Although Yan Xiaoyu and Yan Shaoxuan’s engagement hadn’t been officially announced, the attitudes of both families were quite clear: they were both delighted to see it happen, and there was no need for a matchmaker to probe further.

On the second day after Yan Shaocheng and Yan Xiaoyue were married, the Yan brothers came to the Yan family home with Nian-ger to propose marriage.  

Although he had been prepared for this, Yan Xiaoyu still felt as if a hundred claws were scratching at his heart; he couldn’t calm down.

Since the ger whose marriage was being proposed was not supposed to make an appearance, he hid behind the screen and listened quietly.

Yan Shaoxuan sat upright, listening to Yan Xingmao with a solemn expression. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of a familiar corner of a garment peeking out from behind the screen, and a hint of a smile suddenly appeared on his face.

The marriage negotiations proceeded smoothly. With just a few words from Yan Shaoxuan, Yan Xiaoyu’s heart settled, and all his worries vanished.

“Now that Xiaoyu and I are engaged, Uncle Yan and Aunt Qiuhua will henceforth be my parents, living with us. Xiaoyu may choose to live at the Yan household or here—whichever he prefers. If we have children, they may take Xiao Yu’s surname. Xiao Yu and I share the responsibility of supporting you both; just think of us as having gained another son.”

If Yan Shaoxuan’s words were to get out, the villagers would likely be stunned speechless.

It was a discussion of marriage, but living at the wife’s family home after the wedding and having children take the wife’s surname—that wasn’t much different from taking a son-in-law into the family.

Back when Niu Fugui first started making a living and became a son-in-law by marriage in the Yu family, he endured countless cold stares; to this day, he still hates it when others bring up that story. Yet Yan Shaoxuan took the initiative to propose marriage.

As a provincial top scholar now in the spotlight, he went to such lengths for Yan Xiaoyu that Yan Xingmao and He Qiuhua were deeply moved.

The couple had always liked Yan Shaoxuan, and now they couldn’t wait to marry their son off to him.

“What a good boy, you’ve been so thoughtful!”

Yan Xingmao was so moved he didn’t know what to say, while He Qiuhua looked at Yan Shaoxuan with a face full of tenderness: “None of that matters. As long as you and Xiaoyu are happy, your father and I will be content.”

It was obvious how pleased the couple was with Yan Shaoxuan, which made Yan Shaocheng feel quite threatened. 

“Father, Mother, Shaoxuan and I are on the same page. Yue’er is also looking forward to you both living with us.” Yan Xingmao and He Qiuhua exchanged a glance, beaming with joy.  

“That’s wonderful, that’s wonderful! Since we live so close, let’s all live together as one big family!”

Behind the screen, Yan Xiaoyu heard this and smiled, his eyes crinkling with joy. He touched the jade pendant hanging from his chest, feeling a touch of emotion welling up inside him.

Although he trusted Yan Erlang’s character, the status of a ger was low in those days. Upon learning that Yan Shaoxuan had come today to propose marriage, he felt a mix of excitement and, inevitably, some anxiety.

But Yan Shaoxuan had never let him down.

Yan Xiaoyu and Yan Shaoxuan no longer went out of their way to keep it a secret; once their engagement was official, word quickly spread throughout the village.

Although it wasn’t a huge surprise, Yan Shaoxuan was at the height of his fame, and Yan Xiaoyu was also a prominent figure in the village, so their relationship was bound to be the talk of the town. For a time, even Qian Hong’s affair received less attention.

After completing the series of rituals—presenting the betrothal gift, inquiring about the bride’s name, the betrothal ceremony, and the dowry presentation—Nian-ger solemnly took the names and birth charts of both the groom and the bride to the temple, asking the elderly priest there to help calculate an auspicious date.

By the time he brought the proposed date to discuss with Yan Shaoxuan, Yan Xiaoyu and the others had already returned to Yuye Pavilion.

The wedding was set for next July, leaving a little over half a year.

