To show his sincerity, Li Feng first asked about the matter through the steward in charge. Before the New Year, Hong Laowu had wanted him to come train the guards.
Steward Xiao Hong scratched his head. “My fifth uncle hired someone else. They’ve been training for over a month now, but I can’t really tell how it’s going. How about you ask him yourself when you meet him next time?”
Hearing this, Li Feng did not press the issue.
He had not yet settled down. Agreeing now would only bring trouble.
Since he was already hesitant about it, being able to delay things was for the best.
He then asked a bit more about the bandits and about the situation with capturing robbers in the city.
“We brothers have already captured several groups of bandits. They won’t come looking for revenge, will they?”
Steward Xiao Hong answered firmly, “You’re overthinking it. What loyalty do those people have? The fact that two groups even showed up already surprised everyone. Besides, you’re not easy targets. They won’t be foolish enough to seek death.”
Li Feng was a little disappointed. “I was hoping to earn a reward.”
Steward Xiao Hong: “……”
This time, Li Feng had brought a ginseng root with him.
It was something they had dug up in the deep mountain hunting grounds, and he intended it as a gift for Hong Laowu.
Before the New Year, when Hong Laowu had returned home, he had given longevity locks to Li Feng’s two children. This was a return gift.
Steward Xiao Hong laughed again. “No wonder my fifth uncle keeps thinking about you. All right, I’ll take this back for you. My uncle may not have time to come by lately. You all go on with your business.”
Just as Steward Xiao Hong had said, their mountain mushrooms were rare goods in the prefectural city. Other merchants sold only small, scattered batches, but they had brought entire cartloads of high-quality stock.
After hearing that restaurants and taverns in the city were running short, Li Feng did not sell at the docks. That very day, he took people to Denggao Tower and two dried-goods shops to inquire. These were the earliest partners they had worked with, so he gave them priority.
After nearly a year of steady supply, combined with the unique concentration of restaurants and taverns in the city, the two shop owners wanted a huge amount—one thousand jin each. Once distributed among the various eateries, it would sell out quickly.
Boss Yu had two return gifts delivered to them. They were thank-you gifts from traveling merchants who had accepted New Year offerings: one package of tea leaves and one silk handkerchief.
Boss Yu asked how they had managed to enter the city. “I was even planning to wait for you so I could vouch for you.”
Li Feng told him the truth.
When Boss Yu heard that Xie Yan had produced official documents to gain passage, he laughed lightly. After chatting a bit more and learning that they planned to move to the prefectural city to settle down and study, he asked about their academic prospects.
“The provincial exam is in half a year, the metropolitan exam a year later, followed immediately by the palace exam. Does Scholar Xie have confidence?”
Li Feng thought Xie Yan had plenty of confidence. The provincial exam would be held in the provincial capital, and Xie Yan always ranked first at the prefectural academy. If Xie Yan failed, how were the other scholars in the prefecture supposed to pass?
Their An’nan Province had only two prefectures. One of the successful candidates would certainly be Xie Yan.
That was how Li Feng’s hunter’s mind reasoned.
People always said that in literature there was no true first place, but Li Feng did not believe it. If there was no first place, then what was the top rank for?
If he failed…
Then Xie Yan would simply be incompetent.
Of course, when speaking to Boss Yu, Li Feng said that Xie Yan studied diligently and that everything depended on whether Heaven chose to be kind.
After selling a batch of goods in the city, Li Feng returned to the docks. They still had more than eight hundred jin left. Now that they had a shop, there was no need to rush. Li Feng decided to head home first.
Chen Jiu was about to give birth. Wang Meng would go along to earn some small travel money. He also wanted to buy a small horse for his own child.
When traveling, it was hard to calculate time precisely. Li Feng stayed at the docks for another two days but still did not see Hong Laowu, so he went to say goodbye to Steward Xiao Hong.
They set out on the second day of the second lunar month, arrived on the tenth, and returned in the middle of the month.
At this time, back in the mountain stronghold, Lu Liu was sitting in the room embroidering a dudou.
He had already made the pattern long ago but had never been brave enough to wear it himself. After dragging it out, Li Feng had gone to the prefectural city.
Thinking that his body build was similar to his elder brother’s, Lu Liu decided to make one for his brother as well.
Since it was a gift—and something worn close to the skin—a pattern that was too plain just would not do. No matter how he looked at it, Lu Liu felt it was not presentable.
