February 15th—the fourteenth day since the Yan brothers had left—was Yan Xiaoyu’s birthday.

As soon as Yan Xiaoyu woke up that morning, He Qiuhua brought him a bowl of longevity noodles and dug out the new clothes that Liu Xu had helped make for him, her face full of tender care as she gave him some advice.

“Everyone outside says that wearing new clothes on your birthday is a good omen, bringing good fortune and happiness.”

In his previous life, Yan Xiaoyu had never enjoyed such treatment until he turned nineteen.

It was the first time he had eaten longevity noodles made by a loved one, and the first time someone had prepared new clothes for him. As he slurped the smooth, chewy noodles and looked at the new clothes on the bed, his heart was deeply moved.

He never would have imagined that, after crossing over, all the things he had once longed for but could never attain would suddenly be within his grasp.

A warm family, caring relatives, like-minded friends… For a moment, he even felt that crossing over here was compensation for all the hardships he had endured over the past decade or so.

It was somewhat mysterious, but in He Qiuhua’s presence, Yan Xiaoyu felt an inexplicable sense of peace and familiarity.

It was as if he had always been part of his family, rather than someone he’d stolen from his original self.

After breakfast, Aunt He came over to bring Yan Xiaoyu a birthday gift. He Qiuhua and Yan Xingmao thanked her repeatedly and invited her to stay for a meal.

The villagers all knew she had been very busy lately, so after the meal, she returned home without staying.

The main framework of the new house had already been erected, and nearly half of the bricks had been laid. Yan Xiaoyu had put a lot of thought into the early stages; the workers he hired were all reliable and hardworking, so the homeowners didn’t have to worry much.

Still, there was always work to be done around the house.

A few days ago, during the spring planting season, Yan Xiaoyu hired some villagers to help with transplanting rice seedlings, planting sweet potatoes, and sowing soybeans… After working hard for over ten days, they finally got those eight mu of fields in order.

Today was his birthday, so He Qiuhua and Yan Xingmao wouldn’t let him work. Yan Xiaoyu took the bow and arrows Yan Shaoxuan had given him and played in the backyard for a while.

Yan Xingmao had fashioned a straw dummy as a target for him, and Yan Xiaoyu would come to practice whenever he had free time; by now, he had developed a decent technique when drawing the bow.

Yet whenever he picked up the bow and arrow these past few days, he couldn’t help but think of Yan Shaoxuan—of the warm palm that had rested on his arm that day, and the faint scent of pine ink that had lingered as they drew close…

Yan Erlang must be nearing the provincial capital by now. I wonder if his journey has gone smoothly?

“Are you missing Yan Erlang?” Yan Xiaoyue stood in front of the chicken coop holding a basket, seemingly there to collect eggs.

Yan Xiaoyu was lost in thought; at the sound of his voice, his hand wavered, and the arrow he shot missed the target.

“Of course not!” He glared at Yan Xiaoyue, his expression a mix of embarrassment and irritation.

Yan Xiaoyue tilted her head in confusion: “Then why have you been staring blankly at this bow these past few days? Aren’t you worried about Yan Erlang’s imperial examinations?”

So that’s what she meant by “missing”—Yan Xiaoyu let out a sigh of relief, silently chiding his older sister for not choosing her words more carefully.

“Yeah, I’ve been missing Yan Erlang, and Eldest Brother Yan too.” Yan Xiaoyu grinned mischievously. “I wonder what kind of goodies Eldest Brother Yan will bring back for my older sister this time when he visits the capital?”

Yan Xiaoyue stiffened, his face flushing as she swallowed hard. “Anything is fine. I’m not picky.”

Yan Xiaoyu: “……”

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

In the evening, Hong Sanlang came over from the south side of the village, bringing Yan Xiaoyu some good news.

“The owner of Yipinxiang asked me to pass on a message to you. He’s made up his mind—he’ll lease the shop to you. If you’re interested, come to the county office in the next few days to draw up a contract with him.”

