He didn’t understand the market. The study hall was willing to let him browse other books and promised to give him free copies when they printed them, so he had been cooperating with them for a long time. Later, Wu Pingzhi found out and told him that he had been duped.
Before he could argue with anyone, troubles at home came one after another. In the past two years, when he tried to renegotiate with the study halls to help support his family, he couldn’t proceed because of his dropout status—he hadn’t seen any other books and couldn’t make a deal.
The assistant stood dumbfounded for a while, then invited Xie Yan to sit in the tea room and called the shopkeeper over to greet him.
The shopkeeper came over, greeted Xie Yan cheerfully, and bought two buns.
Xie Yan didn’t say much. He handed over the money and received the buns, then took his leave.
The shopkeeper said to him, “You can’t do business like this. In a shop like ours, the customers are few. How many buns can they buy? I want to support your business, but the most I can buy is ten. You should try selling in places with more people. I’ll point you in the right direction: the gambling houses, brothels, and small courtyards—these places are busy all year round. But be careful when you go; people might try to pick your pockets.”
Xie Yan thanked him.
After leaving the study hall, Xie Yan thought for a moment and then wandered near the inn.
He didn’t dare go to the messier areas.
He was genuinely afraid of those loud and rough people.
The people staying at the inn were travelers, and when they checked out, they’d always buy some dried food for the journey.
He wandered around, calling out his sales pitch, but his voice didn’t carry as well as Lu Yang’s, and after a long time, he’d only sold ten.
He kept walking along the street, calling out, and headed toward another study hall.
Hoping for a bit of luck, what if the study hall owner was a big spender?
With this small hope, Xie Yan arrived at the “Common Sayings” Study Hall.
The assistant at this study hall treated him the same way as the others, enthusiastically greeted him, and was shocked when he heard about Xie Yan selling buns. He invited him into the tea room and spoke to the shopkeeper.
The shopkeeper came in, bought two buns, ate one, gave one to the assistant, and seeing Xie Yan sitting dryly, bought another one for him.
Xie Yan accepted without hesitation, eating as soon as he got it.
Lu Yang’s bun-making skills were indisputable. Everyone who ate them praised them, and the shopkeeper asked him to make ten more.
Once everything was settled, the shopkeeper smiled and said, “Scholar Xie, it’s been almost two years since we last met. I wonder if you still have the skill to memorize books? If you do, these buns are nothing.”
Xie Yan was no longer someone who would get taken advantage of.
He said, “I still have over two hundred buns in my shop.”
The shopkeeper chuckled. “Small matter.”
He had the assistant bring over the account book, something Xie Yan had never seen before. The shopkeeper gave him a moment, and after flipping through a few pages, told him to memorize it.
Xie Yan glanced out the window, noticing that it was getting late. If he didn’t hurry back, his husband would be worried.
He picked up the brush and began to write. His strokes flowed smoothly, though the handwriting was a little messy. He checked over it, and while there were no mistakes, it was a bit rushed.
The shopkeeper looked it over and praised him three times.
“I’ll take this basket of buns with me. Where’s your shop? I’ll go speak to the boss and visit you there later.”
Xie Yan gave him the address, and as he left the study hall, his heart began to race.
He didn’t look back, clutching his chest as he hurried to their shop, which still didn’t have a sign.
Lu Yang had been waiting for a long time. He steamed another batch of buns and set up a table outside to sell, continuing to make more buns in the stove room.
He’d make one bun, then glance outside, not knowing how many times he looked, until finally, he saw Xie Yan return.
Lu Yang’s face broke into a smile. No matter what, after this step, their scholar had finally stepped into the world.
The snow had stopped, and Xie Yan entered the shop, his clothes marked with some water stains.
He handed the money to Lu Yang—sixty buns for three hundred copper coins.
“I ate one,” Xie Yan said.
“How did you sell three hundred copper coins if you ate one?” Lu Yang asked.
Xie Yan grinned brightly. “The shopkeeper from the study hall bought one for me.”
Lu Yang: ?
“Is it really like that?”
Lu Yang laughed and praised, “Impressive! I’ve never seen something like this before!”
Now that he was back, Lu Yang urged him to go to the stove room and warm up.
