Zhou Da waved his hand grandly. “Open it! It’s the Mid-Autumn Festival today, and it’s rare for everyone to be gathered together like this. Let’s open it so everyone can taste what the emperor’s wine is like.”

Everyone burst into laughter, and the small courtyard buzzed with excitement. The food had been arranged early on: yesterday, Shen Linchuan had braised a pot of duck, and today he’d braised another pot of tender peanuts and edamame; he’d also ordered two roasted chickens from Huang Siniang’s shop on Jinshui Street.

There were also fresh fruits like grapes, pears, kumquats, and sugarcane, as well as carved wood apples, ginger-sliced plums, and delicate candied fruits—not to mention pastries such as moon cakes, jujube tarts, and pineapple pastries. Even before the meal began, these snacks alone filled the table to the brim.

The eldest brother and sister-in-law from the Shen family brought a leg of lamb; the Zhang family—father and son—bought assorted pastries; Luo Qingshan prepared a basket of blue crabs; and Ye Jinglan carried a basket of fresh fruit.

Shen Linchuan was the head chef today; he planned to prepare two tables of hot dishes. Later that evening, while admiring the moon, they would grill some pork and lamb skewers, and with a few plates of cold dishes, they’d have another full meal.

Ning-ger and Zhang Xiaoyi were sitting off to the side, skewering meat. Zhang Xiaoyi casually looked up and met Luo Qingshan’s gaze. His face flushed instantly—hadn’t that scholar just been sneaking a peek at him?

Luo Qingshan also hurriedly looked away. So this was the young ger with the clear, bright voice from that day.

Ye Jinglan hadn’t seen San Tuan in a while, so he was especially delighted to see him. He hugged and cuddled him for a moment, then fed him a few dried treats. “Shen Linchuan, Zhou Fulang, thank you both. San Tuan has been well taken care of—he’s even put on quite a bit of weight.”

“Oh, he’s been spoiled rotten by my Fulang. We’ve got plenty of meat at home, so of course he’s put on quite a bit of weight.”

Shen Linchuan ruffled San Tuan’s fur. When this little tricolored cat first came to his home, he was terribly afraid of people, but now he eats well and sleeps well—he even dares to swat at Dahuang with his paws. All day long, he strolls leisurely around the courtyard with his tail held high.

It was rare for the Zhou household to be this lively—young and old, men and women, everyone had come. Zhou Da was grinning from ear to ear; this Mid-Autumn Festival was truly a lively one.

Zhou Fang sat off to the side, looking a bit unhappy. She tugged at Zhou Da’s sleeve and pleaded, “Uncle, please find out for me what the Huang family actually does, and what my future husband looks like.”

Hearing Zhou Fang speak like this, everyone turned to look at her. Shen Linchuan asked, “Didn’t you see him today?”

Zhou Fang snorted. “Don’t even mention it. I don’t know who my dad had read that letter to—they even misread it. He’s not a Xiucai at all; he’s that Xiucai’s younger brother, not the one named Huang Dan.”

Zhou Fang tugged at Zhou Da’s sleeve, acting coy. “Uncle, Uncle, please find out for me what his family actually does. His brother’s name is Huang Shuang—it’s really easy to remember. Go check it out for me.”

Zhou Da was a bit puzzled. “Your brother sent a letter and betrothal gifts back home—didn’t your parents come over to ask around?” 

“My parents said my older brother found a great family for me—one you couldn’t find even if you searched with a lantern—so they just went ahead and arranged the engagement.”

Zhou Da agreed right away, “All right, Uncle will take a look at that young man for you first. Your brother’s probably met him already, so it shouldn’t be a problem.”

Zhou Fang, a little shy, stammered, “Mainly… mainly, I want you to see if he’s handsome or not. I think his brother looks like an ordinary guy, so as long as Huang Shuang isn’t ugly, that’s fine.”

