Chapter 222
Early in the morning, when the sky was still dim, Lu Gu and Shen Yan took the child to the butcher shop. Yesterday, Shen Yaoqing had brought a fattened pig from home. It was already the beginning of the eleventh lunar month, and the weather had turned cold, so the meat could be stored longer and sold better than in summer. The two of them were going to help weigh the meat and collect payment.
Little Lingjun was used to playing in the shop, but since they had gotten up so early today, they worried he might fuss. Lu Gu had brought him some dried fruit to eat while sitting at the table. The sight of slaughtering pigs frightened Lingjun, so he happily played by himself, eating his snacks.
The area in front of the butcher shop was bustling with people, and they remained busy until almost noon, with a few customers still trickling in to buy meat.
After Shen Yaoqing returned from delivering meat to three taverns and eateries, Lu Gu untied the apron from his waist and said, "Brother, we’ll head back first to make lunch. It’s windy today, so I’ll fetch you a jug of wine. Have some after eating to warm yourself up."
Shen Yaoqing nodded. "Alright, just use the small gourd. I don’t need that much."
The morning rush kept them moving, but business slowed in the afternoon, leaving them mostly sitting around. They couldn’t close the shop door, and the cold drafts from both ends made it unbearable even with a tangpozi. A little wine sometimes helped ward off the chill.
Hearing this, Lu Gu took the small gourd hanging on the wall.
Shen Yan, who had been counting the money, carefully tallied it up before dropping a few dozen copper coins into the money basin with a clatter. She then untied her own apron, picked up a bamboo basket, and walked out with him.
Inside the basket were some winter bamboo shoots and a tied-up portion of meat. Nowadays, they didn’t need to buy meat for themselves. The bamboo shoots had been bought from a street vendor who passed by the shop early in the morning. They would slice them up and stir-fry them with the meat later.
Little Lingjun had grown a bit taller. Though the child wasn’t chubby, his thick winter clothes made him difficult to carry. Besides, he was having too much fun playing and didn’t want to be held, so He clung to Lu Gu's fingers, swinging them playfully as he babbled excitedly between giggles
The winery was on another street. As the three of them walked there, the north wind blew fiercely. Lu Gu tightened his collar, but suddenly, the little one holding his right hand let go. He quickly grabbed Lingjun before the child could run off.
"What did we say? Didn’t I tell you not to run around on the street? You have to hold either my hand or your aunt’s."
He gripped Lingjun’s hand tightly, not daring to let go even though the street wasn’t too crowded.
Some time ago, Shen Yaoqing had brought rabbits from their hometown and mentioned that a family in Fenggu Town had lost a child. No matter how hard they searched, the child couldn’t be found. Everyone said the child had been taken by human traffickers.
Since then, neither Lu Gu nor Shen Yan dared to let their guard down when watching the child. Little children didn’t understand danger, aside from the risk of being kidnapped, they often wanted to poke or touch everything they saw. A moment’s inattention could lead to a fall or injury, so they had to keep a close eye on him at all times.
"Amu, I want a sugar figurine," Lingjun said obediently after being caught, not throwing a tantrum. But his eyes remained fixed on the sugar figurine seller.
Lu Gu had once told him that if he ran off and got lost, he’d never see Amu, Dad, Auntie, or Uncle again. The child was timid, and the thought of never seeing his Amu again had scared him so much he cried for a while.
It wasn’t that Lu Gu meant to frighten him, but young children didn’t understand reasoning. Only warnings like this could make them behave.
"If you want something, just say so. Why run off? Auntie will buy it for you," Shen Yan said with a laugh.
So Lingjun grabbed her two fingers with his other hand and immediately grinned.
"Fine, but only a small one," Lu Gu said as they stopped in front of the sugar figurine stall. Then he turned to Lingjun. "Didn’t Grandpa Zheng tell you? If you eat too much sugar, your stomach will hurt, and then we’ll have to go to the clinic again."
Lingjun remembered Grandpa Zheng, the doctor at the clinic. He instinctively covered his belly and didn’t dare ask for a bigger one anymore, just staring up at Shen Yan with hopeful eyes.
The child was still young. Over the past few months, he had suffered from stomachaches and fevers two or three times. Sugar figurines weren’t something he could eat often, and Shen Yan knew this, so she handed him the smallest one.
The sugar figurine was sweet, and Lu Gu rarely bought them for him, so Lingjun licked it a few times before growing reluctant to finish it. He clutched the little stick happily, admiring his treat.
After fetching the wine from the winery, Lu Gu instinctively glanced toward the street entrance - the main road into town. If Shen Xuanqing returned, he would definitely come this way.
Jixing Town was larger than Fenggu Town, so naturally, it had more people. Those who were better off wore warm clothes, some even sporting fur hats. But far more common were those with patched garments. Families of modest means could at least manage padded jackets, even if they were carefully mended.
As for the truly poor, their clothes were thin and tattered, their hands barely tucked into their sleeves as they trudged against the wind. When the cold gusts blew, they could only hunch their necks, but the wind was merciless. No matter where they tried to hide, it seeped through every gap. The diligent poor gathered firewood or took odd jobs to survive, at least avoiding starvation or freezing to death.
People came and went, many passing through the street, but Shen Xuanqing’s figure never appeared.
A vendor carrying a pole of candied hawthorns hawked his wares along the street. Hearing the call, Lingjun looked over. Knowing that his amu wouldn’t buy him any, he tugged at Shen Yan’s sleeve and whispered in his tiny voice, "Auntie."
Shen Yan looked down at him, adjusting his crooked tiger-head hat and retying it under his chin. The hat covered his ears, it would keep them warm. Otherwise, the child’s ears would turn red from the cold. As she fixed it, she said, "You already have a sugar figurine. No more today."
Lingjun pouted a little, disappointed, but after licking his sugar figurine, he smiled again. It really was sweet.
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