Yao Fulang asked, “You know how to weave bamboo?”
Lu Liu nodded. A little. He’d learned a bit before, but his family didn’t have a bamboo grove, so getting bamboo was always a hassle.
He used to help out at his uncle’s house, weaving baskets. He didn’t ask for payment, and Uncle A-Qing didn’t take the finished baskets either—he told him to take them home to use. After that, anything Lu Liu made, he kept for his own household.
Yao Fulang brought out some bamboo strips. “Here, try making something small for fun.”
Lu Liu had never made small items—just big stuff like baskets and carriers.
Yao Fulang scooted close and said, “I’ll teach you to make a little coin basket.”
Bamboo coin baskets were only palm-sized. The bottom was a small round disc, then you wove it up into a wide belly, then narrowed it again toward the top.
The key was the “mouth” of the basket—it usually only had a two-finger-wide opening, just enough to reach in and grab coins. You also wove a little lid to go on top.
When it was done, you’d attach a strap made of hemp or straw rope so you could wear it across your body.
Yao’s second sister-in-law joked, “Make a big coin basket—so you can bring in big money later!”
Lu Liu grinned. He liked the sound of that and was eager to give it a try.
A coin basket wasn’t exactly convenient to carry around, but it would be handy in the shop. He figured he could make one for his older brother.
Lu Yang’s shop didn’t have a counter anymore—his workers just moved around the store, helping customers.
Vegetables and buns were sold at the entrance, while dry goods were in the back. Handling money and making change wasn’t easy.
Running a shop was hard work. If the basket was too big, the weight of the coins would drag on your back. Even walking a few steps would wear you out. But if it was too small, it couldn’t hold much money—bad for business, and bad luck too.
Lu Liu wove the bottom disc first, measuring with his hands. He widened it by two circles, then checked again. Once it felt right, he added a final loop and started weaving the round belly upward.
Meanwhile, Yao Fulang was already chatting up a storm.
“Lu Fulang doesn’t like going out much,” he told the others. “I figured he was about to go moldy sitting at home, so I dragged him out for some sunshine.”
Yao’s second sister-in-law turned to Lu Liu. “You’re not used to mountain living, huh? But once it gets lively here, it really gets lively. Just listen to all this gossip—it’s as noisy as the county market!”
The people hanging around all teased her for having a sharp tongue.
Yao Ersao laughed. “At least it’s not a nagging tongue.”
Everyone cracked up.
Lu Liu wasn’t too good at weaving the coin basket yet. His hands paused, so he joined the conversation. “The mountains are nice. I’m actually pretty used to it. It’s just… I didn’t know many people before, so I didn’t know who to visit. I just stayed inside. Good thing Yao Fulang always came to keep me company.”
Yao Fulang said, “Well, I was hoping our Huaniu could find a playmate. But turns out your Daqiang is dead set on that Sanyao family’s dog. Tsk.”
He carried on, “This morning, Daqiang took Erhuang with him. I ran into him on the way, and he said he was worried Lu Fulang would be bored home alone, told me to come keep him company.”
The gossip circle stayed in the same spot. The people rotated a little—two missing today, maybe a few more tomorrow—but overall, it was the same scene.
Just a few days ago, sitting in this very spot, someone had claimed Lu Liu didn’t get along with Li Feng and had been beaten to death by him.
Yet here he was, perfectly fine—his face rosy and glowing, pregnancy mark bright red, not a single hint of being sick, let alone injured.
Lu Liu added two more rounds to the coin basket, then started thinking about how to bring up the topic of his brother’s shop.
Since this was his first time visiting someone, he didn’t know how to steer the conversation.
But Yao Fulang was already bragging: “Come on, who’d dare hit him? He spent twenty taels of silver to marry that husband—he’s practically a little god in that house!”
Lu Liu got nervous and tried to tug Yao Fulang to shut him up, but Yao just said, “What are you worried about? With how well-off your family is, no one can say Daqiang got the short end of the stick.”
Yao’s second sister-in-law had heard about Yao Fulang arguing with Chen Fulang the other day. She jumped in to back her brother-in-law. “Who said Daqiang got the short end, huh?”
Yao Fulang loved his second sister-in-law!
“It was Chen Fulang! Always talking about how Lu Fulang’s from the county, blah blah blah—so jealous. The moment he found out Lu Fulang had a county-town brother, he went to visit and came back with twenty giant meat buns. His face was all twisted up with envy!”
No one really cared what Chen Fulang looked like when he was jealous.
