Chapter 79
In the tenth month of the lunar calendar, the horseback archery range was finally completed.
During the waiting period for the construction team, Huo Shu had already prepared all the necessary equipment for the grounds—riding gear, archery targets, and everything else required in advance.
Uncle Fan and the others were all experienced with horses, so there was no need to hire outsiders to arrange the layout of the archery range. They could handle it perfectly well themselves.
The archery workshop had also stockpiled enough longbows and arrows of various types, just waiting for the archery range to open so both businesses could promote themselves together.
That day, Ji Taoyu brought a few golden osmanthus trees from the village and placed them in the courtyard of the archery workshop.
By the tenth month, the osmanthus flowers were already in full bloom, their tiny blossoms densely covering the branches. A light touch would send them scattering to the ground.
Ji Taoyu carried a small hoe and dug deep pits, planting the slender osmanthus saplings, barely two fingers thick.
Digging, filling the soil, watering—after all this tedious work for just two osmanthus trees, Ji Taoyu was so exhausted he could barely straighten his back. His face was flushed, and a light sweat had broken out under his clothes.
And this was still early in the morning, with the autumn breeze soft and gentle.
He sighed, leaning against the tree. If he had been asked to hoe the ground and plant vegetables in the summer heat, he might have fainted from heatstroke right there in the field.
"Little Uncle."
Just as Ji Taoyu was wondering whether to take a break before continuing, a voice suddenly called out to him.
He turned his head and saw Zhao Pan approaching.
In just about a year, the boy had grown significantly taller, nearly reaching Ji Taoyu’s height.
Being called "Little Uncle" still felt a bit strange to Ji Taoyu.
[伯 (bó): father's older brother]
But according to family hierarchy, it was correct—though Zhao Pan only used the term in private. Normally, he just called him "Uncle."
[叔 (shū): father's younger brother; it's widely used today to politely address older men (even strangers) without blood ties]
Ji Taoyu was happy to see Zhao Pan. The boy spent most of his time at the academy and rarely visited.
"Day off today?"
Zhao Pan nodded.
Then he handed Ji Taoyu something he was carrying: "Freshly steamed crabs. Mother mentioned this place was about to open, so I figured Big Uncle and Little Uncle would both be here. I brought some over."
Ji Taoyu touched the crabs—still warm—and accepted them without hesitation. "I was just thinking of going to the market today, but I’ve been too busy to find the time."
"Little Uncle, what are you busy with? Let me handle it. You should eat the crabs while they're hot."
"It’s nothing much, just planting some osmanthus trees in the courtyard. Come, have some with me."
Ji Taoyu walked over to a small table nearby and began breaking open the bright orange-red crabs. This season’s crabs were already plump and meaty.
"I’ve already eaten at home. These were specially for you, Little Uncle."
Zhao Pan didn’t mention Big Uncle. Last autumn, when they had crabs at home, Huo Shu found them too much trouble for too little meat and didn’t care for them. Ji Taoyu, on the other hand, loved them.
Ji Taoyu didn’t eat much and got full easily, so he had a special fondness for foods that required effort to eat but were delicious.
"Mother knew I was off today, so she made a lot. She steamed them early in the morning before heading to the cloth shop. The autumn weather is cool, so there are more people out enjoying themselves. The cloth shop is busier than usual."
After autumn, the comfortable weather drew crowds into the city for outings. In the countryside, the harvest was over, and with money from selling their grain, many families bought fabric to make new clothes.
The city was bustling these days. When Ji Taoyu came into town early that morning, he saw many farmers hauling grain to sell in the city.
The grain shops outside were swamped with business, some even sending carts through the streets to loudly announce their purchase prices.
Ji Taoyu smiled. "Crabs aren’t cheap. Your mother really dotes on you—I get to benefit too."
Zhao Pan said, "Mother is usually frugal, always saving money for my studies. She rarely buys luxuries like this."
"Uncle Wang from the cloth shop gave them to her."
"Then I’m benefiting even more!"
Ji Taoyu snapped off a crab leg. "Perfect timing—I was getting a little hungry."
Crabs could be prickly, but for someone like Ji Taoyu, who had been eating them since childhood, that minor inconvenience was no match for the allure of their tender, flavorful meat.
Zhao Pan smiled and nodded, taking over Ji Taoyu’s hoe to dig holes and plant the remaining osmanthus trees.
"A-Pan, how’s your calligraphy practice coming along?"
Ji Taoyu nibbled on the crab and looked up at the young man beneath the osmanthus tree—scholarly but not frail.
"How about we make a sign later, and you can write the characters for it?"
Zhao Pan’s eyes brightened. "Sure!"
With the salt shop now open at the street corner, foot traffic in the new market area had increased somewhat.
Merchants in the new street used to joke that even ghosts could be beaten to death here in broad daylight, given how empty it was. But as more businesses settled in and opened shops, the place was gradually taking on the lively atmosphere of a proper market.
After planting the osmanthus trees, Ji Taoyu and Zhao Pan found a wooden board, smoothed it out, and Zhao Pan wrote the words "Bow Workshop & Archery Range" on it.
They then carved along the inked lines and filled the grooves with cinnabar red.
Once finished, they carried the sign to the street corner to set it up.
Ji Taoyu placed it near the salt shop, hoping that customers coming and going might notice it.
"Zhao Pan, what are you doing here?"
As the two bent over, hammering the sign’s base into the ground, a voice suddenly called out.
Ji Taoyu looked up and saw two neatly dressed young men, jade pendants hanging at their waists, their faces handsome and refined. They appeared to be around Zhao Pan’s age.
"Sheng Cang and I went to your house looking for you, but no one answered the door. We were surprised you weren’t home studying on your day off. Never thought we’d run into you here."
"I left early in the morning," Zhao Pan replied.
"What brings you two here?"
"The weather’s nice today. We wanted to invite you to the outskirts for a horse race. Isn’t the academy testing riding and archery soon?"
Zhao Pan nodded. "But I’m busy today—helping my uncle tidy up the shop here."
Then he introduced the two to Ji Taoyu: "Uncle, these are my two classmates and friends, Bai Wangjue and Sheng Cang."
Then he turned to introduce Ji Taoyu to the two.
Thank you for the update!!!
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