The city bustled with excitement. People who had come to buy New Year supplies were everywhere, and stalls lined every street.
Xu Qing rarely came into the city, so everything seemed new and fascinating to her. Before they had walked very far, her hands were full of things: candied hawthorn skewers, a grotesque mask, a pinwheel...
Xu Yang bought her everything she wanted. Only when both her hands were full did they begin buying New Year supplies.
Ham, peanuts, sunflower seeds, glutinous rice...
In the end, they had more than they could carry and had to find a handcart to haul it all home.
In the blink of an eye, it was New Year's Eve. The Liu Family had let its Attendants go home for the holiday; they would return on the third day of the new year.
Xu Yang rose early, ate breakfast, and took Xu Qing up the mountain to pay their respects at their mother's grave.
When they returned, he saw three men standing outside his house. Two carried loads on shoulder poles, while the third stood empty-handed.
Seeing Xu Yang return, the empty-handed man hurried forward and cupped his hands. "Greetings, Master Xu."
He, too, had become someone people addressed as "Master."
The man was none other than Wang Xinggui, the minor leader the Three Harmonies Gang had sent to manage collections in White Stone Ward.
Xu Yang nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping over the loads carried by the two men behind Wang Xinggui. Their baskets held fruit, bolts of cloth, rice wine, rice, meat, and other goods.
"Master Xu, our gang leader was concerned you might be too busy training to prepare New Year supplies, so he sent me over with some." Wang Xinggui bowed, his face brimming with obsequious smiles.
After word spread that