Talking and laughing, the group soon reached the edge of the town. Up ahead, a yellow ox stood blocking the road. Wei Qingshan shouted at it twice, but the yellow ox did not move.

Shi Xiaoliu shouted, “Whose ox is this? It’s standing in the road!”

“Hey, hey, hey, it’s mine.” A man who had been sleeping in the grass was startled awake and scrambled to his feet, rolling and crawling to catch the ox.

Shi Xiaoliu took a look and exclaimed. Oh, it was an old acquaintance. Zhou Gaozhong also saw them clearly, hurriedly grabbed the ox, and covered his face as he headed toward the woods.

Shi Xiaoliu curled his lips. “Zhou Gaozhong, huh. Why’s he herding someone’s ox? The ox ran into the road, and he didn’t even know.”

Shi Xiaoliu muttered two sentences, “And he calls himself a scholar? What kind of scholar is he, so petty and narrow-minded?”

Zhou Gaozhong hid behind a tree with the ox and did not dare come out. Only after the mule cart went far away did he dare stick his head out. Ever since the last incident, his stall had completely lost all its business. Nobody asked him to write letters for them anymore — they all went across the way to find Lou Qingfeng instead.

He was so hungry that he felt dizzy and lightheaded. At his age, he could not find any work, and even when he tried to herd oxen, people disliked him for being too old. It was only after much difficulty that he found a household willing to let him herd their ox, and they only paid him two copper coins a day.

Zhou Gaozhong sighed. A scholar had fallen to such a state. Had he known, he would never have meddled in that matter, bringing a heap of trouble upon himself for nothing.

When the group returned to the shop, the sky had not yet gone dark. The courtyard was clean and tidy, and the chicken coop had water and feed in it. Madam Wu had been coming by regularly to look after things, so there was nothing they needed to tidy up when they got back.

Shi Xiaoliu ran home once, and Lin Yu gave him a sack of new rice to take back. Since Shi Xiaoliu had helped a lot with the work while staying with him, Lin Yu paid him wages and gave him an extra jin of rice.

Seeing that there was new rice, Shi Xiaoliu was very happy. He thanked Lin Yu and ran back home. He wanted to tell his mother that the shop would open tomorrow and to bring some food for his younger siblings. While watching the opera, he had bought some little snacks at the market to give them as a treat.

Not long after the new grain was collected, the price of rice in town dropped. The price of the buns Lin Yu and his group sold also went down: two wen for vegetarian, three wen for half-meat, and four wen for meat buns.

They had been away for several days and originally thought there would be fewer customers. Unexpectedly, as soon as the price dropped, there were even more customers. Now that the harvest had been gathered, every household’s days were easier, and more people could afford to buy food outside.

Lin Yu also helped wrap buns for a while, but he could not keep up with how busy things were. Shunzi and Madam Wu did not stop working all morning, and even then, they could not keep up with the front of the shop.

Lin Yu and Wei Qingshan discussed it and simply hired another sturdier employee, also for thirty copper coins a day. He would come before dawn to chop meat and wrap buns and could leave by noon like Madam Wu.

The newly hired employee was not as quick-handed as Shi Xiaoliu and the others, but he was an honest one, so Lin Yu decided to keep him. With an extra pair of hands, they finally had enough to supply the front of the shop.

After the new grain came in, the business of other shops along the street also improved compared to before. The frowns had disappeared from the faces of those walking along the street — now everyone was full of cheer.

Lin Yu sat at the main room doorway sewing bellybands and thin clothes for children. This year, they had planted an acre of cotton, and the baby’s swaddles and cotton-padded clothes would be sewn in autumn.

Lin Yu had a gentle smile on his face, very happy as he looked at the little clothes in his hands.

As soon as summer came, his pregnancy had begun to show. Fearing the heat, he often stayed indoors and rarely came out. When Wei Qingshan had free time and the sun was not too strong, he would take Lin Yu out for a walk.

Now that business at home was good, the two shops together earned five to six taels of silver a day. Lin Yu did not know until one day, when he counted in his free time, that they had already saved nearly five hundred taels of silver!

The two of them walked along a path to a secluded place. Wei Qingshan disliked crowded places where Lin Yu might get jostled, and the quiet places were cooler as well. Wei Qingshan held Lin Yu’s hand and reminded him to watch his step.

Seeing that it was getting late, the two turned back. As they passed a quiet alley, they heard voices from inside. The voices sounded somewhat familiar, but Lin Yu did not pay much attention and kept walking forward with Wei Qingshan.

Inside the alley, two people were struggling and tugging at each other. A man was grabbing another who was thinner — it should have been a ger.

“Give me two taels of silver, hurry up, bring it to me in the next two days!”

“No more, no more! Where would I get that much silver for you? The shop doesn’t even make two taels a day!”

“I don’t care! If you don’t give it to me, I’ll tell Zhou Da about your disgraceful secret!”

When the two of them walked by, their footsteps were heard by those inside. The man immediately ducked his head and ran off in the other direction, leaving Fang Shuizi standing there in a daze.

Even though the sky was already dark, both sides could see clearly who was there. Fang Shuizi was so scared that his face turned pale.

