Ji Wanglan was counting on her Yuan Fei continuing to work with her eldest brother’s crew and didn’t want to stir up trouble that might cost him the job.
She glared at the sharp-tongued Ji Taoyu, then turned to argue with Huang Manjing, but Huang Manjing stepped out of the kitchen ahead of her: "Third Sister, make yourself at home. Chat with the kids. I’m going to the field to pull up a couple of scallions."
"Where’s Xiao Liu? Where did Xiao Liu go?"
Ji Taoyu said, "My father went to the mountains. If Third Aunt has anything to say, you can tell me. When Father comes back, he won’t have a say in the horses anyway, A-Shu decides."
Seeing that she wouldn’t get her way, Ji Wanglan changed her tune: "Taoyu, now that you’re married, you’ve grown quite the backbone, haven’t you? Truly impressive!"
Ji Taoyu replied with equal sarcasm: "Indeed, age brings wisdom. But I still have a long way to go before I’m as ‘impressive’ as Third Aunt."
"I refuse to believe that without those two measly horses, our Yuan Fei won’t be able to marry a good girl or ger!"
Humiliated and furious, Ji Wanglan spat out the words, leaving in a huff after hitting a wall here.
Watching her go, Ji Taoyu grumbled unhappily: "As if she wasn’t greedy enough already, daring to ask for two horses straight out. Does she really think her face is that big?"
Huo Shu had remained silent the whole time. Such trivial family disputes weren’t worth his words. His usual solution was to grab the person and toss them out.
But that approach obviously wouldn’t work here. The Ji family was large and prosperous, and with that came plenty of conflicts.
Big families like this all had their share of messy disputes. No matter how fierce the quarrels got, they had to keep them behind closed doors. If word got out, not only would it become gossip, but others would think the family lacked unity—making them vulnerable to encroachment on their lands and business.
But this was Ji Yangzong’s way of handling things. It made sense, but it also had its drawbacks.
It ended up spoiling those in the family who contributed nothing but complaints.
Ji Taoyu said, "We’ve brought back plenty of gifts for all the uncles and aunts. If she’s still not satisfied, then as long as I’m around, she can forget about getting anything more from our family." Let her kick a few more hard nails in the future, then she’ll learn her place.
The next day, Huo Shu and Ji Taoyu skipped breakfast at home and went straight to the city.
On clear summer mornings, the early hours were the most pleasant. The sun hadn’t yet risen, and a cool breeze drifted by—nothing could be more comfortable.
When they reached the prefectural city, they headed straight for a roadside stall and ordered a bowl of noodles.
The whole reason they skipped breakfast at home was to indulge in street food in the city.
This season was when Tongzhou had the most variety in food. During the day, there were all kinds of chilled soups and drinks—watermelon, crushed peach, bayberry—enough to fill them up several times over without repeating flavors.
The hot weather meant street food spoiled easily but stayed warm, so there was everything from grilled skewers to fish, shrimp, and marinated duck—enough to dazzle the eyes.
In previous years, Ji Taoyu would stroll the streets with Ji Xingshe from Seventh Uncle’s family, and sometimes Ji Wenliang would tag along. The three of them would eat until their pockets were empty before heading home.
But now, Ji Xingshe had already married into a family in the county town. According to his Seventh Aunt, he already had a four-month-old child.
The last time Ji Taoyu saw him was before the trading trip, during New Year’s when he visited his parents’ home.
Now that he had a child, Ji Taoyu was happy for Ji Xingshe, but he also felt a faint melancholy. He didn’t know when he and Huo Shu would have a little one of their own.
Today, he hadn’t planned to accompany Huo Shu on business. His body still felt slightly unwell, not the best condition for serious matters. He just wanted to eat, drink, and have fun.
Thinking it would be boring to wander alone after Huo Shu left, he had considered inviting Ji Wenliang along.
But the guy had already taken his wages and gone off to enjoy himself, even dragging Huo Shou along with him.
Who knew where those two had run off to?
They were young men in their prime, riding horses and cutting a dashing figure. If they could find a good girl or ger soon and settle down, that would be one less thing to worry about.
"I’ll go to Grandfather’s medical hall later. Come find me when you’re done."
Ji Taoyu didn’t feel like wandering alone anymore. He hadn’t seen his grandfather in a while and missed the old man.
Besides, he could take the random herbs and other things they’d brought back from the trip to him.
Huo Shu nodded. "After we finish the noodles, I’ll take you there."
With that, Huo Shu, having emptied a bowl of noodles, raised his hand and ordered another.
The north favored wide noodles—satisfying to eat. The south had noodles as thin as threads, easy to soak up flavor. Huo Shu found them uniquely enjoyable too.
Seeing this, Ji Taoyu silently pushed his own bowl toward Huo Shu.
He blinked at Huo Shu. "I can’t finish my noodles."
Huo Shu glanced at the bowl, barely touched. "Eat a couple more bites."
"I want a fresh pork and pickled vegetable bun instead."
Huo Shu looked at the pleading expression and couldn’t help pinching his cheek.
Before he could answer, Ji Taoyu was already on his feet.
So Huo Shu ended up eating two and a half bowls of noodles before escorting Ji Taoyu—now nibbling on a bun—to the medical hall.
By the time they stepped outside, the sky was clear and bright, the sun already high. Huo Shu suddenly remembered someone.
He strode toward a place called Jiatang Porcelain Workshop.
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