The two of them sat at the entrance to the main hall, watching eagerly. They’d been wandering in the mountains for so long today that they were now famished; the aroma wafting through the air made them both swallow involuntarily.

Chen Cuihua was an excellent cook; the aroma of the stewed chicken could be smelled from a great distance. The firewood beneath the stove burned brightly, and the chicken in the pot simmered, the fat bubbling to the surface. Finally, she twisted a few braided buns and placed them on top.

Song Ning nudged Lan-ger, “Go see if it’s almost ready.”

Lan-ger shook his head. “I’m not going.”

“Then grab two pieces of sesame candy. Let’s have a little something sweet first.”

“Sure.” Lan-ger ran to the main room to fetch the sesame candies, one for each of them.

Wei Hu saw the eager looks on their faces, and a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. They never lacked meat at home—they’d slaughter a pig every now and then—but it had been quite a while since they’d slaughtered a chicken.

“Ning’er, Ning’er, go out to the yard and pick a few cucumbers for me.” 

“Okay, Mom.”

Song Ning took Lan-ger with him to the vegetable patch. Their garden had a whole row of cucumbers planted there; they were still tender right now and tasted best in the summer.

Song Ning picked four or five of them, then gave one to Lan-ger to wash and eat. Lan-ger always thought of Song Ning whenever he got something; after washing them, the two split them evenly, and Song Ning smiled, his eyes crinkling.

The centerpiece of the evening meal was a large bowl of braised chicken, surrounded by a circle of twisted bread rolls, accompanied by a bowl of cold cucumber salad.

Chen Cuihua picked out the two large chicken drumsticks and served them to Song Ning and Lan-ger. “Eat, eat, eat! Help yourselves—there’s a whole big bowl of it. Dig in!”

The house was finally bustling with life. Now that the little boy had arrived—such a well-behaved and adorable child—Chen Cuihua had longed to have a grandchild of her own. With Lan-ger now living in her home, he would be part of her family from now on.

Chen Cuihua looked at the two gers in her home—one big, one small—and felt deeply gratified. It was so lively with more people in the house.

Chen Cuihua now went to town every day to sell pastries, taking Lan-ger along to help out. When Chen Cuihua offered him some copper coins, Lan-ger shook his head and refused, so she simply bought him some fabric to make him new clothes and shoes.

Song Ning also went to town from time to time to deliver some of the books he had copied, sometimes taking Lan-ger with him. After a while, Bai Xiaoyun came to realize that this was Song Ning’s ger. Every time Lan-ger came over, Bai Xiaoyun would address him as “your stepfather” and ask, “How is your stepfather doing?” Lan-ger didn’t say anything in response, but he felt a bit embarrassed.

Chen Cuihua had been running her small business in town for quite some time. Her pastries were delicious, and she gradually gained a reputation. Many people would get up early in the morning to buy them, and during the busiest times at the morning market, people even had to line up to purchase them.

When Song Ning returned after a few days away, he was taken aback—he hadn’t expected his mother’s business to be doing so well.

Chen Cuihua had managed to save up some silver. Now that business was booming—sometimes she was too busy to keep up in the mornings—she was thinking about renting a small shop first and hiring an extra pair of hands to help out.

When everyone was home, Chen Cuihua brought out all the silver she had earned. “We’ve been working hard for several months now. I counted the silver, and adding what we’d saved before, we’ve managed to save fifteen taels. I’m thinking of renting a shop in town.”

Song Ning was taken aback. “Mother, you’ve actually saved up this much!”

“I never expected business to be this good. What do you think—should we save this silver to buy land later, or rent a shop first? Either way is fine.”

Song Ning and Wei Hu were definitely in favor of it. After all, they hadn’t earned the silver themselves. It would be great if their mother opened a small shop in town—she wouldn’t have to make the long trips back and forth anymore, and she’d have a bit more breathing room.

Wei Hu fell silent for a moment. He often went up to the mountains, and if his mother lived in town, only Ning would be left at home. Wei Hu thought it over and said, “Why not have Ning come along too? We can rent a small courtyard, and you and Mother can live together.”

Song Ning gasped. “What would I be doing there?”

“Aren’t you the one who wants to be a teacher? We’ve got some silver saved up now. Why not give it a try? It’s no big deal if we spend it. We’ve still got a few acres of land, so we’ve got nothing to worry about.”

Chen Cuihua thought this was a good idea. “Sure! We don’t have much land at home now. Huzi can stay here to look after things, and when he hunts game, he can take it to town. That way, our family can still live together.”

Wei Hu had previously planned to earn silver to buy land and build a house. If his mother ran a small business in town, there would be no rush to build a house. Since Ning was born in town, it would be better for him to live there.

Song Ning hadn’t expected that their discussion would lead to the whole family moving to town. He was a bit taken aback—hadn’t they initially agreed that his mother would just rent a small shop? How had it ended up with him going along too?

That night, the two of them whispered to each other. Song Ning propped his feet up and lay on the bed. “Brother Wei Hu, I’m a little… a little nervous. Can I really be a teacher for them?”

“What’s there to be afraid of? Even if it doesn’t work out, we’ll just lose a little money—we can always earn it back.”

“That’s easy for you to say. Isn’t that silver you earned by running up and down the mountain? It’s so hot out here; you’ve even gotten a tan.” 

