Chapter 112

Chapter 112

It took a while for everyone to stop weeping.

Li Shi and Fang Ling had rushed out in a hurry, neither wearing heavy clothing.

Wang Ying said, "Let's go inside first; it's cold out, don't catch a chill."

Li Shi wiped her tears and agreed, "Yes, yes, let's go inside."

A heating stove warmed the room, and the whole family gathered, chatting and sipping tea.

Old Liang, an old acquaintance of Fang Ling, couldn't help but remark upon seeing her in Jizhou, "Such a long journey—Chen Jing actually let you come alone?"

"He wasn’t comfortable with it either, but I was even more worried about Huai’er if I didn’t come," Fang Ling replied, patting her son’s head. "I traveled with a merchant caravan, and once we reached Jizhou, we kept to the main roads, so it was quite safe."

Fang Ling then asked, "What about you all? The letter said you were supposed to return in November. Why did it take so long?"

Chen Qingyan explained, "Shortly after leaving Yangzhou, our group fell ill with a cold one after another. By the time we reached Xuzhou, we were too ill to continue and had to stop for a few days to recover. After Xuzhou, we happened to encounter a military troop also heading north. The commanding general was an old acquaintance of our teacher, so we traveled back with them."

Chen Qinghuai added, "Then we encountered a blizzard along the way and had to divert to Sixian County, where we stayed for seven days before continuing. The roads after that were covered in deep snow, making the journey arduous for both carts and horses. But at least we made it back before the New Year."

Hearing this brief account, Li Shi’s eyes welled up again, imagining the hardships they must have endured. She held her two sons’ hands, looking them over repeatedly, "You’ve lost so much weight. This time, you must rest well and build your strength back up."

Chen Qingsong nestled close to his mother, regaining some of his childlike demeanor.

The reunited relatives had endless things to talk about, but their bodies couldn’t keep up. Old Liang was already yawning repeatedly, and Qing Yan and the other two had dark circles under their eyes. In their rush to return, they had barely slept properly, and their bodies had long reached their limits.

Wang Ying quickly stood up and said, "Let’s go get cleaned up and rest first. We can continue chatting after we’ve rested."

"Yes, go rest now."

The servants had already prepared hot water for bathing. After taking turns washing up, everyone returned to their rooms to rest.

Since the courtyard was relatively small, everyone had to bunk together. Li Shi shared the East Room with Qing Yun, while Wang Ying and Chen Qingyan slept in the West Room with Yuanbao.

Fang Ling and Chen Qinghuai stayed in the three rooms of the West Wing, while Liang Boqing shared the three rooms of the East Wing with Qing Song.

The servants all stayed in the front rooms, and the martial arts masters who had accompanied them were arranged to rest at an inn. After such a long and arduous journey, it was time for everyone to rest properly.

Chen Qingyan passed out right after bathing. Yuanbao hovered around him, wanting his father to hold him, but Wang Ying pulled him aside. "Shh, don’t bother your father. He’s exhausted from the journey—let him sleep first."

Yuanbao pouted pitifully. "But Papa said when Daddy comes back, he would play with me."

"He’ll play with you tomorrow."

"Alright then, I’ll go play with Aunt." The little one was quite obedient and trotted off to the East Room to find his grandmother and aunt.

Wang Ying sat by the bed, towel-drying his damp hair, then leaned down to kiss his forehead. Having his loved one by his side put his heart at ease.

In the East Room, Li Shi and Fang Ling were altering clothes. Qing Song and Qing Huai had both grown taller over the year, and the new clothes made for them no longer fit properly. Taking advantage of the free time, they hurried to adjust the clothes so the boys could wear them for the New Year.

Both women looked perfectly content, having their children nearby, and their tones were much lighter as they spoke.

"After the New Year, Qing Huai will be eighteen. Has his marriage been settled?"

Fang Ling nodded. "We’ve already discussed a match—a girl from the Bai family in Laizhou named Bai Yuqiu. She’s the same age as Qing Yun. Her father, Bai An, was classmates with my husband, and they arranged the marriage many years ago. We’ve kept in touch by letter over the years. We plan to officially arrange the marriage after Qing Huai finishes the imperial exams."

The Bai family was also a family of scholars, and Bai An had ranked first in the second class of the imperial exams that year.

However, due to his reserved nature and aversion to bureaucratic politics, he returned to his hometown in Laizhou and opened an academy. Years earlier, Chen Jing had considered sending his son to study with him.

