Ger, So Proud

Chapter 82

He Ze’s birthday was on the nineteenth of the first lunar month.

Although the He family had been extremely busy lately—ever since Lin Dazou had plucked the baizhi, Dad Li would frequently go to the fields to prevent anyone else from taking advantage of them; He Youcai, when not eating or sleeping, would squat in the yard carving wood, following the designs He Ze had drawn for him; and He An, ever since returning home on the day after the Lantern Festival, had started learning to read and write under He Ze’s tutelage. Initially enthusiastic, He An’s excitement waned after just two days of writing one hundred large characters daily, to the point where he lost his appetite.

Despite the busyness, He Ze’s twentieth birthday was celebrated with great enthusiasm. This was no ordinary birthday; traditionally, a man’s twentieth birthday, or “coming-of-age” ceremony, marks the transition to adulthood, where one is expected to take on responsibilities and manage household affairs.

He Ze was eagerly looking forward to this day.

Having discussed with He Youcai and Dad Li a couple of days earlier, it was decided that as soon as their new house was completed, He Ze would go to the Lin family to propose marriage. Dad Li anticipated that after the proposal, the wedding would take place within a month or two, necessitating grand preparations. Thus, He Ze’s coming-of-age ceremony was kept relatively simple, with just a few tables set up for the celebration.

The fact that the He family could afford even a few tables of food indicated their relative prosperity. In the village, most families were too poor to host such events. Even on significant days like a son’s coming-of-age, the celebration might involve nothing more than a chicken stew for the whole family. For those in dire financial straits, even two boiled eggs would be considered a luxury.

However, Dad Li, now having some money, wouldn’t skimp on his precious son. He invited the family patriarch, several elders, and some friends and acquaintances for lunch.

As for Lin Yu and Dad Zhang, his future son-in-law and his dad naturally needed no special invitation.

Approaching noon, Dad Li and Dad Zhang, along with a few gers whom He Ze addressed as uncles, went into the kitchen to help. Lin Yu wanted to help too but was dragged to a room by He An to show him his “masterpiece.”

“Brother Lin, let me tell you, writing is exhausting. My brother is very strict, making me write one hundred characters every day. If I don’t finish, I can’t go to bed. My hand is so sore!”

He An rubbed his wrist. Though his tone was complaining, he proudly pushed a stack of paper filled with large characters in front of Lin Yu.

—The desk had been moved from He Ze’s room. He Youcai intended to make a new one for He An but hadn’t gotten around to it yet.

To facilitate He An’s practice, He Ze wrote a sample character in the upper left corner of each page, leaving a large blank area for He An to copy.

The small characters were round, neat, and vigorous, while the large characters… were crooked, varying in thickness, looking more like charms than writing.

—Since the Lantern Festival, He Ze seemed to have found his rhythm. Although his writing wasn’t yet praiseworthy, it was at least passable.

After all, He Ze had practiced calligraphy for seven or eight years.

Lin Yu flipped through the pages one by one, occasionally praising which characters He An had written well. As he reached the later pages, He An blushed, saying, “Brother Lin, I’ve just started learning. In the future, I’ll definitely write better than Brother!”

“Hmm, I believe you,” Lin Yu nodded with a smile.

He An immediately became more enthusiastic, eagerly pointing at the characters on the paper and explaining what each one was called, how it should be written, and what to pay attention to, chattering away like a little bird.

He An spoke earnestly, and Lin Yu listened attentively, tracing the characters on the table with his finger as he listened. This made He An even more excited, wishing he could pour out everything He Ze had taught him all at once.

Meanwhile, outside, He Ze, who was chatting with his clan uncles, was tempted to sneak away to find his dear Xiao Yu. Little did he know, Lin Yu was so engrossed in the sea of knowledge that he had forgotten about him entirely.

He Ze: *Cold face.jpg*

…

Being the main character of the day, He Ze sat at the head table with his father during the meal. He was the youngest at the table and had to keep offering toasts. Despite not being a heavy drinker and usually just having a few sips with his father, he hadn’t noticed that after a dozen cups, within half an hour, his face had turned as red as a monkey’s bottom, and his mind started to blur.

