and for her to object alone felt a bit improper, so she hesitantly gave her consent.

Satisfied, Dusong nodded, led Duzayang and his two younger sisters out through the back door of Zhan's Emporium, and walked toward a nearby eatery.

"Here, try these steamed buns. They're the most famous delicacy in our county town." Duzayang picked up a small stuffed bun with his chopsticks, placed it on Duyun's small plate, and enthusiastically explained its merits. Although Duzayang was the same age as Duyun, as a tall boy who had spent quite some time gaining experience out in the world, he appeared somewhat more mature than her.

"Mm-hm!" Having worked busily all morning and walked a considerable distance, Duyun was genuinely hungry. She picked up the small bun from her plate and bit off half of it in a single motion.

"Mmm, delicious!" The bun in Duyun's mouth was not large—smaller than a chicken egg—yet it was crafted with exquisite care. The wrapper was made of fermented dough, offering a wonderfully chewy texture, while the filling consisted of pork and scallions, releasing an intoxicating fragrance. The moment she bit into it, it felt almost like eating a meatball, bringing a profound sense of comfort from the inside out.

"Good, right? If you like them, eat plenty!" Dusong felt a surge of happiness watching his sister thoroughly enjoying the food.

Duyun inwardly marveled at how clever her younger sister really was, figuring out how to make such delectable pastries. Not only had these treats won the high regard of the shop's young master, but they were also selling exceptionally well. During the past two occasions, they had completely sold out shortly after being placed on the counters.

With this successful pastry business, the veteran staff in the shop now viewed him in a whole new light. Dusong even harbored a vague sense that among his batch of apprentices, he had taken the lead because of these pastries, and before long, he might very well secure a position as an assistant manager.

"Hey, have I seen you somewhere before?" Just as Duyun and Duzhi were relishing their meal and Dusong was daydreaming about the future, someone strolled over to their table, bent down, and asked Duyun with a puzzled expression.

"Huh?" Duyun looked up blankly with a piece of bun still in her mouth, gazing into the face of a young, scholarly-looking man. She felt a vague sense of familiarity, though she couldn't quite remember where they had met.

"Young Master?!" Dusong looked in astonishment as the young master of his shop tried to strike up a conversation with his sister, hesitating over whether he should intervene, when Duyun's crisp voice rang in his ear.

"Oh, it's you! You're the young master of Zhan's Emporium?" Duyun recognized that the person before her was none other than Zhan Congwen, the young man she had rescued from a snakebite when she went up into the mountains.