Reunion

"Woof, woof, woof..."

"Coming, coming!"

Wiping his hands, Yang Ge hurried from the back courtyard into the front. The moment he saw Little Yellow standing behind the courtyard gate, wagging his tail in circles with such enthusiasm, he knew who had come.

Sure enough, when he opened the gate, he found Shopkeeper Liu standing outside with his hands behind his back.

"What are you fussing with now?"

Shopkeeper Liu looked him over, taking in the dirt all over him, and asked with a smile.

Yang Ge quickly stepped aside and warmly invited the old man in. "You've come at just the right time. I rented the courtyard out back too, and I'm planning to put in a little vegetable patch and raise some chickens and ducks. Come have a look."

"Oh?"

Shopkeeper Liu gave him a somewhat surprised look, but the curiosity that had just surfaced in his eyes swiftly faded. He caught Yang Ge by the arm. "Don't trouble yourself. I'm busy today, so I'll come have a look another time... here, it's the Mid-Autumn Festival today. Have something for the occasion!"

Chuckling, the old man brought out a tightly bound oilpaper parcel from behind his back, with the word "Mooncakes" written in large characters on red paper, and pressed it into Yang Ge's arms.

Only the faintest trace of warmth remained in the oilpaper parcel, yet holding it, Yang Ge felt as though he were cradling a blazing stove.

He forced the corners of his mouth upward and managed a strained smile. "Look at my memory. I completely forgot it was the Mid-Autumn Festival today, and even made you come all this way to bring me mooncakes. How terribly rude of me."

Seeing his awkward smile, Shopkeeper Liu did not expose him. He merely smiled and waved a hand. "No need for such formalities between us men. But you really ought to get out more. There's a temple fair over at the City God Temple tonight, and all the young ladies in town will be there. Go have a look yourself. You're in the prime of your life-don't spend all your time shut up at home wrestling with this little courtyard!"

Yang Ge nodded in agreement, then once again invited the old man to sit down for some tea.

"I won't sit. I've still got plenty to do today!"

The old man shook his head, every wrinkle on his face smoothing out, joy tucked even into the lines on his forehead. "I came today on your brother Fu Yu's behalf to invite you to join us as family tomorrow and go to the bride's home to present the betrothal gifts!"

Yang Ge's eyes widened in surprise, and he exclaimed happily, "It's settled?"

The old man nodded, beaming. "Butcher Deng's second daughter over in the eastern market. She's fierce-tempered, thrifty, and good at running a household. A perfect match for your brother Fu Yu!"

Yang Ge promptly clasped his hands in salute. "Congratulations to the proprietor, and congratulations to the young proprietor! Our inn won't have to worry about getting good pork anymore!"

The old man was so delighted that his face had nearly bloomed into a chrysanthemum, yet he waved his hand with feigned displeasure. "Ah, we're family. None of that talk you'd use with outsiders. Come early tomorrow and dress smartly. Go with your brother Fu Yu to present the betrothal gifts. My in-law-to-be lacks neither food nor clothing, but he does care about appearances. Our family mustn't fall short on courtesy..."

Yang Ge opened his mouth to agree, but after quickly turning the matter over in his mind, he hesitated.

Seeing his hesitation, Shopkeeper Liu asked in puzzlement, "What is it? Do you have something else to do tomorrow? Can't you put it off? Nothing could be more important than welcoming a new member into our family!"

Yang Ge thought for a moment, then took the old shopkeeper's arm and led him toward the grape arbor. "Don't get worked up just yet. Let's sit down and talk it through."

Shopkeeper Liu was a little annoyed, but he still did as Yang Ge asked and sat down beneath the grape arbor.

Yang Ge went inside, poured a bowl of water, and brought it out to the old man with both hands. Then he fetched a small chair, sat beside him, and said earnestly, "Shopkeeper, it's not that I don't appreciate your kindness. You and Brother Fu Yu thought of me for this because you consider me family. By rights, I ought to uphold that honor no matter what!"

Only after hearing this did Shopkeeper Liu's expression soften somewhat. He said gently, "That's putting it too strongly. Still, your brother Fu Yu and I both hope you can come tomorrow. Our Old Liu Family has had only one son in each of the last three generations, and your brother Fu Yu has no cousins to look out for him. You've never treated the two of us as outsiders, and we've never treated you as one either. In the years ahead, we're counting on you two brothers to help and support each other. Doesn't the old saying go, 'A fence needs three stakes, and a good man needs three helpers'?"

Yang Ge smiled and nodded. "I understand what you and Brother Fu Yu have in mind. But that's precisely why I can't go!"

Shopkeeper Liu asked, "What do you mean?"

Yang Ge thought for a moment, then replied, "Shopkeeper, running a martial arts school isn't like running our inn, where we welcome guests from every direction and make our fortune through harmony. No matter how the world changes, a martial arts school is ultimately a business that involves coming to blows with people. Earlier, I did everything I could to encourage Brother Fu Yu to marry before establishing his business because I hoped he'd become more grounded and steady. But just because we don't provoke others, can we guarantee they won't provoke us?"

"Let's not talk about what's likely, only that one chance in ten thousand. If trouble does come knocking, we can't have Brother Fu Yu dragging his wife and children along to fight people, can we?"

"I don't have that concern. Whatever trouble comes, it can only come at me. Even if I can't resolve it, it ends with me!"

"So, no matter how close our two households are in private, in public, the host must remain the host, and the guest must remain the guest. Only then will any trouble I get into stay clear of Brother Fu Yu, and only then can I do what I need to without worrying about what's behind me!"

"What do you think?"

He spoke of the martial arts school, but what he had in mind was his involvement with the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

A martial arts school meant coming to blows with people. The Embroidered Uniform Guard meant fighting them to the death!

If he kept a certain distance from the Old Liu Family, then any repercussions would at least spare them, wouldn't they?

After hearing Yang Ge out, Shopkeeper Liu's eyes shifted with emotion, and for a time he could not speak.

Only after a long while did he grip Yang Ge's arm and heave a deep sigh. "You... you carry too much on your mind."

Yang Ge gently patted the old man's back and reassured him, "As long as you and Brother Fu Yu don't hold this fault of mine against me!"

The old man went home weighed down with worries, even his joy at welcoming a new family member considerably diminished.

People with hearts and consciences always lived more weary lives...

Yang Ge shut the courtyard gate and washed his hands before opening the mooncakes the old man had brought.

Wrapped in layer after layer of oilpaper were soft cakes that more closely resembled steamed buns, rather than the hard-baked mooncakes he remembered.

He tore off a small piece and put it in his mouth to taste it. Sweet, with a faint fragrance of grain... better than five-nut mooncakes.

Wagging his great tail, Little Yellow came up to his knees and gazed at him longingly with round black eyes. "Mm, mm..."

"All right, all right!"

Yang Ge split a mooncake in half, stuffed one half into his own mouth and the other into Little Yellow's, and said indistinctly, "There, we've eaten our mooncakes, and the festival's over!"

Little Yellow swallowed his mooncake in two bites, then stared at the two remaining mooncakes in the oilpaper parcel, drool streaming from his mouth.

While Little Yellow wasn't looking, Yang Ge snatched up the oilpaper parcel and ran. "You canine bandit, don't even dream of eating my mooncakes!"

Little Yellow chased after him with his long tongue lolling out. You scoundrel, don't even dream of keeping them all to yourself...