But later, he met Liang Boqing, whose temperament suited him better, and coincidentally, his son also took to Old Liang, so he had his son become Old Liang’s disciple.

After discussing Qing Huai’s marriage, the topic naturally turned to Qing Yun. Boys could manage however they pleased—even after marrying, they could still stay by their parents’ side. But it was different for girls. If they married far away, they might not be able to return to their maternal home for years. The thought made Li Shi’s heart ache.

"Qing Yun’s marriage hasn’t been settled yet. We originally planned to find a good family for her in town, but then the flood happened, and almost everyone in town died. Now that we’re in the prefectural city, where we don’t know anyone, it’s even harder to find a suitable match for her."

Fang Ling patted her reassuringly. "Don’t worry. Now that Qing Yan and Qing Song are back, once they pass the county exam next year and gain some recognition, matchmakers will surely come knocking."

"I hope so… I don’t dare hope for too much. I just pray she doesn’t marry too far away, so we can see her often."

Chen Qingyun, who was playing with Yuanbao, felt a pang of sadness upon hearing this. She buried herself in Li Shi’s arms and said, "Mother, I don’t want to marry."

"Silly girl, all girls have to marry someday."

"I just won’t! I want to stay with you forever."

Yuanbao joined in, tugging at Li Shi’s sleeve. "Don’t let Auntie marry! I want her to stay home and play with me."

Fang Ling burst out laughing at Yuanbao’s words and tapped his little nose. "Do you even know what getting married means?"

"I do! It means going to live in someone else’s house."

These words struck a chord with both Li Shi and Fang Ling. Indeed, once married, one lives in another’s home, and returning to one’s maternal home makes one a guest.

"Let’s not talk about this anymore. They’ll probably be hungry when they wake up. Qing Yun, go ask your sister-in-law whether we’re eating at home or going out tonight."

"Alright." Chen Qingyun picked up Yuanbao and went to find Wang Ying.

Wang Ying was instructing the servants on storing the belongings. The items Old Liang had brought from Yangzhou were extremely valuable—there were eight bolts of brocade alone. This fabric was not only expensive but also difficult for ordinary people to obtain.

It was likely among the earliest forms of luxury items. It was said that a weaver could only produce one bolt of brocade a year, and if a single pattern was woven incorrectly, the entire bolt would be ruined.

The patterns on the brocade were exquisitely intricate, reflecting different colors and designs depending on the light at various times of the day. The head of Yang's Trading Company owned a garment made of such brocade. Though he often wore it, he guarded it jealously, having his servants carefully maintain and press it after each wear.

It was unclear why Old Liang had brought so much brocade. Worried that mice might damage it in the storeroom, Wang Ying had it wrapped and hung from the beams.

In addition to the fabric, Old Liang had also brought several boxes of high-quality medicinal herbs. Storing these was another challenge. Wang Ying could have stored them directly in the experimental field, but he was concerned it might inconvenience Old Liang if he needed them urgently.

"Never mind, let’s put this box in the storeroom for now. I’ll ask Old Liang what to do with it after he wakes up."

After locking the storeroom, Wang Ying returned to the main room and found Qing Yun waiting with Yuanbao.

"Sister-in-law, Mother asked me to check whether we’re eating out or at home tonight."

"Let’s eat at home. They’ve had a long journey and must be exhausted. They can rest again after dinner."

"Alright, I’ll go to the kitchen and ask Aunt Chen to prepare the meal."

Wang Ying said, "I’ll go. I need to buy a few other things while I’m out."

"Papa, I want to come too."

"No, it’s too cold outside. Stay here and play with your aunt and uncles. Help Papa take care of Daddy, okay? Otherwise, he’ll be sad if he wakes up and can’t find us."

Yuanbao immediately put on a serious expression and nodded earnestly. "Okay, Yuanbao will take good care of Daddy!"

Wang Ying chuckled at his earnest little face, ruffled his hair, then threw on his cloak and headed out with Uncle Chen to run errands.

Old Liang and Qing Yan love *shuanrou* (hot pot meat), while Qing Song and Qing Huai prefer barbecued meat. Wang Ying planned to buy a live lamb to be slaughtered on the spot, intending to use half for hot pot and half for grilling in the evening.

Arriving at the butcher shop, he discussed with the owner and purchased a large, fatty lamb weighing over sixty *catties*, waiting for it to be slaughtered on the spot.

