At the end of the month, Kang He heard that Zou Fulang was holding a birthday banquet. He prepared a box of smoked goods: chicken, duck, rabbit, goose, quail, and also seven pieces of fragrant sausages and smoked ribs.
He also planned to tie up a fat sheep to send over.
In truth, it had been quite a long time since Kang He last met Zou Fulang. In recent years, Zou’s family business had grown bigger and bigger. Holding the recipe for the medicinal candles, he no longer just sold locally but also supplied other merchants, earning a considerable profit.
Later, following the medicinal candle formula, they produced another type of scented candle, all rare and exquisite.
In earlier years, they often met more frequently, dining together and exchanging gifts. But as life and business grew busy, it became harder to see one another.
They only exchanged gifts during holidays and festivals.
That morning, Kang He called Huan and Erxi, and even Fourth Brother, to join him. Only after the four of them had gathered did they take the gifts and deliver them to the birthday celebrant.
Outside Zou Fulang’s residence, the scene was lively and grand. Seven or eight luxurious horse-drawn carriages and sedan chairs were parked, blocking the entire alley.
Kang He and Fan Jing alighted from their mule cart outside and walked in on foot.
At the door, a middle-aged man in a round-collared, straight-hemmed robe stopped them and asked, “May I inquire where your invitation cards are? Could you please show them?”
Hearing this, Kang He was momentarily taken aback. Then he noticed that all the guests arriving bore a red invitation card.
He thought to himself, so this is a matter of etiquette. But he had never actually received such an invitation before.
This was also the first time he personally sent gifts to Zou Fulang. In previous years, though he hadn’t come to the birthday party himself, his family sent gifts but never heard of needing an invitation card. He assumed this year would be the same.
If it were a special birthday like the sixtieth, he might have taken time out of his busy schedule to attend.
Kang He recognized the gatekeeper as someone somewhat familiar, so he spoke kindly, “I am an old friend of Zou Fulang, a merchant from Douhui Street. Today, I mistakenly didn’t bring an invitation card. It would be inconvenient to go back for one at this moment.”
On such a joyous occasion, Kang He thought it wouldn’t be right to refuse guests at the door. He hoped they would understand and let him in.
He intended to pay his respects to Zou Fulang once inside; since they were acquaintances, it would be fine.
Unexpectedly, the gatekeeper’s expression darkened upon hearing Kang He’s words. “At the residences of prominent families, only guests with invitation cards are allowed in. This is to prevent random riffraff from sneaking in and causing offense to the host.”
“I hope you understand, brother. Without an invitation, I cannot let you enter. If you had a card, there would be no problem.”
Fan Jing frowned at the rude words and lost interest in attending the banquet.
Seeing this, Kang He felt uneasy but did not argue with the gatekeeper. Judging by the attire of the guests, they were either wealthy or noble. Kang He, caught in the middle, was of little consequence. If a quarrel broke out, it would ruin Zou Fulang’s good event.
Since there was no invitation, Kang He gave up for the moment.
He said to the gatekeeper, “In that case, I’ll go back and find the invitation card. Please accept this gift first. Having the gift carried in on the street will at least look decent.”
The gatekeeper didn’t outright refuse. Though he knew Kang He and Fan Jing were just small merchants trying to ingratiate themselves, people like them were very common in this neighborhood these days. Refusing once and having them return again showed they had a face as thick as city walls.
Today was a happy occasion; the gatekeeper didn’t want to make things awkward in front of the distinguished guests, so he allowed the gifts to be recorded on a separate list. Once the banquet ended, it would be up to the master of the house to decide whether to keep the gifts or return them.
Kang He noticed that their names were written on a different gift register, simpler and less ornate than the gilded guest list, which was already two pages long.
He glanced over the records quietly and said nothing as he and Fan Jing left.
On the mule cart, Kang He thought back on past dealings with the Zou family. Over the years, they had exchanged holiday gifts, with Zou’s gifts always superior, which made Kang He forget to consider whether their feelings had changed.
Now, reflecting on it, the Zou household had risen far above their humble beginnings. They were no longer the small candle shop merchants living in a two-story building from years ago.
To put it bluntly, the smallest glimpse into their lives showed riches beyond the reach of small rural merchants like themselves.
Upon closer thought, the gifts these years were grand, but in terms of sincerity, they were not as heartfelt as before.
