Chapter 106: Preparing for the New Year

The child looked bewildered, roughly understanding that his father and sister were talking about the young master of the Xie family whom his brother and sister had once rescued. From the sound of it, the boy’s situation seemed far from good.

“Has his father locked him up?” the child asked. That sounded far too pitiful. Like his own father, for instance, who would never confine him, but would hold him instead.

At the thought of that, the child tightened his grip on Wen Xiuyi’s hand even more.

“Not exactly locked up, I suppose. It probably isn’t that serious,” Wen Xiuyi said with a sigh. Especially when he thought of that boy’s eventual fate in the original story—well. One could only wonder whether he was truly formidable, or whether the Qiu family had simply been unlucky.

Wen Yao hopped forward a step and suddenly said, “Father, you say the shopkeeper is also surnamed Qiu. Could he have some connection with Sister Qiu’s family?”

Wen Xiuyi shook his head. From the shopkeeper’s reaction, that did not seem likely. “If there were any connection, would the shopkeeper not have said so? Stop overthinking it. This world doesn’t only have one family with that surname.”

Still, the shopkeeper’s origins were indeed shrouded in mystery.

No one noticed that when Wen Xiuyi mentioned the shopkeeper, the child holding his hand looked troubled and conflicted, as though he had something to say but could not find the words. His little face was nearly scrunched into a knot.

By the ferry landing, Wen Nong was busy with work, while Madam Li and Madam Cai were helping tidy up nearby. Madam Luo and the others, fearing they might disturb the customers, did not sit in the shelter but stayed under the large tree beside it, watching over their yellow ox.

“Mother, have you finished your shopping?” Wen Xiuyi glanced at the ox cart. It was already loaded with quite a few bundles.

Madam Luo dusted off her clothes and stood up to look at them. “Yes. What about you? Why are you only coming back now?”

“We’re done too. It’s all here. We ran into a little something and got delayed,” Wen Xiuyi and Wen Jun said as they loaded their things onto the cart, all of them wrapped up so no one could tell what had been bought.

“What happened?” Madam Luo asked.

“Nothing serious.” Wen Xiuyi did not think it proper to tell the Wen family too much about the Xie family, so he changed the subject. “Mother, shall we head back now? Do you want to look around the landing a bit more and see if there’s anything else we need? Let’s buy a few fish while we’re here. Doctor Jin and Shopkeeper Qiu are coming to spend the New Year with us, so we should prepare something generous.”

Madam Luo lifted the straw mat covering the corner of the cart. Beneath it sat a large wooden tub, and the fish inside were still leaping about.

Wen Xiuyi grinned, immediately praising her for being so thoughtful. That earned him a glare from Madam Luo, though she did not press further about what they had encountered.

Once Wen Nong had packed up his stall, the whole family returned in a grand procession to Ancient Tung Tree Village.

Because of the Wen family’s house-building, wages had been paid out again before year’s end, and many households were able to buy a few more things for the New Year.

But when they saw how much the Wen family had brought back on that one ox cart, some could not help whispering about it in private.

They had bought land, built a house, and even purchased an ox—so exactly what business had the Wen family gotten rich from? Just that stall at the ferry landing? That should not be enough. It was not as though no one else had tried setting up stalls there; their business had been middling at best. To say they had lost money would be unfair, but to say they had made much money would be an exaggeration too.

Even so, no one dared ask about the Wen family. The fate of the Li family was still fresh in everyone’s memory, and the Wen family, though quiet and unassuming, had somehow found an astonishingly powerful backer.

In the blink of an eye, the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth month arrived. The Wen household was bustling from top to bottom, and the three sons and several grandsons were sent spinning by Madam Luo’s commands, cleaning the house inside and out until it shone.

This year was special. Aside from their own family, Doctor Jin and Shopkeeper Qiu would also be coming to celebrate the New Year, so the place had to be spotless lest the guests think them dirty and ill-kept.

Wen Yao was in charge of the kitchen, with her two aunts and Wen Di assisting her. Wen Ying and the child, as always, had no one restraining them, and were off romping all over the village.

As for the patriarch, Old Man Wen, since he spent his days keeping watch over the yellow ox, Madam Luo sent him to clean the livestock shed. If it had not been so cold, they would have given the ox a bath too.

A bath was impossible, but Old Man Wen did not neglect the beast. He fetched water with a cloth and wiped it clean from head to hoof, then tied a strip of red silk around its horns until it looked as festive as could be.

The twenty-ninth was the day for pasting up Spring Festival couplets.

As the most educated person in the Wen family, Wen Xiuyi was tasked with writing them.

Early that morning, the child helped grind the ink, Wen Jun spread out the paper, and Old Man Wen and Madam Luo stood by as supervisors. The rest gathered in a circle, waiting for Wen Xiuyi to write the family’s first couplets of the year.

“What should I write?” Wen Xiuyi asked, brush in hand but not yet lowered. He glanced at the family, and finally his gaze settled on his nephews and the child. “Let me test you. You’ve all read plenty these days. Come on—tell me how our couplets should be written this year.”

The Wen boys: “……” Uncle, please let us off the hook.

Only the child thought carefully before speaking. “Father, for the main gate, how about: ‘Spring brings blessings, prosperity fills every home, and all families enjoy peace and comfort; fortune follows spring, year after year, and each step rises ever higher.’ The meaning is that blessings and wealth come to our home, good fortune arrives, the family lives in harmony, and everything keeps rising.”

Wen Xiuyi’s eyes lit up. “Then the horizontal scroll will be ‘Harmony in the Home Brings Success in All Things.’ Good son, write that one.”

With that, his brush moved, and he began writing on the red paper.

After the main gate was finished, Wen Yao spoke up. “Father, ‘Five Blessings Arrive at the Door, Great Fortune Opens Wide, Everything Goes Smoothly as Wished; Auspicious Stars Shine Bright’ should go on Grandfather’s hall door.”

“Good, that’s a good one, Yao Yao.” Old Man Wen was the first to voice support, clapping happily.

Madam Luo glared at him, but her face also broke into a smile.

Wen Xiuyi wrote it down and then looked toward the younger ones again. They scratched their heads, truly at a loss.

In the end, Wen Jun could only say helplessly, “May fortune flourish, wealth flourish, and luck flourish; may the family prosper, the people prosper, and the事业 prosper. The horizontal scroll can be ‘A Flourishing Household and Thriving Enterprise.’ Since Wen Nong runs a business, let’s put it on Second Uncle’s door.”

Wen Shu and Madam Li slowly mouthed the words over and over, praising them again and again. Even Wen Nong beamed and patted Wen Jun on the shoulder, plainly delighted.

Among the boys, apart from the child, only Wen Jin from the third branch had been earnest in his studies. Seeing that the child, Wen Yao, and Wen Jun had all spoken, and all eyes now fell on him, Wen Jin could only blush and say softly, “Uncle, see if this will do: ‘More blessings, more wealth, more joy; when people are at ease and the family is at ease, all things will be at ease. The horizontal scroll: May all go as wished.’”

Wen Xiuyi was almost moved to tears. “Good, good, that’s the one, that’s the one. Brother, write this one for my house.”

Madam Cai’s eyes reddened as well. She knew her son best: quiet, honest, usually just following silently behind his brothers and sisters, never seeking the limelight. When Wen Yao taught them to read, he had been the most serious of all.

Madam Cai quietly turned away and wiped at her eyes. In her heart, she had already made up her mind. Once the New Year was over, no matter how hard or exhausting it might be, she had to find a way to send Wen Jin to school. At worst, she would go and beg her parents.