Li Feng was reluctant to talk to him and said to Lu Yang, “You should teach him more.”
Lu Yang defended him and snorted, “What’s wrong with him? He’s fine, don’t talk about him.”
The three of them argued as they took a bag of rice. Li Feng picked it up and said to Lu Yang, “There’s ten pounds in it.”
Lu Yang nodded, “That’s enough.” “
He and Li Feng went out without bringing any money.
Xie Yan closed the shop and took all the money with him.
Today, Lu Liu gave Lu Yang a money basket and wove a shoulder strap to hang it on his body, so Xie Yan carried it.
He opened the lid of the money basket and took out some copper coins.
Li Feng looked at the money basket and narrowed his eyes.
This money basket was made by Lu Liu in a hurry, and he had even woven it on the bed.
When he gave it away, he didn’t think anything of it, but now that Xie Yan was carrying it, he was unhappy.
He asked Lu Yang to carry it and said, “Isn’t your family’s money under your control?”
Lu Yang knew he was trying to stir trouble, but he fell for it anyway.
He looked at Xie Yan. Xie Yan didn’t say a word and immediately handed the money basket to Lu Yang to carry.
Li Feng felt better.
They returned to the house, Lu Yang placed the rice sack on the table, and told Xie Yan to speak.
Xie Yan tried to be polite: Father, this is our New Year’s gift. Don’t be stingy. There’s plenty more if you’re still hungry.”
That was a good point, and Lu Yang nodded.
Wang Fengnian invited them to stay for dinner, with rice and cured meat. No need to say more—cooked rice and steamed cured meat were already a fine meal.
They didn’t stay, as it was getting late. so they would just stay for the day to put their minds at ease.
Lu Liu chuckled and said, “I haven’t memorized those characters yet, but I can read them in order. I’ll study them diligently at home and teach them to Dafeng. By the time we meet again in the first month of the lunar year, I’ll be able to read!”
Lu Yang realized he had forgotten to ask about the beehive. Now that they were about to part ways, he urged him to think carefully if there was anything else he had overlooked.
Lu Yang knew how to make it and explained to him, “Next time you get some lamb, take one or two ounces and try stewing it in a small pot.”
Lu Liu took note of it. If he could make it, they could eat lamb and drink lamb soup at home.
Li Feng was craving it, so he wouldn’t sell the lamb. They couldn’t eat too much of it at home, so he could cut off a few pounds.
It’s meat, not silver, so it should be fine.
Everything at home was fine. They didn’t mention anything else when they returned, but the four of them got along well, which was enough to put the two fathers at ease.
Li Feng and Lu Liu left first, while Lu Yang still had to rush over to his uncle’s house.
He hadn’t asked Li Feng to buy more rice earlier. Rice was something that wasn’t enough to eat if there was too little, but too expensive if there was too much. Flour was inconvenient, and so were soy sauce and oil.
Wine is acceptable, but it’s hard to carry. He could only apologize to his younger brother. After everyone had left, he cut off a piece of cured meat, about seven ounces, and took Xie Yan to borrow flowers to offer to Buddha. He had already made arrangements with his uncle’s family in advance, asking them to make the trip to the county seat during the New Year to help them out, moving one room over and connecting the beds.
Lu Dahu had wanted to talk to him earlier, but was worried about their journey, so he and Lu Song accompanied them to the county road, all for the sake of the bamboo weaving business.
“Do you need connections to do business with the Heyi Zang?”
Lu Yang said, “No, this kind of business is taboo for many people, so it doesn’t last long. It comes in bits and pieces. When they run out of money, they come back for more. In my opinion, this is also doing a good deed. The people buried by the charity hall are all lonely and helpless, with no relatives or friends to find, let alone proper burial. With a straw mat or bamboo mat to wrap their bodies, they can rest in peace underground. We don’t have to feel guilty. If you’re really afraid, you can get a talisman for protection.”
Lu Dahu asked, “Liu Ge, could you help arrange this? My son Lin Ge seems bold, but I really dare not go. Should I send Dà Sōng with you?”
Xie Yan volunteered, “No need. When Dàsōng comes, I’ll take him.”
He wasn’t afraid of ghosts or spirits. He hadn’t even seen his father’s spirit. Let him go instead, so Lù Yáng can rest properly.
That’s fine too. As long as someone from the county leads the way.
The lantern’s light was dim, illuminating only a short distance ahead.
They sat in front of the cart, and the light stopped between the cart and the horse.
Lu Yang looked ahead and could only see the horse’s tail.
He had never ridden a horse before and was itching to try it.
“Can I ride the horse?”
“ Sure,“ Xie Yan said, pulling the reins to a stop, ”I’ll help you up.”
He said, “Never mind, let’s try again during the day. Let’s go home first.”
Xie Yan looked at the sky and agreed.
There was fresh tofu to eat today, and Lu Yang wanted to make a tofu dish. He was really craving it.
For the past ten years or so, ever since he could remember, he had been eating tofu. He hadn’t eaten it in a long time, and he really missed it.
He went on and on to Xie Yan about all kinds of tofu dishes, then said, “It’s too late today. Mother must have already made dinner. I’ll make a plate of egg tofu later. It’s simple. I’m too lazy to cut the tofu, so I’ll just put it in the pot and use a spatula to break it into pieces, beat the eggs and pour them over it, fry it, add some seasoning, stir-fry it, and it’s done.”
Xie Yan still said it was fine.
He really had no objections at all.
Lu Yang said, “If I sold you, would you still say it’s fine?”
Xie Yan thought for a moment and said, “Then I’d have to help you count the money first.”
Lu Yang was laughing, but he said no.
“You don’t count money when doing business, and your hands aren’t skilled enough. I don’t want you to count it.”
Xie Yan could learn, and he wanted to learn.
Lu Yang pretended to think, “That won’t work. By the time you learn, the seller will have run away. How will I sell you then?”
Xie Yan saw he was happy and thought for a moment, then said, “Then keep me.”
Lu Yang asked him, “Keep you for what? What use are you?”
Xie Yan replied solemnly, “Everyone has their place in the world.”
Lu Yang laughed beside him.
The villages were close to each other, unlike the county town, which was far away. The horses traveled quickly, and the couple chatted and laughed as they entered the village.
The villagers of Shangxi Village had developed a habit of seeing them off and welcoming them back every day.
Lu Lin and Shazhu returned to the village first. Soon, the news that Xie Yan had a horse-drawn carriage spread throughout the village.
The two of them drove the carriage into the village, and people lined the road to watch.
Lu Yang asked them what they were looking at: “On the day of our wedding, Xie Yan was riding a horse, but I didn’t see you guys coming to watch the excitement.”
Watching the horse? They were all crowding around to grab things.
Many people smiled: “That wasn’t us. There were too many people that day, and we didn’t get a chance to watch.”
Lu Yang snorted, ignoring them, and scanned the crowd with his eyes. Spotting Sun Erxi, he called out to him, “Erxi, my water jar is empty!”
