Just as he sold the thirtieth bun,  Huo Ying ran back holding a sticky rice ball, still warm, as she pressed it into Huo Ling and Yan Qi’s hands.

“Uncle and Auntie, you two should eat this right away! These sticky rice cakes are from Grandma Yan’s place!”

Grandma Yan had been selling sticky rice balls in Baojia Town for decades. In her youth, she was known as “Miss Yan”; later, she became “Aunt Yan”; and now she was simply “Grandma Yan.”

Huo Ling and Huo Feng’s generation had all grown up eating her sticky rice cakes, but now that she was getting on in years and her energy was waning, she only made a hundred sticky rice cakes a day to sell. If you went too late, you wouldn’t get any.

“Big Brother, Big Sister, have you eaten yet?”

Huo Ling handed one to Yan Qi, and the familiar scent of perilla leaves wafted toward them.

“We’ve already eaten. We bought some there and ate them right away. You two should eat them while they’re still hot.” Yan Qi followed Huo Ling’s example and took a bite from one corner.

The wrapper was white and chewy, yet not floppy or soggy. The bean filling was slightly sweet and crumbly, complemented by the indescribable, unique fragrance of the suziye leaves. For first-timers, it was simply a novel experience.

The rice ball was tiny; it was gone in two bites.

With someone watching the stall, Huo Ling and Yan Qi picked up some roadside vegetables and dry rations and headed to the inn to look for Liao Dehai and Ge Yi.

When they arrived, they found the two were not there; they had gone together to the carriage and horse rental shop to hire a carriage and horses, so the two began waiting outside the first-floor entrance.

The passersby wore a variety of expressions—some hurried along, while others chatted and laughed cheerfully.

Huo Ling spotted a large, flat stone in the corner by the inn’s entrance. It must have been left there by a nearby vendor to use as a stool; he wasn’t sure if the owner hadn’t arrived yet or had already used it.

He motioned for Yan Qi to sit down, while he kept an eye on the people coming from the direction of the carriage and horse rental shop, trying to spot any familiar faces. To his surprise, no matter how he looked left and right, he didn’t see Liao Dehai or Ge Yi; instead, he first spotted Hou Li, who was on his way to the City God Temple.

Huo Ling suspected Hou Li was looking for him, so he descended the stairs in front of the inn, walked into the crowd, and called out to stop him. Hou Li turned around, saw it was him, and was genuinely surprised and delighted; he hurried over in a few strides.

“What are you doing here? I was just about to go looking for you!”

Then, realizing something, he asked, “Are you here to look for Brother Liao and Brother Ge?”

It was clear that the three had enjoyed their previous conversation so much that they had begun addressing each other as brothers.

Huo Ling explained the whole situation regarding the road provisions: “A promise made must be kept, but after I arrived, I heard they’d gone to the carriage and horse agency.”

“They have a thousand-mile journey ahead of them; they must hire good carriages and horses. That carriage and horse agency was the one I recommended last time—they have strong, young horses with good stamina, and they have branches in many places. If the carriage breaks down or the horses fall ill, they won’t have to worry about no one taking care of them.”

Hou Li finished speaking in a few words and eagerly motioned for Huo Ling to move to a different spot to talk.

“Come on, since we’re already here, let’s go to the inn for a pot of tea. I happen to have something to discuss with you, and we can wait for them there.”

Having risen too early for the market and with his spot in the sun, Yan Qi propped his chin in his hand as he waited for Huo Ling, growing drowsy, and he startled awake when someone called out to him.

“Have Boss Liao and Boss Ge returned?”

“Not yet. Brother Hou invited us in for tea.”

Yan Qi followed them inside in a daze. After downing two cups of clear tea and listening to Hou Li’s animated stories, his drowsiness vanished completely.

“Did they catch those con artists selling fake ginseng last time?”

Huo Ling was a bit skeptical at first.

“Every year, people use tricks to sell fake mountain goods, and plenty of people report them to the authorities, but I’ve never heard of anyone actually getting caught.”