“What’s wrong? You don’t like it that I’m tanned?”

Song Ning gave the person next to him a light kick. “I’m talking about serious business here. Stop rambling.”

“There’s no rush. In a little while, it’ll be time to harvest the wheat. Our mother’s shop won’t be ready to rent until after the harvest anyway. By then, all the work at home will be done. You can head to town on the third day of the month. When the mountains are closed off in winter, I can find work in town too—it’s all the same.”

Song Ning chuckled. “Brother Wei Hu, you’re just picking out the best parts.”

“As for opening the school, ask Bai Xiaoyun if he knows of a suitable courtyard. We can set aside one room for the school and live in the rest.”

Song Ning let out a gasp. “How could I have forgotten Yun? That’s right—his family runs a bookstore. He’s bound to know more than I do.”

With Wei Hu’s suggestion, Song Ning felt the matter wasn’t so difficult after all. Still, if he and his mother were to move to town in the future while Wei Hu remained up in the mountains hunting, it would feel a bit too far away.

The matter was settled. The two of them currently had over twenty taels of silver between them, and Chen Cuihua had a little over ten taels. There was no rush to go to town; it wouldn’t be long before it was time to harvest the wheat.

Wei Hu had been coming home more often lately, frequently bringing back some mountain delicacies. Chen Cuihua thought that with the weather being so unbearably hot—and spending all day wandering through the woods was enough to make anyone swelter—and since her business was booming and she was swamped in the mornings, she might as well have Wei Hu help her out for a while. He could go back to the mountains once the weather cooled down.

Song Ning thought it was a great idea. Wei Hu could help his mother with her small business and come home every day. With the weather being so hot lately, it was nice to have a break at home.

Early in the morning, the whole family packed up and headed for town. Wei Hu led the ox from the front, while Chen Cuihua and the other two sat in the oxcart, which was packed to the brim with goods for their business.

Once they reached town, Wei Hu helped set up the small stall. Song Ning and Lan-ger bustled about, lending a hand as well. The stall wasn’t very big—it hardly needed so many people—and it was all set up in no time.

Chen Cuihua’s stall now looked quite presentable. A banner stood next to the oxcart—one Chen Cuihua had made herself, with the words “Aunt Chen’s Pastries” written on it by Song Ning.

They’d arrived early that morning. It had been quite cool when they got there, but by midday, the heat had become unbearable. Wei Hu told Song Ning to go sit in the study for a while—there wasn’t much for him to do standing there anyway—and to come back when it was nearly time to pack up. “Take Lan-ger with you. Mom and I will be fine here.”

As soon as Lan-ger heard he was supposed to go help, he shook his head. “I’m not going. I’m staying here to collect the coins.”

Lan-ger still remembered how much silver had been spent when his grandfather passed away—all provided by Uncle Huzi. Since he was now living with Uncle Huzi’s family, he wanted to do his part.

Song Ning came over, holding the little guy’s hand. “I didn’t say you couldn’t work. Just come with me to play for a bit—you can come back tomorrow to help out just the same.”

Lan-ger wasn’t too keen on going, but after Song Ning coaxed him for a while, he finally followed him out.

Chen Cuihua watched their retreating figures and chuckled. “That Lan-ger is afraid of eating for free at our place. It’s scorching hot these days—going back in the middle of the day would be unbearably hot. From now on, let him stay home and learn to read with Ning-ger. He doesn’t need to come by for a while.”

With Wei Hu’s help, they were finally managing to keep up with the small stall. Wei Hu fried the pancakes while Chen Cuihua stuffed the pastries. Before, she’d thought the frying pan she’d had made was too big, but now they couldn’t even keep up with demand—one pan yielded eight butter cakes, and they still couldn’t meet the demand at the front of the line. But there was nothing to be done; the pan was just that size.

Although Wei Hu often came to town to sell game and mountain delicacies, this was the first time he’d helped out during the morning market. Only then did he realize just how brisk his mother’s business really was.

No sooner had they set up their stall than a line formed in front of them. People were buying two, three, or even five at a time, and the cakes frying in the pan couldn’t keep up with the demand. After a flurry of activity, Wei Hu was drenched in sweat; standing by the pan in the sweltering summer heat was quite the ordeal.

Once the morning market was over, the crowd gradually thinned out. The old woman selling fruit across the way came over to buy one. “Cuihua, your son came to help today. I see your son-in-law is idle too—why didn’t you ask him to come help?”

The fruit vendor knew Wei Hu was a hunter who often came to town to sell game; she’d even bought rabbits he’d caught before.

Chen Cuihua wiped the sweat from her forehead. “Not at all. My son-in-law is just as busy as I am—he’s always on the go, copying sutras for people and such. He’s even busier than I am. It’s just that it’s been so hot lately, so I figured I’d have my son Hu come over to help out. It’s better than him running around in the mountains.”

The old woman didn’t know that Song Ning was literate. She knew Chen Cuihua’s family was from the countryside, and in the countryside—let alone the town—few young men or women could read or write. Only wealthy families with spare money sent their children to school.

The old woman chuckled and teased, “Your son-in-law sure is a capable fellow.”

Never mind that Song Ning was currently at home copying books; even if he had nothing else to do, Wei Hu wouldn’t have let him do this kind of work—it was the middle of summer, and he’d be sweating buckets.