At the beginning of their interactions, gifts were tailored to the other’s needs — like lamp oil or candles.
Later, the gifts grew more lavish, adorned with shells and other ornamental items, rare in their county. Though exquisite, these were more ornamental than practical for families like theirs.
Now Kang He realized these gifts were likely distributed by the warehouse according to a list. While useful, they mainly showcased the Zou family’s wealth and influence.
Lost in thought, Kang He suddenly felt a warm hand grasp his own. He looked over and saw Fan Jing holding his hand.
His heart warmed. Trying to act nonchalant, he said, “I’m fine.”
Fan Jing smiled.
Kang He said, “I suppose we’re just like that barber’s apprentice — head over heels for something that might not even be worth it.”
“In a few days, we’ll see what they say. If it’s a misunderstanding, that’s fine. If not, then we’ll just turn back,” Fan Jing replied.
Meanwhile, at the Zou residence, the birthday banquet was grand and lively. Almost every well-known merchant in the city came to offer congratulations. Even some officials came to show their support.
Zou Fulang’s face was bright with pride. By the end of the banquet, he was already quite drunk.
He slept until nearly noon the next day. After waking and freshening up, he had a light meal with his husband.
Then the gatekeeper came to report on guests who arrived without invitation cards but still tried to send gifts.
Zou Fulang listened as the gatekeeper recited the names — most were unfamiliar to him, and the lengthy list was tedious to hear. Suddenly, one familiar name caught his attention.
“Wait, did you say Kang He?”
“Yes, the one who runs the pork shop over at Douhui Lane. Their shop next door sells excellent marinated goose.”
Zou Fulang immediately knew there was no mistake. “How did Kang He not have an invitation card? His name is clearly on my list.”
The gatekeeper apologized, “He said he forgot the card at home and left the gift, saying he would go back to find it. But he never returned. With guests coming and going, I didn’t pay much attention and just assumed he was a guest of the household.”
Zou Fulang frowned, “You stopped him outside? How could he turn back? If he left, how would he have come back again?”
Before the gatekeeper could respond, Zou’s husband spoke, “You’re talking about that pig butcher, aren’t you? No wonder the name sounds familiar.”
“Don’t blame Lin Er. That Kang fellow really didn’t have an invitation. Saying he went back for it was just to save face.”
Zou Fulang asked, “Why do you say that?”
“I went through your guest list and simply crossed out the pig butcher’s name. Zhang Qin was in charge of sending invitations; Lin Er wasn’t aware.”
Hearing this, Zou Fulang frowned deeply. “Why did you cross off my guest list without telling me?”
“It’s just a pig butcher, a small rural merchant. What business do they have coming here?”
Zou’s husband added, “The guests at this banquet are of a certain stature. Letting such a small fry come would only embarrass you and make people doubt your connections.”
“Though he’s a rural merchant who doesn’t know his place, the secret formula for our medicinal candles was brought to us by him.”
Zou’s husband was unconvinced, “That was just a lucky coincidence. Why hold a grudge? You just like to cling to old ties. Given our current status, what else can people like him do besides leech off us?”
Zou Fulang understood the reasoning but felt a bit displeased his husband had taken matters into his own hands. “No matter who he is, you shouldn’t have crossed his name off without telling me.”
“Alright, alright. That’s my fault. I thought it was a minor matter since he’s a small fry. You were busy with the banquet and I didn’t want to bother you.”
Zou Fulang said to Lin Er, “Prepare a return gift and invite him to the house tomorrow. I will apologize in person.”
“Tomorrow won’t do. Don’t you remember the county magistrate invited us to a banquet tomorrow? You can’t risk losing favor over something so small. In the past, we had to pull strings for the county magistrate’s invitation, but this time he sent it himself.”
Zou Fulang was silent for a moment, realizing the seriousness of the matter.
He then told Lin Er, “Then prepare a good return gift. Apologize to Kang He and tell him I will visit personally in a few days.”
Lin Er took the message and went to Kang He’s place.
As a subordinate of Zou Fulang’s husband, his manner was much like his master’s. Over the years, with so many guests coming and going, no one treated him politely. Now he was sent to apologize to a pig butcher — how could he humble himself?
After dropping off the gift and making a perfunctory show of apology, he left, having done his duty.
Seeing that the Zou family sent someone to apologize, Kang He thought it might just be a misunderstanding, which was good.
