The house was filled with joyous bustle, and Kang He looked at little Fan Erfu, wrapped snugly in his swaddling clothes, feeling both touched and grateful for this rare moment.
“He’s a boy, very clever and obedient.”
Kang He sat down beside Fan Jing’s bed, carefully gazing at the baby.
The little one’s face was small, and he wasn’t heavy — barely over five jin, lighter than when Da Fu was born.
Because of his smaller build, he was easier to deliver than Da Fu had been, but nobody knew how much trouble this tiny one had caused while still in the womb.
“Daddy, Daddy, I want to hold him too!”
Da Fu stood by the bedside, delighted to see Kang He and Fan Jing holding his little brother. He stretched out his arms, eager to hold him.
Seeing this, Kang He laughed: “Alright, the little brother can be held by his big brother too. After all, when he was in the belly, his big brother read to him a lot to soothe him.”
With that, Kang He carefully turned Erfu over to Da Fu. Fan Jing’s brow twitched slightly. “Be careful not to drop him.”
“Mm, I know.”
Da Fu gently took Erfu, feeling the softness of the baby through the swaddling, tender and fragile.
He could hold him easily, but was very cautious, afraid of dropping his little brother.
Nearby, Shiwu came over to look at Da Fu holding the baby.
Shiwu had just gone to relieve himself near the end of class, but when he came back, Da Fu was gone. Seeing Shiwu’s schoolbag still on the desk, he assumed Da Fu had gone to the outhouse too.
He waited in the private school for quite a while, but when all the other students left and Fan Xin noticed Shiwu hadn’t gone home, and Xiao Mei saw him lingering without leaving, they waited outside before finally telling him that Da Fu had already gone home.
Shiwu grumbled unhappily but still grabbed his own schoolbag and followed, only then realizing that his little father had just had another son today.
Children don’t remember their infancy well, so seeing the baby in swaddling was very surprising to him.
“Were we all this small when we were little?”
“Of course. When Shiwu was born, he was just as tiny as this baby.”
Shiwu saw Da Fu holding the baby with eyes curved in a smile and said, “I want to hold him too.”
Da Fu and Shiwu were always like close brothers who wore the same pants, but now Da Fu was being stingy, hugging Erfu and refusing to share.
“You’re stingy and small. You’ll drop little brother.”
Shiwu’s eyebrows furrowed softly and he pouted, “I won’t! I’m big! I carry your schoolbag all the time!”
The two kids bickered, causing everyone in the room to laugh.
Shiwu pleaded, “Just let me hold him once, big brother Da Fu.”
Seeing this, Da Fu finally carefully passed Erfu to Shiwu.
Kang He also stepped in to help, worried that the two children, full of curiosity, might accidentally drop the little one while passing him around.
Shiwu held the baby as if cradling a basin, feeling very fascinated.
His round eyes sparkled. “Baby smells nice.”
Everyone in the room laughed and celebrated. Chen Sanfang, as usual, was bustling about, calling to the midwife who had delivered the baby, and Dr. Zhu, who had checked the pulse, received a red envelope.
With the household celebrating, Chen Sanfang generously gave “happy money” to all the servants who had helped out.
Fan Jing looked a little tired, and Kang He stayed by his side, holding his hand. Although it was autumn, Kang He felt warmth radiating from Fan Jing’s hand, yet somehow that made him feel especially reassured.
It wasn’t long before Fan Jing fell asleep, and when he awoke, it was already the next morning.
He first heard the baby’s crying. Still a little groggy from sleep, the crying didn’t sound like Da Fu’s, and he wondered where the baby was from.
Upon waking fully, he realized slowly — it was their new child, born to him and Kang He.
Just then, Kang He came into the room and saw Fan Jing still a bit sleepy and confused. Fan Jing sat up and asked, “What is it? Are you feeling unwell?”
Fan Jing shook his head. “I just heard the baby crying.”
Kang He said, “This little guy hasn’t taken much milk but cries loudly. Mother Jiang and I fed him some goat’s milk, but he only took a few sips before spitting it up, crying and refusing to eat.”
Fan Jing’s brow tightened. “What’s wrong with him?”
“Maybe he can’t get used to goat’s milk. Mother went out to find a wet nurse.”
Kang He continued, “Da Fu was easier back then; he drank anything. Feeding the baby is the cheapest and simplest thing, so we thought to feed Erfu goat’s milk too. But it seems this little one doesn’t like it. I was careless and should have found a wet nurse in advance.”
Fan Jing exhaled and said, “Bring him here, I’ll try to soothe him.”
Following his instructions, Kang He brought Erfu in, the little one wailing loudly with tears on his eyelashes and red eyes and nose.
But once he was in Fan Jing’s arms, strangely, he stopped crying after a moment and fell asleep peacefully.
Kang He sat beside Fan Jing in surprise. “Could it be his scent is different? When Da Fu was a baby, he wouldn’t sleep, but when you held him, he calmed right down. Look at how fiercely this little guy cried earlier, but now quiet in your arms.”
