Upon hearing this, Ye Zi’an didn’t say much. His only impression of the old man was about the potatoes.
When they returned to the shop, they rested briefly before heading back to the village.
Ms. Wang was delighted to see Ye Zi’an and Yang Chuxia return, but she was puzzled as she saw Zi’an return without the two younger boys. So, she asked about them.
Her question made Yang Chuxia feel embarrassed. While going to the school, she only cared about Brother An and forgot about her two little brothers. She lamented in her heart, it wasn’t intentional, really not intentional favoritism.
Still, Ye Zi’an explained that he had asked their teacher for leave, but the teacher had refused, so he had no choice but to come back alone.
"The Eighth Month Festival is coming in a few days. Qingrui and the others will definitely have a break then," Yang Chuxia said, seeing that Ms. Wang really missed the two brothers.
Yang Dachuan also chimed in, "If you really want to see the kids, you can take a carriage to their school. It’s not like it’s thousands of miles away."
Ms. Wang thought for a moment and said, "Never mind, Xiaxia is right. The Eighth Month Festival is coming up soon, so they’ll have to come back."
The Eighth Month Festival was what is now called the Mid-Autumn Festival. Since it was celebrated in the eighth month, it was also called the Eighth Month Festival in Wangquan Town.
"Mother, will you make mooncakes for the Eighth Month Festival?"
At this time, mooncakes were usually made at home. There were also ones for sale outside, but those were more expensive and tasted better. So, ordinary families would either make their own or not eat them at all.
"Of course, we’ll make our own!" Ms. Wang said without hesitation, "I’ve already prepared the fillings for the mooncakes, and I’ve asked your Uncle Dayong to make new mooncake molds. We’ll start making them tomorrow."
"Mother, make some extra then!" Yang Chuxia suggested, "We have so many people in our family, and we need to give some to the workers too. When they finish work, let’s give each of them two pounds as a benefit. Oh, and father should get a pig to slaughter, that way everyone can have two strips of pork and two pounds of mooncakes."
"That’s easy, I’ll go to the town tomorrow to buy a pig from the butcher," Yang Dachuan agreed. "Your aunts have been helping us a lot during this time, so we should express our gratitude on holidays."
The day before, Ms. Wang said she would make mooncakes, and the next day, she indeed started making them with an old nanny she had bought a few days ago. Yang Dachuan went to the town to inquire about the current price of pigs.
In her spare time, Yang Chuxia was pondering when the store in the county town would open and what preparations were needed.
"Miss Yang! Miss Yang!"
Upon hearing the call, Yang Chuxia went out and saw Mu Shaoling’s servant.
"Why are you here? Did your young master come too?" Yang Chuxia asked.
The servant shook his head, "My young master and his father are still in the Capital City. Since the Eighth Month Festival is coming, they asked me to send some festival gifts to you and Young Master An."
Seeing the two carriages parked behind the servant, Yang Chuxia knew he was telling the truth.
Then, the servant led people to move the gifts into Yang Chuxia’s house one by one.
"Miss Yang, where is Young Master An?" Yang Chuxia knew he was referring to Ye Zi’an and replied, "He went to school today and won’t be back until this evening."
Upon hearing this, the servant took out a letter from his bosom and handed it to Yang Chuxia. "In that case, please give this letter to Young Master An on my behalf. It was entrusted to my young master by someone else."
Upon hearing this, Yang Chuxia knew that it must be from Baili Yan, but she didn’t know what it would say.