The Twelfth Lunar Month
It was a cold winter morning.
Jiang Ming looked at his courtyard suspiciously. He was here.
But why did something feel wrong?
The area in front of the door was clean. There were no weeds, no dead branches, and no fallen leaves. It was cleaner than when he lived at home.
Even the wooden door that someone had broken when he had been running through the night had been repaired and replaced. It felt quite strong and much stronger than before.
“Don’t tell me someone has taken over?” Jiang Ming muttered to himself. Was his reputation as a villain not strong enough?
However, when he pushed open the door and walked into the courtyard, it was just as he had imagined. Dried grass was everywhere, and rotten leaves were piled up in several layers.
“Looks like I’m overthinking it.”
At this moment, a series of voices sounded not far away.
“Father, the meal is ready.”
“Don’t panic, don’t panic. Wait for me to fix this chair in Elder Wang’s house.”
Jiang Ming turned his head and looked. In another small courtyard next to him, a young girl wearing coarse clothes and looking a little delicate was carrying some food and handing it to a white-haired old man.
The old man had a hunched back, and his hands were full of calluses. It was obvious that he had been working hard all his life. He was busy working on a broken wooden chair, glanced at the rice bowl, and then continued working.
“Eh? Someone’s living here?” Jiang Ming raised his eyebrows.
Jiang Ming learned from his predecessor’s memory that no one had lived in the courtyard next door for more than ten years. It was so dilapidated that even if they had just moved to the town, no one was willing to clean it up. It was better to build a new house.
At this time, the girl also noticed Jiang Ming and quickly waved her hand, “We just moved here. My name is Li Qingqing, and this is my father. Please forgive us if we’ve disturbed you.”
“I still have to thank you for helping me clean and repair the gate,” Jiang Ming said with a smile.
The neighbor on the other side was a middle-aged woman, but she did not have the kind heart to do such a thing. It was already good enough that she did not throw garbage into Jiang Ming’s house.
“Yeah, how did you know we did it?” Li Qingqing was surprised, and then she smiled in embarrassment. “After we moved in and cleaned up, we saw grass growing outside your house, so we cleaned it up. But I didn’t dare enter the yard, afraid that the owner would be angry when he returned. My father built that door. He’s good at it, right?” As Li Qingqing spoke, her tone became inexplicably proud.
“He’s simply too powerful.” Jiang Ming praised her seriously and said a few polite words. Finally, he sent some dried wild mushrooms over to express his gratitude.
It was a mess both inside and outside the house. Jiang Ming was too lazy to clean up, so he threw the herb basket away and went out.
The town was lively. They were slaughtering the meat for their celebrations.
There were more wild vegetables in the mountains. Those who could afford oil would be able to stir-fry them.
If anyone could bring out a few dried hares and pheasants at this time, it would be enough to occupy the highest point of contempt among their neighbors.
After all, it was said that they relied on the mountain to make a living, but not everyone could survive on the mountain.
* * *
The small bar was as usual, but it seemed to be even more dilapidated.
Master Zhou looked even older now. He could not even drink fiery wines anymore. He could only drink a small glass of medicinal wine to nourish his body and then be taken back home by his granddaughter.
There were not many people in the bar. Old Jiang got up and sat at the same table as Jiang Ming, sighing, “I hope Master Zhou can live for a few more years. Back then, Master Zhou and I could drink ten pints of beer.”
Old Jiang kept talking about the past, but Jiang Ming did not answer him. He just drank the wine.
It was not easy for the older generation to meet someone who could listen to them. At this time, he just had to listen.
As he spoke, Old Jiang became a little tipsy and fell asleep on the table.
Ah Fei carried a towel and walked over after clearing a few tables. He shook his head and said, “A few old people have left this winter, and Mr. Jiang’s stamina seems to have halved.”
The two of them worked together to carry Old Jiang to the bed in the inner room and then sat back at the table.
“How’s the marriage going?” Jiang Ming asked.
Ah Fei chuckled. “On the 19th of the twelfth month, I’ll set up two tables of dishes in my courtyard. Ming, you have to come!”
Jiang Ming smacked his chopsticks. “What the hell are you talking about? I’ve already paid for it. How can I not go?”
“Exactly! By the way, have you met your new neighbor?” Ah Fei asked.
Jiang Ming nodded. “Yes. They even fixed my door.”
“That’s right. Elder Li’s carpentry skills have spread all over Peace Town. Many people are looking for him to repair their wooden artifacts and make furniture.” Ah Fei shook his head. “And his daughter, Li Qingqing, is about to get married. She’s only holding her wedding one day after mine.”
Ah Fei talked about her husband. Jiang Ming had met him a few times. He was not very outstanding, but he was quite honest.
Life in the town was like this. There was no such thing as picking and choosing between families of equal social status. They could almost make do with it.
* * *
As the days approached the end of the year, Jiang Ming also completely relaxed. When he had nothing to do, he would clean his yard and go to town to buy some wine and meat to prepare for the new year.
He got along well with his new neighbors. Elder Li and Li Qingqing often came to help Jiang Ming clean the yard.
Jiang Ming was also very interested in Elder Li’s carpentry work. In his spare time, he would follow Elder Li to walk through the streets and learn carpentry.
For Jiang Ming, it was too boring to only practice martial arts. Learning other skills was fun. He even planned to find an opportunity to learn the wine-making technique that Old Jiang had hidden away.
On the 19th of the twelfth month, Ah Fei was officially married. He wore neat clothes, and the bride’s head was covered with a red cloth. They were sent to the nuptial chamber.
Master Zhou was sick in bed and could not come to the wedding, so Jiang Ming paid for him.
On the 20th of the twelfth month, Jiang Ming and Ah Fei came together to Elder Li’s house and prepared to attend Li Qingqing’s wedding. That young man had no parents, so he married into the Li family.
Everything went well at the banquet. Jiang Ming even saw Li Qingqing’s elder brother. He heard that he was working as a servant in a big family in the prefecture. Today, he had specially asked for leave for his sister’s wedding.
However, her brother only showed up once and toasted at each table before disappearing again.
“Her brother is so mysterious,” Ah Fei said curiously.
Jiang Ming was about to speak when there was a sudden noise outside the courtyard, followed by a scream.
“Murder! Murder!”
