The three of them ate river delicacies and drank wine, swaying all the way back to Hangzhou.
By the time they reached Hangzhou, night was falling, but countless laborers were still hauling cargo back and forth across the docks.
Holding oil-paper umbrellas, Yang Ge and Yang Tiansheng leaped onto the dock one after the other. Li Jincheng lifted the hem of his robe to follow, only for Yang Ge to wave him back from the shore. "Don't bother going into the city. Head straight home."
Li Jincheng glanced at the dimming sky and snapped, "You won't even let me have dinner?"
Yang Ge said nothing more. He pulled Yang Tiansheng around with him and waved without looking back. "Until we meet again."
Yang Tiansheng said, "Until we meet again."
Watching the brothers walk away, Li Jincheng cupped his hands around his mouth in exasperation. "I'll be waiting to hear from you!"
Yang Ge called back, "Can't you wish me something good for once?"
Li Jincheng said, "If things go well for you, you won't come. So I'd better wish for someone to beat you until you shit yourself and run..."
Yang Ge shouted, "Piss off!"
Hearing Yang Ge's furious curse, Li Jincheng turned around with a smile. He gave the vivid red oil-paper umbrella a gentle twirl between his palms, like a dandelion, and sent it spinning into the air.
A burly figure in a short tunic leaped up to catch the umbrella and landed on the skiff. He closed it, laid it across both hands, and offered it back to Li Jincheng. "Young Wharf Master, why the hurry?"
Li Jincheng smiled without answering. "Uncle Wang Er, pick three hundred capable men to remain in Hangzhou on standby. Everyone else is to return to the wharf with me immediately."
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