Chapter 22: Acquaintance

“How long do we wait here?”

“Five to ten minutes, maybe?”

“That precise?”

“Yup, mornings he’s at You Hu Village, afternoons he goes elsewhere.”

“Doesn’t he always sell out?”

“Of course, he restocks and keeps selling.”

Lin Qing smiled, pulling a neatly wrapped oilpaper packet from her pocket and offering it to Yin Xing.

“Xiao Xing, want some?”

Yin Xing ignored her, eyes fixed on the village entrance, waiting for the van to appear.

“What’s that?”

Sang Shen stepped in to ease the awkwardness.

“My homemade spicy strips~ You’ve had them!”

“Oh, those.”

“Yup, Xiao Xing, really don’t want any? They’re good!”

“Ahem, she can’t taste much right now…”

Lin Qing glanced at Yin Xing’s back, winking at Sang Shen as if to say ‘I know.’

“Try it, they’re really tasty.”

“…It’ll dirty my hands.”

“No problem, I brought chopsticks~!”

“Who carries chopsticks around?”

“Hehe, sometimes I mooch meals at others’ houses.”

“You bring your own bowl and chopsticks to mooch?”

“Yup! Just one bite!”

Lin Qing opened the packet, the rich, spicy aroma filling the air, the bright red color tempting.

“…Hm.”

Yin Xing seemed tempted.

“Give it a try?”

Lin Qing offered the chopsticks.

But Yin Xing looked at Sang Shen.

“Uh… want me to feed you?”

“Yeah.”

“Alright… one strip to start?”

Yin Xing didn’t speak, just opened her mouth naturally.

“How is it?”

Lin Qing asked excitedly.

“…Tingly.”

“‘Cause of the Sichuan pepper! Got chili and pepper!”

“…”

“Pretty good, right?”

“…More.”

“Bit more this time?”

“Yeah.”

In that moment, Sang Shen felt like a zookeeper feeding a small animal, Yin Xing’s face somehow cuter.

As he wondered if she’d finish the whole packet, a faint vibration rumbled through the ground.

Looking up, a blue Suzuki van crept closer.

A white megaphone on the hood looped a pre-recorded sales pitch.

As it neared, the voice sharpened.

“Selling goods… items… fresh… meat… selling goods now, daily necessities, fresh meat, veggies, fruits, cheap—selling goods now…”

“There! That’s the peddler’s van!”

“Yup, I see it…”

Sang Shen nodded, about to say something to Yin Xing when he noticed her staring at the spicy strips in his hand. Chuckling, he fed her another piece.

“Yin Xing, look, the van’s here.”

“…Yeah.”

She chewed, turning to look.

The van parked steadily under the locust tree. A middle-aged man hopped out, and Lin Qing greeted him eagerly.

“Uncle Zhang! Got any good snacks today?”

“Haha, today? Ginger candy!”

“Eh~ anything fresher?”

“Yup, pork slaughtered this morning, super fresh!”

“Not that kind of fresh!”

“Haha, that’s it then.”

He laughed, opening the cargo hatch.

“Two new faces today? Haven’t seen you before, friends from town?”

“From the city~”

“Oh, summer break, huh?”

“Staying here for good now.”

“Nice, haha, we’ll see each other often then.”

Uncle Zhang grinned.

“Come, look around, way more convenient than town, and cheap and fresh!”

The hatch opened, revealing neatly arranged goods—shelves packed tight, a true mobile supermarket.

The owner set up two folding tables, placing plastic crates of fresh meat on them—so fresh, Sang Shen had never seen anything like it.

Finally, he placed a thick round cutting board on the table, calling out warmly.

“Come, kid, want some meat? Who cooks at home? If it’s your dad, he’ll like fattier cuts. If it’s your mom, she’ll want these skin-on chops…”

“Ahem, I cook.”

“Oh, like the post office girl, haha!”

“What’s she like?”

Sang Shen naturally fed Yin Xing another spicy strip, but she shook her head, seemingly done.

“Pork belly!”

“That’s pricey, right?”

“But delicious! I usually get cheaper hind leg meat, though.”

