The farmland leased to Wang Meng can continue to be farmed by his family. There’s no need to sell it.
Their family house should also be kept, and the fields kept as well. In the future, this will be a fallback.
The mule will not be sold. Li Feng is often away and will take the horse with him. For everyday needs at home, having a mule cart will be much more convenient.
The two young horses and the two dogs must be taken along. There’s nothing to hesitate over.
If Mother wants to rest, she can rest at home and doesn’t need to work so hard anymore. Da Feng can shoulder matters outside; if he can handle that, then he can take good care of the household and won’t need Mother to worry over everything again.
Shun Ge’er needs to learn skills. Once they reach the prefectural capital, they’ll be seeing each other often. They can talk about it then.
As for Er Tian’s side—his heart is soft, and he pities the child. Let Er Jun and San Miao help collect the land rent. The grain that Er Tian turns in each year will be counted as the child’s rations. If Er Tian treats the child harshly in the future, then they’ll take the child away and raise him themselves.
This matter needs to be mentioned to the eldest uncle and the younger uncle. Children grow fast—blink, and they’re already grown. Doctor Hu is very fond of this mountain and wants to gather many good medicinal herbs. He may well stay here for many years.
They can wait. When the child is a bit older, if Doctor Hu is still here, then Li Feng can have someone speak on their behalf and ask Doctor Hu to take on a young apprentice.
The two fathers will go with them to the prefectural capital around midyear.
Travel will be safer then, everything in the prefectural capital will be settled, and it will be suitable for establishing a permanent home.
Next came himself. Lu Liu wrote down on paper the things he was good at, this time crossing out raising chickens and rabbits.
His older brother said he had an ability worth a thousand gold pieces. He would guard his heart, then slowly probe outward, doing small things bit by bit, earning a little money to help support the family.
This money was insignificant to Li Feng now. Lu Liu did this for his own happiness.
He enjoyed the feeling of saving money and earning money—it made him joyful and fulfilled.
He could face his own needs and preferences honestly, and keep them.
Everything seemed to have returned to the starting point, yet also become different.
The desire for recognition, and calmly pleasing oneself—same actions, yet worlds apart.
Lu Liu lifted his head and saw the portrait hanging on the wall, and also the kite placed atop the cabinet.
Li Feng had said that in March he would come home, take him to fly kites, and also take him to walk around the county city, letting him see how much one or two taels of silver could buy.
Lu Liu agreed to everything.
February was his older brother’s new beginning.
In March, he would follow along.
……………………………………..
Before dawn, a long line had already formed outside the prefectural city.
Some were merchant caravans, others were common folk from nearby villages. All of them brought goods—large bundles piled onto carts, smaller heaps of goods in all sorts of odd assortments.
Some were carried in baskets by hand or in arms; others were borne in back baskets or set down by their feet; some people carried shoulder poles, with bamboo baskets or wooden tubs hanging from both ends.
Everything imaginable was for sale. All kinds of grain—rice, wheat, beans, flour, as well as sweet potatoes and oil noodles.
There were all kinds of poultry and livestock: chickens, ducks, geese, even people raising rabbits. They sold eggs and meat, and also chicks and ducklings.
Others sold bamboo or straw weaving, firewood and charcoal, along with miscellaneous household items and foodstuffs—bamboo toothbrushes, sweeping brooms, conical hats, pickled vegetables, wild greens, and fresh seasonal vegetables.
Lu Yang’s group stood in the middle of the line, surrounded by people with different accents.
The sun slowly rose, the city gates gradually opened, and guards stood in two ranks, letting people into the city.
As the daylight brightened, they drew closer to the gate, and the notices pasted against the city wall became clearly visible.
In order to capture bandits, effective immediately, all merchant caravans entering the prefectural city must have a local merchant provide a guarantee. In addition to travel permits, someone must also be able to prove their identity.
A merchant caravan stopped ahead was reasoning with the soldiers blocking them. “If we need someone to guarantee us, we still have to enter the city to find someone, don’t we? If you stop us out here, how are we supposed to find anyone?”
Inside the city, many people crowded along both sides of the road. Hearing this, they became even more excited than the soldiers, all recommending themselves.
“Honorable sir, just write a letter! Even passing on a message will do! Give me a name and I can find the person! Just two qian of silver—I’d run my legs off for you and still think it worth it!”
