When Lu Liu heard the voice, he turned back with a puzzled look and called out, “Brother, what are you talking about? Do you want to eat tofu?”
Lu Yang burst out laughing. “Not today—some other day!”
The Luo family brothers were swept up in the moment and laughed along.
Sometimes, a good laugh was all it took to steady the heart. The unease of moving, the uncertainty about the future, the worry of becoming a burden—all of it was set aside for now. They were here already; they would live for a year first and see what came.
The banquet would take a bit of time. Xie Yan handled things efficiently, placing orders with several restaurants at once and having young attendants follow him back with seven or eight food carriers so everyone could fill their stomachs first.
After tidying up at home, soaking in hot baths, and changing clothes, evening arrived. The families went together to the restaurant to dine.
Lu Yang arranged the seating based on familiarity. The Lu family and Luo family got along well, so they shared two tables.
These were his guests—his people—so he squeezed in at one table with Xie Yan and his mother.
From Li Village, some brothers had come to help escort people. One table was set for them, with Li Feng assigned to host.
At Lu Liu’s table sat Li Fei, who had come to the prefectural city to study, along with the two fathers and Chen Guizhi, who looked after the two little ones.
Shun Ge’er and He Qingzao had not come yet—their shop was still open. Their place closed earlier than most, so after a while, Shun Ge’er arrived with He Qingzao and squeezed tightly between Chen Guizhi and Lu Liu.
Now it was truly lively. Lu Yang raised his cup of tea and said, “At this rate, we’re going to take over the whole street. Before long, we might as well become our own ‘village.’ Let’s call it Sanshui Village!”
Except for He Qingzao, everyone was from Sanshui County. The name fit well.
Xie Yan picked up food for Lu Yang and asked, “Have you decided on a name for the study?”
Lu Yang had. “Sanshui Study.”
In the future, any other family businesses would also carry the “Sanshui” name.
Xie Yan smiled. “Your naming style is always so plain and unadorned.”
Lu Yang liked it that way—simple, generous, and direct.
Good names carried good meanings, but even simple names had purpose. They were like a great tree, or a forest: the taller they grew, the farther the branches would be from the roots. When they traveled far in the future, they would not need to feel sorrow. That distance would simply be the depth of their roots.
The signboard would be written by Xie Yan. The study they had long planned was finally on track and about to open.
Lu Yang also raised a cup to Old Master Lu, grinning. “Godfather, see? I didn’t lie to you. You taught me your craft—one day I’ll help you make a fortune!”
Though he had not mastered carving and barely understood wood, he had learned many principles from the old man. As the saying went, “A teacher for a day is a father for life.” Lu Yang was deeply grateful.
Old Master Lu clinked cups with him and told him to drink less. “Don’t fill your stomach with water and leave the child hungry.”
Lu Yang was in high spirits—everything made him laugh.
The place was small, but he moved with ease, even pulling Xie Yan along to other tables to toast and chat.
Chen Guizhi teased them, “You two aren’t even getting married—why are you making rounds like this?”
But Lu Yang was unfazed, still smiling. Instead, it reminded Xie Yan of something.
At their wedding, the banquet had been disrupted; they had not even managed proper toasts. It had been chaos.
Xie Yan said nothing, just continued leading Lu Yang around the room.
Watching them, Li Feng was speechless.
When it came to thick skin, Xie Yan clearly had the upper hand.
That day, they named the alley they lived in “Sanshui Alley.”
Lu Yang offered a crooked bit of logic: “It wasn’t called Sanshui Alley before. But now that so many people from Sanshui live here, that’s what it’s called!”
Plenty of places in stories were named after events or people. Their Sanshui Alley would be the same.
After eating their fill, everyone returned home.
As the “pillars” of the household, Lu Liu and Li Feng stayed busy longer, settling everyone in before finally heading back to rest.
Lu Liu had already set his sights on the remaining rooms, imagining happily, “There aren’t many rooms left. When Brother An and Jiu Ge’er come, they can live here too. Ah! It’ll be so lively!”
Li Feng cupped his face, seeing the joy in his eyes. He realized he had been overly sentimental the day before. Still, he could not help asking, “With so many people in the house, familiar faces everywhere… won’t you feel constrained?”
Lu Liu grinned and whispered in his ear, “We’ll just pretend we don’t know. If we don’t say anything and they don’t bring it up, what’s there to feel awkward about? Saying it out loud is what makes it awkward.”
He glanced at the bed. They had returned late; the little one was sleeping in their mother’s room.
Lu Liu added, “Mother knows everything, and she says nothing. I think everyone else is the same.”
Li Feng: “……”
Was Lu Liu’s skin thicker now—or was his too thin?
Either way, since Mother already knew… they might as well do something.
With three new households moving into the alley, things outside became livelier, while the dining tables grew quieter.
Within a few days, everyone found their rhythm—keeping a comfortable distance, gathering after work, returning home to cook at the right time. Harmony settled in.
Li Feng brought Hai Youtian over and introduced him to the Luo brothers. From then on, matters concerning the study and workshop were entrusted to them.
Meanwhile, he took Xie Yan to see Sun Fulang, bringing along the sediment from the honey. After signing a contract, they purchased all of Sun Fulang’s honey and beeswax, entrusting him to refine the honey and extract the wax into candles. Then they packed their belongings and waited for news, preparing to set out for the mountain寨 on an auspicious day.
Once the honey and beeswax were brought back, Lu Liu updated the menu board outside the snack shop. He wrote about the beeswax giveaway on red paper and posted it prominently on the largest wooden sign where passersby could see.
During peak hours at the academy—morning, noon, and evening—he and Shun Ge’er went out to shout about the promotion.
The beeswax candles were the size of ordinary candles, but in limited supply—each person could receive at most two.
Since the promotion was aimed at scholars, it was no surprise that Xie Yan liked them too.
He did not make a fuss, simply took two home. After trying them, he liked them so much that he devised a clever ploy.
He said to Lu Liu, “Your brother loves reading. Now that winter’s coming, daylight is poor. Oil lamps produce black smoke—how can he endure that? He’s still pregnant.”
Lu Liu: “……”
He grabbed a handful of beeswax candles and shoved them at Xie Yan, then went to complain to his brother.
“How can my brother-in-law be like this? All his little schemes are used on his own family!”
Lu Yang blinked. “…But I haven’t even seen any beeswax candles.”
They mostly used oil lamps at home.
Lu Liu froze. “What? He didn’t give you any either?”
After that, he got angry. How outrageous!
Meanwhile, Xie Yan had already stepped into the Cui household once more.
Having returned from the county, it was time for him to resume lessons. Last time he brought three jars of pickled vegetables; this time, a box of beeswax candles.
He had imitated Lu Yang’s way of wrapping gifts—lining the box with plain cloth, arranging the candles neatly. It looked presentable enough.
Upon receiving the candles, Old Master Cui fell silent for a long moment.
Then he said, “Your first lesson today will be how to give gifts. If you waste your class time, you’ll learn less. Don’t blame me.”
Xie Yan took it well. Gift-giving was a profound skill—once he learned it, he could even teach his husband and show off to friends. He listened eagerly.
On the other side, Li Feng took Li Fei out to buy daily necessities and showed him around the shops, even gifting him an inkstone.
Li Fei already had a book satchel, carefully sewn by his mother, which he treasured dearly. He also had his books—everything on the list from the old scholar had been prepared back in the county by his father, who feared he might be too shy to ask for anything in the prefectural city. Brushes, ink, paper, and inkstone—everything was ready.
