Chapter 115 City Streets 15

Chapter 115: Prefectural City Life 15

The house was secured, but now they wanted a shop too.

Liu Guyu discussed this with Ding Fangya and spent another two days looking around. Who would have thought finding a shop would be much harder than finding a house? After viewing several, none felt quite right.

He left word with Ding Fangya, asking him to keep an eye out. If any suitable shops became available for rent, he could find them at their new house on Heyan Street, as the family expected to move in about a month later.

This was good news and good business. Although these clients were somewhat particular, they paid promptly and never brushed people off with vague promises like, "Alright, I'll think it over and get back to you."

The agent was delighted and readily agreed.

With the house purchased, they weren’t in a hurry to return to Fushui Town. Instead, they first tidied up the new courtyard and rooms, hiring people to fix everything that needed repair.

The roof was completely redone with new tiles. Doors and windows were repaired as needed. The grape trellis was thoroughly scrubbed and coated with anti-mold paint. They even built a new mule shed for Cuihua, just like the one at their old home.

Everything that could be repaired was fixed, and anything unnecessary was discarded. Then, they cleared the overgrown weeds, rubble, and swept away the wood scraps.

"Ah!"

It was Qin Banban’s surprised cry, but she didn’t sound scared—more surprised and delighted.

Liu Guyu hurried out of the room, shaking off a dust cloth as he asked, "What? What happened?"

Qin Banban was holding onto the cherry tree, looking up intently at the dense branches above.

"Brother Liu, come quick! Look! There’s a cat!"

Liu Guyu quickly walked over and followed Qin Banban’s gaze. Sure enough, nestled among the lush green leaves and red fruit was a cat.

It was a long-haired calico. Its fur was matted into clumps and somewhat dirty, its colorful coat dulled, but it was still clearly a very beautiful large cat.

It crouched on a branch, the afternoon sunlight filtering through the sparse leaves and falling on its body, illuminating its round, glass-like eyes. A vertical slit gleamed in its pupils as it watched the two humans warily.

A fluffy, beautiful cat—what girl wouldn’t adore it?

Qin Banban grew more and more enamored. She quickly said, "There’s some leftover meat jerky from yesterday. I’ll go get some for it!"

The young girl ran off happily, nearly bumping into Cui Lanfang, who was just coming out.

"What’s this girl up to, rushing around like that?" Cui Lanfang muttered, watching Qin Banban’s retreating figure. Before long, she came running back, holding a chipped clay dish with a few pieces of meat jerky.

But when she came out, the cat was gone. She quickly looked at Liu Guyu.

Liu Guyu pointed toward the tall cherry branch stretching toward the roof. "It ran off! Just now—it leaped onto the roof in a flash and disappeared over the other side! Really fast!"

Qin Banban was disappointed, pouting at the meat jerky on the dish.

Liu Guyu added, "This house has been empty for a year. It’s normal for a cat to be here—might even be the original resident! No rush, we’ll probably see it again."

That seemed right. Qin Banban nodded and placed the clay dish on the ground, saying, "Then I’ll leave this here. Maybe it’ll come back sometime."

After leaving food for the cat, they went back inside to continue cleaning. By the time the sun slanted westward, they had roughly tidied up, though it wouldn’t stand up to close inspection. They’d need another thorough cleaning the next day.

Just then, Qin Rongshi returned.

He wasn’t alone—several burly men followed behind him, carrying brand-new tables, chairs, stools, cupboards, wardrobes, and other wooden furniture into the house.

Agents were well-informed and well-connected. Liu Guyu had asked Ding Fangya which carpenter in the prefectural city offered good craftsmanship at fair prices, and he immediately recommended a woodworking shop.

They needed new tables, chairs, stools, cabinets, beds, and more. Liu Guyu and Qin Rongshi went straight to that shop and placed their order.

A full set of furniture was a big order. The old carpenter was overjoyed, grinning from ear to ear, and quickly set his apprentices to work.

In less than ten days, most of the furniture was delivered—only the four beds were left.

"Ah! So soon? Please come in, bring them inside! Sorry for the trouble!"

