Chapter 248: Gathering

Chapter 248: The Gathering

"You and Master Lin can just retire here and live with me. There are longans and lychees, as well as October tangerines and honey oranges. My master is sure to love them." Meng Wan dragged a stool over, joining Xiang Yun and Lin Yi for tea, fruit, and conversation.

Xiang Yun and Lin Yi exchanged a glance, both beaming with joy. "Your master and I are in our twilight years. Coming to Lingnan and seeing you doing so well, and witnessing the first academy in the world dedicated to women and gē'ers, we can say we have no regrets in life. Yangzhou is ultimately our final destination. In a few days, we should be heading back."

The fruit in Meng Wan's hand suddenly seemed less appetizing. He understood Xiang Yun's meaning—his master and her husband wanted to return to their hometown to spend their remaining days.

"Look at our Wan'er, his little face all scrunched up and still so handsome." Xiang Yun was no longer as strict about propriety as before; she even teased Meng Wan with a childlike playfulness.

"Wan Ge'er is a filial and good child. Your master and I both understand your heart. People have their joys and sorrows, partings and reunions. Our lives have been quite complete already. There's nothing left to fret over. We haven't even called back your senior brothers and sisters." Lin Yi's words were kind, his eyes radiating wisdom and clarity.

Meng Wan stared blankly at him and Xiang Yun, gripping the dried fruit in his hand. "I understand, Master Lin."

The recitation sounds from the Wisdom Class had stopped at some point. The young gē'ers and girls happily ran out of the classroom. Among them, seven out of ten were the children of wealthy merchants in the city, while three were children of workers from the workshops.

"Sister Xiang, I'm sorry to have kept you and Lord Lin waiting. Would you like to join me for a meal at the dining hall?"

After the children came out, the teachers followed at the back. An elderly woman with white hair approached Xiang Yun.

Meng Wan bowed. "Teacher Li."

Teacher Li smiled. "Meng Fulang is here too. You're too kind. Sister Xiang, you've taken on a wonderful apprentice."

Xiang Yun stood up with the help of Meng Wan's arm. "He's still just a child. It's all thanks to all of you brothers and sisters for coming to support him. He ought to show you respect."

Teacher Li shook her head disapprovingly. "We're all old. It's Meng Fulang who doesn't mind and has given us a place to settle down. Who would have thought that people like us could be respectfully called 'Teacher'? Meng Fulang is truly righteous."

Xiang Yun was modest with her words, but her expression was clearly proud. They walked together to the dining hall, where many other teachers came to speak with Xiang Yun or compliment Meng Wan.

They were mostly of an older generation, with a few younger ones who were rather quiet. Teacher Li and Xiang Yun had the closest relationship; they seemed to have known each other since youth. Meng Wan, with his sweet tongue and humble demeanor, soon had Teacher Li calling him "Wan Ge'er" affectionately.

"Your husband, Wan Ge'er, is a capable man. I've heard many stories about Lord Song since I came here. It's only a matter of time before you return to Shengjing. I don't have many skills myself, but I once adopted a godson in the palace. If you ever need anything, just mention Li Feifei's name, and he will help you out of respect for me." Meng Wan had just finished a meal with the three elders in the dining hall when Teacher Li suddenly spoke these words as he was leaving.

Before his mind could fully process it, his body instinctively offered thanks.

On the way back, he realized something was off and asked Xiang Yun, "Teacher, did Teacher Li serve in the palace?"

"More than just served. She attended to two empresses. Even the current emperor gives her some face." But when people die, their influence fades. An elderly palace maid without descendants would be schemed against if she insisted on staying in the capital relying on that bit of favor. So Teacher Li had long retired and returned to her hometown.

Meng Wan gasped, suddenly understanding that the teachers Xiang Yun had found for him were not just teachers. She had thought deeper, trying to leave him a backup plan.

"Teacher, you..."

Xiang Yun cut him off. "Alright, Teacher rarely visits. Let's not talk about others. The weather seems cooler now. How about we take your master and me for a walk around?"

Lin Yi added, "Well said. We've already seen the Zhen Guan Workshop outside the city. We haven't seen your sugar workshop yet!"

Meng Wan went along and changed the subject. "The sugar workshop is just a slightly larger workshop. Nothing much to see. But on the tenth of October, I want to hold a gathering in the prefectural city to encourage intermarriage among the Zhuang, Yao, and Miao tribes and the Yu Kingdom people. It will definitely be lively."

Xiang Yun didn't quite understand how intermarriage would work. But Lin Yi, who had been an official for decades, immediately grasped the implications. He stroked his white beard. "Not bad. Spending time with Jingxing has elevated your perspective on issues."

Meng Wan hadn't really noticed; he had unconsciously elevated minor personal matters to the level of ethnic unity.

Before the gathering, Meng Wan printed a large number of flyers from the bookstore and had the yamen runners distribute them to the people, posting them on the walls of yamen and towns.

