Chapter 91 Mountain Home Hearth 91

Chapter 91: Hearth and Home 91

In June, the farming holiday ended, and Qin Rongshi returned to Luming Academy.

He arrived a day early to tidy up his dormitory, which had been vacant for a month. Having arranged to meet Li Anyuan beforehand, the two returned to the academy together.

After cleaning their rooms, they headed to Jinshi Lane to buy paper and ink. There, they coincidentally ran into Xie Baozhu, who was on his way out for a meal.

Xie Baozhu had only spent half of the month-long break at home. Unable to endure his parents' incessant nagging, he fled back to Fushui Town overnight with his book servant.

He rented a small courtyard in Jinshi Lane, attended by his book servant and other servants, free from the constraints of elders. For half a month, he lived without a care, indulging until he grew restless.

"Hey, Rongshi, Yuan Yuan! You're back at the academy so early?"

With sharp eyes, he spotted the two and immediately called out to them.

Qin Rongshi and Li Anyuan stopped. Li Anyuan even bowed politely to Xie Baozhu, saying courteously, "Hello, Classmate Xie. Qin Rongshi and I just returned to the academy today. We were just coming out of the bookstore—what a coincidence to run into you here."

Xie Baozhu pressed down Li Anyuan’s hands, which were still in a bowing gesture, and slung an arm around his neck, pulling him off-balance.

He grumbled unhappily, "Li Yuan Yuan, you're no fun! It's only been about ten days since we last met. Why are you so distant again?"

Then, he craned his neck to see what Li Anyuan was holding—a new brush, a stack of white paper, and two inksticks.

Buying paper and ink was understandable, as they were consumables that had to be replaced when used up. But Li Anyuan was such a miser that he would use a brush until the bristles wore down before even considering replacing it!

Xie Baozhu exclaimed in surprise, "Hey! You bought a brush! What? Did you strike it rich in just ten days?"

Li Anyuan scratched his head and said sheepishly, "My old brush was too worn. The master said using it for too long would affect my handwriting practice, so I bit the bullet and bought a new one."

Xie Baozhu patted him on the shoulder and said, "I told you to replace it long ago! I even offered to give you two weasel-hair brushes I wasn't using, but you refused!"

Li Anyuan had seen those brushes—made with ox horn handles and weasel-hair bristles, they looked expensive. Xie Baozhu was willing to give them away, but Li Anyuan couldn't bring himself to accept such generosity.

Xie Baozhu knew his temperament well and sighed without pressing further. Instead, he reached out with his other hand to try and grab Qin Rongshi’s neck.

Unfortunately, Qin Rongshi, seeing it coming, swiftly dodged.

"Hey, Qin Rongshi, what's with you? Are you being distant too?"

Qin Rongshi took a step back, frowned, and said, "It's too hot."

Meaning—don't touch me.

After a pause, he added, "What have you been up to? You reek of sweat."

He didn't outright say "stinky sweat," which was already a concession out of their remaining camaraderie.

Clearly, he wasn't being distant—if anything, he was being bolder.

Xie Baozhu liked that; it made their interactions more comfortable.

He raised an eyebrow, lifted his arm, and sniffed it. "I was just playing *cuju* in the courtyard with Feicui… Do I really smell? No way! Yuan Yuan, smell this! Go on, smell it!"

Li Anyuan leaned back, desperately trying to avoid him, his face twisted in distress. "Aiya! Classmate Xie! Classmate Xie!"

After some laughter and teasing, Xie Baozhu ordered Feicui to take the writing supplies Qin Rongshi and Li Anyuan had bought back home. Then, he pulled the two along and said, "Perfect timing—it's mealtime! Classes don't start until tomorrow, so the academy dining hall probably isn't open today. Come on, I'll treat you to a meal!"

With that, he dragged them out of Jinshi Lane, cutting through two streets before entering a small, inconspicuous restaurant.

The place was indeed small, simply decorated with only four tables. If all four were full, it would be cramped and stuffy.