Though the messenger seemed arrogant, acting as if he was granting a favor rather than explaining a situation.
Kang He didn’t argue, thinking the underlings’ actions might not reflect the household’s true intentions. He waited to see Zou Fulang himself to make a final judgment.
However, Zou Fulang had promised to invite Kang He over in person to apologize but got caught up in business after the social engagements and forgot all about it.
Seeing the Zou family’s attitude, Kang He found it hard to believe that Zou Fulang truly disrespected him. He sensed there was more than just a simple misunderstanding.
After this incident, although no outright enmity arose, Kang He no longer felt as close to the Zou family as before.
Trying to maintain the old warmth now would only make it seem like he was after some benefit, like a band-aid stuck on and then discarded.
People come and go in life. It’s hard to keep things as they were at the start.
Kang He sighed quietly but did not dwell on it.
At the end of June, the Fan family’s new house was finally completed.
They spent several days cleaning and tidying it, and then two days moving their belongings from the old house.
Once done, they held a celebration banquet.
The weather was scorching. Da Fu and Shiwu sat side by side under the eaves, where the breeze was cool.
The two little ones each had a bowl of sweet bean soup and were scooping it with round spoons.
“Big Brother Da Fu, your house is so big, so big.”
The two children had run through every room in the house. Shiwu’s forehead was sweaty, and his undershirt was damp.
Fan Jing tucked a handkerchief down their backs and pulled it out from under their shirt to drape over their necks.
“Your house is big too.”
Shiwu shook his head. He tried to compare his house with Da Fu’s by holding up his short fingers one by one but soon realized it was impossible to compare room sizes this way.
Da Fu’s dark eyes watched Shiwu lowering his head, struggling with his fingers. He swallowed a mouthful of sweet bean soup and stretched out his hand. “Count my fingers too.”
Shiwu looked at Da Fu’s hand, which was bigger than his, and pouted, “I can only count my own. Daddy never taught me to count yours.”
Da Fu said, “Your house has fifteen rooms. My house has eighteen rooms.”
Shiwu was so happy he jumped up. “That’s so many!”
“Big Brother Da Fu, how do you know?”
“I counted when I went there.”
Da Fu bit the spoon and said, “Daddy taught me how to count.”
“You two little rascals make me easy to find.”
Qiao’er came over and saw the children had nearly finished their sweet bean soup. She took them to the kitchen and brought out a bowl of fried crispy pork, a plate of melon slices, and two fat shrimp.
Da Fu and Shiwu happily peeled and ate the bright orange shrimp.
Their little bellies were full, but their hands smelled strongly of shrimp.
Shiwu sniffed and frowned, instinctively covering his nose, but the smell only worsened. He cried out loudly.
Da Fu took him to wash his hands with Qiao’er’s fragrant soap.
Coming out, they saw a long table set under the eaves.
An elderly gentleman was holding a brush, recording the names of guests.
Curious, Da Fu leaned in for a closer look.
“Mr. He, you remember You Erfu, right? That’s my full name — You Erfu.”
“We usually call you Erdan, didn’t know your real name was You Erfu.”
Hearing the name, Da Fu repeated it quietly to himself and thought it sounded somewhat like his own name.
But he knew his nickname was Da Fu, and his full name was Fan Zhongyang.
He slipped under an adult’s arm and watched as Mr. He dipped his brush in black ink and wrote a few characters in the book, softly saying “You Erfu.”
Da Fu’s eyes widened at the last character — the character for “Fu” in You Erfu’s name was the same as the one in his own name!
He felt very surprised but didn’t know how to express it.
At night, after washing clean, Kang He held Da Fu and washed his little feet.
Da Fu sat in Kang He’s arms and asked, “Daddy, is Da Fu’s ‘Fu’ the same as Uncle You Erfu’s ‘Fu’?”
Kang He replied, “Yes.”
Then he looked at Da Fu and asked, “How do you know?”
“I saw Grandpa He writing today. He wrote Uncle You Erfu’s name. It’s the same as Da Fu’s!”
Kang He furrowed his brows. “You can tell the written character is the same?”
“Mm-hmm.”
Da Fu said, “I’ve seen Uncle Fan Xin write it too.”
Kang He smiled, kissed his son, and praised him for being clever.
Then he shifted his gaze and wiped Da Fu’s feet, asking, “Do you think learning to read is good or not?”
