Chapter 61
Lu Yang chuckled and said, “I’m usually busy, and with the snow I couldn’t go into town. There’s something I wanted to ask Brother Da Song about, so I came back to see if he could help.”
When Lu Yang had returned for a visit, he’d painted them a rosy picture. Miao Qing had hinted that if there was a good opportunity or a cushy job, Lu Song would get first dibs.
Lu Song’s husband looked up, still a little dazed. “You’re looking for Da Song? I’ll go get him.”
Miao Qing already understood what was going on. “Whatever it is, just say it. We’re all family. He doesn’t have much on his hands anyway. Since you’ve asked, he’ll definitely get it done for you.”
Sitting together were mostly wives and husbands; the men didn’t usually mingle in these chats.
The eldest uncle’s family was doing fairly well by village standards, though this “doing well” only came after both sons had grown up. When the kids were little, labor was scarce and life was hard.
Miao Qing said Lu Song wasn’t busy, but in reality, Lu Song and his younger brother Lu Bo were squeezed into the kitchen, weaving bamboo baskets. Their father, Lu Dahe, was out in the woodshed splitting bamboo to make strips.
With the New Year coming up, they could still catch the markets in December. They had to hustle while they could and earn whatever they could.
Lu Yang kept the matter in mind and said to Miao Qing, “Uncle Qing, here’s the thing. Xie Yan has a shop, and we’ve been buying vegetables in the village to sell. They’re selling really well. Most people in the village don’t have big gardens — maybe ten or twenty jin of vegetables per household, not worth the trip to the county. But I have a storefront, and anything that doesn’t sell in a day can be kept there and sold later. I want to ask Brother Da Song to help collect veggies in Lujiatun. Your family has a donkey cart, so it’s convenient too.”
Lu Yang had already thought through the wages. Once he officially sold the produce through the shop, he wouldn’t discount bulk prices, which would allow for higher profits. He planned to pay fifteen wen a day.
There wouldn’t be much heavy lifting — the village was small, and everyone wanted to make money. Households would deliver the vegetables themselves. Lu Song would just need to sort them, pack them carefully so they didn’t get bruised, and deliver them to the shop. One round trip a day, and that was fifteen wen earned. Afterward, he could still come home and weave his bamboo goods.
How could anyone say no to such a good deal?
Miao Qing was overjoyed. “That’s a great opportunity. We should be thanking you!”
He quickly told Lu Song’s husband to fetch Lu Song.
The other villagers visiting looked on with envy. It wasn’t the kind of opportunity you could fight for. So they just asked about the vegetable prices.
There were lazy folks in the village, but not many. Everything you ate cost money, and most people had land, so they grew what they could. Families couldn’t finish all their own produce, and they made pickles every year that lasted all the way until the next batch. Sometimes there were still two jars left when it was time to make the next round. If they could sell some of it, that would be great.
Lu Yang told them, “I won’t hide the pricing from you — the going rate is around four to six wen. You’d get the same selling it yourself in town. At first, I’m not sure if I can sell large amounts easily, and I have shop expenses and labor, so I’ll pay about half that. It’s just like selling grain to a rice shop. If you go yourself, you might get a better price. But if you want to sell everything in one go, the price will be lower. You can talk it over with your families — I’m open to whatever works.”
Seeing Lu Yang talking so well with the others, Miao Qing didn’t want Xie Yan to feel left out. He placed a plate of sunflower seeds next to Xie Yan and told him to help himself.
But Xie Yan’s eyes never left Lu Yang. He only glanced at the seeds, then went back to watching Lu Yang.
Suddenly, something seemed to occur to him. He reached out and grabbed a handful of seeds. He didn’t eat them, just started peeling them slowly, one by one.
Miao Qing didn’t know what he was up to, but figured as long as he wasn’t bored, it was fine.
Lu Yang found a moment to whisper to Xie Yan, “You can’t just sit there staring at me.”
Human connection was built through interactions. Since Xie Yan didn’t know how to make small talk, he didn’t know how to argue with others either. These conversations might seem trivial and tiresome, but if he wanted to learn, he had to get used to them. With enough exposure, he’d learn to filter what was worth hearing.
Xie Yan was listening, and when Lu Yang told him to look at others, he looked.
But for every one look at the men, he’d glance twice at their husbands.
Lu Yang wanted to scold him, but the way Xie Yan looked at him made the words catch in his throat. He opened his mouth, then inexplicably smiled. It was just… inexplicable.
Miao Qing commented that the two of them were really affectionate.
Xie Yan finally spoke. “Yes. He treats me very well.”
Miao Qing: “…”
He’s still just as odd as ever, even after a few days apart.
Lu Song came into the main hall with his husband, eyes lighting up when he saw Lu Yang and Xie Yan.
