After the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the weather finally showed signs of warming up.
"Little brother, has the sun come out outside?"
The old shopkeeper, lying in bed, called out softly.
Yang Ge stopped what he was doing, glanced out the window, and laughed, "The sky at last has cleared. If it kept being gloomy, we’d all be growing mold..."
"Right?"
The old shopkeeper also laughed, "I feel like mushrooms are about to sprout on me... It’s rare to have such good weather, help me out to bask in the sun for a while."
Yang Ge’s face showed hesitation but he remained silent.
Seeing this, the old shopkeeper tried to sit up, puffing out his scrawny chest as if to get out of bed, "I’m better, see. If you don’t believe me, I’ll get up and walk a couple of steps for you!"
"Alright, alright, just let me have a look first..."
Yang Ge verbally humored the old man while he approached and carefully felt the old man’s pulse by holding his wrist.
The old man’s pulse was indeed very stable, but his hands were as cold as ice, without a trace of warmth.
Sensing this, he extended his hand under the quilt to feel around, and there was only a faint trace of warmth inside.
He immediately pressed the old man back into the quilt, "The wind outside is strong, we shouldn’t go out, alright? I’ll open the doors and windows in a bit to let in some fresh air and light. Let’s rest up properly for a few more days, and once we’re past these few days, we’ll consider ourselves having weathered through this..."
The old man, reluctant, glanced at the bright window paper but still obediently lay back down and whispered, "Young man, it’s been days since I’ve had the spicy stir-fried kidneys you make..."
Yang Ge bent down to tidy up his bed, and hearing the old man’s request for meat, he laughed joyfully, "No problem, I’ll have Fuyu go to his father-in-law’s place to get some pig kidneys. It’s perfect, I prepared some pickled peppers last year. Tonight, I’ll let you taste what real spicy stir-fried kidneys are!"
The old man’s face lit up with a smile, "That’s great!"
After a pause, he murmured softly, "The New Year is over now, right? Why hasn’t Miaomiao come back yet?"
"The New Year might be over, but the snow on the roads hasn’t melted yet..."
Yang Ge replied without a second thought, then with a hint of resignation added, "Alright, I’ll go pick up Miaomiao soon!"
The old man grinned, showing off his remaining solitary front tooth, and chuckled.
Yang Ge also laughed along; he was at a loss when it came to the old man.
"Brother, sister-in-law..."
He turned his head and called out loudly toward the door.
"Hey... I’m here!"
Liu Mang responded loudly, his voice getting closer, and finally he pushed open the door and popped his head in, "What’s the matter?"
Yang Ge: "Has your father-in-law opened up his shop yet?"
Liu Mang: "He opened on the ninth day, what’s up?"
Yang Ge: "The old man wants to eat kidneys. Have your wife check at her parental home to see if they still have any, and while she’s at it, she should bring back some fresh meat too. Tonight I’ll make something good for a feast!"
Right on time, Madame Liu cradling little Huang in her arms, peeked out from behind Liu Mang and nodded, "Sure, I’ll head back now. Dad, do you want to eat lamb or beef too? I’ll ask my father to get some..."
The old shopkeeper grandly waved his hand, "Whatever you all want to eat, just buy it. Tonight, I’ll treat you all to a reunion feast; I have money, so eat without holding back!"
Liu Mang chuckled, "Heh heh," looking back at his wife, "Hear that? The old man’s loaded!"
Madame Liu slapped him and then also couldn’t help but laugh, "Keep your money, Dad. We still have some, and when we run out, we’ll ask you for it..."
The couple laughed together "heh heh heh," clearly enjoying the marital harmony.
Yang Ge joined the laughter, "Mang, you keep an eye on the old man for a while, I’m going to pick up Miaomiao."
"You’re going to pick her up?"
Liu Mang was taken aback and then looked at Yang Ge with a mixture of envy and jealousy, "It must be nice to be skilled in martial arts, just ’whoosh’ and you can go wherever you want, unlike us poor saps who have to travel by land and water..."
Yang Ge chuckled, tucking in the corner of the old shopkeeper’s quilt before strolling out of the bedroom. He leapt into the air with a "whoosh" and turned into a streak of golden light heading toward Luoyang.
"Tsk tsk tsk..."
Liu Mang shook his head and stepped indoors.
About an hour later.
Yang Ge descended from the sky embracing Zhao Miao
"Godfather..."
Zhao Miao, with her little bundle, rushed into the bedroom like a shot.
Liu Mang emerged from the bedroom and, upon seeing Yang Ge in the yard looking exactly as he did before he left, uttered in disbelief, "You’re back from the capital already?"
"Yep."
Yang Ge rolled up his sleeves and walked toward the kitchen, "Where’s sister-in-law?"
Liu Mang was even more speechless, "She hasn’t come back yet..."
Yang Ge: "That’s... urge her to hurry up. I’m waiting for the meat to hit the pot!"
Liu Mang: "Did you really train in martial arts, you rascal?"
Yang Ge squatted behind the stove and grabbed a handful of kindling to stuff into the stove saying, "What else?"
As he spoke, he pointed his fingers into the stove, and bright red flames immediately lit up his cheeks.
Liu Mang glanced at him, covered his face, turned his head, and quickly walked out of the courtyard.
The north wind scattered the pleasant smell of cooking smoke throughout the courtyard; from the bedroom, where the old shopkeeper and Zhao Miao were chatting, bursts of laughter with varying pitch occasionally came out, and Huang excitedly crawled out of his kennel to chase after the cooking smoke...
It was as if the snow had stopped and the skies had cleared.
...
