"Knock, knock, knock..."
Yang Ge, with a nail clamped between his lips, focused on affixing a small sign—carved with the words "Huang’s House"—onto the door of the dog’s kennel.
The rough courtyard had already undergone a drastic transformation; there was a new pond filled with fresh water in the northeast corner, next to which several tall, slender bamboo plants towered over the courtyard wall. The morning sun shone through the bamboo, casting mottled shadows across the yard.
In the middle of the east wall, a moon-shaped gate had been cut, leading to a small patch of open, flat land for vegetables. It was crisscrossed with small paths laid with cobblestones and encircled by a fence.
And in the northwestern corner was still the grape trellis. Beneath it stood a square stone table and a small bamboo chair on one side. Around the base of the courtyard wall, near the trellis, a circle of flowerbeds had been built, filled with the fresh blooms of little wild chrysanthemums.
Even the ground had been covered with a layer of tightly fitted, smooth and polished bluestone slabs, complete with a drainage system to prevent the courtyard from turning into a mud pit on rainy days...
After nailing the sign in place, Yang Ge set down the hammer and stepped back a couple of paces. He tilted his head from side to side, then, satisfied with his work, he slapped his hands together, thinking his ’dog son’ would certainly like its new home.
He shifted his stance, looking around, and felt that Zhao Miao would also like his old home...
Finally, he looked up, squinting at the golden sunrise in the sky, his mouth slowly curving into a smile, "Today is a good day!"
"Shan, I’m going to the county to pick up my wife. Keep an eye on the house for me, will you?"
From next door, Yang Dashan’s voice carried over, "Oh? You’re already married? Go ahead, go ahead, don’t worry about your house!"
Yang Ge: "Thanks, Shan. I’ll treat you to a drink when I get back!"
"Brothers like us, no need for such pleasantries..."
...
Afternoon.
Zhao Miao lay listlessly across the counter, eyes unfocused as she stared blankly at the passersby outside the door.
In just a short month, she had lost considerable weight, her once baby-faced cheeks now resembling the oval shape of a goose egg.
Xiao Baoqi, playing mahjong in the hall, couldn’t bear to see her looking like a lovesick maiden. He pushed away his tiles, "I’m not in luck today, not playing anymore... Second shopkeeper, catch the wind!"
Everyone turned their gazes towards Zhao Miao at the counter.
But Zhao Miao acted as if she hadn’t heard a thing, neither speaking nor moving.
Xiao Baoqi stood up from his chair with a sigh and walked over to the counter, gently tapping the side, "Second shopkeeper, playing mahjong or not?"
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Zhao Miao murmured faintly with a lack of enthusiasm, "No, second brother said he’s irreconcilable with gambling..."
Xiao Baoqi chuckled, "The shopkeeper was just joking, and you took it seriously?"
Zhao Miao remained silent, still staring blankly outside the door.
Xiao Baoqi gave her another look, feeling both envious and troubled as he whispered soothingly, "Didn’t the shopkeeper tell you before he left? He’ll come back for you once he’s settled everything. Don’t get lost in wild thoughts and mistreat yourself... Besides, isn’t Huang still here?"
Zhao Miao still did not respond, treating him as if he were thin air.
Xiao Baoqi could only sigh again and turned to return to the mahjong table.
However, as he turned, he caught something from the corner of his eye—Zhao Miao suddenly sat up straight with a "swoosh".
Surprised, he turned back just in time to see Zhao Miao jump down from the high stool, her expression strangely excited as she dashed around him and hurried toward the door.
He muttered a curious "Huh," and followed Zhao Miao’s gaze outside the door, only to see a man in rough cloth clothes standing outside the inn, smiling warmly at Zhao Miao as she rushed toward him.
"Second brother!"
Zhao Miao leapt from the staircase into Yang Ge’s arms, her hands clasping tightly around his waist like she was holding onto the whole world she had feared to lose.
She had genuinely been afraid that once her second brother left, he might never return...
Yang Ge gently stroked Zhao Miao’s forehead without saying much.
Meanwhile, Huang, who had been asleep behind the counter, finally caught on and, feeling indignant, burst out with a loud bark and wagged its tail as it lunged forward, "You finally remember to come back?"
The idlers in the hall watched silently as the harsh afternoon sunlight fell upon them, casting a warm golden glow over their reunion.
...
Second floor of the inn.
Zhao Miao brought a cup of tea to Yang Ge and, after setting down the tray, sat beside him, clutching his arm, unwilling to part even for an inch.
The four bears of Yuelai, sitting across from Yang Ge, exchanged teasing glances with Zhao Miao.
Zhao Miao smiled back at them with a proud and triumphant twinkle in her eye!
Yang Ge pretended not to notice their exchange of looks, his eyes sweeping back and forth among the four bears.
Over the years, the loafers at Yuelai Inn had come and gone, some even settling down and buying houses in Lu Ting, only stopping by the inn now and then to show their faces.
But these four had stayed at the inn for over three years, with an attendance rate higher than even Yang Ge, the shopkeeper’s... The chairs at their regular mahjong table were nearly worn with the imprint of their sitting postures.
Among the four, Flea was from the outside establishment, Rogue was from the Ming Sect, and Xiao Baoqi was, arguably, from the White Lotus Sect.
The three of them had taken up long-term residence in the inn, each with their own missions.
Only Dog Shit, a lone wanderer just like them, truly treated Yuelai Inn as home...
"Baoqi, what’s the White Lotus Sect been up to lately?"
Yang Ge stroked the whining dog’s head in his arms and asked nonchalantly, "It seems like it’s been a long time since we’ve heard any news about the White Lotus Sect. You’re not secretly gearing up to make a big splash in the news, are you?"
Xiao Baoqi sat up straight involuntarily, his eyelids drooping as he sneakily observed Yang Ge’s expression, and cautiously replied, "Shopkeeper, I’m not one of the White Lotus Sect. Don’t ask me about their business!"