Chapter 111

Lu Yang didn’t know either. “Maybe business was good today and it held him up. I’m heading to the village entrance to check—want to come?”

Zhang Tie said he’d go tell his family first, so they wouldn’t worry if he disappeared too.

Lu Yang didn’t wait and walked ahead.

Madam Shazhu had also stepped out to check the situation. When she saw Lu Yang, she joined him on the way to the village entrance.

She looked a bit worn down lately. Days of arguing had taken a toll on her.

In the winter, everyone hunkers down—it’s rare to eat anything decent. Though they’d made some money selling vegetables recently, once it was split between the families, not much was left.

Her son, Shazhu, looked respectable now—he could work in the county. But so far, he’d only made 100 coins, and the donkey was still being sent out to work. Sigh.

She was scared of Lu Yang now. With some resentment and regret in her heart, she greeted him with a bitter smile.

“Lu-fulang, how’s my Shazhu doing at work? He’s not causing you trouble, is he?”

Lu Yang shook his head. To be fair, when Shazhu put in the effort, he could really work. Having grown up as a layabout, he had a smooth tongue, and after just two days, he already knew how to adjust to different people.

Helping out in the shop, he also started running errands. Once he saw that even people in the county lived frugally, he realized no one was better than anyone else and wasn’t so intimidated anymore. He avoided sticking too close to Lu Yang; if he was sent to do errands, he’d handle them quickly and efficiently, just afraid of messing up and losing the chance.

Lu Yang said, “Auntie, I won’t say much, but I’ve seen your family’s sincerity these past few days. Let’s call the wedding nonsense even. You didn’t take the Xie family’s money, so I won’t press too hard. Just put in some effort—keep an eye on what the village chief is doing, chat with the neighbors about it. Once this year ends and the new one starts, our two families can keep to our own lanes.”

A clear answer at last!

Madam Shazhu immediately perked up. “Alright, it’s settled then!”

Everyone could see what Village Chief Zhang Dash was up to.

Even he believed the Xie family should pay back what they owed, and was actively chasing the debt. The rest of the hesitant villagers followed suit and joined in.

Lately, Zhang Dash had been pushing Xie Sicai and Sun Erxi to cough up some silver. Both were well-known scoundrels—Xie Sicai had a history of stirring up his own brother’s funeral, and Sun Erxi would pick fights with anyone he saw. They were throwing the whole village into chaos.

Madam Shazhu didn’t want to get involved in that mess anymore. Let them keep slinging mud.

When they got to the village entrance, they waited under a tree.

She kept chatting with Lu Yang about trivial things—mostly the business of harvesting and selling vegetables.

The price of vegetables was still too low. At the start of the year, folks wanted to keep things simple and sold everything in one go.

But once they added it up, they felt shortchanged. Other households had started offering vegetables to someone else, who paid more than Lu Yang. Those were also sent to the county.

Higher prices, lower profits. When villagers sold their own veggies, they had to rent a spot in the county market. After subtracting the stall fee and transportation, they’d make maybe 30–40 coins a day. The donkey cart could only carry so much, and market hours were short.

Lu Yang understood. In business, you couldn’t just look at the cost of goods—you had to consider labor and shop expenses too.

Sure, vegetable prices were low this year. He’d said it already: there wasn’t much supply, and he’d already bought a batch. Changing the price now wouldn’t be fair. Next year, he’d raise prices a bit, earn trust, and trade small profits for long-term cooperation. Keep the supply steady. This year—things would just have to be as they were.

Seeing he wasn’t angry, Madam Shazhu added, “I heard you’re going to start buying grain too?”

Lu Yang shook his head. “Not me. I know the owner of a wine shop—he needs grain for brewing. He’ll pay a bit more than the grain shops, but he’s picky about quality. If you’re interested, take good care of your crops this year. After the harvest, I’ll bring his steward by to check your grain.”

He was just the middleman. Referring them for the first deal was only fair.

Soon Zhang Tie arrived.

He’d been working every day kneading dough—he and his wife both earning wages. At home, he was respected again, and his face looked cheerier. But as he looked toward the road, his eyes were full of worry.

“They should’ve been back by now. You think something happened on the way?” he asked.

Nothing serious ever happened on the main road—four villages sat nearby, and there were no bandits.

What trouble could there be in the county? Lu Yang tilted his head, trying to figure it out, but couldn’t think of anything.

Just then, they spotted a donkey cart far down the road.