He had thought he’d just wait until spring to raise pigs — who knew he’d get a job before the year was even over?
He said honestly, “You and Brother Lin live closer. Why didn’t you ask him instead?”
Miao Qing also looked at Lu Yang. He had a hunch — Lu Yang had only asked Lu Song to collect from Lujiatun. The veggies from Shangxi Village were probably being handled by someone else.
Lu Yang smiled. “I’ve hired Brother Lin and his husband to help me. Remember I said I was going to start selling buns? I can’t handle it all myself, so I asked them to help knead the dough. Once Brother Lin gets better at wrapping buns, their wages will go up too.”
What a stroke of luck!
Hiring both Lin and his husband, and now Lu Song — that meant three helpers from the eldest uncle’s household!
Miao Qing was grinning ear to ear and offered to make them some sweet tea.
Lu Yang thanked him cheerfully and didn’t turn it down.
Three kids in the eldest uncle’s family — hiring two and leaving one out would feel unfair.
Lu Yang said to Miao Qing, “We’ve just opened shop, and don’t need too many hands yet. When another job opens up, I’ll ask Second Brother Bo to help.”
That was perfectly fine. Miao Qing had only brought up Lu Song because he was worried there would be only one position and had already made a choice.
But if there were more jobs, he would be thrilled to get all three of his kids in — even the husbands and wives too. If it got really busy, he and Lu Dahe would help out as well. Who wouldn’t want to earn money?
Since Lu Yang had come with good news, Miao Qing brought up something else — the matter of the farmland sale.
“The prices aren’t that good, so I thought I’d wait and see. But since you’re back, it’s a good time to discuss.”
Good farmland was going for five or six taels of silver per mu, depending on the seller.
Their scattered, lower-quality fields would only fetch around two taels per mu. The six mu were spread all over, and buyers were mostly neighbors who had land bordering theirs — not in urgent need, just testing the waters.
Lu Yang did a quick mental calculation. The family probably had just over two taels left. Raising pigs next year came with some risks. They’d also need chicks. Life costs money, so they needed to keep four taels as a cushion.
He wasn’t aiming for much self-owned land — but both dads were insistent, wanting to keep two mu. At current prices, they couldn’t afford to buy two mu of good farmland this year. So, better to keep one mu of low-grade land, trade the other five mu for one mu of good land, and hold onto the remaining silver. That way, next year they’d still be planting two mu.
Lu Yang said, “We won’t go below one tael and eight qian per mu. Any less, and we won’t sell. I’d rather let the land sit idle. My husband Xie Yan is a licentiate — we’re exempt from land tax. A few mu in hand won’t burden us.”
Of course, if they kept the land, both dads would push themselves to work it, even if it meant wearing themselves out.
Miao Qing nodded. “I’ll go check around in a bit.”
Once business was settled, Lu Yang chatted with them a while longer before saying it was time to go.
As they left, Xie Yan handed him a small bundle of peeled sunflower seeds.
Everyone in the room laughed, “Brother Liu’s really got a good husband — he’s so thoughtful.”
Those words truly flattered Xie Yan. He’d always wondered how to be good to Lu Yang — and now he knew: this was how.
Lu Yang accepted the seeds like they were precious.
No one had ever peeled seeds for him before.
On the way home, they held hands.
Xie Yan offered him the seeds, but Lu Yang couldn’t bear to eat them right away.
Xie Yan said, “I’ll peel them for you every day, from now on.”
Lu Yang couldn’t let him do that all the time. “Your hands are too valuable for that. Peeling seeds isn’t your job.”
But to Xie Yan, it was important — anything for his husband was worth more than gold, more important than writing.
Lu Yang called him a fool — said he was clueless about the ways of the world, always a little out of sync. But when someone like that says something from the heart, it cuts through all his defenses, hitting right where it hurts in the softest way.
He thought, He sees me as more precious than gold. I’m not a burden anymore.
Avoiding his burning gaze, Lu Yang popped two seeds into his mouth.
The seeds were tiny, soft, barely had any bite to them. He chewed slowly, savoring the taste while trying to hide the tenderness rising in his chest.
He said, “These are the best sunflower seeds I’ve ever had.”
He didn’t want to show weakness — but in that moment, he was all softness.
Xie Yan watched him with aching tenderness, unfamiliar emotions beginning to take root.
They continued home. Both their fathers came out to see them off.
Lu Yang promised again, “Everything’s going great. Don’t worry.”
The donkey cart left Lujiatun and turned onto the main road toward Shangxi Village.
As the sun began to set, they arrived at the village, and Lu Yang returned the cart to Silly Zhu’s family.
Silly Zhu’s mother, seeing how close they were, said cheerfully, “The vegetables are all counted. We picked some from the garden too. When do you think you’ll take them into the county?”
Even in a heavy snowfall, people still visited each other—so of course business could still be done.
