At the prefectural yamen, County Lieutenant Pan Wenji presented the day’s kidnapping case interrogation to the county magistrate.
That night, Old Woman Li’s son noticed his mother still hadn’t returned home. Just as he was about to go out looking for her, he heard knocking at the door.
He called out “Coming!” as he went to open it, asking, “Ma, why are you back so late today? Did you go eat something good at some tavern?”
As soon as he finished speaking, the door opened.
But outside wasn’t Old Woman Li at all. Rather, a swarm of over ten men wearing yamen uniforms, blades at their waists, with faces dark enough to frighten children to tears.
These bailiffs gave him no time to think. The moment he opened the door, they rushed inside.
Two of them immediately seized Old Woman Li’s son on the spot, while the remaining bailiffs charged into the house with their blades drawn. In moments, terrified screams rang out from inside, followed by various shouts and commands…
Crash—
Bang—
Amid the sounds of ransacking drawers and searching everywhere, the bailiffs indeed found a dark little room in the rear wing of the compound. Inside, they discovered three children huddled together, all appearing to be seven or eight years old.
One boy and two girls. All wore ragged coarse hemp clothing, with whip marks on their hands and feet.
Both of Old Woman Li’s daughters-in-law were arrested. The other son tried to escape over the wall but was pulled down by the bailiffs. His head struck a water vat at the corner of the wall, cracking his skull. He didn’t survive until the next day.
All this… Xu Yi remained unaware of for now.
After rewarding Ah Jin with one string of cash, he gave Ah Xu fifty wen and granted them a day off to visit the City God Temple market.
The county’s City God Temple market wasn’t held every day, only during the ten-day rest periods.
By coincidence, Xing Yuesen and the others had free time during their rest period and came to invite Xu Yi out to play.
They also knew Xu Yi was usually busy, and when he was busy, they didn’t dare disturb him. Now hearing that Xu Yi wanted to take the children to the City God Temple market, they said they would arrange the transportation.
Before long, a donkey cart covered with curtains stopped outside the Xu family compound.
The driver was the same one from their last trip to the City God Temple. He was quite perceptive. Seeing the two children were small, he proactively took out a stool from the cart to help them up.
“Doctor Xu, my young master is already waiting for you at the teahouse by the City God Temple. Shall we depart now?” The driver spoke respectfully to Xu Yi.
Xu Yi nodded, first letting Ah Xu and Ah Jin board, then following behind them.
Having never ridden in a donkey cart before, Ah Xu and Ah Jin climbed up first. Seeing the soft cushions inside the carriage and the compartments for storing items, even carved with beautiful patterns, both pairs of eyes went wide.
Ah Jin whispered to Ah Xu, “Brother, this cart is so spacious inside, and even the cushions are soft.”
Ah Xu touched the cushion his sister mentioned and nodded vigorously, then placed the cushion he was holding in the center of the carriage floor.
When Xu Yi climbed in, he saw two cushions stacked on his seat and didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
He returned the cushion to Ah Xu, telling them to sit wherever they wanted and not to be so formal.
Soon, Ah Xu and Ah Jin cast aside their initial nervousness about riding the donkey cart and happily lifted the curtain, gazing with longing and delight at the streets outside.
To them, the county streets were endlessly fascinating no matter how long they looked.
The quaint buildings lining both sides of the street hadn’t yet acquired the weight of historical patina. They were both simple and magnificent, everywhere filled with the atmosphere of daily life.
Smelling the occasional wafts of food aromas drifting into the carriage, both of them swallowed their saliva hungrily.
Seeing this, Xu Yi asked with a smile, “Are you hungry?”
Ah Jin turned her head and said, “Master, I’m not hungry. It’s just the smell is so tempting.” After saying this, she blushed slightly and sat back down obediently on the cushion.
Ah Xu asked Xu Yi, “Master, are you hungry? I’ll go buy you some food.”
Xu Yi shook his head, saying it wasn’t necessary.
There was plenty of food at the market outside the City God Temple. Once they got there, the eating options alone would be dazzling enough to make one’s head spin.
–
Having just entered the seventh month, with “the great fire flowing westward,” this marked the beginning of autumn. The Song Dynasty was currently in the midst of the third Little Ice Age, so autumn and winter would be much colder than in modern times.
Just entering autumn, the temperature had already dropped considerably.
At today’s City God Temple market, there were noticeably more stall owners selling firewood than usual.
This was the time when every household should stock up on firewood. Once deep autumn arrived and the mountains were covered in snow and ice, finding good firewood wouldn’t be easy. By then, if you wanted to buy firewood, it would cost several times more than before the cold weather set in.
