"Let's rest for a while," Yin Wujou said. "I'll go find Zhou Yan."
Snow Empress looked up, a thin layer of sweat on her forehead, a small blade of grass clinging to her temple. She thought for a moment and nodded. "Go. I'll measure the doors and windows of the east and west wing rooms again, and have someone come and fix them tomorrow. If Zhou Yan is willing to come, have him come directly here to find us."
Yin Wujou washed his face, draped his outer robe over his shoulders, and left the old government office. The south of the city wasn't far; he walked for about half an hour and found Zhou Yan's pharmacy on a bustling street. The shop wasn't large, with a plaque above the door that read " Life-Saving Hall." Two or three people were sitting inside getting medicine, and behind the counter, a thin middle-aged man was using an abacus—it was Zhou Yan.
Yin Wujou stood at the door, not going in immediately. He watched Zhou Yan using the abacus, just like ten years ago when he was doing accounts in the storeroom. Zhou Yan had his head down, his fingers moving rapidly across the abacus, and his lips moving slightly, as if he were silently reciting numbers. The drawers for medicinal herbs on the counter were still arranged according to the old rules of the Spirit Vein Bureau's storeroom, one drawer for each type, with neat labels in regular script on the drawer tops.
After the crowd of people left, Yin Wujou stepped inside. Zhou Yan didn't even look up. "What would you like, sir?"
"I want you."
Zhou Yan's fingers hovered over the abacus. He looked up, squinted, and after a long pause, suddenly stood up, knocking over the teacup beside him. "Deacon Yin...?"
Yin Wujou nodded. "The old headquarters of the Spirit Vein Bureau reopened today. Director Snow Empress has returned and sent me to ask you if you'd like to go back."
Zhou Yan stood there blankly, his lips moving, but he couldn't utter a word for a long time. He was in his early forties this year. He was only thirty when the Spirit Vein Bureau had its incident, and he was working as a manager in the warehouse. After the bureau disbanded, he opened this pharmacy, got married, had children, and lived a stable life. But Yin Wujou could tell that this pharmacy was just a means of making a living for him. The way he looked at the labels of medicinal herbs was completely different from the way he looked at the warehouse ledgers back then.
"I..." Zhou Yan looked down at the counter, then looked up at the crowds outside, and suddenly slammed the abacus onto the counter. "I'll go with you."
He moved with lightning speed, turning around and calling out to his wife from the back room, saying that people from the Spirit Vein Bureau were looking for him and he had to go back to work. A woman's surprised voice came from the back room, but Zhou Yan didn't explain further. He pulled a bunch of keys from under the counter, locked the pharmacy door from the inside, and tossed the keys onto the counter. "Let's go."
Yin Wujou was somewhat surprised by his decisiveness. "Aren't you going to reconsider?"
"What are you thinking about?" Zhou Yan pulled off his apron and draped it over the counter, then took a faded blue shirt from behind the door and put it on. "I've waited ten years. The pharmacy can reopen anytime, but if the Spirit Vein Bureau disbands again, I might not be able to wait that long."
When the two returned to the old residence, it was already dusk. Snow Empress had found some old lanterns from somewhere, lit them, and hung them under the eaves of the main hall. The dim yellow light shone into the courtyard, casting the shadow of the old locust tree on the wall, its branches and twigs resembling an ink painting. She sat on the threshold of the main hall, several sheets of paper spread out in front of her, writing something by the light of the lanterns. Hearing footsteps, she looked up, saw Zhou Yan, and smiled slightly.
"Manager Zhou."
Zhou Yan stood in the courtyard, looking at Snow Empress, his eyes suddenly reddening. He took two steps forward, then stopped and bowed deeply. "Chief, I'm back."
Snow Empress stood up, walked over to him, and offered a hand for support. "It's good that you're back. You'll still be in charge of the storeroom from now on, but it's empty right now, so we'll have to start from scratch."
Zhou Yan straightened up, sniffed, and said in a slightly hoarse voice, "I'm not afraid of emptiness, I'm afraid of having nowhere to put it."