Fan Jing was very attached to his mother when he was young as well.
Kang He worried about Fan Jing sitting too long and hurting his back, so after letting him hold the baby a while, he carefully took Erfu back and placed him in the cradle.
“Come, let Fan Jing eat.”
“You’re already thin, and carrying this pregnancy and birth has drained a lot of your energy. You need to eat more and have plenty of meat.”
Fan Jing replied with a hum. “Then you’ll cook while I’m in confinement.”
He then thought of Kang He’s daily business tasks and how exhausting preparing three meals a day would be, for just a few mouths to feed — it would be hard.
Kang He laughed. “I’m not sure if you’re worried about me being tired or just bossing me around to cook with you.”
Fan Jing didn’t argue.
With a new son, Kang He looked healthier every day.
He caught all the poultry raised at home, cooking all kinds of nourishing dishes for Fan Jing. When Fan Jing got tired of them, Kang He went out to buy pigeons and soft-shelled turtles, even hiring hunters to bring back wild delicacies from the mountains.
Nurturing Fan Jing carefully, in just a month or so, Fan Jing began to gain some flesh on his face.
One day, thanks to his persuasive tongue, Chen Sanfang finally found a wet nurse in the neighboring village who had recently given birth.
Hearing that her milk was abundant and that she had successfully raised two children before, she left her family and came to care for Erfu.
Kang He didn’t look for the wet nurse himself but left it to Chen Sanfang.
When the woman arrived, Kang He checked her out and was satisfied — she looked kind and not harsh or mean-spirited.
They agreed on a good price, entrusting her with caring for Erfu.
The baby was truly picky — he had spat up the goat’s milk before, but with a wet nurse, he stopped fussing.
Everyone in the family breathed a sigh of relief, worried the little one might refuse to eat anything and grow poorly.
“You’ve had Erfu, so you won’t have any more children. Let’s just call Erfu ‘Little Fu’ then.”
One day, while Fan Jing was soothing Erfu in his arms, he suddenly spoke to Kang He like that.
“Why suddenly care about the name?”
Kang He was a little surprised.
“There’s a guy in town named Zhang Erfu, which is the same name as ours. It’s unpleasant to have the same name.”
That Zhang Erfu was a short man, lazy and dirty, with yellowed teeth who often picked his teeth by the alley while spitting everywhere, disliked by almost everyone.
Hearing Fan Jing’s words, Kang He immediately understood — any shop delivering goods wouldn’t want to call their little one by such a name, fearing customers would be put off.
Their own little Erfu was lively and adorable; it wouldn’t do to share a name with someone like that.
“So, by your idea, we call him Little Fu. Our eldest son is named Zhongyang. The second was born in February and is called Zhongyang. This Little Fu was born in August, so shall we use ‘Yueyou’ for his name?”
Fan Jing found it a bit awkward to say, but since he hadn’t studied much, the flowery names felt unsuitable.
He agreed. “Alright.”
During Fan Jing’s confinement, Kang He spent most of his time caring for him personally.
When Da Fu was born, they hadn’t been so careful during the confinement period because they were young and strong; Chen Sanfang’s advice hadn’t been taken seriously.
Later, on cold days, Fan Jing would get headaches and feel weak. After consulting Dr. Zhu, he learned these were some postpartum complications.
Kang He felt very guilty. Even though autumn was busy, he made time to carefully look after Fan Jing.
During this month, Fan Jing went out less and stayed mostly at home, managing the household finances and money on hand.
The main sources of income were threefold: the business at their shop, livestock and poultry at home, and farm land.
The pork shop, which was part of the He family’s marinated meat business, could net 10 to 15 guan per month, totaling over 100 guan annually.
Livestock and poultry brought in 80 to 100 guan per year.
The farm land, with its melons, vegetables, and grains, produced about 100 guan annually.
These businesses were interconnected, making it impossible to calculate exact profits separately.
Taxes were heavy — commercial and production taxes together took almost 40% of the profits, even though business was good.
Kang He calculated and sighed that without these high taxes, the profits would be much better.
Still, he reminded himself that the government kept the peace and order in the world, so it was right to pay taxes dutifully.
He would never try to cheat, lest all their hard work go to waste.
All things considered, their annual income was about 300 guan, and they had saved close to a thousand guan in hand.
Although their income was substantial, their expenses were also considerable.
Their family didn’t care much for flashy clothes or jewelry, but food and daily living weren’t overly frugal.
During festivals and social occasions, supporting and hiring servants and laborers — these expenses easily ran over 100 guan per year.
Despite all this, their current life was far better than the days years ago when Fan Jing and Kang He lived in the mountains.
The whole family lived in a large house, traveled by mule-drawn carriage, and rarely missed meat at the table.
They all knew this life was built through joint effort — working hard together, pooling money to buy land, planning and managing the family business.
Though they had some savings now, Kang He had no thought of slacking off.
