Five days later, Yan Shaocheng returned from his business trip. Yan Shaoxuan immediately told him about the stinky tofu.

Yan Shaocheng looked puzzled. “Didn’t you tell me to stop fussing about it? Wait until you pass the county-level examination next year, take on a few students, and earn the silver back? Why did you agree to let Brother Yu make this ‘stinky tofu’ thing?”

Yan Shaoxuan had gained considerable renown at the county academy. His master, Luo Boyi, the headmaster nearing seventy, had long ceased taking private students. Yet moved by Yan Shaoxuan’s talent, he had personally accepted him.

Master and disciple shared a bond of mutual respect and friendship, harmonious in all ways. Yan Shaoxuan possessed a photographic memory and a sharp literary wit. Luo Boyi took great pride in this final pupil, never sparing praise for him in public.

After passing the jinshi examination, several wealthy landowners in the county sought Yan Shaoxuan to tutor their sons, offering substantial sums.

At that time, the Yan family was in a favorable position. Yan Dahu could support the household solely through hunting. The military pay he earned during his service, along with the pay and death benefits left by Yan Shaoxuan’s biological father, had all been saved for the two brothers.

Fearing Yan Shaoxuan would neglect his studies, the family refused to let him take the positions, and he declined.

After Yan Shaocheng’s recent business failure, he brought up the matter again.

Yan Shaocheng had been pushing himself too hard these past two years, barely resting a single day all year round. He wasn’t the type to rush for quick gains. If not for his fear of hindering his younger brother’s future and driving himself too hard, he wouldn’t have stumbled this way.

Yan Shaoxuan feared his brother would wear himself out if he kept this up. He urged him to halt his current projects after the Mid-Autumn Festival, rest for a while, and make new plans next year.

“Yu-ger said that the camp doesn’t require traveling far. Just set up a stall at the town market to sell—it shouldn’t be as exhausting as traveling for business.”

After saying this, Yan Shaoxuan paused and added, “But we can’t just take Yu-ger’s recipe for free. Big Brother, discuss with him how much would be fair to pay for it?”

“Alright, I’ll handle it.”

Since Yu-ger was willing to help, and his brother agreed, giving it a try couldn’t hurt.

As for the recipe’s price, Yan Shaoxuan didn’t say he wouldn’t pay.

 ━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

The next day, Yan Shaocheng timed his visit to meet Yan Xiaoyu when the tofu stall was closing.

“When I mentioned needing help last time, I never imagined you’d come up with a recipe so quickly. Truly, thank you for your trouble.” Yan Shaocheng smiled as he expressed his gratitude, then proceeded to discuss the price for the stinky tofu recipe with Yan Xiaoyu.

“Recipes for such delicacies are family heirlooms in other households. I can’t just ask for it for free.”

Yan Xiaoyu waved it off. “No need to be so formal, Brother Yan. Since you’ll need to buy tofu from me to make stinky tofu, handing over the recipe benefits me. No need for payment.”

He chuckled twice. “If you really want to thank me, just make sure Brother Yan looks out for me when he’s successful!”

Hearing this, Yan Shaocheng laughed. “It’s not about that. Shaoxuan has eaten plenty of our food these days. Him looking out for you later is only right—it’s separate from the stinky tofu recipe.”

He insisted on payment, but Yan Xiaoyu genuinely wanted to help and truly wished to do the Yan brothers a favor. He stubbornly refused to accept Yan Shaocheng’s silver.

Yan Shaocheng pondered for a moment before coming up with an idea: “If you won’t take silver now, consider it hiring me to work. You get 70% of the profits from selling stinky tofu, and I take 30%. How about that?”

Truthfully, Yan Shaocheng hadn’t even seen the stinky tofu. He had no idea what it actually was. If it were anyone else, he’d insist on seeing the product first, confirming its profitability before discussing payment. He’d never so readily cede the lion’s share to anyone else.

