As for grooming someone to manage the shop…
He hadn’t really thought that far yet.
He’d already taught Lu Lin quite a bit. He planned to push him a little on his literacy later—if the boy worked hard, maybe he could move up in life.
Being a shopkeeper had far more future than being a hired hand. Even the pay was different.
After taking his leave from the Wu family, Lu Yang headed back to the shop.
It was getting late. He didn’t say much to Lu Lin—the couple was already preparing to clock out and head back to the village—so he’d bring it up another day.
When the shop was closed up for the night, Boss Ding nearly failed to recognize him. With a little snort, he said, “Well, well, Boss Lu, you look like a scholar’s husband now.”
Lu Yang laughed. “I wore a long robe the other day too!”
Boss Ding shook his head. “That thin, plain thing? That’s not a robe—just something we shopkeepers wear to look a tiny bit presentable. But this outfit? Now this looks good. Sharp. Stylish!”
Lu Yang laughed even more and showed off his new shoes. “Nice, right? My younger brother made them. I liked them so much I bought clothes to match—cost me a small fortune. I told myself I wouldn’t buy a second set.”
Once you can fill your stomach, you start wanting better clothes.
People always say ‘food and clothing worry-free’—clothes are like a second skin, and you can’t let that skin look shabby.
Boss Ding, being familiar with him, naturally went on rambling as they settled accounts for the day.
“Life in the county town drains money every single day. My yard doesn’t have a well—buying water alone costs eighty coins a month. Then firewood—over four hundred coins gone right there. I wanted to dig a well, but every neighbor struck water except me. Tell me how that makes sense.
“The chamber pot has to be emptied—that costs money too. When the drainage ditch in front of the door gets clogged, you have to pay someone to clear it. You’ve got a scholar husband, so maybe you don’t know—lots of people with bad hearts dump leftover slop at night, right by other people’s yards, clogging up the street drains!”
He didn’t even mention worker wages. And food—he and his husband were busy, one at the winery and the other at the shop, so they only cooked at home at night.
They could eat lunch at the shop, but mornings were brutal. They were exhausted every day, and the child had to get up early for school. So he usually bought breakfast outside.
Clothes and supplies were another expense. Running a small business meant you had to look presentable. Wear something too shabby and you couldn’t hold your head up in front of friends. Reputation had its price.
And supporting a student? That was the most painful part.
“A stack of paper—buy the cheap kind—and it’s still over two hundred coins. Not expensive, but the stuff disappears fast. A kid who’s still learning to write uses two or three stacks a month. And the cheap ones smear ink! Just paper and ink alone cost seven qian a month.”
Boss Ding sighed heavily. “Ah! When will it ever end?”
Hearing the part about paper, even Lu Yang’s eyelid twitched.
Boss Ding’s boy was still a beginner—practicing big characters daily, so of course he went through paper quickly. Once he started writing smaller characters, the cost would drop.
But his scholar at home was a different case—he burned through paper like eating it. Once he picked up a brush, it never stopped. He wrote down everything.
Last time Lu Yang cleaned up the drafts, he even saw a note saying: A classmate is secretly picking his nose.
What was the point of writing that down?!
But Xie Yan said if he didn’t jot it down, his mind felt crowded. Once it was on paper, his head felt clear enough to study again.
What could Lu Yang do? He just had to buy more stacks of paper.
Ah…
The two of them chatted merrily, then sighed and shook their heads as they walked home.
That night, they had stir-fried eggplant—newly delivered seasonal produce.
Lu Yang salted the eggplant first to draw out moisture, then heated a generous amount of oil.
It needed plenty of oil. The eggplant was pan-fried first, just like cooking tofu—let it set a bit before flipping and adding seasonings.
He usually made garlic eggplant, with extra garlic. The dish came out incredibly fragrant.
Because it used so much oil, most households didn’t cook it often. But he loved it and had learned it specially. In the past, when Old Chen got a craving, he’d ask Lu Yang to make it, and Lu Yang would sneak a few bites too.
Now it was different—a whole big bowl on the table, shared only between him and his mother. He scooped half a bowl of rice and topped it with a ladle of garlic eggplant, practically swooning from the smell.
With only two people eating, they had just one dish for dinner.
Zhao Peilan had never tasted eggplant cooked this way. Back in the village, her eggplant dishes never turned out right, and Xie Yan barely touched them.
After a few bites, she told Lu Yang, “When A-Yan comes home, make this for him too.”
Lu Yang beamed. “I’ll fry him a whole big bowl—let him eat to his heart’s content!”
While they ate, Lu Yang brought up the exam trip.
“In the fourth month, I want to go to the prefectural city with A-Yan. I’ll have Brother Lin and my brother-in-law stay at the shop—they can watch the place in the morning and at night. You’ll hold down the house. Is that alright?”
Zhao Peilan nodded. “Of course. I get along with them.”
Life had improved, and no one came to bully her anymore.
She still worried about Xie Yan traveling and reminded Lu Yang, “Once you get there, have a doctor look at him. Don’t be stingy. A pulse reading will put my mind at ease.”
Lu Yang placed some food in her bowl. “I know, Mother. After the exams, we’ll walk around the city and visit a clinic.”
Then he told her about moving house. “Since Brother Lin is already in town, we don’t have to move again. I’ll visit the brokers tomorrow and have them look for a house. I’ll also ask Brother Dayong and Brother Erwu which ones have legal disputes—we’ll skip those. I want a place near the private school. It’s quiet there, and it’ll be easier for A-Yan to come home. Someone living here in the shop won’t affect our opening hours.”
Zhao Peilan nodded again. “You decide.”
Lu Yang served her more food.
Running a household felt good.
That night passed quietly. Lu Yang had eaten too much and left his medicine for midnight.
He drifted off, woke up to take the pills, then went back to sleep.
The housing matter was already assigned to the broker, so he didn’t need to run around.
At the shop, he talked to Lu Lin again about literacy and bookkeeping. Lu Lin did want to learn.
“Working in the county, it won’t hurt to learn more skills,” Lu Lin said.
So Lu Yang taught him.
After writing a few characters for Lu Lin to practice, Lu Yang went back to his needlework.
They had bought so much fabric at home—these mending tasks would keep him busy for a long while.
No wonder wealthy families always had tailors—they chose a fabric, got measured, and simply waited for the finished clothes. No need to thread a single needle.
That would be his next small goal.
This year, they could finally afford good fabric—warm, sturdy clothes.
Next year, they would hire a tailor and wait for finished garments to be delivered.
After that, they’d upgrade fabrics—no more coarse linen. Time for silks and brocades. A prosperous life ahead.
Before the end of the month, Li Feng delivered vegetables again, and Lu Yang asked him about leather.
“I want a bigger leather satchel. Do you have any hides?”
Li Feng kept his stock in the mountains—it wasn’t the right season yet. He promised to ask Wang Meng for a good hide and bring the finished bag later.
Lu Yang showed him the design. Soft leather was fine; he didn’t want it stiff. A crossbody bag with internal dividers—he even drew the layout.
Soon after, it was Xie Yan’s rest day, and he came home that night.
Lu Yang prepared a table of home-cooked dishes for him, with a huge bowl of garlic eggplant in the center.
He served Xie Yan the same way he ate—half rice, half vegetables—saying it made everything taste better.
Xie Yan just felt happy watching him. Being fussed over like this, he was even happier.
He didn’t care how he ate—anything tasted good when Lu Yang served it.
This time, Lu Yang wanted him to properly rest for a full day.
Xie Yan was always running home, studying, rushing around, with early classes at the academy—it wore him out.
