Border Cook

Chapter 711 Extra - Who is it (Cen Ying)

Only after the candle flame made a slight "crackling" sound again did Cen Ying come back to his senses from his thoughts.

Holding the bag that had already been packed in his hand, Cen Ying took out the jade pendant from his arms, rubbed it for a long time, and finally gritted his teeth and put the jade pendant back on the table.

The so-called thoughts are nothing more than the hopes and expectations left behind, which can easily lead to fantasies.

Since I have already decided to leave, there is no need for this thought to exist.

From now on, each of them goes their own way and never intersects again. This is the best outcome for both of them.

As the sky outside gradually brightened, Cen Ying blew out the candle on the table, slung the bag over her shoulder, and went out.

Determined.

After leaving the capital, Cen Ying did not immediately set out on the journey westward, but instead chose to head south first.

She needs to go back to her hometown first.

I have been away from home for several years and have not gone to pay homage to my father and mother for many years. Now that I have put down the burden and have some free time, I must go and see my father and mother first.

I just don’t know if my parents’ graves have already been washed away by the rain after so many years of exposure to wind and rain…

With a thought in mind, one will naturally travel much faster.

They rode at full speed day and night, and when Cen Ying arrived at the cemetery, he was shocked.

Not only did her father and mother's graves not get washed down by the rain, but they were very neat, without any grass or trees growing on them. In front of the graves there was even a plate of cakes for offerings and a small pile of ashes from burning paper money.

The cakes and ashes were all brand new, and it was obvious that the worshipper had just left.

However, due to the war, she is the only one alive in the Cen family, and the others have no blood relatives.

Who will come to worship?

Cen Ying looked up and saw bursts of smoke rising in the distance, as if someone was sweeping the grave and paying homage.

The two places are not far apart, maybe that person can see something.

Cen Ying walked forward quickly and saw that the person burning the paper was a young man in a green robe and a square scarf on his head. He had a gentle temperament and looked like a scholar.

After the young scholar had set all the paper money on the ground on fire, he bowed towards the grave, then walked to the grave next to it, took out two pieces of cake from the food box, took out a string of paper money, and continued to burn paper and worship.

After paying respects to two or three graves, Cen Ying frowned and asked, "May I ask..."

The scholar obviously didn't notice that there was someone nearby. The sudden sound startled him so much that he almost fell to the ground. When he saw that the person coming was a heroic young woman, he was a little dazed for a moment.

After a moment, he took two deep breaths and calmed down, "What's the matter, young lady?"

"Are these the graves of your relatives? But I see that there are no tombstones on these graves, so I am a little curious and came to ask a few questions."

Cen Ying paused and said, "Since you are offering sacrifices here, have you ever seen who are offering sacrifices at the two graves over there?"

"These graves are not my relatives'. The grave over there is the one I just visited."

The scholar answered truthfully, "I wonder what the lady wants?"

This person was the one who offered the sacrifice?
And the graves he worshipped weren't his family's?

Cen Ying was even more puzzled. "Since this is not the tomb of your relatives, why did you have to clean and pay respect to each one?"

"This matter..." The scholar smiled a little embarrassedly, "I told the truth, please don't laugh at me, young lady."

"Speak, sir."

"I live nearby. When I go to the school, I always pass by here. I found that there are many graves here, but most of them are deserted. No one has worshipped them for a long time. I thought that perhaps the descendants of these people have left here or are no longer in this world. I sighed in my heart, so I came here to worship and clean up in my spare time, so that the souls under the nine springs can rest in peace."

The scholar paused, and said in a low voice, "When I was young, I fled with my father and mother. On the way, when we were crossing the river by boat, we encountered bandits. My parents were killed by the bandits, and the boat was burned. My parents' bodies were not found. Later, I settled here and built a cenotaph for my father and mother."

"I cleaned the graves for other people's worship, and I also wanted my father and mother to get along well with the neighbors and not be lonely in the afterlife. Please don't laugh at me, young lady."

It turned out to be the case.

When he saw the unattended grave, he was reminded of the tragic death of his own parents. He felt sad and kind-hearted, and wanted to do good deeds to show filial piety to others.

Cen Ying nodded slightly and bowed respectfully to the scholar, "Thank you, my lord."

The scholar was stunned, "Where did the word 'thank you' come from?"

"The two graves over there belong to my father and mother. I have been working away from home for many years and have never returned home, so my father and mother's graves have become desolate. Fortunately, you have compassion for them and have taken care of them frequently, so that the graves are always new and have never been washed away by rain or disturbed by wild animals."

Cen Ying said, "Therefore, Cen Ying thanks you, my dear."

"Mrs. Cen, you are too polite." The scholar bowed, "I am Gu Jingchuan."

"Mr. Gu." Cen Ying bowed again. "Mr. Gu just said that he lives nearby, but there is only one village nearby, Xiaowa Village, and most of the people there are surnamed Zhuang. Mr. Gu..."

Gu Jingchuan smiled and replied, "My home is in a courtyard next to Xiaowa Village over there. There is a persimmon tree and an abandoned yard next to it. It's not hard to find."