Cui Lanfang hurried out to greet them, her face beaming with smiles.

She first thanked the men, then turned to Qin Rongshi, who had just entered. She smiled at him and said, "Erlang, take them inside. I’ll go fetch some water from the kitchen!"

Qin Rongshi nodded and led the men into the rooms. Liu Guyu followed, and soon voices could be heard inside.

"Hey, hey, it’s crooked—a bit more to the left! There! Perfect!"

"Ah, put this table here, right here!"

"Great! Thank you all!"

…

Once the furniture was arranged, the men went out for some water. One of them, the leader, said, "My master said the beds will be ready in a few days. We’ll deliver them then!"

After the furniture was delivered, messages exchanged, and water drunk, the men left.

Cui Lanfang was delighted, going from room to room.

The once empty rooms now held quite a bit of furniture, all brand new. The scent of wood filled the air, making it feel more like a home.

Qin Rongshi’s room indeed had a small study nook. Calling it a "room" was an exaggeration—it was just a bookshelf separating the sleeping area from the reading space. The desk and chair were placed by the window, bright and airy.

Over there, Qin Banban exclaimed too.

"Such a big wardrobe! It could fit several of me! How many clothes can this hold?"

The emphasis in the girl’s room was on the wardrobe and dressing table. A smaller bookshelf was also made for her medical books and miscellaneous readings.

Liu Guyu knew—this girl secretly read romance novels.

Cui Lanfang loved what she saw, lingering in each room, gazing intently, unable to get enough.

"Good! Really good!"

This was simply living the dream!

Right then, a person appeared at the wide-open gate—a middle-aged woman holding a basket, with a two-year-old girl clinging to her leg, sucking her thumb.

The woman had a round, full face with wrinkles at the corners of her eyes. She smiled warmly upon seeing them, appearing very friendly.

"We’ve been hearing movement next door these past few days. Today, seeing the gate open, I thought I’d come take a look! Are you the new neighbors?"

The woman was about Cui Lanfang’s age and seemed kind. Cui Lanfang had been worried about having no one nearby to talk to, so she was thrilled someone had come over. She quickly walked forward.

"Yes! We just moved in! And you are?"

The woman pointed to the left. "I’m from the Li family next door! Ah, this is wonderful! This yard has been empty for a year! Usually, it’s so quiet—you only hear the cats meowing! Now it’s great—we finally have new neighbors!"

The two women went into the main room and exchanged a few words, and soon they were calling each other 'sister'.

"Sister, I see you’ve been busy all day tidying up and haven’t had time to cook! These are some pastries my family made. Have some to tide you over—don’t work on an empty stomach!"

With that, the woman named Chen Qiaoyun set the basket in her hand on the table, took out a large plate of assorted pastries, and encouraged everyone to dig in.

"They say a near neighbor is better than a distant relative! We’ll have plenty of time to see each other around, so we might as well get to know each other faster. Come on, everyone, try some! Don’t look down on my cooking!"

The plate of pastries seemed to be fried—there were pumpkin strips filled with smooth red bean paste, fried dough pastries dusted with sugar, and sesame date balls coated in white sesame seeds... all made with generous amounts of oil, flour, and sugar—treats too fancy in the village to serve to just anyone.

Cui Lanfang felt too embarrassed to accept, saying shyly, "This is too kind, really too kind."

But Chen Qiaoyun was exceptionally friendly and pushed them directly into Cui Lanfang’s hands, saying, "Oh, sister, you’re too polite! We folks in the Guozixiang neighborhood don’t stand on ceremony! Let’s visit each other more often!"

"You’re new in town—if anything comes up, just look for me! Oh, and if you go out to buy groceries or cloth, call me along. I’ve lived here for decades and know it like the back of my hand!"

"My... sister, you’re quite a beauty, and your children are all good-looking!"

"This young gentleman is as handsome as they come—what’s that phrase again? Jade, oh! 'A jade tree in the wind'! So handsome! Is he spoken for? What a pity—I don’t have a daughter at home, or I’d surely try to set you up!"

