Each household had only a few dozen or a hundred pounds of goods. Lu Liu had already set the price for the goods, which was the same as in the county, and some mountain products were even slightly higher than the county price. Everyone saved themselves the trouble of running back and forth.
Once Li Feng and the carpenter had agreed on the size and style of the table and paid a deposit, the couple headed to the new village.
In the new village, the same people were involved in making the rice cakes. After lunch, they gathered at Chen Guizhi’s place to wait for their share of the money.
Sanmiao came with her husband, Miao Xiaohu. Shun asked Miao Xiaohu, “Xiaohu, what are you going to do with the silver?”
Miao Xiaohu wanted to save it. They had just gotten married, and Sanmiao treated him well, even taking him out to eat mutton soup, which was expensive. He didn’t want to spend any more money.
Shun Ge found it boring and went to chat with others.
As they chatted, his older brother and sister-in-law arrived with the silver.
The main hall had already been set up with chairs, and Chen Guizhi brought out a jar of wine.
Shun saw an opening and slipped over to Lu Liu’s side, linking his arm through hers and asking, “Sister-in-law, what are you going to do with the silver?”
Shun frowned, “Are you dreaming? Think about it, why do you have to spend the money?”
Why does he have to spend the money?
If he has to spend the money, Lu Liu really has a lot of places to spend it.
He wanted to help his brother, support his family, and show Li Feng a large sum of silver so that he wouldn’t rush into the mountains.
Li Feng was going into the mountains tomorrow, just for one day.
In a while, he would go hunting wild boars, which would take half a month.
Lu Liu thought about it, and his eyes reddened.
He said, “If you have to spend money, give the silver to your older brother and let him go to the blacksmith’s shop to repair his spear and knife, and make some good arrowheads.”
Shun Ge was playful like a child, always wanting to buy nice things with money. He saw money as tangible objects, and seeing them made him happy and satisfied.
Lu Liu’s words struck a chord with him, leaving him with a heavy heart. After a while, he said, “Then I’ll save money too.”
He had started working to make rice cakes, and his mother said that from this year onward, he could save some pocket money for himself. He was also saving to buy his older brother better swords, spears, and arrows.
Li Feng was standing beside the two of them, overhearing their conversation. He felt a pang of emotion and playfully slapped each of them on the back of the head.
His hands were large, and when he slapped someone on the back of the head, it felt like a large-area pat on the head.
“What are you two talking about? Can I get money out of your mouths? Think of something else, young men. Think of things like rouge and hair ribbons.”
Li Feng mentioned rouge and glanced over at Sanmiao.
Sanmiao nodded at him.
The rouge was bought.
Li Feng had promised Lu Liu he would buy him rouge, but he never had the time, and when he did, he didn’t know how, and neither did Lu Liu.
So he entrusted Sanmiao to have Miao Xiaohuo help buy it. When he went to pick up the goods, he would take the rouge with him.
Old Tongsheng acted as the witness. Chen Guizhi saw that everyone was present and asked Shun Ge to close the front door.
After dividing the silver, the work for the year was officially finished.
Chen Guizhi opened the wine, and each person received only half a bowl.
Everyone raised their bowls in celebration and drank them dry.
“A successful end to the work!”
Lu Liu followed suit: “A successful end to the work!”
…………………………….
There was nothing else to do before the New Year, so Lu Yang and Xie Yan chose a date to invite Wu Pingzhi to dinner to thank him properly.
The two of them went to the Wu family’s courtyard to deliver the invitation, bringing some meat buns and a box of pastries.
Wu Pingzhi hadn’t married yet and lived alone in a small courtyard. When he saw the two of them arrive, he set up a banquet in the small courtyard so they wouldn’t have to go out.
Inside, there was a heated bed and a charcoal brazier. Lifting the indigo-dyed embroidered cotton curtain, they entered the inner hall.
In the central hall hung calligraphy and paintings, with an altar below where incense burned, though no deities were enshrined.
Off to the side stood a small round table with matching stools, seating four people.
There were only three servants in the courtyard: a doorman, a messenger, and a gatekeeper who swept the grounds.
With a single command, the messenger went outside, and soon, food and drink were served.
“You’ve come at just the right time. I was just about to go find you. Last time, I was in a hurry and didn’t prepare any gifts. Since you’ve come, don’t leave empty-handed. Take something with you,” said Wu Pingzhi with a smile.
Lu Yang listened and knew that this young master Wu was also a clever man. He declined a few times, and the two said similar things.
“These are just things from my own home; they’re not worth much.”
Lu Yang also didn’t know whether to accept it or not. He felt that Wu Pingzhi was being too generous.
When you give gifts to others, you must have something in return. Their family was like this, and there was nothing worth remembering. Were they really good friends and good brothers?
He said, “This is so embarrassing. We said we would invite you to dinner, but you came to our house, ate, and took things. I’m embarrassed.”
Wu Pingzhi poured them both wine and tea, filling both glasses to the brim, letting them choose which to drink.
Lu Yang became interested: “How did the two of you end up talking?”
Xie Yan answered quickly: “He likes to read.”
Wu Pingzhi laughed: “Brother-in-law, let’s talk about our own things.”
Xie Yan was unhappy: “What are you talking about with my husband?”
Wu Pingzhi teased him: “Didn’t you say you wanted to talk to your husband next time you met? Is this the time?”
Xie Yan conceded.
Lu Yang raised his cup of tea and toasted Wu Pingzhi: “Let’s talk.”
They were both intelligent people and did not bring up the past.
Such a good relationship, yet they did not help Xie Yan escape his misery before—it was all superficial. Lu Yang could not say that.
Based on his experience, no matter how well the Luo brothers treated him, they could not rescue him from Chen Lao Ye’s grasp. Chen Lao Ye had to release him himself.
Only after Lu Yang was married off did he finally find freedom.
Xie Yan was the same—no matter how much others helped him, he had to be willing to stand on his own.
Wu Pingzhi said, “Before entering the county school, we all studied at a private tutoring school. Back then, Xie Yan’s father was a teacher there, and he hit me with a ruler more than my own father scolded me. My father was so frustrated he ran to the private school countless times, but when he saw people, he dared not say a word and only scolded me. He was good at his studies, loved to read, and had a father who was a teacher. The other students at the private school didn’t want to play with him. I went to find him, saying I wanted to tease him, but look at him like this, it’s no fun. I was young back then and didn’t think much of it. I just thought I could write more trashy articles to annoy him and lead him astray. But he was a fool. He saw how hard I worked on my writing, even though it was terrible, and felt sorry for me. He often came to find me and taught me how to write.”
Lu Yang loved hearing these stories, but Xie Yan found them boring to tell himself; they were only interesting when others told them.
Lu Yang urged him on: “Tell me more.”
