Shen Xuanqing turned to Shen Yan and saw that she’d lost weight too, which made him feel even worse. “Are you and Mother doing alright?”
Shen Yan wiped her tears and nodded with a smile. “We’re fine.”
But then the tears fell again, and she wiped them away with the back of her hand, unable to say anything more.
Lu Gu was still trying to coax Lingjun. The child clung to his trousers, stubbornly refusing to come out. After a moment, Lu Gu had an idea. “Didn’t you want a sugar figurine? How about we ask your father to buy you one?”
Only then did the little one peek out from behind him, timidly looking at the man across from him.
Shen Xuanqing ruffled Guaizi’s head and seized the opportunity. “Come on, let’s go buy one.”
Lingjun glanced up at Lu Gu, then finally stepped forward.
“I’ll take him to get it first.” Shen Xuanqing took his little shuang'er’s small hand, feeling slightly better. He looked at Lu Gu as he spoke.
“Go ahead. Yan Yan and I are just finishing up to close the shop. Come back soon.” Lu Gu nodded. If they promised the child a treat and didn’t buy it, he’d throw a tantrum.
Shen Xuanqing tied the horse outside, scooped up the child, and headed straight for the sugar figurine vendor. His long legs carried him quickly—with rain threatening, the vendor might already be packing up.
Guaizi, who hadn’t seen him in months, trotted along happily beside them.
Lu Gu wiped his tears, then suddenly laughed through them. “Let’s hurry and finish up. We’ll go home and make old duck noodle soup. There are still a few eggs left, we’ll fry them for him too.”
“Mm.” Shen Yan picked up the broom and headed back to the yard. If they didn’t sweep up the chicken, duck, and rabbit feathers, the wind would blow them all over the place.
They worked quickly. There wasn’t much left to do in the shop anyway, they’d be back tomorrow.
By the time they finished, Shen Xuanqing and Lingjun still hadn’t returned. The sugar figurine vendor was far, so the two of them waited by the door.
The chesnut horse at the entrance snorted. It was a tall, sturdy animal, and when they looked at it, it looked back. Its eyes were bright and surprisingly gentle.
Since it was an unfamiliar horse, Lu Gu didn’t dare approach recklessly.
“It’s so big,” Shen Yan marveled.
“Your second brother’s tall, of course he’d get a big horse.” Lu Gu smiled. His eyes were still red from crying, but the worst of it had passed. Now, he was just happy, his face lit with joy.
“Wait here. I’ll go next door and buy some braised meat. There’s still a small jug of wine at home.” Before he’d even finished speaking, he was already heading toward the noodle shop.
Aunt Zhao at the noodle shop knew how to braise meat. She sold it to the neighbors cheaper than outsiders, and while it wasn’t as good as the specialty braised meat shops, it was decent and so close by.
“Auntie, do you still have any braised meat? Any pig’s ears left?” He fired off questions as soon as he stepped inside.
Aunt Zhao, who’d been busy, quickly assured him they had some.
He bought a good amount, and as she handed him the oil-paper package, she asked casually, “Having guests over?”
“Mm. Erqing’s back. I’ll make him something nice to eat.” Lu Gu smiled. Eager to get home, he didn’t linger.
Aunt Zhao stood there for a moment, wanting to ask more, but he was already out the door.
A short while later, she heard commotion outside and looked up just as Shen Xuanqing walked past the shop with Lingjun in his arms.
Shen Xuanqing had bought the child three large sugar figurines. The child’s hands were too small to hold them all, so he clutched them tightly in both fists.
“Is it sweet?” Shen Xuanqing set him down and crouched beside him.
Lingjun licked the figurine and grinned. “Sweet.”
The little voice made Shen Xuanqing smile. He ruffled the child’s hair before standing.
“All done here?” he asked.
“Yeah.” Lu Gu and Shen Yan carried out the three cages. Lu Gu handed the account book to Shen Yan so she could keep track of their sales. He locked the door while Shen Xuanqing hung the cages on either side of the horse. Then, the three of them started home together.
Shen Xuanqing led the horse. He’d wanted to let Lingjun ride, but the child was scared and too busy eating his sugar figurine, so he dropped the idea.
Lu Gu handed him the oil-paper package and picked up Lingjun himself.
“Is Brother not here?” Shen Xuanqing asked.
“He went home to get more rabbits. He’ll be back tomorrow morning.” Lu Gu smiled. Noticing the scars on Shen Xuanqing’s face, he couldn’t help asking, “Where did you go? Brother asked so many people to look for you, but no one could find you. The caravan…”
The caravan had lost so many men.
Lu Gu couldn’t bring himself to finish the sentence.
Shen Xuanqing sighed softly. “Let’s talk about that when we get home.”
“Mm.” Lu Gu nodded, then asked, “What about Biaozi?”
Luo Biao had stayed with them for a long time and had been good to the child. Whenever Lu Gu aired Shen Xuanqing’s quilts or washed his clothes, he’d do the same for Luo Biao’s things.
“He’ll be back tomorrow. He’s behind me. I was worried about you all, so I came ahead.”
So that was it. Lu Gu let out a quiet breath of relief, afraid he’d hear something terrible.
Before they even reached the entrance of Zhenzhu Alley, raindrops began to fall. The three of them broke into a run. Guaizi, seeing them sprint, barked excitedly. With four legs, he was much faster—in the blink of an eye, he’d dashed into the alley and stood at the entrance, barking as if urging them to hurry.
Though the raindrops were heavy, Lu Gu couldn’t stop smiling, the cold water nothing to his joy.
The horse trotted alongside them, jostling the cages and making the chickens and ducks squawk. Running through the rain, even Shen Yan and Shen Xuanqing laughed.
Of all the people caught in the downpour, only their laughter rang out unbroken.
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