Lin Yu, sitting at another table with Dad Li, had been keeping an eye on He Ze. Seeing that He Ze was getting drunk, Lin Yu immediately alerted Dad Li, and they quickly helped He Ze into the house.

“Ah, young people these days need more practice!” Clan leader He Hong, sitting at the head seat, laughed heartily at He Ze’s unsteady steps, shedding his usual authoritative demeanor.

Ever since He Ze had visited him, He Hong had developed some expectations for the young man.

They say the old are wise, and He Hong prided himself on having a good eye. With all the recent events involving the Lin family, he didn’t believe for a second that He Ze hadn’t played a part.

He Ze had brains, strategy, flexibility, and knew when to advance and retreat. Perhaps he had a great destiny ahead of him.

But why wouldn’t he pursue scholarly studies? Whenever He Hong thought about this, his regret resurfaced.

However, he then recalled the land transfer deeds that He Youcai had brought over recently, and his regret eased a bit.

Maybe this He family boy simply isn’t suited for studying. Even if he does study, can he pass the scholar exams? Can he pass the imperial exams? Even if he does, without connections in the court, getting an official position with any rank is no easy feat.

With these thoughts, He Hong’s regret vanished completely.

If he doesn’t study, so be it. If he can make a lot of money in the future and help the village, that’s good too.

At that time, there wasn’t much distinction between the professions of scholars, farmers, workers, and merchants. Apart from the unique privileges and benefits that being a scholar brought, the other three professions were considered equal, and none could claim superiority over the others.

This thinking quickly helped He Hong to shift his perspective.

“Yes, he does need more practice. Don’t worry, Third Uncle, I’ll make sure to train him well in the future!” He Youcai responded with a smile. Little did he know that in just a short while, He Hong’s mind had navigated through such a complex web of thoughts.

“Haha, that’s right. You have to listen to the clan leader, Youcai. A man must be able to hold his liquor!”

One of the clan elders stood up and poured wine for everyone at the table. No one refused, and only He Youcai stood up to offer thanks. With He Ze away from the table, He Youcai was now the youngest among them, with the others being elder figures respected in the village.

It had been a long time since they had gathered, and being old comrades of the same generation, they reminisced over wine and food. By the time the meal ended, everyone was tipsy and had to be helped back home.

He Ze woke up after only two hours because he had drunk some hangover soup. When he awoke, it was already evening. Dad Li and He An were organizing the gifts brought by the guests, while He Youcai was still asleep, having drunk more than the others.

“This basket of eggs and this large hen are from your second uncle’s family. These two pieces of dried bacon are from Liu San’s family. These two pounds of loach, two big carp, and two taels of silver are from your second uncle. Hurry and bring more water to wash them before putting them in the cupboard, so stray cats don’t get at them!”

“Got it, Dad.”

He An ran out the door just as He Ze came in. “Dad, what are you doing? When did Lin Yu and Uncle Zhang leave?”

“You’re awake? Not long ago, about half an hour. Brother Zhang and Xiao Yu insisted on staying to help me clean the table and wash the dishes. Otherwise, I would have been very busy! You’re just in time. These are all the gifts from the guests today. I was thinking of organizing them so we can return the favor later.”

As he spoke, Dad Li took a closer look and pulled out a bundle from the pile of gifts. “This is from Brother Zhang. I guess Xiao Yu’s gift is also inside. Do you want to open it?”

He smiled mischievously.

“I’ll open it, sure.” He Ze pretended not to notice his teasing and quickly walked over.

Inside the bundle were two smaller parcels, one large and one small. Without much hesitation, He Ze opened the smaller one first.

Inside was a belt, dark blue, matching the scholar’s robe he wore on Lantern Festival. The material was nice, but the belt was embroidered with two awkward-looking ducks. The stitching was rough, and the back was a tangled mess of threads, truly chaotic.

