Chapter 123

Therefore, when everyone felt refreshed the next day, only Xu Ran was lethargic.

Lin Hua looked at him. “Didn’t you say you would sleep early last night? Why do you look sleepy?”

Xu Ran rubbed his face. “I didn’t sleep well last night. I’m fine. Let’s go to the lake, and we can buy some food on the way.”

The others didn’t have any objections, so they headed for Green Lotus Lake.

The view in Green Lotus Lake in September was not that good, so people came here just to have fun and enjoyed the coolness.

The lotus seed had been almost picked, and the lotus leaves were about to wither. There wasn’t much to look at.

However, the pavilions by the lake were humming with life. There were many Ge’ers who were good at singing. The songs they sang sounds quite pleasant.

There were also music players and dancers, who performed in public to make a living. Their performances were much better than those in Green Willow Alley.

On the opposite side, it was the place where the scholar gathered. They recited poems, and displayed accomplishments of all kinds.

Xu Ran was more interested in the water in the lake.

The water in the lake was fresh water flowing in and out, and it was very clear and cool. There were fish swimming in the water, but they were not big.

The boat they rented was of a medium size, not big or small. If they wanted to go to the middle of the lake, they would have to row the boat there by themselves.

None of the three rich young childes could row, and the carter was just a dabbler in paddling. Xu Ran had tried it before, but he had not rowed a boat for a long time, so he was not confident about it.

Lin Hua patted Xu Ran. “Xu Ran, go row the boat. Anyway, we know how to swim. If the boat capsizes, we won’t get drowned. Besides, it’s hot today, if we fall into the water, we can take it as a bath.”

“Alright.” Xu Ran pressed his lips and accepted the task.

He and the carter worked together and clumsily rowed the boat away. The boat sometimes shuddered suddenly, making their hearts beat faster.

In the lake, there were other idle boaters who paddled around like them. Occasionally, they met and exchanged a few words. After they went around the whole lake, they felt cooler. Xu Ran and the carter got more skillful in rowing.

Green Lotus Lake was a good place where one could not only see the scenery of the lake, but also the views of the outside and inside of the city.

There were food pedlars outside the lake. These people were smart enough to know they could make money from this crowded place.

They bought from the pedlars some special food of Qingzhou County.

In the afternoon, they didn’t go boating. Instead, they took a stroll around the lake, listening to the music and watching beautiful girls, or watching others playing chess.

When it was not that hot, Lin Hua and Zhao Chen went back to the inn, while Xu Ran and Du Xin went to the clinic.

It went almost the same as the previous day, but Xu Ran didn’t chat today. Instead, he asked the doctor to give him a simple medical manual to read so he could recognize some herbs when he got bored.

The young doctor was quite polite to Xu Ran, and he gave Xu Ran a book on basic medical skills.

The two of them went back when it was almost dark.

On the way, Xu Ran bought a lot of things. After all, he was leaving tomorrow, and he had to buy some gifts for his family.

He had bought gifts for his family. The Qin Family was a big family and Xu Ran bought a lot of superior cloth for those spouses in Qin Family to make new clothes. In addition, he bought the cloth for Wu Mei’s family.

It might get cold after this month, and it was time to make some new clothes.

They had come in two empty carriages, but when they went back, both carriages were full and only the passenger seats were available.

Lin Hua bought a lot of things during the exams. He bought a lot for himself and Zhao Chen, and even gave Du Xin and Xu Ran some gifts. He was indeed very generous.

On the way back, they went to He Shui Town first. After all, Xu Ran had not solved the problem with the salad and pot-stewed meat, and he had to go there again.

Du Xin chose to go with Xu Ran. They had planned to find Du Xin a carriage and send him home, but Du Xin said that he was not in a hurry, so he would just go with Xu Ran, which could save the travelling expenses. Xu Ran thought about it and agreed.

After they arrived at He Shui Town, Zhao Chen was locked up by his dad again, and the shop affairs were handed over to Lin Hua again.

Xu Ran worked hard with Chef Lin for two days and finally sorted out all the dishes. Chef Lin knew how to cook the dishes and Xu Ran could go home at ease.

