Each of these livestock animals represented the hopes of the household. As Wang Fengnian spoke, a smile spread across his face.
Lu Liu listened and smiled too, asking if things were manageable. They all said yes, they were keeping up.
Wang Fengnian then stir-fried some flour, packed it into bamboo tubes, and gave two tubes to Lu Liu to take home and eat.
The sky was growing late. The children were young, and Lu Liu would not stay overnight at his mother’s house. Fearing they might not eat or drink enough, he went to the kitchen, helped stew the pig trotters, sliced the meat, and reminded them to eat quickly. He told them to scoop two ladles of vegetables each meal before he and Li Feng got into the carriage and headed toward Li Village.
Wang Fengnian ran out to them, carrying a basket of eggs.
He had noticed during the New Year that Lu Liu’s household had no chickens. Without chickens, there were no eggs. Without eggs, how could they buy some to eat? It simply didn’t make sense.
He collected some eggs and let Lu Liu take them home.
Lu Liu did not refuse, taking them with a beaming smile.
The main road stretched long ahead, with many fallow fields along the way now sprouting green grass.
As the carriage moved forward, Lu Liu looked back. His eyes filled with tender, newborn green.
Spring had arrived, and all living things were awakening.
Lu Liu held the bamboo basket carefully to protect the eggs from jostling, leaning slightly against Li Feng as he sat.
Ahead, the horses pulled the carriage steadily, their hooves striking firmly and taking large strides. The horse-drawn carriage moved far faster than a mule cart.
Lu Liu said to Li Feng, “Da Feng, I’m starting to look forward to going to the prefectural city. Life will change a bit when we get there, but we won’t change. You’ll provide for the household, and I’ll take care of everything else—manage the home, make sure everything is in order. Then you can sleep and eat well, without having to worry and run back and forth.”
Li Feng smiled at him as he spoke about the future. “I’ll have your elder brother help look after the house. That saves me some trouble. The next few trips to the prefectural city, we’ll take just a few pieces of luggage at a time. A few runs, and we’ll be settled.”
Lu Liu responded with a series of “mm-hm”s.
He wanted to finish embroidering the bellyband before reaching the prefectural city, so he could give it to his elder brother.
He also wanted to finish the embroidered shoes, to tease Shun Ge. Seeing that his brother had a bellyband while he didn’t would surely make the child pout. Then he could pull out the new shoes—haha, just thinking about it was amusing!
He told Li Feng, who touched his face and said, “How can you be so mischievous?”
Lu Liu said, “I learned it from you. I learned it all from you. It’s your fault—you spoiled me.”
Li Feng told him to explain in detail.
Lu Liu said he couldn’t explain in detail, and muttered a crude remark: “You’re not detailed either—how can I go into detail?”
Li Feng truly raised an eyebrow.
He asked, “Have you been spending a lot of time with Young Master Yao recently?”
Lu Liu said nothing, hugging the basket of eggs, smiling into the wind.
Spring had arrived, and the wind was gentle.
He liked many seasons. Spring carried away the harsh cold, helping him recover from miserable states. He was no longer afraid of frostbite or freezing to death. He loved spring.
He liked summer too—so much good food to eat. Autumn was a harvest season and needed no introduction.
He disliked winter. Yet the last two winters had passed surprisingly well.
He realized it wasn’t winter itself he disliked—it was the fear of winter.
Now he was no longer afraid. He felt warm.
After inspecting the house, Lu Yang rested for a day.
He slept in, then got up to write some articles.
He had heard Xie Yan mention some suspicious points about the government catching thieves and wanted to think them over, to train his own mind.
Regardless of whether his ideas were right or wrong, or how far they diverged from reality, he needed to exercise his thinking.
Last year, he had realized that growing a business inevitably involved dealing with all kinds of powers. When they came to do business in the prefectural city, how they interacted with the government was uncertain, but they would certainly come into contact with the Hong family at the dock.
Understanding this would help his future actions.
Most of Lu Yang’s knowledge about the government came from the two Luo brothers. Their positions were low, and he asked deeper questions about ordinary matters only to avoid trouble. It was simply survival strategy for common folk.