But Yan Xiaoyu wasn’t just anyone. Yan Shaocheng had dined at his house several times. The perilla-infused peach ginger, flower-shaped curd, spicy dried tofu… all these delicacies had been sent to the Yan household. To Yan Shaocheng, these diverse treats were clearly of a quality that could fetch a good price on the market.

This stinky tofu, specifically made by Yan Xiaoyu, was bound to be even better.

‌Yet here he was, offering to split the profits with Yan Xiaoyu before even seeing the product.

Yan Xiaoyu felt a 70-30 split was excessive and refused. After much back-and-forth, they finally settled on terms.

The final agreement was a 60-40 split: Yan Shaocheng took 60%, Yan Xiaoyu 40%. Yan Shaocheng had paid for the tofu ingredients himself when purchasing them from Yan Xiaoyu.

After finalizing the deal, Yan Shaocheng specifically sought out Yan Xingmao to express his gratitude.

Yan Xingmao, being an honest man, grew flustered and breathless when lying, his face betraying his unease. Yan Shaocheng simply assumed he was tongue-tied and didn’t think much of it.

Making stinky tofu for the first time proved troublesome; preparing the brine alone took fifteen days. Without delay, that very morning, Yan Xiaoyu made time to accompany Yan Shaocheng to town to buy all the ingredients for the brine. He then walked him through the entire brine-making process.

For this, he put off all his farm work.

Feeling guilty, Yan Shaocheng went home that afternoon specifically to fetch a hoe, intending to help Yan Xiaoyu turn the soil.

 ━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

Upon arriving home, Yan Shaoxuan had been studying. Hearing his brother’s words, he hesitated and set down his book: “Maybe… I should go help them plow?”

Yan Shaocheng was stunned. Had his brother lost his mind? He scrutinized Yan Shaoxuan from head to toe, continuing until the younger man grew annoyed.

“That one acre needs tilling—why would it take four people? Me, Sister Yue, and Brother Yu are plenty. Besides, if you go, we won’t have enough hoes!”

Yan Shaoxuan picked up his book expressionlessly: “Then I won’t go.”

He feigned calm, but Yan Shaocheng looked utterly perplexed, pressing for answers: “Why have you been so nice to Brother Yu lately? Just the other day, you brought him fish, accompanied him fishing in the mountains, and now you want to help out at his place?”

The more Yan Shaocheng thought about it, the more uneasy he felt. He knew his younger brother’s temperament well.

The young man had always carried a touch of arrogance, but after being pestered by village boys and girls trying every trick to win his favor, he’d grown increasingly distant these past years.

No wonder the villagers called him eccentric.

“Shaoxuan, could it be—” Yan Shaocheng was unusually at a loss for words. “Could it be… you’ve taken a liking to Brother Yu?”

”No way!“ Yan Shaoxuan’s face flushed crimson, words tumbling out before he could stop them. ”Why don’t you say Brother Yu fancies me instead?“

”That won’t happen,“ Yan Shaocheng smiled. ”Brother Yu isn’t like the other gers and girls in the village.”

“I know.” Yan Shaoxuan lowered his gaze, the corners of his mouth curving slightly as his tone grew unusually gentle. “His thoughts are pure and uncomplicated. He’s different from everyone else.”

Yan Shaocheng shot him a glance and frowned. “I think you don’t know.”

Before he could finish, he was impatiently cut off: “Hurry up and get the hoe. Don’t keep people waiting.”

Yan Shaocheng looked utterly helpless.

Fearing Yan Shaoxuan might be deluding himself, afraid he’d misunderstand Brother Yu again, Yan Shaocheng offered a heartfelt warning just before leaving.

“Brother Yu’s gaze was perfectly innocent. He certainly didn’t mean anything by it—don’t misjudge him. He probably just saw you as a scholar and wanted to be friendly, but there’s absolutely no romantic interest.”

He left after speaking, but Yan Shaoxuan stood there holding the book, frozen in thought for a long while.