He personally went to the Zhuang and Yao counties, solemnly inviting the young people to come down the mountain for the gathering.

"Should I go to the Miao tribe?"

Meng Wan had just returned from Heiye County. He took a bath, changed clothes, and was enjoying good food in his room.

When Song Tingzhou asked this question, he was eating without looking up. Only after finishing a bowl of hearty rice noodles did he leisurely reply, "No. Let them keep pretending their homeland was destroyed. They've gotten a good deal but still complain."

They were given houses and land, moved to the outskirts of the city. In modern terms, it was almost like a gift from heaven, yet they still complained.

Song Tingzhou set out his toothbrush and toothpaste. "Then let them be. The government will mobilize the people to set up stalls on the street on the tenth. All commercial taxes for that day will be waived. Whatever the people earn is theirs to keep."

Meng Wan finished the soup from the noodles, rubbed his slightly full belly, and said, "Chi Yu's people have a friendly attitude. We should still invite them down the mountain. Give him a few days off tomorrow to go back and bring people down to the city. Chi Yu's friends are lively young men, cheerful girls and gē'ers. They'll definitely want to come down and have fun."

Song Tingzhou gathered the dishes. "Chi Yu already returned to the Miao tribe yesterday."

By the time he went to take the dishes away, Meng Wan had already washed up and was waiting for him in bed, patting the thin quilt. "Hurry, hurry."

Song Tingzhou got into bed and wrapped his arms around him. "In a few days, we'll also take a break and have a good time for two days." Meng Wan was naturally thin; he had only just put on some weight, but the recent busyness had made him lose weight again.

"Okay~" Meng Wan half-lay on him, dragging out a long tone, and within a second began to doze off.

In October, the county school students had a farming break. Meng Wan also gave the students of Songyun College a three-day farming break on the eighth, ninth, and tenth of October, actually to let them go play at the gathering.

On the morning of the eighth, A Yan had already packed his schoolbag and was ready to go out. Meng Wan called him from the yard. "A Yan, where are you going? Isn't the academy on break?"

A Yan shuffled over to him, rubbing his little hands together. "Du Yunkang called me to his house to play."

"Going to Vice Prefect Du's house? You're not even having breakfast? Eat first, then go." Meng Wan had just gotten up and washed up.

A Yan was unhappy. "Du Yunkang's house has meat buns at the door. Big and yummy!"

Meng Wan put on a flawless fake smile. "But we also have meat buns at home this morning."

He brought the resisting A Yan to Chang Jinhua's courtyard for breakfast. After the meal, Xue Sheng and Zhu Yan followed A Yan to the Du residence.

"Mom, the gathering will be crowded and chaotic. Be careful in your shop." Meng Wan reminded Chang Jinhua.

Chang Jinhua also found a small bag from the cupboard. "Tomorrow, I'll give my shop a day off. Let everyone rest well." She had only thought of it after hearing Meng Wan say he was giving the workshop workers a day off. She would only open for half a day today to hand out some copper coins as bonuses, so everyone could buy things at the gathering.

Meng Wan was finally able to rest at home, but he watched his son and mother leave without any reluctance. His master and her husband had also gone to the academy. So he had to go back to find Song Tingzhou.

"They've all left." He took a book from the shelf and sat in front of Song Tingzhou, sighing deeply.

Song Tingzhou washed his brush with clean water, placed it on the brush rest, and casually pulled the book from Meng Wan's hand.

Meng Wan asked blankly, "What's wrong?"

"How about we set up a stall at the gathering the day after tomorrow?" Song Tingzhou walked around the desk and leaned down to Meng Wan.

Meng Wan's interest piqued instantly. "A stall? Selling what?"

Song Tingzhou naturally gave him a kiss. Huang Ye, who had come to refill their tea at the door, turned around and closed the door in one smooth motion.

Meng Wan burst out laughing. "Huang Ye, come back in! What's with closing the door in broad daylight?"

He called out a couple of times, but there was no response from outside. Song Tingzhou went over and opened the door. It turned out Huang Ye had already run to the courtyard gate, standing guard, his neck stiff as if bolted, staring straight ahead, not daring to glance back at their room.

Song Tingzhou: "..." Had he and Wan'er really been so... improper...?

The two of them were at a loss for words. They decided to ignore him. Meng Wan rubbed his hands together in excitement. "Setting up a stall is great! It's been years since I last did it. Let's think carefully about what to sell the day after tomorrow!"

On the tenth of October in Xiwu Prefecture—

The entire Xiwu Prefecture hadn't seen such a spectacle for many years. Not just inside the city, but even outside each city gate, a large number of oxcarts and horse-drawn carriages lingered, hoping to earn fares by carrying passengers.

Just as the sky was at first light, peddlers began entering the city to sell their goods. Meng Wan had Xue Sheng reserve a prime spot for him, under a large tree by the street.

