The Mid-Autumn Festival bun giveaway was a major event; if they were going to do it, they had to do it right.

The next day, Huo Ling surveyed his stall, looking left and right, and felt it was still missing a cloth banner.

“There are more literate people in town than in the village. If we had a cloth banner, it would stand out more on the street. People coming to buy things would glance at it, and seeing it often would help them remember us.”

Yan Qi nodded. “That’s true. I’ve seen plenty of street vendors in town without shopfronts put up signs in front of their stalls—the ones selling dumplings, knives and scissors, and grilled meat all have them.”

He had observed them while passing by. Cloth banners weren’t difficult to make—it was simply a matter of cutting a piece of cloth, hemming the edges, and embroidering the text onto it. The real challenge lay in finding someone to write the characters.

The design is large and the fabric coarse, so the embroidery doesn’t need to be too intricate.

“If we had a ready-made design, I could finish embroidering it by the middle of October if I work late into the night. But what should we name it?” Yan Qi said, then couldn’t help but smile. He never imagined that one day, their little stall would need a name to put on a sign.

“How about ‘City God Temple Bun Shop’? Is that taboo?”

That would be the easiest to remember,  but he was a bit worried the Taoist priest at the City God Temple might object.

“I’m afraid that won’t work.”

Huo Ling paused for a moment and said, “Why not call it ‘Temple Front Street Buns’? That way, we can still tie it to the City God Temple.”

“That’s good.”

Yan Qi’s eyes crinkled with delight. “Then do we need to find someone to write the sign? I saw a scholar on the street who writes letters for a living, but I’m not sure how much he charges.”

Huo Ling had already thought this through. “No need to go to all that trouble. Don’t forget that Sister Hongmei has a scholar in her household. It doesn’t have to be beautifully written—just legible enough for literate people to read. And to be honest, we wouldn’t be able to tell the difference anyway.”

“Chunshu? I’d almost forgotten about him.”

He remarked with admiration, “Brother Qi and Sister-in-law Hongmei are truly remarkable—to have raised a scholar.”

For a family of peasants scraping by on the land, producing someone who can read is like having their ancestors’ graves give off green smoke. If they manage to secure a degree or two, the family will reap the benefits for generations to come.

“The private school in Sanjia Village accepts both girls and gers, but only those who are at least six years old. They’re afraid the younger ones aren’t settled enough. Since girls and gers can’t earn official titles anyway, if they’re called home after just a few days of study, wouldn’t the teacher’s efforts be wasted?”

When this topic came up, Huo Ling said, “My older brother and sister-in-law decided long ago that when Yingzi is old enough, they’ll send her there. She’ll have Donghua to keep her company.”

Yan Qi exclaimed in surprise, “There’s actually a private school willing to accept girls and gers? It seems this teacher isn’t the old-fashioned type after all.”

“That old scholar has a good reputation around here. Years ago, he even taught a student who went on to become a Xiucai, and he’s currently teaching in town.”

The two had just stepped in front of the stall to demonstrate how to position their eyes. Just then, a donkey cart came rumbling by. Huo Ling took Yan Qi by the arm, and they both stepped aside together. Then he continued, “Back when neither my older brother nor I were married yet, we used to say that once we had children, we’d save up to send them to school—not to pursue official titles, but simply so they could learn a few characters and not be illiterate.”

He turned to Yan Qi and said, “I still feel the same way now. Once we have a child—whether a ger or a girl—we’ll send them to school. If they make a name for themselves, that’s best; if not, it doesn’t matter. After a few years, once they’ve learned enough to read and write, if they don’t want to study anymore, they can come home. If they want to farm, let them farm; if they want to herd livestock in the mountains, let them herd, or do whatever else they please—if they truly have the talent for it, let them go ahead and do it.”

Supporting a child’s education was no simple matter. Ink, paper, and books were all precious commodities. Even those with some natural talent often failed to achieve anything after years of hard study, wasting the family’s money in vain. Therefore, it was rare to find families willing to send gers and women—who had no hope of passing the imperial examinations—to school.

Even though Yan Qi was usually frugal and often reluctant to spend money, he was equally supportive of sending his child to school.

