Chapter 153: Reunion

Galloping all the way, Liu Yitiao and Gongsun Helan reached Sanyuan County in just a single morning.

After escorting Gongsun Helan home, ignoring the persistent urging of Old Man Gongsun and Gongsun Helan to stay for lunch, Liu Yitiao packed his bags and rode Liu Wuhen back home right in the middle of the day.

Gutian Village had not changed much. The fellow villagers and neighbors greeted him as usual, making it feel as though he had only been away for a few days.

It was evident that in Sanyuan and Gutian, the things Liu Yitiao had done in Chang'an had not yet fully spread. Here, in the eyes of these villagers, Liu Yitiao was still just a minor landowner who had made a small fortune.

Of course, this was all thanks to the less-than-developed communication technology of this era.

For the first time, Liu Yitiao did not complain about the isolation of the place.

Arriving at his front gate, Liu Yitiao dismounted the donkey and opened the courtyard door himself.

The cowpen, the plow ox, the old courtyard—everything still felt so familiar and dear.

"Elder Brother?!" Liu Ertiao came out carrying a basin of dirty water used for washing brushes and inkstones. Seeing Liu Yitiao standing in the courtyard, he cried out in disbelief, holding the basin tightly, though his voice was directed at the house: "Father! Mother! Elder Brother is back!"

Then, setting the basin on the ground, Liu Ertiao trotted forward, took the donkey's reins from Liu Yitiao's hand, and complained playfully, "Elder Brother, why are you only returning now? Everyone at home has been worried sick these past few days. If Uncle Yang hadn't sent word a while ago, Father said he was going to Chang'an to look for you."

"Yitiao!" Madam Liu emerged from the house holding Liu Xiaohui. Looking at Liu Yitiao, a long-seen smile bloomed on her face.

"Mother!" Liu Yitiao called out softly. Seeing Old Man Liu coming out right behind her, he immediately added, "Father!"

"Mmm," Old Man Liu nodded and said awkwardly, "Yitiao is back? Well, uh, you haven't eaten yet, have you? Quickly, come inside. Your mother just cooked, and the food is still hot. We haven't touched our chopsticks yet."

"Right, right. I'll go add another set of bowls and chopsticks for Yitiao. Wait right here, Yitiao," Madam Liu nodded in agreement, set Liu Xiaohui down on her feet, and hurried back to the kitchen to fetch tableware.

"Elder Brother!" Liu Xiaohui trotted over to Liu Yitiao's side, raised her arms in a hugging gesture, looked up at him, and asked sweetly, "Elder Brother, Xiaohui missed you so much. Did you miss Xiaohui?"

"Yes, yes, Elder Brother missed you every single day!" Liu Yitiao bent down, scooped Liu Xiaohui into his arms, and affectionately planted a kiss on her chubby cheek. His heart felt both sour and warm. After all these years, he finally got to experience the feeling of family waiting for him at home.

"Elder Brother, let's go inside," Liu Ertiao said after tying up Liu Wuhen and carrying the large and small parcels strapped to the donkey's back over to Liu Yitiao. "If we don't go in now, the food will get cold."

"Mmm, mmm," Liu Yitiao nodded and carried Liu Xiaohui into the house.

After the family members took their seats around the dining table, Liu Yitiao stood up, bowed deeply to Old Man Liu and Madam Liu, and said, "Father, Mother, I stayed in Chang'an for so long this time and caused the two of you to worry."

"Oh, you child," Madam Liu stood up, pulled Liu Yitiao down to sit beside her, and scolded gently, "We're all family here, there's no need for such formalities. Sit, sit. Fill your stomach first, we can talk about everything else after the meal."

"Mmm, your mother makes sense. As long as you're back safely, sit down and eat first," Old Man Liu also chimed in.

Liu Yitiao obeyed and sat down. Noticing that there were only three plates of green vegetables on the table—reverting to how things were before the New Year—he raised his gaze to Old Man Liu and asked, "Father, has the silver I left at home run out? Why is it just plain vegetables?"

Both Liu Ertiao and Liu Xiaohui were at an age where they were growing rapidly. How could they manage solely on these low-nutrient greens? Such an unbalanced diet would easily stunt their normal development in the future.

"What?" Hearing Liu Yitiao's words, Old Man Liu's face darkened instantly. He dropped his chopsticks onto the table, glared at Liu Yitiao, and snapped, "You've only spent a few days in Chang'an City, and already you're starting to look down on home-cooked food?!"

"No, Father," Liu Yitiao said, seeing Old Man Liu's long face and realizing he was genuinely upset. He forced a reassuring smile and replied, "How could that be? I would never look down on Mother's cooking. In Chang'an, I was dreaming of Mother's braised pork every single day. I just thought that since our family's financial situation is more comfortable now, shouldn't we improve our diet a little?"

"You child, you have no foresight at all," Madam Liu interjected to smooth things over, seeing Old Man Liu's expression turn sour. She certainly didn't want her eldest son to start an argument with Old Man Liu the moment he returned.

She turned to Liu Yitiao and said, "We do have some surplus money at home now, and life is easier than before, but that doesn't mean we can spend it all on food and drink like you suggest. In a little over a month, you're going to marry the Chu girl. When that time comes, we'll need to host guests, hire a bridal sedan and musicians, prepare the bride price for the bride's family, and buy new clothes and furniture for you both. Those are all massive expenses. If we don't tighten our belts and save money now, we'll surely find ourselves in a bind later."

