Fang Ke enjoyed socializing.
Yang Ge also enjoyed shutting the door on Fang Ke.
Add to that the fact that there had been no response from the capital for some time.
The affairs of Luting County had thus been left in a state neither warm nor hot.
The warrant for the notorious Zhang Mazi remained posted on the city gates, but no one had ever really pursued it.
The people from Fengyu Rice Shop had been detained in the county jail with somewhat ridiculous charges, yet no amount of interceding could get them out.
From an observer’s perspective, this situation was bizarre!
Logically speaking, with a peasant uprising and looting happening in such a critical area, the court, if not dispatching nearby troops to enter the city and arrest people, should have at least sent a large number of officials to investigate thoroughly.
But none of that happened...
No troops entered the city for martial law.
Nor did any officials come to investigate.
It was as if that night’s fire was merely a grand bonfire party, where everyone gathered to eat, drink, and be merry. After it was all done, everyone just went back to their homes.
The days passed so calmly that the common folk, unaware of much, found it eerie and unsettling.
Even with grain in hand, they could not eat or sleep well, always feeling as if a sword hung over their heads, not knowing when it would fall...
On the other hand, Yang Ge, the person involved, ate well and slept soundly until dawn each day. His biggest everyday worry was the three daily questions: What to eat for breakfast? What for lunch? What for dinner?
He, of course, guessed that there might have been some changes in the capital.
Because the several letters he had sent directly and indirectly to Shen Fa had vanished without a trace.
But...
What did that have to do with him?
The affairs of the capital were beyond his control and interest.
The affairs of Luting, though, he wanted to manage, and he did.
As for the consequences...
Whether the court wanted to charge him, Yang Ge, with the crime of violently seizing someone else’s property in a substantial amount.
Or only charge him with inciting public unrest...
He was ready to accept it.
Law, from the day it was created, has served two purposes.
The first, of course, is to warn people not to do certain things, as they are wrong.
The second is to inform people what price must be paid for certain actions.
In other words, as long as you are prepared to face the consequences, even if something is prohibited by law...
Yang Ge had made the worst preparations and was ready to face the worst outcomes.
So naturally, he was not worried. He did what he wanted and refrained from what he didn’t want to do.
The days leisurely rolled into the twelfth year of Xiping, and then to the thirteenth year of Xiping.
This was Yang Ge’s second festival celebrated in Wei.
And it was the first festival he celebrated in Wei with a home of his own.
...
The first day of the New Year.
Yang Ge got up early, like he was attending to a big family. He put on an apron to slaughter chickens, carve ducks, gut fish, stew meat, fry meat, and stir-fry meat. He also steamed a tray of glutinous rice balls.
By noon, the entire courtyard was fragrant with the smell of meat.
"Knock, knock, knock."
"Woof, woof, woof..."
The knocking sound came.
Yang Ge, wiping his hands on his apron, hurried out from the kitchen with Huang following at his heels: "Coming, coming."
Opening the door, he saw Fang Ke, dressed in inconspicuous gray and wearing a bamboo hat, holding a bunch of New Year’s goods with a smile on his face, bowing outside the door: "My dear host, celebrating the New Year... Huang, long time no see!"
Huang, seeing the large and small packages and the old hen in his hand, wagged its floppy ears and rubbed against his trousers like a licking dog.
Yang Ge glanced at the two slightly familiar reed chickens in his hands and smiled more broadly: "You’ve come at just the right time, come taste my cooking."
Fang Ke followed him into the courtyard and closed the gate: "Then I am indeed fortunate!"
Yang Ge led him into the kitchen, opened the steaming steamer, and picked up a bowl of glutinous rice balls for him: "This was my favorite dish back in the day, I don’t know if I got it right, you give it a try."
Fang Ke took the bowl with both hands, picked up a glutinous rice ball and took a bite, immediately giving a thumbs up: "With your cooking skills, even the head chefs of the six great hotels in the capital would only deserve to be your chopping block helpers!"
Yang Ge beamed with joy: "The ones my dad makes are really delicious..."
He paused mid-sentence as the smile on his face faded. Then he added, "How’s the old man doing? Is he still spry?"
Fang Ke quickly replied: "He’s doing well, insisted on cooking for me before letting me leave. It took some persuading to get the old man to stop fussing... Here, he asked me to bring you these two chickens and also to tell you to take care, and not to worry about him."
Yang Ge sighed softly, smiling: "I saw... It’s really embarrassing to have you run this errand during the New Year’s!"
Fang Ke raised the bowl in his hand: "Why be so formal with me? If it weren’t for you taking me in, I wouldn’t know where to spend my New Year’s."
"Haha!"
Yang Ge laughed and teased, "It’s good that you, Fang, don’t mind the simple food and drink here. Go on, set up the dinner table; I’ve got some wine, and later we’ll enjoy a drink or two!"
Fang Ke chuckled as he walked outside, "Hey, I seem to have more face today than even our host!"
He knew that even the local military commander had to bring his own food and drink when he came here.
