Chapter 72 Mountain Home Hearth 72

Chapter 72: A Mountain Family's Hearth and Home 72

After moving dormitories and no longer having to share a room with the irritating Xu Xing, even Qin Rongshi felt a significant weight lifted, no longer needing to feign smiles constantly.

Though Li Anyuan burned the midnight oil every night—copying books, writing letters, then studying and completing assignments from his tutor—he practically wished he could split himself in two to get everything done.

He even volunteered to fetch meals and carry Qin Rongshi’s book bag, showcasing the epitome of a helpful classmate.

Of course, Li Anyuan never forgot his grand money-making scheme, repeatedly emphasizing to Qin Rongshi: “Classmate Qin, your injury hasn’t healed yet, so I’m fetching your meals for free during this time!”

The implication was clear: once your foot is better, if you want me to fetch your meals again, you’ll have to pay!

Classmates are classmates, friends are friends, but business is business—each to its own!

Qin Rongshi had never met anyone more obsessed with money than Liu Guyu, and he found it quite amusing.

After that, Xie Baozhu rarely went out with his usual crowd for fun. Instead, he started frequenting Li Anyuan’s dormitory with increasing regularity.

“Qin Rongshi! Your brother-in-law is a genius! How does his mind work? How can he make such delicious things!”

It was already past dinnertime. Xie Baozhu had earlier instructed his bookboy to buy food from Liu Guyu’s stall and wait at the academy gate after classes ended.

The bookboy couldn’t enter the academy, so he dutifully waited at the foot of the mountain, his hands laden with food from the stall. He also carried a small bundle on his chest, inside which a young cat was nestled.

The cat, smelling the food, refused to sleep and meowed as it climbed out of the bundle, scaling Feicui’s arm to reach his hands.

Feicui’s hands were completely occupied, leaving no third hand to deal with the kitten. He could only hop from foot to foot anxiously: “Aiya! Mountain King! Mountain King! You can’t eat that!”

But the Cat King paid no heed, huffing and puffing as it climbed toward his hands, opening its mouth to bite the oil-paper bag containing the hot grilled sausage.

Just as it was about to take a bite, a large hand suddenly appeared from nowhere, grabbing the scruff of the cat’s neck.

“Hey, you’ve got some nerve! Daring to steal my food!”

He lifted the kitten, making it kick its legs and meow in protest, its round eyes fixed intently on the suddenly appearing Xie Baozhu.

Feicui’s shoulders slumped immediately, and he exclaimed dramatically, “Young master! You’re finally here!”

*If you hadn’t come, I might’ve given in and eaten it myself!* Feicui muttered inwardly.

Xie Baozhu said nothing more, placing the kitten on his shoulder and carrying the food as he headed into the academy. Before leaving, he tossed a coin purse to Feicui.

“Look at you, drooling over food. Fine, go get yourself something to eat! Don’t say I never treat you!”

With that, he returned to the academy with the cat and the food, heading straight to Qin Rongshi and Li Anyuan’s dormitory.

Feicui pouted behind him, muttering, “It’s this late already—Boss Liu has already packed up his stall! But…”

At this, Feicui jiggled the money pouch in his hand and broke into a smile.

“Hey, this is enough for me to eat out! Perfect timing—the young master isn’t around, and I don’t have to take care of the cat. I’ll go enjoy a good meal!”

Xie Baozhu had no idea what his bookboy was thinking. He burst into the dormitory, calling out before even stepping inside.

“Qin Rongshi! Your brother-in-law is a genius! How does his mind work? How can he make such delicious things!”

Li Anyuan had already brought back their meals. Today, the kitchen had steamed perch, along with stir-fried baby bok choy and soy-braised tofu.

The two had already started eating, but Qin Rongshi immediately stopped and turned his head upon hearing the key phrase.

Xie Baozhu, being a glutton himself, assumed others were the same. Seeing Qin Rongshi look over, he chuckled and said, “Hey! The moment your brother-in-law’s cooking is mentioned, you turn around right away! Qin Rongshi, you’re craving it too, aren’t you!”

Xie Baozhu was naturally outgoing, and now that he was familiar with Qin Rongshi and Li Anyuan, he no longer used formal addresses like “Classmate Qin” or “Classmate Li.” Instead, he called them by their names directly.

He had even given Li Anyuan a nickname: “Yuan Yuan.”

It was a homophone for “Yuan” and sounded like a girl’s pet name.

Xie Baozhu often said that Li Anyuan was clever, skillful, reliable, and dependable—if he were a girl, matchmakers would’ve worn out the threshold of his house with marriage proposals.

The name “Yuan Yuan” suited him.