His brother had no children yet and had said they planned to start this year. Wanting children meant working hard at planting the seed.
Lu Liu took out all the illustrated manuals at home and flipped through them, studying how the people in the pictures were dressed. He treated these things as instructional books for having children.
One of the driving forces behind planting seeds was attraction to one’s partner. His brother’s attractiveness needed no explanation—but more would always be better, right?
So Lu Liu studied carefully. Even in illustrations where the details were unclear, the dudou always had embroidery.
Not knowing what exactly they were, he considered embroidering a pair of mandarin ducks.
Mandarin ducks were common. Any family with money would buy mandarin-duck bedding for weddings.
Wanting something more special, he thought again.
Recently, Lu Liu had taken to polishing stones. When thinking, he would roll a stone in his palm, its rough surface pricking his skin. Holding the stone, he remembered that his brother also liked polishing stones and often used stones as metaphors for people.
So Lu Liu thought—why not embroider mandarin ducks pecking at a stone?
Two mandarin ducks pecking a stone—it would look like they were kissing through the stone.
Yes. That was good.
Mandarin ducks were common, but he had never embroidered them before, so he called his mother over to teach him.
Chen Guizhi knew a little, but she was hardly skilled—more like a clumsy duck.
Lu Liu: “……”
Hearing that, he almost did not want to embroider anymore. What if it really turned into ducks?
He lowered his head and looked at the embroidery basket. There were two dudou inside.
Lu Liu thought that he would first try embroidering one. If it turned out ugly, he would keep it for himself.
Da Feng was rough and would not notice.
He could just act cute.
Under Chen Guizhi’s guidance, he embroidered the mandarin ducks, frequently stopping to soothe the two children.
They cried often, saying their stomachs hurt and their intestines were uncomfortable. Lu Liu was also learning how to raise children.
He used to hear people say that once children were born, you could just toss them on the ground, feed them a bit of rice broth, and they would grow up fine. Only after raising children himself did he realize it was all nonsense. How could rice broth alone keep a child alive?
After the initial crying phase, the two children’s personalities gradually became distinct.
When comfortable, both smiled at anyone they saw, always wearing cheerful expressions. Even at such a young age, you could tell they had smiling lips, the corners slightly upturned, making them very endearing.
When uncomfortable, one was stubborn, the other impatient.
The stubborn one was Xiao Mai. He would purse his lips and cry, and if he could not hold it in, he would let out a few “wah-wah” cries.
The impatient one was Zhuang Zhuang. He cried while flailing all four limbs, and even while being soothed, he might kick you a couple of times. Such a small baby, yet so strong—his kicks really hurt.
Lu Liu could not keep both eyes on them at once. He felt that Xiao Mai was like himself. He had always cried with his lips pursed.
So he could not help wondering whether Zhuang Zhuang was like Li Feng. Had Li Feng been just as domineering when he was young?
Chen Guizhi said, “Da Feng wasn’t this domineering before. He was just concerned about saving face.”
Lu Liu remembered that Da Feng had said that after going up the mountain, there were always people who refused to listen to him, which irritated him, so over time he became decisive and disliked others offering opinions.
Lu Liu’s eyes widened slightly as he stared at Zhuang Zhuang in disbelief. Could Zhuang Zhuang be like him too? He was not like that… was he?
Babies spent more time sleeping than awake, so Lu Liu always had time to do other things.
With Li Feng and Shun Ge’er gone, the house was much quieter.
After the children were born, to avoid disturbing them, people no longer gathered in the small shop to chat.
Instead, they began gathering at the drying ground to talk.
As a result, only when a few scattered customers came by did the house feel lively for a short while.
Lu Liu would occasionally think back to when he had first married into the family. He used to stay home alone every day, feeling full and satisfied. Now, he actually felt lonely.
While the children slept, he would ask his mother to watch them and go work in the vegetable garden.
When growing vegetables down the mountain, you had to spread straw to keep them warm.
He only opened up a small patch, planting just enough for his own family.
Yao Fuliang had said there was no need for him to grow vegetables; he could pick from their garden instead. But Lu Liu wanted to plant them himself. In the future, he would not have so much land to cultivate.
After becoming pregnant, he had hardly done any physical work. Suddenly going back to gardening made his body feel tired, and he was not used to it.
On sunny days, Lu Liu would air things out inside and outside, clean the house, and wipe everything down. He wanted to rebuild his strength.