Lu Yang replied, “Tomorrow should be fine.”
Hearing that, Silly Zhu’s mother beamed even more. Then she started ranting with Lu Yang about Sun Erxi’s family: “They’re no good—took your money and then refused to admit it. I said a few words about it, and they got all riled up. Came over to my place today to argue! I told them to confront you directly, but they didn’t dare. Isn’t that just guilt talking?”
Lu Yang knew what was going on: they were just scared of authority.
He laughed mockingly. “Shameless, that’s what they are. Lucky your family’s big and tough—otherwise, who would dare stand up to that bunch of thugs?”
That flattered Silly Zhu’s mother to no end. Just as Lu Yang was about to leave, she leaned in and passed him a bit of gossip: “Word is, even the village chief went to talk to them and got kicked out—stormed off with a black face. Then he tried his luck at Xie Laosi’s place. Didn’t go well either. That household’s been cursing all day.”
Xie Laosi had driven Xie Yan and his mother into such a pitiful state. He’d clearly lost all shame and conscience—what did he care about a village chief?
Lu Yang let out a noncommittal grunt.
A lowly villager like that? Dealing with him wouldn’t be hard at all.
He said goodbye to Silly Zhu’s mother, “Thanks, Auntie. And sorry for working your donkey so hard today. Once I sell the vegetables tomorrow, I’ll bring the money over right away.”
Selling vegetables was just business—a clear transaction. But Silly Zhu’s mother was so delighted, it was like she’d found money on the ground.
Lu Yang and Xie Yan walked home on foot. Along the way, he joked, “You drew that cake so well, even the dogs passing by wanna stop and lose some fur.”
Xie Yan, who had seen his husband pluck a chicken before: “……”
It got dark early in winter. At home, Zhao Peilan was already cooking dinner.
Just a meal for three. Lu Yang checked in and saw all the dishes prepped. He left Xie Yan to help stoke the fire—get warm and chat with his mother—while he went out to check the water tank and firewood.
The firewood would last about three to five more days. But the water tank was almost empty—time to haul water.
Lu Yang went full village tyrant mode: grabbed the shoulder pole and two wooden buckets, and headed out. When he reached the village chief’s house, he called for Sangui to come out.
Sangui appeared, trembling, and asked what he needed.
His father—the village chief—came out too. Seeing Lu Yang with the buckets and pole, he knew right away.
Annoyed, he snapped at his son, “Can’t you see Lu-fu is carrying water buckets? Don’t you know to help?”
He was fed up. Why did the Xie family have to marry such a fierce husband?
Sangui stammered “Oh, oh,” and ran over to take the pole and buckets, heading toward the river to fetch water.
Lu Yang walked with him, saying, “Don’t rush. Let’s swing by Silly Zhu’s place first.”
Sangui yelped, “What for?”
Lu Yang put on a kind face. “I’m worried you’ll get too tired.”
That scared Sangui so much he didn’t even dare look at him.
The second time Lu Yang passed by Silly Zhu’s house, he didn’t say a word—didn’t even ask Sangui to call anyone out. He just strolled right on past.
Silly Zhu’s house had a lot of people. One person saw, and the whole household knew in moments.
Sure enough, not long after, Silly Zhu came hurrying out with a carrying pole and buckets, caught up with them by the river, and started fetching water alongside Sangui.
Lu Yang smiled cheerfully. “Tired yet?”
Of course, they didn’t dare say they were.
If they weren’t tired, well—then they could swing by Erxi’s place next.
The Sun family was already being chewed up by village gossip—getting a taste of the kind of bitter days the Xie family had been living. They hadn’t taken any money, but rumors insisted they had. It was humiliating and infuriating.
Now, after that wedding fiasco when Lu Yang beat down three of their chickens, the whole household—except Erxi—was scrambling to make amends. Erxi had even tried to fight Lu Yang before, so he was already behind in the peacemaking game.
Before long, Erxi himself was pushed out by his family to go haul water too.
How big could a water tank really be? With the three of them taking turns—two loads each—they had both water tanks filled in no time.
Then Lu Yang ordered them to go chop firewood.
But the Xie family barely had any left. What were they supposed to chop?
Fortunately, Silly Zhu, who had been dealing with Lu Yang the most lately, quickly caught on and volunteered, “I’ll go get some from home!”
Sangui followed suit right away: “Me too!”
Lu Yang turned to Erxi.
Sun Erxi was tall and skinny, with a slightly hunched back, a long face, a big nose, and whites showing all around his eyes—he didn’t look like a good person.
He stared at Lu Yang for a moment, then finally said, “I’ll go get some too.”
Lu Yang said casually, “If you don’t want to, no need.”
But Sun Erxi wasn’t reluctant—he’d already hauled water. What was a bit of firewood after that?
