The house was large, and the study was a separate room, unlike the rest of the home.
He had heard from Xie Yan that Lu Yang liked reading, and that in the evenings he would sit by the desk to study with them.
He asked Lu Yang whether he was here to study together or just to set up a desk in the room.
Lu Yang looked around the study and asked, “Where will the copyboys sit?”
Wu Pingzhi pointed to the window. “We’ll place two small desks there so they can copy texts easily.”
Lu Yang thought for a moment. “Then I’ll set up a desk in the open space and study with you.”
Once immersed in study, one paid no attention to the outside world.
Xie Yan took copious notes and liked to disassemble books. With copyboys, they could copy passages directly, skipping the dismantling process. Wu Pingzhi wasn’t sure what he would do, but both copyboys would surely be busy.
Lu Yang himself wasn’t too absorbed in reading, so he could observe their needs and stay nearby to manage things quietly, preventing delays or confusion.
Wu Pingzhi instructed Uncle Lei to make arrangements; it was too late to start that night, so they would begin studying in the morning.
Xie Yan understood the value of not delaying. Since they had come, he insisted on reading at least two pages. Wu Pingzhi organized the bookcases and took a notebook back to his room.
Lu Yang, finding nothing in particular to read, found a free spot and jotted down his ideas for the bookstore, along with Wu Pingzhi’s suggestions, planning to implement them once back in the prefectural city.
After their hair dried, they returned to their rooms to rest.
Xie Yan lay on the bed, painting big dreams for Lu Yang.
“I’ll get you a few houses in the future. Wherever you go, you’ll feel at home, with a place to rest. No need to hunt for inns. If you end up in a shady inn, full of foot odor, you won’t be ruined.”
Lu Yang asked, “Will I travel to many places in the future?”
Xie Yan traced a large arc with his hands, letting them fall onto Lu Yang’s chest. “A good husband aims for all directions.”
Lu Yang held his arms and asked, “Will you be okay with me traveling so much?”
Xie Yan could not bear it.
He couldn’t bear being apart from Lu Yang, nor seeing him toil endlessly. But he said, “I’m different from you. I’m satisfied with reading. In books, I have a vast world; after reading, I wake up and I’m home. You need to travel more, broaden your horizons. When you’re tired, a house will give you a place to rest. One of us reads ten thousand books, the other travels ten thousand miles. You help me study, and I won’t be a burden to you.”
Lu Yang hadn’t realized he would travel so much. Hearing this warmed his heart.
How wonderful—it was freedom. He could go wherever he wished.
He said, “My home is not in a house, but in you, in my mother, in my family.”
He needed abundant love to experience the world; without these small acts of kindness, he could not have persisted this far.
If one day he really did travel far and wide, he would carry many people’s dreams with him.
He would record his experiences, leave traces, and bring back remarkable stories.
Some of it might relate to business, some not. He could be more spontaneous.
Xie Yan kept dreaming, continuing to paint big plans for Lu Yang.
“Jingzhi, have you heard the phrase ‘peaches and plums everywhere’? If I have many students, wherever you go, you’ll have my students there—safe and attended to. That would be best.”
Lu Yang told him to stop imagining.
“You’re still just a scholar!”
Xie Yan clutched his chest again. “But my heart is already that of a top scholar!”
Lu Yang teased, “Then you’re the top scholar in my house.”
Xie Yan laughed uncontrollably and turned to kiss him.
Lu Yang’s eyes darted, filled with a shy hesitation he couldn’t explain.
“We’re guests—wouldn’t this be improper?”
Xie Yan continued kissing him. “Last time in the prefectural city, we were guests, and you were the top scholar over me.”
Lu Yang had long forgotten!
Xie Yan had a good memory, and each kiss reminded him of that night.
Lu Yang, embarrassed and exasperated, pushed him away, rolled on top, and reversed roles, asking whether it was the same as that night.
He could not tolerate losing even a little. Every jest in the room, Xie Yan had to look good.
Xie Yan complimented him, and Lu Yang felt tricked, his hoarse voice tinged with unbearable grievance.
“You bully me so easily.”
Xie Yan did not. He loved him.
That night was long. Perhaps Lu Yang had grown more mature, or reading the sages had heightened his sense of shame. Words once used to embarrass Xie Yan now lingered, laughing in his ear. He seemed to understand Xie Yan’s idea of “diminishing one’s own refinement,” though he could not articulate it.
Deep into the night, after finishing, Lu Yang casually used his clothes to wipe the surfaces.
Xie Yan, without shame, on the first night in someone else’s house, went out again to fetch hot water.
Lu Yang waited for him to return, saying, “A Yan, I admire you greatly.”
Xie Yan loved hearing it.
Perhaps deliberately, he went out again for another basin of water, making Lu Yang scold him for shamelessness, yet he laughed.
By early August, news about the food shop arrived.
Business near the academy was difficult. Scholars read for years, and anyone whose restaurant offered diverse dishes, good taste, and sufficient portions would quickly have their reputation spread. Within two months, it would be well known.
This was the case for most restaurants in the prefectural city. Shops lined the streets, but business varied greatly.
The yazi (business intermediary) went to see Li Feng but didn’t find him, so he spoke with Lu Liu about the food shop.
Lu Liu happened to be free, brought Shun’er, and led Er Huang to check the premises.
This yazi was an old acquaintance—they had found their previous house through him. His surname was Hai, full name Hai Youtian.
He spoke in detail, giving names and background stories.
“My father wanted me to become a minor landowner, but I don’t even have a single acre! I still live in the yazi’s office.”
Lu Liu asked, “Why don’t you have land?”
Hai Youtian said, “Our family fled famine from another province. When I was older, my father sold me for money. Unlike others, I didn’t cry or fuss; the yazi’s manager kept me close. I belong to the yazi—how could I save money to buy land?”
Lu Liu felt sudden sympathy and surprise. He had never seen a man sold like this.
Hai Youtian continued, “There are plenty. Look at how wealthy households acquire servants. Many children are sold.”
They were near the academy and soon reached the shops.
Hai Youtian showed them two shops. The first was larger: the main hall could hold five tables, a long counter, shelves filled with wine jars, private rooms upstairs, and a rear courtyard with a kitchen and dormitory.
This large shop’s annual rent was thirty-five taels of silver. The location wasn’t prime—mid-street, neither at the beginning nor end—and could easily be passed by.
The second shop was smaller, at a street corner, with a prime location. Compared to the first, it felt more like a small house. The main hall had one table at the entrance, and a window for selling buns and bread. In the rear were the kitchen and a room with dormitory space, smaller and able to sleep at most two people.
Because of the location, the annual rent for the smaller shop was twenty-eight taels of silver.
Lu Liu bargained, “Good location or not, it’s so small. Two people inside would be cramped. Meal times don’t last long. By the time they finish, customers will already be gone. How many can you serve in a day? Our enterprise is relying on you for a shop, and you expect such a small place to cost this much? That’s outrageous!”
Hai Youtian suggested checking the large shop again. “The big one suits your enterprise! Open a grand restaurant, impressive!”
Lu Liu refused. Such a big shop would exhaust people.
He said, “I don’t have the money. I want a cheaper place. Can you rent the large shop for twenty-five taels?”