Generating revenue and cutting expenses—a very normal way of managing a household. Old Man Liu and Madam Liu were guilty of no wrongdoing; these were hard-won lessons gathered from decades of living life firsthand. Money could not be squandered carelessly.

"Furthermore," Old Man Liu continued, "the tenant farmers under your command, as well as that night-soil collector fellow, draw nearly two strings of coins from me every single month. Before this season's crops are harvested, nearly half of the money you left behind will be gone. If this year's crop yield is poor, we might not even recoup our principal. By then, forget green vegetables, you might not even have chaff and wild herbs to eat."

It was clear that Old Man Liu felt deep heartache over those two strings of coins. In the past, he might not have been able to save that much even after two whole years of toil. Now, having to hand it all over to those tenants made his heart ache fiercely.

Liu Yitiao smiled faintly. Without expenditure, how could there be any harvest? Old Man Liu was temporarily blinded by the immediate outlay of cash.

"Father, you're worrying too much. Two strings of coins might seem like a lot, but if you divide it up, each tenant only receives ten cash coins. Ten cash coins can buy their dedicated labor for a full month—calculated that way, we aren't at a loss at all."

Liu Yitiao gently explained to Old Man Liu: "Besides, with those thirty-two qing of land, planted with millet in the spring and turnips or other crops in the autumn, the total harvest should yield around three hundred strings of coins a year at minimum. After deducting expenses for the tenant farmers and initial investment costs, the remaining money will be more than enough for our family's food and clothing for several years. Therefore, you and Mother really don't need to be overly frugal with our daily expenses or live so bitterly."

"Well, what you say does make some sense." Old Man Liu's expression softened slightly, and he picked up his chopsticks again. "Still, before the autumn harvest is over, it's best not to be too extravagant. After all, no one can predict what the future holds. Come on, eat quickly, the food is getting cold."

Judging by Old Man Liu's tone, he seemed to have accepted Liu Yitiao's reasoning. In this round, Liu Yitiao won complete victory. The looks Liu Ertiao and Liu Xiaohui gave Liu Yitiao were filled with undisguised admiration. Since Elder Brother had persuaded their father, wouldn't they have opportunities to eat meat dishes in the future?

Five people cleared three plates of food. Even though they were just plain vegetables, the plates were soon polished clean.

Madam Liu stood up, gathered the bowls and chopsticks, and took them to the kitchen to wash. Liu Ertiao took the exam notes Wang Zhihong had written for him and returned to his room to study.

In the living room, only Old Man Liu, Liu Yitiao, and Liu Xiaohui—who was clinging to Liu Yitiao's leg—remained.

"Father," Liu Yitiao settled Liu Xiaohui onto his lap and turned to Old Man Liu. "How are the crops in the fields right now? Have Li Dechen and the other tenants been tending them diligently?"

"Mmm," Old Man Liu nodded. Aside from having to pay them wages, Old Man Liu was thoroughly satisfied with Li Dechen and his group. Those tenants were masters at farming and sowing. When it came to working the land, they were not a whit inferior to an old farmer like himself with dozens of years of experience.

More importantly, these people seemed to treat those fields as if they were their own property, working with extraordinary dedication. Even without anyone standing over them to supervise, they tried their absolute best to do a better job. This bewildered Old Man Liu—weren't tenant farmers supposed to be opportunistic and lazy? Why were their family's tenants so remarkably special? Yet, it was a specialness he deeply appreciated.

"The wasteland on the western side was fully reclaimed half a month ago, and the millet seeds in the fields have already sprouted, growing quite well. If the heavens show mercy this year, we should have a good harvest. You can go take a look in a moment," Old Man Liu said.

"Alright, I'll go check it out shortly. Thank you for your hard work all this time, Father." Liu Yitiao nodded, glanced at Old Man Liu, and felt some matters needed to be briefed in advance. He spoke up again: "Father, during my trip to Chang'an, I rendered some minor service to the imperial court and received rewards. Well, they are mainly land and plow oxen, which should be officially allocated from the county office in the next couple of days."

"The land is easy enough to handle, it can just be assigned directly. But as for those oxen, I'm afraid our homestead won't have the space to house them all. On the way back just now, I was wondering if our family should build a larger courtyard compound?" Liu Yitiao looked up at Old Man Liu, eager to gauge his reaction.

"Build a new courtyard?" Old Man Liu frowned. That would be a substantial expense; one couldn't even dream of it without at least thirty strings of coins. He glanced at Liu Yitiao and asked, "How many oxen are you talking about? If it's not many—"

"Exactly fifty head!" Liu Yitiao held Liu Xiaohui with his right hand while raising five fingers with his left, cutting Old Man Liu off.

"What?!" Old Man Liu gave a start, involuntarily straightening his spine. He hung his jaw, stared blankly at Liu Yitiao, and asked again in utter disbelief: "Did you say... fifty head?!"

*(Author's Note / Easter Egg):*
*Li Tai lay inside a coffin with a resentful expression, muttering under his breath: "Why? Just because I withheld a monthly vote from Director Liu? Did you really have to put me in here this early? Did you really have to?!"*