For a rural family, the money was a fortune, but in the county town, it was nothing special.
Their son was still young, and the future unknown; now while healthy, they had to keep working hard and growing the family fortune.
“Life goes on and on, always needing to be managed without rest. Don’t you feel tired?”
Fan Jing smiled as he saw Kang He planning accounts and future prospects, which seemed endless.
“No, now that I’m father to two, with more responsibilities, I must work harder. I don’t feel tired; I actually feel more energetic.”
Hearing this, Fan Jing’s lips curled into a gentle smile.
In September, Fan Jing’s confinement ended.
The countryside was bustling with harvest, and after a long stay at home, Fan Jing was eager to get out and slaughter pigs and sheep to move his limbs.
Kang He drove the cart out to slaughter a pig, and the two spent several days going around.
After the autumn harvest, more farmers were buying and selling land, so Kang He took the opportunity to purchase some fields.
After the harvest, many fields would lie fallow, making it easier to buy.
Also, some farmers had poor harvests or needed to pay taxes but had no cash, so they sold land to raise funds.
As the couple traveled more, they met more people.
Hearing Kang He wanted to buy fields, some sellers came to them directly.
Gradually, they acquired about eight mu of land.
But these fields were scattered — not all together.
Some were an acre in the east village, others just a few fen in the west, or parts in neighboring villages.
As peace lasted longer, opportunities like the county government’s land allotments from a few years ago became rarer.
It was a pity they didn’t have enough cash then to buy more land during that time.
To buy land at a good price without shady dealings, they had to buy small scattered plots.
But with scattered land, management was difficult.
If they farmed it themselves, traveling long distances between villages would be exhausting and inefficient.
With no one watching the crops, bad intentions or theft could ruin their harvest.
Kang He devised two solutions.
One was to trade land — for example, if someone in another village had fields in their village or nearby, they could swap land with a price difference.
The other was to find trustworthy tenant farmers in the villages where the land was and lease the land out to be farmed, earning rent.
The first method required good luck and connections; the second was much easier.
In the end, they swapped one mu for a plot in neighboring Dajing Village and leased the other seven mu to local tenant farmers.
Although having tenants made management harder, since Kang He and Fan Jing were busy running their business, they could check on the fields periodically to ensure the tenants were farming carefully.
That day, after finishing the land leasing deals and carrying the contracts home, their fourth brother ran over.
“Sister-in-law Tian came by and met a stranger at the village entrance. He was asking about our family. Sister-in-law thought he wasn’t local and was cautious, so she didn’t speak to him directly but found me in the fields to bring here.”
Kang He asked, “What did the man look like? Why was he looking for us?”
“Tian’s sister-in-law is thin, with a lot of facial hair, and said the man wanted to do business with us.”
Hearing this, Kang He told Fan Jing, “If he was family, like Liu Er’s brothers, it would be different. But judging by the description, he doesn’t seem related.”
“If he’s here for business, let’s invite him in and see what he wants.”
Kang He nodded and sent fourth brother to fetch the man.
They went inside to wash and tidy up, then asked Xiao Xiang to prepare some tea and fruit.
After about one incense stick’s time, fourth brother returned with the guests.
Two men arrived; Kang He recognized one immediately, but the other was unfamiliar.
The man was a merchant they had met last October when traveling to Fang County to inspect aquatic seedlings.
They had accompanied a merchant named Wan — Kang He vaguely remembered his full name as Wan Huarong.
They had gotten along well, exchanging gifts. Wan was pleased with the Sichuan peppercorns Kang He gave him and asked for their address, hoping to do business next year.
Kang He was happy then but hadn’t thought much about it, as he was busy traveling and dealing with various matters; he didn’t expect the merchant to actually come.
With many unexpected events in between, he had long forgotten about the matter.
Who would have thought, now in autumn, the man had come as promised, bearing gifts.
Kang He warmly welcomed Wan: “It’s a great coincidence to see you again, Wan brother. I didn’t expect such a pleasant surprise.”
Wan replied, “I’ve thought about you often since we met last year. Coming back to Luan County for business, I went straight here. I hope you don’t mind my sudden visit.”
Kang He smiled, “Not at all. If you hadn’t come, no matter where you were, I wouldn’t have found you. Now you’ve come, not forgetting your little brother, I’m very happy.”
Sitting together in the guest room, Kang He asked, “How is your business this year, Wan brother?”
“Running around here and there, working hard, but only making enough to get by. Seeing your big house makes me envious — stable and leisurely, much better than our sun-and-wind-exposed life.”
Wan was flattering, but seeing Fan Jing’s impressive home, it was true.
Kang He smiled humbly. “My small family business is nothing special — just a little shop to make a living. Wan brother travels the world and can run such a business because of your skills. I’m just a country bumpkin, fumbling around the land, doing simple honest work.”
After chatting a while, Wan turned to serious business.
Kang He knew they were here for spices and didn’t waste time.
He led the two men out to the herb fields to inspect the year’s crop.