In the courtyard, Shi Xiaoshu and Shi Xiaohua ran around playing. The tall locust tree shaded most of the courtyard, so even though the weather was getting hot, the courtyard was still cool and shady.

In the rabbit hutch, the rabbits rustled as they ate the wild grass. The mule tied under the straw shed snorted. The hens in the chicken coop clucked as they laid eggs. The people chatted and laughed as they worked, and laughter sounded from the courtyard from time to time.

Around midday, Lou Qingfeng came carrying a bottle of osmanthus rice wine. He had been setting up a stall at the market in the morning, so he was a bit late coming over.

As soon as they saw Lou Qingfeng come in, Madam Wu hurriedly moved a stool over for him to sit on, “Mr. Lou is here.”

She had great respect for scholars. Even if someone was poor, being a xiucai still made them different from ordinary people. Besides, Mr. Lou was a good person. Compared to him, the other xiucai living in this alley, Zhou Gaozhong, was far inferior.

Lou Qingfeng congratulated Wei Qingshan, “Boss Wei being safe and sound is the best thing.”

Wei Qingshan also cupped his hands, “Many thanks to Mr. Lou for helping.”

“Ai, how did I help at all? I just wrote the confession, that was my business.” Lou Qingfeng said with a smile.

Today Lin Yu personally cooked. On the fire bucket, red date chicken soup was stewing, and the fragrance drifted through the entire courtyard. Shi Xiaoshu swallowed his saliva, “Xiaohua, it smells so good.”

Shi Xiaohua nodded, “It’s the smell of chicken, I really want to eat.”

The two little ones circled the fire bucket, adding firewood inside, their mouths watering from smelling the fragrance from the clay pot. Madam Wu secretly tugged Shi Xiaoshu’s clothes and whispered, “Take your sister to play somewhere else.”

Only then did Shi Xiaoshu take Shi Xiaohua to see the rabbits. Lin Yu was stir-frying dishes, and he smiled. These days, most days were still tight, so it was normal for children to crave meat. When he was little, he too would sit at the door waiting for his Mother to come back from town to bring him good food.

He wiped his hands, lifted the lid, and took a look. The meat was not yet falling-apart tender, but it was already cooked. The chicken soup needed to be stewed a while longer to taste good. Lin Yu took a bowl, picked out two chicken legs, and brought them out, “Xiaoshu, Xiaohua, come eat something.”

Shi Xiaoshu ran over, but Madam Wu grabbed him and wiped his nose, “Go wash your hands first.”

“Okay!”

Shi Xiaoshu took Shi Xiaohua to wash their hands. Madam Wu smiled, “Children don’t understand proper manners.”

“No, when I was young, whenever my Mother stir-fried dishes or stewed meat, I too would crouch by the pot, and my Mother would pick up a chopstick’s worth for me to taste first.”

When Lin Yu mentioned his Mother, a gentle smile unconsciously appeared on his face. His Mother was a clever woman, always speaking softly and gently. He still remembered the sight of her sitting under the shade of the courtyard tree, lowering her head as she embroidered.

Lin Yu couldn’t help but let out a laugh. Shi Xiaoshu had finished washing his hands and ran back holding the bowl. The two little ones each held a chicken leg in their hand and gnawed at it in big bites, their little hands and mouths covered in grease, holding up the chicken legs with smiling faces.

Lin Yu then stir-fried a dish of braised diced rabbit meat, steamed pork slices with snow vegetables, pan-fried tofu, stir-fried eggs, and cold mixed lettuce leaves. Although there were not many dishes, each bowl was filled to the brim.

The storm had passed, and everyone was in high spirits. Aside from the two children, who were given chicken soup, everyone else had some wine poured into their bowls.

Wei Qingshan had originally bought some strong sorghum liquor, but Lou Qingfeng declined, saying that he still had to look after the stall in the afternoon, so everyone drank the osmanthus rice wine that Lou Qingfeng had brought.