Regarding the docks, all he knew was secondhand information. On this trip to the prefectural city, he focused on Xie Yan’s studies. Since the house hadn’t been finalized, he hadn’t gone to see it yet.
As for the sailors—he hadn’t even studied the county guards, let alone the prefectural city’s sailors.
Next was merchant influence. The most prominent merchant he currently knew was Old Master Wu. He appeared low-key, and Lu Yang felt more fear than respect toward his power.
By then, Lu Yang had settled on the “small wealth, stable life” principle for his traveling business. He wouldn’t take reckless risks. He didn’t want to become fish on a chopping block.
In the prefectural city, including the Hong family, several influential groups weren’t purely merchants; they all had backers. They were just chief cashiers—managers of money.
This was unfamiliar territory. He mapped these forces onto roles he understood, treating backers and sailors as bosses. Only the Hong family was just a cash holder.
If their own money was stolen and the boss wasn’t angry, what could that mean? Only that no losses had been incurred.
Then he separated the backers and sailors into two bosses. Goods from the backers, once off the dock, might be intercepted by the sailors on the canal.
Could it be a transaction? Two bosses completing a deal, which is why there was no anger?
But why would they need this transaction?
Lu Yang got stuck here.
He knew too little about the matter to figure it out.
But any transaction must involve profit. So he wrote down several hypotheses:
Either the Hong family was dissatisfied with the pirates who came ashore, and deliberately created an excuse to give the sailors a reason to crack down.
Or the Hong family used this as a way to make a large bribe—though this was unlikely; too much trouble, easier to just give gold or silver.
Or it was a genuine robbery, and something unexpected occurred on the canal—something worth more than the cargo, giving them great satisfaction.
Lu Yang, ignorant yet persistent, wrote at his desk all afternoon. As evening fell and the light dimmed, he checked the time, stretched, pressed the paper down with a paperweight, poured himself tea, and headed out to pick up Xie Yan from school.
Shun Ge had also slept in today. After following Lu Yang around for a few days, he now played with Wei Meng.
Having grown up in the mountains, he could train dogs—not as skilled as hunters, but better than Lu Yang.
Lu Yang saw his mother and informed her, “I’m going to pick up A Yan and eat dinner together tonight.”
Zhao Peilan nodded and asked what he wanted to eat.
“I’ll check the kitchen,” he replied.
Lu Yang shook his head. “Nothing special. Let them cook a simple meal. A Yan likes crispy rice.”
He had written all afternoon, so it only took a few words to decide and head out to the prefectural school.
He walked briskly, not taking a carriage.
The prefectural city was crowded. Near dusk, the streets were even busier than in the morning. Restaurants and inns glowed warmly with lights. Some shops were decorated like during a festival, with big red lanterns hanging high. Others hung simple small lamps, each emitting a warm yellow light, bearing the shop’s name.
The sky wasn’t fully dark yet, so the view wasn’t impressive. Lu Yang had no mind to appreciate it, hurrying to the school.
By the time he arrived, Xie Yan had finished class, backpack slung, peering out the door. A scholar spoke to him, and Xie Yan answered sluggishly.
Seeing Lu Yang, a smile lit Xie Yan’s face, and he perked up while speaking.
When Lu Yang approached, Xie Yan came out to the street to meet him. The scholar speaking to him, Ji Mingzhu, followed.
“I saw you writing something else. Show me! You’ve already read what I wrote, haven’t you?”
Xie Yan didn’t want to show him today. He was going home to eat with Lu Yang.
“I’ll give it to you tomorrow. Go on home.”
Ji Mingzhu looked at Lu Yang again, feeling he looked familiar. Thinking carefully, he couldn’t recall at first.
Lu Yang did look familiar to him. When Ji Mingzhu had previously inquired about the prefectural school, he had talked briefly with a few scholars nearby.
Lu Yang mentioned something, and Ji Mingzhu remembered. He laughed, suddenly realizing, “I wondered who this gentleman was being so considerate. We even inquired. Turns out it’s Xie Zhuozhi’s husband.”
