It turned out a mouse had been stealing the offerings in front of the memorial tablet and knocked over the tablet, then ran away before Wang Daxia lit the candle.
A false alarm.
Wei Caiwei said: “You handle the mouse. Ghost and spirit talk isn’t credible. Go to sleep.”
Wang Daxia nodded and pointed at the memorial tablet: “Could you please take the memorial tablet upstairs? I… I find it creepy and can’t sleep. I keep feeling like this tablet is watching me.”
Wei Caiwei found it amusing: You’re afraid of yourself?
Wang Daxia thought Wei Caiwei was unwilling and quickly said: “I’ll pay extra—is two taels enough?”
Wei Caiwei gained new understanding of her dead ghost husband: So the decisive Factory Director Wang was afraid of ghosts!
Wang Daxia: “Five taels?”
“No need. I won’t take advantage of someone in distress.” Wei Caiwei took the memorial tablet upstairs.
Wang Daxia finally relaxed and sat on the arhat couch. Just as he was about to blow out the candle, he hesitated, still feeling lingering fear and not daring to sleep in darkness.
He simply left the candle burning and slept until dawn.
Caiwei was awakened by the calls of peddlers selling fried dough sticks and tofu pudding in the alley.
She went downstairs and bought five fried dough sticks and a crock of tofu pudding. The peddler wanted to pour salty sauce on top of the tofu pudding, but Wei Caiwei stopped him: “No need—I like it sweet.”
The peddler shouldered his carrying pole and left, but Wei Caiwei called out: “Wait.” She brought out a small bowl from home: “Put the sauce separately in here.”
Her dead ghost husband liked salty tofu pudding.
The peddler added minced garlic and chive flower sauce to the salty sauce. Just as he was about to sprinkle cilantro, Wei Caiwei said: “No cilantro.”
Her dead ghost husband hated cilantro—whether in wontons, tofu pudding, mutton soup, or hotpot, he couldn’t stand the smell of cilantro.
The noise of Wei Caiwei buying breakfast woke Wang Daxia, who immediately got up to dress and wash, afraid the young widow would take advantage of him while he slept.
By the time he finished grooming and wrapping his headband, Wei Caiwei had already set breakfast on the table.
Tofu pudding and fried dough sticks—the most ordinary food, yet it made Wang Daxia’s mouth water. He had only eaten watermelon and brown sugar fried cakes last night and was very hungry now, but the Northern District Military Commissioner’s people hadn’t withdrawn yet, so he couldn’t go out.
“Let’s eat together.” Wei Caiwei added two big spoonfuls of snow-white sugar to her bowl of tofu pudding.
Wang Daxia thought: If I eat her food, I’ll be in her debt—what if the young widow makes excessive requests like warming the bed…
“You already paid last night anyway.” Wei Caiwei said.
Oh right, I did pay.
Wang Daxia sat across from her and served himself a bowl of tofu pudding. He first smelled the salty sauce to confirm there was no cilantro, then poured half a bowl of salty sauce.
Wei Caiwei ate two fried dough sticks, Wang Daxia ate three. The portion was just right—both were full with no leftovers. This was the understanding of thirty years of marriage.
Wang Daxia put down his chopsticks, and Wei Caiwei asked: “Do you know how to wash dishes?”
Wang Daxia was a dandy who never lifted a finger, so he shook his head: “No.”
Wei Caiwei: “Wash the dishes—I’ll teach you, it’s very simple.”
Wei Caiwei had Wang Daxia collect the dirty dishes and wash them with water from the back courtyard cistern. Wang Daxia was living under someone else’s roof and was no longer a young master, so he had to comply. After rinsing three times, hearing the sound of the guard soldiers withdrawing and riding horses in the alley, he quickly said: “They’ve left—I can go now. Farewell.”
Wang Daxia shouldered his bundle and had just touched the door bolt when he heard the clip-clop of horse hooves in the alley again. Had the Northern District Military Commissioner returned?
The horse hooves stopped right at the door, immediately followed by someone banging roughly on the door.
The knocking was very rude. Wei Caiwei gave Wang Daxia a meaningful look and said: “Who is making noise outside?”
The person outside said: “Imperial Guards on official business—open the door quickly!”