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墨書 Inktalez
"Is that you?" Hanno revealed a perfect smile—what one might call perfect for dealing with outsiders and clients, a skill honed over years of work.
"It's been ages since we last met; you've changed a lot," Hanno remarked, his gaze landing on Ma Yanli's fashionable attire. He chuckled, "You've become even more beautiful. No wonder I didn't recognize you at first."
Ma Yanli beamed at Hanno's compliment, her face lighting up with pride. "Hehe, I hired a professional image designer in Harbor City to help me with my look. What do you think? Not bad, right?"
Hanno nodded. "Not bad at all."
Ma Yanli's pride swelled further as she boasted, "Harbor City truly lives up to its reputation as an international metropolis; everything is just so great..."
After a lengthy display of her achievements, Hanno had no choice but to endure it patiently. Ma Yanli's husband was an officer stationed in Hong Kong, allowing her to apply for family visits to Hong Kong Island. But how could she compare? During her years working in the south, she would spend every weekend wandering around Harbor City. Her household registration had been moved to that southern city, making trips to Harbor City quite convenient.
Once her boasting subsided, Ma Yanli remembered the purpose of calling out to Hanno. "In a couple of days, we're having a high school reunion; you must come! You missed the last few gatherings because you were away, but now that you're back, you can't skip this one."
"Sure, I'll definitely go," Hanno replied readily. It had been ten years since he last saw his high school classmates, and the thought brought a wave of nostalgia.
Today’s tasks went smoothly; the renovation company was the same one that helped Hanno with his new home before, and they were familiar faces who offered him a discount. After returning home for lunch, Hanno noticed that Han Dad and Mom Han hadn't spotted anything unusual about the trash can. He decided not to mention it to avoid raising their suspicions. Instead, he replaced the Porcelain Jar with a plastic garbage bin lined with a plastic bag and moved the Porcelain Jar into his own room.
After lunch, Hanno gathered the trash from the plastic bin under the pretense of taking it downstairs but actually brought it into his room. He opened his phone's video recording function and tossed a bag of garbage into the Porcelain Jar.
One second, thirty seconds, one minute, two minutes... half an hour... Two hours passed, yet the garbage remained in the Porcelain Jar without disappearing.
"Why is there no movement?" Hanno wondered aloud as he pulled out the garbage bag. The fatty piece of meat from yesterday had vanished in just half a minute. Could it be that this time-space portal had some sort of time limit?
Hanno set the garbage aside and decided to wait until evening to try again. With nothing else planned for the afternoon, she stayed indoors and continued typing away. The plot of Transmigration of Ji Xiaofu had progressed to Yang Buhui growing up and preparing to head to Central Plains. Hanno wrote continuously until she reached the moment when the transmigrator met Yang Xiao for the first time.
"...Ji Xiaofu felt somewhat guilty facing Yang Xiao since she occupied someone else's beloved body. Thanks to her male idol Huang Yaoshi for leaving behind such an advanced disguise tool as a human skin mask, which prevented Yang Xiao from seeing her true face..."
Hanno paused. She found herself stuck on how to arrange the first interaction between the male and female leads. Glancing at the clock on her screen, she realized it was already five o'clock in the afternoon—time to prepare dinner. Since she couldn't write any further anyway, taking a break might just clear her mind.
Stretching lazily, Hanno closed her computer and walked into the kitchen. Mom Han was already there, preparing rice for dinner when she saw Hanno enter and shooed her out of the kitchen. "You’ve been running around all day; you must be exhausted! You should rest more while I handle dinner."
"But that would just tire you out! Besides, I've already taken a break."
"What's so tiring about just cooking? If you really want to help, go outside and buy some steamed buns for dinner," Mom Han said.
"Oh!" Hanno changed her clothes, grabbed her bag, and stepped out. The hallway was cluttered with furniture and packed luggage. To her left, a door stood open, and several people were moving things inside. She could hear snippets of their conversation.
"Why are they moving at this hour? Dinner is almost ready," a young man complained.
"I consulted someone; this is the best time," a middle-aged woman's voice replied.
"What's so good about it? Once the luggage and furniture are in, there's still so much to organize. How late will that take? I want to sleep early!" a middle-aged man chimed in.
"Just work a little harder today, and you'll be able to sleep in tomorrow," the woman said. "Master Zeng said this is the best time to move; it's auspicious, and everything must be moved before the moon rises."
The young man muttered, "With so much stuff, how can we finish?"
The middle-aged woman responded, "As long as everything gets through the door, that's enough. The master didn't say everything has to be put in place right away. A few of you, please put in some extra effort; I'll pay each of you an extra fifty bucks."
Excited voices erupted in agreement: "Sure thing! Don't worry about it. Brothers, let's go!"
