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Even though the boss lady of the bun shop recognized him, she didn’t dig deeper.
Why bother to know what an unfamiliar person went through so that he changed so drastically. From only knowing how to waste his life while messing around, to suddenly becoming a calm scholar.
Besides, the lady boss felt that maybe she recognized the wrong person.
Putting away all distractions, the lady boss shouted again, “Steamed buns, hot meat buns.”
It was noon, Li Jin could have rested in any tea house before leaving in the evening but a husband and child were waiting for him at the home. So, he started walking back to the village in the hot sun.
When he felt too hot, he would find a roadside tree for shade and sit there for a while, and then start walking again.
It took two hours for Li Jin to reach the village while stopping and walking.
When he reached home around four, the cicadas were screaming under the persimmon tree in the courtyard, and there was a cooked rice smell coming from the kitchen.
Li Jin took the back basket off the shoulder and put it near the door. His shoulders felt relieved.
He seemed to still overestimate his body’s strength. He pulled the bags of pigweeds yesterday, and now he had carried the back basket to the village. His shoulders seemed to be smashed.
While standing in the kitchen, the teenager looked at Li Jin who was rubbing his shoulders, and his eyes widened. The teenager didn’t try to hide his concern.
Li Jin waved and said, “Come here.”
The teenager steadily walked towards him, without using the support of the wall. It looked like when he was not here, the teenager carefully practiced walking in the home.
Before the teenager could react, Li Jin stuffed a warm packet in his hands.
Qin Mu Wen looked down and slowly opened the packet. It was again the meat buns from the main street of the town.
The cover was thin and the filling was more. The lotus roots inside it were crisp and delicious.
Li Jin rubbed the teenager’s head and said, “Go inside and eat it. I will clean up first.”
The teenager had cooked the rice cereal and boiled the goat’s milk for the child.
The little bun was curled up in the swaddle and was blowing small bubbles while sleeping. The baby seemed to be dreaming some sweet dream.
The teenager slowly ate the meat buns bit by bit, staring at Li Jin who was taking out the raw-edged paper and bamboo-leaf papers from the back basket and putting them inside the small cabinet near the bed.
Both types of paper were relatively cheap and were used by poor students to practice writing and learning.
Although Qin Mu Wen wasn’t the favored son in the house, when his father was still the Minister in the court, he used excellent quality rice paper for practicing calligraphy and painting.
Mu Wen thought A’Jin was a very good person, so he should earn more money and buy rice paper for A’Jin to practice.
Li Jin didn’t know the teenager’s thoughts. After arranging everything, he said, “It is time to buy a table.”
The table would be placed near the window, so while practicing calligraphy during the day, he didn’t need to use the oil lamp.
After eating one bun, Mu Wen left the other bun for Li Jin.
Looking at the teenager’s action, Li Jin smiled and said, “I already have eaten it. You should eat the buns obediently. I am going to ask the villagers about the table.”
After a pause, Li Jin added, “Behave, I will stew braised pork for you tomorrow.”
Hearing about the braised pork, the teenager unconsciously swallowed loudly.
Li Jin smiled and gently squeezed the youth’s face.
There were many carpenters in the village, who were making furniture for many generations. But everyone was busy harvesting wheat recently.
Currently, only one family in the village was free because of having many sons in the family to do enough labor.
Li Jin decided to visit them to make the table.