After washing his hands, Yang Ge took some shiny cured meat out of the pot, placed it on a cutting board, sliced off a piece, and tossed it to Huang, who was salivating at his feet...
Huang caught the cured meat precisely with his mouth and happily wagged his tail as he devoured it.
"Knock, knock, knock."
There was another knock at the door.
Huang immediately dropped the cured meat from his mouth and rushed out of the kitchen, barking loudly on his front paws: "Woof, woof, woof, woof..."
Yang Ge glanced at Huang and curiously poked his head out from the kitchen, "Fang, go check the door, see who it is."
The visitor was definitely a stranger; Huang would not act this way with someone he knew.
Fang Ke, who was busy setting the table, replied and quickly crossed the courtyard to open the gate, only to see a tall, dark-skinned man standing outside, holding a package of unknown pastries.
This man’s features were sharp, but his eyebrows were thick and messy, and his eyes were dull and lifeless. Coupled with his worn hemp clothes and rough, dark skin, he looked exactly like a laborer from the Bian River.
"May I ask who you are looking for..."
Fang Ke began to ask politely, but before he could finish his sentence, he recognized the man’s face, which sparked a sudden shock, "You are Xie... what are you doing here?"
He hadn’t even finished saying the word "Xie" when he instinctively lowered his voice. Though it was a question, his tone was more one of horror.
The visitor looked Fang Ke up and down with a chuckle and spoke softly, "Oh, remember now, we met in Tanzhou the year before last, right? Don’t overthink it, I’m just accompanying my sister to meet a neighbor... Is Yang Ge around?"
He tilted his head towards the kitchen direction and called out loudly.
Fang Ke stood in front of him, rigid, neither daring to move nor to speak.
He could never forget the sight of this man leading five thousand cavalry against the setting sun, sweeping through the enemy like autumn wind through fallen leaves!
"Who is it?"
Yang Ge walked out of the kitchen, wiping his hands, and gently kicked Huang, who was still barking incessantly, confusedly looking towards the man outside the gate.
"Yang Ge, happy New Year."
The visitor said earnestly, holding the pastries and bowing, "I am Wang Dashi, Yunzhi’s elder brother. I heard from my younger sister last night about her returning to our ancestral home and how much Yang Ge has looked after her, so I came to express my thanks!"
"So it’s Wang Dashi from the Wang Family, we are neighbors after all, there’s no need for thanks."
Yang Ge was a bit wary, but it was New Year’s, and it would not be right to reject someone so far from home, so he approached with a smile, "Please come in and have a seat!"
While he said "please come in and have a seat," his right hand on the gate did not show any intention of opening it.
Unexpectedly, Wang Dashi entered with a smile, bowing and stepping over the threshold, "Then I’ll take the liberty!"
Yang Ge wordlessly gave Fang Ke a look: ’Make up some excuse to send him away...’
However, Fang Ke was as if he hadn’t seen his look, rooted to the spot.
...
After all, they were neighbors.
Even if Yang Ge felt that the family next door was not quite normal, he still had to be hospitable when they visited.
As soon as he entered, Fang Ke made an excuse to check the fire and went to the kitchen, not coming out for a long time.
Yang Ge had no choice but to brew a pot of tea, serve the freshly fried crispy meat and fruit plates, and sit down with Wang Dashi under the grape trellis.
The two of them chatted casually about the courtyard layout and furnishings for over half an hour.
It wasn’t until shouts for dinner came from next door that Wang Dashi got up with a smile, saying he would visit again later.
After seeing the visitor off, Yang Ge returned to the kitchen, puzzled, and saw Fang Ke solemnly seated behind the stove as if he were a schoolboy waiting for roll call.
Yang Ge looked at him suspiciously: "Do you recognize this person?"
Fang Ke looked up, confused, and replied, "Should I recognize him?"
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Yang Ge: "Am I asking you or are you asking me?"
Fang Ke immediately shook his head: "I don’t know him."
Yang Ge clearly didn’t believe him: "With the friendship we have, you can’t hide things from me!"
Fang Ke shook his head more vigorously: "This is truly the first time I’ve met Wang Dashi."
Yang Ge: "Really?"
Fang Ke: "When have I ever lied to you?"
Yang Ge: "Then why did you freeze up like a mouse seeing a cat when you saw him, not daring to make a peep?"
Fang Ke gave an embarrassed smile: "Not at all, it’s just... New Year’s makes me miss my dad..."
With that, Yang Ge went to wash his hands, picked up the cleaver, and started cutting the cured meat, muttering, "I’ve always felt the family next door wasn’t quite right. I’ve been too busy entertaining those few important households to think about it. I should check into them when I have the time!"
Fang Ke laughed, "Is that necessary? We’re not in charge of local security. Even if they were thieves or bandits, that should be the judiciary’s concern, right?"
Yang Ge put down the cleaver, "Are you teaching me how to do my job?"
Fang Ke hurriedly bowed, "Far be it from me..."
Yang Ge: "Stop dawdling, let’s eat!"