He Dongdong rarely came to town, so naturally Lin Yu would not let him go back so soon. When He Dongdong saw that Lin Yu was carrying a wild pheasant out and was about to kill it, he quickly came over holding Lei-zi to stop him, “No, no, if you do this, I won’t come next time.”

Only then did Lin Yu stop and go to the butcher shop to ask Wei Qingshan to cut off some meat. He personally cooked the meal, making a stir-fry of vegetables and meat, stir-fried pig liver, stir-fried water celery, and also gave Shi Xiaoliu some copper coins to run an errand and buy two pieces of tofu. For the two little ones, they steamed a bowl of egg custard.

At noon, Madam Wu needed to go back home once, as there were still two little ones at home. She would not be eating at Lin Yu’s at noon, she wanted to go back to check on the two little ones, so Lin Yu scooped some stir-fried meat and stir-fried pig liver for her to take back for the two children to eat. Madam Wu could not stop thanking him again and again.

At noon, the few of them just sat in the courtyard to eat. The weather was just right at this time. Shi Tou and He Dongdong each had a little one sitting on their laps as they ate. When they saw the adults eating, the little ones also stretched out their little hands wanting some, so He Dongdong fed them a spoonful of egg custard.

He Dongdong felt a little embarrassed. Originally, he just came over to sit for a while, but he ended up eating here, and it was meat and eggs. These things can hardly be eaten in the countryside nowadays.

The few of them ate while chatting, and the two little ones were babbling noisily– it was very lively.

After eating, He Dongdong played in the courtyard with the two children until the late afternoon before going back. Lin Yu was very fond of the two little ones and felt a little reluctant when sending them off.

After seeing off He Dongdong and the others, Lin Yu became busy again. He Dongdong had brought two baskets of wild vegetables, such as wild bracken ferns. Lin Yu blanched them once with boiling water, scooped them out to dry in the sun, so that they would turn into dried bracken and could be preserved. When the bracken season passed, they would still have wild vegetable buns to eat.

Lin Yu thought that after finishing wrapping the wild vegetable buns at home in the next couple of days, he would go back to the countryside to gather more wild vegetables. Just relying on the two of them picking was not enough. Wild vegetables only come in this season, in a few more days, they will become too old. They had to get some more back.

Lin Yu stayed in town for another two days. Wei Qingshan’s remaining pork had sold out, the wild vegetables they picked had also been used up, and the water celery had already grown old and could no longer be used. Lin Yu then thought to switch to bracken buns instead. This time, when they went back, they would gather some wild vegetables to bring back.

Lin Yu told Shi Xiaoliu that they would go back home for a few days, and asked him to sell the wild pheasants and wild hares here. Lin Yu also told him there was no need to get up too early.

Shi Xiaoliu nodded repeatedly and saw Lin Yu and the other two off. He then sold wild pheasants and wild hares by himself. Madam Wu, who had nothing much to do, also brought Shi Xiaoshu and Shi Xiaohua over to help. The three of them cleaned the chicken coops and rabbit cages in the courtyard, and after cleaning them, they went out to cut wild grass to bring back.

She and Shi Xiaoliu had worked at Lin Yu’s for a period of time. Now that they could have enough food at home, they could also buy vegetables and tofu, and occasionally could even buy a little meat for a taste. Madam Wu was very grateful to Wei Qingshan and Lin Yu. Whether it was helping Shi Xiaoliu or helping Lin Yu, she was willing.

The family of three drove the mule cart toward the countryside. The sun was a bit hot now, and Lin Yu wore a straw hat to shield himself from the sun. They brought some grain and food with them on the cart, as there was not enough grain left at home for the three of them to eat for several days.

Lin Yu sat in the front, lightly swinging his feet. He did not come back often, so when he saw that the rice in the fields had already grown ears and was filling with grain, he was very happy. “Qingshan, look! After some more days, the rice can be harvested!”

“Mm.” Wei Qingshan was also happy. This was the first crop of new grain from his family’s land. As common folk, weren’t they just hoping to eat their fill and live a peaceful life?

The three of them returned early today. As soon as they came back, they first tidied the house and courtyard. The sun was good today, so they brought the bedding out to dry to get rid of the dampness, so that it would be warm to cover with at night.

As soon as they came back, villagers came over to visit. Everyone in the village knew that Wei Qingshan had opened a shop in town. At a time when everyone could not get enough food to eat, his family could even open a shop in town, and everyone was very envious.

When someone came over to visit, Lin Yu said that he wanted to gather some wild bracken and locust flowers. The news quickly spread through the village. The next day, quite a few villagers carried baskets back into the mountains. Everyone was tired of eating wild vegetables this year, and no one wanted to buy them outside either. They were originally not worth much anyway.

Shunzi and Lian-ger also heard the news, and their whole family carried back baskets into the mountains. To get wild bracken, one had to go a bit deeper into the mountains to pick it, since the wild vegetables near the village had already been picked a lot this year.

Before noon, people began coming down from the mountains. Everyone scrambled to run to Lin Yu’s house, afraid that if they came late, he would have bought enough and would not need more.

