Zhou SiLang has been particularly busy lately. He sold the dicinal herbs in his hands, half of the cattle, and is now selling good furs and pearls as the Mid-Autumn Festival approaches, making a lot of money.
He also promised Manbao that he would take a detour to Shangzhou to look at that piece of land when returning ho to see if it could be sold at a good price.
Actually, Zhou SiLang shares the sa thought as Old Zhou, thinking their family doesn’t lack money now and that land is sothing that can be bought but not sold.
But Manbao said the land there is surrounded by the Xia Clan, making it hard to rent and prone to causing trouble, so it’s better to sell it to save trouble.
Therefore, recently, while doing business, he also specifically inquired about the situation in Shangzhou. Since he wanted to sell the land, he needed to find a buyer, especially for ancestral land in families without male heirs, it had to be sold to soone powerful and well-connected to avoid future troubles.
Because today is Mid-Autumn Festival, he seldom took off half a day to play with his wife and children. He was playing with his son sitting on his shoulders when he looked up and saw his father coming in, causing him to almost lose his grip on his son.
He quickly bent down to let his wife take the child down. Ms. Fang smiled, called out "father-in-law" and went to play with the child on the side.
Old Zhou nodded and said to Zhou SiLang, "Four, where’s the exchanged silver your mother told you to get?"
Zhou SiLang was startled for a mont but quickly reacted, imdiately responding, "It’s in the house."
He hurried back into the house to retrieve it, and soon erged with several silver ingots, saying, "Dad, last ti I was busy moving money and forgot to ask, where did you and mom get so many copper coins?"
Old Zhou said, "It’s your sister’s, not from the public funds."
Zhou SiLang: ...He didn’t say it was from the public funds.
Ba Tou ran over and hugged his father’s leg, with a small head raised, saying, "Dad, let’s go play, go play."
Zhou SiLang picked him up, patted his chubby bottom pleased, and said, "Alright, let’s go play, later I’ll take you to see lanterns, okay?"
Ba Tou happily clapped his small palms.
This year’s Mid-Autumn Festival is the first one they’ve spent in the capital; they didn’t spend it here last year, so not only Zhou SiLang and his sons but also Manbao and Bai Shan were very excited.
The two spent half a day at ho and even made several lanterns with Mr. Zhuang. Regardless of whether they looked good or not, once the sunset ca, after finishing the evening al, they ran out.
If it weren’t for the adults at ho forcing them, they wouldn’t even eat the evening al; with so much delicious food outside, why must they eat at ho?
No matter how delicious the dishes made by the eldest sister-in-law are, the snacks outside were still very tempting at this ti.
Thinking about the crowd during Mid-Autumn Festival, they didn’t ride horses but took a carriage to Vermilion Bird Street.
Because there were many people going out tonight, including elderly and children, Old Madam Liu didn’t let many people follow them, only assigning Daji and a guard, "Leave other things alone, just keep an eye on them."
Old Master Bai also sent a guard to accompany, so the three took three guards and went ahead.
Zhou Lixue and others wanted to run, but unfortunately, their parents, uncles, and aunts weren’t heading out, so they weren’t allowed to ss around. His father even warned him, "Be careful not to be kidnapped, you might never see us again."
Zhou Lixue: "...Dad, I’m already fifteen!"
"So what if you’re fifteen," Zhou Dalang said, "I heard there are still people who specifically kidnap adults in their twenties or thirties, to sell them to the mountains to mine, are you better than them?"
Zhou Lixue was imdiately left speechless.
Manbao and the others agreed to et Yin Huo at Primus Pavilion; by the ti they went out, the street was crowded, but not yet congested.
Upon reaching the entrance of the tavern, the three jumped out and, upon entering, heard soone exclaim, "Hey, speak of Cao Cao, and here cos Cao Cao. Bai Shan, Mr. Kang has issued a challenge, quickly co to write a poem."
Bai Shan replied without raising his head, "You start, I need to catch up with a friend, see you later."
At Mid-Autumn Festival, Primus Pavilion is a haven for literati and scholars, intentionally shaping such a cultural atmosphere, having long announced a literary eting in Primus Pavilion during Mid-Autumn Festival. Not only were the second and third floors reserved early, but many seats in the main hall were also booked.
Zhao Liulang, wealthy and influential, or rather, prestigious, even when they were in the palace, he was actively trying to book a large room in Primus Pavilion just for their Chongwen Pavilion’s event.
Of course, his diligence was because he lacked money; as a son of a royal uncle, a cousin of the crown prince, booking a room was no problem, but it costs money to book a room and more money to eat and drink.
Primus Pavilion released a special Mid-Autumn nu with high mark-ups; even a simple chilled okra could be nad "Jade among Pools" and sold for five hundred coins per plate.
During the festival, besides needing to prepare gifts for his wife and son, Zhao Liulang also had to prepare gifts for his mother, making him a bit financially embarrassed.
But not going to Primus Pavilion during Mid-Autumn Festival would be shaful, so to avoid eating dirt in the following months, he accepted Bai Shan’s suggestion to pool funds directly and book a large room in Primus Pavilion.
Benefiting from Zhao Liulang, they directly booked a private room on the top third floor, with an excellent location, a series of eight windows, two large round tables inside, and a big wooden couch on the side separated by a screen.
Bai Shan and the others had been in the capital for so long but were visiting the third floor of Primus Pavilion for the first ti, curious, they wandered around the public area on the third floor.
Feng Zongping saw them through the open door and laughed aloud, "Bai Shan ca, where did you buy such ugly lanterns?"
Those already in the private room look over, unable to restrain their laughter, "So ugly, just simple round lanterns, how much did they cost?"
Seeing the three remain silent, Feng Zongping had a sudden realization and asked incredulously, "Is it possible you made these yourselves?"
Bai Shan hung the lanterns carefully and snorted, "Why can’t we make them? Making lanterns for Mid-Autumn is quite normal, isn’t it?"
Manbao and Bai Erlang nodded in agreent and snorted, "Right, we used to make them often when we were young."
Zhao Liulang looked at them disdainfully, "Made them often but ended up like this?"
The three had a slight awkwardness in their expressions and insisted, "Not making them for the last two years, so our hands are rusty, they’ll naturally get better after doing it for a couple of years."
Everyone found it hard to understand, "A lantern isn’t expensive, why insist on making it yourself?"
Could they say that during Mid-Autumn, if they couldn’t go to the county, they’d spend it in the pitch-black village, so manually making a lantern was very joyful?
Bai Shan sincerely said, "This is the essence, our teacher said, Mid-Autumn traditions are lanterns, moon cakes, and moon worship, only by personally engaging in each can you truly understand the essence."
Everyone listened, bewildered, while Manbao and Bai Erlang tried to maintain seriousness and nodded earnestly.
Feng Zongping said thoughtfully, "It’s true, Mr. Zhuang is indeed remarkable."
Zhao Liulang asked, "So, you can make moon cakes as well?"
"Yes," Bai Shan glanced at him; he could make them, but would you dare to eat them?
Anyway, over the years, he only took one bite.
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