They had already delivered New Year gifts to both their fathers. Now that they were on better terms with the eldest uncle’s family, they had to prepare a set for them too.
Lu Yang didn’t travel with him this time. These were his own relatives, and Xie Yan had long shown himself to be a bit blunt and simple. The two fathers wouldn’t mind. Uncle A-Qing had sharp eyes and could see that Xie Yan had no hidden intentions—if he occasionally said something off, they could let it slide.
Once they left Lujia Village, it would be on the way to Lizhai. They planned to clear things up there before the end of the year.
Lu Yang had it all mapped out. But then, just as they were waiting for word, a letter arrived from the study house—the books had reached Sanshui County!
This was important business, and no one but Xie Yan could handle it.
Xie Yan went to the bookshop, and Lu Yang didn’t feel comfortable asking someone else to go to Lizhai on his behalf, so he decided to postpone it for a few days—just until Xie Yan was free again.
When Xie Yan arrived at Suyanhua Bookshop, he couldn’t hide his smile—he was finally going to earn some money!
With silver in hand, he could head to Lizhai, bring back the couple Li Feng and his wife, and finally take Lu Yang to see a doctor.
Once he had the money, he could sweet-talk Lu Yang a bit. Maybe then, Lu Yang would agree to take medicine.
He was so happy that even his usually calm and expressionless face lit up.
The owner of Suyanhua Bookshop was surnamed Jin. He was wealthy-looking, average in height, spoke gently, but his face was full of urgency.
Seeing Xie Yan walk in with a grin, Mr. Jin smiled too. “Confident as ever, eh, Scholar Xie?”
“Mhm!” Xie Yan replied directly, “So, what’s the rate this time?”
Mr. Jin led him to the tea room, where everything had been arranged—writing supplies laid out, a young boy ready to assist, and tea and snacks already served.
He chuckled. “You’re getting warmer with people now, aren’t you, Scholar Xie?”
Mr. Jin had dealt with Xie Yan before. Back then, the scholar had been stiff and awkward, eyes only for his books.
Mr. Jin had admired his talent and tried to befriend him, but every time he approached warmly, he got a cold response. Eventually, realizing Xie Yan’s deep love for books, and since the bookshop always had books, they kept in touch. Mr. Jin had his shopkeeper maintain the relationship.
Almost two years had passed. Now Scholar Xie could sell steamed buns and even talk about money.
He said, “Same as before. You can read any book in my shop freely. As a scholar, I know you understand how valuable that offer is. And since you have a photographic memory, I’ll add three taels of silver for your writing work. Once it’s done, I’ll gift you a book set of your choice.”
Xie Yan used to only get one tael per job, which was about the same as others who copied manuscripts.
But he remembered what Wu Pingzhi had told him—this skill of his was priceless. At the very least, he shouldn’t accept less than five taels. Rare things are expensive, and his skill was something no one else could replicate.
Xie Yan frowned in thought. Then he remembered that Lu Yang had asked someone to approach Magistrate Jin, and he asked, “Mr. Jin, is County Scribe Jin your relative?”
Mr. Jin replied, “He’s my full brother. You know him?”
Xie Yan carefully chose his words. “Let’s skip the haggling. Could you speak to him for me? I’ll be submitting a petition to the yamen soon. Could he put in a good word for me?”
Mr. Jin was surprised—this scholar really had changed. He was even learning how to manage favors now.
Awkward and stiff, sure—but at least he was trying.
Mr. Jin didn’t immediately agree. “What kind of petition?”
Xie Yan briefly explained. Once Mr. Jin heard it was a case of a village chief leading the charge in bullying, with a bunch of troublemakers nearly forcing Xie Yan and his mother to their deaths, he agreed right away.
It wasn’t like Xie Yan was trying to bully anyone—this was simple.
They were just some rural folks—no power, no connections. The village chief was the biggest among them, but even he wasn’t worth much. So helping out was no big deal.
Xie Yan was even happier. The payment was less than he’d hoped for, but his husband had told him before: favors are priceless. When asking someone for help, it’s not about how much money changes hands—as long as things get done, it’s worth it.
He focused hard on the books, determined to do an excellent job.
Xie Yan had started learning to speak by reciting the Three Character Classic.
Before his father passed away, books were a constant in his life. Over time, he’d developed an impressive reading speed. As Mr. Jin stood by his side, still halfway through one line, Xie Yan had already turned the page.
People said he had a photographic memory. Xie Yan knew that wasn’t exactly true. But he came close—he just read faster and remembered more deeply than others each time he picked up a book.