Luckily, it was a belt. If it were an undershirt, it would be terribly uncomfortable. Dad Li couldn’t help but laugh, “I wonder, could Xiao Yu have made this?”

At that moment, He An also brought in some water. Seeing his brother and dad huddled together, he quickly put down the basin. “What is it? I want to see too!”

“Your Brother Lin made this for your brother!” Dad Li couldn’t help but laugh and gently tapped He An’s forehead. “Your Brother Lin may not be good with his hands, but you shouldn’t be the same. Tomorrow, I’ll teach you, and you must learn well!”

“Oh nooo—” He An groaned dramatically, “I don’t want to! Brother, Brother~”

Little He An, who hadn’t even had time to laugh at Brother Lin, now found himself in trouble and could only pout and look to He Ze for help.

Holding the belt Lin Yu had personally embroidered, the first real gift Lin Yu had given him, He Ze’s heart was already a puddle of mush, and his soul had practically flown away.

Then He An called him back to reality.

“Brother, tell Dad! I already know how to sew. I don’t want to learn embroidery!”

“Alright, no embroidery then,” He Ze agreed very quickly. However, seeing the look in Dad Li’s eyes, he hastily added, “But you’ll have to write an extra hundred characters every day.”

“A hundred? That’s too many! How about thirty?”

“Seventy!” He Ze shook his head.

“Forty!” He An pleaded, holding up four fingers pitifully.

“Fifty, but you’ll have another task. For every character I teach you, you’ll go to Uncle Zhang’s house and teach your Brother Lin. Deal?”

“Deal!”

He An, delighted to have cut the number in half, grinned from ear to ear. Seeing him so happy, Dad Li also smiled. Oh well! If he doesn’t learn embroidery, so be it. With his brother around, he won’t suffer when he gets married in the future.

He Ze returned to his room with the belt. Dad Li opened the other, larger package, which contained a bottle of medicinal wine, two cans of tea, two jars of Ejiao dates, and several pieces of fine fabric. The items weren’t expensive, but they were clearly thoughtful.

Dad Li felt warm inside, and as he put a few dates into He An’s mouth, he began planning the betrothal gifts.

Remembering his promise to his brother, He An felt a great sense of responsibility. The next day, after lunch, he went straight to Lin’s house with another set of brush, ink, paper, and inkstone that He Ze had prepared earlier, as well as a sand tray he thought of that morning.

Calligraphy is difficult for beginners, and since Lin Yu and He An weren’t pursuing officialdom, being able to read and write was sufficient. Hence, the sand tray was the quickest and most convenient method without wasting materials.

He Ze watched He An leave, wanting to follow but recalling Dad Li’s repeated warnings. It was fine for an engaged couple to meet occasionally, but visiting every day would become a joke.

Being unmarried is really inconvenient!

He Ze was filled with frustration, having spent the previous night dreaming about his beloved making the belt.

He Youcai, noticing his son’s mood, looked at him with undisguised disdain. He Ze rolled his eyes, “Father, don’t laugh at me. Dad told me you used to camp out at Grandfather and Granddad’s house every morning before dawn!”

“…This brat, doesn’t give his old man any face!”

He Youcai took a deep drag from his pipe.

“By the way, Father, the land has been bought. I plan to get some medicinal plants in a couple of days. Next month, the flower shop opens, and there will be a lot to do. I’m worried I won’t be able to handle it all.”

“Alright, before you go, consult with Uncle Xu. He’s a doctor and knows a lot about this stuff.”

“Okay,” He Ze nodded.

“Do you need me to go with you?”

“Huh? No, I can handle it myself,” He Ze quickly waved his hands. He was planning to use this opportunity to meet up with Xiao Yu, and he couldn’t let that plan fall through!

“You, you!”

He Youcai shook his pipe, clearly understanding. He Ze wasn’t the least bit embarrassed and laughed heartily.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye. On this day, Lin Yu sat in the front of the He family’s ox cart, with He Ze by his side, as they headed to town.

Unlike their previous secretive trips, this time they were out in the open.