Lu Yang opened the door. Shun-ge helped Lu Liu down from the cart, while Li Feng carried the basket of vegetables inside.
Lu Yang told Li Feng where to go and asked him to make a trip to the academy, to pass a message to Xie Yan and tell him to come home early for dinner.
“And ask if the God of Wealth is coming too.”
Li Feng asked, “Who’s the God of Wealth?”
Lu Liu and Shun-ge both looked over.
If he was called the God of Wealth, he had to be rich.
“Wu Pingzhi—Young Master Wu,” Lu Yang said. “He’s got connections for buying horses.”
That one sentence hooked Li Feng’s soul.
He was still standing at the gate, but his heart had already flown to the academy.
He wanted to meet this God of Wealth and ask him about horses.
Once they made money, he’d get a horse.
They’d be delivering goods in the future—how impressive would that be.
Seeing the longing on his face, Lu Liu whispered to Shun-ge, “Your big brother loves horses the most, then Mother, then me, and then you.”
Shun-ge was puzzled. “Why am I last?”
Lu Liu patted his belly. “We used to be tied, but now I’ve got Zhuangzhuang. Da Feng loves Zhuangzhuang too, so we weigh more.”
Shun-ge conceded defeat.
Li Feng had sharp ears and heard them. He said, “Horses come last. You’re all the most important.”
Lu Yang waved them inside. “Enough with the mushy stuff—soon the whole county will know how close your family is!”
It was their first time visiting Lu Yang’s new home. Dinner wasn’t in a rush, so Lu Yang led them around for a look.
There wasn’t much to see in the main room. On the table sat only a tea set, a housewarming gift from Wu Pingzhi.
The real interest was in the bedrooms.
When Lu Yang said he’d paper the walls, he meant it. He was busy during the day, but at night he pasted up a few sheets at a time. In just a few days, he’d finished the two walls by the kang.
All of it was manuscript paper covered in writing—much nicer than bare gray walls. Xie Yan’s calligraphy was beautiful; pasted up like this, it was pleasing at first glance, and even more so on closer inspection. When idle, you could even read what he’d written.
But what drew the eye most was a portrait.
Xie Yan had drawn it for Lu Yang’s birthday.
Now that they’d moved into the new house, it could finally be hung up.
It was on the wall directly facing the door—you saw it the moment you stepped inside.
The painting included many people. Xie Yan had chosen a street scene, but the faces of the passersby were all blurred, their figures sketched with only a few loose lines.
That day, he’d taken Lu Yang to buy clothes and helped him tie up his hair. The more he looked, the more he liked him. The street was crowded and noisy, but in his eyes there was only Lu Yang.
The portrait was vivid. Even though Lu Liu looked just like Lu Yang, the moment the door opened and the painting came into view, even Shun-ge could tell that the person in it was Lu Yang.
The brothers’ features were the same, but their bearing and temperament were very different. Anyone who knew them could sense the difference.
If you only knew one, fine. If you knew both, it was hard to ever mistake them.
Lu Liu praised it repeatedly. “It’s so well done—so handsome! Brother looks great, and this outfit is beautiful. It really shows off your figure!”
Lu Yang was also wearing a long robe today, but it was a plain one. Both were cotton—embroidered, it looked grand; unembroidered, it had only a bit of dignity.
“Does this outfit look familiar?” he asked.
Lu Liu shook his head. He hadn’t seen it before.
“I bought it to match the shoes you gave me,” Lu Yang said. “Your brother-in-law took me out specifically to buy it.”
Lu Liu beamed. “I’m going to make you lots and lots of beautiful shoes!”
That way, brother-in-law would take his brother to buy lots of beautiful clothes.
Shun-ge loved pretty things. He stared, transfixed, and suddenly felt his short jacket looked ugly. He wanted to wear a long robe too. But back in their village, no one wore long garments. They wasted cloth and weren’t convenient for work.
Lu Yang took two embroidered outfits out of the kang cabinet and showed them the styles.
“There’s cloth at home—you can cut one yourself. When you’ve got time, add some embroidery. It’s cheap and practical.”
That style wasn’t suited for mountain work. Making one for leisure was enough—when coming into the county, they could wear it.
It was still early, and there were two outfits, so Lu Yang had them try them on.
