Gu Linchen was a man of action. After closing up his stall in the afternoon, he placed the cart beside the teahouse and took Feng Ge’er to visit the rental shop. The owner of the rental shop showed them several storefronts, and in the end, Gu Linchen chose a shop on the south side of West Street. This shop had previously been used for selling food, and many of the fixtures were still usable. Most importantly, it had a small resting room in the back and a well. The price to buy the shop was 120 taels, but Gu Linchen didn’t want to invest that much all at once. Instead, he rented it for one year at three taels of silver per month and paid the rent for the first three months. After handling all the paperwork, Gu Linchen looked at the paper in his hand, which felt light, and said, “Feng Ge’er, we have our own shop now.”

“Mm,” Feng Ge’er was also happy. He never imagined that they would have their own shop in just a month. He thought his husband would only sell food from a stall. His heart was pounding with excitement.

“Let’s go home. We’ll take a break tomorrow,” Gu Linchen said.

“But, Lao Gong, what if Young Master Meng and the others come tomorrow and don’t find us?” Feng Ge’er was a bit tired, but thinking about how much silver they could make in a day, he felt motivated.

“We’ll tell Boss Mu Lao, and ask him to tell any customers coming tomorrow that we have something to do, but we’ll be there very early the day after tomorrow,” Gu Linchen explained. He looked at Feng Ge’er, who was making a conflicted face, and found it adorable. When they first met, Feng Ge’er had been so thin and worn, dressed in patched hemp clothes, lifeless. Now, after a month of care using the spirit water, eating meat every day, his skin had become much fairer, and his face had some meat on it. He was now wearing fine cotton clothing, and his bright, lively eyes made him look even more refined.

Feng Ge’er noticed his husband was staring at him. “Lao Gong, do I have something on my face?” he asked, wiping his face with his sleeve.

“No, let’s go,” Gu Linchen replied.

“Alright.”

As they passed a street corner, they saw a young man with a bag of brown items in front of him. Gu Linchen approached and picked up a handful. It was cumin, which he liked.

“Boss, how much are you selling this for?” Gu Linchen asked.

Liu Quan looked up and saw a young couple standing in front of him, one of them holding a handful of his goods. He had bought the cumin from a Hu man, hoping to sell it at a good price, but no one had bought any for several days. He thought today would be another wasted trip and was lost in thought when Gu Linchen spoke.

“Are you buying this? It’s 25 wen per jin,” Liu Quan said. He had bought it for 20 wen, so he was only making a small profit.

Gu Linchen thought for a moment. It wasn’t that expensive. “I’ll take all of it. Weigh it for me,” he said.

“Sure!” Liu Quan brightened up. The bag weighed 31 jin. “That’ll be 750 wen.”

Gu Linchen handed over the money and said, “Brother, have you ever seen a small, red, pointed fruit with seeds inside? Something like this,” he said, drawing in the dirt with a stick.

Liu Quan looked at the drawing, thought for a moment, and shook his head. “No, I haven’t. I’m Liu Quan. If you’re looking for it, I can try to find it for you.”

“Thank you, Brother Liu. My name is Gu Linchen. I sell braised food on West Street. If you find it, you can come look for me next to the Chen family wine shop,” Gu Linchen said. The shop they rented was next to the wine shop.

After negotiating, Gu Linchen happily took the bag of cumin and turned away, excited. Now, he could make many delicious dishes.

Feng Ge’er looked at his husband as if he had found treasure, and he was happy inside.

The two of them went to the teahouse to pick up the cart from Boss Mu Lao, then stopped by the butcher’s shop to pick up the pig entrails and buy some pork to take home. They planned to make cumin roasted meat for dinner. They also told Butcher Wang to save some spare ribs for them when he slaughtered the pigs the next day and not to shave off the meat, as they wanted it whole. Butcher Wang had grown fond of the braised food that Gu Linchen and Feng Ge’er made, so every day he would save them two pig ears to go with their drinks. The two of them naturally became more familiar with each other.

As they passed a pastry shop, Gu Linchen went inside and bought two bags of pastries.

“Lao Gong, you spoil Xige’er like this. Look at him now, he’s getting so mischievous,” Feng Ge’er said. He was happy that his husband cared for Xige’er, but every day when they came home, it was either pastries or toys. Xige’er’s room was already stacked high with them, and after eating pastries, he didn’t want to eat regular meals. Even when they told him to eat his meals, they had to coax him.

“He’s just a child, a bit mischievous is fine. Let’s go home. I miss him,” Gu Linchen replied.

Feng Ge’er gave him a look, “You spoil him too much,” but still followed him obediently.

Xige’er, Huzi, and Xiu ge’er were squatting at the door playing. A few days ago, Aunt Gu had brought some vegetables to the house, and Xige’er had given the children pastries and sugar. Huzi didn’t want to leave, insisting on staying. Aunt Gu said it was fine, and he could stay and play for a while, coming back later. Xiu ge’er also stayed to watch him, knowing that Xige’er had many toys in his hands and snacks to eat. His lunch was better than what he had at home, so every morning he came over, only reluctantly going back home in the evening.

“Dad!” Xige’er ran over like the wind. Gu Linchen caught him and hugged him, planting a kiss on his cheek. “What is my little darling playing with?”

Last time, Gu Linchen’s Mother caught a slight cold, and Gu Linchen went into the space to slice a few ginseng roots to make tea. The amount of money that cost was quite significant, and Gu Linchen’s Mother was so touched that she repeatedly said, “How can you give me such precious things to eat?” Later, Xige’er held up the doll that Gu Linchen had first bought for him and said it was his treasure. Gu Linchen kissed him at the time and said, “You are my little treasure.” This made Xige’er climb into his lap, grinning from ear to ear. Since then, Gu Linchen loved calling him “little treasure.”

Xige’er smiled and hugged Gu Linchen’s neck, planting a kiss on his cheek. “Brother Chen, you’re back!” Huzi was also happy and ran over, knowing that when Gu Linchen returned, there would be delicious food. Gu Linchen took out a package of snacks, pulled out two pieces, and handed them to Feng Ge’er. “Try this.”

“Thank you, Lao Gong,” Feng Ge’er said, feeling a little shy as he accepted it, especially with his father and mother nearby.

Gu Linchen gave the other package to Xige’er and told them to share it among the three of them. He also handed one to his mothet, urging her to have some as well. Though his mother said, “This is such a waste of money, your father and I are at such an old age, we shouldn’t be eating snacks,” her smile clearly showed that she was happy.

Gu Linchen then told his parents that he had rented a shop today. After closing up in the afternoon, he planned to go and organize it. When they heard that their family had rented a shop, even though it was only a lease, it indicated that their business was doing well. Over the past month, the family had been keeping track of their daily earnings, and they made nearly two taels of silver every day. After covering costs, they’d earned almost thirty taels that month. The pig’s feet couldn’t be sold for just one tael each; for the last three, they only charged one tael for all three. Otherwise, their earnings for the month would have been even higher.

Since they weren’t opening the stall tomorrow, and there was no need to rush back to work as soon as they got home, His mother told them to go rest in their room. With the pressure off, she and Gu Linchen’s could take care of things.