Republic of China, 1928: Starting from a Wonton Shop

The wheelbarrow rolled over the snow on the road, leaving a deep tire track.

Li Chunsheng pushed the cart, with Ya Ya following behind, one hand tightly gripping the crossbar. The two, one tall and one short, walked towards the alley along the West Riverbank of Qianmen in the swirling snow.

On the way, Li Chunsheng calculated today's profits. Business was even better tonight than during the day. He had sold more than 30 bowls of ramen alone. The gross profit for the day was probably close to 400 copper coins.

Although the exchange rate between copper coins and silver dollars is extremely unstable nowadays—300 copper coins can be exchanged for one silver dollar today, but it may rise to 320 tomorrow—in any case, in Beijing today, this is definitely considered a high income.

Entering the alleys of Xiheyan, the gusts of wind blowing through the alleys stung people's faces.

Pushing open the courtyard gate, the courtyard was quiet.

Li Chunsheng carefully pushed the cart, avoiding the messy clutter on the ground, and arrived at the backyard.

In the backyard, in Yunniang's room, the window was illuminated by a dim yellow light, and two figures could be vaguely seen through the window paper.

Ya Ya's hand, which was originally gripping the car frame, trembled slightly, and then she withdrew it as if she had been electrocuted.

The little girl lowered her head, and her big eyes, which had been slightly bright after eating a full meal, instantly dimmed, replaced by a numbness that was completely out of place for her age.

She skillfully walked to the sheltered corner under the eaves of her house, where she stood, where a tattered tarpaulin was laid out.

Ya Ya squatted down, hugged her knees, and curled herself into a small ball, preparing to endure the long night in this cold corner.

As Li Chunsheng watched this scene, the veins on the back of his hand gripping the handlebars bulged.

"Get up!" Li Chunsheng parked the car, walked a few steps to Ya Ya, and said in a low voice.

Startled, Ya Ya looked up and saw Li Chunsheng's gloomy face. Thinking she had done something wrong, her voice trembled, "Li...Brother Li...I...I won't make a sound, I won't make a fuss..."

She thought he was annoyed that she was in his way.

Li Chunsheng took a deep breath, suppressing the anger and bitterness in his heart, and tried his best to make his voice sound gentle: "Yaya, listen to me, get up. You can't sleep here tonight, you'll freeze to death."

"It's okay..." Ya Ya was still trying to be brave, her little face turning blue from the cold. "I'm used to it. I can go inside after Uncle leaves."

After Uncle leaves?

Judging from the noise inside, that man is probably staying overnight! And even if this man leaves, there might be another one.

Without further ado, Li Chunsheng grabbed Ya Ya's cold little hand and said, "Come on, let's go to my room to sleep."

Upon hearing this, Ya Ya quickly took a step back, pressed her body against the wall, and shook her head desperately.

"No! No!" Ya Ya's voice was filled with terror. "Mother said, Ya Ya can't... can't go into a man's room... people will gossip... people will talk behind her back..."

Li Chunsheng was stunned.

He looked at the little girl in front of him, who barely reached his waist.

Let alone in 1928, even in rural areas today, if you do something dishonorable, the whole village will talk about you.

If Ya Ya goes into his room to spend the night, even if nothing happens, the next morning, those gossipy old women in this courtyard will come up with a hundred different stories about it, each one unique.

For example, they would say things like "child bride" or "the older one doing this, the younger one won't be any better," and all sorts of other offensive things.

Although Ya Ya was young, she had obviously heard these words. She was afraid of causing trouble for her mother and also afraid of implicating Li Chunsheng.

"Brother Li," Ya Ya said, tears welling in her eyes, "I can't go into your room... that would ruin your reputation... Ya Ya is fine here..."

People are freezing to death, why are you still trying to protect your reputation?!

"Stop talking nonsense!" Li Chunsheng stopped trying to reason with her.

He stepped forward and, without saying a word, picked Ya Ya up in his arms.

"Ah!" Ya Ya let out a short gasp, then quickly covered her mouth. "Brother Li...put me down...I won't go...I really won't go..."

Li Chunsheng ignored her, kicked open the door, carried Ya Ya inside, and closed the door behind him.

Although there was no fire inside, the house was sheltered from the wind on all sides, making it many times warmer than outside.

Li Chunsheng placed Yaya on the only wooden bed.

"Take off your shoes, get into bed, and cover yourself with the blanket."

Ya Ya huddled in the corner of the bed, her hands gripping the hem of her clothes tightly, her eyes filled with panic. She looked at Li Chunsheng, her lips trembling, "Brother Li...this...this isn't right..."

"Stop talking nonsense, there are no rules or regulations."

Li Chunsheng turned around and walked to the table, groped in the dark to strike a match, and lit the kerosene lamp.

The dim light came on, dispelling the darkness in the room and easing the atmosphere somewhat.

Li Chunsheng looked at Ya Ya, who was huddled in the corner of the bed, sighed, and softened his tone: "Ya Ya, listen to your brother, the weather outside is just too cold. Your mother had no choice. You're a child, don't worry about those adults' trivial matters. As for gossip..."

Li Chunsheng sneered, "People can say whatever they want, as long as we're upright and honest, what's there to be afraid of!"

As he spoke, he took out a bundle of spare dry straw from the corner of the wall and spread it evenly on the ground. He then took out an old quilt from the cabinet. It was the one his father used when he was alive. Although it was worn out, it was still quite thick.

"You sleep on the bed tonight, I'll sleep on the floor." Li Chunsheng pointed to the makeshift bed on the floor. "Take off your cotton-padded coat, you won't be warm sleeping in that."

As Ya Ya watched Li Chunsheng busily making a makeshift bed on the floor, tears finally streamed down her face.

She wasn't immature; on the contrary, she was overly sensible.

She knew how comfortable the bed was and how hard the floor was. In this courtyard, apart from her mother, no one had ever treated her so well.

"Brother Li... I'll sleep on the floor..." Ya Ya sobbed, "I'm small, I don't take up much space..."

"Enough with the nonsense!" Li Chunsheng had already lay down. "Just sleep! You have to get up early tomorrow to help me with the work! If you catch a cold, I won't treat you!"

He deliberately spoke harshly to reassure the child.

Sure enough, Ya Ya was so frightened that she dared not argue anymore. She carefully took off the tattered cotton-padded jacket with the cotton batting showing, folded it neatly and placed it on the bedside table, and then crawled into the quilt.

"Brother Li," Ya Ya whispered in the darkness.

"Go to sleep!" Li Chunsheng turned over, his back to the bed.

"Thank you."