Chapter 79

At the tofu pudding stall, Zhao Junchen brought Xu Qingyan and quietly waited for an empty seat among the bustling crowd on the street.

"Hey, two customers have arrived. Please wait a moment, there will be seats available soon."

The old man Liu, who ran the tofu pudding stall, had become quite familiar with Zhao Junchen and Xu Qingyan over the past few days. Seeing the two, he quickly called out.

Zhao Junchen was very polite, showing no trace of his official status. He waved and smiled, saying, "Old Mr. Liu, you go ahead and work. Don't worry about us; we're not in a hurry."

Today, the tofu pudding stall was very busy, and Old Mr. Liu was indeed a bit flustered. Hearing Zhao Junchen's words, he simply smiled and continued making tofu pudding and serving customers.

In Old Mr. Liu's eyes, Zhao Junchen, who was always gentle and polite, was just an ordinary scholar, a regular customer who didn't need special attention.

On the other hand, Xu Qingyan, seeing that they still had to wait, showed a look of displeasure and muttered something under his breath.

The tofu pudding was made quickly and eaten quickly, so they didn't have to wait long before two seats became available.

"Old Mr. Liu, the usual: two bowls of tofu pudding and half a pound of fried dough sticks."

Seeing the empty seats, Zhao Junchen called out to Old Mr. Liu while leading Xu Qingyan to the seats.

However, in this era, there were no strict rules. Whoever was faster got the seat.

Just as Zhao Junchen reached the empty seats, a figure darted by, and someone had already taken one of the seats.

Zhao Junchen was taken aback. The person who had taken the seat was a young girl, around sixteen years old, dressed simply, and holding a large bundle.

Perhaps because she felt guilty for taking the seat, the girl lowered her head, tightly hugging the bundle, and didn't dare to look at Zhao Junchen.

Seeing someone take the seat, Zhao Junchen hadn't yet reacted, but Xu Qingyan was already furious. He shouted, "Get up! This seat is for my young master."

Hearing Xu Qingyan's shout, the girl's small body trembled slightly. She glanced up at Zhao Junchen and Xu Qingyan, then quickly lowered her head again, not daring to look.

However, even though it was just a fleeting glance, it was enough to leave Zhao Junchen somewhat impressed. She had bright eyes, willow-like eyebrows, a gentle demeanor, and a natural beauty that was even more appealing without any makeup.

"Judging a person by their appearance" is a negative term, but it is a common human flaw. Seeing the girl's appearance and demeanor, Zhao Junchen couldn't help but think, "This girl doesn't seem like someone who would break the rules. Why did she take my seat?"

Seeing the girl's guilty and hesitant expression, Zhao Junchen confirmed his thoughts.

However, Xu Qingyan wasn't as easy to deal with as Zhao Junchen. Although he was embarrassed to scold a pretty girl, he turned to Old Mr. Liu and shouted, "Old Mr. Liu, someone has taken my young master's seat. Aren't you going to do something about it?"

Xu Qingyan's voice was loud, and with his shout, the attention of the other customers at the tofu pudding stall turned to them, most of them with expressions of anticipation, as if they were waiting for a show.

The girl, seeing the attention, blushed deeply, her face turning red all the way to her neck. Her body trembled slightly, but she still looked like she wanted to leave but didn't dare to.

On the other side, Old Mr. Liu, hearing Xu Qingyan's shout, hurried over to the seat and said to the girl, "Little girl, these two customers were here first, and they've already ordered tofu pudding and fried dough sticks. Why don't you wait a bit longer?"

Hearing Old Mr. Liu's words, the girl hesitated for a moment before finally preparing to stand up.

However, just as she was about to leave, a young man's voice came from behind the crowd.

"Whoever sees it first gets it? That's not fair at all. If I had come earlier, when there were no customers, and just glanced at the stall, would all the empty seats be mine? Wouldn't that mean all the customers here have taken my seats? As the saying goes, 'the quick get the reward.' The empty seat should naturally belong to whoever sits down first."

As the voice spoke, a young man appeared, dressed in fine clothing, looking like a scholar, holding a book in his hand. He had a handsome face, but he was clearly in a bad mood and glared at the girl when he appeared.

Seeing the young man, the girl's face showed a hint of panic, making her look even more delicate and weak. She quickly stood up and gave the seat to the young man.

Seeing this, Zhao Junchen understood. Clearly, this girl was a servant or maid of the young man, and she had taken the seat at his instruction.

However, what was strange was that the young man and the girl had somewhat similar features.

"You..."

Seeing this, Xu Qingyan naturally became furious, pointing at the young man and about to scold him.

However, just as he opened his mouth, Zhao Junchen stopped him, smiling, "Forget it, it's not worth getting upset over such a trivial matter."

As he spoke, Zhao Junchen turned to Old Mr. Liu, who looked troubled, and said, "Old Mr. Liu, I'll wait here a bit longer. When there's an empty seat, you can bring the tofu pudding and fried dough sticks."

Old Mr. Liu, looking grateful, went to prepare the tofu pudding and fried dough sticks.

The young man, seeing this, looked at Zhao Junchen with a smug expression, as if to say, "You know your place."

However, just as he was about to sit down, his expression suddenly froze.

It turned out that although Zhao Junchen had changed out of his official robes in the sedan chair, he hadn't changed his official boots. Moreover, his clothes, though ordinary in appearance, were all made of Shu brocade, which was a rare and valuable fabric, often reserved for the imperial court and hard to find in ordinary households.

The young man had noticed all of this.

After a moment of hesitation, the young man's expression changed, and he walked to the girl, suddenly changing his tone and loudly scolding her, "Even if that's the case, since they've already ordered food, the situation is different. How could you take someone else's seat? What has happened to your manners over the years?"

Hearing the young man's scolding, the girl's face turned pale, but she lowered her head and didn't dare to speak.

Seeing this, Zhao Junchen was also taken aback. Thinking about the young man's sudden change in attitude, he looked down at his own official boots and couldn't help but laugh to himself, "I was careless. This young man has keen eyes and a sharp mind, but he's shifting the blame to others, which is a bit lacking in responsibility."

Just as Zhao Junchen was thinking, the young man approached him, bowed, and said, "My servant has broken the rules. I hope you won't hold it against her. Please, take the seat."

Zhao Junchen was about to refuse, but he saw that two more customers had just left, so he said, "There's no need. Look, there are more empty seats. Let's all sit together."

As he spoke, Zhao Junchen casually took a seat, and the young man sat beside him.

"Huh?"

Just as the young man was about to say something, Zhao Junchen saw the book in his hand and was suddenly surprised.

It turned out that the book in the young man's hand was the very one that the Shanxi merchants had written to praise Zhao Junchen, "The Record of the Locust Extermination in Luan Prefecture"!