Having exited Hechun Hall, although the sun had already started to shift westward, Yang Ruxin didn’t head back. Instead, she went toward the southern part of the town and casually bought a variety of items from the roadside stalls along the way.
Zhou Xiao glanced at Yang Ruxin, didn’t ask what she was up to, and simply followed closely behind her.
The storefronts on the southern side of the town were relatively cheaper. They were no longer two-story buildings but the type where there’s a chamber at the front of the courtyard that is used as the shop space.
At the west end of Button Street, there was an oil mill, which, according to sayings, was an old established brand, passed down through three generations. Its decline wasn’t due to a deterioration in oil-pressing skills, but rather in the morals of the people running it, as shortchanging customers was a frequent occurrence. Consequently, the neighbors would rather walk a longer distance to another shop than buy oil from them.
This was the Tian Family’s oil mill, where the sister of Yang Anshi had married into, and where Yang Baihe was now living too.
Yang Ruxin sat down in a wonton shop opposite the oil mill and ordered two bowls of wontons.
"Eat up," Yang Ruxin said, obviously appreciative of Zhou Xiao. Even though he was very curious, he didn’t ask questions when she stayed silent.
Zhou Xiao nodded, took a bite of a wonton, then gave the shop a cursory glance and bared his teeth at Yang Ruxin, "These aren’t as delicious as the ones Sister Ruxin makes."
"Flatterer," Yang Ruxin said with a laugh, knocking Zhou Xiao on the head with her chopsticks. "I’ll make wontons for you tomorrow morning."
Zhou Xiao’s eyes crinkled as he smiled broadly.
Just as she’d taken a few bites, Yang Ruxin saw two people walking out of the oil mill, arm in arm. Her brow furrowed, for those weren’t just anybody; they were Chengzi and Tian Jialiang, Tian Family’s eldest grandson. How had the two of them become such good friends?
The Tian Family had been running the oil mill since their ancestors’ days, enjoying rather comfortable living conditions.
It was because she was good-looking that Yang An was favored by Tian Family’s patriarch, Boss.
After marrying into the Tian Family, Yang Anshi allegedly proved to be quite fruitful. She got pregnant in her second month of marriage and gave birth to a daughter in the following spring. Three years later, she bore a son. With her rapid succession of flower first, fruit next, she secured her place in the Tian Family quite solidly.
However, the daughter met an early demise at barely over a year old due to a high fever, and although her son, Tian Geng, survived, his health was frail thereafter, showing no signs of improvement despite seeking various medical treatments. Many thought he wouldn’t live long.
Later, when the second eldest of the Tian Family died and his wife remarried, leaving behind their son, Tian Yun, without care, Boss adopted his younger brother’s son.
Of course, how could Yang Anshi possibly raise her brother-in-law’s son? She agreed because the uncle’s family had fifteen acres of land, and by taking the child in, that land naturally became theirs as well.
Strangely though, ever since the nephew joined them, Tian Geng’s health seemed to improve.
The ancients were superstitious, believing perhaps Tian Yun had absorbed Tian Geng’s misfortune. Gradually, Yang Anshi’s feelings toward this adopted son warmed significantly.
But while there was no beating or scolding, she never truly treated him kindly, at least not to the extent of actually planning a future for him.
As her son’s health improved, Yang Anshi started to view Tian Yun as superfluous. Why would she be willing to spend money for him to marry? In the end, for twenty taels of silver, she married Tian Yun off to the Zheng Family a hundred miles away. It was said that after "getting married," Tian Yun never returned, except for once, the year before last, when Yang Anshi’s husband, Boss, died. After that, he never returned.