The shop had a pot of mixed mushroom soup simmering, still piping hot. Seeing how busy Shiliu was, Lu Lin told Zhang Tie to ladle out a few bowls and bring them over. At the front, he had Ginkgo mind the shop.
He took out the scale, weighed the silver, then counted out the copper coins and had them double-check the numbers.
Li Feng also wanted to change some silver into copper. He needed loose coins for buying goods bit by bit. There weren’t enough copper coins in Lu Yang’s shop, so Lu Lin went next door to the wine shop and exchanged another twenty taels’ worth, dumping them into a bamboo basket that felt satisfyingly heavy.
Li Feng asked Lu Lin, “Will there be wild game delivered every day?”
Lu Lin nodded. “Yeah. Da Qiang brings it. Mostly snakes, rabbits, and pheasants—fewer of the other kinds. He said everyone in the village has been busy picking mushrooms. These are just small critters they caught on the side, sold cheap.”
Wang Meng said, “Da Qiang’s a good one.”
They still hadn’t talked to him about teaming up and heading deeper into the mountains together.
This time back, everyone had half a month to rest. During that time, they planned to set a table and host a feast—his official welcome into the group.
Money collected, soup finished, their bellies full and legs re-energized, they didn’t linger in the county. They got up and headed straight home.
Everything sold in the shop was stuff their mountain stronghold already had. Lu Yang wanted to send them off with something, but there was nothing he could give.
Li Feng never let his cart return empty. Whether his family shop needed supplies or not, every time he came back he loaded up a bit.
Wine was a must, sauces had to be bought, oil and salt couldn’t be skipped. Rice and flour could wait—new grain would be harvested soon.
After they left, Lu Yang stayed sitting in the shop a little longer, chatting with Lu Lin, before heading home as well.
He walked back. The long ride had rattled him so badly it felt like his bones had been shaken loose. When his feet finally hit the ground, they felt weak and unsteady, and it took a stretch of walking before he adjusted.
Lu Lin didn’t feel at ease leaving the shop unattended, so he had Zhang Tie walk him home.
Zhang Tie carried his bundle and walked him all the way to his door, chatting along the way about recent happenings.
Xie Yan had rest days from the academy. On those days, he’d come sit in the shop and even take the initiative to chat with Boss Ding. Boss Ding said he was starting to look more and more like a proper shop owner.
Shopkeeper Wang from the bookstore over there came by often too. He traveled a long way mostly just to buy vegetables, and he paid special attention to wild game. Whenever it came in, he’d reserve some, saying it was for their Boss Jin.
Zhao Peilan dropped by every few days. She usually stayed half a day. After checking that everything in the shop was in order, she’d steal some time to teach Lu Lin a few characters and check his studies. As for the rest, she interfered less and less, still preferring to busy herself in the back kitchen, making steamed buns and baozi.
With the heat, sauces were selling fast, but they didn’t keep as long. Now they ordered based on turnover, collecting once every ten days. It was exhausting work. With the July harvest rush coming up, there was a real chance the sauces would run out.
Lu Yang took it all in, then looked at him in surprise. “Brother-in-law, you talk more than you used to.”
Zhang Tie scratched his head. “While you were gone, Brother Lin would open his eyes in the morning thinking about the accounts, and before sleeping he’d still be muttering to himself. I heard it so much, it stuck.”
Lu Yang had only just returned, and Lu Lin hadn’t told him much yet.
Walking along, Zhang Tie felt that saying nothing would be awkward, so he picked these things to talk about.
Knowing how hard they’d been working, Lu Yang said, “We agreed before—during the busy farming season, you’d be allowed to go home. But harvest is about to start. Going back right in the middle of it would be exhausting. Stay in the county for a day first, then head back. After the harvest, come back here and rest another day. I’ll be at the shop these days anyway—nothing else pressing.”
Zhang Tie didn’t dare agree on the spot. He said he’d have to ask Brother Lin.
Lu Yang laughed.
At the door, Zhang Tie told him to rest well and not rush back to the shop.
“Nothing major’s been going on. We can handle things.”
That, too, sounded more articulate than before.
Lu Yang laughed again.
He thought of Xie Yan. These people who seemed dull and wooden—any progress they made was slow.
They stretched outward bit by bit, clueless about many things, able only to offer up a sincere heart. They made up for their clumsiness with honesty, warming whoever heard them.