Lian-ger and Shunzi also came carrying bamboo baskets. The two of them had gone deeper into the mountains and in one morning had gathered quite a lot of bracken, so much that it was spilling out of the bamboo baskets.

Lin Yu had not expected that five or six people would come to sell wild bracken today. He and Wei Qingshan were busy weighing the bracken. One back basket was worth about fifteen copper coins. Shunzi and Lian-ger had more. Their two back baskets were equal to three back baskets from other people, so they got forty copper coins.

Lian-ger was very happy holding the copper coins. In just one morning, he and Shunzi had earned forty copper coins!

His family was poor, and the grain they had was not enough for them. Only after this year’s first crop of rice was harvested would it be a little better. With these copper coins, they could buy grain, and the family could eat better.

Most people came around noon. Lin Yu and Wei Qingshan were so busy weighing the bracken that they did not even have time to eat. Only after sending everyone away did they have a chance.

Zhao Yueniang had finished cooking and brought the food out. “Brother, Madam Wu, quickly eat.”

By noon, Lin Yu had collected five or six baskets of wild bracken. Shunzi and Lian-ger had gathered the most. The others only had half baskets, either because they did not dare go too deep into the mountains or because they had not found a place where bracken could be picked.

In the afternoon, the three of them boiled water to blanch the wild bracken and then dried it in the sun. The weather has been good these past few days, so after a few days of drying, they will be ready.

Lin Yu, when he had some free time, walked around in the courtyard. His family still had a vegetable garden. Although he did not often come back, Wei Qingshan came to collect pigs every few days, so the vegetable garden at his house was very well cared for. There was not a single weed inside. The vines of pumpkins and winter melons stretched out and had already budded, about to bloom.

Lin Yu and Wei Qingshan had only left for one morning, and during that morning, there were still people coming one after another to buy buns. “Shop assistant, is your shop open today?”

“The two bosses went to the countryside to gather ingredients, they will be back in a few days.”

Lin Yu’s buns were good and cheap. Many people wanted to eat more after trying them. Now their shop was gradually gaining some fame, and business was getting better and better.

Shi Xiaoliu was at the front of the shop, selling wild pheasants and wild hares. His two younger siblings were in the backyard with his mother, feeding rabbits. The morning’s business was not bad. They sold two dried rabbits and one wild pheasant.

In the afternoon, there were fewer people. The sun was a bit strong, and Shi Xiaoliu felt drowsy. He propped his chin up and was dozing off at the back of the shop. Just when he was about to fall asleep, a loud shout came from the front, “Where is Wei Qingshan, where is Wei Qingshan! And that little slut of his, come out here for your old lady!”

Shi Xiaoliu was so startled that he jumped, and when he stood up to look, he saw an old beggar woman standing in front of the shop. Her face was wrinkled like elm bark, her fingers were dried and withered, her eyes were hidden beneath her drooping eyelids, yet still sharp and bright, like a rat’s eyes in the night.

Although Shi Xiaoliu was a ger, he had struggled to survive on his own a couple of years earlier, so he naturally would not be intimidated by an old beggar. “Who are you!”

Wei Laotai, now that she had eaten her fill and regained her strength, though her body was not as strong as before after all her suffering, her mouth had not aged at all. “Who am I? I am Wei Qingshan’s old mother! Where is that unfilial son? Tell him to come out, come out!”

Shi Xiaoliu frowned. What kind of real mother talked about her own son like this? “What Wei Qingshan, I don’t know. If you want to make a scene, go somewhere else to make a scene.”

How could Wei Laotai, who had lived this long, leave just because of the words of a yellow-haired boy? The person who brought her here had told her very clearly that it was this shop.

Wei Laotai leaned on her cane and began to cry out her grievances. “Everyone come and see, everyone come and see! Wei Qingshan does not support his own mother, and even killed his own younger brother! How could I have given birth to such a sinful creature? This is truly a sin, a sin!”

When Shi Xiaoliu heard those two sentences, he was somewhat shocked, but he still knew what kind of people Boss Wei and Lin Ama were. The two of them were not even related, but because Lin Ama had said that if there was work to do, he should find him, Lin Ama came back to look for him after a year, which showed he was a man of his word.

He also saw that his own family was having a hard time and could not get enough to eat. These days, even his wages were settled daily. Not to mention that he had more contact with Lin Ama, but Boss Wei was also a generous and kind person. Whatever they ate, he ate, and he never said an extra word. When doing business, he was honest and never cheated on weight or measure.

“Where did this old shrew come from to spout such nonsense? Get out, get out.”

Shi Xiaoliu took a broom and went to drive her away, but was scolded together with her by Wei Laotai. “And who are you, you little hoof from some corner? Is Wei Qingshan your father or your mother?! You black-hearted thing, you’re the same kind of trash as Wei Qingshan and Lin Yu!”

How could Shi Xiaoliu be scared just because he was scolded a couple of times? But no matter how he tried to drive her away with the broom, Wei Laotai just would not leave. Instead, she cursed and shouted even more fiercely.