Yipinxiang is a teahouse at the foot of the County Academy. Earlier this year, Yan Xiaoyu had asked the Yan brothers to help him look for a suitable shop near the academy. Yan Shaoxuan and Yan Shaocheng each found two options for him, and Yipinxiang was the one that satisfied him the most.

This shop was perfect in every way—whether in size, location, or other amenities, it met all of Yan Xiaoyu’s requirements.

The only drawbacks were the somewhat high price and the owner’s hesitation about leasing it to a stranger.

The shop owner’s surname was “Shan”; he was a man in his fifties. Mr. Shan and his wife had an only daughter who, a few years prior, had married a classmate of Yan Shaoxuan’s. Later, that scholar passed the imperial examination and left his hometown to take up his post elsewhere, and Mr. Shan’s daughter went with him.

That year, the young woman became pregnant and sent a letter to her parents, asking them to join her where her husband was stationed. Mr. Shan’s wife then decided to settle down where their daughter lived.

Having been apart for several years, Mr. Shan missed his daughter dearly, so he agreed to his wife’s suggestion and put the shop up for rent.

Yipinxiang was close to the county school, and business was quite good. The scholars and their wives from the school loved to gather there for tea and socializing. After news spread that Mr. Shan was renting out the shop, many people inquired; even though the rent was a bit high, there were plenty of people eager to lease it.

But when it came down to the final decision, Mr. Shan couldn’t make up his mind and said he needed to think it over.

Had Yan Xiaoyu not seen the Yipinxiang shop, he might have simply chosen one of the other three options. But after seeing this shop, he felt that none of the others could compare to Yipinxiang.

After much deliberation, Yan Xiaoyu finally decided to wait.

Coincidentally, Yan Shaocheng was selling dried tofu at Yipinxiang, so Yan Xiaoyu asked him to keep an eye out.

To accompany Yan Shaoxuan to the prefectural capital for the imperial examinations, Yan Shaocheng had prepared a large batch of dried tofu in advance during the New Year holidays and asked Hong Sanlang to help deliver the goods.

Once Master Shan had made up his mind, he immediately informed Hong Sanlang and asked him to pass the word along, which is why this situation arose today.

“Thank you,” Yan Xiaoyu said to Hong Sanlang. “I’ll go to the county seat tomorrow to draw up the contract with him. If you’re delivering goods, why not ride in my donkey cart with me?”

Hong Sanlang smiled with a guileless expression: “No need to trouble yourself. Today’s delivery is the last batch. Brother Yan said that once the weather gets hot, the goods won’t keep well, so he only made this much.”

Yan Xiaoyu nodded.

It seemed his luck was quite good. If Master Shan had delayed his decision by just one more day, the news wouldn’t have reached him.

Knowing how sought-after the Yipinxiang shopfront was, Yan Xiaoyu didn’t dare take any chances. Early the next morning, he and Yan Xiaoyue set off across the border in their donkey car.　

Master Shan greeted him with a smile: “It was worth sending those others away—you’ve actually come.”

Yan Xiaoyu’s tone suggested that someone had come before him but had been turned away by Master Shan.

Realizing that Master Shan was doing him a favor for Yan Shaoxuan’s sake, he hurriedly thanked him and took the opportunity to praise the shop. After praising the shop, he went on to praise Master Shan’s daughter for her filial piety and his son-in-law for his youth and promise, making the old master beam with delight. With no trouble at all, he secured the lease for the shop.

The rent remained as originally agreed, but since Master Shan planned to set off once the weather warmed up, the shop wouldn’t be available for another month.

Yan Xiaoyu had no objections; he paid the deposit, took the deed, and prepared to leave.

Just before leaving, Mr. Shan’s gaze swept over the siblings, and he spoke with a smile: “I wonder which of you two Yan Erlang has his eye on?”

Yan Xiaoyu and Yan Xiaoyue were both taken aback.

“Why do you ask that, Mr. Shan?” Yan Xiaoyu suppressed the renewed hope in his heart and asked calmly.

