The peak of summer hadn’t arrived yet, but with the child darting about and the adults scrambling after him, everyone ended up drenched in sweat. Children had boundless energy, sometimes even Wei Lanxiang couldn’t keep up. The moment they looked away, he’d be out the door.
The village wasn’t crowded, with only a few familiar faces around, so they weren’t too worried about kidnappers. But the mountains behind the village required constant vigilance, it was only reassuring when the child was in sight.
"It was easier before when he couldn’t run. I could carry him wherever. Now he’s got legs of his own," Ji Qiuyue grumbled, wiping crumbs from Zhao'er’s mouth with a handkerchief.
"He’s growing up," Lu Gu said with a smile. Just as he was about to tease Zhao'er, little Lingjun’s cries came from the room, and he hurried inside.
Ji Qiuyue hadn’t seen her little nephew in a month and followed him in. Once Lingjun was picked up by his Amu, he stopped crying and stared at Ji Qiuyue with wide eyes.
"Do you recognize your aunt?" Ji Qiuyue cooed.
Nowadays, Little Lingjun could babble in response to adults, but having just woken up, he wasn’t very familiar with Ji Qiuyue, so his face remained blank.
Lu Gu carried Little Lingjun out and let him see Zhao’er sitting on the chair, saying, "Look who’s here, it’s your brother, and your uncle and aunt."
Shen Yaoqing was delighted to see his little nephew and whistled twice to get Lingjun’s attention, stretching out his hands and saying, "Come here, let uncle hold you."
Little Lingjun rubbed his eyes with his small hands and immediately shrank back into Lu Gu’s arms, burying his face in Lu Gu’s shoulder as if hiding.
"He’s not fully awake yet, he’ll let you hold him in a bit," Lu Gu said with a laugh, first taking the child outside to relieve himself.
After some idle chatter and as noon approached, Lu Gu stood up and said, "I’ll go call Erqing back. You all rest, I’ll make lunch when I return."
Ji Qiuyue ate two pieces of osmanthus cake, wiped her mouth, and said, "No need, the two of us can cook. Let your eldest brother go call him instead."
"Alright," Lu Gu nodded. He had originally planned to buy a roast chicken on the way, but since this was something Shen Xuanqing had mentioned before, he didn’t go out. Shen Xuanqing would surely buy it on his way back.
Nowadays, their family frequently ate rabbit, chicken, and duck meat. After stewing chicken and duck so often, they wanted a change of taste. The roast chicken from the shop on West Street was quite fragrant, buying one and steaming some rice, then stir-frying two or three dishes would suffice.
Shen Yaoqing went out, and Zhao’er wanted to follow. Ji Qiuyue told him to take their son along, since she and Lu Gu would be cooking, and leaving the wild boy at home would only cause trouble.
Unlike before, when they lived together and saw each other daily, they now had plenty to talk about. Ji Qiuyue chatted about village affairs while washing vegetables, laughing as she spoke. Lu Gu beat eggs to steam custard for Zhao’er, listening attentively.
Little Lingjun sat in the wooden cradle, nibbling on a small piece of steamed bun, behaving quite well.
"Earlier, Matchmaker Wang introduced a prospect from Wangli Village, said to be from a well-off family. Your eldest brother inquired and found out that while the family had many brothers, the sisters-in-law didn’t get along. Even after dividing the family, they’d shout insults over several neighbors’ walls and sometimes even fought. Though the youngest Wang boy was favored by his parents, who had money, with such sisters-in-law above him, how could we feel at ease sending Yan Yan there?"
Ji Qiuyue talked about Shen Yan’s marriage prospects. A well-off man in the countryside was considered a catch, but their family didn’t lack the betrothal money. Shen Yan was also simple-hearted, if she went, wouldn’t she be bullied by her sisters-in-law? So they refused outright.
Shen Yaoqing said the match was no good, and Wei Lanxiang naturally listened to her eldest son. Since Shen Yan had no father to arrange her marriage, it fell to her eldest brother to find a good family so they could rest easy.
After listening, Lu Gu said, "Last time we went to Shiniang’s place, Erqing mentioned this to her. From what I gathered, he wanted her to ask around town for any suitable matches."
Marriage was a major life event, so Shen Xuanqing also worried for his sister. However, few village girls married into town, he was just trying his luck. If they found someone, it would be fate.
"We can’t reach for high-status families, a modest family is fine. We dare not aim for some wealthy family, sometimes things change before and after marriage. If we’re unlucky, Yan Yan might end up living under someone else’s disdain." Ji Qiuyue quickly reminded.
Lu Gu smiled and said, "Of course. Erqing already mentioned that to Shiniang, just find someone of equal standing."
Ji Qiuyue felt reassured, then laughed. "It’s just us talking, if word got out, people would laugh. How many wealthy families would ever fall into the hands of us common folk?"
As they chatted, Shen Xuanqing returned. Though not the whole family was present, the courtyard became much livelier.
With Shen Yaoqing and Ji Qiuyue there, Shen Xuanqing felt at ease. After lunch, by mid-afternoon, he hitched the mule cart and took Guaizi back to their hometown so he could go hunting early the next morning.
Guaizi had learned to ride the cart. Sometimes, when the mule ran, he stood on the cart looking outside, his fur blown by the wind, looking quite majestic.
After the two left, Shen Yaoqing stayed at the shop, while Ji Qiuyue and Lu Gu watched the children in Zhenzhu Alley, chatting and playing. Though there was no dog around, with more people, nights felt safer.
Back home, only Wei Lanxiang and Shen Yan remained. Li Laiqing weeded the fields, while Chen Dongdong cut grass for the livestock - equivalent to having two long-term workers. Chen Dongdong and his parents-in-law cut grass for about eight months a year, earning a little over one qian per month, totaling about one tael per year. Combined with Li Laiqing’s two taels and one hundred copper coins, it amounted to just over three taels.
Before leaving, Shen Yaoqing gave Third Uncle Shen Shunwang’s family a freshly slaughtered fat rabbit. Since he and Ji Qiuyue would be gone for at least six or seven days, he wanted Shen Shunwang and Shen Yuping to keep an eye on the house. If Wei Lanxiang needed help, she could call on them without hesitation.
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