Even the not-very-old Shi Xiaoliu had some poured. He had never drunk before, so he carefully tasted a sip — it was a bit sweet, delicious!

Lin Yu himself didn’t drink much. He had been feeling somewhat tired recently. Just cooking this one meal in the morning had made his back ache a little. After drinking two sips, he handed the rest to Wei Qingshan.

Lin Yu kept an eye on the two little ones and picked out meat for them, “Eat more, don’t be shy.”

“Lin Fulang, no need to mind them, they can reach it.”

They had lived a hard life last year, and even in early spring this year, the family had still been eating wild vegetable soup every day. Now the family could eat their fill, but so much meat and fish still made the children’s eyes light up.

As they ate and chatted, the courtyard was lively. Lou Qingfeng had a free and easy personality. Although he was a scholar, he had no pedantic airs at all. He greatly admired Wei Qingshan’s character, and as they spoke, they found themselves very much in agreement, raising their bowls and drinking again and again.

On the other side, things were not so good for Qiu Laoliu’s family. After one round of board strikes, he was beaten until his skin split open and bled, and Wang Bao’er cried as though her life was ending.

Her own husband had lost his job, and even her cousin’s job was implicated and lost. The shop, according to the shop boy, had been pelted with stones, and business could no longer go on.

“How did it end up like this? How did it end up like this!” Wang Bao’er sat on the edge of the bed, slapping her thighs. She felt heartache for her family’s livelihood and money, and was afraid that from now on their days would not be so easy.

“Cry, cry, cry, what are you crying for? It’s all your fault. Wasn’t it you who said they stole your business!” Qiu Laoliu had already been smoldering with anger, and hearing Wang Bao’er cry made him even more irritated.

“Damn it, wasn’t I thinking of making our business better? You couldn’t handle that Wei Qingshan, and even got my cousin’s family dragged down and lost their jobs. How am I supposed to go back to my mother’s house in the future?!”

Wang Bao’er was both angry and anxious. She slapped Qiu Laoliu on the back, making him cry out miserably, “Wang Bao’er! The shop and money in our family were all earned by me!”

“Yeah, right! If it weren’t for my cousin helping and finding you that yamen job, where would you have gotten the ability to earn that money!”

The two of them quarreled in the house, neither willing to give in. Wang Bao’er, furious, hit him again, “Qiu Laoliu, you ungrateful wretch!”

After the trial was concluded yesterday, Wei Laotai had also been driven out of town. She hunched her neck and lowered her head, hurrying away. People on the street, when they saw her, wished they could bite her and spat at her. As soon as she left town, she was robbed of her silver by the beggars who had long been watching her. They had been eyeing Wei Laotai’s silver for a long time. Shi Xiaoliu had said not to rob her since it was evidence, but now that the case was over, they immediately robbed the silver and ran.

Wei Laotai fell to the ground, cursing, but the beggars had already run far away with the silver.

Wei Laotai was so furious that she fainted from lack of breath. She probably did not have much time left.

In the afternoon, after seeing Lou Qingfeng off, the few of them began to prepare the filling for tomorrow’s buns in the courtyard again. Seasonal wild vegetables like water celery and shepherd’s purse were already gone, so Lin Yu replaced them with locust flower meat buns, wild bracken meat buns, and also continued with the previous offal buns and dried bamboo shoot meat buns. The vegetarian buns were replaced with locust flower and glass noodles buns, along with a new attempt at tofu buns.

He had Wei Qingshan drive the mule cart to buy vermicelli and tofu. Lin Yu did not dare to buy too much, afraid that if the result was not tasty, it would go to waste, so he told Wei Qingshan to buy only a small amount.

Today, when Lou Qingfeng left, he wrote down the names of the buns for them on paper. As long as they carved them onto wooden boards and hung them in front of the shop, those who could read would know what kinds of buns they were selling.

Lin Yu was very happy. Why had he not thought of this before? This idea was good. Once the wooden sign was carved, he would hang tassels underneath. How nice that would look.

