The next day, Ji Taoyu woke up late.
Since opening the shop, he hadn’t lazed in bed for a long time.
Winter had always been the season he most loved to curl up under the blanket, reluctant to rise. But now, for the sake of making a living, he had even changed his habits.
Rubbing his eyes, he stretched his limbs under the blanket before lifting the bed curtain slightly. The dimness of the room made it hard to tell whether it was still early or already late.
But since he had slept until waking up naturally, it definitely wasn’t early. The window wasn’t very bright either, suggesting the weather outside wasn’t great.
Surprisingly, though, the room was still quite warm.
Only when he crawled out of bed did he notice two charcoal braziers burning steadily—likely brought in that morning.
No wonder he hadn’t felt cold.
Just as he reached for the clothes hanging on the rack, his gaze suddenly fell on the crumpled, torn letter lying on the floor, its ink now mostly smudged beyond recognition.
Ji Taoyu hurriedly picked it up and threw it into the charcoal brazier, his face flushing bright red.
The orange-red embers ignited the paper upon contact, sending up a wisp of white smoke.
A faint, ambiguous scent mingled in the air. Ji Taoyu’s nose was sharp, and his face turned even redder.
Last night, he had merely said he was cold, but that scoundrel Huo Shu had carried him to the table, saying he wouldn’t be cold by the brazier.
He had been in some pain, grabbing whatever was within reach without even realizing what it was—even shattering two cups in the process.
"Time to get up."
When Huo Shu walked in carrying a bowl of noodles, he saw Ji Taoyu standing stiffly by the brazier, lips pressed tightly together.
"Too hot?"
Huo Shu set the noodles down and frowned slightly at Ji Taoyu’s unusually flushed face.
Ji Taoyu rubbed his stomach. "It’s not that."
Huo Shu didn’t understand why this ger was in such a temper so early in the morning. "Wash your hands and face first."
Ji Taoyu scurried off to wash up before finally sitting down to eat the noodles.
The only thing that could cure his habit of lazing in bed was a bowl of freshly made noodles. After all, other foods could be reheated if they cooled, but noodles turned soggy and unappetizing once they clumped together.
"You can’t do that again in the future."
Ji Taoyu glared at Huo Shu between slurps of noodles.
Huo Shu lowered his gaze. "Can’t do what?"
"Sometimes I eat here. If you… if you keep doing that, how am I supposed to eat?"
Huo Shu raised an eyebrow but didn’t respond.
"Did you hear me?!"
Seeing Huo Shu’s silence, Ji Taoyu pinched his arm.
"Hm."
Ji Taoyu huffed a few times.
Outside, a light drizzle drifted down, casting a gray haze over the mountains and fields. The rain was barely visible, yet after just feeding the chickens in the yard, a layer of frost had settled on his head.
The ground was damp, carrying a heavy, humid chill.
Huang Manjing chuckled at the sight of Ji Taoyu bundled up like a round little dumpling. "Your father said the two of you have been so busy these past days that you’ve lost weight. Since it’s cold and rainy today, I’ll slaughter an old hen to make soup for you."
"Just so happens there’s one that’s stopped laying eggs. You two don’t have anything important today, do you?"
Standing under the eaves, Ji Taoyu’s breath formed little white puffs as he spoke to his mother, making him realize just how warm it had been inside.
He said, "A-Shu said Wenliang and A-Shou are returning from Hailin Prefecture today and should arrive. We need to go into town to check the goods they’ve brought back."
Huang Manjing replied, "Then we’ll have it for dinner. Come back early."
"Nothing else going on. It’s winter now, and with this rain, the horseback archery range probably won’t have any business."
Ji Taoyu nodded eagerly, his mouth already watering at the thought of his mother's nourishing hen soup. "Make a big pot of broth. The pea shoots in our field look especially tender this season - we should pick the tender tips to lightly cook in the soup."
"You sure know how to eat."
Huang Manjing added, "Invite your mother-in-law over for dinner too."
"Alright."
"But you’re still going into town? It’s so cold and rainy. If it’s not urgent, why not stay in?"
At that, Ji Taoyu straightened up as if he weren’t cold at all.
"Wenliang’s bringing back seafood. I’ll take a look and bring some back for the New Year."
Huang Manjing shook her head. "You just can’t bear to be apart from Huo Shu, can you?"
By the time Huo Shu and Ji Taoyu dawdled their way into town, it was nearly noon.
The town was chilly this season, and the streets weren’t particularly busy. Shopkeepers either cradled hand warmers or huddled around braziers inside their shops.
Business was slow, and people were lazy.
Xinjie Street was even quieter, though the market district still had a decent crowd.
At midday, Ji Taoyu wandered around and noticed that red lanterns for the New Year were already being hung in the bustling market. Against the dreary winter streets, the festive lanterns added a sudden splash of color.
The festive ambiance of the approaching new year was gradually taking hold.
While other streets maintained their usual appearance, the sound of firecrackers being set off by children already echoed through the residential lanes.
Ji Taoyu recalled visiting Fang He a few days ago to discuss business and seeing his wife—Qiao’er, the girl Butcher Qiao had once wanted to match with Huo Shu—with her belly already quite round.
By the time their merchant caravan returned next year, the child would probably be crawling.
Ji Taoyu felt a twinge of emotion, but now that he understood his own circumstances, he wasn’t as unsettled as before.
The town was livelier than the countryside.
In a few more days, after the 20th of the lunar month, the city would grow even busier. By then, crowds of people—both locals and vendors braving the cold—would flood the streets to stock up on New Year’s goods.
With no business in the shop and Uncle Fan and the others not yet back, Ji Taoyu was bored.
Taking advantage of the midday cooking fire, he scooped some hot coals from the stove into a brazier. Then, he bought a few oranges from a street vendor.
The oranges were too cold to eat as they were, so he poked small holes in them, stuffed them with sugar, and placed them over the brazier.
Before long, the orange peels blackened from the heat. When he peeled them open, the once-chilled fruit was now warm.
The melted sugar seeped into the segments, making them both tart and sweet.
Huo Shu returned with a bag of sugar-roasted chestnuts and shook his head.
"You really know how to tinker."
Ji Taoyu stood up from the brazier. "Want to try one?"
Just then, Tian Xiaodian’s voice rang out from outside: "They’re back!"
Tian Xiaodian ran in excitedly. "They’ve returned!"
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