Lin Yu froze for a moment, not expecting it to be him. Wei Qingshan led Lin Yu away. “Be careful.”

“Mm.”

The two returned home together, and neither mentioned what had just happened. It had nothing to do with them, and they were not the type to meddle in others’ business.

But when Fang Shuizi went back home, he could not sleep all night, fearing that Wei Qingshan and Lin Yu would tell Zhou Da about what had happened. He did not know whether the two of them had seen Qiu Laoliu’s face clearly — if they had, he would be finished.

Fang Shuizi lay in bed grinding his teeth, tossing and turning without sleeping, until he woke Zhou Da, who was lying next to him. “Fang-ger, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing, go to sleep.”

Fang Shuizi’s tone was not very pleasant. Recently, he had already been annoyed enough by being pestered by Qiu Laoliu, and now Zhou Da kept asking and asking — what was there to ask? Fang Shuizi turned over. Ever since Qiu Laoliu had been chased out by the yamen, he had been trying to cut off ties with him, afraid others would find out about their relationship.

Before, he had not feared their association at all. Qiu Laoliu was a man from the yamen — even if Zhou Da discovered it, he would not dare do anything to him. But now that Qiu Laoliu had lost his position at the yamen, his status was not even as good as Zhou Da’s.

Zhou Da might be ugly, but he treated Fang Shuizi very well. He could wear whatever fabrics he wanted from home, and he was given one tael of silver a month as pocket money. He had no worries about food or clothing, and every time he returned to his mother’s house, countless people envied him for marrying into the town.

Qiu Laoliu, having lost his position at the yamen, could no longer act high and mighty. All the money in his house was in the hands of that shrew Wang Bao’er. Qiu Laoliu was used to a life of meat and wine, and when he no longer had silver in hand, he began to threaten Fang Shuizi. Fang Shuizi was furious, but he still had to pinch his nose and hand over the silver he had saved.

Once or twice would have been fine, but now Qiu Laoliu’s appetite grew bigger and bigger. If he did not agree, Qiu Laoliu would punch and kick him, and even threatened to tell Zhou Da. The few taels of silver he had saved up were all taken by Qiu Laoliu, and he even had to secretly steal money from the counter.

Fang Shuizi regretted it bitterly. How had he ended up getting together with Qiu Laoliu as a lover in the first place? Without his yamen job, Qiu Laoliu was nothing.

Fang Shuizi spent the whole night in fear, and after hesitating over and over again the next morning, he still went to knock on the back door of Lin Yu’s house. Lin Yu was still wondering who it was. Usually, no one came over, but when he opened the door, he saw Fang Shuizi standing outside.

Fang Shuizi had a guilty smile on his face and was holding a basket in his hand. “Lin Fulang, your family has already moved over here for quite some time now, and I still haven’t come by for a visit.”

Lin Yu had never liked Fang Shuizi to begin with. He had gone to buy cloth from his house once before, and the way Fang Shuizi looked at Wei Qingshan had made him uncomfortable. Yesterday, he had also run into Fang Shuizi’s disgraceful situation, so naturally, he did not wish to interact with him too much.

Seeing that Lin Yu did not seem inclined to let him into the courtyard, Fang Shuizi shamelessly continued, “I heard you’re with child, so I brought you some eggs.”

“Thank you, Zhou Fulang, but our house is quite busy right now.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. I’ll just say a few words.” Seeing an opening, Fang Shuizi slipped right inside. He had been thinking that if he brought some things and said a few good words, Lin Yu would not speak about what he had seen.

Lin Yu had no choice but to shut the door and return to the courtyard. He had just been doing embroidery there. Fang Shuizi, acting like they were familiar, sat down beside him. “Making clothes for the child?”

“Mm.”

Fang Shuizi had never been to Lin Yu’s house before. He looked around and saw three people under the shed, busy making buns, and in front was Shi Xiaoliu. Such a small bun shop had actually hired four workers — how much silver must they be earning? This bun shop’s business was much better than his family’s cloth shop.

Fang Shuizi offered a few words of praise. “Your family’s business is really good, hiring so many people.”

“It’s alright,” Lin Yu replied lightly.

Fang Shuizi laughed awkwardly and pushed the basket toward Lin Yu. “Lin Fulang, here are some eggs for you to nourish yourself.”

“Thank you, Zhou Fulang.”

Lin Yu did not want to accept his things. Eggs were precious, but his family couldn’t afford them.

There were ten or so eggs in this basket — quite a heavy gift. Lin Yu knew that if he refused, Fang Shuizi would definitely not be happy. The shop was busy right now, and he was also pregnant, so there was no need to argue with him. He could just have Xiaoliu return them when things were less busy.

Seeing Lin Yu accept the eggs, Fang Shuizi was very happy. Even though it hurt to part with his eggs, it was better than having Zhou Da find out about his affairs.

“That, Lin Fulang, yesterday, was just a misunderstanding. That person is my maternal family’s brother, he came to pester me for silver…”

Before Fang Shuizi could finish speaking, Lin Yu interrupted him. “We were just passing by yesterday and did not see anything.”