Neither Shen Linchuan nor Zhou Ning said a word. Their family didn’t get along with Zhou Er’s family, but Zhou Fang was all right—though she could be a bit temperamental at times, she’d never actually done anything to harm them.

Both knew their father had a soft heart; if his own niece begged him, he’d certainly agree to take a look. Besides, Zhou Fang was, after all, just a seventeen-year-old girl—still in high school—so Shen Linchuan certainly wasn’t going to hold a grudge against her.

With so many people around today, there were plenty of hands to help with the cooking. Shen Linchuan prepared two tables full of dishes—cold and hot dishes piled high on both tables. Zhou Da opened that jar of imperial chrysanthemum wine again, pouring a cup for everyone; even Shen Hu-zi and Shen Xiaoyu took a sip with their chopsticks.

This wine was a rare treat, meant to let the two little ones share in the good fortune. Shen Xiaoyu puckered his lips and stuck out his tongue. “Mom, it doesn’t taste good.” 

“And you dare say it doesn’t taste good? This is the very wine that the old emperor drinks.”

Everyone burst into laughter. The entire jar of wine was shared until it was empty. Shen Linchuan took a sip; the chrysanthemum wine was smooth on the palate with a sweet aftertaste—it was indeed quite good.

As the moon rose, candles were lit in the courtyard, and charcoal fires were stoked to roast meat. Shen Linchuan’s braised duck offal was also brought out—duck necks, heads, and intestines—and the large bowl was polished off in no time.

Zhou Ning quite enjoyed it as well. Although it was a bit spicy, he hadn’t expected this braised duck offal to taste so delicious.

While the Zhou household was in high spirits over receiving the imperial wine, things were far from peaceful at the Sun household. Sun Shiping had been thoroughly humiliated at the academy by a butcher—news of which had now spread throughout the entire county seat—leaving everyone to believe that the Sun family was no better than a pig butcher.

Sun Shiping’s father was furious. Wielding a wooden ruler, he lashed out at Sun Shiping with all his might. “What a disgrace! What a disgrace! You’ve completely disgraced me!”

The first and second branches of the Sun family lived in the same courtyard. The Sun family had originally been wealthy landowners in Qinghe Town, owning a thousand mu of fertile farmland, and later made their fortune through business in the town. The old patriarch had returned to the ancestral home to spend his twilight years, and the various branches of the Sun family still lived together.

After being beaten, Sun Shiping knelt in the courtyard. That night, when he went to dinner, he forced himself to stand steady on his legs. “Second Brother, I heard you were arguing over imperial wine with a butcher at the academy today. How come you can’t even hold your own against a butcher?”

The visitor was the illegitimate son of the Sun family’s eldest branch, who had often been bullied by Sun Shiping in the past. Now that Sun Shiping had suffered a major humiliation—and reportedly even been beaten by his father—he took the opportunity to taunt him with a few jabs.

“Get lost! It’s not your turn to talk.”

The man curled his lip. “Of all the Sun family, only our eldest brother has made something of himself—serving as an official in the capital. You’d better not bring shame upon our family.”

After his taunts, the man walked away, having vented his pent-up frustration. Sun Shiping was naturally smug after passing the Xiucai examination, and his archery skills were the best among their generation. Accustomed to being arrogant and domineering, he found it utterly laughable that his archery—his greatest source of pride—couldn’t even match that of a pig butcher.

Sun Shiping clenched his fists. Shen Linchuan—he would not let him off the hook. That imperial wine had been as good as his; bringing it home would have delighted his father and earned him prestige among his uncles and cousins. Who would have thought someone would come along and ruin everything?

Ever since his eldest brother had been admitted to the Hanlin Academy, their second branch of the family had been held down so low they couldn’t hold their heads up. Fortunately, he, too, had passed the Xiucai examination, and his archery skills were even better than his elder brother’s—yet the very thing he had always taken pride in had been completely shattered.

After the Mid-Autumn Festival, Zhang Xiaoyi and his father found a suitable courtyard and moved out. It was located in an alley by the river; directly across from them flowed an emerald-green river. The front served as a medical clinic, while the back was used for their daily living quarters.