But today wasn't a market day, so only one table of customers was finishing their meal.

The restaurant was run by a couple—the husband handled money and accounts, while the wife managed the kitchen.

Xie Baozhu pushed them inside, saying as he walked, "Don't judge it by its size. This couple are refugees from Tanzhou. The husband makes an amazing young ginger braised duck—it's delicious! This is the only place in Fushui Town where you can get it!"

Xie Baozhu was a free-spending young master who often treated others, but he usually took them to fancy restaurants. The food might be average, but the ambiance was comfortable, and the prices were certainly high.

He knew those people flattered him just to mooch off his generosity and enjoy free meals.

He was aware, but he liked the feeling of being surrounded by admirers.

Lately, though, Xie Baozhu had been spending less time with his old hangers-on. No particular reason—he just found it dull. Money couldn't buy true friends.

Spending time with Qin Rongshi and Li Anyuan was more fun. Qin Rongshi was a bit reserved, and Li Anyuan was bashful, but teasing them was entertaining!

They sat down at a table, and the restaurant owner immediately came over, asking warmly, "What would you like to eat, guests?"

Xie Baozhu, clearly a regular, said right away, "One young ginger braised duck, one pickled cabbage with pork, one egg pan-fried tofu, one stir-fried greens, one mixed bean vegetable soup, and one more—"

He was about to order more, but Li Anyuan stopped him, hurriedly saying, "That's enough! The three of us can't eat that much!"

Even Qin Rongshi nodded and said, "Five dishes already—we might not even finish them. It's plenty."

Hearing this from both, Xie Baozhu reluctantly nodded to the owner and sent him to the kitchen.

Afterward, he crossed his arms and grumbled, "Whenever I treat others, they always beg me to order more. No one ever says 'enough.'"

Li Anyuan withdrew his hand, picked up the teapot to pour tea, and said, "Well, it's not their money, so they don't care. They're just using you!"

Xie Baozhu couldn't resist teasing again, grinning mischievously. "What? Yuan Yuan, are you feeling bad about my money?"

Li Anyuan was sensitive and often blushed at the slightest remark. If pushed too far, he'd get flustered and refuse to engage. But Xie Baozhu found it amusing and couldn't help teasing him.

To his surprise, Li Anyuan looked serious this time and said solemnly, "Everyone's money is hard-earned! Your money comes from your parents' hard work—it doesn't grow on trees."

Even as a miser, Li Anyuan cared about others’ wealth too.

Xie Baozhu was stunned—he'd never heard anything like it before. He stared at Li Anyuan in a daze.

Qin Rongshi, sitting across from them, took a sip of tea and nodded. "Brother Anyuan makes a good point."

Xie Baozhu kept staring at Li Anyuan. Earlier, when teased, Li Anyuan hadn't blushed, but now, under Xie Baozhu's steady stare, his face turned red.

Soon, the aromatic dishes arrived one after another, covering every inch of the small table.

Xie Baozhu remembered that Li Anyuan, who pinched every penny, had bought a new brush and couldn't help asking again, "Yuan Yuan, did you find a good side hustle lately?"

Hearing this, Li Anyuan quickly put down his chopsticks and stood up to bow to Qin Rongshi.

He said earnestly, "I need to ask Qin Rongshi to pass on my thanks to Boss Liu for me!"

At the key words, Qin Rongshi immediately set down his chopsticks and looked up at Li Anyuan.

Xie Baozhu also looked over curiously and asked, "What does this have to do with Boss Liu?"

Li Anyuan continued, "My family has many people, so they didn't really need my help with farm work. I set up a stall in town selling calligraphy and paintings. Business was slow at first, but one market day, I ran into Boss Liu. He taught me…"

Liu Guyu taught him how to paint portraits.

In ancient times, there were no cameras, so people couldn't take group photos to capture memories. That's why Liu Guyu suggested he paint portraits for customers in town—individual portraits or family portraits, charging by the head.

There weren't many people in town who appreciated calligraphy and paintings, so his stall wasn't doing well.