At nightfall, the old shopkeeper’s bedroom glowed warm and bright with an orange light.
The old shopkeeper, who had been bedridden for nearly two months, sat in the place of honor, his pale and gaunt face glowing with health in the orange light.
He looked at Liu Mang on his right side, who was holding the little one in one arm and teasing him with a pellet drum, then at Liu Deng’s wife and Zhao Miao on his left, who were eating crispy meat while chatting about family matters, with a warm light filling his murky old eyes.
"Spicy pork kidney’s coming!"
Yang Ge, with an apron tied around his waist, bustled into the bedroom, placing a large plate of bright red spicy pork kidney steadily in the center of the table, where a complex aroma that was fresh, slightly sour, and spicy filled the room at once.
"Wow..."
Zhao Miao clapped and cheered with shining eyes.
Liu Deng’s wife also praised with a beaming smile, "Uncle’s cooking skills are truly beyond words, even the emperor probably wouldn’t have a royal meal better than this, right?"
Yang Ge chuckled with a "heh heh."
Zhao Miao also chuckled with a "heh heh."
Yang Ge pulled off his apron, "Come on, pick up your chopsticks, what are you waiting for?"
Liu Mang patted the empty seat beside him, "Aren’t we waiting for you?"
"Wait for me? When have you ever heard of a cook going hungry?"
Yang Ge pulled up a chair and sat opposite the old shopkeeper, picking up some finely minced pork kidney with his chopsticks and placing it into the elder’s bowl, "Give it a try, see if my skills have gotten rusty?"
The old shopkeeper nodded with a grin, picked up the pork kidney from his bowl with his chopsticks, and chewed it carefully, tasting the stimulating sour and spicy flavor. Having eaten nothing but tasteless liquid food for so long, the flavor was so intense that tears welled up in the old shopkeeper’s eyes.
He gave Yang Ge a thumbs up, "Unbeatable, even better than before!"
Yang Ge sighed in relief, and casually added a piece of pork kidney to Zhao Miao’s bowl, "Stop just looking, eat..."
"Eat, eat, eat..."
Liu Mang, who couldn’t wait any longer, eagerly picked up a piece of pork kidney with his chopsticks, closed his eyes, and savored the taste, "This flavor, it’s absolutely amazing..."
"Wow!"
Little Guangzong spoke up just in time, interrupting his father’s gourmet show.
Liu Mang quickly picked up a piece of pork kidney, wanting to feed it to Little Guangzong, but Yang Ge stopped him with his chopsticks, "Brother, Guangzong is still young, eat less of the strong-flavored foods..."
He put down his chopsticks, scooped up a large chicken drumstick from the chicken soup that was falling apart from being stewed, and placed it in Liu Mang’s bowl, "Eat slowly, feed him a little at a time, and be careful not to choke..."
Liu Mang: "Oh, oh, oh!"
On the other side, Liu Deng’s wife, seeing this, pointed disdainfully at Liu Mang with her chopsticks and said to Zhao Miao, "Look, look, he is not as careful a father as his uncle... Miaomiao, you guys should also hurry up and have one, let me tell you..."
Her voice grew fainter as she spoke, clearly sharing intimate sister-in-law talk.
Zhao Miao blushed and nodded vigorously like pounding garlic, while picking up food and stealing glances at Yang Ge next to him, his sneaky demeanor like that of a squirrel stealing nuts.
Meanwhile, Yang Ge was putting food in the old shopkeeper’s bowl across from him and chatting with Liu Mang about the grain market: "Any improvement in the grain market these past few days? It’s getting warmer here, so the southern grain routes should be open by now."
Liu Mang, after eating a big piece of oily twice-cooked pork, replied: "No improvement. Our family’s store is the only one that’s been doing business on the entire grain market, the others either have no goods or are too scared to open for business with what little they have..."
Yang Ge raised his thumb table glass to him, "Haven’t heard any news?"
Liu Mang raised his thumb table glass: "At least I haven’t heard anything, want me to go inquire about it for you tomorrow?"
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Yang Ge drank his fill with a single tilt of his head and shook it, "Never mind, I’ll see if I can find time to go to Lianhuan Fort tomorrow and see if there are any updates from Fang Ke..."
Liu Mang: "Go if you want, I’m here at home, and the old man has been much better these past few days..."
While speaking, he looked towards his father beside him, only to find the old man sitting upright in the Taishi chair, half-closing his eyes as if taking a nap, with the corners of his mouth still carrying a contented smile.
Liu Mang gently nudged the old man with his elbow, puzzled, "What’s going on? You fussed about wanting spicy pork kidney, but now you’re dozing off when the young man made such a big feast..."
The old man, however, did not move a muscle...
Staring blankly at his father, Liu Mang was at a loss for a moment.
"Clang."
Yang Ge’s chopsticks silently fell onto the dishes, his lips trembling as he lowered his eyelids, and tears flowed like rain.
"Dad!"
The panicked and sorrowful cry of Liu Deng’s wife awakened Liu Mang.
He looked at the aunt across from him shaking his old father vigorously, hugged Little Guangzong tightly, and in an unusually gentle voice whispered, "Don’t disturb dad, he’s tired, let him rest for a while, and we’ll keep him company and finish the meal properly..."
He bowed his head, reached out with his chopsticks to pick up food, while large tears fell, splashing onto the bowls and dishes with a ’plink plink’ sound.
...
In the first year of Zhaode, on the evening of the seventeenth day of the first month.
The old shopkeeper of Yuelai Inn, Liu Degui, who had lived a life of goodness and charity, closed his eyes with a smile in the company of his loved ones and never opened them again...