Seeing Lin Yu being so tactful, Fang Shuizi was very pleased. “Oh, oh, yes, yes.”

Having accomplished what he came for, Fang Shuizi did not stay long. Lin Yu’s indifferent attitude also made him unwilling to keep sticking his warm face to someone else’s cold backside, so he got up and left.

Madam Wu looked at Lin Yu, hesitating for a moment, then spoke. “Lin Fulang, you’d better not get too close to Fang Shuizi.”

Lin Yu smiled at Madam Wu. “I know.”

Madam Wu had also heard the gossip about Fang Shuizi around town. Many people knew about his affair with Qiu Laoliu and were laughing behind his back, but no one had told the Zhou family. Fang Shuizi thought he had hidden it well, but he did not know that many people in town already knew.

After Wei Qingshan finished with the business out front, he came into the courtyard. Seeing the basket of eggs, he asked, “You bought eggs?”

The eggs their hens laid were enough for Lin Yu, so he assumed Lin Yu had just bought a few more.

“No, Fang Shuizi brought them over.”

Wei Qingshan frowned when he heard this. He immediately knew why Fang Shuizi had brought eggs.

“Send them back later. If we run out, we can buy them ourselves.”

Lin Yu nodded. “That’s what I thought too. I just didn’t want to argue with him earlier, so I let them stay. Once things are less busy, have Xiaoliu return them.”

Fang Shuizi was still quite happy after sending the eggs, but at noon, when he saw Zhou Da carrying a basket of eggs into the kitchen, he realized it was the same basket he had given to Lin Yu. How had it ended up back here!

“Zhou Da, where did these eggs come from?”

“Xiaoliu from the bun shop sent them back, saying thanks for the eggs you sent, their family already has enough.” Zhou Da looked puzzled and poked his head toward Fang Shuizi. “What made you think of sending eggs to Lin Fulang?”

Even when visiting neighbors, there was no need to send so many eggs.

Fang Shuizi forced his expression to stay neutral. “Lin Yu is pregnant. I wanted to give him some eggs to nourish him. Who knew he wouldn’t want them?”

Fang Shuizi turned away, gritting his teeth in anger. What did Lin Yu mean by this — taking his eggs only to send them back? Was he trying to tell Zhou Da?

Fang Shuizi worried for two more days, but when he saw that neither Wei Qingshan nor Lin Yu came to his house, he finally felt relieved.

The crops in the fields had only been sown for a few days when it rained. When Wei Qingshan went to collect the pigs, he sometimes stayed at home for a day before coming back, finishing the work in the fields before returning. Judging by the looks of things, the second harvest of crops this time should not be bad either. Wei Qingshan was especially attentive to the cotton in the dry fields, as it would be used to make swaddling clothes and jackets for the little one.

Sometimes Lin Yu would also go back with Wei Qingshan, and when he came back, he would chat with He Dongdong and the others. He did not go out often, and only when it was cooler in the countryside would he be willing to walk around a bit.

When pears and sweet melons were sold, Wei Qingshan liked to buy some for Lin Yu. There was a water well in the courtyard of their house in town, and Wei Qingshan would hang the fruits in the well to chill them. Eating them cool and refreshing in the summer helped beat the heat, and Lin Yu liked it very much.

The days passed by peacefully, and Fang Shuizi also thought that the matter had blown over. Just as he finally breathed a sigh of relief, his eldest sister from his maternal family brought the children over.

She had carried vegetables all the way from the mountains. Zhou Da quickly led everyone into the courtyard, seeing how the children were sweating all over from the heat.

Fang Shuizi’s eldest sister was shocked at the sight of the counter full of cloth. She knew her younger brother had married into the family of a cloth shop owner, but looking at this counter full of cloth, how much silver must that be worth!

She knew Fang Shuizi was living a good life, but only now did she realize it was this good. Previously, the family had wanted Fang Shuizi to take one of the children so they could get by on some food in town, but Fang Shuizi had always said that business was bad, so he had never brought anyone over.

Her eldest son was already twelve years old this year. She had brought some precious vegetables from home to town, asked around, and finally found Fang Shuizi’s house.

Zhou Da busied himself pouring water, while Fang Shuizi’s eldest sister tugged on the child beside her. “Greet him, this is your uncle.”

The half-grown child behind her finally called out, “Uncle.” Fang Shuizi’s eldest sister smiled a little embarrassedly. “He is a country child, so he hasn’t seen much of the world.”

Fang Shuizi really did not like these poor relatives from the countryside. He had already been upset recently over Qiu Laoliu’s affairs, and now his elder sister had even brought the children here.

“Dajie, what are you here for?”

Fang Shuizi’s eldest sister smiled nervously. “I just came to see you, that’s all.”

“You must have come early in the morning. Have you eaten yet?” Zhou Da asked.

The child shook his head, and Fang Shuizi’s eldest sister gave him a little tug.

Zhou Da took out some copper coins and handed them to Xiao Wuzi. “Xiao Wuzi, go buy some buns from the bun shop.”

“Okay!”

Xiao Wuzi took the coins and happily went out to buy buns.