Bullies and ruffians were all cowards at heart. Shen Xuanqing’s towering height and the fat pig he was hauling made him look intimidating.
The weasel-faced young man, realizing they were a family, didn’t dare utter a word after being publicly scolded. He quickly slipped into the crowd and fled.
The two mule carts started moving again, one after the other.
Tea houses, taverns, restaurants, shops selling pastries, roast chicken and duck, cosmetics, ready-made clothes and fabrics, incense and candles, inns and wine shops—vendors carrying water or firewood on shoulder poles, others with baskets of eggs or secondhand clothes, pawnshops, antique stores, and clinics—as they strolled down the street, they passed by shops selling all sorts of things.
When they reached Xixing Street, an area Lu Gu had never been to, he looked around at the shops on both sides. Spotting a fluttering banner ahead with the words "Noodle Shop" written on it, he heard Shen Yaoqing call out, "We’re here," and the cart came to a stop.
Shen Xuanqing parked at the entrance of an unopened fortune-teller’s shop to the east, while the rest of them stopped right in front of their own butcher shop.
"This is it." Shen Yaoqing pointed at the shop with a smile, then went to help his mother and sister down first.
Shen Xuanqing, holding the keys, saw that Lingjun was asleep, so he went to assist Lu Gu, who was carrying the child, off the cart before unlocking the shop door.
The cart wasn’t too high off the ground, but with a child in his arms, Lu Gu was still nervous about stepping down. Fortunately, Shen Xuanqing held him steady with strong arms, ensuring his feet landed safely.
Once the shop door was open, Shen Xuanqing led him inside. "The living quarters are in the back. I’ve already made the bed."
Lu Gu looked around as he walked. Against the east wall was a large table with two meat-chopping blocks and four knives. A wooden rack held four iron hooks, and in the corner near the inner door was a small square table with four stacked stools. The front of the shop didn’t have much else.
Since the large table and wooden rack were new and neatly arranged, the place looked quite clean.
Past the inner door, it was just two or three steps to the long, narrow room ahead. Shen Xuanqing had previously described the shop’s layout to him, but now that he saw it, he understood.
Shen Xuanqing opened the door. The room was sparsely furnished - just a bed, a table, chairs, and two wooden chests containing Shen Xuanqing’s clothes and spare bedding.
The moment Lu Gu laid the sleeping Little Lingjun on the bed, the child whimpered and let out a few cries. Lu Gu quickly sat beside him, patting and soothing him in a low voice.
Lingjun usually napped at this time. If his sleep was disturbed, he would cry incessantly.
Shen Xuanqing whispered, "I’ll go help Brother with the pig in the backyard."
"Mm." Lu Gu nodded.
The room had been lived in before, so it didn’t have the damp, musty chill of long-abandoned houses. The previous tenant had sold sewing supplies and sundries, so it wasn’t overly humid.
As he comforted the child, Lu Gu looked around. Aside from the small window making the room dim when the door was closed, and the town’s street-facing shops being less spacious than their country home, everything else seemed fine.
Lingjun, tired from the long cart ride, quickly settled back to sleep after just a few pats. Hearing noises outside, Lu Gu tucked the blanket around him and placed a pillow at the edge of the bed as a barrier before stepping out to check.
The pig’s legs had been untied. Shen Xuanqing pulled it by a rope around its neck while Shen Yaoqing herded it from behind. The others, unable to help much, followed them to the backyard.
In the backyard, a thatched shed stood in the eastern corner, housing a stove with a large iron pot already in place. A pile of dry firewood was stacked inside, and next to the stove was an empty water vat, they could fill it in the evening.
Along the passageway wall, a shelf made of mud and wood, about as high as Lu Gu’s calf, had been built to hold bamboo cages for rabbits, chickens, and ducks. Since live poultry needed to be kept for a while, the cages were placed on the shelf so droppings could fall through the gaps between the wooden slats, making cleanup easier and keeping the animals clean.
The narrow passageway had a long shelf made of mud and wood along the wall. Shen Xuanqing had told him earlier that they had tested the cages, and this single row could hold twenty of them. Behind the house, where it was more spacious, three shorter shelves stood against the back wall, each holding about six cages.
The fifteen rabbits, ten chickens, and ten ducks they had brought were still at the Yang family’s place, so these shelves would suffice for now. If they needed more later, they could extend the passageway shelf.
The backyard was small, but aside from the three shelves, there was still space. A wooden post had been driven into the corner near the house, where Shen Xuanqing tied the pig. Since they would slaughter it tomorrow for the shop’s opening, there was no need to feed it today, just give it some water.
Seeing everything in the shop well-prepared, Wei Lanxiang felt completely at ease about her sons’ venture.
"You all rest. I’ll fetch water from the end of the street." Since they had two mules this time, Shen Yaoqing brought both the new and old buckets on a carrying pole to ensure they had enough for everyone’s needs.
With two mule carts parked outside, the family stayed inside the shop, only peeking occasionally into the rooms. Since Lingjun was still asleep, they kept their voices low.
Zhao’er had napped on the way and woken up just as they entered Jixing Town, so he was now full of energy.
Shen Xuanqing brought out two chairs from the room, adding to the four stools outside, making just enough seats for the six adults. When Zhao’er plopped onto a chair, stealing Ji Qiuyue’s seat, Shen Xuanqing chuckled. "I’ll borrow one from next door. Later, we’ll eat at the noodle shop, and when we stroll around town this afternoon, we’ll buy a few more stools. Master and his wife are coming tomorrow, we can’t have nowhere for them to sit."
"Of course." Wei Lanxiang nodded in agreement. When away from home, proper etiquette ensured good business.
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