Underfoot stretched a street paved with bluestone slabs and covered in packed snow. Behind him stood rows upon rows of shops and homes, their foundations built of blue brick, their rooftops layered with dark teal barrel tiles.
Dressed in a short brown jacket, Chen Zhaoming stood in front of his family's fishball shop.
"So now I've become Fishball Chen?"
A full day had passed since Chen Zhaoming had written I am not Ch'en Hui-chieh's father into the Chronicle of Time. After that day of adjustment, he had finally figured out what changes his rewritten history had brought about.
First of all, he was still Chen Zhaoming. His name had not changed, nor had his status and position within the Chen family. But when the Princess of Yan had been choosing a husband, the unlucky victim had no longer been him, but another direct descendant of the Chen family. The princess still despised her husband just the same, and she had still wasted away in melancholy and died a year ago.
As a result, Chen Zhaoming had gone from being one of the principal parties in the affair between the princess and the Chen family to an innocent bystander caught in the fallout. A year ago, because of the princess's death, he had lost his post as a court historian and, together with the unfortunate cousin who had taken his place, come to Lungmen to make a living.
At first, Chen Zhaoming had wondered: if he was no longer Ch'en Hui-chieh's father, would Ch'en Hui-chieh still even be born?
Now it seemed that he had worried for nothing.
Even without Chen Zhaoming, there would still have been a Chen Zhaohui or a Chen Zhaojun. To the world as a whole, his existence was not all that important. The deviation caused by rewriting that piece of history had been negligible.
The price he paid was merely that he would not be able to use the Chronicle of Time again for three months.
In fact, Chen Zhaoming did not even know the cousin who had replaced him. In his own memories, back then he had been the only unmarried direct-line young man of suitable age in the Chen family.
If there was any real change...
"Brother, I'm hungry~"
A lazy voice called from behind him. When Chen Zhaoming woke up that morning and saw that there was suddenly an extra person in the house, he had been startled for a moment. But almost immediately, he recognized who it was.
It was none other than the little girl who used to trail after him like a shadow.
Chen Zhaoqian.
They were related, though only distantly—so distantly that they were long past the traditional bounds of close kinship. But after Chen Zhaoqian's parents became court officials, that tenuous blood tie had immediately been brought back into consideration, and her branch of the family had once again been counted as part of the Chen clan.
When the Chen family had been at its height, that relationship had brought benefits to Chen Zhaoqian's family. But because of the affair with the Yan princess, that same tie had instead become a burden. Not only had Chen Zhaoming been forced to resign his official post, even Chen Zhaoqian's parents had been compelled to retire and return home.
So when Chen Zhaoming proposed coming to Lungmen to make his way in the world, the seventeen-year-old girl had simply picked up her luggage and followed him.
"Since Great Yan doesn't have room for us anymore, I might as well come with you and make my fortune outside, Brother!"
Thinking that, although Chen Zhaoming had been implicated by the Yan princess incident, he was still a direct heir of the Chen family and surely would not mistreat one of their own daughters while away from home, Chen Zhaoqian's parents had turned a blind eye and let her go.
Rather than have their daughter stay behind and suffer with them, it would be better to let her go out and get some air.
And if one day she suffered some grievance outside...
...she could always come home.
Home would always be a safe harbor.
And so, one year passed.
Over the course of that year, Chen Zhaoming had tried to secure some official post in Lungmen, only to be rejected without surprise. He had tried doing business instead, only to run into obstacles everywhere.
In the end, he had simply taken what little money he had left and opened a fishball shop, selling fishball noodles.
Who could have expected that he would actually make a bit of a name for himself as Fishball Chen?
Hearing Chen Zhaoqian's voice now, Chen Zhaoming nodded helplessly.
"All right, all right."
He sounded exactly like an overly doting father indulging his daughter.
The hand Chen Zhaoming had just raised to start making fishball noodles froze for a moment.
After all those years, how could feelings truly be cast aside just because he said so?
But people had to keep moving forward.
The reason he had chosen to open a fishball shop was simple: at the beginning, fishball noodles were the only thing he knew how to make. The memory etched deepest into his mind was of his mother making fishballs together with the household servants during every festival and holiday. They would choose scaled fish with plenty of meat and few bones, remove the scales, skin, and bones, and take only the pure flesh. Then they would scrape it into mince with a knife, or pound it into a paste with the back of the blade.