“This time is different.”

Hou Li raised his eyebrows. “Actually, I have to thank you. If you hadn’t discovered that the ginseng was fake, I wouldn’t have thought to do my brother-in-law a small favor.”

“Brother-in-law?”

Yan Qi looked at Huo Ling and saw the word “puzzled” written all over his face.

Hou Li didn’t beat around the bush and continued, “My wife has a cousin who works in the magistrate’s office’s arrest division. He’s been there for several years now and is a constable. Earlier this year, the chief constable at the town magistrate’s office got into trouble and was sent to prison. The position opened up, and the junior constables are all scrambling to get it.”

He took a sip of tea and said, “To make this happen, simply giving gifts and sucking up won’t cut it; you need to have successfully handled a decent case.”

In the past, when the magistrate’s office failed to catch swindlers, it was mostly because by the time the victim filed a report, the perpetrator had already fled Baojia Town. Once they left the area, it became incredibly difficult to pursue the case—a thankless task. Even if they did catch the culprit, the credit might end up going to someone else. Why would the petty officials at the town magistrate’s office want to waste their time and effort on that?

“This time is different, though. Who wouldn’t want a reward delivered right to their doorstep? He took two men with him, caught the gang while they were dividing the loot, and when they tracked down the victim, the victim hadn’t even realized the ginseng was fake!”

When it comes to distinguishing genuine wild ginseng from counterfeits, aside from mountain hunters, seasoned herbalists also possess that discerning eye.

That fake ginseng ultimately fetched 170 taels—truly a major case. Coupled with the fact that he’d already greased the right palms, and judging by Hou Li’s tone, his brother-in-law’s promotion to chief constable was a done deal.

Having a relative who serves as a constable at the magistrate’s office is undoubtedly a tremendous blessing. Even though they’re all law-abiding citizens and wouldn’t dream of abusing their power to bully others, the mere fact that others might be deterred from “abusing their power” to bully them is enough.

Huo Ling offered Hou Li several congratulations. The latter poured another cup of tea for the couple and continued, “Your sister-in-law and I were discussing at home how to thank you, and we suddenly remembered you mentioned last time that your family was planning to buy an ox.”

Hou Li chuckled. “As it happens, I was out drinking with someone yesterday and met a Mr. Wei, the owner of the cattle and horse market in our town. He said he has a few sturdy oxen he’s looking to sell before winter sets in, and he even asked if my family might be interested in buying some. When the time comes, I’ll take you there and have that old fellow give you a fair price. I won’t say much, but you’ll definitely save a few taels.”

Buying livestock often costs twenty or thirty taels; unless the animal is old or sick, the price is hard to negotiate. The cattle and horse market has its own set of rules—bargaining is done by gesturing with one’s hands hidden in one’s sleeves. Anyone unfamiliar with the trade who goes there is bound to get fleeced.

Since Hou Li put it that way, Huo Ling guessed he must have already made arrangements with the cart and horse dealer; the few taels saved would serve as a token of gratitude.

He had to admit, the offer was hard to refuse. If he could buy it now, he’d be able to use it for the next two autumn harvests, and when he went into town in the future, he could ride in his own oxcart.

Especially since Hou Li added, “If you’re free today, you can go in a little while. It doesn’t matter if you don’t have enough money on you—I’ll vouch for you. Just give a few taels as a deposit, take the oxen with you, and pay the rest next time.”

With everything in place, Huo Ling paused for a few moments before decisively agreeing.

“Then I’ll be counting on you, Brother Hou.”

“We’re family—no need for formalities.”

Both men were shrewd and straightforward, and they hit it off immediately, while Yan Qi was still a bit taken aback. From the sound of it, was the family really going to buy an ox?

Fortunately, the whole family had come into town today, and he’d already anticipated plenty of expenses. Huo Ling had been generous, stuffing five taels of silver into his pocket. Combined with the loose change from the stall, it should be enough for the down payment.

They hadn’t had a moment’s rest since leaving home that morning.