“I won’t keep it from you,” Master Shan said, blowing on his teacup and glancing leisurely at Yan Xiaoyu. “Back then, I tried to arrange a marriage between my daughter and Yan Erlang, but unfortunately, it didn’t work out. Once that young man realized my intentions, he stopped coming to my teahouse. This year, he came here solely to help you lease my shop.”

“If she weren’t someone special, would he have made such an exception?” Master Shan shook his head, a look of deep emotion on his face. “Ah, if only he hadn’t refused back then, perhaps by now, my wife and I wouldn’t have had to give up our family business and start over in a place where we knew no one.”

“Someone special isn’t necessarily the one you’re meant to be with.” Yan Xiaoyu smiled. “Besides, Yan Erlang has gone to the capital to take the imperial exams. Who knows, he might end up serving as an official elsewhere. Your daughter is clearly blessed; no matter whom she marries, she’s destined to be the wife of an official.”

Master Shan was still a bit resentful, but after Yan Xiaoyu’s few words of comfort, his heart was set at ease, and he didn’t press the matter further.

“True, you certainly know how to speak.”

It was still early when they returned from the county seat, so Yan Xiaoyu hitched up the donkey cart and took his older sister to the town market.

After dropping Yan Xiaoyue off at Nian-ger’s place, he went alone to find Zhu Sheng.

After the man who had caused trouble at the stall was handed over to the county magistrate’s office, Yan Xiaoyu had asked the market supervisor twice.

The first time, the officer said the case was making some progress; the second time, he asked, the officer said the trail had gone cold and they had to start over, though he wasn’t entirely sure of the details.

Yan Xiaoyu knew that the constables stationed in town held little sway at the county office. Moreover, since he, as the victim, had suffered no tangible losses in this case, the county officials likely wouldn’t devote much effort to it. Thus, he decided to investigate on his own.

Since the troublemakers that day were acting on someone’s orders, they must have received some form of compensation. The only way forward was to trace who they had been associating with during that period and what they had received from others, then sift through those connections to identify anyone with ties to Yan Xiaoyu. Once that was done, the truth would come to light.

Yan Xiaoyu suspected that the mastermind behind the scenes was either Tan San or Qian Hong; there might even be a few intermediaries involved. But by investigating the three troublemakers, as well as Qian and Tan themselves, he was sure to uncover some clues.

Butchers have a wide network of contacts, and Zhu Sheng was a man of honor with many friends, so Yan Xiaoyu asked him for help.

Zhu Sheng had a favorable impression of Yan Xiaoyu, so when Yan Xiaoyu made the request, he agreed immediately.

Yesterday, Zhu Sheng had Yu Sanlang pass a message to Yan Xiaoyu, asking him to come over today—presumably because there were new leads in the case.

Yan Xiaoyu inquired and found that this was indeed the case.

Although Zhu Sheng hadn’t obtained any concrete evidence, he had already uncovered traces of contact between Qian Hong’s elderly servant and a mutual friend of Tan San and the three troublemakers.

It turned out that Qian Hong and Tan San had actually joined forces to carry out this scheme.

Yan Xiaoyu carefully noted down everything Zhu Sheng had said and planned to make a trip to the county seat the next day to see if he could ask Ji Wenyan for help, so that the county officials could continue the investigation based on the leads Zhu Sheng had uncovered.

Unexpectedly, the next day, after a brief delay, before he could even find Ji Wenyan, Ji Wenyan came to see him first.

He had come to bid him farewell.

Magistrate Ji had served for three years with commendable results and was about to be promoted. He had already received his transfer orders, and the new magistrate of Lantai Town was on his way. Magistrate Ji’s family will be departing in a few days.

Magistrate Ji’s promotion was to a post near the capital, and Yan Xiaoyu was genuinely happy for him.

But once Ji Wenyan left, he would lose a powerful ally. Moreover, the investigation into those troublemakers hadn’t been resolved yet, and a new magistrate would likely be unwilling to expend the effort to pursue a case left behind by his predecessor.

Yan Xiaoyu’s case was now hanging in the balance.

Most importantly, Yan Xiaoyu was deeply concerned about the character of the new magistrate and whether he would oppress the people.