He had considered giving Qin Rongshi a nickname too, but whenever he faced Qin Rongshi’s cold, expressionless face, he couldn’t bring himself to utter any of the hundred nicknames he had in mind.

Xie Baozhu first placed all the food he was carrying on the table, then lifted the obediently perched kitten from his shoulder and set it down as well.

After that, he craned his neck to look at their meals. When he saw the soy-braised tofu, he grinned and said, “Qin Rongshi, your brother-in-law was selling tofu today too—something called ‘sizzling tofu.’ It smells amazing! You should try it!”

Xie Baozhu lived in Scholar's Alley, where there was a middle-aged cook, a cleaning woman, and his bookboy Feicui, who had served him since childhood.

Feicui had brought food prepared at home, packed in a lunchbox, as well as food bought from the Liu Family Food Stall: sizzling tofu, grilled sausage, and crispy potato bites—all perfect with rice.

Without ceremony, Xie Baozhu laid out the food and invited Qin Rongshi and Li Anyuan to eat together.

He added, “Did the academy kitchen steam fish today? Hehe, how about sharing some with my Mountain King? He’s grown a bit and can eat meat now!”

Li Anyuan, his mouth full of rice, nodded vigorously while picking out some fish meat onto a piece of oiled paper.

Qin Rongshi didn’t say anything but also picked out a couple bites of fish, carefully removing the bones.

The kitten, smelling the food, meowed and crawled over, burying its face in the meal happily.

Outside, Qin Rongshi acted like the proper scholar he was, observing the no-talking-during-meals rule. Only after finishing did he wipe his mouth and ask, “Classmate Xie, how was business at my brother-in-law’s stall today?”

The sizzling tofu and potato bites in the oil-paper package were already finished. Xie Baozhu picked at the leftover pickled radish with a bamboo skewer and replied, “You’re worried about that? Your brother-in-law’s stall has the best business on the entire street!”

After answering, he paused and tilted his head to look at Qin Rongshi’s foot.

His ankle was still severely swollen and red, looking even worse than on the first day. He needed medicated oil applied morning and night.

Xie Baozhu suddenly said, “The break is in a few days. What are you going to do in this condition?”

Qin Rongshi frowned at this, thinking for a moment before replying, “My mother is in poor health, and my younger sister is still young. My brother-in-law is usually very busy. If I go back, I’ll only be a burden and make them worry.”

He seemed to have completely forgotten that he and Qin Banban were twins of the same age.

Xie Baozhu: “So what’s your plan?”

Qin Rongshi turned slightly and, still seated, raised his hands in a gesture of respect toward Xie Baozhu, saying, “Next market day, could you please pass a message to my brother-in-law for me? Tell him… tell him that with the minor exams approaching, I need to study at the academy and won’t be returning home this break.”

Xie Baozhu nodded in agreement but grumbled unhappily, “Just say what you need to say—no need for formalities! Qin Rongshi, you’re just too proper! You’ll definitely be more rigid than Master Qian when you’re old! A little stickler now, an old stickler later!”

For some reason, this remark inexplicably amused Qin Rongshi, who burst into laughter.

Xie Baozhu “tsk-ed,” secretly thinking Qin Rongshi was a bit odd.

“Yuan Yuan, does your offer to tutor me still stand? I’ll pay!”

“Hah, the minor exam is at the end of the month, and it just so happens that my dad will be in Fushui Town to check the accounts then. If he finds out I ranked last again, he’ll definitely thrash me with a big stick!”

As he spoke, he shook his head and turned around, spearing a pickled radish with a bamboo skewer. But when he looked into the oiled paper, he found that not a single bit of the side dish was left—Li Anyuan had scraped everything into his own bowl.

The pickled radish bits, coated in garlic-chili oil and mixed with scallions, coriander, and fish mint, were really quite a good side for rice. At the very least, Li Anyuan ate with gusto, his cheeks bulging and his mouth glistening with red oil.

Xie Baozhu: “Li Anyuan, were you a starving ghost in your past life?!”

Li Anyuan was no starving ghost.

He was just used to being frugal. Seeing that Xie Baozhu and Qin Rongshi had stopped eating, he finished off the last scraps of food, leaving the bowls and plates cleaner than his own face.

He blinked and tilted his head, looking puzzled as he let out a confused “Huh?” at Xie Baozhu.

Xie Baozhu: “…Never mind, just keep eating. Who could out-eat you anyway?”

Li Anyuan fell silent and went back to devouring his rice.

*

Soon, the day of the break arrived. Xie Baozhu had indeed passed on the message as Qin Rongshi requested. Liu Guyu didn’t suspect a thing, since Qin Rongshi had always maintained the image of a top student in his eyes.

But Cui Lanfang sighed deeply at home.

Qin Rongshi only came home once every ten days, and with this break canceled, it meant they wouldn’t see him for over half a month.