But as they listened, they were getting a little jealous themselves.
People from the county… really were different.
Suddenly, more people started chatting with Lu Liu.
He couldn’t keep up. Anyone who complimented his brother, he’d just smile and agree. If they asked what his brother did, he’d say, “He runs a shop.”
And from there, he’d steer the conversation toward the shop and tune everything else out.
“He sells food,” Lu Liu explained. “Mostly homemade buns. He also buys vegetables from the villages. Yesterday, Da Feng and I went to his shop. He saw how far I live from the county and said it must be hard for me to buy things. So he offered to supply me with some goods. Said I could take a bit of general merchandise back to the village—stuff for my own use to save money, and if others need something, I could sell it for a coin or two. That way, I’d have something to do at home.”
Whoa. Open a shop in the village?
Do all county folks just love opening shops? This is a mountain village—how many people live here, really?
Lu Liu saw no one else jumping into the conversation yet, so he quickly added, “My brother also sells mountain goods. He wants me to help collect things from around here. So if your family has anything like that, you can sell it to me.”
Buying and selling were two different things. When he mentioned selling goods from a small shop, the group went silent. But as soon as he brought up buying local products, everyone jumped in—asking about types, asking about prices.
Lu Liu remembered what his brother had told him: these days, if it’s edible, it’ll sell. The price? That’s something you discuss in person. He’d take anything.
He told them honestly, “We were in a hurry yesterday, didn’t get to talk details. In a few days, Da Feng will go into town to sell some rice cakes and collect payment. He’ll ask about prices then.”
There was plenty of stuff in the mountains. What the county liked to buy were mostly specialty foods—wild mushrooms, chestnuts, walnuts, foraged greens, game meat.
Other things, like bamboo shoots and fruits, were common too. Villagers might eat some things themselves, but that didn’t mean county folks wanted them.
Suddenly, Yao Fulang remembered something—his family still had a wild beehive that hadn’t been sold yet. Da Qiang had knocked it down from the mountain.
He turned to Lu Liu. “You guys take beehives?”
Lu Liu froze.
A beehive? You could sell a beehive?
“Does it still have bees in it?” he asked.
Yao Fulang gave him a look. “You really don’t know much, huh? Can’t blame you—guess folks in the county never see this stuff. Ours is a wild hive—tons of honey inside. Da Qiang went to the county yesterday just to sell it, but couldn’t settle on a price. Next time you see your brother, have him name a number.”
Lu Liu did know about honey. It was edible. His brother would probably want it. He agreed.
By midday, he started gathering his things to head home. Yao Fulang handed him some extra bamboo strips—enough to finish his coin basket.
“It’s all mountain bamboo. Not worth much. Take it.”
After that, word spread fast in the village: Lu Liu had a brother in the county—and a good one at that.
At noon, Lu Liu was home alone. He made a quick meal, then got to cleaning up the house.
The cured meat needed more sun. The dry grass, already sun-dried, needed storing. Then he sorted through Li Feng’s old clothes—clean ones in one pile, dirty ones in another.
Lu Liu understood Li Feng’s habits. He’d been like that too—clothes weren’t changed every day. Fabric was expensive, and washing them too often wore them out faster.
But still, unlike Li Feng, he didn’t keep clothes stuffed in the wardrobe all season long. Seasons change—you have to wash them.
Winter laundry was the worst. Cold water made your hands ache, and heating water burned through firewood and water. It was hard to manage.
He didn’t have time to wash them that afternoon, so he just got them sorted.
Then he went to check out the side rooms. Li Feng had mentioned clearing one out for a little shop.
He opened the door—and it was stacked floor-to-ceiling with firewood. Lu Liu couldn’t even start cleaning it. He circled around and went out to the little trail by the house to take a look around.
How strange. Not a single person had come to find him all afternoon.
Not to buy anything. Not even to ask about mountain goods?
So… this whole visit had been a bust.
He’d be heading to town again in a couple of days. When he saw his brother and got asked about how things were going… he hadn’t sold a single thing. Worse—he’d given a bowl away for free.
Well… that was Da Feng’s doing. If his brother got mad, he could scold Da Feng for being a spendthrift. Once Da Feng got yelled at, he wouldn’t be the one in trouble.
Lu Liu buried the frustration and worry deep inside. He brought everything in from the yard, then turned toward the kitchen to make dinner.
Dinner tonight was stewed cabbage. He couldn’t stand radishes these days. Last time, Shun-ge joked that if you ate too many, even your farts would smell like radish.
That was just… too much.