Cen Ying pursed her lips.

The direction Gu Jingchuan pointed to was the direction of her old house.

The persimmon tree he was talking about was planted in her yard. Is this Gu Jingchuan his neighbor?

Gu Jingchuan discovered that he was Cen Ying's neighbor when Cen Ying said goodbye and went home, but still walked with him all the way.

This made Gu Jingchuan feel surprised and happy, and he immediately helped Cen Ying to clean up the yard.

The old house of Cen Ying's family has been abandoned for too long. Not only is the yard overgrown with weeds and covered with dust, but there are also many mold spots on the walls. There is a collapsed roof, and in the rest of the houses, spots of light can be seen through the roofs, which are obviously missing or broken tiles.

"The roof is leaking air and rain, it needs to be repaired." Gu Jingchuan frowned and said, "Otherwise, it's the rainy season now, once it rains, let alone living here, I'm afraid we won't even be able to rest our feet."

"But Madam Cen has nowhere to stay right now..."

Gu Jingchuan paused and said, "Although my house is not big, there are still a few empty rooms. They are usually empty and cleaned quite well. Why don't you stay here for a few days, Madam Cen, and move back home after the roof is repaired?"

"We can tell others that Madam Cen and I are distant relatives, and others probably won't say anything."

"Thank you for your kindness, Mr. Gu." Cen Ying said, "I came back home just to take a look around, and I didn't plan to stay. Since I can't live in your house, I will leave soon."

"I see." Gu Jingchuan lowered his eyelids to hide his disappointment and asked tentatively, "Excuse me, where are you going, Madam Cen?"

"Right now, it's not certain."

Seeing that Cen Ying didn't want to say more, Gu Jingchuan didn't ask any further questions. He just boiled some tea at home and invited Cen Ying to drink some tea.

After drinking a few cups of tea, Cen Ying decided to leave today, so he didn't stay long and just stood up to say goodbye.

Gu Jingchuan walked a few steps forward, and when Cen Ying declined, he stopped and watched Cen Ying go away.

Not until Cen Ying's shadow completely disappeared did Gu Jingchuan retract his gaze and sighed.

A tassel is a fringe-like thing made of silk thread.

The ears of corn are beautiful in appearance, fluttering in the wind, and look extremely cool and lovable.

Danying also refers to the leather belt used to tie a horse. He has a strong character and is different from ordinary people.

Cen Ying possesses both qualities, but is more inclined towards the latter. She probably wouldn't look down upon a useless scholar like him.

Gu Jingchuan smiled self-deprecatingly, shook his head, and turned to go home.

When she reached the door and saw the extremely dilapidated courtyard next to it, she pursed her lips and walked into her home.

After a while, he came out of the house again.

He tied his belt and held a broom and a sickle in his hands.

After leaving home, Cen Ying paid homage again at the graves of her father and mother, and then set out on her journey again.

All the way to Jinqiu County.

After arriving in Jinqiu County, Cen Ying settled down in the yard he had bought before.

A few days after settling down, Cen Ying resumed her starch sausage business.

Xia Mingyue had previously taught the method of making starch sausage only to Cen Ying and Xu Chong, and had never taught it to anyone else. Therefore, after Cen Ying and others left, no one in Jinqiu County sold this delicacy, so that many people could not forget starch sausage, but could only bury it deep in their memory.

Now the starch sausage has reappeared, the taste is the same as before, and the person selling it is still the heroic young lady as before, and many people are rushing to buy it.

The starch sausage business was booming and was sold out early every day. Many diners begged Cen Ying to make more.

However, all the starch sausages have to be made by hand, and Cen Ying is really unable to handle it alone, and the sales volume of the starch sausages can never be increased.

Everyone felt quite regretful about this, but when they thought about the fact that slow work produces fine work and good food is never too late, they stopped urging people and just lined up in front of the stall early every day so that they could buy starch sausages earlier and buy more starch sausages.

The days passed one by one, from summer to winter, and from winter to early spring.

Cen Ying's starch sausage stall business is still booming.

Touching his bulging wallet and seeing that Qingming Festival was approaching, Cen Ying closed his starch stall and returned home to visit the graves.

The grave was as new and smooth as last year, and traces of paper money burned in front of the grave were still there.

Obviously, that Gu Jingchuan...

Cen Ying pursed her lips and walked home.

When she arrived at the door of her house, Cen Ying was stunned.

The house is still the same house, but the dilapidated state of the past has been swept away, replaced by a neatly repaired and clean house.

There is even a patch of roses planted in the corner of the yard. They are growing vigorously and some even have buds.

Going further in, the roof, walls, doors, windows and even the tables, chairs and beds inside are all spotless, yet there is no sign of habitation.

It was obvious that no one lived in this courtyard, but people often came to clean it.

who is it?

The extra chapters are some unfinished small plots and some off-topic stories. There is no order of precedence. It is entirely up to the author to write whatever he wants. Please don't be surprised~
The extra chapter about Cen Ying is a separate short story, you can skip it if you don't like it~