The worried mother fretted all day, muttering to herself in the house.

“I even made a new pair of shoes for Erlang, hoping he could try them on when he came home for the break.”

“Sigh, exams are important, but he shouldn’t overwork himself because of them… Health comes first. He can’t forget to eat or sleep just because he’s studying.”

“I wonder if he’s lost weight or gained any? Has he grown taller? It’s strange—I just can’t shake this uneasy feeling!”

…

Perhaps it was the bond between mother and son, but as the break drew nearer, Cui Lanfang grew increasingly restless, convinced that something bad had happened. Her anxiety mounted.

To reassure her, Liu Guyu said, “Mom, don’t worry. Erlang has always been reliable—he can take care of himself. If it’ll ease your mind, I’ll go to the academy to check on him tomorrow!”

Normally, Luming Academy didn’t allow anyone other than students and teachers to enter, but during breaks, family members were permitted to visit.

Liu Guyu happened to have the day off from his stall. He packed the shoes Cui Lanfang had made, the pouch Qin Banban had recently learned to sew, along with his own homemade mushroom meat sauce and mulberry sesame candy, and headed to Luming Academy.

The mushrooms had been gathered by Banban from Xiaoliu Mountain. There weren’t many, just enough for the family, but he packed two jars to bring to the academy, thinking it would make a good side dish.

Although Qin Rongshi always claimed the academy’s food was tasty, Liu Guyu, having experienced cafeteria food in his previous life, knew that even the best meals could grow tiresome over time. An extra dish would surely be welcome.

He set out after breakfast, and by the time he reached Luming Academy, the sun was already shining warmly on his skin.

The academy was built on a mountainside, accessible only by climbing a long stone staircase.

Carrying his belongings and trudging uphill, Liu Guyu felt his legs weaken and his shoulders ache by the time he reached the top. A light sweat had broken out on his skin.

Just as he was about to continue forward, he overheard voices coming from a nearby bamboo grove. Liu Guyu hadn’t intended to eavesdrop, but the moment he lifted his foot, he heard Qin Rongshi’s name mentioned.

Liu Guyu: “???”

He immediately stopped in his tracks and listened carefully.

“Xu Xing, this is all Qin Rongshi’s fault—he made you lose face like that! I’ve figured it out now: the headmaster is biased toward him! He thinks just because Qin Rongshi became a Student Scholar at ten, he’s got a bright future!”

“Exactly! It wasn’t even a big deal! He just sprained his ankle, and the doctor said it wasn’t serious!”

“Xu Xing is supposed to take the imperial exam this year, but here he is, copying the ‘Four Prohibitions Wall’—what a waste of time! I think the headmaster has lost his mind!”

At this, Xu Xing finally turned around with feigned seriousness, putting on a stern face as he said, “Be careful with your words. We must not disrespect the headmaster.”

He then let out a long sigh and continued, “Fellow students, please say no more. This time, it was my fault. The headmaster punished me, and I accept it. Please don’t let this cause any rift between you and Qin Rongshi!”

In his left hand, he held an inkstone; in his right, a brush, as he copied the inscriptions on the Four Prohibitions Wall.

He would speak a sentence, turn back to copy a few characters, then turn around again to add, “Besides, the teacher said I’ve been too restless lately and advised me to take the exam next year instead.”

A thin, gaunt scholar stepped forward and said quietly, “Taking the exam next year is fine too! With Xu Xing’s talent, he’s sure to rank high! Once he becomes a scholar and earns his title, he’ll be in a completely different league from those who only have empty reputations as ‘child prodigies’!”

This was Zhao Youzhi, Xu Xing’s loyal follower. The two were closer than the other students.

Zhao Youzhi had excellent penmanship and was skilled at imitation. He had even helped other students copy assignments for a fee, until the teacher found out and scolded him for engaging in dishonest practices.

Hearing Zhao Youzhi’s words, others quickly chimed in:

“Right, right! What ‘child prodigy’? Who knows if he’ll end up like Zhong Yong—all promise but no fulfillment?”

“Maybe he just got lucky to pass the Student Scholar exam and win the headmaster’s favor.”

Xu Xing hid a smirk as he turned back to his copying. Though pleased, he pretended to be modest, saying, “Ah, you flatter me. It’s only because my fellow students think highly of me.”

Liu Guyu listened to the entire exchange, his brow furrowed tightly.

Even without knowing the full story, Liu Guyu could guess that Qin Rongshi’s decision not to return home during the break had nothing to do with preparing for the monthly exam. Instead, he was hiding an injury from his family.

That brat! How dare he lie!

Liu Guyu’s face darkened. Clutching his bamboo basket, he stormed into the academy with determined steps.