“Moved out.”
Upon hearing Cheng Yun suggest that everyone spend the winter in Nanming City together, Chen Yan resisted the idea with his entire being.
Having stayed at Cheng Yun’s home for so long, he developed a natural resistance to the outside world. In addition, the recent troubles caused by Li Fengjiao and Wang Cui made him even more reluctant to step out of the house.
He wore an expression of reluctance, hoping that Cheng Yun would agree to let him stay at home, even making promises that he would never step out of the door, regardless of what might happen outside.
But Cheng Yun was also very firm, “Starting from tomorrow until the winter solstice, we’ll be in the city for about ten days. It may seem neither long nor short, but I absolutely won’t agree to leave you alone at home for such a long time.”
Seeing that Chen Yan still wanted to object, Cheng Yun continued, “Before, Bao’er could come over to take care of you for me, but now that winter is approaching, he also needs to stay at home to help. There’s so much to do, and you’ll be alone at home. I absolutely can’t rest assured.”
Cheng Yun sighed, softened his tone, and said, “I know what you’re afraid of. Not to mention that we’re in a remote place here, once I bring you to Nanming City, you can stay in the room. The people at Yueqiong Tower are our own, and you’ve met Liu Wen. There’s no need to worry too much.”
Chen Yan frowned, contemplating for a while. On one hand, he was concerned that others might gossip about his presence, bringing negative effects to Big Brother Cheng. On the other hand, he feared encountering people he had known before.
He had been living comfortably here. Although life was not as grand as it was in the Marquis’s residence, Big Brother Cheng always made sure he had enough to eat. The food was delicious and fresh, and he had made friends like Cheng Bao’er. Big Brother Cheng even arranged a job for him, making him feel that he wasn’t worthless.
Although sometimes he would be reminded of Chu Feng when seeing the affectionate relationship between Big Brother Cheng and Brother Yang, but now Chu Feng was probably married to a certain princess, living a new life. He didn’t want to go back and witness scenes of others being affectionate with Chu Feng, as it would only cause him immense pain. As long as he had the baby in his belly and they depended on each other, he was satisfied.
As Big Brother Cheng said, he had been through so much, traveling from the distant capital to this small town in the south. During this time, Chu Feng might have already married or even had children. No one here knew him and no one would think of him, as long as he was careful, there should be no problem.
So, in the end, Chen Yan agreed to Cheng Yun’s arrangement, quickly packed up a few belongings, and followed Cheng Yun and his husband into the city.
To avoid attracting attention, they set off early in the morning before dawn.
Having not touched the outside world for a long time, even though everything was quiet around, and the surroundings were obscured by darkness, Chen Yan curiously looked around.
When he first arrived here, he had walked for over a month, spending all the money he had brought with him. His stomach was empty, and he felt dizzy. He didn’t have the mood to look at the scenery around him. Later, after moving into Cheng Yun’s house, he rarely stepped out of the house. Now, seeing the outside world, everything seemed fresh.
“Come, have some food first,” Cheng Yun handed him a corn bun, “We’re leaving early, and there’s no time to prepare anything. Have a bite now, and we’ll eat something good when we reach Nanming City.”
Chen Yan took the bun, thanked him, and turned to see Cheng Yun feeding a bun to Yang Hongjin, who was driving the donkey cart.
Cheng Yun leaned against Yang Hongjin, chin on his shoulder, taking a bite of the bun himself and then feeding Yang Hongjin. They whispered to each other, and though Chen Yan couldn’t hear clearly, judging by their expressions, it seemed they were talking about good things.
He missed Chu Feng a little. In the past, they were as close as Cheng Yun and the others. His parents passed away early, and from the beginning of his memory, Chu Feng was the one who treated him the best in this world.
Chen Yan sniffed, shook his head to stop himself from thinking further, grabbed the bun, and bit it, as if trying to vent all his longing for Chu Feng on this small bun.
By noon, the group arrived at Nanming City. At this time, the city was already lively. Perhaps influenced by the recent inspection team, even though it was drizzling, there were still many vendors on the street. It was bustling and lively.
Chen Yan put on the hat and face mask prepared by Cheng Yun. It was a unique face mask created by Cheng Yun, with two thin straps hooking behind the ears, covering half of the face, leaving only a pair of eyes visible. With a hat covering it, even if you looked directly, it was almost impossible to see his face clearly.
At first, he was a bit evasive, and occasionally, people passing by would occasionally glance at him. He lowered his head, fearing eye contact, but after spending some time on the road, he found that people couldn’t see his face at all. Even if they did, they wouldn’t recognize him. Chen Yan’s courage gradually grew.