As the elevator doors closed, Hanno couldn't help but shake her head. She didn't believe in feng shui or almanacs but had heard that moving should be done in the morning rather than in the afternoon or evening. Morning symbolizes the rising sun, which signifies a bright future; moving in the afternoon or evening, when the sun sets, suggests a downward trajectory in life. Master Zeng was probably a fraud, preying on middle-aged women like that.
The community where Hanno's family lived was called Binhe Community, located right by Yuanmian River, a landmark of D City. Yuanmian River stretched over one hundred thirty kilometers and was a tributary of the Yangtze River. The section flowing through the city was sixteen kilometers long and passed right in front of Hanno's home. This stretch of river was about one thousand five hundred meters wide and had two bridges crossing it: Xiao Qiao for vehicles slightly to the left of the community and Footbridge directly opposite the entrance. Beneath Footbridge was a sluice gate that remained closed most of the time but opened during heavy rains to prevent flooding in D City. Footbridge was one-fifth the width of Xiao Qiao and only allowed pedestrians and bicycles. Vendors set up stalls along the bridge railing, creating an informal morning market selling vegetables and fruits, while the evening market offered more variety. As night fell, barbecue stalls appeared at the junction of Footbridge and the river, attracting many who came to relax by the water with delicious skewers while enjoying the cool breeze.
Hanno walked onto Footbridge and headed toward a vendor selling steamed buns. This stall specialized in old-style steamed buns known for their chewy texture; many people loved buying from them. They usually set up at five o'clock and sold out by seven. The selection was limited—mainly old-style steamed buns—but today there was an additional new item.
"Ah? Is that Shumai?" Hanno exclaimed as she saw the steaming dumplings that looked delicious, with many people buying them.
The vendor smiled at her remark: "These are a new variety my wife tried making. Want to buy a couple to taste? We're offering them at twenty percent off today for trial sales, but you have to give us feedback after trying them!"
Hanno nodded eagerly: "Sure! I'll take a basket of those and three old-style steamed buns."
"Alright!" The vendor quickly packed up a basket of Shumai along with three buns for Hanno. "That'll be eight yuan altogether."
After paying and receiving her change, Hanno carried her Shumai back home. The neighbors were working quickly; within moments, most of their furniture had already been moved inside. Hanno entered the kitchen and took bowls to separate her buns and Shumai for dinner.
Mom Han glanced over and asked, "Why did you buy so much?"
Hanno placed the steamed buns into the refrigerator. "Boss made a new variety, and it looked delicious, so I bought some. We'll have fried egg buns for breakfast tomorrow. Tonight, we're having Shumai."
Mom Han hadn't had Shumai in a while and nodded in agreement. Hanno wanted to help out but noticed that Mom Han had already finished cooking. The congee was made in the rice cooker—just add rice and water, and after half an hour of cooking, it could sit for a few minutes before being ready to eat. The Pickled Radish was drizzled with chili oil, pepper oil, and chicken essence, mixed well, and ready to serve. The other dish was Stir-Fried Lotus Root Slices, which was quick to prepare. By the time Hanno returned from a quick trip outside, Mom Han had already set both dishes on the table.
Hanno placed the Shumai and chopsticks on the table and called for Han Dad to come eat. Han Dad picked up a piece of Shumai with his chopsticks, took a bite, and said, "This is Shanghai Shumai."
Hanno raised an eyebrow in confusion.
Han Dad explained to his daughter, "Only Shanghai Shumai has glutinous rice inside."
Hanno chuckled lightly. "These days, whether it's Southern or Northern Shumai, they all have glutinous rice in them. Who wouldn't want to use cheap glutinous rice?"
The flavor of the Shumai was decent, but Hanno couldn't eat much because it was mostly fatty meat with skin. She couldn't stand fatty meat, especially with skin on it. She only ate the dumpling skin filled with meat and glutinous rice but soon set it aside after a few bites. Han Dad and Mom Han also didn't eat much; being older, they preferred lighter meals in the evening and avoided greasy foods since glutinous rice could be heavy on the stomach and hard to digest. Each of them had one piece of Shumai before stopping. The remaining three pieces along with Hanno's half were tossed into the trash bag. Although Mom Han and Han Dad felt it was a shame to waste food, they didn't enjoy greasy dishes either and went along with their daughter's choice.
After washing the dishes and tidying up, Hanno took the trash bag containing the Shumai back to her room. Han Dad and Mom Han went downstairs for a walk to aid digestion. Hanno checked the time; it was just past six o'clock. There were still two hours until yesterday's fatty meat disappeared before her eyes again. However, Hanno wasn't sure when the so-called time-space portal would open or close, so she simply tossed the trash bag into the Porcelain Jar.
In less than half a second, the inflated trash bag deflated. Hanno quickly fished it out and opened it up; inside, the Shumai was gone along with any leftover Pickled Radish—only some inedible garbage remained.
After thinking for a moment, Hanno decided to toss in the trash bag from earlier that morning into the Porcelain Jar as well.
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