Shen Anran pretended not to see him.
As if Li Yichen was just another passerby. As if her heart didn't ache the moment she noticed him standing there.
Since her transmigration, this was the first time she was buying beef. She usually bought pork. Beef in this era was expensive — something the well-to-do enjoyed without blinking. Ordinary families thought twice before even asking the price.
But she and Li Yichen had reasoned it out carefully. During the afternoon break, bankers and a few minor court officials would come looking for something hearty. That was when they would serve spicy beef noodles.
If you want to attract money, you must cook something that smells like money.
The meat seller was the only one left in that row. Other stalls had begun closing; wooden boards scraped, water splashed, knives were being washed. The faint metallic smell of fresh meat lingered in the air.
She glanced at the brisket bones piled in the corner. The shanks lay neatly arranged on the table. The cow had clearly been butchered not long ago.
The meat seller looked about four or five years older than her and Li Yichen. Solid build. Tanned skin. The sort of man who went home to a wife and two children and complained about rising grain prices.
"How much a jin?" Shen Anran asked, pointing at the shank.
"Ah, five yuan a jin," he replied, already lifting his knife, confident.
"Ah…" Shen Anran hesitated. She had planned to bargain — reduce it by one yuan, maybe one yuan fifty if she pushed hard enough.
Then—
"I need 2.5 jin."
Li Yichen's voice cut in smoothly.
He pointed at the exact same shank.
Shen Anran froze.
Her anger rose instantly. She had been calculating how to reduce the price in her head, and this man just stood there and accepted the price like a wealthy fool.
Couldn't he at least try to lower it?!
Hmph!
Her face stiffened with irritation.
Li Yichen, on the other hand, thought calmly, Five yuan? That's already cheaper than what he budgeted. Quite cheap.
You see, both of them were right in their own ways.
To Li Yichen, five yuan was reasonable.
To Shen Anran, five yuan was daylight robbery.
The seller nodded, pleased, and began cutting and weighing the meat. He had just tied up Li Yichen's portion when he heard Shen Anran ask softly,
"Uncle… how much for the brisket bones?"
The bones were essential for broth. She needed depth of flavor.
The seller looked at the small pile remaining. Earlier, he had noticed the girl trying to bargain before the young man interrupted. In his mind, he pieced together a story immediately.
Ah.
Pretty girl. Thin purse.
Wanted meat but couldn't afford it. Now settling for bones to make soup taste meaty.
His heart softened. Market sellers saw everything. They also imagined everything.
"Ah girl…" he sighed. "You want bone, ah? I give you all. Free."
Shen Anran blinked.
Free?
She wanted to ask why, but Li Yichen was still there. She refused to look poor in front of him.
"Ah uncle, I can pay. Just tell me how much."
The more she insisted, the more convinced he became that she was struggling.
"No need, no need. Uncle give you. Take it."
He waved his hand grandly, already packing them up.
Shen Anran bowed slightly. Pride could wait. Free ingredients could not.
Beside her, Li Yichen snickered.
Couldn't afford meat. Came for bones instead. Hmph. Poor girl.
He didn't say it aloud, but his expression said enough.
If looks could burn, Li Yichen would have turned into roasted beef right there.
He paid and left, giving her one last superior glance that made her blood boil.
Who does he think he is?
Finally, the seller packed nearly 2 kilograms of brisket bones for her. Then she bought three jin of beef — and after a bit of soft persistence and a few careful words, he agreed to four yuan per jin.
Twelve yuan total.
She paid and thanked him sincerely.
Just as she was about to leave, the butcher leaned forward slightly. His eyes gleamed.
Markets ran on two things: profit and gossip.
Without gossip, half the vendors would die of boredom.
"Ah girl…" he lowered his voice, wanting to glean gossip, "don't get angry, ah. That boy la… your ex-lover?"
Shen Anran nearly choked on air.
Ex-lover?!
She would rather date a pig.
But she smiled politely. One never offended a man holding a cleaver.
"No. He offended me this morning and didn't apologize."
That was all she gave him.
Then she fled before he could ask whether they had once exchanged love tokens or if marriage talks had failed.
The butcher clicked his tongue as she walked away.
Young people these days. Always dramatic. Definitely something there.
He loved these little stories. They made the long hours of chopping meat entertaining.
When Li Yichen returned to his stall, he saw his aunt had already sold out the anchovies they prepared earlier. Eighty servings. Fifty cents each.
Not bad.
He stepped into the kitchen to begin preparations for the afternoon.
But a thought lingered.
Anchovies.
Peanuts.
Noodles.
Beef.
He frowned slightly.
No.
Coincidence.
He shook his head and pushed the thought away.
Shen Anran returned to her shop smiling.
Customers were still seated inside. She greeted them cheerfully. It was 12:28.
She inhaled.
Still enough time before the afternoon crowd at two.
She placed the beef and bones in the kitchen, then stepped out to talk with Lin Wanru.
And she began venting.
Dry goods section — he appeared.
Anchovies — fought over the last batch.
Peanuts — he followed her, though they bought from different stalls.
Noodles — same quantity.
Now beef — same cut, same amount.
And he even had the audacity to look at her like she was the poor one.
Lin Wanru listened carefully, her brows knitting tighter with each detail.
"That is too much coincidence," she muttered.
Same stalls. Same ingredients.
She finally asked what had been forming in her mind.
"Are you sure… he isn't copying your menu?"
Shen Anran laughed it off immediately.
"Really, Auntie?"
She had only discussed the menu with her mother. And her mother would never betray her.
It had to be coincidence.
It had to be.
But even as she laughed, a thin thread of unease wrapped around her thoughts.
What if they were bought cooking the same dish?
Who
copied who?
Little did they know that they faced each other with just a thin road separating them.