“With the chance to learn to read, how could we pass it up? We didn’t have that blessing when we were young, but now that our children have it, we should send them.” 

“Once the children have learned, they can even teach us in return.”

Huo Ling seemed to have been thinking about this for quite some time. Yan Qi smiled wryly: “That’s still years away.”

“Even if it’s ten years from now, we’ll only be in our thirties. We’re not old men yet—how could we be too slow to learn?”

As they chatted, the conversation drifted off-topic, growing livelier by the minute. Anyone listening would have assumed the two of them already had children, but in reality, they weren’t even close to having any.

After breakfast, Yan Qi quietly asked Huo Ling if they were heading to the Imperial Treasury. Upon receiving an affirmative answer, he frowned and warned, “You mustn’t lay a finger on him.”

“I’ve already told you, it won’t come to that.”

Huo Ling reassured him, “I’ll call him over when I pass by Dayang family’s shop.”

Although Huo Ling and Yang Qingsheng were close, one lived in the mountains and the other in the city, so they rarely had the chance to meet. They could only grab a meal and catch up when Yang Qingsheng returned to the village to visit his family, and Huo Ling happened to be coming down from the mountains.

When he’d mentioned earlier to Yang Qingsheng that they’d be setting up a stall in town every day after winter to sell buns, the other man had already started looking forward to it.

“I didn’t get a chance yesterday, but since I’m passing by today, I’ll drop by to say hello and enlist his help to get this matter taken care of.”

Not wanting to arrive empty-handed, he brought out the mountain produce he’d prepared in advance, and Yan Qi packed five meat-filled and five vegetable-filled buns for him to take as well.

The Yang family sold umbrellas, and business inevitably slowed after winter set in. The winter snow beyond the Great Wall was dry and crisp; it wouldn’t melt into water when it landed on you, so no one bought umbrellas to shield themselves from the snow. Aside from the occasional plain oil-paper umbrella, they sold at most some pretty little floral umbrellas to the fashion-conscious young ladies and lads.

Huo Ling was certain that Yang Qingsheng must be twiddling his thumbs in the shop at that very moment. When he arrived, he lifted the thick cotton curtain meant to block the wind and took a look—and sure enough, he saw the man waving away his assistant and personally opening every umbrella in the shop one by one, brushing off the dust with a feather duster.

“Sir—”

The shop assistant didn’t recognize Huo Ling. He’d barely begun to greet him when Yang Qingsheng cut him off with a barrage of words: “So you actually know which way the door to my shop faces? You’ve been telling me for months that you’d come when it snowed. The snow’s piled three feet deep now, and I’ve been waiting and waiting, but you never showed up.”

“Did you have mutton hot pot or venison hot pot? You’re in such a rage.”

Huo Ling strolled leisurely inside, set down the things he’d brought, and the aroma of the buns wafted out. First, he heard the young clerk’s stomach growl twice.

Fearing a scolding, the clerk ducked his head and hid behind the counter. Yang Qingsheng teased him with a laugh, “Didn’t you eat enough this morning or something?”

He didn’t bother with formalities with Huo Ling; he simply pulled one out and handed it to the assistant, then took one for himself to eat.

Watching him wolf it down, Huo Ling couldn’t help but say, “You’re the one who’s acting like you haven’t eaten your fill. Where are your wife and my eldest nephew?”

“Business has been slow lately. My in-laws miss their daughter and grandson, so they took the two of them back to their parents’ house to stay for a few days. Don’t even mention breakfast—these days, I have my assistant go out and buy all three of my meals.”

He finished one bun and reached for another.

“You can’t blame me for being a glutton reincarnated. With my brother-in-law’s cooking being this good, who wouldn’t get hungry just smelling it?” 

“Eat as much as you like. We don’t have much else, but there’s plenty of buns.”

Huo Ling laughed and added, “No wonder you look so downcast—turns out your wife and son aren’t home.”

He nudged Yang Qingsheng with his elbow and raised an eyebrow. “I happen to have a little business to take care of. Want to come with me? Just for some fun.” 

“Oh boy, I know that look of yours all too well. Ever since I was a kid, whenever you’ve gotten like this, someone’s been in for a world of trouble.”