As soon as Xu Yi got off the donkey cart and bid farewell to the driver, he brought Ah Xu and Ah Jin into the market.
Xing Yuesen and the others were waiting for him in a teahouse outside the City God Temple. He instructed Ah Xu not to get separated from Ah Jin.
Because the City God Temple gathering was different from ordinary market streets, outside there were Street Bureau bailiffs standing guard, so kidnappers didn’t dare operate here. So Xu Yi didn’t need to worry about them having an accident or being kidnapped at the market.
Besides, children needed to experience some things. Xu Yi didn’t want Ah Xu and Ah Jin to become afraid of going out alone because of the Old Woman Li incident.
After giving his instructions, Xu Yi said, “The house needs to stock up on quite a bit of firewood. If you see good quality wood, have the stall owner set it aside for us. Don’t worry about the money. Just bring them to find me at the teahouse when the time comes.”
He didn’t specify exactly how much firewood to stock up on, only saying the more the better.
They both knew that making medicinal pills regularly consumed quite a bit of firewood. He didn’t need to specifically remind them.
So after Xu Yi finished his instructions, he watched them happily hold hands and enter the lively crowd before heading to the teahouse with peace of mind to find Xing Yuesen and the others.
Xu Yi hadn’t walked far before he spotted the teahouse the driver had mentioned.
As soon as he entered, a clever waiter ran over to inquire. Hearing that Xu Yi wanted to go to a private room on the second floor, he enthusiastically showed him upstairs.
Leading Xu Yi to the door of the private room, the waiter knocked. Hearing the guest inside call out to enter, he pushed open the door and gestured for Xu Yi to go in.
Inside the room, Xin Shengyuan stretched his neck looking toward the door. Seeing it was Xu Yi, he happily raised his hand and waved, “Xu Yi, over here!”
Tao Qinghao also stood up, smiling at Xu Yi, “Finally you’re here. Waiter, bring us another pot of good tea, and some food as well.”
The waiter replied with a servile smile, “Right away, young master. Please wait a moment, I’ll bring it right up.”
After saying this, he closed the door.
Xu Yi looked at them with a faint smile and said, “Why are you only drinking tea? Were you waiting for me?”
Xing Yuesen said, “Yes, today’s weather is cold. Food gets cold quickly after it’s served, so we’re drinking tea first to warm ourselves.”
Then he asked if Xu Yi wanted a warming brazier.
Having just entered autumn, such warming tools weren’t needed yet. Xu Yi refused without a second thought.
He chose a seat by the window, glancing at the bustling market outside, and asked them, “Why not go browse the market?”
Tao Qinghao’s posture was casual, lazily leaning against the chair back as he said, “Every rest period, we either browse the market or stroll through gardens. It’s gotten rather boring.”
“It is boring,” Xu Yi agreed with a nod.
Tao Qinghao then suggested that since the weather hadn’t completely turned cold yet, why not go play at an estate in the suburbs?
Hearing mention of an estate, Xu Yi recalled some gossip he’d heard long ago, and his gaze flicked toward Xin Shengyuan.
At that moment, Xin Shengyuan spoke up, “Not going, not going. Because of that incident, my father has forbidden me from going to the estate to play. He’s afraid I’ll also break my leg and won’t be able to participate in next year’s imperial examinations.”
From the perspective of ancient medical standards, if you broke your leg and wanted it to heal completely, it would take a year or more. The person who fell last time was still lying at home recuperating. If they wanted to participate in next spring’s examinations, they probably wouldn’t make it in time.
Xin Shengyuan’s father was worried his youngest son would be playful and also fall at the horse grounds. He directly ordered that before the examinations, he was forbidden from playing at the horse grounds.
Xing Yuesen looked at them and said, “If you all find things boring, I happen to have an interesting matter. Want to hear about it?”
“What interesting matter?”
Both Tao Qinghao and Xin Shengyuan looked at him in unison.
Xu Yi finished the hot tea in his hand and also looked at Xing Yuesen.
Xing Yuesen sat up straight, saying seriously, “While I call it interesting, I think ‘greatly satisfying’ would be better. Do you know, yesterday at the county yamen, someone went to report a case. What kind of case do you think it was?”
Hearing this, Xu Yi thought: “…” This sounds very familiar.
Xin Shengyuan said, “I think I heard my brother mention it yesterday. I was going to ask about it, but he was too busy and didn’t have time to pay attention to me.”
