He said, “My father’s getting old—he can’t handle too much upheaval. We’ll settle things next year. We’ve only just moved and aren’t familiar with anything yet. What’s the point of bringing him over now? It’s better to let him stay home for the time being.
“My aunt’s son has always wanted to set up a stall in the county. We’ve talked it over—his whole family will take my father back to the county with them. The vegetable business Yang-ge’er helped us establish is still running; we can pass that on to them. Since we’re heading to the prefectural city, they won’t mistreat my father for the sake of that business. And with him living in the county, my brothers can visit and help out often, so we’ll feel at ease.”
Only then did Xie Yan nod in agreement. They set a date and parted ways.
It was getting late, so Xie Yan didn’t go pay respects to his mentor that day. Instead, he returned to the Wu family residence to pick up some gifts, then went to look around the small shop.
Lu Lin had heard from Chen Jiu that he was back. He’d been waiting these past couple of days, stepping outside now and then to look around. Finally spotting him, he hurried over from a distance.
For a moment, he didn’t know how to address Xie Yan. After opening his mouth a few times, he finally said, “Master Xie.”
That one line made Xie Yan flustered. He quickly stopped him. “You’re my brother—how can you call me that?”
Hearing him speak the same as before, Lu Lin finally relaxed. He led him into the shop and said, “Someone came back early to spread the good news. How many juren do we even have in our county? Back then, so many people came to give gifts. I didn’t know what to do, and Boss Ding next door didn’t either. I had to make a trip to the Wu residence—Old Master Wu came personally to help. Otherwise, I’d have been completely lost!”
Xie Yan had been staying at the Wu residence and hadn’t heard a word about this. His heart felt both warm and a little sore.
Inside the shop, he didn’t hurry to the back courtyard. Instead, he stood there looking around.
The shop wasn’t big, and not much had changed—it looked almost the same as when they left. Yet to him, it felt cramped, as if it had shrunk.
He had clearly already grown into an adult—only a little taller, that was all.
The same people were still there—Zhang Tie, Yinxing, Shiliu—all came out. Their eyes held both surprise and curiosity, as if now that he had become a juren, he was no longer an ordinary person, and a sense of distance had formed.
Xie Yan brought gifts for everyone. A pair of silver bracelets for Lu Lin, a fur hat for Zhang Tie, and small bronze mirrors for Yinxing and Shiliu.
Lu Lin had Yinxing and Shiliu watch the shop, then went with Zhang Tie to the back courtyard with Xie Yan to drink tea and talk.
Xie Yan shared the good news: Lu Yang was pregnant.
“He thinks about you all the time. He originally planned to come back with me when we returned home, but we found out about the pregnancy before the trip. We’ll have to pick another date next year to come visit you.”
Lu Lin’s eyes reddened.
He’d said it before—once the distance grew, and with busy days and now a child on the way, it would be hard for the two sides to meet again.
He asked many questions, and Xie Yan answered each one.
Reassured, Lu Lin said on his own, “Tie-ge and I still haven’t conceived. We both went to the doctor to check our pulses—neither of us has any illness, but for some reason, we just can’t get pregnant.”
Xie Yan glanced around the room. He remembered that the heated brick bed here was shared between two rooms, so he spoke bluntly.
“You two should rent a place and live separately. Staying here all the time—how are you supposed to have a child?”
Both Lu Lin and Zhang Tie flushed bright red at his words.
Lu Lin said, “Yang-ge’er talks like that, sure—but you’re a man, a juren no less, and you’re talking like this too?”
Xie Yan laughed. “People who share a quilt don’t end up thinking differently.”
As they continued chatting, Zhang Tie finally relaxed and joined in, asking how long Xie Yan would stay in the county.
“A few days ago, Jiu-ge’er came by to visit. Lin-ge’er heard from him that you were back and guessed you’d go to the estate to pay respects to your late father, so he asked me to return to the village and pass word. My father-in-law didn’t know if you had already consulted a geomancer to pick a date, so he came to the county once. He didn’t dare disturb you at the Wu residence, but he already prepared the incense, candles, and paper offerings—just waiting for you to go back.”
Hearing him speak such a long stretch, Xie Yan praised him, “Brother-in-law, you’ve gotten quite eloquent.”
Zhang Tie replied politely, “Not as eloquent as you.”
Xie Yan didn’t bother being modest. “That’s true—I am more eloquent than you.”
Only someone as good-tempered as Zhang Tie could still laugh at that.