Xie Yan didn’t want to go. He wanted to stay close to his husband, guarding the shop together.
He didn’t mention that the study hall had pre-ordered all the buns. Over the years, he had encountered many people who didn’t keep their word, so he didn’t want to disappoint Lu Yang.
In fact, once one good thing happened, a second followed.
The owner of the “Common Sayings” Study Hall arrived by carriage as promised and bought all the buns.
Lu Yang was stunned and looked at Xie Yan differently.
So this is Xie Yan’s network?
This wasn’t just a network—it was clearly a wealthy person!
The wealthy man said to Xie Yan, “In a few days, around the eighth of the twelfth month, some rare books will arrive in the county. They will only stay with me for one night, so I’m afraid you won’t have enough time to transcribe them. Would you like to come and have a look?”
Xie Yan agreed.
This was the condition for buying the buns.
Xie Yan said, “I live in Shangxi Village, which is far from the county. You can send someone to find me when the time comes.”
That seemed fair. The two of them agreed on a date and discussed some details before the wealthy man took his buns—both cooked and steamed—and left.
That day, Lu Yang’s eyes sparkled. “Wow, Scholar Xie, you’ve got connections like this? People buy the rarest books and show them to you first?”
And they even paid for the buns in advance.
Xie Yan scratched his nose. He didn’t think of this as anything special, just that he had a good memory.
Because of his good memory, studying came easily to him, and he never truly understood how things worked over the years.
Xie Yan changed the subject. “Are we still going to buy meat?”
It was too late; the gates of the county would be closed soon.
Lu Yang started packing up. “Let’s go home.”
They closed up the shop, leaving the steaming basket behind.
The meat filling was all used up, but some dough remained, which Lu Yang put in a bowl to take home.
The rest was just them and the money. They locked up the shop, climbed onto the donkey cart, and hurriedly left the city, walking the night road back home.
Zhao Peilan, worried as always, stood at the village entrance, watching for their safe return. Tears streamed down her face when she saw them come back. This made Xie Yan feel guilty.
The three of them entered the village, returned the donkey cart, and then went home.
The candles were lit at home, casting a small, warm light. Their hearts were warmed too.
Dinner was ready and kept warm in the pot. They washed their hands and sat down to eat.
At the table, most of the conversation came from Lu Yang.
Zhao Peilan barely spoke, only responding when it was time to talk about doing something or working. Her silent and hardworking nature made people feel sorry for her.
That night, they didn’t count the money. Lu Yang cleaned up the stove room and told Xie Yan to go spend time with his mother.
Xie Yan sat with his mother. They exchanged silent looks, and eventually, they all went together to burn incense for Xie Yan’s father.
The past few days had been busy, and both husband and wife were exhausted. They couldn’t even stay awake for chicken soup, so they just held each other and talked.
Lu Yang spoke fondly of the wealthy man Xie Yan had brought, satisfied with the connection.
“The buns are all sold. We don’t need to hurry anymore. Tomorrow, if it snows, we’ll stay home. If it doesn’t, we’ll go buy meat and flour and continue making buns. We’ll sell as many as we can in the county.”
Xie Yan agreed to everything.
Though Lu Yang’s body was tired, his mind was still clear. He was thinking about the household matters when suddenly he remembered something and said to Xie Yan, “Wait, if it snows tomorrow, I’ll go home.”
Xie Yan asked him why. “If it’s snowing, why not wait until the weather clears up?”
Lu Yang had a reason for this choice. He replied, “I promised to send some buns to Old Chen and also want to persuade him to open his shop soon. He shouldn’t keep hesitating—if he keeps waiting and wasting money, there’ll be nothing left to think about. At that point, we’ll only be able to rely on Liu Ge’er. What if we meet him in the county, and he starts asking for more?”
He figured that Li Feng definitely wouldn’t go to Old Chen’s place on a snowy day.
As it happened, they had used up all the ingredients at home. They wouldn’t be able to make buns tomorrow, so since he had some free time, it made sense to visit Old Chen.
If he went, Xie Yan would have to go too.
Lu Yang told him to stay at home with his mother. “Did you see how pitiful Mother was standing at the village entrance today?”
