| TBBOTOF | 216
Early the next morning,
Tang Yang and Wei Xi smiled brightly.
But that bright smile didn’t last long. As soon as they heard the news of Old Xu’s death, their expression instantly dropped.
Tang Xu didn’t want to ruin the mood, but as soon as the two of them wanted to visit Old Xu, they learned that the old man had already passed away.
“He’s already passed.” Wei Dong said to the two of them, “Go freshen up, and don’t look so gloomy.”
Wei Xi wiped his eyes and sniffled.
Due to his health, he had always been interested in medicine and often followed Old Xu and Old Wen to learn some medical knowledge.
So, hearing that Old Xu had suddenly passed away, he found it hard to accept.
“Didn’t he just go back? Was it his family...?” He stopped mid-sentence when he saw Tang Xu waving his hand.
“It’s not what you think. Old Wen said that Old Xu’s health had been declining for the past year. It was just that he would often take some herbal medicine, so it seemed like he was fine on the surface. But in reality, he was already drained. It’s already a blessing he made it back home.” Tang Xu had just finished chatting with Old Wen, so he had paid particular attention to Old Xu’s condition.
At the time, Old Wen was amused by how nervously Tang Xu was watching him. He reassured them that he still had a few years left, and when his time was near, he would let them know in advance so that the family could be prepared.
Late that night, when the world was quiet, Tang Xu and Wei Dong took a mule cart into the mountains. They didn’t go too far, just to the spot where they burned the paper effigies and paper houses that had been bought for Old Xu.
As they were burning them, Tang Xu mumbled, telling Old Xu to make sure to ask for anything he needed on the other side if he was lacking.
The night was dark, and the wind was high. From time to time, the buzzing of insects’ wings could be heard. Thankfully, Wei Dong was naturally brave, otherwise he might have been frightened by Tang Xu’s somewhat eerie muttering.
Wei Dong asked why Tang Xu suddenly started believing in these things.
Before Tang Xu came to this world, when his grandparents passed away, he had a series of dreams about them.
At first, he didn’t pay much attention to it, but after dreaming the same dream for three consecutive days, he mentioned it to his mother. His mother then took him to burn some paper offerings for his grandparents, and that very night, the dreams stopped.
Tang Xu didn’t know whether it had to do with magnetic fields or something else, but he had believed in it ever since.
Of course, this was something he kept to himself; he never talked about it publicly.
Anyway, after they finished burning the paper, Tang Xu and Wei Dong carefully put out the remaining embers. They even poured water on the ground to be extra cautious. The water had been brought in a bucket by Tang Xu, just in case.
Even though they had dug a firebreak, they still worried that the wind might carry a spark away.
After everything was tidied up, the two of them headed back home from the mountains.
Days passed by, and soon it was time to restock goods again.
By the end of August, the scorching heat of summer had passed, and someone from the trade caravan came to ask Wei Dong if he wanted to join them for this trip.
When Wei Dong first planned to join the trade caravan, he had decided to go twice a year—once at the beginning of the year and once in the middle. The rest of the time, he would stay home to focus on other businesses.
When Tang Xu heard that Wei Dong would be leaving again soon, he quickly contacted a few places to have some dried, seasoned ducks prepared and delivered.
It took three days to check and pack all the ducks into boxes. After everything was ready, Tang Xu, Wei Dong, and their three children headed to the town.
Wang Cuicui had already gone ahead to help out at the shop in town, so the only ones left at home were Wei Xi and Tang Yang, who were still attending school, along with Xu Ze and Old Wen.
Oh, right, there was good news too. Old Wen’s old friend had sent a reply, saying that he would likely come by the end of the year.
As for the exact timing, it was uncertain. They only asked that two rooms be prepared since the old friend would bring along an elderly servant as well.
“You’ll probably be back by the end of the year this time, just in time to meet that old gentleman as he arrives,” Tang Xu said while standing in front of the storage room.
He glanced at the ten large boxes inside and couldn’t help but ask, “Isn’t this a bit too much?”
"Not too much," Wei Dong shook his head. They had already transported all the boxes to town and stored them in the back warehouse of the shop.
When it was time to leave, they'd head out from there, avoiding the hassle of going back to the village. "The other day, the manager of Fuyun Restaurant even contacted me, asking if I could supply them with some of the dried ducks. Apparently, someone from the restaurant owner's family really liked them and thought they’d sell well, so they want to restock."
Tang Xu raised an eyebrow. "Did you see other branches of Fuyun Restaurant during your last trip?"
"Yeah, it was pretty much slightly larger than the one in town. From what I saw, their business is doing well," Wei Dong chuckled and gave him a knowing look. "I bet a lot of those seasoning packets of yours have been sold off."
"Mhm, Manager Wu wanted to buy more seasoning packets from me, and I agreed." Tang Xu smiled. He enjoyed earning money from the comfort of his home.
Moreover, in the past few years, Fuyun Restaurant had probably tried to figure out what was in his seasoning packets. However, if they were still buying them from him, it was clear they hadn't cracked the formula.
It made sense. With around thirty different herbs and spices, each with specific measurements and proportions, it wouldn’t be that easy to replicate. If they could have figured it out, how would he still make money?
"How many ducks do they want?" Tang Xu asked.
"A thousand," Wei Dong replied, "They want me to deliver them to Taizhou City. Someone there will pick them up."
"Taizhou? That’s in the north, right?" Tang Xu was a bit unclear about the locations of the various regions and cities. Wei Dong had explained it to him once before, but he had only remembered bits and pieces.
Wei Dong nodded. "This time, I’ll probably come back a bit later than usual. Detouring to Taizhou will add about half a month to the trip."
"Got it," Tang Xu calculated the time and said, "Just make sure you’re back by New Year's. You can’t spend the holiday away."
Wei Dong smiled and agreed.
They stayed in town for three days, during which Wei Dong confirmed the departure time with the trade caravan. Fourth Brother Pan also delivered another 300 dried ducks and decided to join Wei Dong again on this trip.
Wu Hong tagged along as well. Wei Zhonghong had wanted him to stay at home. Even though making dried ducks didn’t earn as much as traveling with the caravan, at least it was safe and free from worry.
No one knew how Wu Hong managed to convince his mother, but in the end, he packed his belongings and came along.
Wei Dong had hoped to train Wu Hong to eventually take charge and handle the caravan trips on his own. But now, it seemed that he still wasn’t quite ready. It would take more time.
In the days leading up to their departure, Tang Xu stayed in town with Tang Li and Wang Cuicui to help Wei Dong prepare a lot of dry food.
Though it was still hot when they left, it would be cold by the time they returned, so this time he packed plenty of warm clothes and thick sleeping bags.
As they packed everything, the three children anxiously followed Wei Dong, not letting him out of their sight for a moment.
Especially Xiao Bao, who seemed to sense that his father was going on a long trip again and wouldn’t be back for a while. He clung to his father, always wanting to be held.
Even during meals, he refused to sit in his chair, insisting on being in his father’s arms.
This wasn’t the first time Wei Dong was leaving home, and though Tang Xu missed him just the same, he still stood by, watching his husband depart. Only after the mule cart disappeared from view did he turn around, carrying the teary-eyed Xiao Bao back into the house.
As for Da Bao and Er Bao, the two of them had already run off, having made new friends. To them, their father leaving wasn’t such a big deal anymore.
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