He wore a plain cotton short jacket and long pants, holding a basket of snacks while sitting on a small stool, occasionally shelling peanuts to feed to Song Tingzhou, who was busy setting up ahead.

Song Tingzhou placed two woven bamboo baskets on the empty ground in front of them, filled to the brim with bamboo slips.

The bamboo slips were the length of a finger, slightly wider than a fingertip, tied with red string at one end and polished smooth on one side.

Between the two baskets, they set up a low table, on which sat a dozen charcoal pens made by Meng Wan. Leaning against the big tree were a few bamboo poles.

After arranging the bamboo slips, Song Tingzhou stood up and hung a banner on the tree beside them, bearing the three large characters "Marriage Fate Tree." As soon as the banner was hung, it attracted a lot of attention.

"Lord Song? What are you and your husband doing?" Chi Yu led his people over and immediately spotted the extraordinary Song Tingzhou busily working.

Meng Wan greeted him with a smile, "Chi Yu, you've come too? Your lord and I are setting up a stall. Would you like to come and write one?"

Chi Yu crouched with great interest in front of the stall, "My lord, how does this work?"

Song Tingzhou looked like he couldn't be bothered with him, casually pulling a bamboo slip from the basket and tossing it over to him. "You can write or draw on it, then throw it onto the tree."

"Ah?" Chi Yu looked puzzled but still used the charcoal pen, awkwardly and laboriously writing two characters on it. Because he had just started school and knew few words, the characters were poorly written and simplified to "Shan Xi."

Song Tingzhou couldn't bear to watch, tempted to toss the bamboo slip out of his hand and write it himself. Meng Wan, sitting behind, reminded him, "Chi Yu, if your heart is stirred, throw the slip lower. If you don't want to..." Before Meng Wan could finish his sentence, Chi Yu grabbed a branch, used it to hoist himself up, and with a few steps reached the top of the tree, hanging his bamboo slip on the very top branch.

"What did you say, my lord?" Chi Yu landed gracefully, kicking up a small cloud of dust. Song Tingzhou, quick-eyed, pulled out a folding fan from his belt and hurriedly fanned the dust away from Meng Wan.

Meng Wan swallowed the rest of his sentence. "Nothing."

I wonder which deity today can even reach Chi Yu's bamboo slip!

Chi Yu's tribesmen, with restless, cat-like curiosity, after seeing Chi Yu write a slip, each wanted to write one and compete with each other to see who could throw it the highest.

Meng Wan rushed forward to cover his own bamboo basket. "Wait, wait! Only women and xiaoge can write and throw them. Men can pick one to take down from the tree."

So the shamaness Chi Die and another xiaoge wrote their slips. Before leaving, Chi Yu asked Meng Wan if he needed any copper coins. Meng Wan smiled and said no, and even took a couple of packs of dried fruit from his own snack basket to give to Chi Yu.

Their stall was too conspicuous. As the street grew more crowded, many people recognized them.

"Shiyi! Come here." Meng Wan called over Tao Shiyi, who had come out with his brother and sister-in-law. "Earlier this year, didn't you say you wanted to find a wife? How about it? Do you like the Miao people?"

Tao Shiyi's face flushed red, and he assumed a coy posture. "I leave it entirely to your judgment, my lord."

Meng Wan was speechless. Can't you find your own wife? The conditions are already set here! What judgment was he supposed to make? He wasn't Tao Shiyi's father.

"Your lord and I have set up this bamboo slip booth. Since you're one of us, I'll give you a little inside information." Meng Wan pointed to a cluster of branches on the tree. "That side is where the Miao people hung theirs; this side is where the Yao people hung theirs. They're all eligible young women and xiaoge. Do you want to pick one to take a look?"

Upon hearing this, Tao Shiyi hesitated and asked, "My lord, why aren't there any Zhuang people here?"

Meng Wan laughed. "Oh, so you like Zhuang girls. They haven't arrived yet. Why don't you wait here for a while? If you see someone you fancy, just ask if they'd like to stroll around the market with you."

"Is that... all right?" Tao Shiyi was usually a cheerful and outgoing young man, but when it came to his own marriage, he was incredibly shy.

"As long as you don't force anyone, simply inviting them for a walk, there's nothing wrong with it." Garrison soldiers and bailiffs were patrolling all over the city, so it was fine for young people to walk around.

Moreover, the three tribes had always lived deep in the mountains, and their restrictions on women and xiaoge were looser than those in Yu. Among the Yao, it was actually common for men to marry into their wives' families; Lan Duo had married her current husband.

The Zhuang people lived far from the city, so they didn't arrive until nearly noon.

Tao Shiyi bought a bag of puffed rice candy, gathered his courage, and blushed so deep it almost steamed before he offered the candy to a Zhuang xiaoge. Amid the teasing of the Zhuang people, the xiaoge accepted the candy, and the two of them, one after the other, disappeared into the crowd.