Lu Lin invited Xie Yan to stay for dinner, and he agreed.
There wasn’t space in the shop to accommodate another man overnight, so Lu Lin went to prepare the meal.
Xie Yan headed next door to the wine shop to sit for a bit and visit Boss Ding.
Boss Ding was the same as ever—if nothing was happening at home, he stayed at the shop. He had already heard from the front clerk that Xie Yan had arrived, but didn’t know whether he would come over. Unable to sit still, he couldn’t stay in the courtyard either, so he opened the back door and paced in the alley.
When Xie Yan stepped out, they ran right into each other.
With a smile, Xie Yan cupped his hands. “Boss Ding! I was just about to look for you!”
He stuffed a package into his hands. “This is something my husband and I prepared for you. Some of it is my books—for your son to read. The rest is for you and your wife. My husband specifically told me to buy it—a pair of bowls and chopsticks. Keep them at your shop and brewery. When you eat each day, just pick up the bowl, and it’ll feel like you’re sharing a table—so you won’t feel alone.”
That sounded exactly like something Lu Yang would say. Boss Ding accepted it and led Xie Yan inside to sit.
They had dealt with each other before. Boss Ding was a smooth, sociable man. Seeing that Xie Yan was the same as ever, he relaxed and chatted about everyday matters and recent happenings.
Encounters between people always depend on fate. Both called “Boss Ding,” yet the one in the county became friends with Lu Yang, while the one in the prefectural city remained only an acquaintance—business ties, but little personal closeness.
Xie Yan talked about life in the prefectural city and the provincial capital. In his view, aside from size, they were quite similar.
He had some wine and spoke about a kind called “Qiongjiang” from the provincial capital that he especially liked. It was said to be brewed by an old, established brand. No one knew the exact method, but the taste was rich and smooth, not astringent at all. The aftertaste came slowly—you’d only realize how strong it was when you stood up.
Boss Ding had never left the county and had only heard of Qiongjiang by reputation, never tasted it.
Xie Yan teased him, “Next time you write to my husband, I’ll buy you two jars to try.”
Boss Ding burst out laughing. Without realizing it, all his earlier tension disappeared. They chatted until they lost track of time, only parting reluctantly when Lu Lin came to call Xie Yan for dinner.
The meal was easy to prepare—everything was already in the shop, so there was no need to buy ingredients.
Lu Lin made five dishes and one soup. Fresh winter bamboo shoots had just arrived; there wasn’t time to stew them, so he stir-fried them with meat instead. Then came radish, cabbage, eggplant—simple home-style dishes—and a mixed mushroom soup.
It was the same kind of food Xie Yan ate in the prefectural city—perfect with rice.
During the meal, Lu Lin talked about changes in the shop.
Yinxing and Shiliu still weren’t married. They had written to Lu Yang about it. Their families were muddle-headed and wanted their future sons-in-law to work in the shop as well. Lu Yang had already come up with a solution—arrange work for them on the estate instead.
Lu Lin held them back. Even if arrangements were to be made, it should wait until next year. This year, they needed to be strict—otherwise, people would think causing trouble would bring benefits, making them hard to manage later.
By the end of the year, both families had started looking for marriage prospects again.
Lu Lin said, “Among the four villages west of the county, Li Village is the most prosperous now. Cart after cart of goods goes out—it all looks like silver in people’s eyes. They want to marry into Li Village. I heard some things about it from Jiu-ge’er—there are plenty of ways to make money there. If they both marry into Li Village, we’ll lose two workers in the shop.”
Xie Yan had feelings for this shop and didn’t want it affected, so he asked what Lu Lin planned to do.
Lu Lin had an idea: instead of relying on relatives, he would hire a young worker from the county.
“It’s close by—easy to come and go. Easier to manage than relatives.”
Xie Yan understood immediately. After they moved to the prefectural city, many people would probably say, “It’s not even your shop,” to criticize Lu Lin for meddling.
Relatives were hard to discipline, and Lu Lin, being younger, couldn’t easily assert authority. It wasn’t right to keep asking his father to step in either—that would strain family ties.
Seeing that Lu Lin still hadn’t conceived, Xie Yan suspected the pressure played a role.
He nodded in agreement. After a few bites, he got up to scoop a bowl of crispy rice soup, then sat back down, letting it cool. Thinking back on what Lu Yang had told him before, he organized his thoughts and began to speak carefully to Lu Lin.