Yang Qingsheng didn’t even have time to finish his bun; he quickly wiped his hands and declared boldly, “Spit it out—did someone mess with you? Is it enough if just the two of us go? If not, I’ll call a few more guys!”

“It’s not like we’re going to a fight.”

Huo Ling held back his eager hand. “Yesterday I heard that a few people in town have started selling buns. I sent an informant to check it out. Two out of the three shops are using our name to attract customers. I had the informant hire someone to deal with one of them, but the other is run by a strapping young man—I plan to go and meet him myself.”

After he explained the situation, Yang Qingsheng immediately rolled up his sleeves and said, “Let’s go, let’s go—right now! You actually kept something this big to yourself and only told me today? If you’d come to me yesterday, I would’ve had someone handle it for you. Why bother with that ‘Information Broker’?”

The man grew angrier as he spoke, delivering a punch straight to Huo Ling’s shoulder. “Do you even consider me a brother?” His words poured out in a torrent, leaving the Yang family employees trailing behind him, speechless.

Fortunately, Yang Qingsheng was usually this kind of person—he didn’t put on airs or boss people around—otherwise, the clerks might have been so shocked their jaws would have dropped.

“I came to find you myself. If you’d sent someone else to ask around and run errands, you might have even had to owe them a favor. Why go to all that trouble?”

Huo Ling didn’t get angry; he replied innocently, “If I didn’t consider you a brother, would I have come to find you today? I could have gone myself. Ever since we were kids, when have I ever gotten into trouble without dragging you along?”

“True enough. You never forget to drag me into your mischief, but once it’s over, you dart off into the mountains like a monkey—not even your own father can catch you—while I’m left at home to take the beating.”

Yang Qingsheng grimaced as if his teeth were aching. “Don’t bring that up. If you keep talking about it, I’ll really get worked up.”

Huo Ling laughed for a long while. After Yang Qingsheng had given some instructions to the shop assistant, the two of them left the shop and headed together toward Chaofeng Street.

“It’s that stall right there.”

They stopped at the street corner, craning their necks to look at the bun stall.

Just as the gossip had said, there was only one burly man behind the stall—not very old. At first, he had his back to them as he made the buns, but when he turned around, Huo Ling and Yang Qingsheng got a clear look at his face and froze in unison.

“Huo Er, why does this guy look so familiar to me?”

Yang Qingsheng’s eyes widened in disbelief. “I’m not seeing things, am I? Isn’t that the Yu Family’s son?” Huo Ling was equally surprised; he never would have imagined that the one stealing their business was an “acquaintance.”

“It’s definitely him.”

Yang Qingsheng immediately exclaimed excitedly, “That explains it! That guy’s been at your throat since he was a kid. Back when we played house, the girls and boys would drag you into the wedding ceremony, and he’d scream that you were stealing his bride or groom. He couldn’t beat you in a fight, but he was as annoying as a fly. Even after he followed his mother to her new husband in another village, he heard some gossip and actually came back to pick a fight with you. It wasn’t until you went into the mountains to herd livestock—barely showing your face in the village a few times a year—that he finally left you alone.”

She added, “He doesn’t bring his family when he sets up his stall. Could it be that he’s still a bachelor?”

Yang Qingsheng clicked his tongue a few times. “You were known as a real catch before you got married. Once you snagged a husband, word must have spread far and wide. Now that he sees you snuggled up with your husband by the warm stove, he must be seething with jealousy.”

According to Yang Qingsheng, Yu Goushen was jealous of Huo Ling’s thriving business and his marriage, and was deliberately trying to make things difficult for him. Huo Ling, however, didn’t quite buy that.

“Buying a pot and a stove is a big expense. He’s probably really short on cash and couldn’t think of anything else to do, so he decided to try selling buns. If he gets lucky, he might make a profit—and it’ll give me a hard time.”

It had been years since they’d last seen each other, so neither Huo Ling nor Yang Qingsheng knew exactly what Yu Gousheng was up to these days. But they had the advantage of perfect rapport; after a brief exchange, they took advantage of the moment when no one was at the stall and strode over.

Yu Gousheng heard the footsteps, looked up, and saw two familiar faces approaching. His face immediately betrayed a look of panic.