Li Feng only went to the academy to deliver a message and came back quickly. When he reached the main room and saw his little husband and his younger brother both wearing bright, embroidered long robes, each one showing off their figures, his eyes lit up.
“These look great!”
Nice clothes cost silver—time to work harder and earn more.
Lu Liu and Shun-ge changed back into their own clothes and went to the kitchen to help.
Lu Yang didn’t want Lu Liu to, so he just had him tend the fire and start cooking the rice.
There would be eight people for dinner—nine if Wu Pingzhi came.
Lu Yang made garlic eggplant and crispy eggplant.
He stir-fried amaranth, then chives with eggs, mountain mushrooms with pork, and green beans with pork.
There wasn’t time to make heavy dishes at home, so he had Li Feng go to a restaurant to buy two: soybeans braised with pig trotters, and pork belly with preserved greens.
He also made a soup—since it was a family meal, he kept it simple: loofah and egg-drop soup.
They’d been eating mountain mushrooms a lot lately, and Lu Liu’s family picked them every day, so he made fewer mushroom dishes.
He didn’t buy tofu—he didn’t want to deal with Old Man Chen—so that dish was skipped.
They hadn’t moved in long, and though the kitchen was spacious, there was only one iron wok.
Since he was hosting, Lu Yang took charge of the cooking. Lu Liu helped with the rice and fire, while Shun-ge prepped the ingredients.
Working together, and with all home-style dishes, everything was on the table quickly.
When Li Feng set the purchased dishes down, Xie Yan arrived home as well.
Wu Pingzhi didn’t come—he was busy writing and had no time.
When Xie Yan and Li Feng met, for the sake of the dinner, they didn’t bicker.
Before the meal began, the two of them sat there like two useless men, bored stiff.
So Xie Yan went into the room and brought out the picture books he’d bought, handing them to Li Feng.
Two of the books had already been given away by Lu Yang; three remained.
After reading them, they could trade. If trading didn’t work, once they were printed, they could exchange them for new copies.
Li Feng knew where the books came from. Earlier in the main room, he’d even glimpsed the portrait on the wall.
Xie Yan could draw—so why didn’t he draw his own, instead of spending money to buy these?
Li Feng asked.
Xie Yan opened his mouth. After a long pause, he finally forced out, “I can’t draw.”
He thought Li Feng was provoking him. As he spoke, he got annoyed. “How would I draw it? What would I even draw?”
Li Feng fell silent.
Right.
How would you draw that?
It was a question too hard on a scholar.
Li Feng took the books and laughed. “I thought you could draw.”
Without a hook to argue over, Xie Yan couldn’t pick a fight. He only said, “Even if I could draw, I wouldn’t draw it.”
He’d only ever been intimate with Lu Yang. His mind held no one else. If he drew it, it wouldn’t be appropriate.
Li Feng nodded and started talking business with him.
Xie Yan said, “I still have to attend classes at the prefectural academy. When you go, figure out the dates and take me along. That way my husband doesn’t have to run back and forth and get worn out.”
That was easy enough.
They chatted for a while, then Lu Lin and the others arrived.
Zhao Peilan was an elder. Li Feng brought his husband and younger brother to greet her and exchange a few words.
She said everything was good. She was easygoing, not temperamental, and not much for conversation—pleasantries were only a couple of sentences.
They closed the courtyard gate, washed their hands, and took their seats.
Lu Yang introduced everyone first. They’d all met before; this was mainly for Shun-ge’s benefit.
Like when Wu Pingzhi had been invited before, this family dinner avoided business talk. It was all everyday chatter—eat well, drink well.
Lu Yang opened a jar of wine and filled everyone’s cups. Raising his cup, he said, “We’re all family. The first half of the year was too busy—we never really sat down together for a proper meal. Tonight, don’t hold back. Eat your fill!”
Lu Lin was sharper now—experience had trained him. He could keep conversation going at the table.
Zhang Tie was much better than before, but still reserved in a setting like this. Xie Yan and Li Feng took turns talking with him.
Xie Yan was downright proud, his gaze drifting everywhere—now shooting his husband a look that begged for praise, now flashing Li Feng a smug glance.
He wasn’t the most useless one here!
