Grass mats were spread out on the ground so the two little ones could crawl around and play.
All three dogs circled the mats, and the babies chased after them on hands and knees. The adults did not even need to coax them.
Lu Liu took a break and brought out his abacus to run the numbers.
Li Feng called out the figures while he calculated, checking whether they matched.
Lu Yang came over and handed him a piece of rice cake.
The cake was made from pure rice flour without any sugar, suitable for babies. It was different from the blossoming rice cakes they made at home. This one seemed to be pressed from rice flour—crumble it with a pinch and it fell apart into powder.
After washing his hands, Lu Liu told Li Feng to bring the children over so he could feed them a little.
But the babies were having too much fun crawling. The rice cake could not hold their attention. They wanted to keep crawling, keep grabbing at the dogs.
In the end, Lu Liu ate it himself.
The two fathers told him about going to hear storytelling the next day, and Lu Liu readily agreed.
When he heard that they had stopped by a teahouse earlier to listen to The Cases of Judge Bao, which was why they had come back late, Lu Liu laughed. “Big Brother really is clever. Why did I not think of that?”
At this, Lu Erbao and Wang Fengnian understood. Lu Yang had deliberately used waiting for pastries as an excuse to take them to listen to storytelling.
Lu Yang handled things thoughtfully, and their hearts felt warm.
In the afternoon, the old duck soup finished stewing, and each person drank half a small bowl.
Xie Yan and Wu Pingzhi went together to Denggao Tower for drinks. Lu Yang could not help worrying about him. He circled Xie Yan once, checking that his hair was neatly tied, his clothes, shoes, and socks all properly arranged. He patted his shoulders, smoothed his wrinkles, and even asked Wu Pingzhi to help round things over if needed.
“You have no idea. The last time I went to the prefectural academy to pick him up, the way he spoke to people… ah!”
Wu Pingzhi told him not to worry. “Those who can get along with him accept his temperament. If he suddenly puts on airs and becomes overly polite, people will feel strange instead.”
“That may be true,” Lu Yang said, “but I cannot help worrying. With you there, I at least have someone to entrust him to.”
Wu Pingzhi agreed.
Xie Yan did not argue with Lu Yang. Whatever he said was fine. Only when Lu Yang urged him to go and come back early did he finally set off.
They had reserved a private seating area at Denggao Tower—on the second floor hall, separated by folding screens.
It was not as noisy as the first floor, nor as secluded as a private room, but it was cost-effective.
The classmates they had invited were mainly Ji Mingzhu and Sheng Daxian. Several previous debate topics had been organized by those two.
Everyone arrived as agreed. Before sitting down, Xie Yan introduced them, then told them to order.
“My husband gave me silver,” Xie Yan said. “Eat and drink as you like. I can afford it.”
Ji Mingzhu and the others exchanged glances just like Wu Pingzhi had earlier. The moment their eyes met, they burst into laughter.
Sheng Daxian said, “You are rarely this generous. Then I will not stand on ceremony. Let us get a jar of good wine. Denggao Tower has a ten-year-aged Zhuangyuan Red. Shall we get two jin?”
The generous Xie Yan asked, “How much does it cost?”
The table roared with laughter again.
The waiter replied, “The ten-year Zhuangyuan Red is two taels of silver per jar. One jar is two jin. Would you like one?”
After Lu Yang had concluded a big deal, Xie Yan’s purse had grown fuller as well. With bold confidence he said, “One jar.”
Seeing that everyone was still laughing, he added, “If it is not enough, we will order more.”
Wu Pingzhi set an example by ordering squirrel-shaped mandarin fish. The price of that dish ranked in the top ten on the menu. Once he ordered it, the others relaxed and followed suit.
Using the pretext of his birthday gathering, Xie Yan had wanted to ask when they planned to depart so they could travel together.
Before he could speak, someone passed by the screen, poked his head in, recognized Wu Pingzhi, and exclaimed exaggeratedly.
“Well! Is that not Young Master Wu? I heard you had already gone to the provincial capital. Why are you here?”
Wu Pingzhi turned and stiffened.
It was a scholar he had previously associated with. Some time ago, not wanting to receive guests, he had claimed he was not at home.