However, Yan Shaoxuan would have to leave in a year’s time to travel to the capital to take the provincial examinations. If he passed those, he would have to take the imperial palace examination in April. After the results were announced and he was granted an official post, he would return to Weishi County—which would likely be around the end of June or early July.

The time he had available to prepare for the wedding was actually quite ample—he had nearly the entire remaining month of this year. The same was true for Yan Xiaoyu.

After Yuye Pavilion reopened, they ran a promotion offering free meal vouchers, which drew an exceptionally large number of diners.

Since Yan Xiaoyue had just gotten married, Yan Xiaoyu, feeling sorry for her older sister, made a point of letting her stay at Yan Shaocheng’s house for a few extra days. As a result, Yan Xiaoyu and He Qiuhua were the ones bustling about in the kitchen. The proprietor had hired Yu Sanlang to fill in temporarily, but while he could handle collecting money and keeping the books, Yan Xiaoyu still had to make the final decisions on everything else.

For several days in a row, Yan Xiaoyu was so busy he barely had a moment to breathe.

Later, Yan Shaoxuan noticed this, put his studies aside, and helped out for two days, which finally gave him a little breathing room.

Yan Shaoxuan brought up the subject again, reminding Yan Xiaoyu once more to hire a cook to help out.

Yan Xiaoyu had actually been keeping an eye out for one, but unfortunately, the few candidates recommended by his trusted broker were all unsuitable.

After this incident, Yan Xiaoyu decided to rely on the broker as well. As soon as Yan Shaocheng returned, he discussed the matter with the broker, proposing to select two employees from the shop to train.

Yan Shaocheng naturally had no objections; seeing Yan Xiaoyue busy in the kitchen every day, sometimes not even having time to grab a snack, he felt a little sorry for her. Once the cooks were trained, not only would Yan Xiaoyu have an easier time, but Yan Xiaoyue would benefit as well. 

Indeed, everyone at the shop—A-Xi, A-Chai, A-Shuang, A-Fu, along with Jiang Xiaowu, Xiao Jiu, and Aunt Sun—went to the kitchen to prepare a dish each according to Yan Xiaoyu’s instructions.

The pay gap between chefs and kitchen helpers was significant, and A-Xi and the others knew that if they were chosen, they would earn more wages, learn skills that others would beg for, and gain the master’s trust.

They all gave it their all, and in the end, A-Shuang and Xiao Jiu were chosen.

Xiao Jiu wasn’t for sale—Yan Xiaoyu had hired him. As for A-Xi, Yan Xiaoyu would certainly have preferred to hire him, yet while A-Xi and the other two weren’t selected, A-Shuang was chosen.

He was overjoyed and nervously confirmed it with Yan Xiaoyu several times before he could relax.

Although he now had “apprentices” to help, it still took Yan Xiaoyu about ten days of hard work before he returned to his previous state.

Once he had some free time, the Qian family’s tofu shop across the street had a new person tending the shop. The young girl named “Zhuo Shan” hadn’t been seen since, and now Yan Yongfang was running the shop; Qian Hong hadn’t been out of the county for quite some time either.

Yan Xiaoyu heard from Niu Fugui that Zhuo Shan was Qian Hong’s mistress and that he had married her a while back.

Although Yan Xiaoyu was at odds with Yan Yongfang, he still felt pity for her. Come to think of it, when Qian Hong and Zhuo Shan were getting involved, Yan Yongfang was still in her postpartum confinement. For Qian Hong to act this way—he really was a scoundrel.

Yan Xiaoyu cursed Qian Hong inwardly, but he didn’t change his attitude toward Yan Yongfang. In fact, Yan Yongfang even went out of her way to find Yan Xiaoyu and warn him to be wary of the county magistrate.

When Yan Xiaoyu heard from his assistant that Yan Yongfang was waiting for him in the private room, he was initially on his guard, but this time, Yan Yongfang really hadn’t been up to anything malicious.