When Wei Qingshan bought the things, he also took the paper to ask the carpenter to help carve the characters. In a couple of days, he would be able to pick it up.

Because the shop was opening tomorrow, Wei Qingshan first made a trip to send the things back home, then also bought a pig at the edge of town. Although it was a bit more expensive than buying in the countryside, whether for the butcher shop or the bun shop, meat was indispensable.

The next day, before the sky was light, everyone was already busy again. Lin Yu adjusted the stuffing with a new recipe. He tasted it and felt that the locust flower buns tasted very good. The two kinds of vegetarian buns were also delicious.

He also did not dare to make too much, and even made less dough than usual, just afraid that upon reopening their business, it would not go well.

The first steamer of buns was done, and a few people ate breakfast first, then hurried to remove the shop boards. Who would have thought that outside the shop, people were already gathered in a crowd?!

“Boss Wei, your shop is finally open. We were just waiting for you to open!”

The ones who came were not only old regulars but also those who knew of their family’s affairs. Some even ran across half the town to buy buns, and the doorway was squeezed full of people.

“Coming!” Shi Xiaoliu carried two baskets of buns to the front. Seeing the entrance of the shop so crowded and impenetrable, he was startled, “Why are there so many people?!”

Shi Xiaoliu hurried to start selling, “New flavors to your liking, wild bracken vegetable meat bun, locust flower meat bun, locust flower vermicelli…”

Shi Xiaoliu rattled them off when someone shouted, “Enough, little lad, no matter the flavor, just give me a few first!”

There were truly too many people. Shi Xiaoliu and Zhao Yueniang could not handle it. The buns just brought out were bought up clean in no time.

The same at Wei Qingshan’s butcher shop, people crowded to buy meat. As soon as half a pig was carried out, it was snatched up clean.

Many came especially for the reputation of Wei Qingshan and Lin Yu. Wei Qingshan was the hero who had killed the bandit chief, so many came to see what such a heroic figure looked like. At first sight, he was indeed valiant and extraordinary.

After selling the first half of the pig, Wei Qingshan carried out the other half, and everyone crowded forward again.

Shi Xiaoliu wiped his sweat and also ran back to carry buns. “Lin Ama, today’s dough is definitely not enough. What should we do?”

“I’m fermenting some more right now. Once it’s risen, it’ll be ready in a bit over an hour. Right, tell your Uncle Wei to leave me some pork!”

“Alright!” Shi Xiaoliu carried the buns out and shouted toward the butcher shop, “Uncle Wei! Lin Ama said for you to leave some meat, he needs it for making buns.”

“Got it.”

Wei Qingshan took down a hind leg and also cut off some fatty meat. Only with fatty meat were the buns more fragrant. The meat at Wei Qingshan’s side sold very fast. Once sold out, he closed the shop, carrying the meat to the courtyard to help Lin Yu chop the filling.

Lin Yu also hurried to knead dough with Madam Wu again. Dried vegetables could not be soaked in time, so they just made locust flower meat buns, locust flower vermicelli buns, and tofu buns.

At the front, the people buying buns were packed together, while the three in the back were also busy, with sweat pouring down. Many had originally just come to watch the bustle, but once they ate the buns, their eyes widened. “What stuffing is in these buns I bought! So fragrant!”

The filling inside he could not recognize. It tasted with a fresh fragrance, mixed with the meat stuffing, with a faint sweetness.

“Ah, don’t push, don’t push, it’s my turn, it’s my turn, give me five!”

Today, Shi Xiaoliusells buns without distinguishing the fillings anymore, only dividing them into meat or vegetarian. With so many people, no one picked and chose. Today, there were truly too many people. Usually, their family used a brazier to keep the buns warm so they would not get cold, but today, as soon as the buns, still hot to the touch, were brought out, they were immediately gone.