But after Liu Guyu’s suggestion, Li Anyuan really started painting portraits the next day, and business slowly improved.

Newlywed couples still in the honeymoon phase came for couple portraits; families with elderly members fearing their time was limited wanted family portraits as keepsakes; others sought portraits to mark the arrival of a new child.

He charged twenty coins per person. If he painted one family portrait a day, he could earn over a hundred coins!

There were many merchants in town who didn't understand or care for calligraphy and paintings, but they were willing to pay for portraits to preserve happy family memories. Some wealthy families even invited Li Anyuan into their homes to paint.

In just one month, Li Anyuan had saved up a good sum. He gave half to his mother for household expenses and brought the other half to the academy for his expenses.

Xie Baozhu was happy for him too and laughed, saying, “Boss Liu sure has a lot of clever ideas!”

Li Anyuan also nodded in agreement. “Yes, yes, this was all thanks to Boss Liu. I really should thank him properly.”

Hearing the two praise Liu Guyu, Qin Rongshi was also pleased and broke into a smile.

The three happily finished their meal. Qin Rongshi and Li Anyuan then went back to Xie Baozhu’s courtyard to collect the ink, brushes, and paper they had bought that day before returning to the academy.

The next day, classes started again, and all students returned to the academy.

Qin Rongshi and Li Anyuan went together to the study hall and, just as they entered, ran into Xu Xing.

Xu Xing looked at Qin Rongshi with a displeased look and suddenly mumbled, “Qin Rongshi, I’ll definitely score higher than you on this quiz!”

Taken aback by Xu Xing’s sudden provocation, Qin Rongshi frowned and didn’t respond, while Li Anyuan gaped in surprise.

Xie Baozhu, who’d made an unusually early arrival at the study hall, immediately noticed the tense atmosphere among them and quickly stood up, asking, “What are you all talking about?!”

Though he said “you all,” his eyes were fixed directly on Xu Xing.

Li Anyuan’s mouth moved faster than his brain, and he said without thinking, “Classmate Xu said he’ll definitely score higher than Classmate Qin on the quiz.”

Xu Xing had whispered those words and never expected Li Anyuan to blurt it out to the other students in the study hall. He turned to see everyone staring at him, some even whispering among themselves.

While others only gossiped quietly, Xie Baozhu let out a loud, openly mocking laugh.

Doubling over with laughter, he pointed at Xu Xing and taunted, “Xu Xing! How can you have the nerve to say something like that?”

“How old are you? How old is Qin Rongshi? How long have you been studying? How long has he been studying? Even if you beat him, what’s there to be proud of?”

“A seventeen-year-old scholar challenging a fourteen-year-old? Winning by a slight edge? Oh wow, that’s impressive! Should I throw a couple of banquets for you?!”

At first, only Xie Baozhu was laughing, but after his words, others couldn’t help but cover their mouths and chuckle.

Feeling humiliated, Xu Xing glared angrily at Xie Baozhu and shouted, “Sixteen! I’m not even seventeen yet!”

“What’s going on? What’s going on? Why is everyone blocking the doorway?”

It was Master Qian speaking. He walked into the study hall carrying books and, noticing a crowd at the entrance, couldn’t help but ask.

Being laughed at by classmates was one thing, but he didn’t want this to reach the teacher. Xu Xing swallowed his pride, bowed to Master Qian, and hurried to his seat.

Qin Rongshi and Li Anyuan also bowed to Master Qian before returning to their seats.

Master Qian nodded, stroking his beard, entered the study hall, and said from the front:

“The agricultural break is over. As per tradition, there will be a test before classes resume to test whether you’ve neglected your studies during this time. The test begins tomorrow. Prepare well.”

The room echoed with agreement, but Xu Xing quietly exchanged glances with a thin, gaunt student sitting nearby, as if scheming something mischievous.

No one noticed. Everyone hurriedly opened their books and began cramming last minute.

For a while, the study hall was filled with the sounds of pages turning and brushes scratching.