After that came salt, minced scallion and ginger, cooking wine, and other seasonings. Water—clear or cold—would be added bit by bit as the mixture was stirred until the fish paste became glossy, sticky, and springy. Finally, with wet palms to keep it from sticking, they would squeeze the paste through the tiger's mouth of the hand into little balls.
When he was small, Chen Zhaoming would stand beside his mother and watch her and the servants make fishballs.
Every time, the servants would carry him away.
Every time, he would sneak back again.
Not for any special reason—only so that he could eat the fishballs earlier, or secretly eat a few more.
Chen Zhaoming still remembered how, when the imperial family of Yan married the princess into the Chen family, his father had told him to look on the bright side. Even if he could no longer become an official, being chosen by a princess was still a blessing.
But then, at the wedding ceremony, his father saw the Princess of Yan standing there with a swollen belly.
He coughed up blood on the spot from sheer rage, and not long after, he died of illness.
From then on, his mother spent her days in tears.
By the time Chen Zhaoming awakened the memories of his past life and obtained the Chronicle of Time, both his father and mother had already been dead for several years.
The Chronicle of Time could not bring the dead back to life.
Even if the Princess of Yan had married a different husband, his parents still would have died of illness for one reason or another.
"Wei Yenwu, I owe you nothing. The Chen family owes you nothing!"
The fishballs went into cold water. Once the water came to a boil, he added the noodles and cooked them through, then poured everything into a bowl of broth that had long since been prepared. Garnished with chopped scallions and green vegetables, a steaming bowl of fishball noodles was complete.
The moment Chen Zhaoming entered the shop, he saw a girl sitting on a chair. Her hair was fluffy, and like him, she had horns growing from her head. She had delicate features and a tear mole beneath the corner of one eye, though her clothes were somewhat plain. Stretching out her legs, she held an account book in her hands and puffed out her cheeks as she glared at him.
"Brother, we're in the red again this month. Those seafood merchants selling scalebeasts are just awful—they keep raising their prices. Our fishballs haven't gone up at all!"
Searching through the memories in his mind, Chen Zhaoming set the bowl of fishball noodles down on the table in front of Chen Zhaoqian.
"The traders selling scalebeasts aren't having an easy time either. A month ago, the messengers issued a disaster warning. To avoid the Catastrophe, the authorities ordered part of the agricultural and breeding zones abandoned. Food prices have been rising ever since."
"Then when are we raising ours?"
"...We aren't."
After a moment's thought, Chen Zhaoming shook his head.
"The customers who come to our shop are all ordinary people from the lower city. Raise the price by one coin, and we lose a tenth of our diners. If we don't raise prices, at worst our profits are a little smaller. Once the city stabilizes and food prices fall back down, our fishball shop's reputation will be firmly established."
"Hmph, hmph~ Brother always has so many reasons."
Who could say for certain whether something like reputation really mattered? The Chen family had had a sterling reputation for so many years, and in the end it had still been ruined by the accusation that they mistreated a princess.
At the end of the day, her brother was simply soft-hearted. He could not bear to squeeze hard-earned money out of ordinary people.
But that was exactly why he was her good brother.
The way Chen Zhaoqian looked at Chen Zhaoming carried a trace of meaning that was hard to explain.
"Brother~"
"Hm?"
"I turn eighteen next month."
"Oh? You don't look it. I thought you were still somebody's little kid."
"Brother, now I'm mad!"
Chen Zhaoqian shot to her feet, glaring at him furiously. But even standing on tiptoe, she still could not reach his chin.
That only made her even angrier.
"Just you wait, Brother! After the New Year, when we go home, I'm absolutely telling Father and Mother that you bullied me out here!"
"Please don't. I apologize, all right?"
"Apology not accepted!"
"I'm begging you, Lady Chen Zhaoqian~"
Laughter and playful bickering between a man and a girl filled the tiny fishball shop.
In that moment, it was as though the man had finally truly come back to life.