“The county magistrate is a womanizer. Secretary Fu intends to use you to curry favor with him. Qian Hong and my older brother originally had the same idea, but I talked them out of it. Still, there’s no guarantee these men won’t come up with something else.”

Yan Xiaoyu nodded indifferently: “Thank you for the warning. I’m already aware of it.”

Yan Yongfang was quite taken aback, but Yan Xiaoyu offered no further explanation: “Since you’ve kindly warned me, let me return the favor. A man like Magistrate Zhong is bound to get into trouble sooner or later. You’d better plan ahead and not risk your own well-being for the sake of the Qian family’s business.”

Yan Xiaoyu wasn’t sure if Yan Yongfang had taken his words to heart; as she left, her expression gave nothing away.

As December set in, the weather grew colder. Rumors had circulated that the charcoal tax had been abolished, and when merchants paid their commercial taxes, no officials hinted that they should pay extra silver.

Just like that, even the street vendors who go door-to-door selling goods in the county now have to pay business taxes.

Although the weather is getting colder, Weishi County seems to have regained a bit of its former vitality, and there are now quite a few more vendors selling food and small trinkets at the city gates.

The villagers of Xiling Village have also become more savvy; before winter, they stockpiled plenty of eggs, dried vegetables, and pickles. When Yu Sanlang and Liu Pingshan came to deliver vegetables to Yuye Pavilion, they would also bring along some of the food and small items the villagers had made to sell at the city gate. Although they earned more money, it also gave the villagers some trouble.

This year, Magistrate Zhong has been finding all sorts of ways to extort money, severely depleting the resources of the surrounding villages. Xiling Village, however, sheltered under the wing of Yuye Pavilion, has managed to earn a modest amount of silver through small-scale ventures. Aside from land taxes and labor service fees, the losses have been significant.

Now, Xiling Village is the poorest in the area, yet it has suddenly produced two juren, which have made quite a splash.

Outsiders speak of Xiling Village as a place of auspicious feng shui, but how could it suddenly produce two candidates for the provincial examination, one of whom was even the top scorer in the prefectural exam?

Because of this, it’s become much easier for young people in Xiling Village to find partners, and matchmakers from town have even taken the initiative to come to the village to recruit suitors.

A few days ago, Niu Fugui went to the village head’s office on some business and was praised at length by the village head. Several other village heads were present that day, and their eyes turned red with envy.

This was the first time Niu Fugui had enjoyed such treatment since becoming the village chief of Xiling Village; he walked out with his head held high and chest puffed out, feeling quite proud.

This time, while delivering vegetables, he brought up the matter with Yan Xiaoyu and Yan Shaocheng, praising Yan Shaoxuan once more, but finally let out a sigh.

“These days, there’s really nothing in the village for me to worry about—it’s just that trouble-free son of mine who’s a real headache!”

“‘Children have their own destinies,’ Uncle Niu- don’t worry—I think Nian-ger is doing just fine!” Yan Xiaoyu couldn’t help but chuckle. “He’s set on being a matchmaker, and he’s doing a fine job of it—you might as well let him have his way.” 

Niu Fugui waved his hand. “Even with Aunt Yu and me helping him set his sights on five potential matches, he still hasn’t managed to secure any of them—and you call that ‘doing the right thing’?”

He shot Yan Xiaoyu a bitter glance: “If your younger brother Nian had even half your talent, or if he were like you and married a fine young man, I’d be more than happy to help him! He’s a candidate for the provincial examination—if he were to marry a student preparing for the imperial exams, I’d have to light two extra sticks of incense for the Yu family’s ancestors!”

Yan Xiaoyu hadn’t even arranged a single match yet, and already Niu Fugui was getting jealous—he felt both exasperated and amused. Knowing his father and Yan Xiaoyu had been talking about him, Nian-ger came home with a big smile on his face.

His marriage prospects were indeed up in the air, but he’d just closed another business deal.