The owner and his son took less than half an hour to slaughter the lamb and portion it into legs, ribs, offal, and hide.

Wang Ying had no use for the lamb hide, so he traded it for a discount of eighty *wen* with the owner. The remaining cost totaled over two *guan* and four hundred *wen*. He loaded the meat onto the cart and headed back.

Living in the prefectural city offered such convenience—anything one needed could be bought at any time. Wang Ying then had Uncle Chen drive the cart to a seasoning shop to buy some ground pepper and cumin for the evening barbecue.

Back home, while the meat was slightly frozen, he had Aunt Chen slice it thinly. Ten *jin* of lamb hindquarter yielded five large plates of meat slices.

Wang Ying also brought out plenty of vegetables for the hot pot from the experimental field: only the hearts of baby bok choy, radish cut into strips, along with fresh spinach and cilantro.

The meat for grilling was marinated in advance. The lamb leg was scored with cross-cuts, coated with a pre-mixed sauce, wrapped in oiled paper, and left in a basin for several hours to absorb the flavors.

For the staple, he prepared noodles in soup. In Wang Ying’s hometown in his previous life, there was a saying: "Dumplings for departure, noodles for return," both meant to bring good luck.

Whenever he returned from school back then, his grandparents would prepare a large bowl of noodles for him. A bowl of steaming noodles would warm his stomach and wash away all his fatigue.

The meal was prepared, and they waited until nightfall when everyone gradually woke up.

Chen Qingyan sat on the bed, confused by the unfamiliar room, unsure of the time. It was only when he heard his son’s voice outside the door that he came to his senses and quickly got up to open the door.

"Dad!"

"Yuanbao~" Chen Qingyan lifted his son onto his shoulders, both beaming with joy.

"Where’s your father?"

"Father is outside starting the charcoal. He said we’ll grill meat soon!" Yuanbao had been eagerly waiting, but it was too cold outside, and Mu Tou and Chun Sheng held him back from going out.

Chen Qingyan had long heard about these two children but was meeting them for the first time. "Which of you is Chun Sheng, and which is Mu Tou?"

"I am Chun Sheng, and he is Mu Tou."

Chen Qingyan nodded. "Take good care of Yuanbao. I’ll go out and take a look."

"Yes."

Chen Qingyan set his son down and booped his little nose. "Dad will be back soon."

"Mm."

Outside, Wang Ying and Uncle Chen were lighting the charcoal. In their earlier rush, they had forgotten to buy charcoal, so they sent Chen Fang to look for some. But it was too late, and the charcoal sellers had already closed for the day, leaving them no choice but to make their own.

Fortunately, they didn’t need much, and soon they had produced a small basketful.

Seeing Chen Qingyan come out, Wang Ying asked, "Awake now?"

"Yes, I still feel like I’m swaying as if on a carriage."

Wang Ying laughed. "It’ll take a few days to adjust. You must be hungry—dinner will be ready soon."

Before long, the lights came on in the east and west wings as the others gradually woke.

Wang Ying had the servants set up a large round table and invited Old Liang to take the seat of honor.

Liang Boqing didn’t decline. Looking at the spread of hot pot ingredients, he grinned from ear to ear.

The old man had no other indulgences but was quite particular about food. He had been craving this for a long time. Although Yangzhou also had meat hot pot, the preparation and flavor were different from Wang Ying’s. Now, he could finally enjoy an authentic style hot pot.

Fresh slices of meat were placed in the pot, turning white in just a few seconds in the boiling broth. Dipped in the pre-mixed sesame sauce, each bite was so delicious it was staggering.

"How does Wang Ying always manage to make food so delicious?" Liang Boqing praised, not wasting any time as he immediately started cooking the next piece of meat.

Outside, Uncle Chen and Chen Fang were grilling the lamb ribs and leg. The lamb, marinated all afternoon, had absorbed the flavors thoroughly. Grilled over charcoal, it sizzled and dripped with oil, its aroma wafting enticingly.

The children all loved grilled meat and, drawn by the aroma, lingered by the door, unable to tear themselves away.

Soon, the lamb was ready. Uncle Chen brought in a large plate of grilled meat, cutting it into bite-sized pieces. Everyone eagerly helped themselves.

The grilled lamb was even more flavorful. Wang Ying also brought out fresh scallions and garlic to cut the richness. Everyone ate with relish, their mouths glistening with oil—a joy no amount of money could buy.