Before he left, Lin Hua gave him another hundred taels of silver, saying that it was payment for the new dishes.

Xu Ran took it without hesitation, as he had always been short of money anyway. Xu Ran also gave the recipes of cold noodles and fried noodles to Lin Hua. After October, it would turn cold, and the salad might not sell well, so he guessed they had to wait until next year to make money.

On September 17th, Xu Ran set off for home. This was the longest time he had left home. He really missed his family. The baby that Tongtong was having should turn almost seven months. Did it torment its daddy? How were Tangtang and Guoguo? Was Qin Shuwen’s baby born? Was it a Ge’er or a boy? Xu An was selling wheelbarrows, and how was it going? How many apprentices did he take?

Only then did Xu Ran realize that tthere were a lot in his mind.

Du Xin and Xu Ran were not from the same town. Xu Ran dropped him off after they got to Du Xin’s town and gave him things as well as money. Xu Ran was determined not to drive Du Xin home, for he couldn’t wait to go home.

Everyone in the village knew that Xu Ran had gone to the county for the provincial examination this time. However, Xu Ran left quietly without alarming anyone, so the villagers didn’t know when he would come back. He quietly drove the carriage from the back of the village without being noticed.

His family had been anxiously awaiting his return. When Xu Ran got to the bamboo house, he saw Tangtang and Guoguo standing outside the house, staring at him. They were definitely waiting for him.

“Dad, Dad.” The two children shouted as they ran towards Xu Ran, who stopped the carriage and jumped off to hold the two children.

“Dad, we miss you so bad. Why have you been away for so long?”

“Yeah, I miss you too, and daddy and Grandpa Hu. We all miss you very much.”

The twins kept chattering.

Xu Ran smiled happily. “I miss my babies too. Let’s go home first.”

It was the same every time he came back from the journey. The two children were always waiting for him on the way back, and they earnestly stared in the direction that he came.

He carried the two children onto the carriage and drove to the gate of the new house.

When the dogs in the yard heard the commotion, they started to bark and call out all the family members.

Gao Quan and Shao Yu ran at the front, followed by Mr. Hu. Liu Tong was at the back, excited at sight of Xu Ran.

Xu Ran left the carriage to Gao Quan and carried Tangtang and Guoguo out of the carriage, entering the house.

He exchanged a few words with Shao Yu and Mr. Hu before walking to Liu Tong. “Tongtong, I’m back.”

Liu Tong called his name softly, “Ran…” He broke off, his eyes turning red with tears.

Pregnant people were said to be very sentimental. Apart from the time when he changed from a fool to a normal man, Liu Tong’s eyes had not turned tearful like this.

Xu Ran put down Tangtang and Guoguo and stroked their heads, saying, “Go and tell Shao Yu that I’m hungry. Ask him to prepare some light food for me. I’ll talk with your daddy.”

The children nodded docilely and left.

Xu Ran took Liu Tong into the room and hugged him in his arms tightly. “Tongtong, I’m back.”

Liu Tong nodded heavily. “Ran, I miss you. You’ve been away for so long this time.”

It had been more than ten days, and Liu Tong had not received any message from him. He knew nothing about Xu Ran, so he was worried. Moreover, he missed him. Xu Ran knew how Liu Tong felt as he had the same feeling.

He held Liu Tong and said a few sweet words before he began to ask about the situation at home.

The baby that Liu Tong was having had turned more than six months now. He didn’t suffer from morning sickness anymore, but he started to have difficulties in walking. However, he knew well what was going on at home.

Liu Tong said, “Nothing big happened at home. Dad-in-law came after you left. He stood at the door and watched for a while. I told him that you went to the county for the provincial examination, so he left. Mr. Hu is old, and he’s caught a cold. Perhaps he didn’t cover himself well with blanket at night. This new house is much cooler than the old bamboo house. We asked a physician to come, and Mr. Hu is fine now. Shuwen’s child was born, and it is a Ge’er. He even brought us the red eggs…”

Liu Tong told him what had happened during Xu Ran’s absence. Xu Ran listened earnestly, but Liu Tong told him everything except things about himself.