“Who else is as idle as you, with nothing else to do after school?” Tao Qinghao said this with a big laugh, completely unsparing.
Xin Shengyuan didn’t mind, responding with a hum, “Oh~ you’re such a busy person. Can’t compare, can’t compare. Should I praise you a few times to satisfy you, lest you fly up to heaven?”
Xu Yi coughed lightly twice and asked, “What happened next?”
After he and Ah Jin left the yamen, he didn’t know anything about what happened afterward, and still didn’t know if Old Woman Li’s accomplices had been caught.
Since Xing Yuesen already knew about this case, he should know something.
Xing Yuesen said, “The person who reported the case said someone tried to kidnap a child on the street. After the child saw through it, they tried to forcibly snatch them, but failed and were caught instead.
When I inquired further, I learned this kidnapper was an old woman, already past fifty, yet still doing such wicked things that damage one’s karma. And it wasn’t just her. Her sons and daughters-in-law were all accomplices. She did the kidnapping, while her sons and daughters-in-law found buyers, directly selling the kidnapped people to brothels and wealthy households to work as servants.”
Xin Shengyuan was shocked: “How could these people be so vile?”
Tao Qinghao patted his shoulder, saying, “You don’t know. Around our county, children often go missing. It’s all these kidnappers who take them.”
“What happened next? Were all these evil people caught?” Xin Shengyuan asked indignantly.
Xing Yuesen smiled, “They were caught, and one of them even died.”
Xu Yi was slightly surprised and asked him, “How did they die?”
Xing Yuesen said, “They say during the arrest, the old woman’s son tried to escape, fell from the wall, and died.”
Xu Yi continued asking, “Did they find any children at the hideout?”
“Yes, they found three kidnapped children,” Xing Yuesen said, then paused, looking at Xu Yi with some surprise. “How did you know there would be children?”
Xu Yi: “…”
He said calmly, “The person who went to the yamen yesterday to report the case, that was me.”
Xing Yuesen and the others: “!!!”
Who would have thought that after talking for so long, the protagonist was right among them?
Tao Qinghao was the first to come to his senses, exclaiming in surprise, “You caught that old woman?”
Xu Yi said, “To be precise, Old Woman Li was first restrained by Ah Jin. When I arrived, I then subdued her.”
“Who’s Ah Jin?” Xin Shengyuan asked in confusion, having heard only bits and pieces.
It was asking too much for them to remember the name of a little servant girl. Xu Yi had anticipated this and explained who Ah Jin was.
Only then did Xing Yuesen remember that when they’d invited Xu Yi to the market today, it was Xu Yi who wanted to come, and the reason seemed to involve those two, Ah Xu and Ah Jin.
Xing Yuesen asked him, “Why didn’t you bring Ah Jin for us to meet?”
“Right, for Ah Jin, a child of just a few years old, to recognize a kidnapper’s tricks, that’s truly remarkable.”
Xu Yi said, “No rush. I let them browse the market first, then they’ll come find me at the teahouse.”
Hearing him say this, the others felt a hint of anticipation.
Having chatted idly for so long, just sitting and drinking tea was rather dull. Tao Qinghao called the waiter in and had him bring up a few more plates of snacks and some small dishes to go with wine.
Xu Yi couldn’t drink alcohol, but they could.
A little drinking was pleasant. Nowadays, scholars in teahouses didn’t only drink tea. Quite a few would drink some light wine for enjoyment.
This teahouse’s finest wine was rice wine, with a rich white color. It smelled fragrant and tasted sweet without being cloying, and didn’t intoxicate easily.
Among wealthy families’ sons, ten-year-olds would already start tasting wine. As the several of them drank wine and talked, the atmosphere somehow became harmonious.
Half a year ago, they’d been two groups who found each other mutually disagreeable, yet because of Xu Yi’s addition, they’d somehow become friends who talked about everything.
When Xing Yuesen drank himself into high spirits, he even wanted to stand up and compose poetry.
Both Tao Qinghao and Xin Shengyuan were unwilling.
Tao Qinghao complained to Xu Yi irritably, “Xin Yao and I can’t compose those poems or paintings. We hate those people who spout poetry at the drop of a hat. Fifth Young Master Xing is just annoying. He just wants to show off in front of you.”
Xu Yi innocently touched his nose: “…”
“When you say that, don’t include me. I’m not like you,” Xin Shengyuan frowned, pursing his lips in displeasure. “These past few months, I’ve been very restricted and can’t go anywhere. After 8pm, I still have to study by lamplight for another two hours. My father says, half depends on human effort, half on the will of heaven. If I study hard, then passing the examinations is up to heaven’s will. If heaven knows I’m worthy, surely it’ll be willing to grant me the rank of juren to try.”
