Xie Yan went in person, which was also a New Year’s visit for his friends. However, he did not see Old Master Wu.
Wu Pingzhi came as promised, bringing with him a banner.
The banner was large, unfurled to reach Lu Yang’s waist.
It was black and red, with black borders and a red background. In the center were three large black embroidered characters meaning “selling food,” surrounded by smaller characters and embroidered designs.
There were steamer baskets, with buns, mantou, and flower rolls around them.
There was a winnowing basket, with peanuts, sunflower seeds, walnuts, and red dates inside.
There was also an embroidered mountain pattern, symbolizing mountain produce, with vegetables, fruits, mushrooms, and common wild game scattered around it.
This gift was truly wonderful, both valuable and exquisite.
When it was unfolded at the table, everyone praised it.
Xie Yan was deeply moved. Despite his limited tolerance for alcohol, he went to Wu Pingzhi and offered him three cups of wine.
He didn’t say anything, but he looked dignified. After eating and drinking, he insisted, “You are a good person,” which made the guests at both tables laugh out loud.
Lu Yang couldn’t sit still. He got the excuse and immediately wanted to hang it up.
He was taking medicine to nourish his body and shouldn’t have been drinking so much.
Today, the guests had a good time. After sending them off, Lu Yang and Xie Yan could barely stand, both of them feeling weak in the legs.
Luo Dayong helped them both into the house, then came out and bid farewell to Zhao Peilan.
Zhao Peilan saw them off all the way to the street. Returning to the backyard, she took a look at her new home. Without time to dwell on her feelings, she didn’t bother to clean up the dishes and utensils, but went straight to the kitchen to boil some hangover soup.
After vomiting, his mouth felt bitter, and even rinsing it didn’t help. He couldn’t sleep either.
Just wait a few more days, submit the petition, and whatever needs to be done will be done. Everything will be fine afterward.
Lu Yang wasn’t a weak-willed person. Even though his body was in pain, he couldn’t help it, but his spirit remained high.
He told Xie Yan, “Don’t worry. The old doctor said this is normal. I’ve been exhausted these past few days. Get a good night’s rest tonight, and everything will be fine by tomorrow morning.”
Xie Yan stayed with him until late at night. When he felt better, she brought him some porridge to drink.
He had been lying on the bed for a long time, and his body was warm.
Xie Yan brought some hot water and wiped his face and hands and feet, but he didn’t get up to soak his feet.
Lu Yang couldn’t lie still anymore, so he sat up, hugged the quilt, watched Xie Yan bustling about, and said to him, “I rarely lie down and watch others work.”
Xie Yan had learned many witty remarks from him, such as, “I’m not someone else.”
Lu Yang smiled.
His body was tired and heavy, and he had little strength. After sitting for a while, he felt tired, so he brought the bedside table over, propped himself up with both hands, and watched Xie Yan bustling about with his face in his hands.
Xie Yan had only been doing housework for a short time, so everything he did was unfamiliar. He had never studied it before, and Zhao Peilan hadn’t explained it in detail either. Xie Yan could only manage most things roughly and barely take care of himself.
He didn’t know how to do that. He did whatever he saw or thought of, looking quite flustered.
Xie Yan couldn’t do without him.
Finally, everything was tidied up. He carried the water outside to pour it out, then brought a basin and bowl for Lu Yang to rinse his mouth again.
Lu Yang obeyed and did as he was told. When Xie Yan took off his clothes and got into bed, he lay down too.
The bed in the shop wasn’t as comfortable as the one at home.
This used to be where the servants slept, and the bed was poorly constructed. The fire below burned straight into one’s chest, and after turning over a few times, one felt cold again. Lying on it felt like being flattened like a pancake, extremely uncomfortable.
Xie Yan said, “I’ve talked to Dà Sōng and asked him to bring some bamboo mats and straw mats next time. We’ll lay them in layers to block the heat.”
For the next few days, they’ll have to make do. Xie Yan lies down, letting Lu Yang sleep on top of him.
Xie Yan laughed, “I won’t get cooked. I’ll move. Plus, we won’t add more fire in the second half of the night. We’ll stay warm by hugging each other.”
Lu Yang teased him, “You’ll move? What if you wake me up?”
Then Xie Yan wouldn’t move.
Lu Yang said, “What if you get cooked?”
What then? Just endure it.
Lu Yang wouldn’t allow that, teasing him until he didn’t know what to do, then speaking sweetly to him, “You’re mine. You can’t cook yourself—I haven’t agreed to it.”
Due to his personality, even when he spoke sweetly, he did so in a domineering manner. Xie Yan, however, loved hearing it.
Xie Yan asked him, “You don’t agree to me getting burned?”
Of course not.
Lu Yang couldn’t bear to part with his precious treasure.
Xie Yan concluded, “You care about me.”
That was certain, without a doubt.
Lu Yang wasn’t swayed by a few words. He stared straight at Xie Yan, looking into his eyes, and asked, “So what if I feel sorry for you? Can you eat me?”
Xie Yan couldn’t do anything to him, so he could only be happy.
On the fifth day of the lunar new year, they had to open the shop for business. They had said many times that they wanted to sleep, but each time they couldn’t fall asleep.
Xie Yan eventually forced Lu Yang to close his eyes and mouth, coaxing him to sleep.
The old doctor said he had too many random thoughts, but he didn’t listen. He couldn’t help it; he couldn’t control his heart or his thoughts.
For example, now that it was time to sleep, he was still thinking about why he couldn’t sleep earlier.
He muttered to Xie Yan, “I’m afraid I’ll have dreams.”
Once he slept, it would be gone.
Xie Yan felt around in the dark, found his mouth, and kissed him, then bit him.
Lu Yang winced in pain and asked him what he was doing.
Xie Yan said, “If it hurts, it’s not a dream.”
Lu Yang was completely reassured.
The next morning, Xie Yan got up early and went out with Zhao Peilan to the kitchen to steam the buns and flower rolls.
Xie Yan was quick to learn, but his hands weren’t steady yet, so he needed more practice. In the morning, he kneaded the dough while Zhao Peilan made the buns and flower rolls.
The first three batches were steamed by the time the shop opened in the morning.
At this point, Xie Yan went to wake up Lu Yang.
The shop opened, and the sign could be hung up.
This was something Lu Yang had been looking forward to. He rubbed his eyes, feeling a rare attachment to his bed, closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them and got dressed.
The new sign was being hung for the first time, and it was being hung for the New Year’s opening, so he took it very seriously.
After finishing his morning routine and getting dressed, he went with Xie Yan to remove the door panels. After opening the door, the first thing they did was hang the sign outside the shop.
On the first day of the New Year market, the street was slowly coming to life.
The neighbor, Mr. Ding, was diligent and arrived early on the fifth day of the New Year. He watched his assistant hang the sign and was slightly surprised to see the neighboring food stall open for business. After exchanging New Year greetings, he learned that Lu Yang had moved to the county seat.