Since he had to memorize the entire book, he couldn’t treat it lightly. This wasn’t like the account books he used to memorize as a test—it wasn’t short-term memory work he could forget right after writing it down.
This was about a treasured manuscript. He’d have to spend several days familiarizing himself with it, making sure he could reproduce it word for word without a single mistake.
He read through it three times, then sat quietly with his eyes closed, reviewing everything in his mind, occasionally flipping the pages to check.
In less than half an hour, Boss Jin stepped back into the room to find that Xie Yan had already begun reciting it from memory. He hadn’t even written a single word down yet. The young pageboy standing beside him seemed entirely out of place, eyes wide in awe.
Lu Yang, having wrapped up things at the shop, saw that it was getting late and came over to the bookshop to check on Xie Yan.
Manager Wang didn’t take him inside. Instead, he let him peek through a gap in the tea room window.
Same familiar face, same quiet and composed look—but there was something different now. It wasn’t the usual blank expression. Right then, Xie Yan radiated a sort of subtle magnetism.
Lu Yang stood outside watching for a long moment, then softly asked, “Will he be coming home tonight?”
Manager Wang wasn’t sure. According to their original plan, Xie Yan was supposed to stay in town for the night to squeeze in a few extra readings and finish copying the manuscript as soon as possible.
Inside, Xie Yan set the book down and told Boss Jin, “I’ve finished reading. I’ll start writing tonight, but I’m going home first.”
Boss Jin: “…?”
Seeing this from outside, Lu Yang had Manager Wang bring him in.
The moment Xie Yan spotted his husband, he lit up with joy. He couldn’t hide the pride in his eyes—he was being useful!
Lu Yang greeted Boss Jin with a proper bow, then turned to ask Xie Yan, “You’ve memorized it all?”
Xie Yan nodded confidently. “I’ll write it out at home.”
Since it was all from memory, he didn’t need to take the original with him.
Nice try. Boss Jin didn’t agree.
The manuscript was scheduled to leave town early the next morning. Xie Yan had to copy it here tonight. The pageboy would copy from the back end while Xie Yan worked from the front—if he forgot anything, he could check it on the spot. No way was Boss Jin letting him leave.
Lu Yang understood. Rationally, Xie Yan did too. But emotionally, he couldn’t bear to be apart from his husband.
Lu Yang took his hand. Boss Jin was well-off—the room had three braziers going, so Xie Yan’s hand was warm.
Lu Yang said gently, “It’s just one night. If I’d known earlier, I would’ve stayed to keep you company. But now there’s only Mom left at home. Lin can’t be trusted to watch over her. She’ll be scared being alone at night. Do you want me to stay with you or go back and keep her company?”
Xie Yan suddenly felt even more determined to move into town.
“You go be with Mom. I’ll be fine.”
He said he’d be fine—like a real man—but still held tightly onto his husband’s hand.
Lu Yang turned to Boss Jin. “It’s getting late—would you mind letting him have some dinner first?”
Dinner was no problem. As long as he stayed, Boss Jin was more than happy to treat him well.
Lu Yang sat with him a while longer and helped him get through the meal. Then he stood up to head home.
Xie Yan watched him leave, reluctant, like his soul was being tugged away.
Boss Jin also took his leave. Manager Wang stayed behind to help Xie Yan if he needed anything that night.
Manager Wang teased him, “Scholar Xie, you just got married recently, didn’t you?”
Xie Yan didn’t catch the teasing. “Yes, we’re doing great.”
Manager Wang hadn’t asked how it was going, but he laughed. “Newlyweds are always like this—so clingy. After a while, you’ll be sick of seeing each other.”
Xie Yan didn’t like the sound of that. He shot him a glance but said nothing.
Lu Yang always said he didn’t know how to talk. But to Xie Yan, Manager Wang was the one who couldn’t speak properly.
He picked up his brush. The sooner he finished copying, the sooner he could go home.
He’d already decided which books he’d ask for—he’d request a set of soup recipe books from Boss Jin.
He was clever about it. Books for the civil exams were expensive. If he asked for those, Boss Jin might think he was being ungrateful.
But soup books? Everyone bought those. They were cheaper. As Lu Yang would say, “Small profit, big volume.” If he asked for a few soup books, Boss Jin wouldn’t mind at all.
With that decision made, he fully settled in and got to work, brush flowing confidently across the paper.
Meanwhile, a few streets away, Lu Yang hopped onto Shazhu’s donkey cart.
Lu Lin turned around and asked, “Where’s that scholar husband of yours?”