Shi Xiaoliu had no choice but to go back into the shop and continue doing business. Fortunately, these two days, Boss Wei and Lin Ama had gone back home, and their family’s two businesses were not open, so it did not affect their business. Shi Xiaoliu thought that this crazy woman would leave after not seeing anyone for two days.

But Wei Laotai was still shouting near the shop, and several nearby shops stuck their heads out to watch the commotion. Just with Wei Laotai saying, “does not support his mother, killed his younger brother,” these two lines were enough to shock everyone.

Boss Jin and his wife also stuck their heads out to look. He clicked his tongue. “It doesn’t seem like it. I see Boss Wei, though he speaks a bit less on usual days, he doesn’t seem like this kind of person. His fulang also looks like someone with a soft temperament. How could this be?”

Madam Jin was also shocked when she heard this. “We don’t know about other people’s affairs, but this old woman probably really is Boss Wei’s mother.”

The old woman from the sesame oil shop on the street was usually a gossip. When she heard that something so big had happened on the street, she was very curious and came over, nearly circling Wei Laotai to ask what had happened.

Wei Laotai shouted for a while and then got tired, but she still did not leave. She sat down by the street and let people crowd around to watch, still muttering bad things about Wei Qingshan and Lin Yu.

Quite a few people gathered around her, and among the crowd, there was even an old scholar covered in patches. “This woman, if you have something to say, just say it. We will definitely not let such villains go unpunished.”

Boss Jin also lifted his robe and came over. “Xiucai Zhou, you cannot say that. Even I, a person who has not read books, know that we cannot just believe one person’s words. How can you conclude that Boss Wei and Lin Fulang are villains?”

As soon as he said this, the people around him burst out laughing. But they were not laughing at Boss Jin’s words, they were laughing at Xiucai Zhou. Xiucai Zhou was nearly sixty this year, still a pedantic scholar. Normally, he hunched his neck and set up a stall at the nearby market, writing letters for people.

Xiucai Zhou also lived in the alley behind. His original name was Zhou Di. After passing the Xiucai exam in his middle age but failing all further exams, he felt that his name was unlucky. The word “Di” could mean both “pass” and “fail,” so he simply changed his name to Gaozhong — Zhou Gaozhong.

Normally, relying on his status as a Xiucai, he was very arrogant. The people he looked down on the most were merchants, believing that they gained without labor and were deceitful and crafty.

Zhou Gaozhong snorted. “How could I not know? I reckon that Wei Qingshan is not a good person either. He has humiliated me before. How could he be a good person?”

Hearing someone speak about Wei Qingshan like this, Shi Xiaoliu naturally could not tolerate it. He could hear what they were saying from inside the shop, so he shouted back loudly, “How did Boss Wei humiliate you? Why don’t you say it!”

Zhou Gaozhong hemmed and hawed until his face turned red. “He said this scholar’s handwriting was ugly, humph!”

Who cared if he was a Xiucai or whatever? Shi Xiaoliu did not care about that at all. “Your calligraphy was not even as good as Xiucai Lou on the street to begin with, so why wouldn’t Boss Wei go find someone else?”

As soon as Shi Xiaoliu said this, laughter came again from the crowd. Zhou Gaozhong lost face, his face was without light, and he squeezed through the crowd and came out. As soon as he came out, he pointed at Shi Xiaoliu’s nose, “You you you!”

Shi Xiaoliu made a funny face at him, hmph! Zhou Gaozhong was so angry that he turned his head and left.

Hiding at the street corner, Qiu Laoliu stretched his head over to look this way. “Tch, why are they not in the shop? Made Lao Tzu pull this crazy old woman over here so early.”

Qiu Laoliu had pulled strings and investigated Wei Qingshan clearly, he knew all the things Wei Laotai had said, but just the two things of not supporting his mother and killing his own younger brother were enough to ruin Wei Qingshan’s reputation and make him unable to stay in the town. As long as he drove away Wei Qingshan and his husband, the business at his own bun shop would still be good.

Wei Laotai kept repeating the same few lines over and over, everyone lost interest and gradually dispersed. When Madam Wu came over in the afternoon, she also heard Wei Laotai’s cursing. She walked into the shop. “Xiaoliu, do you know what happened?”

Shi Xiaoliu shook his head. “Mother, I don’t know either.”

Madam Wu stayed with him to sell things together. “Don’t listen to people talking nonsense. We have seen what kind of people Boss Wei and Lin Fulang are. Even if we take ten thousand steps back and say that what this old woman said was true, Boss Wei and Lin Fulang have been very good to us, we must remember it in our hearts.”

Shi Xiaoliu nodded again and again. “Mother, I know. Just now, this crazy old woman was cursing at the door of our shop, so I took a broom and drove her away.”

Madam Wu was startled. “She didn’t hurt you, did she?”

“No, I was watching out.”

“It’s good if nothing happened, these days Mother will come over to stay with you.”

“Mm, Mother, you are so good!” Shi Xiaoliu rubbed against Madam Wu’s body. It must have been that his father and mother were watching over him from the heavens, letting him first meet such a good Madam Wu, and then letting him meet Boss Wei and Lin Ama.