Nanming City was very lively. Although not as bustling as the capital, with winter approaching, many people were buying things for the winter. Both sides of the street were filled with stalls, and the large shops on both sides of the road were open for business. There were loud voices of vendors everywhere.
Cheng Yun had Yang Hongjin stop at the place where candied haws were being sold. He gave a few copper coins to the small vendor, took two candied haws, and handed one to Chen Yan, saying, “Try it. It’s been a long time since you had these snacks.”
Chen Yan took it, his eyes sparkling, but his face still covered with a mask so he could only hold the candied haw cautiously, and wait to eat it when they arrived.
Cheng Yun and Yang Hongjin had no such concerns. They shared one with each other. By the time they reached Yueqiong Tower’s entrance, they had just finished eating.
“You finally arrived!” As soon as they arrived, Liu Wen came out to greet them. “I’ve been waiting for you all morning. Come, come, the thing you made earlier…”
Cheng Yun interrupted him, “Chen Ge’er is also here. First, prepare two rooms for us. We’ll put our things away. We may stay here until after the winter solstice.”
After Cheng Yun said this, Liu Wen noticed the person wrapped up tightly behind him, and joyfully said, “So it’s Chen Ge’er. Come on, come on. He shouted behind him: “Li Fan, Help with the arrangements and prepare two rooms, Chen Ge’er will stay here!””
After a chaotic scene, Chen Yan was taken to a separate room upstairs, while Cheng Yun and Yan Hongjin were pushed by Liu Wen to do some work before they had the chance to even put their things down.
Chen Yan closed the door, removed the mask, and held the candied haw in one hand, exploring the room with the other, touching and feeling around while eating.
The rooms arranged by Liu Wen for them were all top-notch rooms, usually used to accommodate distinguished guests. Big Brother Cheng had mentioned that they occasionally stayed here for a few days, making it their second home.
Chen Yan walked to the window, pushed open the half-closed window, and looked down from here. The scenery on the main street of Nanming City was visible at a glance, but the people below looked unreal, which made Chen Yan feel very relieved.
Everything here went more smoothly than he had imagined. The nervousness in Chen Yan’s heart gradually faded away, replaced by anticipation and joy. He remembered Dr. Liu’s words, urging him to maintain a joyful mood. Chen Yan touched his belly and smiled, saying, “Baby, we’ve arrived in a new place. Daddy is also working hard today!”
On the other side, Liu Wen took Cheng Yun to inspect the batch of candies. As he reported progress, he chatted, “I see you brought Chen Ge’er out too. When Li Fan delivered vegetables to my dad earlier, he mentioned this to me before. Did your stepmother cause trouble again?”
After saying this, he glanced in the direction of Yang Hongjin. Seeing that he showed no bad reaction to the mention of this matter, Liu Wen continued more openly.
“Hey, I said you should move out. Now that Yueqiong Tower’s business is stable, you can continue opening new shops in the future. Living in the city is more convenient than in the village.” As he spoke, he thought of Doctor Liu again and sighed, “I said the same to my dad many years ago, but he’s stubborn and refuses to move. Now I have to deliver vegetables to him every day, afraid that he won’t eat well. If there’s any problem, it’s inconvenient to go back and forth between the village and the city. Why can’t he understand?”
Cheng Yun thought to himself that this was probably similar to the contradictions in the urban and rural development in later generations. The older generation refused to move, while the younger generation wanted to go out and make a living. Such problems seemed to be universal.
Cheng Yun said, “Besides, things like moving, buying property, and such are not simple matters. Moreover, the problem is not something that can be solved by moving.”
“Then you can divide the family!” Liu Wen blurted out, slapping his forehead as soon as he finished speaking, realizing it might not be appropriate, “Uh, I was just saying, this matter still needs careful consideration.”
The words “divide the family” hit Cheng Yun’s heart all at once, making him feel like he had been struck at the core.
He had never thought about this in the past, but lately, Li Fengjiao’s repeated actions had annoyed Cheng Yun. However, he also knew that in this era, everyone regarded filial piety very highly. Even if they didn’t like it, until the day when they couldn’t bear it anymore, nobody would take the step of dividing the family.
Cheng Yun looked up at Yang Hongjin, only to see that his eyes were fixed on him. His eyes were filled with his figure, as if there was no room for anyone else.
Cheng Yun didn’t know if Liu Wen’s words had made an impact on Yang Hongjin, but he tried hard not to think about it. After all, they hadn’t reached that point yet. Yang Hongjin had already lost his birth mother, and Cheng Yun didn’t want to be the reason he lost his biological father and brother as well.
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