…
And while Chen Zhaoming was feeling genuine happiness from the bottom of his heart, in the Lungmen Governor-General's Office, a tall man with a dragon's head and a human body frowned as he listened to a report from his subordinate.
"Hm? You're saying little Ch'en has been throwing a fit, insisting on seeing her father!?"
-------
My : pat*eon*com/RuneA
I, Herta's Fiancé, the Universe's Number One Male Fist (114 Chapter (Simulpub-Full) )
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Succubus in Sixth Street (400 Chapter)
Reborn in Type-Moon, My Sister is Aoko Aozaki (254 Chapter)
MyGO!! A Story Voiced by Me (140 Chapter)
BLEACH: Blade of Purification (158 Chapter)
Konoha: Starting the Game as Yoriichi (400 Chapter)
My Real Job is Spying on Konoha, but I'm Also its Hokage (140 Chapter)
The Pinnacle of the Navy! Starting from Being Captured by Garp (172 Chapter)
Watching Yu-Gi-Oh! short videos is making the veteran players lose...(80 Chapter)
Uma Musume : The Trainer Who Just Wants to Live (261 Chapter) (Ending)
Zenless Zone Zero The Random Kamen Rider (200 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: It All Began With Me Being Stepped On by Arlecchino (120 Chapter)
Naruto: I Can Synthesize Summoning Beasts (96 Chapter)
Demon Slayer: The Great Swordsman's System, Disciple of Yoriichi (140 Chapter)
My Wife is a General, but I'm an Emanator of Abundance! (160 Chapter)
Type-Moon: My Nine-Fold Path (140 Chapter)
Uma Musume: They're Peeking at My Diary, and All of Tracen is Panickin (Ending)
The Wild History of Type-Moon world (70 Chapter)
Reborn in Conan, But I Refuse to Be the Bad Guy (80 Chapter)
Ruan Mei is begging me to go back? But there's no going back anymore (140 Chapter)
Just a Slacker at Tracen Academy (165 Chapter)
Survival in Blue Archive (70 Chapter)
Kimetsu no Yaiba: Doma Wasn't Hated Today, Either (100 Chapter)
The Vibe of This Chat Group is a Little Off (100 Chapter)
Heartbreak Simulator: I Broke Them and Made Them Cry (80 Chapter)
The Talentless Trainer Doesn't Want to Restart (80 Chapter)
A Journey Starting as a Quincy (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: The Master of Romance Obstruction (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: You Can't Be a Hero Without a Little Chemical Enhancement (40 Chapter)
Honkai Impact 3rd Your Boyfriend is Really Amazing (40 Chapter)
Warhammer 40K: My Fiancée, Fulgrim (180 Chapter)
Classroom of the Elite: Trying to Capture Me! (120 Chapter)
Genshin Impact My Named Senji Muramas (150 Chapter)
A Chef, the Vice-Captain of the Rocks Pirates? (160 Chapter)
Naruto : My Uchiha Girlfriend is Too Tsundere (130 Chapter)
Type-Moon: Reincarnated in a Lostbelt, I Became the Alien God (90 Chapter)
The Way These Horse Girls Look at Me Is Terrifying! (160 Chapter)
Naruto: Tsunade's Deskmate (130 Chapter)
I Just Want to Live a Normal (50 Chapter).