Snow Empress handed him the papers in her hand. "These are the first batch of items to be purchased. Take a look and see if there's anything we're missing."
Zhou Yan took the paper and glanced at it. He immediately got into the zone, pointing to the list on the paper and saying, "We need double the brush and ink. The base paper for the ley line map must be imported from the south; you can't buy it in the capital. And a compass—the old-fashioned copper face is more accurate than the ones on the market now. I know an old craftsman in the south of the city who can make them..." As he spoke, his voice became more and more steady, and the slight sob in his voice had completely disappeared.
Yin Wujou stood aside watching, feeling at ease. Zhou Yan was the kind of person who would put his whole heart into whatever task he was given. The Spirit Vein Bureau was able to operate so smoothly back then because of people like these who treated their jobs like their lives.
That evening, the three of them tidied up the main hall. Zhou Yan found some old planks somewhere and used them to prop up the overturned bookshelf, making it barely big enough to hold some things. Yin Wujou went to the street and bought three bowls of wontons. The three of them ate by the light of the lantern on the threshold of the main hall. While eating, Zhou Yan asked about the past ten years. Yin Wujou told him bits and pieces, and Snow Empress occasionally added a word or two. When they talked about Mu Canglan hiding in the mountains for ten years, Zhou Yan sighed, "With Mr. Mu's temper, it's not easy for him to endure for ten years."
Snow Empress didn't reply, continuing to eat her wontons. Yin Wujou glanced at her, then changed the subject, asking Zhou Yan how business was at the pharmacy. Zhou Yan gave a figure, then shook his head. "Just making ends meet. My wife is quite capable; she holds the deed to the pharmacy, so I'm not afraid if I leave."
After finishing his wontons, Zhou Yan said he needed to go home and pack up so he could move in tomorrow. After he left, only Snow Empress and Yin Wujou remained in the old office. The lantern light flickered in the wind, and the shadow of the locust tree swayed gently. Yin Wujou put away his bowl and saw Snow Empress sit behind the desk again, writing something on the list by the lantern light.
"Aren't you asleep yet?" he asked.
"Write a little longer." Snow Empress didn't even look up. "Tomorrow we need to talk to the Ministry of Works of Works about the repair money. Although the Emperor has returned the old office, we have to find a way to pay for the repairs ourselves. I've done the math, and the small amount of resettlement funds allocated by the court isn't enough; we need to find another way."
Yin Wujou sat down opposite the zither. "What connections do you have?"
Snow Empress paused her writing, thought for a moment. " The Spirit Vein Bureau used to have some properties in various places, acquired by successive bureau chiefs. These weren't public assets, but rather registered under private names. These properties should still exist after the Spirit Vein Bureau was shut down, but I don't know if they've been seized by someone else. I've listed a few locations; once things are settled here, I'll have to send people to investigate."
"I'll go."
Snow Empress glanced at him. "You just got back, rest for a while."
"I'm not tired," Yin Wujou said. "These past ten years on the mountain, I haven't done anything except wait for your case. I've been idle for too long. Now that I have something to do, I feel at ease."
Snow Empress didn't reply immediately. She looked at Yin Wujou, the lantern light illuminating his face and highlighting the fine lines around his eyes. Ten years had passed; he had aged somewhat, but he was still the same—straightforward in his speech, and once he set his mind on something, he would throw himself into it wholeheartedly. She remembered when Yin Wujou first joined the Spirit Vein Bureau, he was only seventeen or eighteen, reckless in his actions. Once, he almost lost an important file and was scolded by her before the official desk. At that time, he stood there, head down, the tips of his ears red. Later, he became more and more reliable in his work, and she became more and more at ease entrusting things to him. Then, something happened at the Spirit Vein Bureau, and he was wanted. She thought he had escaped. But it turned out he had gone to find Mu Canglan, and the two of them hid in the mountains for ten years, just waiting for an opportunity to overturn the case.
"Alright," said Snow Empress. "Once the main hall here is repaired, go to Huainan. There's a villa belonging to the Spirit Vein Bureau there, left over from the previous dynasty. It's a large place and should still be worth some money. If it's still there, sell it and use the money to renovate the government office."