The silver earned this year from producing mosquito coils and cooling ointment was sent over by the Xu family; the Zhou family received a share of over five hundred taels. With the household now well-supplied with silver, this sum was deposited in a money house for the time being.

Zhou Fang now lives alone in the east side room. She hasn’t mentioned leaving, and having become more familiar with the neighborhood, she often goes out alone to stroll along Jinshui Street. She finds the county seat increasingly pleasant and lively, and looks forward to living there herself someday.

After the Mid-Autumn Festival, everyone returned to their usual busy routines: Shen Linchuan went to the academy; Zhou Da sold pork at the shop; Zhou Ning and Shen Dasao ran the pickle business; and Shen Dage gradually began to receive a steady stream of work—making doors, windows, and cabinets for new homes, or repairing furniture.

The family shop was now thriving. Zhou Da had originally thought that the captain was just joking with him, but to his surprise, just a few days after the Mid-Autumn Festival, the captain came to place an order for pork—and bought a considerable amount of pickles as well.

There were five hundred soldiers stationed at the county government office, and he had to deliver a pig there every two days. Zhou Da was overjoyed—he could earn one tael of silver from a single pig, which meant he’d make no less than fifteen taels of silver a month from the barracks.

When Zhou Da went to the barracks to deliver the pork, the captain had him demonstrate his skills, and he won a round of applause. Zhou Da never imagined that a butcher like him could be held in such high regard.

Now his shop was bringing in a steady monthly income of about thirty taels of silver. Zhou Da was an honest businessman, and quite a few shops from the district had also started coming back to him for their meat.

Ever since being punished, Sun Shiping had harbored a grudge. He had someone investigate Shen Linchuan’s situation and thoroughly researched the Zhou family’s affairs. He had originally planned to target the shop, but since the Zhou family’s shop was connected to the barracks, Sun Shiping didn’t have the clout to take action, so he had to put his plans on hold for the time being.

During archery class, Shen Linchuan raised his arm and released an arrow, which landed steadily on the target, hitting the bullseye. When class ended, Shen Linchuan set down his bow and arrow, packed up his things, and prepared to head home.

Luo Qingshan shook out his aching arms. “Brother Shen, your archery has improved quite a bit. Someday I’ll have to ask Zhou Da to give me some pointers too.” Shen Linchuan smiled and agreed. “Sure, just feel free to ask whenever my father is home.”

Shen Linchuan had trained hard in archery. He knew his foundation was weak, and his arm strength used to be lacking, but after carrying water for so long, his arms were now steady when he shot.

The two made their way down the mountain together and overheard passing students whispering, “Sun Shiping’s archery has gone downhill—he missed the target repeatedly in today’s archery class.”

“I saw his hands were shaking while he was shooting.”                      

“I think he was defeated by some run-of-the-mill butcher. Sun Shiping must be devastated. Tsk.”

Shen Linchuan overheard every word as he passed by. As they walked past, the two hurriedly bowed, “Scholar Shen, Scholar Luo.”

Luo Qingshan was the president of the Students’ Association. He was stern and rigid, a man who took things at face value—one was one, and two was two. When it came to deducting credits, he was utterly impartial. The two were afraid that if Luo Qingshan found out they were gossiping about a fellow student behind his back, he’d make a note of it—and those credits would be incredibly hard to make up.

Luo Qingshan merely nodded. “It’s getting dark. Hurry home.” 

“Yes, we’ll head back right away.”

The two of them, acting as if they’d seen a cat—just like mice—hurriedly grabbed their bookcases and left.

Shen Linchuan chuckled. “Master Luo, you really are a force to be reckoned with. You know what? Behind your back, they all call you ‘Second Old Tong’—hahaha.” 

Luo Qingshan froze for a moment, then shook his head helplessly. “Brother Linchuan, please don’t tease me like that.”