Zhao Yueniang counted the copper coins and tossed them into the wooden chest. The copper coins clattered into the box. She and Shi Xiaoliu were busy to the point of sweating all over, but the smiles on their faces never left as they listened to the sound of the coins.

Shi Xiaoliu sold out another steamer of buns and ran to the back, “Lin Ama, are there more buns?!”

“No more, no more. The ones in the pot are not steamed out yet. They still need the time of one incense stick.”

Shi Xiaoliu ran back to the front, “Sorry, everyone, you still have to wait a bit, it’ll be ready soon, ready soon.”

Madam Wu and Lin Yu were wrapping buns with the newly fermented dough, but even then, they could not keep up with the speed of selling. That morning’s twelve steamers had sold out in less than half an hour. Now steaming were the freshly wrapped ones.

Some who were waiting grew anxious and began to ask, “How much longer?”

“Almost, almost!”

Outside, there were still many people waiting. The wife from the sesame oil shop stuck her head out, “Such good business. If my family’s business were this good, I’d laugh myself to death. Ahe few of them busied about the whole morning. The second batch of dough was also all sold out. Even after selling out, there were still people who had not gotten any. Wei Qingshan came out and cupped his hands to invite everyone to leave. “Many thanks, everyone, many thanks. Today’s buns are sold out. Come again tomorrow, come again tomorrow.”

Some complained unhappily, “I didn’t even buy any. Just smelling others eating was so fragrant.”

Only after Wei Qingshan came out did everyone finally disperse. Wei Qingshan and Shi Xiaoliu together moved the shop boards back and closed the door. Shi Xiaoliu was so busy he had not even had time to drink water. As soon as he came back, he grabbed a bowl and gulped down a bowl of water, letting out an “Ah—so thirsty I could die.”

Lin Yu also wiped his sweat. “I didn’t expect business to be this good today.”A few of them finally let out a breath. After eating lunch, there was not much work left. They just chopped up the soaked dried bamboo shoots and bracken in the courtyard to use the next day. Now they did not need to pick vegetables, so the work was more leisurely.

Lin Yu was turning over the bracken laid out to dry in the courtyard. He yawned, tears hanging at the corners of his eyes, ready to fall. Wei Qingshan picked up his satchel to go to the village to buy another pig, and just happened to see Lin Yu looking a bit tired. “Go sleep for a while in the house.”

“It’s fine, just that the morning was too busy.” Lin Yu said as he yawned again.

Wei Qingshan pulled him back into the house. “There’s not much work in the afternoon. Sleep a while.”

Only then did Lin Yu nod. Wei Qingshan said, “Looks like we’ll be busy for some time. Fermenting and kneading dough are all laborious work. Better to hire someone back, so everyone won’t be so tired.”

Fermenting and kneading dough were mostly done by Lin Yu and Madam Wu. Today, they had kneaded quite a lot and were indeed tired. Now that the household did not lack silver, Wei Qingshan did not want his little husband to be too worn out.

Lin Yu nodded. If they hired someone especially for kneading dough, then they would not have to get up so early. Xiaoliu and Yueniang were still only half-grown children, and having them get up so early, too, was hard. If they hired someone, they could all sleep more.

“It’s not easy to find someone quickly. If the person is not trustworthy and later learns how we season our food, they might open their own shop.” Lin Yu said.

That was indeed a problem. Wei Qingshan, for the moment, also could not think of a suitable person.

Lin Yu thought for a while. “Right, aren’t you going to the countryside to buy pigs later? Why not ask if Lian-er’s man, Shunzi, is willing to do it? It’s labor work, pay him forty wen a day.”

Wei Qingshan also thought Shunzi was quite suitable. “Although Shunzi is a bit thin, work like kneading dough is completely manageable. Besides, his family only has two mu of land, and the farm work is not much. I’ll ask him today. If he agrees, I’ll bring him back.”

“Mm!” Lin Yu nodded. After Wei Qingshan left, Lin Yu lay down to sleep.