Shunan was quite far from Hezhou. The Qin family soldiers, leading the new recruits, had been marching for a day and had just arrived at Zhonghuan Town. They were now resting at a tea stall by the roadside. The Qin soldiers told the stall owner to boil some hot water. The new recruits had brought buns with them, but they hadn't brought water—they'd been drinking at tea stalls along the way or at streams.
There were two tables of travelers sitting inside the tea shed. The new recruits sat by the roadside outside, drawing envious looks from those people. Two horse-drawn carriages came from the opposite direction and stopped outside the tea stall. A tall, burly man stepped down from the first carriage.
Even the seasoned Qin soldiers couldn't help but want to give him a thumbs-up.
With a build like that, if he joined the army, he'd be something else.
Lin Xiaoxia helped Aunt Liu down. The Liu family had also come, but their carriage was small and packed with belongings, so Aunt Liu had moved over to Li Yanmei's carriage.
They had been traveling for over two months, alternating between boats and carriages. When Fang Zichen had first sent his letter, it was just the beginning of summer. The letter made it clear: he should ask the Liu family if they wanted to go into business. If so, they could keep the shop; if not, Lin Xiaoxia should bring his own family over.
Earlier, while in the capital, Lin Xiaoxia had sent money over, showing that the shop was doing quite well. Fearing that if the Liu family took over the shop they might not be able to protect it, Fang Zichen had written an extra letter. If the Liu family wanted to take over, Lin Xiaoxia was to take the letter to the prefect and ask him to keep an eye on things. If the Liu family didn't want it, the letter didn't need to be delivered.
The letter also said: if the Liu family didn't want the shop, Lin Xiaoxia should sell it off quickly and come over.
It sounded urgent, but there was nothing secret or shady inside. Hezhou was so poor it didn't even have a single escort agency. Back when permission was granted, the Imperial Guards asked a merchant heading to Qinzhou to carry the letter there, where it would be sent by escort agency. Fang Zichen wasn't willing to pay the expedited delivery fee, so the escort agency waited until they had cargo heading to Yuanzhou before setting off.
With all the detours and delays, the letter didn't reach Yuanzhou until several months later. Lin Xiaoxia and Li Yanmei didn't dare waste any time. After talking to the Liu family, they began packing. They hurried along, barely stopping. Luckily, it was cold, so food kept longer. Whenever Lin Xiaoxia passed through a town, he'd buy several baskets of buns to bring along so they wouldn't have to stop on the road. They finally arrived in Hezhou just a few days ago.
They'd finished the last of the buns last night. They'd been walking most of the day without a proper meal, so when Lin Xiaoxia saw the tea stall, he stopped.
The tea stall didn't just serve tea—it also sold food. After all, it was a long way from Shunan to Hezhou. The stall was set up outside the town, and travelers who didn't want to detour into town would come here for a quick bite.
The food wasn't too expensive either. Since it was cold, Lin Xiaoxia asked the stall owner to cook a few bowls of noodles.
Uncle Liu and Aunt Liu weren't feeling well—they were worn out from the journey—and probably wouldn't be able to stomach a full meal.
Once they sat down, Zhou Ger looked at Aunt Liu's pale face with concern. "Mother, are you all right?"
Liu Xiaowen also looked over anxiously. Aunt Liu waved her hand. "Nothing much, just tired. My back hurt the other day, and Jiaojiao gave me a rub—it's much better now."
The road was bumpy and full of potholes. Even young people could barely endure two months of this, let alone the elderly. Lin Xiaoxia had initially wanted to take it slower, but Aunt Liu was afraid of delaying Fang Zichen's plans and insisted it was fine—they could rest properly once they arrived.
Liuliu sat beside her. Aunt Liu patted him and looked out at the official road, saying happily, "We're almost at Hezhou. I wonder how Guaizai is doing. I haven't seen him in years." Her eyes reddened. "I miss him so much. And Zhao Ger has a pair of twins now—I really wonder what they look like."
Uncle Liu laughed. The closer they got to Hezhou, the happier he felt. He missed Guaizai too. Even though he wasn't his biological grandson, he'd watched him grow up. He'd doted on Guaizai back then, just as much as he doted on Liuliu.
"They can't be anything but good-looking—just look at that Fang boy and Zhao Ger. Fang boy dotes on Guaizai so much. Back in Yuanzhou, he took him out every single day. When did Guaizai ever come back without smiling? Right now, he's probably living the high life—but I bet Zhao Ger gives him a good hiding pretty often too."
Back in Yuanzhou, Guaizai used to get a spanking almost every day—not because he was naughty, but because he talked too much nonsense and said anything that came to his mind. Once, Zhao Ger had an upset stomach and stayed in the outhouse for a long time. When he came out, Guaizai ran over and grabbed his leg, saying, "Yesterday Daddy and Father were sleeping on top of each other! Daddy, do you have a little brother in your belly? Did you poop him into the latrine? Is that why you stayed in there so long? No way—Guaizai's going to go fish little brother out!"
Everyone had been busy in the yard at the time. Zhao Ger was so mortified he gave Guaizai a beating on the spot.
Zhou Ger laughed at the memory too.
"He must get beaten a lot," he said, turning to Liuliu. "Do you miss Guaizai?"
"Yes," Liuliu said without hesitation.
Big bowls of wide noodles were brought out, steaming hot, with a sprinkle of chopped scallions on top. In the dead of winter, slurping down noodles and drinking two mouthfuls of hot broth—there was nothing more delightful.
Everyone stopped talking and focused on eating. Fragments of conversation from the other tables drifted over.
"Those young lads outside look mostly young!"
"No kidding—they're all seventeen or eighteen."
"I went to sign up that day too, but the official said I wasn't suitable."
"You went too? As soon as I heard there would be an inspection and only those who passed could stay, I knew I wouldn't make it. And you, with a lame leg, actually went—how can you be so clueless? You just went to make trouble for the officials."
"What do you mean by that? Just because I'm lame, what's it to you? Did I eat your rice? Maybe the prefect would take a liking to me and accept me anyway!"
"But the one recruiting soldiers in Shunan isn't the prefect—he's stationed over in Anping County! Ah, if only he'd come to Shunan instead. Young Master Guaizai, loved the loquats I sent him."
"He liked the taro I sent too! He'd smile and say thank you when he received them. Young Master Guaizai is so handsome—really adorable."
The Liu and Lin families exchanged glances.
They wondered if the people at the tea stall were talking about the same Guaizai and Fang Zichen they knew.
They'd heard that the locals here were incredibly tough—that they'd beat up officials on sight and wouldn't even spare anyone connected to them.
When Lin Xiaoxia came, he'd hidden two butcher knives in the carriage!
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