After finally getting Liao Dehai and Ge Yi to accept the vegetables and provisions, they were, in turn, given a token of gratitude by the two men: two bolts of fine southern cloth, exceptionally soft and vibrantly colored—one persimmon red, the other sky blue.

Fabrics are categorized into coarse and fine, cotton and linen, and there are also various silks and satins, all of which ordinary people cannot wear. Even if one could afford them, such materials would be impractical for manual labor.

Nor should one underestimate fine cotton cloth; even though they share the same name, there are still distinct grades of quality. Yan Qi felt the fabric carefully and found it unlike ordinary cotton—it was almost as soft as silk.

Liao Dehai and Ge Yi were thoughtful as well. These two bolts of cloth were originally brought from the south for them to sell, but after much deliberation, they decided it would be most appropriate to present them as a gift. They even paid out of their own pockets to buy two more bolts from the cloth shop.

At the same time, they heard from Hou Li that those swindlers had been thrown into prison, and they clapped their hands in delight.

The four sat together and drank another pot of tea. Liao Dehai wanted to invite them to stay for dinner, but Huo Ling and Yan Qi couldn’t keep their families waiting any longer. They simply said they would meet again next year, and for a moment, everyone felt a sense of nostalgia.

As they were leaving, Liao Dehai and Ge Yi saw them off to the door. Liao Dehai clasped his hands and said, “We’re parting ways for now, but we’ll meet again someday.” After saying their goodbyes, they should have gone to the City God Temple first to let them know, but the inn was closer to the cattle and horse market.

The two of them, along with Hou Li, discussed it briefly and decided to go directly to select the cattle.

“Big Brother is watching over the mountain goods, so there’s no need to worry. Before you left, you even baked over twenty stuffed buns—that should be enough to sell for quite a while.”

Seeing Yan Qi worried about the stall’s business, Huo Ling reassured him.

Yan Qi wasn’t one to overthink things; he nodded and smiled. “Compared to buying cattle, nothing else matters.”

As Hou Li had predicted, after he’d made the necessary arrangements, the moment they arrived at the cattle market, a broker came out to greet them and led them to the pens to select their animals. Three sturdy bulls stood in a row, standing quietly inside the pen. In the regions within the Pass where there were paddy fields, water buffalo were commonly raised, while outside the Pass, it was all yellow cattle.

It was true that the Huo family was buying cattle for the first time, but country folk generally knew how to assess them, and even Yan Qi could speak with authority on the subject.

The saying goes: first look at the body condition, second at the nose, third at the teeth, and fourth at the hooves—and that’s just the basics. Beyond that, one must also examine the eyes, tongue, ears, and tail closely. To determine if an ox is sick, one must inspect its dung.

With Hou Li acting as the intermediary, Huo Ling and Yan Qi circled the three cattle, examining them from head to toe, and found them all to be well-proportioned, sound specimens. Seeing the two men nod in approval, the broker led each of the three cattle out of the shed and drove them around the courtyard twice.

“These three oxen will be absolute workhorses, whether for plowing or pulling carts. They’re just around two years old and have already been trained for both cart-driving and field work.”

Generally, only oxen over two years old are considered fully grown; those younger are still considered calves. Younger oxen have not yet developed a steady temperament, their bones are not fully formed, and their load-bearing capacity is limited. Even if forced to plow or pull carts, whether they perform well is one thing—the key concern is that it could make them sick and shorten their lifespan.

A single ox can provide a family’s food for a year; no one wants an ox that won’t grow to full size.

After much deliberation, they all seemed much the same. In the end, Huo Ling let Yan Qi choose one that caught his eye—one with a gentle, docile appearance, bright eyes, a moist nose, and shiny horns.

“Let’s take this one.”

Seeing that they had made their decision, the middleman glanced at Hou Li and immediately quoted a price: “You gentlemen are valued customers of our shopkeeper. We won’t overcharge—just enough to cover our costs. Fifteen taels, and you can take it right away.”