“Good.”
Da Fu answered, “You can write good characters on paper. Grandpa He wrote very well today.”
“Then I’ll send you to Uncle Fan Xin’s private school to learn reading and writing. That way, you can write beautiful characters too. How about that?”
“Mm-hmm.”
Da Fu nodded.
“I want to go to Uncle Fan’s place.”
Kang He smiled and carried the little one off to his room to sleep.
Back in the house, Fan Jing had just finished bathing and came out of the washroom.
Having the new big house was definitely more convenient.
Before, they had to bathe either in the back corner of the yard or in the pigsty, freezing in winter and getting bitten by mosquitoes in summer.
If in the pigsty, they had to endure the stench of pig dung and urine.
Now, they had a dedicated washroom inside the house and didn’t have to go outside anymore.
Fan Jing’s hair was still damp, and he wore only a thin undergarment on top and loose shorts that Kang He hadn’t grown into fully yet.
Fan Jing was shorter than Kang He, so the shorts just reached his knees.
Seeing this, Kang He grabbed a dry handkerchief and helped Fan Jing dry his hair.
He said, “I have some happy news to tell you.”
Fan Jing let him dry his hair and sat with legs apart, asking, “What is it?”
“I just asked Da Fu if he wanted to go study with Uncle Fan Xin. He said yes.”
Fan Jing said, “Uncle Fan Xin mentioned before about sending Da Fu to learn to read. But you’re saying the boy is still very young. At this age, it’s better to let children run around and play.”
Kang He said, “That’s what I think too. Da Fu is only five this year. Even if he starts early, it’s still quite young. From what I see, the youngest kids sent to Uncle Fan Xin’s school to start learning are at least seven or eight. Even Uncle Fan Xin himself started at seven.”
“I’m afraid if we send Da Fu too early, he’ll get bored and tired of learning. Then when it’s really time to study, he won’t want to.”
Kang He had always wanted to send Da Fu to school but never aimed for him to rise through the imperial exams. He just hoped he wouldn’t remain illiterate.
If Da Fu liked studying, great — they would spare no expense to support him. If he liked that path, learning characters and arithmetic, he could take over the family business someday.
Take Xu Yang for example — he didn’t take the exam route but still lives a respectable life.
Since Da Fu was willing to go, a father like Kang He would never hold him back.
Fan Jing said, “He’s often excited and talks about what he wants, but then forgets the next day.”
“He said before he wanted me to teach him archery. Do you think he’ll really learn?”
Kang He thought about it and said it made sense. The boy saw Fan Jing shoot birds and thought it was amazing. He brought home the shot birds and wanted to learn archery.
Fan Jing was happy and made him a bow. But after pulling it back a few times, the boy lost interest.
Fan Jing said a craft requires perseverance. The boy sulked and tried for two more days. His palms got blistered. When Chen Yifang saw, she felt sorry for him and took him away secretly to play in the main room instead.
So far, he hadn’t learned archery properly.
Hearing this, Kang He calmed down. “Alright, then we’ll wait until he’s a bit older.”
Neither parent took the matter too seriously, but Da Fu was still looking forward to it.
After a day and then two more days passed without Kang He taking him to Uncle Fan Xin’s school, Da Fu grew impatient.
One day, while Kang He and Fan Jing were going back from the city, Da Fu asked, “Does Uncle Fan Xin allow me to go study?”
Kang He and Fan Jing exchanged glances and remained silent for a moment.
Da Fu thought they were about to agree and quickly said, “Auntie at Uncle Fan’s house likes me very much. I gave her some crispy flower cakes. Uncle listens to Auntie. She’ll persuade him to say yes.”
Fan Jing thought the boy even knew Uncle’s fear of his wife. He asked, “Do you really want to study?”
“Mm-hmm.”
Da Fu tilted his chin proudly. “I already told Daddy.”
Fan Jing squatted down and looked at Da Fu. “You said the same when you wanted to learn archery. What if you find it hard and don’t want to go anymore?”
Da Fu frowned and rolled his big eyes, replying, “Then I just won’t eat the crispy flower cakes. Is that okay?”
Fan Jing said nothing. Kang He said, “That’s fair. We’ll trust you this once.”
Seeing the boy so eager to learn, the couple decided to send him to try. If he really was too young, they could always reconsider.