Every family had its own difficulties. Xu Yi listened to them speak one after another about their families’ requirements and expectations of them.
In his heart arose a feeling of envy. Once upon a time, he too had parents and an elder brother.
Xu Yi drank his tea, his gaze falling outside the window. The cool breeze was gentle, birds flew across the firmament. He wondered, on the same land but in a different era, were his original family members doing well?
For a moment, no one spoke.
The others only then noticed that Xu Yi’s mood seemed low.
Xing Yuesen was the eldest among them and already married. He quickly detected a touch of melancholy in Xu Yi’s eyes.
He poured a cup of tea and moved to the seat next to Xu Yi, looking out the window alongside him, slowly asking, “Is it that the tea isn’t fragrant?”
“No, this is excellent autumn tea. Unlike the elegant fragrance of spring tea or the mellow richness of winter tea, it has its own unique flavor,” Xu Yi shook his head.
Xing Yuesen smiled slightly, “I see your mind isn’t on the tea. Perhaps you have some thoughts in your heart that can’t be shared with others.”
Hearing this, Xu Yi also smiled.
He concealed the emotions in his eyes and looked at Xing Yuesen: “I do, but indeed can’t tell you.”
“Then don’t tell, don’t tell,” Xing Yuesen shook his head, casually leaning against the window sill. Seeing a peddler carrying a shoulder pole selling tea cakes passing below, he called out to him.
The peddler, seeing young masters above wanting to buy his tea cakes, carried his pole upstairs.
“Greetings to all the young masters. My tea cakes are all made from good tea leaves picked in spring, not those coarse summer teas.”
“Really?” Tao Qinghao asked doubtfully.
He took a tea cake in hand and brought it to his nose to smell. His family ran wine shops and teahouses, so he knew more about tea than the others.
With one sniff, he knew the peddler wasn’t lying.
So-called tea cakes were made by steaming and cooking freshly picked tea leaves into cakes, then sun-drying or oven-drying them. The method of drinking differed from modern pu-er tea cakes. They were boiled into tea or cooked into a thick drink. Later, when tea culture developed to the Song Dynasty, there were even more variations. The more particular would take a piece and grind it into powder, then add some seasonings to eat with it.
Moreover, these tea cakes kept better than ordinary loose tea.
Xu Yi, smelling the tea fragrance from the cakes, asked the peddler, “What’s the price for these tea cakes?”
The peddler said, “In reply to the young master, this humble one sells these tea cakes for twenty wen each.”
This price, compared to the tea in the teahouse, was much cheaper.
Drinking ripe tea was good in winter. Xu Yi took out money and bought twenty tea cakes.
Seeing him buy so many, Xin Shengyuan wasn’t to be outdone and also ordered twenty cakes.
Xu Yi: “…”
Seeing him buy like this, Tao Qinghao laughed, “Xin Yao, can you even get used to drinking this tea?”
Xin Shengyuan said he didn’t know, adding, “Once I drink it, won’t I know whether I can get used to it or not?”
“That’s true,” Xing Yuesen said after hearing this, smiling helplessly, and asked the peddler how many remained.
The peddler said excitedly, “Young master, I still have about a hundred tea cakes in my carrying pole.”
Xing Yuesen nodded with satisfaction, “I’ll take all the remaining tea cakes. Deliver them to the Xing residence on West Street. Tell the gatekeeper servant that FIfth Young Master Xing ordered them. I’ll write you a letter now that you can present to him, and he’ll lead you into the residence to settle payment.”
After saying this, he went to the table, took paper and brush, and briefly wrote a letter for the peddler.
The peddler received the letter very gratefully and spoke many auspicious words to Xu Yi, Xing Yuesen, and the others.
In his heart, he thought today was truly his lucky day. Selling so many tea cakes was worth several months of his family’s income.
…
After the peddler left, Xu Yi asked Xing Yuesen why he bought so many.
Xing Yuesen said, “Next month is the Mid-Autumn Festival. The family has many stewards, housekeepers, and managers coming to the house to pay their respects. The tea cakes this peddler sells aren’t cheap, and the price is reasonable. Buying them to add to the gifts for those below is just right.”
This matter wasn’t originally his responsibility, but his father said he should experience it once, so when he managed things independently in the future, he’d know how to handle these complicated formalities.
Only after hearing this did Xu Yi learn that when masters’ families celebrated festivals, they also had to reward those below them.