Another said, “Honorable sir, don’t listen to him. What good is a verbal message? You need to write a letter! Hire me—I guarantee I’ll deliver the letter and bring the person back, and then you can pay me!”
Yet another said, “Honorable sir, listen to their accents—can outsiders really manage this? You need someone local like me. In the prefectural city, I know which way the doors of every big and small merchant’s residence face!”
…
They shouted over one another noisily. Lu Yang listened with great interest.
When he had come last year, there hadn’t been anything like this.
He turned his head and called to Li Feng, “Was there a rule like this before the New Year?”
Li Feng could roughly guess the reason. Before leaving the prefectural city last year, he had captured two groups of bandits in succession and even went to the prefectural office to cry injustice. The Prefect had issued an order to capture bandits.
They had been catching bandits from last year into this year. No one knew how many they’d caught, but instead a notice had come out, stopping people like them.
Looking again at the crowd inside the city scrambling for messenger work, he couldn’t help but marvel. “The prefectural city really is paved with gold.”
Diligent people could earn silver no matter what. Two qian of silver for one errand—just one job a day meant two hundred copper coins. In a month, that could be six taels of silver.
Nearby, some common folk waiting in line spoke to them. “We heard that many bandits mixed themselves into merchant caravans to sneak into the city, then went to cause trouble at the docks. At the end of the year, the docks were robbed again.”
Lu Yang was even more intrigued. “They could rob it a second time?”
The nearby locals were eager to chat. Locals had long grown tired of this sort of thing, but it was still something they could boast about to outsiders.
They said, “Surprised, right? It was because no one expected it that it got robbed! When the naval troops chased them, all the goods had already sunk into the water, and the ships were burned. They say those people went ashore and ran off to Laohe Township.”
Laohe Township was the small dock closest to the prefectural city. It was half like a county town—no city walls at all, wide open terrain. Once there, they could flee straight into the wilderness, and no one would know which direction to chase.
Lu Yang felt a hidden worry, fearing these were water bandits who had come ashore to seek revenge.
The line continued to move forward. Three merchant caravans were parked nearby, waiting for someone to come receive them.
Lu Yang shook his head and focused first on who to find as a guarantor.
They knew quite a few people in the prefectural city. The closest were the Wu family. The Wu family had shops in the city and counted as prefectural merchants, but unfortunately both father and son of the Wu family were in the county city, and a steward couldn’t act as guarantor.
Next was Boss Yu of Denggao Tower. But this man was slick on all sides; his goodwill toward them came from Xie Yan’s potential. This kind of muddy water, he might not be willing to wade into.
If Boss Yu wouldn’t get involved, the other merchants were even less likely to. Then there was the Ding family’s shaojiu distillery, who could provide a guarantee—there was a letter from Boss Ding, which counted as a recommendation from an acquaintance.
They also had dealings with the Huang family of medicine traders, and the Hong family at the docks. Of the two, the Huang family would come first.
The Hong family had too much clout. If they could avoid owing them a favor, it was best not to owe one.
Lu Yang thought it through: first send a letter to the Ding family’s shaojiu distillery. If that didn’t work, then send a letter to the Huang family of medicine traders.
If neither worked, then have the Wu family’s head steward help find an intermediary to invite a merchant to act as guarantor.
Once he had decided on a plan, it was their turn in line.
Xie Yan took out his documents and asked the soldiers, “I study at the Prefectural Academy. These are my documents and travel permit. These carts belong to my husband, carrying goods. May we enter the city?”
Xie Yan’s thinking was simple. Those who sat for the imperial examinations had their roots dug up for three generations; their backgrounds were spotless. He studied at the Prefectural Academy and received monthly stipends of silver and grain—he was effectively fed by the court. His guarantee was far more reliable than that of a merchant.
The soldiers looked over Xie Yan’s travel documents and let them through immediately, smiles on their faces.
“Scholar Xie, we’ve heard of you. Please keep your documents safe.”
Xie Yan took the documents back and asked where they had heard of him.
The soldier replied, “Your books sell very well. Everyone in the city has heard of you.”
Xie Yan had come to the prefectural city to study and hadn’t paid attention to his reputation outside. Hearing this, he couldn’t help but smile.
Lu Yang was quick-witted. He immediately took out a set of The Imperial Examination Answering Handbook from a bamboo chest, slipped a few illustrated booklets underneath, and handed them to the soldiers.