“Don’t like meat? Got fish, caught from the stream, no muddy taste, clean as can be.”

“So much stuff, even soap!”

“Haha, buy from me weekly, saves a trip to town.”

As Sang Shen scanned the goods, villagers, drawn by the megaphone, began gathering.

Before he knew it, a crowd of elderly folks surrounded him.

Odd, since the village usually seemed empty…

They chattered in dialect, picking items and boldly haggling.

Some slashed prices in half, leaving Sang Shen sweating.

But the owner, unfazed, bantered back, settling on fair prices.

“Uh… getting crowded…”

Originally at the front, Sang Shen was now pushed to the middle, while Yin Xing was squeezed outside.

“Forget it, I’ll buy after they’re done…”

He stepped out to join Yin Xing.

“So many people.”

“…Lively.”

“Feels like half the village showed up. There’s gotta be twenty or thirty here.”

He glanced farther.

“And more coming.”

“Some young ones too.”

“Probably on summer break, buying for their families… huh—?”

Sang Shen lit up, shouting at a boy nearing the van.

“Hey—Xiao Xiang!!”

The boy, twirling a key ring, looked up, confused, scanning the distance before spotting Sang Shen.

“Uh… who?”

“Me!”

He squinted, stepping closer, then widened his eyes in surprise.

“Damn, Little Leaf!”

“Took you long enough!”

“Been getting nearsighted, and dude, how’d you get so tall? Taller than me!”

“You’re just short. I’m only one-seventy.”

Sang Shen slapped his shoulder.

The other boy wasn’t much shorter—three centimeters at most, close enough.

This was Yu Feixiang, Sang Shen’s childhood friend.

Every summer, they’d return to the village, growing close over the years. Since both came from the city for vacation, they clicked, often exploring the mountains together when local kids excluded them.

“Damn, last time we met was summer of first year, right?”

“Yup, two years ago.”

“Why didn’t you come back?”

“Ahem, stuck in tutoring…”

“Haha, brutal! Lucky I didn’t have to. How you doing? Pass your exams?”

“Not bad… good enough for high school.”

“Solid. When you heading back to the city?”

“Not going back. Living here now.”

“Damn, you’re going to the town high school too?”

“Wait! You too?”

“Yup! Man, this is great, we’ll see each other every day!”

“Such a coincidence. But aren’t your parents working in S City? Why’re you studying here?”

“No choice, not an S City resident. Can only go to high school in Tong County. Didn’t want to board, so I’ll commute from Grandma’s.”

“Talk about unexpected…”

Sang Shen was genuinely shocked. In his last life, Yu Feixiang never studied here, nor returned for later summers.

“Damn, you got a girlfriend already?”

“…Girlfriend?”

“That girl next to you, so pretty, damn, I’m jealous!”

“W-What’re you talking about…”

Sang Shen glanced nervously at Yin Xing.

“She’s my cousin!”

“Cousin?”

“Yup.”

“Your cousin’s that pretty, big bro?”

“Big bro, my ass.”

“Introduce us!”

“No chance, she’d never go for your type.”

“Damn, you don’t know unless you try!”

Yu Feixiang winked at Yin Xing.

“Right, cousin?”

“She’s not your cousin!”

“I wasn’t talking to you. Cousin, cousin, what’s your name?”

“…Yin Xing.”

She gazed at this childhood friend, unchanged from memory, lost in thought.

“Kinda quiet, huh?”

“She’s not in great spirits.”

“Oh… fried from studying?”

“…Something like that.”

Sang Shen brushed it off.

“Whatever, gotta buy meat or there’s nothing for lunch!”

“No rush, wait till they’re done.”

“Man, wait for these aunties and uncles? No good stuff left!”

Yu Feixiang dove into the crowd, waving a pen and paper.

“Boss—! One jin of pork chops—!!”

“Haha, Yu Feixiang’s still such a character, huh?”

“…He died in a car accident the summer after junior high.”

“What?”

“Heard it later.”

“Damn, no wonder I never saw him again! But… how’s he fine this time? Butterfly effect? Did he dodge it?”

Yin Xing gently gripped Sang Shen’s shirt, her eyes brightening.

“…The future can be changed.”