Tao Qinghao sighed, “My family has too much tea. We don’t even give tea to those below anymore. We just directly give silver.”
“That’s even better. It saves thinking about it,” Xing Yuesen said.
Tao Qinghao gave him a “you don’t understand” look.
Rewarding tea cakes cost twenty wen and was done with. Rewarding silver meant stewards and above couldn’t be given less than one string of cash, while servants, maids, and female servants below also needed dozens of wen. The Tao family employed many servants. Over a year, reward money alone cost dozens of strings of cash.
Xu Yi and Xing Yuesen bought tea cakes for a purpose, but only Xin Shengyuan, who bought twenty tea cakes, still didn’t know how to handle them.
No one made fun of him though, simply treating it as an act of virtue and charity. They chatted and laughed as they returned to the table to drink tea.
After some time, the teahouse waiter came up to inquire, saying two children downstairs were looking for someone, asking if any of the young masters knew them.
Upon hearing this, Xu Yi knew it was Ah Xu and Ah Jin coming to find him.
He had the waiter bring them upstairs.
Following Ah Xu and Ah Jin up were two men in their thirties wearing short hemp clothes. They appeared timid, not daring to look directly ahead.
After entering, Ah Xu first bowed to Xu Yi, then bowed to Xing Yuesen and the others.
Then he said that he and Ah Jin had found two firewood sellers at the market, negotiated prices with both, and got fairly reasonable rates.
These two men had brought quite a bit of firewood to sell. One had two hundred jin, the other one hundred sixty jin.
Hearing this, Xu Yi first paid the money, then asked if they had more firewood to sell.
After receiving an affirmative answer, Xu Yi said, “If you come to the county to sell firewood in the future, you can come to the Xu household at Stone Well Lane on South Street. As long as the wood is good quality, I’ll buy it.”
The men were delighted, saying repeatedly, “Thank you, young master! Thank you, young master!”
…
The next day, early in the morning, people came to the Xu family at Stone Well Lane on South Street. When Ah Xu opened the door, he found the two men from yesterday. By coincidence, both had arrived together, each carrying two bundles of firewood.
Seeing the firewood was good quality, Ah Xu ran inside to find Xu Yi.
Through the kitchen window, Xu Yi saw the two men and instructed Ah Xu to take money and buy the firewood.
Having successfully sold their firewood, the two men left with joy, clutching their money.
Later that day, Xu Yi called Ah Xu and the two children into the house, having them gather clothes that had become too short, saying he wanted to give these clothes away.
Speaking of which, in the two months Ah Xu and Ah Jin had been at home, they’d grown several centimeters taller. The clothes first bought for them now exposed their ankles when worn.
With the weather gradually turning cold, continuing to wear ankle-exposing clothes wouldn’t be appropriate. By next year, Ah Xu and Ah Jin would grow even more, making these clothes even less suitable.
During the last trip to Baili Village, Xu Yi had seen that Village Chief Zhang’s grandchildren wore clothes with patches, even more worn than what the two at home wore. So he’d thought of giving these clothes to them.
Though Ah Xu and Ah Jin felt somewhat reluctant when they learned these clothes were being given to other children their age, they obediently returned to their room to pack up the clothes.
Their master treated them extremely well. After giving away these clothes, they would still have new ones.
Thinking this way, they didn’t feel as reluctant anymore.
While Ah Xu and the others were packing clothes, on the other side, the cart driver Old Liu was leisurely driving his ox cart into Stone Well Lane.
When Xu Yi left the city, the ox cart he rode most often was Old Liu’s vehicle. Later, he thought, why not hire Old Liu’s ox cart outright? That way he could leave the city whenever he wanted.
When Old Liu heard Xu Yi had this intention, he immediately agreed.
Ordinarily driving the cart, he made at most a dozen wen per day, and that required making several trips. But maintaining the cart and caring for the ox both required money. Over a month, he only earned two or three hundred wen.
Xu Yi was generous. Hiring his cart, he paid five hundred wen per month.
This was so much better than exhausting himself picking up individual passengers. Only a fool would refuse.
Today when he came, he’d specially repaired the flat cart in back, fixing the broken parts, reinforcing the railings on both sides. Rough as he was, he’d even thoughtfully spread a layer of straw. Though not quite soft, it was better than before.
Old Liu felt quite satisfied. Seeing the Xu residence, his mouth split into a wide grin.
happy for old man Liu, he does deserve a bit of money after all the free advertisement XD
also i’m enjoying the shenanigans of the young masters, they’re good guys, just a bit out of touch with common people’s realities.