The excuse for not seeing visitors had been that he had already left. He had not expected to run into him here.
For someone as quick-witted as he was, he found himself momentarily speechless.
The man’s gaze swept around the table as he said in a strange tone, “So you did not really leave. You just did not want to associate with the likes of us. As expected of someone from a merchant family. Once you know a few scholars, you start weighing their worth—discarding those of no use…”
Xie Yan stood up. “Who are you? Today is my birthday banquet. I did not send you an invitation. If you know propriety, you should not rush over and say such things to spoil the occasion. Wu Pingzhi is my friend. If you make him unhappy here, you owe him an apology.”
The man had not expected that Wu Pingzhi was not the host and was momentarily at a loss.
Xie Yan carried a strong scholarly air. He had changed into fine clothes before coming out. When he set his face, his features turned cold. He did not conceal his emotions. When angry, the disgust in his eyes could not be hidden.
The scholar was intimidated and could only repeat that Wu Pingzhi came from a merchant background and was good at currying favor.
“I have already said he is my friend,” Xie Yan replied with a frown. “I know very well what kind of person he is. If you judge nobility by background, then tell me—what is your background?”
The man faltered. Xie Yan insisted on an apology.
Xie Yan had scolded several licentiates in the county before and frequently participated in debates at the prefectural academy. His verbal skills had improved greatly. This scholar could not even answer about his own background. Xie Yan had more words ready, pressing him until he wanted to flee—and still did not let him go.
“You will apologize. If you refuse, I will let every scholar in the prefectural city hear of this and judge who is right. My classmates here can bear witness, so everyone may know what ‘background’ truly means.”
Wu Pingzhi, who had been sitting tense, gradually relaxed. He stood to mediate, but could not stop Xie Yan.
When he finally received an apology and watched the man flee in embarrassment, Wu Pingzhi remained dazed for a long while.
After Xie Yan urged him to sit, Wu Pingzhi even considered finding an excuse to leave.
A merchant background was not popular among scholars. Xie Yan had never mentioned it before. After such a scene, to remain and continue the feast seemed likely to dampen the mood.
Ji Mingzhu, seated nearby, stood and pulled him back down onto the round stool together with Xie Yan.
“Brother Wu, do not take it to heart. To be honest, our family is also in business.”
Sheng Daxian and the others nodded with smiles. “Each of our families owns some property. We are all the same.”
Wu Pingzhi’s eyes reddened.
Not all scholars were bad. Over the years, he had met many good ones.
It was only that he had been too greedy, always wanting more connections. He had used profit to attract people, and naturally those drawn by profit looked down on him.
This small incident had happened suddenly and resolved quickly, before he could react. The outcome was beyond his expectations.
Even more unexpected was Xie Yan’s growth.
At some point, this friend of his had grown into the man he was now.
He could organize gatherings to introduce him to new friends, and he could stand in front of him to demand justice.
People often said Xie Yan had low emotional intelligence. At this moment, Wu Pingzhi could not say whether it was high or low.
While Wu Pingzhi was moved and sentimental, Xie Yan turned to the others in shock. “What?! You are all wealthy families? Then why do you still scrape together copper coins when we eat out?”
Ji Mingzhu laughed. “What of it? You have silver in your pocket and still spend it sparingly.”
Xie Yan had reason to be frugal.
“This is all earned by my husband.”
Ji Mingzhu and the others also had their reasons.
“Our silver comes from our parents. Besides, being poor scholars is more convenient than being merchant scholars.”
Xie Yan understood. When the waiter came to serve the dishes, his eyes darted about. Fortunately, Wu Pingzhi stopped him before he could suggest splitting the bill.
Tonight, he was still the host.
Everyone began calling him “Wealthy Xie.”
In July, He Fulang finished pickling two jars of salted duck eggs.
After tasting them, Lu Liu bought them at the price of five for three wen. In total there were one hundred eggs, and he paid three hundred fifty wen. He Fulang’s face glowed with delight.
He calculated with Lu Liu, saying, “Since you raised the price, I earned fifty wen more. I listened to Aunt Chen and will give my husband two qian of silver, keep one qian as capital, and use the remaining fifty wen to buy some rice and flour. We are out of grain at home.”