Genshin Impact: A Hundred Confessions? It's Just a System Task (70 Chapter)
OnePiece : Starting as a Veteran of the Roger Pirates (60 Chapter)
Uma Musume : I Have Special Horse Taming Techniques (190 Chapter)
Uma Musume : My other self is a Horse Girl (130 Chapter)
Jujutsu Kaisen : All Affection Stats Maxed Out (200 Chapter)
Satou Kazuma's Decision to Live by Swindling, Starting from Re:Zero (60 Chapter)
Bleach : Ichigo! Take Over the Soul Society (89 Chapter)
Crossover Anime: The Master of Plagiarism with a 'Love Obstacle (140 Chapter)
Arknights Succubus Nurturing System, But I'm a Quiet Office Worker (90 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: Using My Personas to Break the Hearts of Players (50 Chapter)
One Punch Man : i am King? (150 Chapter)
Genshin: My Stats Are Irresistible (70 Chapter)
Naruto: Master of Dream Fulfillment! (70 Chapter)
Why Are All My Chat Group Friends Spin-Off Characters? (130 Chapter)
Arknights : Batman System (30 Chapter)
Chat Group: Swapping Bodies with the Bad-Ending Herta from the Start (80 Chapter)
DanMachi: Why Did My Dungeon Turn Into a Soulslike Game? (130 Chapter)
Losing Money on Uma Musume...What Do You Mean You Actually Won? (120 Chapter)
I'm Gotou Hitori—Who Are You? (40 Chapter)
Were You Ever Even a Uma Musume? Stop Making Things Up! (78 Chapter)
Moon Project: A Full-Time Love Adventure for the Lobotomy Corporation (75 Chapter)
The Leisurely Days of the Hyuga Main House (65 Chapter)
Arknights : A Draco Surviving in a Matriarchal Terra (189 Chapter)
Arknights: What if My Luck Is Too Good? (135 Chapter)
Honkai: The Romance System Only Shows Up After I Marry Mei (55 Chapter)
Arknights: Who Are You Calling Repressed, X?! (145 Chapter)
The Chat Group Only Arrived After I'd Cleared the Game (102 Chapter)
Gojo Satoru Flat-Out Refuses to Admit He's a Supporting Character (40 Chapter)
Chat Group Isn't Supposed to Be Like This! (30 Chapter)
If You're Moriarty…then Who Am I? (140 Chapter)
Uma Musume: Since I "Can't See," They Take Turns Stealing My Underwear (50 Chapter)
Arknights: Why Are All My "Brothers" Girls? (54 Chapter)
Danmachi: Start Training Haki (59 Chapter)
Emiya Shirou's Rebirth (30 Chapter)
I Can Get Stronger Just by AFK'ing—So I Joined a Chat Group (50 Chapter)
Endfield: I Can Always Pull Out One Yuan (65 Chapter)
Limbus Company : I Started a Company in Project Moon (50 Chapter)
Lobotomy: Do Cooks of Alley 23 Dream of Bloodfiend Knights? (50 Chapter)
DanMachi: Freya Familia's "One-Blade Shura" (60 Chapter)
DanMachi: Emiya, the Great Hero Becomes the Protagonist (90 Chapter)
TYPE-MOON: One Special Instance Every Week (40 Chapter)
From Danmachi: The Abundance Apothecary (70 Chapter)
Lord Shadow Descends on DanMachi (90 Chapter)
Fuse with Me, Exusiai! (41 Chapter)
Honkai: Star Rail — After I Die, I Forge Their Madness (60 Chapter)
DanMachi: The Last Zeus Familia (95 Chapter)
Endfield: Arknights Heroic Spirit Summoning (75 Chapter)
Toyokawa Family Finances (105 Chapter)
Starting From DanMachi to Become Stronger (90 Chapter)
DanMachi: My Familia Is Made Up Entirely of Heroines from Every World! (75 Chapter)
Arknights: My Intel Refreshes Daily (110 Chapter)
Digimon : I Never Meant to Do Evil, Even Though I Wasn't Chosen (40 Chapter)
Miss Holmes Could Never Be the Losing Heroine! (40 Chapter)
Takayama Gamu at Tracen Academy (40 Chapter)
Legendary Trainer Takes on MYGO (40 Chapter)
Arknights : Yandere Game: The Operators Have Come Knocking (100 Chapter)
Arknights: This Dating Sim Is Seriously Wrong! (100 Chapter)
Arknights : Ch'en Hui-chieh, I'm Done Being the Good Guy! (40 Chapter)
Type-Moon: Wasn't This Supposed to Be a Family Simulator? Why Am I the Family Heirloom? (40 Chapter)
Honkai: Star Rail : The Trailblazer Only Wants a Peaceful Life (40 Chapter)
Arknights: The Unlucky Dad? But I've Got the Chronicle of Time! (30 Chapter)
The Wheelchair War God Is Speedrunning Hogwarts (30 Chapter)
DanMachi: The Elemental Blaster of Orario (30 Chapter)
If there's a particular novel you're enjoying on Patron, please give it a 'like' so I know to focus on it