Shazhu was driving like he wished the donkey would grow wings. On the cart, Xie Yan and Lu Lin sat on either side of a sack of old grain, both silent.

It was dark now, but the three waiting could spot the faint flicker of a lantern first.

As the cart drew near, they finally saw their family waiting.

Xie Yan had been sitting so long his legs had gone numb. When he suddenly stood, he nearly tumbled off the cart, scaring Lu Yang half to death.

“Don’t move! What are you thinking, jumping around like that? We’re home! What if you fall and really get hurt—trying to give me a heart attack?!”

He ran up to help and asked, “What took you so long?”

Lu Lin had been holding it in all the way home, but now he burst out with a sigh. “It’s this scholar of yours! He insisted on waiting to get the money today—said if we waited till tomorrow, it’d mess everything up. We rushed around all afternoon, picked up his monthly stipend from the county school. Everyone else went early, but he waited till the afternoon—sure enough, got the money but had to wait ages for the grain. And we couldn’t just sit there doing nothing. I figured, since he was stuck, I’d keep the shop open. Good thing I did! Folks came by in the afternoon wanting rice cakes—we sold over a hundred jin! When we finally left, I told them to come early tomorrow if they want more.”

For ordinary folks, there wasn’t much to stock up on before the new year.

Going to the market meant seeing more things—so they spent more too. But if they could find what they needed nearby, they wouldn’t have to travel as far, and without all those tempting sights, they’d save money. Still, with a bit of cash in hand and real needs to cover, it made sense to buy a few things.

Lu Yang said, “Thanks for the hard work! Come by the shop tomorrow—we’ll have some rice cakes too.”

At twenty coins a pound, rice cakes weren’t free, of course.

Still, having a few friends together to share a treat—whether grilled or boiled—was a good way to satisfy a craving.

The group headed back toward the village. Shazhu hadn’t expected his mother to come meet him at the entrance—he was overwhelmed and touched to the point of tears.

Right in front of Lu Yang, Madam Shazhu gave her son a scolding: “You’d better smarten up and stop stirring up trouble out there, you hear me?”

Shazhu had learned his lesson and nodded like a bobblehead.

Their house was nearby, so they were the first to head home.

Lu Yang carried a lantern in one hand and held his scholar’s hand in the other. He gave him a look. “You were really that anxious? Couldn’t wait just one more day? Look at the time—don’t you think your mother and I were worried sick? Didn’t want to see us sooner?”

Xie Yan grinned sheepishly. “We got our silver today—got more money on hand now. Tomorrow I’ll take you to the clinic. We can ask the doctor more questions, feel a bit more secure.”

Lu Yang was speechless and called him an idiot.

Idiot or fool, same thing. Xie Yan just smiled wider.

Lu Lin, walking nearby and overhearing, turned to Lu Yang. “What’s wrong? Are you not feeling well?”

Lu Yang brushed it off with a quick lie. “Just been out in the wind all day—my head’s aching.”

Too much cold wind could really make you sick. Lu Lin nodded. “Yeah, you should definitely get it checked out. Don’t be stingy with the money. The shop’s doing great—you’re the heart of it. Spend what needs spending!”

Lu Yang laughed. “Once we’ve got real skills, we should open a clinic. Now that’s where the money is.”

Lu Lin fully agreed.

A lot of folks in the village had died from illness.

His father once told him how his eldest brother had nearly drowned as a child. The family didn’t have the money to take him to a clinic.

Adults could suffer through illness, but kids? They couldn’t afford the pain—or the cost. In the end, having another child was cheaper than saving one.

He’d heard that Brother Liu also nearly died from a fever as a kid.

It all came down to not having money. But now, they were grown. They could work. Life was getting better.

Lu Lin said, “Learning medicine’s tough. Without the right connections, it’s not even an option.”

They chatted idly as they walked. When Lu Yang and Xie Yan got home, Lu Lin continued on alone. For the first time that day, Lu Yang and Xie Yan could talk in peace.

As they stepped into the courtyard, they vaguely heard Lu Lin calling out, “Brother Liu said we’re having rice cakes tomorrow. Wait for me—I’ll bring you a piece to try!”

Lu Yang couldn’t help glancing in that direction.

Xie Yan thought he was eyeing the rice cake and said, “I’ll toast some for you tomorrow—add sugar too.”

Lu Yang felt a warm rush in his chest. He looked at Xie Yan and said, “You really had a rough day. Thanks for not taking it out on me… and for still thinking of me when you got home.”