Early November, Jiang San and Gao Yan returned to Fengjing from Anshui Prefecture, looking weary. Compared to when they saw Fang Heng in the north, the two men had not lost weight, but had actually gained some. It seemed they had rested well in Anshui Prefecture.
They entered the small courtyard.
Seeing the familiar faces, Jiang San almost shed tears.
Long journeys were truly arduous, and one could only know the hardships after experiencing it personally.
Although he was also happy to see the young master and other brothers, right now Jiang San most wanted to do was to hug Jiang Si and have a good cry.
"You've worked hard," said Zheng Ruqian, looking at the embracing Jiang San and Jiang Si. He suddenly missed Third Old Fang a little. "Is my brother doing well?"
Everyone looked over at this question.
Jiang Sheng's eyes shone brightly, Wen Zhiyun and Chang Yan listened intently, and even Xu Mo adopted his serious learning attitude.
Jiang San quickly let go of Jiang Si and cleared his throat. "Third Young Master said he is fine, and has already become a squad leader, with eight men under him. Although the north is cold, the people there are kind. It's just the food that takes some getting used to. He misses Auntie Zhang's cooking and hopes to return victorious soon, so he can share a cup of wine with his siblings."
The siblings had yet to react.
Behind them, Auntie Zhang suddenly burst into tears. "Such a good child, why did he run off to the bitterly cold north to suffer? Ah Heng is so quiet and introverted, if he says he misses Auntie's cooking, he must really miss it."
Jiang Sheng tiptoed to hand over a handkerchief, her eyes welling up too.
She missed Third Brother so much too.
"The word 'victorious return' bears such hardship," said Xu Mo solemnly. "The Tatar have clashed with the north for nearly ten years. Even with two generals stationed there, battles still flare up frequently. After General Fang passed, the Tatars became even more brazen, persistently burning, killing, and pillaging. To date, over a hundred villages have been trampled."
Yet they still had to hope—hope for the prosperity and strength of the Dayu Dynasty, hope for the valor and triumphant return of the northern troops, hope for the safe return of their brother.
"Third Young Master wrote you all letters," said Jiang San, fishing around before dropping a pile of envelopes on the floor.
There was one from Fang Heng, one from Wang Fufeng, one from Zhang Qiquan, one from Pang Dashan, and one from Liu Cui to Zhang Xianglian.
They each picked up their letter.
They first opened Fang Heng's familiar decisive handwriting, his warm patient reminders, and depictions of life in the north. It made the siblings' eyes well up.
They next opened Wang Fufeng's reply, the delicate orchid-like small regular script containing critiques and questions about Zhu Sihuan's poem, making Xu Mo unable to help smiling.
Elder Brother Fufeng was always so clever and sensitive, even noticing that the original poet of the poem wasn't Zhu Sihuan. It was a pity this matter was fated to be forever buried without the truth being known.
Inside Zhang Qiquan's envelope were this year's account books for the workshop, passed to Jiang Sheng since she was the workshop owner.
Pang Dashan's letter also contained account books, but with a timid request for a raise at the end.
It was currently early November. Traveling from Anshui Prefecture to Fengjing by carriage during the day and resting at night took over a month, but Jiang San and Gao Yan traveled ceaselessly day and night, taking only half a month.
The account books were for ten months, with a net profit over 900 taels of silver. This might not be considered much in Fengjing, but was enough to resolve the current dire straits of the siblings.
Zheng Ruqian grinned happily and tucked the banknotes into his robe. Suddenly, he felt a scorching heat and turned to see Jiang Sheng's indignant face.
"Big brother dared to rent a 800 tael shopfront because he already knew Third Brother Jiang could bring back the profits from Anshui Prefecture?" the little girl angrily asked.
Zheng Ruqian had a premonition that if he acknowledged this train of thought, his sister would definitely explode.
But that was indeed his real thinking.
Sure enough, as he nodded, little Jiang Sheng angrily charged over. "Stinky Second Brother, you have to squeeze every ounce out of the family money. Aren't you afraid we'll have no money left and be unable to even eat or only be able to drink leftover pot water at night..."
The siblings chased and scuffled into the yard.
Zhang Xianglian and several other brothers followed closely, while Jiang Si also mysteriously pulled Jiang San away.
The bustling little courtyard regained its tranquility. Gao Yan silently picked up the horse's reins, about to enter the yard when he noticed the timid Wang Xiaozhu at the gate.
Compared to the intimacy of Jiang San and Jiang Si, the liveliness of the main family siblings, Auntie Zhang and Aunt Liu's touching responses, Gao Yan and Wang Xiaozhu were like people from another world.
They were silent, calm, wordless, and tidying up in the end.
Gao Yan was taciturn and disliked talking since childhood. His fellow villager and brother Gao Dawan had also gone to work for the main family, and wasn't at the gate to welcome him back.
Wang Xiaozhu was lonely. She pretended to dislike but actually cared deeply for her brother, who didn't even bring back a verbal message for her.
Meeting unexpectedly, they sympathized with each other somewhat.
"Your brother will be back tonight," said Wang Xiaozhu, pressing her lips together. "The main family is opening a new shop, and he went to help."
Gao Yan nodded without speaking.
"Did you see a sixteen or seventeen year old youth in Anshui Prefecture?" asked Wang Xiaozhu hopefully, gesturing. "He looks tall and thin, has dimples when he laughs, sparse hair, and is a bit frail."
Gao Yan seemed to be thinking hard before shaking his head.
Wang Xiaozhu sighed, completely losing hope. "Thank you," she said. "I'm Wang Xiaozhu, about to go help Doctor Wen at the medicine hall. Let me know if you have any minor problems."
She gave a small smile and turned to enter the yard.
Gao Yan's face revealed a hint of confusion, as if recalling something. He hurriedly caught up but at the corner saw the fourth young master of the main family stopping Wang Xiaozhu.
"Jiang San was too excited earlier and forgot a letter in his robe," said Wen Zhiyun, still gentle as the wind and rain. "He just passed it to me and asked me to apologize on his behalf, hoping Little Sister Zhu will not be angry."
He held out his hand, on which lay an envelope "To Little Sister Zhu".
So brother had not forgotten her and wrote her a letter after all.
Wang Xiaozhu was both shocked and overjoyed, filled with indescribable emotions. She took the envelope and clutched it tightly to her chest before saying after a long pause, "Thank you, Doctor Wen."
Wen Zhiyun waved his hand lightly and nimbly turned to leave.
Third Brother brought back many northern specialties. Sister got tired from horsing around with Second Brother and kept yelling that she wanted to eat them. They must be dividing up the specialties now. He wondered how much she'd give him.
Wen Zhiyun looked expectantly ahead, his steps also quickening slightly, but he still maintained his steady pace, unaware of Xiaozhu's gaze behind him.
Just like Wang Xiaozhu was unaware of Gao Yan's gaze behind her.
The next day.
With nine hundred taels of silver backing them, the two shops busily began renovations and preparations. In just over half a month, the signboards were made, and the interior renovations completed.
Auntie Zhang even filled the small second courtyard with a dazzling array of pastries, which the Jiang siblings sampled to select the best dozen or so as signatures. The rest were set aside for improvement.
Everything seemed to be moving in a positive direction, just waiting for the grand openings of the two shops.
Right then, the Zhu family people came calling.
Two cold, stern servants brought paper and brushes, asking, "There are ten people in this courtyard in total. Last time we checked there were only nine. Have the other two returned?"
They still had not given up searching for the culprit behind Zhu Zhi's harm.
