The Old Street’s Sweet Troubles

Chen Ran and the Jiang sisters ultimately decided to walk home.

****

Along the way.

Hearing Jiang Zilin, who had just been whimpering and grumbling moments ago in and around the convenience store, instantly quieted down.

There had been no one inside or outside the convenience store at the time.

But once they reached the street.

It was bustling with people coming and going.

With her head bowed, the girl slinked along like a thief, trailing closely behind him and Jiang Lengleng, even habitually tugging at her sister’s hem; it was truly hard to tell who was the older sister.

The walk home remained silent.

Jiang Lengleng chose not to speak, while Jiang Zilin dared not utter a sound.

By then, it was already nearing seven in the evening.

The sky had darkened somewhat compared to moments ago, and in the distance, one could already discern the small moon and a scattering of stars hanging in the dark azure canvas of the sky.

The orange streetlights lining both sides of the old street had all illuminated.

Everywhere, there were children running wild after dinner, families of three out for a stroll, as well as young or middle-aged people returning home from work.

The street, which had been tranquil during the day, gradually grew boisterous.

The trio walked on until they reached an old-fashioned pastry shop not far from their home.

The shop was an old, two-story house.

Made of wood, it was surprisingly sturdy; after a fresh coat of paint last year, it looked almost like a new building.

The ground floor served as the storefront, lacking a signboard; instead, a wooden plank extended beneath its long windows.

Upon it, an array of old-fashioned pastries was displayed in iron trays.

These were primarily traditional treats such as osmanthus cakes, shortbread, sugar cakes, glutinous rice balls, sesame balls, and small milk bread.

In a rocking chair behind the window sat a leisurely old grandmother.

Her frail body rested against a long chair stuffed with old clothes, and a whirring electric fan beside her blew a steady breeze.

A typical family drama played on the television.

“Grandma Yang, I’d like half a pound of osmanthus cakes and half a pound of shortbread.”

“Alright.”

Grandma Yang said slowly, rising to pack the pastries for him.

“So, Lengleng and Zilin are out together today too, huh? Oh? Are you Lengleng’s husband, or Zilin’s husband?”

The elderly grandmother, her hair already turned gray, clearly wasn’t blessed with the best memory anymore.

Chen Ran recalled having told her that he was merely boarding with the Jiang family.

But…

Perhaps for an elderly person, the concept of ‘boarding’ was simply incomprehensible.

“He’s my mom’s husband, Grandma Yang~”

Jiang Zilin was still fanning the flames.

‘Nonsense.’

‘So, you dare to speak up in front of familiar faces, do you?!’

Chen Ran still preferred the sight of this girl timidly tugging at her sister’s hem, or even his own.

“Oh~ So Jiang Ruohua got married, then.”

“…”

Chen Ran was at a loss for words for a moment, simply casting a glare at Jiang Zilin before whispering menacingly into her ear.

“Call me Dad!”

“?!”

To his utter astonishment, the girl’s expression suddenly shifted again, and then, right in front of him, she pulled out her phone, ready to dial her mother.

“So Chen Ran really *does* have ideas about Mom!! That’s too naughty, I absolutely must warn Mom to be careful!!!”

“…”

Chen Ran was speechless, able only to watch Jiang Zilin, with a triumphant smirk like a victor, wave her phone at him.

Thankfully, the girl didn’t actually make the call.

“Half a pound of osmanthus cakes is six kuai, and half a pound of sugar cakes is four kuai fifty, for a total of ten kuai fifty.”

Chen Ran took the weighed pastries from Grandma Yang, calculated the amount, and handed the money over to the old woman, who, however, had clearly misheard him.

“Four kuai fifty? Then, Jiang Ruohua’s husband, why are you giving me ten kuai?”

“…”

Seeing the old grandmother about to return money to him again.

Chen Ran had to spend several more minutes patiently explaining that he hadn’t overpaid her, urging her to keep all the money.

It was a familiar routine.

After all, every day he returned home, whenever he came here to buy pastries, Chen Ran inevitably found himself in a lengthy back-and-forth with Grandma Yang, always addressed as ‘Lengleng’s husband’ or ‘Zilin’s husband’.

Either she would pack too many pastries.

Or she would believe she had overcharged him and insist on returning his money.

‘Chen Ran truly felt.’

If not for the fact that the grandmother’s business was situated on this old street, and that all the neighbors—including the Jiang sisters and even their mother, Jiang Ruohua—had grown up eating her pastries.

Everyone was incredibly conscientious, sometimes even giving the old grandmother extra money.

Otherwise.

It would be a miracle if the business could survive.

Grandma Yang was now over eighty years old, her children all having settled down in Xijing, leaving no one to care for her—a seemingly common occurrence in this country.

Almost all young people had moved to the metropolis of Xijing, leaving their parents in their hometowns.

However, to be fair.

Although the old grandmother’s eyesight had grown dim with age, her pastries were exceptionally delicious—Chen Ran had once thought that Jiang Zilin and Jiang Lengleng’s fondness for her pastries stemmed merely from having grown up eating them.

Much like ‘Mom’s cooking,’ it was the taste of home, and in their eyes, absolutely unrivaled, a ‘T0’ (TL Note: A gaming term referring to the highest tier or best-in-class) delicacy.

Yet, after tasting the old grandmother’s pastries just once, Chen Ran was also utterly astonished, marveling that such delicious food could exist in the world.

He had even brought some to Duanmu Hui on one occasion.

The celebrity, who had sampled countless delicacies, had showered them with praise.

However, as a national idol, Duanmu Hui had to maintain her figure, so despite their deliciousness, she only took a single bite.

Such was the discipline required of an idol.

Though to Chen Ran, this level of self-control bordered on ‘perverse’.

“We’ll be going now, Grandma~”

“Mm-hmm.”

Grandma Yang settled back into her rocking chair.

Chen Ran handed the purchased pastries to Jiang Lengleng for her to hold, lest Jiang Zilin secretly pilfer them along the way.

They hadn’t walked much further.

When they saw a sedan drive down the narrow road of the old street, then pull up beside Grandma Yang’s pastry shop.

From the car emerged a middle-aged woman, heavily made up, clad in a red top, a short leather skirt, black stockings, and high heels.

A visibly artificial smile was plastered across her face; she didn’t seem to be there to buy pastries.

Instead, she stretched her neck, leaning half her body through the shop window, apparently conversing with Grandma Yang.

Jiang Zilin, curious yet somewhat worried, remarked.

“What’s she doing?”

“Let’s go take a look.”

Jiang Lengleng delivered her concise conclusion.

Evidently, both sisters were concerned that the old grandmother might have encountered some sort of swindler.

As the trio drew closer.

They indeed overheard the middle-aged woman, still wearing her forced smile, prattling on incessantly.

“Mhm, you just hold onto this card, the password is on the back, just remember it clearly then you can scratch it off~”

“That’s right, there’s a hundred thousand kuai on the card, you can use it however you like.”

“We’re a professional company, and staff will come every month to reconcile your spending.”

“You only need to repay a tiny bit each month, you can use the money on the card as much as you want, repay as much as you use, you don’t even have to repay the full amount, just a small bit of interest…”