Lu Yang knocked and called for his mother. Worried his voice might be too soft, Zhang Tie helped shout as well.
“Aunt Zhao! The master’s back! Open the door!”
Lu Yang told him not to call him “master.” “If that’s awkward, just call me cousin.”
Zhang Tie agreed.
Zhao Peilan must have been overwhelmed. There was a flurry of noise behind the door, the panels even shaking, yet it took quite a while before she opened it.
The moment it opened, her eyes were already brimming with tears. Seeing Lu Yang return safe and whole, she hurried to grab his hand and pull him inside.
“You’re finally back. Have you eaten? What do you want to eat? Mom will make it for you.”
As she spoke, Zhang Tie stood at the door holding the bundle, looking around awkwardly. With no other choice, he followed in and set it down.
Seeing that Xie Yan wasn’t home, he asked, “Should I go tell the academy?”
Lu Yang shook his head. “No need. He’ll be back tonight.”
It wouldn’t be long. He wanted to bathe, wash his hair, and nap a bit. That way he’d have the energy in the evening to talk with his family’s top scholar.
Zhang Tie took his leave and returned to the shop, closing the door behind him.
The moment Zhao Peilan grabbed Lu Yang’s hand, she could tell he’d lost weight again.
“If you stepped on a scale, the weights would be short two pieces!”
Lu Yang laughed. “How could that be? My bones are solid—they weigh a ton. I’d tip the scale heavier than two oxen!”
Zhao Peilan looked at his skinny frame. Even a calf was sturdier than him.
She suggested stewing soup, but Lu Yang waved it off.
“It’s hot. On the road it was either rain or blazing sun. I even used sod to shade my head. Don’t look at how little I tanned—the heat baked me dry. I could barely swallow. I really can’t eat rich food right now. Let me have some light vegetable soup these days.”
Zhao Peilan agreed at once. Following his request, she had already made him two pairs of wide-legged trousers and two tunics that reached above the knee.
They were thin and loose, perfect for staying cool in summer.
Lu Yang was thin; he wasn’t sure how they’d fit. Back when he was with the Chen family, he’d seen other young men dress like that and thought it looked wonderfully cool.
This year, he’d cool off too. Whether it looked good or not—he didn’t care.
After sitting for a bit, he heated water for a bath.
Both stoves were in use. Zhao Peilan went to prepare clean clothes for him to change into.
After lighting the fire, Lu Yang took the dirty clothes and shoes and socks from his bundle, put them in a basin, crushed some soap pods, and planned to soak them in hot water before washing.
This time he hadn’t brought much back—just two stones. He set them on the desk in his room.
Lifting the door curtain, the first thing he saw was his portrait.
Nothing in the house had changed. Even the bedding on the kang was arranged exactly as it had been the day he left.
That day, when he’d been looking for a place to hide the letter, hoping to make Xie Yan busy a little longer, he’d even rummaged through the kang.
That fool—such a brilliant mind, yet he remembered none of the important things, only these tiny details.
Lu Yang unconsciously curved his lips. He set the stones on the table, then pulled open the kang cabinet and put the silver away.
The box for storing silver was a pretty wooden casket, an old family piece that had been there since Xie Yan’s father was alive.
Lu Yang had his own pouch and usually only kept money in it. Opening it today, he found a small cloth bundle inside.
Curious, he lifted it and examined it.
Plain fabric, tied with a drawstring.
Really—good for keeping honest people honest, useless against thieves.
After a brief thought, Lu Yang decided to be an honest man.
He didn’t open it. He put it back where it was, locked the box, slid it into the kang cabinet, and went out to the kitchen to keep heating water.
In summer, bathwater didn’t need to be very hot. Two pots of hot water, mixed with cold, were more than enough.
Zhao Peilan even heated two extra pots for washing his hair.
With the heat, hair dried quickly—washing in the afternoon was just fine.
While soaking in the bath, Lu Yang grew unbearably sleepy.
When it came time to wash his hair, the moment he bent forward he got dizzy. Zhao Peilan had him sit on a chair instead, lean back, and rest his head on her lap while she washed it.
Lu Yang had seen this before. Lu Sanfeng used to wash Chen the eldest and Chen the youngest like this.
He felt a little shy. “I’ll get your clothes wet.”
Zhao Peilan said, “Look at the sun. I need to bathe and change later anyway. Come on—wash up early and rest early. You’re so sleepy you can barely stand.”