Unexpectedly, the conversation between two women of similar age had turned to him. Qin Rongshi immediately frowned and looked at the woman, about to speak.

Cui Lanfang, who had been smiling, also straightened up and quickly said, "My Erlang is still studying, completely focused on his books. He’s not in a hurry for such matters."

Studying?!

Chen Qiaoyun had actually just been making polite small talk, as was common in the neighborhood, but this young man was truly handsome—anyone would be charmed!

And it wasn’t just him—the girl and the young boy were both easy on the eyes too! The whole family was a delight to the eyes!

She asked in surprise, "Oh? A scholar? Has he passed the exams? Where does he study? My son is also a scholar—he’s twenty-eight this year and already a *xiucai*! He studies at Xiangshan Academy! The teachers all say he’s sharp!"

The first two questions were polite inquiries, but the following remarks carried more weight—she was sincerely boasting about her son.

However, Cui Lanfang caught a familiar term: Xiangshan Academy.

Wasn’t that the academy Erlang had mentioned before? He said Mr. Lü would write a letter of recommendation to send him to study at Xiangshan Academy?

Her son would most likely go to Xiangshan Academy in the future, and the son of Sister Chen across the way was also a student there—what a coincidence.

She couldn’t help but perk up a bit and joined in praising, "That’s wonderful, truly wonderful—so promising at such a young age!"

She didn’t mention that Qin Rongshi had also passed the *xiucai* exam and even topped the list, thinking it better to keep a low profile since his studies weren’t fully settled yet and they had just moved to a new place.

Seeing her silence, Chen Qiaoyun assumed he hadn’t passed.

That wasn’t unusual—this young man looked under twenty, so failing wasn't surprising. Her own son hadn’t passed until he was well into his twenties!

Chen Qiaoyun even comforted her: "No worries, being able to study is already good. But they say 'first comes love, then comes marriage'—though there’s no harm in doing both at once!"

Having said her piece, she took her little granddaughter’s hand to leave. Before going, she glanced at Qin Rongshi and called out warmly:

"Young man, come visit your auntie’s house when you have time! You can discuss studies with your Brother Sun—he’s a *xiucai*! If there’s anything you don’t understand, just ask him!"

...

She had arrived smiling and, in the end, left smiling with her little granddaughter in tow, leaving behind a plate of pastries in the room.

Cui Lanfang felt somewhat awkward, wondering if she should have mentioned that her son was also a *xiucai* to avoid any potential embarrassment if the two young men ever crossed paths at Xiangshan Academy.

But what Mrs. Chen said about "setting up a home and starting a career" did make sense. Mrs. Chen's Erlang was already eighteen—old enough to marry.

She herself wasn't really in a hurry, but just now, seeing the little granddaughter of the Sun family had been truly delightful, with her round, chubby face, large dark eyes that were bright and lively, and a very well-behaved manner.

She turned to Qin Rongshi and asked, "Erlang, are there any young ladies or gentlemen you like? Tell your mother about it. At your age, it’s time to find a wife."

Qin Rongshi, who was already frowning, furrowed his brows even more tightly. He instinctively glanced at Liu Guyu and saw him sitting at the table, eating the candied fruits Chen Qiaoyun had brought over, while also handing some to Qin Banban beside him.

"Try this one—it tastes really good!"

The two of them sat side by side, munching on the fruits, their cheeks stuffed full, completely oblivious to Cui Lanfang’s words.

Qin Rongshi sighed softly.

He said to Cui Lanfang, "Mother, I’m not in a hurry about this. Right now, studying is more urgent."

He was his own man, and Cui Lanfang knew she couldn't dictate his choices. She had only asked, and, as expected, received the answer she had anticipated.

Cui Lanfang wasn’t disappointed, though. She simply thought that in the future, she might have a chance to hold a granddaughter of her own.

A few more days passed, and several large beds were delivered. The inside and outside of the house were tidied up spotlessly, looking completely renewed.

Only then did they pack their bags to return to the village, planning to settle affairs there before moving in for good.