When he first went to Yan Xiaoyu’s house for dinner, the young man’s words seemed to distance himself. Could it be that he really had misunderstood?

But if that were the case, what about all the kindness shown these past days? Yan Xiaoyu didn’t even care about Yan Yonghe or that scholar—why would he be friendly just because he was an educated man?

Brother Yu clearly wasn’t that kind of worldly guy. It must be that his older brother didn’t understand.

Come to think of it, his older brother—a man preoccupied with selling goods even on New Year’s Eve—how could he possibly understand the thoughts of a ger?

No matter how bold Brother Yu might be, he was still a ger. He had moments of shyness and stubbornness. It seemed his older brother had been misled by precisely that.

After guiding himself through his own confusion, Yan Shaoxuan let out a soft sigh. His mind was free to return to his studies.

 ━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

Meanwhile, Yan Shaocheng and the siblings Yan Xiaoyu and Yan Xiaoyue had just returned from the fields. He’d intended to subtly probe Yan Xiaoyu when he wasn’t around, to see if something had happened during his absence that caused this misunderstanding between his brother and Brother Yu.

But before he could speak, Yan Xiaoyu asked first.

“Brother Yan, I heard from Auntie Wang that many families want to marry their sons or daughters to you. Why haven’t you married yet?”

Seeing Yan Shaocheng’s surprised expression, Yan Xiaoyu gave an embarrassed smile. “Don’t misunderstand, I mean no offense. I’m just curious, hehe.”

Truthfully, he was probing on behalf of her elder sister, but that was something he couldn’t reveal.

Yan Shaocheng knew his blunt nature and didn’t read too much into it. “It’s rather complicated. Mainly, I can’t—and shouldn’t—hold these young ladies back.”

He sighed. “I owe Shaoxuan so much. Right now, all my focus is on supporting his education. If I were to marry, I’d likely have little energy left to care for my own little family. If someone married me, but I couldn’t wholeheartedly build a life with her, wouldn’t that be a terrible disservice?”

Yan Xiaoyu scratched his head after hearing this.

A strong sense of responsibility is admirable, but if he’s a “brother-obsessed maniac,” she can’t marry him!

Perhaps they should observe further. The Yan brothers would continue their visits, but if his sister found someone better, he wouldn’t pursue Brother Yan. If she didn’t, they’d watch Brother Yan’s behavior and decide whether to push for a match.

Though it sounded a bit unkind, he had only this one sister, and her nature was too pure and kind. Naturally, he had to help strategize.

Yan Xiaoyu made up his mind and changed the subject, dropping the matter.

 ━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

The three of them working in the fields naturally drew the villagers’ attention. Yan Shaocheng feared it might tarnish the reputation of Yan Xiaoyue and her brother. When asked, he claimed he owed Yan Xingmao a favor and was helping out as repayment.

This explanation prevented anyone from questioning why a young man like him was mingling with the Yan siblings.

Yet when he stayed home for days on end, helping out at Yan Xiaoyu’s house, and people recalled the family’s tofu business, whispers began. Was Yan Xingmao planning to expand operations, bringing Yan Shaocheng along to make money?

Otherwise, why would Yan Shaocheng, that workhorse, suddenly stop going out to do business?

Once the news spread, others couldn’t sit still.

That day, Yan Xiaoyu went up the mountain to chop firewood. After hacking away at two baskets full, he was wiping his sweat when suddenly a strange bird flew overhead, its cry piercingly shrill.

A vague sense of foreboding washed over him, and he prepared to head down the mountain immediately. Just as he lifted his carrying pole, he glanced up and saw two figures approaching along the mountain path ahead.

One tall, one short, both clad in dark robes. Backlit by the sun and wearing sinister expressions, they looked especially terrifying in the quiet forest.

“Yan Xiaoyu, feeling pretty smug now, huh?!”

Yan Xiaoyu glanced at the two men, clearly harboring ill intent. He weighed the bamboo pole in his hands, his eyes flashing as the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.

Come on then!