Xu Ran asked Liu Tong, “Tongtong, you only talk about others. What about you? How have you been? ”

Liu Tong smiled. “What’s there to say? Every day is the same. Tangtang and Guoguo behave well, and the baby is not fussing. I just…”

As he spoke, his ears suddenly reddened. Xu Ran leaned toward Liu Tong again and the latter could feel Xu Ran’s warm breath on his face. Xu Ran asked, “What is it?”

“I just miss you.” Liu Tong stopped talking after he said this, as if he was shy.

Xu Ran was very happy, kissing Liu Tong on the face. “Tongtong, I miss you too. I miss you very much.”

The two of them exchanged a few sweet words in the room before Tangtang and Guoguo ran in, asking Xu Ran to have lunch. Shao Yu had made all his favorite dishes.

The children had been clinging to Xu Ran. When he had lunch, they watched him quietly. When Xu Ran asked a question, they were eager to answer him. It looked like they missed him very much.

It was noon when Xu Ran came back. He didn’t go out in the afternoon, spending time with the children at home.

In the afternoon, Shao Yu went out and told Wu Mei that Xu Ran was back. He then invited them to come over for dinner in the evening to welcome Xu Ran back.

Wu Mei and the others were very happy when they heard Xu Ran come back. They would definitely come over at night.

After Shao Yu came back, he went to work in the kitchen, and Liu Tong helped him.

Gao Quan was busy outside. Ever since Gao Quan came, they had not attended to the livestock at home. Gao Quan took over everything.

Mr. Hu sat in the yard watching them.

Xu Ran thought that it must be boring for Mr. Hu to sit like this all day. There were many old people in the village, but even if they sat together, they talked about the same things, which was also boring.

Xu Ran thought about the entertainment of those old people in the modern era. They played poker games, went fishing, climbed mountains, played Chinese chess and danced.

He dismissed the idea of poker games. It was not easy to have three or four people together. Besides, it was not easy to quit once they got addicted. He dismissed the ideas of fishing, climbing mountains and dancing as well. In the end, only Chinese chess was left. Xu Ran could only think of these entertainments.

Chinese chess was a good choice. First of all, it was not difficult to make the chest board and chess pieces. Secondly, Chinese chess was good for the physical and mental health. It was an ideal game for the seniors.

Xu Ran only thought about Chinese chess because Gomoku was childish, which suited Tangtang and Guoguo better, while Go game was too complicated for the seniors. Therefore, he chose Chinese chess.

Xu Ran and the two children gathered together, discussing on making Chinese chess. Of course, a set of Gomoku would be made for the children as well.

Xu Ran asked Tangtang and Guoguo to bring him paper, ink and writing brushes. Although Xu Ran was not good at drawing, he was able to draw chess pieces.

It took him a long time to finish the drawing. Xu Ran blew the ink dry, folded the paper, and put it away, He wanted to hand it over to Xu An and ask them to help make the Chinese chess.

The house had not been so lively at night for a long time. Wu Mei was quite talkative. Plus the fact that these Ge’ers were quite familiar with each other, so they seemed to have endless topics to discuss when they gathered together. Even Shao Yu, who had got familiar with them, was able to chat with them.

Wu Mei teased Liu Tong for a while, saying that he had lost appetite since Xu Ran left, sitting in a daze all day long without going out at all.

Being teased by Wu Mei in front of so many people, Liu Tong felt embarrassed and started to fight back. Their interaction amused everyone.

At dinner, Xu An started to tell Xu Ran about the wheelbarrow business. He was busy recently and sold quite a lot. He had taken a few apprentices, who came from nearby villages. Xu An asked Xu Ran to think about something else to make, because wheelbarrows were durable goods and customers didn’t change them every year!

Xu Ran said, “Give me some time to think about it. I can’t think of anything new for the time being. Meanwhile we keep making the wheelbarrows, and we can sell them somewhere far away. We can’t only sell them in the neighborhood. We can get in contact with some travelling merchants and ask them to sell the wheelbarrows. They travel across the country and pass through many places on the way. The wheelbarrows are novelties and must sell well.”

Xu An nodded. “I agree. After all, we make a handsome profit from the wheelbarrows.”